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"Overall, we believe quality technology stocks offer above-average growth potential and attractive valuations," says Gregory Dorsey.

In Stephen Leeb's The Complete Investor, he explains, "International Business Machines(NYSE: IBM) has plowed ahead despite a daunting economic and business environment; we are adding the stock to our Growth & Income Portfolio."

"For prudent investors in this challenging economy, most of the major technology companies are financially solid, often with little or no debt and lots of cash on their books. This makes them good long-term vehicles even if the economy remains off the rails for a prolonged period.

For NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP), yesterday was fairly eventful. Not only did the company announce its Q4 earnings but also a $1.5 billion deal to purchase rival storage maker, Data Domain (NASDAQ: DDUP). The transaction comes to $25 per share.

No doubt, NetApp needs to find growth, as CFOs tighten information technology (IT) budgets. Keep in mind that Q4 revenues fell 6.2% to $879.6 million.

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) had a weak Q2. According to the earnings release that was issued on Tuesday after the close of trading, revenues declined 3% on an adjusted basis.

If you strip out currency effects, then you get a gain of 3% on the top line. Either way, I'm not excited. And here's something else that wasn't so thrilling. Earnings per share on an adjusted basis came in at 86 cents. Last year at this time, Hewlett-Packard generated 87 cents per share. Not a great comparison.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) reported dismal Q1 numbers as same-store sales plunged.
• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) dismal Q2 results were in line with analysts' expectations.
• Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) reported lower earnings and revenue for Q1 and offered no guidance.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) earnings, revenue, and same-store sales all fell in the first quarter.
• Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) Q1 earnings declined but still topped analysts' expectations.

"International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) provides a good mix of rising earnings estimates, worldwide exposure and a safe dividend," says analyst Alex Kolb from Zacks Research.

"IBM was incorporated in the State of New York in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co., changing its name to International Business Machines Corporation in 1924.

"And with the strength of its global on-demand model, IBM is experiencing strong revenue growth in all geographies, with robust growth in emerging markets worldwide.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported strong Q1 results easily beat expectations.
• Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, helped by home refinancing.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported its first quarterly loss since 1992 and cut its revenue outlook.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted Q1 earnings that were in line with expectations, but shares fell.
• eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings despite a decline in sales.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), a company in the same league as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), reported earnings for the third quarter on Thursday after the bell. The company was able to meet the expectations of analysts. Which is a good thing, since last quarter the iconic software business issued a miss.

On an adjusted basis, Microsoft made 39 cents per share. As I said in my earnings preview, analysts were looking for that precise amount. Although Wall Street always wants to see companies go beyond expectations, I suppose we can be at least a little happy over this result. Microsoft is hurting, after all.

• Jefferies upgraded Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD) to Buy from Hold on expectations expanding OEM partnerships, new products and entry into new markets will drive long-term growth. The firm's channel checks indicate the first phase of an IBM (NYSE: IBM) deal for ethernet products will be announced next week. Jefferies raised its target price on the stock to $6 from $3.50.
  
• JMP Securities upgraded Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) to Market Perform from Underperform citing the potential settlement with Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM). The firm said Broadcom has far more to gain than Qualcomm has to lose.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Air Products (NYSE: APD) and Praxair (NYSE: PX) to Buy from Hold on expectations that an improvement in customer operating rates will benefit gas companies. The firm raised its target price on Air Products to $70 from $55 and on Praxair to $79 from $63.
  
• Royal Bank of Scotland upgraded BP Plc (NYSE: BP) to Buy from Hold to reflect its dividend yield at current levels.
• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was raised to Outperform from Underperform at RBC Capital.
  
• T. Rowe Price (NYSE: TROW) was upgraded at Sandler O'Neill to Hold from Sell.
  
• Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was lifted to Neutral from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is set to report third-quarter earnings today after the close of trading. Analysts expect the software giant, whose competitors include IBM (NYSE: IBM), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), to earn 39 cents per share. Let's hope for a beat since Microsoft generated several pennies more per share in the previous year's similar quarter.

I don't feel a lot of confidence about this quarter. I'm sure everyone remembers Q2 back in January of this year. Microsoft released its earnings earlier than expected, but it wasn't to report great news. Instead, the company missed on the bottom line. Plus, management announced some workforce reductions. It wasn't a pleasant sight. The stock sold off, and shareholders felt miserable.

IBM (NYSE: IBM), whose colleagues include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), reported a very nice first quarter after the bell on Monday. To my way of thinking, at least. Wall Street was a little disappointed. In the after-hours session, shares were off well over 1%.

Don't look to earnings as the catalyst for the disappointment. IBM earned $1.70 per diluted share, and according to Reuters, that beat expectations by three pennies. The problem had to do with the top line. The same source said that the market was looking for $22.6 billion in net sales.

Unfortunately, IBM delivered only $21.7 billion in revenues. That represented an 11% drop if you don't exclude currency effects (excluding them gives you a decline of 4%, which sounds a lot better, certainly).

Today's announcement that Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) would acquire Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) for $7.4 billion worth of cash left me scratching my head. The rationale? Something that Oracle's president calls non-GAAP earnings. Does this mean that Oracle's first acquisition of a hardware company makes strategic sense? I don't know.

I am not sure what non-GAAP earnings are, but it sounds like it is a special kind of accounting meant to justify a deal that would not look good on a GAAP basis. Safra Catz, Oracle's president, estimates that on a non-GAAP basis, the deal will add $1.5 billion in "non-GAAP operating profit" in the first year and $2 billion to that new measure in future years.

Most investors consider Dell Computer (NASDAQ: DELL) a dog of a company. Since the firm's founder, Michael Dell, took over as CEO, his only real skill seems to be cutting costs. The firm has lost market share in the PC category and is behind companies like Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) in the server business.