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From Briefing.com (The Wennerstrom Innovator Award goes to AAPL) LOL RtS: 4:42PM Apple beats by $1.45, beats on revs on upside iPhone shipments; guides Q3 revs, gross margin in-line; raises dividend 8% (plans to do so annually), raises buyback 50% to $90 bln, announced 7:1 stock split (AAPL) 524.75 -9.95 : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $11.62 per share, $1.45 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $10.17; revenues rose 4.7% year/year to $45.65 bln vs the $43.59 bln consensus; gross margins of 39.3% vs. Street expectations near 37.5% (guidance 37-38%)... Buybacks added $0.81/share to EPS -- analyst models include buybacks).

Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees Q3 revs of $36-38 bln vs. $37.79 bln Capital IQ Consensus; sees Q3 gross margins of 37-38% versus Street expectations of just under 37.5%.
iPhone shipments 43.7 mln vs. ~38 mln estimates
iPad 16.4 mln vs. 19 mln est
Mac 4.13 mln vs. 4 mln est
Co announced that its Board of Directors has authorized another significant increase to the Company's program to return capital to shareholders. The co expects to utilize a total of over $130 billion of cash under the expanded program by the end of calendar 2015.
As part of the program, the Board has increased its share repurchase authorization to $90 bln from the $60 bln level announced last year. The Company expects to continue to utilize about $1 billion annually to net-share-settle vesting restricted stock units.
Co raises quarterly dividend 8% to $3.29 per common share, payable on May 15, 2014 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 12, 2014.
The co also plans to increase its dividend on an annual basis. With annual payments of $11 billion, Apple is among the largest dividend payers in the world.
Co also announced a 7:1 stock split.

5:56PM Teradyne beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (TER) 19.18 -0.20 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.11 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.06; revenues rose 12.5% year/year to $321.01 mln vs the $315.74 mln consensus.

Bookings in the first quarter of 2014 were $450 million of which $366 million were in Semiconductor Test, $57 million in Wireless Test, and $27 million in System Test.

Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.36-0.43, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.49 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $460-490 mln vs. $475.18 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:37PM Texas Instruments clarification: Q2 GAAP EPS guidance of $0.55-0.63 was above the $0.52 GAAP Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (TXN) 46.46 -0.13 : We earlier incorrectly compared the guidance to a non-GAAP estimate. The prior comment has been edited.

4:32PM Texas Instruments beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (TXN) 46.46 -0.13 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.44 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.41; revenues rose 3.4% year/year to $2.98 bln vs the $2.96 bln consensus.

Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.55-0.63 vs. $0.52 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $3.14-3.40 bln vs. $3.15 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:24PM Xilinx misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs in-line (XLNX) : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.53 per share, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.55; revenues rose 16.1% year/year to $617.8 mln vs the $612.12 mln consensus.

Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs "up 0% to 4% sequentially" (roughly $618-642 mln) vs. $638.83 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:22PM Lam Research beats by $0.10, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 above consensus (LRCX) 52.25 -0.80 : Reports Q3 (Mar) non-GAAP earnings of $1.26 per share, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.16; revenues rose 38.7% year/year to $1.23 bln vs the $1.22 bln consensus.

Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.14-1.28 bln, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.09 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $1.235-1.245 bln vs. $1.16 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

"We began 2014 by delivering another solid quarter with record shipments, record revenue, sequential operating margin expansion and very strong free cash flow," stated Martin Anstice, Lam Research's president and chief executive officer. "The consistency of our results reinforces the potential to deliver sustained outperformance through solid execution of our growth strategy. We believe that our product portfolio combined with the scale of our new technology offerings create a unique opportunity for Lam through the multi-patterning, 3D device and advanced packaging industry transitions. Together this combination of capability and opportunity underscores our commitment to deliver growth and value for our customers and our shareholders alike."

4:14PM Qualcomm beats by $0.09, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY14 EPS in-line, revs in-line (QCOM) 80.71 +0.10 : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $1.31 per share, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.22; revenues rose 4.0% year/year to $6.37 bln vs the $6.49 bln consensus.

Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $1.15-1.25 vs. $1.25 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $6.2-6.8 bln vs. $6.59 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Co issues in-line guidance for FY14, sees EPS of $5.05-5.25 vs. $5.10 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (prior forecast $5.00-5.20); sees FY14 revs of $26.0-27.5 bln vs. $26.8 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (prior forecast $26-27.5 bln.)
2014 guidance includes benefit of $2 bln of stock repurchases planned over remainder of year.

4:10PM Facebook beats by $0.10, beats on revs (FB) 61.36 -1.67 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.34 per share, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.24; revenues rose 71.6% year/year to $2.5 bln vs the $2.35 bln consensus.

Daily active users (DAUs) were 802 million on average for March 2014, an increase of 21% year-over-year. Mobile DAUs were 609 million on average for March 2014, an increase of 43% year-over-year.
Monthly active users (MAUs) were 1.28 billion as of March 31, 2014, an increase of 15% year-over-year. Mobile MAUs were 1.01 billion as of March 31, 2014, an increase of 34% year-over-year.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2014 totaled $2.50 billion, an increase of 72%, compared with $1.46 billion in the first quarter of 2013. Revenue from advertising was $2.27 billion, an 82% increase from the same quarter last year. Mobile advertising revenue represented approximately 59% of advertising revenue for the first quarter of 2014, up from approximately 30% of advertising revenue in the first quarter of 2013.
For the first quarter of 2014, GAAP income from operations was $1.08 billion, up 188% compared to $373 million in the first quarter of 2013. Excluding share-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses, non-GAAP income from operations for the first quarter of 2014 was $1.37 billion, up 144% compared to $563 million for the first quarter of 2013.
GAAP operating margin was 43% for the first quarter of 2014, compared to 26% in the first quarter of 2013. Excluding share-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses, non-GAAP operating margin was 55% for the first quarter of 2014, compared to 39% for the first quarter of 2013.

CFO Transition
Facebook today also announced that David Ebersman has informed the company of his intention to step down as chief financial officer after serving in the position for almost five years. On June 1, 2014, he will be succeeded as CFO by David Wehner, currently Facebook's Vice President, Corporate Finance and Business Planning. Ebersman will remain with the company through September to ensure a seamless transition of his responsibilities. Wehner joined Facebook in November 2012 from Zynga, where he served as CFO.

4:08PM Ingram Micro misses by $0.05, reports revs in-line, reaffirms FY rev guidance (IM) 30.25 -0.53 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.43 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.48; revenues rose 1.2% year/year to $10.38 bln vs the $10.42 bln consensus. For Q2, co expects revenue to increase YoY in the low- to mid-single digits.
"We had a good start to 2014, as we continued our trajectory of strong year-over-year gross margin expansion, while delivering top line growth consistent with sequential historical seasonality and in-line with our expectations. We remain confident in our expectations for full year 2014 worldwide revenue growth in the low- to mid- single-digits, in-line with overall global IT spending, and continued improvement in operating profitability."

4:03PM Ingram Micro Selected to provide mobility distribution and supply chain solutions to key Verizon Wireless (VZ) dealers (IM) 30.27 -0.51 : IM announced it has entered into a strategic sourcing and integrated supply chain services agreement with the 360 Group, a consortium of four of Verizon Wireless' largest national dealers including A Wireless, Diamond Wireless, Go Wireless and Moorehead Communications (dba as TCC).

Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, Ingram Micro Mobility has been named the preferred handset distributor and services provider for these key Verizon Wireless retailers.
As part of the agreement, Ingram Micro Mobility will integrate directly into more than 1,750 points of sale and will provide the 360 Group with a suite of industry-leading supply chain services, including supply chain management, strategic sourcing, device lifecycle management, logistics services, and reverse logistics and demand planning services.
Services under the agreement are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2014.
Ingram Micro Mobility will be integrated directly into the point of sale system of each of the 360 Group members. This integration is expected to enable the company to be highly efficient and productive in its services and delivery processes, which will help drive optimal device availability and inventory management, while reducing inventory obsolescence.

4:03PM TriQuint Semi beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (TQNT) : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.06 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.11); revenues fell 3.6% year/year to $177.6 mln vs the $176.2 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.06-0.08 vs. $0.04 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $215-225 mln vs. $200.77 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:10 pm : The stock market finished the Wednesday session on a modestly lower note, but it is worth mentioning today's retreat took place after six consecutive gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.1%) and S&P 500 (-0.2%) settled not far below their flat lines, while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.8%) lagged throughout the session.

Equity indices started the day in the red, with the Nasdaq showing early weakness as large cap tech names and biotechnology weighed. The technology sector (-0.9%) slumped amid profit-taking in listings like Apple (AAPL 524.75, -6.95), Google (GOOG 526.94, -7.87), Microsoft (MSFT 39.69, -0.30), and Intel (INTC 26.75, -0.09), while biotech names retreated following quarterly reports from three major industry players.

Amgen (AMGN 113.32, -5.98) and Biogen (BIIB 306.75, +0.55) reported below-consensus results, while Gilead Sciences (GILD 73.86, +1.00) handily beat estimates. For its part, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 230.99, -3.73), which includes the three components among its top five holdings, lost 1.6% and settled just above its 20-day moving average. The broader health care sector (-0.5%), meanwhile, ended among the laggards.

Similar to health care, other heavily-weighted groups like consumer discretionary (-0.5%) and technology (-0.9%) weighed on the broader market, while financials (+0.2%) outperformed modestly.

The discretionary space suffered from sector-wide losses that included a 5.2% drop in the shares of Netflix (NFLX 353.50, -19.40) that took place after Amazon.com (AMZN 324.58, -4.74) announced it has secured a partnership agreement with HBO. Homebuilders also weighed on the sector after the New Home Sales report for March missed estimates. The iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 23.33, -0.37) lost 1.6%.

On the upside, energy (+0.5%) and industrials (+0.4%) spent the entire session in the green. Energy rallied even as crude oil slipped 0.2% to $101.47/bbl, while the industrial sector was underpinned by above-consensus results reported by Boeing (BA 130.63, +3.08). Transports also outperformed, but the Dow Jones Transportation Average (+0.1%) retreated from its best level of the session into the close. Delta Air Lines (DAL 37.09, +2.14) was a notable standout, soaring 6.1% after beating bottom-line estimates.

With stocks ending in the red, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 13.32, +0.13) inched higher, but remained near the lowest levels of the year.

Treasuries posted modest gains as the 10-yr note added six ticks, sending its yield lower by three basis points to 2.69%.

Trading volume was on the light side once again with less than 650 million shares changing hands at the NYSE.

Today's economic data focused on housing:

The weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 3.3% to follow last week's increase of 4.3%.
New home sales declined 14.5% in March from an upwardly revised 449,000 (from 440,000) in February to 384,000. The Briefing.com consensus expected home sales to increase to 455,000. March sales were the lowest since 373,000 new homes were sold in July 2013. Winter weather conditions, which were unduly blamed for softness across the economy, again showed little effect in the new home sector. The return to more normal temperatures, which should have boosted sales from pent up demand, resulted in the weakest demand since the middle of last year.

Tomorrow, weekly initial claims and March Durable Orders will be reported at 8:30 ET.

S&P 500 +1.5% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.5% YTD
Nasdaq Composite -1.2% YTD
Russell 2000 -1.3% YTD

DJ30 -12.72 NASDAQ -34.49 SP500 -4.16 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 835/1.62 bln/1828 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1492/648.4 mln/1573

3:35 pm :

June gold rose for the first time in four sessions as economic data showed that new home sales declined 14.5% in March from an upwardly revised 449K (from 440K) in Feb to 384K. The Briefing.com consensus expected home sales to increase to 455K. The yellow metal brushed a session high of $1287.70 per ounce in early morning action and settled with a 0.3% gain at $1284.80 per ounce.
May silver also traded in positive territory today, climbing as high as $19.49 per ounce. It traded near the $19.42 per ounce level in afternoon action and settled with a 0.4% gain at $19.44 per ounce.
June crude oil dipped to a session low of $101.28 per barrel following inventory data that showed a build of 3.5 mln barrels for the week ending Apr 18 when consensus called for a smaller build of 2.3-3.0 mln barrels. It then oscillated between positive and negative territory and eventually settled at $101.47 per barrel, or 0.2% lower.
May natural gas chopped around in positive territory for most of the session, rising as high as $4.78 per MMBtu in morning action. It sold off into the red as it headed into the close and settled 0.2% lower at $4.73 per MMBtu.

12:26PM Notable movers of interest (SCANX) : The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume).

Large Cap Gainers

FTI (58.3 +5.20%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.07 ($0.57 vs $0.50 estimate), revs rose 10.8% yoy to $1.82 bln vs $1.81 bln estimate; sees FY14 EPS of $2.55-2.75
DAL (36.63 +4.81%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.05 ($0.33 ex items vs $0.29 estimate), revs rose 4.9% yoy to $8.92 bln bs $8.93 bln estimate; traffic increased 3.5% on a 1.7% increase in capacity
ILMN (154.95 +4.71%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.02 ($0.46 ex items vs $0.44 estimate), revs rose 27.2% yoy to $421 mln vs $391.66 mln estimate; sees FY14 EPS of $2.10-2.23 ex items vs $2.06 estimate, rev growth of 21-23% (~$1.719-1.747 bln) vs $1.68 bln estimate

Large Cap Losers

ISRG (380.77 -9.84%): Reported Q1 earnings of $1.13 per share, revs fell 24.0% yoy to $464.7 mln vs $465.07 mln estimate; target lowered to $515 from $555 at ISI Group, to $465 from $595 at Jefferies, to $443 from $490 at Leerink Partners, to $403 from $423 at Canaccord Genuity, to $470 from $525 at WallachBeth
VMW (95.5 -9.18%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.01 ($0.80 vs $0.79 estimate), revs rose 14.2% yoy to $1.36 bln vs $1.35 bln estimate; sees Q2 revs of $1.425-1.625 bln vs $1.44 bl estimate; reaffirmed FY14 revs of $5.94-6.10 bln vs $6.03 bln estimate
ERIC (12.26 -5.69%): Missed quarterly EPS by SEK 0.03 (SEK 0.90 vs SEK 0.93 estimate), revs fell 8.7% yoy to SEK 47.5 bln vs SEK 51.4 bln estimate

Mid Cap Gainers

SPWR (32.16 +9.50%): Announced it will team up with Google to finance $250 mln in residential solar lease projects; upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merill; upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank
WWD (45.15 +9.06%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.15 ($0.66 vs $0.51 estimate), revs fell 0.6% yoy to $482.5 mln vs $491.07 mln estimate; reaffirmed FY14 EPS of $2.10-2.30 vs $2.16 estimate, revs of $1.95-2.05 bln vs $2 bln estimate
MAN (84.24 +8.17%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.18 ($0.86 vs $0.68 estimate), revs rose 2.9% yoy to $4.9 bln vs $4.83 bln estimate; sees Q2 EPS of $1.26-1.34 ex items vs $1.21 estimate

Mid Cap Losers

CREE (51.99 -10.44%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.01 ($0.39 vs $0.38 estimate), revs rose 16.1% yoy to $405.2 mln vs $407.45 mln estimate; gross margin decreased 50 basis points from prior quarter; sees Q4 EPS of $0.38-0.44 ex items vs $0.44 estimate, revs of $430-460 mln vs $434.70 mln estimate; target lowered to $57 from $59 at Northland Capital; target lowered to $62 from $66 at UBS
IGT (12.65 -10.13%): Beat quarterly EPS by $0.01 ($0.20 vs $0.19 estimate), revs fell 14.5% yoy to $512.8 ml vs $495.41 mln estimate; reaffirmed FY14 EPS of $1.00-1.10 ex items vs $1.03 estimate
FDML (16.69 -10.12%): Missed quarterly EPS by $0.06 ($0.27 vs $0.33 estimate), revs rose 7.2% yoy to $1.78 bln vs $1.81 bln estimate

11:56AM Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (145) outpacing new lows (18) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAV, ABG, ALK, ANDE, APH, ARCW, ARCX, ASX, ATO, AVA, AWK, BANF, BAS, BHI, BIG, BIOF, BKH, BRK.A, BRK.B, BXE, BXP, CAT, CBPO, CFX, CHDX, CJES, CLCT, CLR, CNI, CNL, CRK, CSL, CSTM, CWEI, CXDC, CXP, DAL, DOV, DPS, DVCR, DVN, DY, DYN, EDE, EDN, EGAS, ENBL, ENG, EOG, EQM, EQT, ERF, ESTE, EXH, FN, FTK, GFN, GGAL, HA, HAL, HAR, HES, HIL, HP, ICGE, IRS, JJSF, KEG, KFS, KND, LAMR, LSI, MAR, MDU, MEMP, MEP, MINI, MPET, MPLX, MRH, MTDR, MTR, MU, NBR, NS, NSH, NVS, OCLR, PAC, PDS, PEBO, PES, PF, PFIE, PPC, PPL, PSX, QTS, R, RDNT, RE, RES, REV, RHI, RHP, RNR, RRC, RUBI, SAIC, SAL, SANM, SBSI, SD, SGY, SKX, SLB, SLCA, SLGN, SNA, SPCB, STAA, STS, SU, SWKS, SWN, TI, TNP, TOT, TPC, TRGP, TTI, UGI, UHAL, UNT, UPL, UTSI, VLP, VVC, WBC, WES, WFT, WRES, XEC, XEL, YUM

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AMRK, AQXP, AXGN, CACH, CREE, CTC, DARA, FLXN, IGT, INGN, LQDT, PBPB, QSII, SOQ, TGE, ZA, ZIXI, ZNH

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: DBA, DIG, DVY, GULF, IEO, IGE, IOO, IXC, IYE, IYT, JO, MES, OIH, XES, XLE, XOP

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: none


8:32AM SunPower and Google (GOOG) team up to finance $250 million in residential solar lease projects (SPWR) 29.37 : Co announced a new program that will provide financing to support ~ $250 mln of residential solar lease projects. Both companies are investing in the program, with Google committing up to $100 mln and SunPower committing ~$150 mln. Thousands of homeowners are expected to finance solar power systems through SunPower solar leases as a result of this program, joining ~20,000 Americans already leasing from SunPower

Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) received a follow-on order for the Optima HDx high current implanter from a leading chipmaker located in the Asia Pacific region

Altera (ALTR) announced the demonstration of its FPGA technology based on Intel's (INTC) 14 nm Tri-Gate process. The 14 nm-based FPGA test chips incorporate key intellectual property components - transceivers, mixed-signal IP and digital logic - used in Stratix 10 FPGAs and SoCs.

8:02AM SunEdison announces that it has closed on financing for two solar power plants (SUNE) 20.06 : Co announces that it has closed on financing for two solar power plants to be built in Ontario, Canada. Both plants should be operational by the end of 2014. The solar power plants will be composed of over 100,000 SunEdison Silvantis Photovoltaic Solar Modules, which will be manufactured in the province of Ontario.

7:02AM Entegris misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (ENTG) 12.36 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.12 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.13; revenues rose 0.4% year/year to $165.8 mln vs the $171.83 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.10-0.14, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.15 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $165-175 mln vs. $180.24 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

6:58AM EMC reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; lowers FY14 EPS, raises FY14 rev guidance slightly; raises dividend 15% (EMC) 26.78 : Reports Q1 (Mar) adj. earnings of $0.35 per share, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate consensus of $0.35; revenues rose 1.7% year/year to $5.48 bln vs the $5.43 bln consensus.

Co issues guidance for FY14, lowers adj. EPS to $1.90 from $1.95 vs. $1.94 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; raises FY14 revs to $24.575 bln from $24.5 bln vs. $24.51 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
In addition, EMC's Board of Directors approved a 15% increase in the quarterly cash dividend paid to EMC shareholders. The first increased dividend of $0.115 per share of common stock will be paid on July 23, 2014 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 1, 2014.

SanDisk Corporation (SNDK) announced the availability of its 1Z-nanometer technology, the most advanced NAND flash process node in the world.