Today: Apple and Google are at the top of Fortune’s “Most Admired” list. Plus: Silicon Valley tech stocks.
Apple vs. Google?
Apple — the Cupertino maker of Mac computers and “i” devices — and Google — the Mountain View Internet juggernaut — top Fortune magazine’s yearly list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies.”
Apple was at the top of the list for the fourth year in a row. “The company’s blistering pace of new product releases” — including yesterday’s iPad 2 announcement and the Verizon iPhone earlier this year — “has continued to set the bar high for tech companies across the board,” the magazine noted on its website.
At No. 2, Google “maintains its reign as the king of search,” Fortune noted. “The company is also spreading through more and more devices with its free, open-source operating systems.” Google also was No. 2 last year; it was No. 4 in 2009.
The list is based on a survey of businesspeople. Other Silicon Valley and big tech companies on Fortune’s Top 50 are:
7. Amazon
9. Microsoft
12. IBM
28. Cisco Systems
40. Netflix
45. eBay
48. Oracle
iPhone, Android or BlackBerry?: Also today, industry researcher Nielsen reported that Google’s Android operating system has surged to the top of the smartphone market — at least as measured by the number of U.S. consumers who are using the platform on phones under contract on wireless networks.
Android has 29 percent of that market, according to Nielsen. Apple and BlackBerry maker Research and Motion, though, are the dominant smartphone manufacturers, both with a 27 percent market share. Apple and RIM are tied for second as the most popular OS makers.
iPad or Android?: A day after Apple introduced the iPad 2, shares of Motorola Mobility — maker of mobile devices including the Xoom, a tablet device that runs Google’s Android operating system — dropped.
According to Bloomberg News, Cowen & Co. analyst Matthew Hoffman cut his rating on Motorola Mobility stock to “neutral” from “outperform,” citing competition from the new iPad.
Motorola Mobility stock finished regular trading today at $26.78, down $1.60, or 5.6 percent, from Wednesday’s closing price.
Apple stock, by the way, climbed $7.44, or 2.1 percent, to finish at $359.56. Google shares advanced $8.77, or 1.5 percent, to $609.56.
The economy
Retail sales: Many major chains reported stronger-than-expected sales for February. According to The Associated Press, Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Limited Brands had gains that beat Wall Street forecasts.
“Cheap chic” retail giant Target, however, had a gain that was less than expected. And San Francisco clothing retailer Gap — which also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy — had a larger-than-expected drop in same-store sales.
Mortgage rates: They were down this week, according to home loan giant Freddie Mac. Nationwide, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.87 percent. That was down from 4.95 percent last week and 4.97 percent a year earlier. Rates on other popular mortgage types were down, too.
For 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, borrowers on average also paid an upfront fee known as “points” of 0.7 percent of the loan value.
Silicon Valley tech stocks
Up: Apple, Google, Oracle, Intel, Cisco, eBay, VMware, Gilead Sciences, Juniper Networks.
Down: Hewlett-Packard.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index: Up 50.67, or 1.8 percent, to 2,798.74.
The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average: Up 191.40, or 1.6 percent, to 12,258.20.
And the widely watched Standard & Poor’s 500 index: Up 22.53, or 1.7 percent, to 1,330.97.
Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business Break, a summary of news from Mercury News staff writers, The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and other wire services. Contact Frank Russell at 408-920-5876. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercspike.
