http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/samsung-overtakes-hp-as-the-worlds-largest-tech-firm/19336992/
SAMSUNG OVERTAKES HP AS THE WORLD’s
LARGEST TECH FIRM
The New ‘Big Blue‘
Hewlett-Packard
has lost its crown as the world’s largest tech company based on
revenue. Samsung posted 2009 sales of $117 billion, about $3 billion
more than HP for the last fiscal year. According to the Financial Times,
Samsung “is expected to surpass its US rival again this year – its 2010
sales are forecast at $127bn, compared with $120bn from HP.”Samsung won
the top spot due to improvements in LCD sales and growth in demand for
memory chips. Its move into first place among global tech firms is all
the more impressive because some of HP’s growth came from its
acquisition of EDS, the information-technology consulting firm.
Of
course, first place in an industry can have its disadvantages. Three
years ago, GM was the No.1 car company in the world; last year it filed
for Chapter 11. Toyota (TM) took the top spot among auto firms and is
now under tremendous pressure to fix gas pedal problems on nearly 8
million cars worldwide.But for Samsung, so far so good, though it has
had quality problems of its own, such as last year’s recall of a small
number of cellphones that might fail to complete “911” calls.Making it
to the top of an industry is good for bragging rights and boosts morale
— until there’s a problem. And those almost always hit without warning.