Technology Takeaways: Earnings Show Solid Performance from IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Google

Bellwether technology companies that are tops in their sector - IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Google - have now reported their final 2011 results.

What are some of the key takeaways?

The technology sector appears to be weathering the Eurozone crisis. Already seen in earlier reports from Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Oracle, U.S. technology leaders that derive as much as one-third of revenue from Europe are doing well.

IBM, for example, reported European sales actually rose 1 percent. Even in a recession, governments and businesses order tech products to boost productivity.

New investment will keep products fresh. Intel, which only now is starting to ship its latest-generation chips, plans to spend more than $10 billion on research and development this year; IBM said it spent more than $6.2 billion on research in 2011.

Because the leaders have so much cash, there's fuel in the pipeline to refresh new laptops, servers, supercomputers, tablets and smartphones. Watch how much cash Apple has when it reports on Tuesday.

Don't discount Google. The No. 1 search engine looks like its shares will take a pounding Friday due to an apparent miss on both earnings and revenue. But overall revenue rose 25 percent to a record $10.6 billion, while net income was $3.5 billion. That's a very profitable business. As well, Google Plus attracted 90 million customers on only six months. That's about 10 percent of Facebook. Fast growth is good business.

Indeed, because Google derives most of its revenue outside the U.S., currency issues shaved nearly $400 million from net income. So that needs to be factored in.

Google shares have already fallen 8 percent in pre-market trading, wiping out $25.8 billion in market capitalization. That will hurt shareholders, especially CEO Larry Page and co-founder Sergey Brin, but may actually be a mask for only a one-time issue.

Apple, in its fourth quarter report, also missed estimates, sending its shares lower. On Thursday, ahead of earnings, they set an all-time high of $431.37.