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S&P lowers Sun's credit rating

Headshot of Stephen Shankland
Headshot of Stephen Shankland
Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors | Semiconductors | Web browsers | Quantum computing | Supercomputers | AI | 3D printing | Drones | Computer science | Physics | Programming | Materials science | USB | UWB | Android | Digital photography | Science Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
Stephen Shankland
Standard & Poore's lowered its credit rating of Sun Microsystems from BBB to BB+, the rating and risk evaluation company said Friday. "The downgrade reflects weak and inconsistent profitability and our expectation that Sun will be challenged to profitably expand its market presence," credit analyst Martha Toll-Reed said in a statement. Sun makes powerful networked computers called servers but is diversifying with new lower-end models and with software and services.

S&P put Sun on its "credit watch" list in October, signaling that Sun's rating could slip. Sun has a "good but not leading position" in the market for servers, offset somewhat by moderate debt of $1.3 billion and ample cash and marketable securities expected to stay in excess of $3 billion, S&P said.

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