This month, the company’s top product developer and co-founder, Andreas von Bechtolsheim, left as chief architect to become chairman and chief development officer at a start-up company. And the global financial crisis is pounding the company as Wall Street and telecommunications customers, which make up an estimated 40 percent of Sun’s sales, have collapsed or curtailed technology spending.

Image Jonathan I. Schwartz, Sun Microsystems chief executive, says weakness in the broader economy is hurting his company. Credit... Kimberly White/Reuters

Sun’s results were announced after the market close. Shares closed at $5.29 in regular trading Thursday, up nearly 10 percent, giving the company a market value of about $4 billion despite annual sales of about $14 billion. The low market capitalization, combined with Sun’s vast intellectual property portfolio and $2 billion in cash, suggest to some observers that Sun needs to do something drastic to bring out its shareholder value. Options include going private with the help of supportive investors or selling its old-line server business to its partner, Fujitsu.

Sun moved Thursday to placate Wall Street by disclosing more information than usual about its various product lines, showing strong growth with some of its more radical server designs and traditionally slow-selling storage products. It also hinted at impending layoffs.

It is unclear if that is enough to satisfy some of Sun’s largest investors. “They need to cut,” said Chris Whitmore, an analyst with Deutsche Bank.

Over the last few months, Southeastern Asset Management, a Memphis investment firm run by O. Mason Hawkins, has acquired more than 20 percent of the company. Southeastern has said it expects to actively engage in discussions with Sun’s management and third parties about the company’s future.

In a rare public comment, Jason E. Dunn, a vice president at Southeastern, said Thursday that “competitors and bears” have highlighted Sun’s low stock price, while ignoring its cash, the value of Sun’s technology assets and its chances to cut costs. “We are seeking the best ways to capitalize on Sun’s large intrinsic value,” Mr. Dunn said.

Sun’s woes stem in part from declining sales of servers that run the Unix operating system  a long-shrinking market dominated by Sun, I.B.M. and Hewlett-Packard. Sun has poured billions of dollars into new products meant to offset these losses, but many of the products are a year or more late to market.