Business, Financial & Legal - Page 105

In a recently issued press release, technology giant Apple bragged a fiscal 2015 third quarter pull of $49.6 billion in revenue and $10.7 billion profit, measuring in at $1.85 per diluted share.

Compared to this time last year when Apple was pulling in $37.4 billion in revenue and a net profit of $7.7 billion, CEO Tim Cook is obviously happy with the results. With the hike explained as gaining assistance thanks to "iPhone revenue [being] up 59 percent" when compared to last year, the "strong sales of Mac, [and] all-time record revenue from services, driven by the App Store, and a great start for Apple Watch" all played a part, said Cook.

Set with eyes on the future, Cook further commented that customers should expect iOS 9, OS X EL Capitan and watchOS2 this coming fall.

If the latest report from The Wall Street Journal turns out to be true, Qualcomm could be the next big tech giant to look at a strategic split. The company is reportedly in the process of a sweeping review that would look at the possibilities of breaking up into pieces.

In the recent months, Jana partners LLC has been asking Qualcomm to cut costs, repurchase shares at a faster rate, add new members to its board of directors, and explore a break up, after it was revealed it had a $2 billion stake in Qualcomm. The strategic split would see Qualcomm cutting up and separating its chip production business from its patent-licensing arm.

Qualcomm is expected to report its fiscal Q3 results on Wednesday, and according to The Information, the company will lay off around 10% of its global workforce, resulting in 3000 jobs being cut.

PayPal has just made its second debut on the NASDAQ this morning, with trading opening up at $41.46, reaching the heights of $42.55, before floating down to $41.03. PayPal Holdings Inc. now has a market value of just above $50 billion.

The company was founded back in 1998 under the name Confinity, with the company developing security software for early personal digital assistants (PDAs). The businesses didn't reach the success that its founders hoped, but it did inspire them to create the company that would eventually be used by tens of millions across the world; PayPal.

Confinity eventually merged with Elon Musk's X.com, where it was soon named PayPal. The company went public in 2002 under the ticker PYPL, opening at $13 per share. But with considerable tie-ins with eBay, it made sense that eBay would acquire PayPal later that year for a swift $1.5 billion. PayPal quickly turned into the electronic money transfer platform it is today, but it was activist investor Carl Icahn that urged that eBay split PayPal into a separately traded company.

Toshiba is in some serious trouble right now, with its CEO and President, Hisao Tanaka, leaving the company after the Japanese electronics giant is attempting to recover from its $1.2 billion in profits being discovered as being false.

Tanaka and two other executives have announced their resignations, with the three taking responsibility for the scandal. An independent investigation found that management had lied about operating profits over a six-year period so that Toshiba could meet its internal targets, all of which started in 2008, the year the GFC hit.

Masashi Muromachi, Toshiba's current Chairman, will reportedly fill the CEO role for the time being, where he'll also appoint a new management team. Toshiba has now lost a total of eight high-level executives in this scandal, with the company estimating a $442 million write down, but this estimate was very wrong, with it now ballooning out to almost triple that number.

Boasting revenues of $13.2 billion, an operating income of $2.9 billion, a net income of $2.7 billion and an EPS of 55 cents, Intel posted up impressive Q2 2015 results. These figures show what Intel CEO Brian Krzanich claims to be a "transformation of our business as growth in data center, memory and IoT accounted for more than 70 percent of our operating profit."

Naming the PC market as "challenging," Krzanich further explained that "the launches of Skylake, Microsoft's Windows 10 and new OEM systems will bring excitement to client computing in the second half of 2015." As for further reports, Intel generated around $3.4 billion in cash from operations, it paid dividends of $1.1 billion and used $697 million in order to repurchase 22 million shares of stock.

Looking forward to the third quarter, Intel expects to see a revenue of $14.3 billion, plus or minus $500 million. They also expect to spend $4.9 billion on R&D and MG&A combined.

Acer has revealed that its revenue for Q2 have dropped by a huge 30%, but the company is hoping that these numbers won't stay low for long, especially with the release of Windows 10 right around the corner on July 29.

The company is hoping that the sales of its upcoming 2-in-1s, Chromebooks, and gaming notebooks will help those numbers in Q3. Windows 10-based laptops, desktops, and other products will also spur sales, too. But with Acer kicking some serious ass with its NVIDIA G-Sync powered XB270HU monitor, I don't see why the company isn't pushing into the gaming sector more.

The 27-inch 1440p IPS-based panel has a 144Hz refresh rate, but is mostly in the dark when it comes to marketing. The ASUS ROG Swift gets all of the gaming love, but if Acer can push its upcoming 34-inch 3440x1440 ultrawide monitor with G-Sync technology right, things could really swing in Acer's favor later this year.

Logitech has just announced that it has changed its name, which is quite the shock, as it feels so sudden. From here on out, Logitech is now known as "Logi". Why? Because "tech is everywhere".

Logi's VP of Brand Development, Charlotte Johs, told Gizmodo: "Tech is in the air you breathe...it's in your clothes...in the future, 'tech' doesn't say anything". But where did the name 'Logi' come from? Johs says that it is thanks to its most popular product, the Boom series of Bluetooth speakers, as it is the company's first Logi-inspired piece of tech.

The Logitech name won't be disappearing instantly, with the Logitech brand staying on products like mice, keyboards, and speakers - at least, for now. Logi will be the name that will be used for products as we move into the future.

Microsoft has just announced that it is cutting a huge 7,800 jobs from its phone business, while it also writes off $7.6 billion in relation to its acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services Division. Considering Microsoft paid $7.2 billion for Nokia's phone business last year, this is quite the check to write.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, explains: "We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem including our first-party device family. In the near-term, we'll run a more effective and focused phone portfolio while retaining capability for long-term reinvention in mobility".

Keep in mind Nadella said back in April that there would be 18,000 job cuts in the next 12 months, these additional 7,800 job losses will add up to over 25,000 employees laid off by Microsoft in just over a 12-month period.

Facebook hasn't just announced its new Fort Worth, Texas-based data center, but it has also said that it plans to power 50% of its data centers with renewable energy by 2018.

The new Fort Worth-based data center is 100% powered by wind energy, but the new plan of 50% of its data centers being green is good to see, especially when we think that the social networking giant wants to see 25% of its data centers powered by renewable energy by the end of the year.

In the end, Facebook wants to see all of its data centers powered by renewable energy, so it has quite the task ahead of them. The company has worked with Citi Energy, Starwood Energy, and Alterra Power in order to deliver a 17,000 acre wind farm online for its new Fort Worth data center, which will see 200MW of energy pumped into Texas.

Even with the release of two flagship smartphones, Samsung is expecting its operating profits to be down this quarter. The company expected to make $6.3 billion for the three-month period, but will most likely end up wrapping up the quarter with $6.1 billion instead.

This is a 4.2% drop to the same period of 2014, but it represents the seventh straight quarter in a row that Samsung has had profit drops, where it is finding it hard to compete against Apple in the high-end market, and Chinese rival Xiaomi in the low and mid-range markets. The Galaxy S6 was meant to represent a big change for Samsung, and while the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge were received well by reviewers and consumers, it doesn't look like it was enough to pull Samsung's profits up.

Samsung expected the normal Galaxy S6 to sell four-to-one units compared to the S6 edge, but the S6 edge ended up being the most-wanted out of the two, leading Samsung into shortages. Before it could produce more handsets, stock shortages started happening, which led to Samsung losing many more sales than it could've had. Now the company has more S6 units on hand than it wanted, and can't get them out of the door quick enough, leading the company with the possibility of reducing the price on the S6 to boost sales.

AMD has launched its new first flagship video card in nearly two years, the Radeon R9 Fury X, and even still it's looking down the barrel of yet another quarter of disappointing financial results.

The chipmaker is expected to announce its Q2 results on July 16, with numbers that are said to be lower than even the worst estimates by analysts. AMD's Q2 sales have reportedly underperformed the worst estimates by analysts, and that investors are to expect revenue to be down 8% sequentially.

AMD's total revenue for Q1 was $1.03 billion, down 26.3% from the same period of 2014. If AMD's Q2 results are lower than this, in the $950 million mark, it would be a drop of around 34% from Q2 2014. Why? Well, according to AMD it's because of "weaker than expected consumer PC demand" but with AMD's dropping market share in the discrete GPU market, and NVIDIA securing a large chunk of it after it launched its GeForce GTX 980 late last year, I'd say it was the lack of any new products that saw sales slump, for AMD at least.

The latest competitor in the streaming music market, Apple Music, publicly launched on June 30 - and received quite a bit of media attention. The streaming music service and the Beats 1 live radio station may not win over users from Spotify, but will give other music listeners another option - $9.99 per account, or $14.99 for a family plan.

It looks like the service won't be a source of major revenue, and is expected to amount to less than 1 percent - around $1.8 billion - towards Apple's revenue next year.

"Apple Music matters because music is fundamental to the mobile phone experience," Gene Munster, analyst at Piper Jaffra, in a statement published by CNET. "Interestingly, Apple Music will also be available on Android and Windows, which doesn't matter from a revenue standpoint, but could help Apple attract incremental iPhone buyers from competitive platforms."

Prince is only a fan of Jay-Z's Tidal music streaming, as his representatives have asked for his music to be removed from Spotify, Apple Music, and Rdio. It looks like Prince is trying to negotiate new rates for songs played, and streaming services will have to agree before they have access to his music again.

"Prince's publisher has asked all streaming services to remove his catalog," a notification on Prince's Spotify page reads. "We have cooperated with the request, and hope to bring his music back as soon as possible."

The official Prince music channel only has "Breakfast Can Wait" listed, as his team also has been quick to use Web Sheriff to remove music online. Prince has been vocal about artist compensation in regards to music streaming - and is the latest artist to speak out against services offering free listening tiers.

Sony has already said that it wants to lead the smartphone camera sensor market, with the Japanese giant pulling out of most of its other markets, apart from camera sensors and the PlayStation brand.

Now the company is looking to push out new shares, with the new shares to raise the equivalent to 10% of what Sony is worth. With Sony worth around $40 billion, the company will be raising $4 billion, all of which it's going to invest in camera sensors. Sony said in a statement: "In addition to securing funds for active and concentrated investment in businesses that are driving growth. Sony ... aims to secure its ability to make future further investment".

Chief Portfolio Manager Common Assset Management, Takatoshi Itoshima, said: "It's positive that it is investing in the sensor business which is seen promising. But short-term investors may question the strength of its balance sheet, or wonder whether the company could've slashed more of its businesses before raising money from the market".

Rock band AC/DC is now embracing streaming music, allowing its music to be shared on Spotify, Apple Music, and Rdio. The popular band has sold more than 72 million albums in the United States, and apparently hasn't liked the idea of streaming music for quite some time.

AC/DC only started to allow its music to be sold on iTunes just three years ago, so digital change isn't something the band has been quick to embrace. Remember, Metallica, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles all managed to finally come to terms with iTunes - but AC/DC continued to avoid joining the digital revolution.

"When the latest thing comes along, everyone wants to be the first to jump in. But we were hesitant," said Angus Young, AC/DC guitarist, in a statement to the Wall Street Journal last year. "It was only later on that people said, hey, you were pretty clever. We were doing better because people were still buying the physical product."

The public launch of Apple Music is just hours away, and it looks like Apple will once again carry the entire weight of the music industry. Years ago, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) received help from iTunes at a time when music listeners were fully embracing illegal file sharing - and it seems like it could be up to Apple once again.

There is a new fight, one which the RIAA is struggling with, as more music listeners turn to online streaming services while listening to music. Millions of people use legal services such as Pandora, Spotify, Google Play Music, but don't pay.

After a free three-month trial period, users will be forced to pay $9.99 per month for Apple Music - or find a different service.

We're only a couple of weeks into the Radeon R9 Fury X being on the market, but buyout rumors continue to flow onto the Internet, with Microsoft now reportedly interested in acquiring AMD.

KitGuru is reporting from their sources that Microsoft is interested in acquiring AMD, which would make sense. But, remember that Microsoft has a very tight relationship with Intel when it comes to their products and Windows. Microsoft also maintains a very close relationship with AMD, as their Xbox One is powered by an APU made by AMD.

Microsoft has a huge $95.3 billion in cash, so it wouldn't take much to buy AMD at their market cap of $1.81 billion right now. If you consider the current value of AMD right now, it is three times less than what AMD paid for ATI Technologies back in 2008. With analysts estimating that Microsoft pays around $100 per APU to AMD for its Xbox One, Microsoft has already shelled out $1.26 billion or so to AMD with its 12.6 million Xbox One units sold.

Apple Music hasn't even launched yet, but has caused quite a stir in the streaming music market and among musicians. For Taylor Swift fans, however, here is a bit of good news: her "1989" album will be available on Apple Music.

Swift decided to pull her album from the service, before it even launched, in what she described as a fight to support indie musicians. Apple reversed course and said it would pay musicians during the free three-month trial period that users can sign up for - and that was enough for Taylor Swift.

The ongoing drama involving Apple Music, which has been pitted as Taylor Swift vs. Apple Music, has given other musicians the chance to speak out. Apple Music launches on June 30, and there is a bit of drama and chaos regarding the music service already, so the streaming music market could be even more exciting.

"Apple is making the same mistake Tidal made," Corgan recently said while speaking with Squawk Alley." "I applaud her for taking a stand, but this is going to be played out by the media as 'Taylor versus Apple,' and that's not the real story."

Corgan noted that Apple's attention to just the top-tier artists is a mistake, and could make things rather interesting moving forward:

Google today launched a free, ad-supported version of its Google Play Music service, in an effort to steal a bit of publicity ahead of the Apple Music launch next week. Google Play Music has been around for a couple of years with a $9.99 per month subscription, allowing music listeners to create their own custom playlists.

The new public offering won't be available offline and will not have access to some songs - and is a marketing effort to recruit new members. Although many users visit Google Play Music, they don't stick around due to the monthly subscription costs.

"We want to attract even more users, give them a taste of the service and hope they subscribe over time," said Zahavah Levine, VP of partnerships at Google Play, in a statement published by USA Today. It seems like offering a free trial - whether ad-supported or a set amount of free testing - is the ideal way to lure in new listeners.