Q4 revenue rose 36%, year over year, to $219 million, ahead of the average $178.4 million estimate of analysts, yielding profit per share of 34 cents versus 22 cents expected.

Gross profit as a percentage of sales held steady, year over year, at 31%, the company said.

For the current quarter, the company sees revenue of $195 million to $205 million versus the average $176 million estimate.

Revenue in the quarter was “a record in any quarter” for Netgear, chair and CEO Patrick Lo commented in the press release. Saying the company was “extremely pleased” with the results, Lo observed that revenue upside came from “better than planned market share gain in the U.S., European market year-over-year growth and higher than expected revenue contribution from new products.”

Netgear’s business from telecom service providers rose to 28% of sales, the company said, up from 25% in the prior quarter and 18% a year earlier.

The company ended the quarter with $247 million in cash and equivalents, up from $203 million a year earlier.

– Tiernan Ray, Barrons.com

In late trading, FNSR is up 42 cents, or 4.1%, to $10.60.

The company, which makes discrete and analog semiconductors, posted Q4 revenue of $130.3 million, up 50% from a year ago and 7% sequentially, and ahead of the Street at $129 million. Non-GAAP EPS of 36 cents beat the Street at 29 cents.

For Q1, the company sees revenue of $131 million to $137 million, ahead of the Street at $125.5 million.

In late trading, DIOD is up 11 cents, or 0.6%, to $18.

For Q1, the company expects revenue of $55 million, a bit ahead of the Street at $54.4 million. For all of 2010, the company sees revenue up 18%, which implies $231.96 million, in line with the Street at $231.91 million.

In late trading, ULTI is unchanged at $28.84.

• C.L. King analyst Lawrence Harris this morning upped his rating on the stock to Strong Buy from Accumulate, lifting his target price to $10, from $8. He raised his FY 2010 EPS forecast to 40 cents, from 32 cents. Harris notes in a report this morning that the company is seeing signs of increasing demand for fiber-optic projects in multiple geographic regions, including China.  Harris said there has been concern that the company would be hurt by slower spending at Verizon on FiOS, but that it now appears fiber-optic back-haul projects, enterprise spending and broadband stimulus programs should offset the Verizon issue.
• Avondale Partners analyst Blair King today upped his rating to Outperform from Market Perform, while keeping an $8 price target. He upped his FY 2010 EPS forecast to 44 cents from 18 cents; for FY 2011 he goes to 76 cents from 49 cents. King cited ongoing momentum in revenue growth and improved operating leverage for the more bullish stance. “With improved economic conditions worldwide, we expect stable carrier spending to result in sustained revenue growth and reduced top-line variability, as the pace of international [optical fiber] roll-outs, stimulus and venue-driven wireless capacity and expansion business accelerates on decelerating op ex.”

ADCT today is up $1.12, or 20.8%, to $6.50.

In a research note, Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill notes that gross margin in the quarter was 19.9%, well below his estimate of 27%-30%; gross margin guidance for the March quarter also disappointed. Gill keeps a Buy rating on the stock, and sees gross margin recovery in the second half.

But investors are not encouraged: TRID is down 32 cents, or 17.7%, to $1.49.

The company reported revenue of $74.3 million, an EPS loss of 13 cents and EBITDA of $19.8 million; the Street had been looking for $75.1 million, a loss of 8 cents and EBITDA of $20.1 million.

For FY Q4, the company is forecasting revenue of $80.1 million to $85.1 million and EBITDA of $25.4 million to $30.4 million. For FY 2011, TMRK expects revenue of $335 million to $340 million and EBITDA of $95 million to $100 million; the Street had been looking for $348.6 million in revenue and $108.4 million in EBITDA.

Ergo, TMRK is down$1.13, or 14.5%, to $6.66.

PALM today is down 44 cents, or 4.5%, to $9.40.

The new feature adds a Twitter-like status update system, so you have a new way you can tell everyone what you had for lunch, or point them to the cool new videos you just found on YouTube.

The Journal is live blogging today’s launch.

GOOG today is up $3.99, or 0.8%, to $537.46.

The company is getting battered by a number of simultaneous issues. This isn’t just an EA problem; consumer spending on video gaming is still lackluster, judging by the disappointing Q4 sales at GameStop (GME), the industry’s leading retailer, and similarly crummy results at Take-Two (TTWO) and THQ (THQI).

Consumers also are shifting some of their gaming attention to offerings on mobile devices and social networks, which tend to be low-cost or free and ad-supported. While the company began to address the issue via the acquisition of social-gaming provider Playfish, the deal still leaves online gaming as a small part of overall revenue at the company. And there’s one other factor to consider: the current generation of console games are getting a long in the tooth; Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360 launched in 2005, while the Sony (SNE) Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii debuted in 2006. You have to wonder if game players getting a little, well, bored with them.

The Street today slashed estimates and price targets for EA; two analysts cut ratings. Here’s a rundown:

• Sean McGowan, Needham: Rating to Hold, from Buy. “Given the growth implicit in our current estimates, we no longer see enough upside in the shares over the next year to warrant recommending purchase,” he writes. For the March 2010 year, he now sees EPS of 45 cents, down from 50 cents; for 2011, he goes to 50 cents, from $1. McGowan thinks the stock represents a potential value trap. “Until the company demonstrates the ability to show growth at or above expectations, we doubt the stock will garner a P/E high enough to push the stock well beyond its current range.”
• F. Drake Johnstone, Davenport & Co.: Rating to Sell, from Hold. He notes that despite the Playfish deal, the company expects FY 2010 digital revenue of only $575 million, or about 14% of revenue. “Given that Electronic Arts remains significantly under-exposed to the high growth online video game sector and the company expects to underperform the global video game industry in calendar 2010,” he cut the rating.
• Colin Sebastian, Lazard Capital: He notes that the weak forecast reflects “continued soft industry trends and a company still transitioning its product portfolio and business model.” Maintains a Hold rating.
• Jess Lubert, Wells Fargo Securities: Repeats Market Perform rating. “Given the difficult retail backdrop, coupled with EA’s premium valuation versus key peers, we remain cautious on the stock pending further evidence the business has stabilized and is positioned for growth.”

Note that there are still quite a few ERTS bulls:

• Evan Wilson, Pacific Crest: “Now that this guidance is out of the way, it will be more difficult for EA to disappoint investors for at least a few months,” he writes. “We were wrong in how early we expected sentiment (and numbers) to bottom. Nevertheless, we do expect a turn, and we think ERTS will benefit.”
• Andrey Glukhov, Bream Murray: Cuts target to $20, from $22, buy keeps Buy rating, and advises adding to positions on the downturn, and says guidance looks conservative.
• Atui Bagga, ThinkEquity: Keeps his Buy rating, and says the company has taken “an over-conservative approach” to guidance. He contends the low targets, improving economy, leaner costs and  better product quality set the stage for upside in FY 2011.
• Brian Pitz, UBS: Cuts target to $20, from $23, but keeps Buy rating, and says that “the company’s focus on quality games with a leaner cost structure should provide significant EPS growth in FY11.”
• Michael Pachter, Wedbush: Cuts target to $20, from $23, but keeps Buy rating. “EA has missed expectations badly for two years running, and we think that company guidance is realistically conservative.”

ERTS today is down $1.74, or 10%, to $15.75.

Earlier today, I noted that Bernstein Research this morning raised its rating on Verizon (VZ), in part based on the potential for the carrier to eventually wrest at least part of the iPhone business away from Ma Bell. But not everyone is convinced that broader U.S. distribution for the phone is coming quickly.

Pacific Crest analyst Steve Clement today writes that the outlook for extending AT&T’s exclusive distribution deal may be improving. He offers three bits of evidence:

• “The tone from Apple is improving,” and of course it is more than just tone, given they are the initial provider of of connectivity for the iPad.
• Wireless margin guidance was conservative.
• Capex guidance was aggressive.

Clement says he thinks current Street estimates largely assume AT&T will keep exclusivity through 2010; if that changes, he thinks there would be earnings upside but revenue downside. At the same time, he thinks the Street’s expectations on post-paid sub growth at around 3 million could be too high, even with iPhone exclusivity maintained.  That said, Clement maintains his Outperform rating, asserting that the company has the potential for long-term margin expansion.

Barclays Capital analyst Vijay Jayant today repeated his Equal Weight rating on AT&T, while trimming his 2010 EPS forecast to $2.19 from $2.26 to reflect margin pressure on the wireline business. Somewhat contradictorily, he adds that there is potential upside to estimates from higher smart phone penetration, iPad exclusivity and limited pension expenses. He concludes, though, that “the investor overhang still appears to center around the prospect for eventually losing iPhone exclusivity” and what that would mean for the wireless business.

T today is up 36 cents, or 1.4%, to $25.34.

Abarmsky writes in a research note that “competitive risks are lowering,” and earnings visibility is improving. “With valuation now below peers, we are now recommending the shares, foreseeing further upside on pending catalysts. He thinks the company market opportunity has been expanded by rising demand for wireless connected devices. And he thinks there will be a significant product cycle ahead as 4G service rolls out from the telcos, with the first products likely to consist of combined 3G/4G adapters.

SWIR today is up 95 cents, or 8.5%, to $12.12.

• Fortinet: Auty notes that the stock is down 21% in the last month, dropping its EV/FCF multiple to 16x, a level low enough “given its growth prospects to warrant buying the stock.” He notes that the company is a leader in the unified threat management sector, “one of security’s fastest growing spaces.” He has a $20 price target on the stock, which yesterday closed at $15.90.
• SonicWall: The analyst notes that the company, which provides security software to the SMB market, has been “creeping up market” with its higher end solutions. The result, he writes, should be “improving license and subscription revenue” just as the small business environment picks up. He thinks the current valuation “understates the true value of the franchise.” His price target on the stock is $10; yesterday, it closed at $7.22.

In today’s trading:

• FTNT is up 59 cents, or 3.7%, to $16.49.
• SNWL is up 38 cents, or 5.3%, to $7.60.

The site will continue to be run by founder Michelle Leder. Some of the site’s content will be offered on Morningstar’s web page. The site will also shift to the URL Footnoted.com.

Moffett notes that both Verizon and AT&T (T) underperformed the market over the last 12 months, as the market recognized “the immense challenges facing the telecom sector.” But he adds that “the secular challenges facing the telecom industry are, by now, well understood” by investors. And he contends that valuations are now “far less challenging than their lofty above-average multiples of this time last year.” Verizon, he notes, started 2009 trading at a premium to the market of as much as 12%, but now trades at a discount of more than 13%.

The Bernstein analyst says falling capital investment has resulted in higher free cash flow at both Verizon and AT&T, giving both stocks more free cash flow support than a year ago.

One key differentiator between the two companies, he notes, has been AT&T’s exclusive hold on the Apple (AAPL) iPhone, which “has sustained AT&T’s wireless subscriber growth,” as well as its wireless ARPU growth. “Whether or not Verizon gets the iPhone, absent iPhone exclusivity AT&T’s growth engine would sputter, raising profound questions about the prospect for, and sustainability of, growth for the company overall.” He concludes that “iPhone-related risk now favors Verizon.”

Were Verizon to get the iPhone, he contends “subscriber growth would swing decisively from AT&T to Verizon.” In fact, he thinks AT&T would initially report net subscriber declines.

Moffett notes that risks for the socks still remain, including the potential for rising interest rates; he also warns that valuation for the telcos - with their fat dividends - could be affected by any change in dividend tax rates.

Moffett upped his target on VZ to $27, from $25; for AT&T he goes to $25, from $24.

He maintains his Underperform rating on Sprint (S), and Outperform ratings on both Leap Wireless (LEAP) and Metro PCS (PCS).

In today’s trading:

• VZ is up 53 cents, or 1.9%, to $28.90.
• T is up 16 cents, or 0.6%, to $25.14.

Now, here’s a retailer that had an extremely nasty holiday season.

Conn’s (CONN), a Texas-based chain that sells consumer electronics, furniture, mattresses and other goods in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, this morning announced highly disappointing results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended January 31.

The company reported sales for the quarter of $171 million, down 30.3% from a year ago; same store sales were down 31.7%. Consumer electronics sales were hurt by an 18.7% drop in flat-panel TV unit sales, which the company blamed on a later date for the Super Bowl this year. The Street has been forecasting revenue for the quarter of $231.2 million.

Conn’s said sales were affected by more challenging economic conditions than a year ago, tighter credit underwriting conditions, and benefits a year ago from both the shutdown of Circuit City and the aftermath of hurricanes in September 2008.

CONN this morning is down 71 cents, or 13.3%, to $4.63.

“Despite what seems to be an exceedingly exciting valuation and improving product line up, we worry thatwe have been and will continue to be in a value trap, where even better results do not expand the multiple,” he writes in a research note. Balter says a number of factors could keep the company’s multiple from expanding, including aggressive pricing from Wal-Mart (WMT), Amazon.com (AMZN) and others, weakness in the catalog business as casual gamers find entertainment alternatives, increasing use of digital downloads and aggressive expansion plans.

Balter says downside is limited, with the stock under 8x his 2010 EPS estimate of $2.60, and management likely to buy back shares. “That said, signs of stabilizing margins and how the company can grow margins again are key, as well as signs of improving secular trends particularly outside just the core gamer and handful of AAA titles each year,” he writes.

GME is down $1.08, or 5.5%,to $18.61.

CTSH posted revenue of $902.7 million and non-GAAP profits of 50 cents a share; the Street had been expecting $888.4 million and 46 cents.

For Q1, the company sees $935 million and 52 cents, ahead of the Street at $912.6 million and 47 cents.

And for 2010, CTSH sees $3.935 billion and $2.19 a share, exceeding the Street at $3.92 billion and $2.01.

The company said it adding more than 10,300 jobs in the latest quarter, increasing head count to 78,400.

CTSH this morning is up $1.26, or 2.9%, to $45.

The company reported revenue of $367.2 million, ahead of the Street at $339.6 million; adjusted EPS of 20 cents a share was two cents better than the consensus at 18 cents. Revenue in the search segment, which accounts for about half of revenue, was up 3%.

Since October 27, IACI has repurchased 15.8 million shares for $311.3 million, an average price of $19.75.

On a GAAP basis, the company posted a loss of $1.01 billion, including a $991.9 million impairment charge on the value of Ask.com.

IACI this morning is up 64 cents, or 3%, to $21.80.

The passive electronic components producer reported revenue for the quarter of $607 million, ahead of the Street at $591 million; adjusted EPS of 16 cents topped the consensus at 12 cents.

For Q1, the company sees revenue of $630 million to $670 million, ahead of the Street at $594.6 million.

VSH this morning is up 3 cents at $8.10.