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Google Has Raked In $21 Billion In Android Profit, Oracle Says

Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google has earned $21 billion in profit from more than 3 billion activations of Android-based smartphones, Oracle ‘s ( ORCL ) lawyer said in opening arguments in the second trial pitting the database maker against the Internet search giant. Oracle claims Google violated its copyright on parts of the Java programming language when it created the Android mobile operating system, now used in mobile phones worldwide. Oracle is seeking $8.8 billion in damages. Oracle lawyer Peter Bicks said Google has raked in $42 billion in revenue from Android-based smartphones, according to a Bloomberg report . Google “took a short cut, and it was at Oracle’s expense,” Bicks reportedly told the jury in San Francisco federal court. Oracle claims Google infringed on copyrights covering 37 Java application programming interfaces, or APIs — the critical shortcuts that allow developers to write programs to work across software platforms. Even if Google loses, analysts have noted its strong balance sheet. Google reported $75.3 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities in its Q1 earnings release. Android’s chief competition is Apple’s iOS software, used in iPhones and other Apple mobile devices. Unlike Apple ( AAPL ), Google has made Android open source and widely available to mobile phone makers, such as Samsung. Google says it should be able to use Java without paying a fee under the fair-use provision of copyright law. Oracle acquired Java when it purchased Sun Microsystems in 2010.

Apple ‘Gloom And Doom’ Has Reached ‘Extreme’ Level

Negative sentiment toward Apple ( AAPL ) stock has gone too far, Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White said in a report Tuesday. “In our view, the ‘gloom and doom’ sentiment engulfing the Apple story has reached extreme levels and we believe the stock represents an exceptional value,” White said. He reiterated his buy rating on Apple stock with a price target of 185. “We continue to look forward to a new iPhone cycle with the iPhone 7 and new geographic opportunities (e.g. India), combined with longer-term opportunities that leverage its powerful ecosystem, iconic brand and deep financial resources,” White said. Still, White noted weakness in Apple’s supply chain in April, which is likely the result of the company’s planned $2 billion iPhone inventory reduction. Apple stock is down 12% year to date and down about 30% from its all-time high of 134.54, reached April 28, 2015. Apple was up 0.3% to near 93 on the stock market today . “We believe that Apple is extremely oversold,” White said. He predicted that the current quarter, Apple’s fiscal Q3, will mark a trough for sales and operating profit. He expects Apple’s financials to recover starting this fall with the iPhone 7 release. “In our view, the combination of a difficult year-over-year iPhone comparison and a tougher-than-expected macro environment are largely to blame for Apple’s recent challenges,” White said. “Moreover, the market gives Apple no credit for its expansive digital matrix across software, services and hardware that deliver a seamless experience for an installed base of 1 billion active devices.” Apple stock has been knocked down by worries about declining iPhone sales, a slowdown in China and a perceived lack of innovation. Apple’s last new product category was the Apple Watch smartwatch, which debuted in April 2015. Sales to date have been underwhelming. Apple Watch Study Finds Device Comes Up Short A yearlong study of Apple Watch early adopters by brand agency MBLM found users are conflicted about the wearable device. MBLM’s panel of Apple Watch users felt that the watch has not come close to achieving its potential and offers less value than they had hoped for. “The Apple Watch does not measure up for most people,” Mario Natarelli, MBLM’s managing partner, said in a statement . “For the device, which Apple claimed to be its most intimate, to be successful, we believe Apple needs to reach deeper and form stronger bonds with its users.” The biggest complaints about the Apple Watch include its dependence on the iPhone and lack of must-have applications. MBLM found little interest in the next-generation Apple Watch among its panel of users. “No one on the panel said that they would definitely purchase the next version of the Apple Watch,” the firm said. “Most feel that the updates will not be significant and the cost will not be worth it. However, some did mention that they might consider it if there is a trade-in program.” RELATED: When Tim Cook Gives A TV Interview, Apple Investors Should Beware How Many Watches Did Apple Sell Last Quarter?

Apple R&D Spending Rises But Still Trails Google, Facebook, Amazon

Spending on research and development is soaring at Apple ( AAPL ), Facebook ( FB ), Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google as they race against each other in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, cloud computing, electric cars, drones, the Internet of Things and many other technologies. Apple’s R&D spending rose 30% in Q1 to $2.51 billion. In a regulatory filing, Apple said R&D, including stock compensation for engineers and other technical employees, was 5% of sales, up from 3.3% in the year-earlier period. By that yardstick, however, Apple lags Google by far, as well as Facebook. Facebook’s R&D spending has climbed to 13.4% of sales, up from 10% in 2014 and only 7% in 2010. In Q1, Facebook’s R&D spending rose 26% to $1.34 billion, with the company pushing into Internet drones, virtual reality and augmented reality. While virtual reality immerses a user in an imagined or replicated world (like video games), augmented reality overlays digital imagery onto the real world. Amazon and Google, though, are still the biggest spenders, according to a Bloomberg report . In Q1, R&D totaled  16.6% of Google revenue , Bloomberg said, up from 13.8% two years earlier. While Google aims to make gains in artificial intelligence , it’s trailing in software bots , an area where both Microsoft and Facebook made recent announcements. Google’s R&D spending will rise 16% in 2016 to $14.3 billion, BMO Capital Markets estimates. Then there’s Amazon. In Q1, Amazon’s R&D spending was up 28% to $3.53 billion, Bloomberg reported. At that growth rate, Amazon’s R&D spending will likely top Google’s this year.