The ailing manufacturer of the Palm Treo lineup has taken yet another hit to its market-stance. After having pulled development of the Flop-eo (sorry, that’s Foleo), Palm seems to be navigating rougher waters. Palm’s shares took a dive today after an announcement that a shipping delay, coupled with “unforeseen” warranty repairs, would cause Palm to see a Q4 2007 loss.
Palm has already seen a 35% loss since closing their deal with Elevation Partners, and has just dropped another 18% to trade at $5.41 in early-hours trading. Stiff competition from RIM and Apple were cited to be largely contributing to the company’s loss of market share, and by extension, losses on the stock market. The Palm Treo has seen a declining market share while RIM’s BlackBerry lineup has been booming – and Apple’s iPhone has presented another major detractor to Palm’s marketshare. Hopefully the new OS will help boost Palm’s lagging position on the smartphone front. If it ever arrives, that is.
Palm might do well to consider selling another bunk-stake in the company in exchange for another cash-infusion? It wouldn’t be a good deal for the investor, but Palm needs the money. Any charity investors out there?
[Via: MarketWatch]