According to a 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sun (JAVA) lost $120 million, or 16 cents a share, on revenue of $2.24 billion in its first quarter. During the same period a year ago, Sun lost $1.68 billion, or $2.24 a share, on $2.99 billion in sales. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 25 cents a share on revenue of $2.31 billion.

Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison recently said that Sun is losing about $100 million a month as it waits for European antitrust regulators to approve its acquisition by Oracle. Looks like he’s about right.

Below, excerpts from the 10-Q:

Server Products Revenue
The decrease in Server Products revenue during the first quarter of fiscal 2010, as compared to the corresponding period in fiscal 2009, was primarily due to the economic downturn and consolidation of our customer base, specifically in the financial services sector, as projects were scaled back, delayed or canceled, in addition to the uncertainty associated with the proposed acquisition by Oracle and increased competition.

Storage Products Revenue
The decrease in Storage Products revenue during the first quarter of fiscal 2010, as compared to the corresponding period in fiscal 2009, was primarily attributable to the economic downturn as projects were scaled back, delayed or canceled, in addition to the uncertainty associated with our proposed acquisition by Oracle and increased competition.

North America
The decrease in revenue during the first quarter of fiscal 2010, as compared to the corresponding period in fiscal 2009, was primarily due to decreased sales of our enterprise Server Products, storage disk products and Services. We are still seeing the results of IT budget cuts instituted last year by our largest customers due to the economic downturn, especially in the financial services sector, in addition to the consolidation of our customer base. Across all sectors, non-critical projects are on hold. Revenue was also negatively impacted by the uncertainty associated with our proposed acquisition by Oracle and increased competition.

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Earlier today, Kara Swisher reported in BoomTown that RealNetworks (RNWK) would sack four percent of its workforce–70 employees out of its 1,700-person staff.

Below, the official internal memo from RealNetworks Founder, Chairman and CEO Rob Glaser, breaking the bad news:

Team–

I’m writing to share some important and unpleasant news with all of you. Today we are implementing a reduction in force primarily within our TPS and MSS divisions, as well as in a few of our shared services groups. Approximately 70 employees around the globe are impacted, which represents about 4% of our total workforce. Of these 70 employees, 51% are located within the US and 49% came from our international locations.

These staff reductions are a result of some trends and strategic decisions in our TPS and MSS businesses. I’d bucket the reductions into three categories–efficiency gains associated with eliminating or streamlining duplication of effort, businesses that have been impacted by the recession and/or cyclical downturns where we need to lower our costs and get more efficient, and slower growth businesses in which we have decided to reduce our investments so we can instead invest in areas with better growth prospects.

As a result of these changes being made today, the TPS and MSS divisions are now better positioned to continue to weather the economic storm in the short-term and to thrive and grow in the long-term. On behalf of everyone on the senior management team I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to everyone being affected by today’s actions for their contributions to our company. We are offering all impacted employees generous severance packages and we are working closely with the affected teams to ensure a smooth and professional transition. Additionally, we are encouraging impacted employees to look for other roles within the company, and HR will assist them in this process.

Thank for your support and understanding.

Rob

“Notwithstanding the slow recovery of demand from the enterprise sector, we are encouraged that industry momentum has turned positive following the steepest downturn in more than a decade,” said SIA President George Scalise.

Great news were it not for the fact that at $19.1 billion, August sales were down a horrific 16.1 percent year-over-year. Furthermore, for the first eight months of 2009, sales are at $133.8 billion–about 21.3 percent below this time last year.

So while it’s wonderful that we’re seeing these sequential improvements, it’s important to remember that the industry is still fairly deep in the abyss and has a long way to go before it climbs out.

Just hours after Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, unveiled his open Internet proposal, a number of Republican senators stepped forward to oppose it. Arguing that Net Neutrality will “impede investment and innovation of new technologies,” Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R., Texas) proposed an amendment to an Interior Department appropriations bill that would bar the FCC from using federal funds to implement the proposal.

“I am deeply concerned by the direction the FCC appears to be heading,” Hutchison, the ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, said in a statement. “Even during a severe downturn, America has experienced robust investment and innovation in network performance and online content and applications. For that innovation to continue, we must tread lightly when it comes to new regulations. Where there have been a handful of questionable actions in the past on the part of a few companies, the commission and the marketplace have responded swiftly.”

Joining her in proposing the amendment were Senators John Thune (R., S.D.), Sam Brownback (R., Kan.), David Vitter (R., La.), Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), and John Ensign (R., Nev.), who had this to say in a statement of his own:

“In this struggling economy, any industry that is able to thrive should be allowed to do so without meddlesome government interference that could stifle innovation. We must avoid burdensome government regulations that micromanage private businesses or that limit the ability of companies to provide what their customers want. The Internet has flourished in large part because of a lack of government interference; I see no need to change that now.”

Nor does AT&T (T), which–coincidentally, I’m sure–happens to be a top-20 donor not just for Ensign and Hutchison, but for the four other senators who would block Genachowski’s initiative as well. Said Jim Cicconi, AT&T’s senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs: “AT&T would be very disappointed if [the FCC] has already drawn a conclusion to regulate wireless services despite the absence of any compelling evidence of problems or abuse that would warrant government intervention.”

Global mobile handset sales fell at a record pace in the first quarter of 2009. And they’re likely to do so once again in the second. That’s the grim news today from Gartner, which reports that first-quarter sales of handsets fell to 269 million units, down 14.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008 and 9.4 percent from a year earlier.

“There were some signs of a recovery in markets such as North America and China, but overall sales in the first quarter of 2009 registered the biggest quarter-on-quarter contraction since Gartner began monitoring the market on a quarterly basis in 2001,” said Gartner research director Carolina Milanesi. “We really don’t see demand stabilizing before the second half of 2010.”

Demand for low-end mobile phones, that is. Smart phones are doing just fine. Their sales rose 12.7 percent to 36 million units. That’s 13.5 percent of all mobile devices sold in the first quarter, up from 11 percent a year earlier. The chief beneficiaries of this trend: Apple (AAPL) and Research in Motion (RIMM).

Apple doubled its share of the smart phone market in the first quarter of 2009, nabbing 10.8 percent of worldwide sales, up from 5.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008. The company sold 3.9 million iPhones during Q1 2009, more than double the 1.7 million it sold in the first quarter of 2008. Meanwhile, RIM’s share of the smart phone market reached 19.9 percent in the first quarter, up from 13.3 per cent a year earlier. It sold 7.2 million BlackBerry devices to end users, up from 4.3 million in the same period a year earlier.

Incidentally, Nokia (NOK) remains the market leader in smart phones and handsets overall, though its share in both is declining. The company claimed 36.2 percent of the handset market in the first quarter of 2009, down from 39.1 percent in the first quarter of 2008. Its share of the smart phone market dropped to 41.2 percent from 45.1 percent during the same period.

How is it that smart phone makers like Apple and RIM are defying a downturn that’s playing havoc with their dumbphone-manufacturing colleagues? Touchscreens and app stores.

Said Gartner analyst Roberta Cozza: “Much of the smartphone growth during the first quarter of 2009 was driven by touchscreen products, both in midtier and high-end devices. ‘Touch for the sake of touch’ was enough of a driver in the midtier space, but tighter integration with applications and services around music, mobile email, and Internet browsing made the difference at the high end of the market.”

Good news for Palm (PALM), which is bringing a device that fits that bill to market on June 6.

With revenue in its electronic measurement unit down roughly 30 percent from 2008 to the lowest level in Agilent’s 10-year history, the company had little choice but to “resize” that business. “For Agilent to realize its full potential, we must have a financially healthy company and a solidly profitable Electronic Measurement business,” said Bill Sullivan, Agilent president and chief executive officer. “We will move quickly to resize the EM businesses to the new business levels, align resources to the best market opportunities, and position the company for the new economic environment. We have been very aggressive to date in addressing the downturn in electronic measurement markets. However, business remains severely depressed, and there are no prospects for a meaningful recovery in the foreseeable future.”

Ugly news, especially since “foreseeable future” translates to “until 2011-2013,” according to Agilent (A) CFO Adrian Dillon. “We don’t expect (demand) to come back any time soon, so we’ve got to fundamentally change the cost structure,” he told Reuters. “We will not see a 2008 level of activity at least for two to four years.”

[Image credit: someecards]

The fourth was Yahoo’s first money-losing quarter since 2002, and the first time its revenue declined since the fourth quarter of 2001.

Said incoming CEO Carol Bartz, “The company also made important investments while aggressively managing costs, leaving us better positioned to weather the economic downturn and emerge stronger when advertiser spending improves. We have work to do, but I am excited by Yahoo!’s opportunities, and encouraged by the tremendous innovation and momentum I’ve seen since joining the company as CEO.”

Here’s the official release:

Yahoo! Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 Financial Results

“Despite the challenging economic environment, Yahoo! delivered adjusted operating cash flow above the midpoint of guidance for the fourth quarter,” said Yahoo! Chief Executive Officer Carol Bartz. “The company also made important investments while aggressively managing costs, leaving us better positioned to weather the economic downturn and emerge stronger when advertiser spending improves. We have work to do, but I am excited by Yahoo!’s opportunities, and encouraged by the tremendous innovation and momentum I’ve seen since joining the company as CEO.”

Fourth Quarter 2008 Financial Results

• Revenues were $1,806 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, a 1 percent decrease compared to $1,832 million for the same period of 2007.
• Marketing services revenues were $1,594 million for the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to $1,590 million for the same period of 2007.
• Marketing services revenues from Owned and Operated sites were $1,063 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, a 3 percent increase compared to $1,035 million for the same period of 2007.
• Marketing services revenues from Affiliate sites were $531 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, a 4 percent decrease compared to $555 million for the same period of 2007.
• Fees revenues were $212 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, a 12 percent decrease compared to $242 million for the same period of 2007.
• Revenues excluding traffic acquisition costs (“TAC”) were $1,375 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, a 2 percent decrease compared to $1,403 million for the same period of 2007.
• Operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $278 million compared to operating income of $191 million for the same period of 2007.
• Operating loss before depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation expense for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $60 million compared to operating income before depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation expense of $527 million for the same period of 2007.
• Adjusted operating income before depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation expense for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $542 million, excluding restructuring charges of $108 million for severance, facilities, and other restructuring costs; a goodwill impairment charge of $488 million related to our international segment; and incremental costs of $7 million incurred for outside advisors related to Microsoft’s proposals to acquire all or a part of the Company, other strategic alternatives, including the Google agreement, the proxy contest, and related litigation defense (collectively, the “strategic alternatives and related matters”).
• Cash flow from operating activities for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $321 million, a 48 percent decrease compared to $622 million for the same period of 2007.
• Free cash flow for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $219 million, a 34 percent decrease compared to $330 million for the same period of 2007.
• Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $303 million or $0.22 per diluted share compared to net income of $206 million or $0.15 per diluted share for the same period of 2007.
• Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $238 million or $0.17 per diluted share compared to non-GAAP net income of $184 million or $0.13 per diluted share for the same period of 2007.

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After market close Tuesday, IBM reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit that rose 12 percent year over year and said it expects its earnings for 2009 to surpass current estimates. IBM believes it will earn at least $9.20 a share in 2009, while analysts have been betting on $8.75.

IBM (IBM) reported net income of $4.43 billion, or $3.28 a share, up from $3.95 billion, or $2.80 a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for $3.03 on revenue of $28.15 billion.

In a statement–which included no mention of rumored layoffs–chief executive Samuel Palmisano said IBM “performed well in an extremely difficult economic environment.” And indeed it did, thanks in large part to its software business, whose revenues rose three percent during the quarter.

Clearly, the six or so acquisitions IBM used to bolster that business in 2008 were prudent and may well have protected the company from the downturn that hampered its other divisions. Said Palmisano, “Clearly our strategic transformation–migrating to the more profitable segments of the industry, investing in growth regions of the world, and driving productivity through global integration–is continuing to pay dividends. With our strong financial position, solid recurring revenue and profit streams and global reach, we are confident about 2009 and, based on our 2008 performance, we are ahead of pace on our roadmap for $10 to $11 per share.”

And with that, IBM painted a grinning happy face on the current downturn. Question now is, will it survive the week….

A remarkable metric, given the economic downturn. How is it that gaming is thriving at a time when the global financial crisis is squeezing wallets? “There are a couple of reasons,” Ron Meiners, director of community for the Hollywood Interactive Group, recently told News.com. “One is the traditional value of entertainment during tough economic times. Like the great fantastic musicals in the 30s. Movies did great, because they took people’s mind off of the troubles they were facing. [And] videogames have great value as entertainment. The number of hours of solid entertainment that comes from a videogame purchase is much greater than a movie, for example, for very comparable cost.”

Looks like Sue was right, and the road to which he referred was a short one. The struggling telecom company has hired counsel to explore a bankruptcy filing, The Wall Street Journal reports. Nortel, well aware what such reports can do to investor confidence, insists that no such filing is imminent. The company does, however, acknowledge that it has engaged advisers to help it weather the current economic storm. Just who has Nortel hired? Word on the street says Lazard Ltd. and law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

Grim news for Nortel, which has spent the past several years trying to recover from the general downturn in the telecom industry and a nasty accounting scandal. With apparently very little success.

In a statement Wednesday, the company said, “Nortel is hard at work reshaping the business to even better serve our customers. There are those who fuel negative speculation, but there are many more who believe that Nortel has put in place the necessary plans to strengthen our financial footing and reset our cost base.”

Still, the PC industry is feeling the effect of the economic meltdown. “The U.S. home market saw definite softness,” said Gartner analyst Mika Kitagawa. “The global PC market finally felt the impact from global economic downturn.”

The fastest growing computer segment in the quarter: mini-notebooks. “The mini-notebook segment experienced strong growth in the global PC, led by robust growth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region,” said Kitagawa. “In the North America market, the economic crunch created more interest in the sub-$500 segment. Because the mini-notebook is still a new segment, it is too early to determine if the emerging segment created new market opportunities or if it cannibalized lower priced systems.”

Seems the volatility in the world’s economy hasn’t undermined interest in new PCs so much as refocused it on a new category.

One last point worth noting here, in light of Tuesday MacBook event. Apple (AAPL) continues to exceed industry growth in laptop sales. As Apple COO Tim Cook noted yesterday, “Several quarters in a row, we’ve been growing two to three times the market growth.”