Tag Archives: aapl

Tesla Partner Nvidia, Samsung Call Truce On Mobile-Chip Lawsuits

Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) partner Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Samsung called a cease-fire Monday on a nearly two-year battle over their mobile tech patents, the companies said in a joint statement hours before a decision was due in Samsung’s suit against Nvidia. Under the settlement, Nvidia and Samsung will license “a small number of patents by each company to each other,” but won’t allow for “broad cross-licensing of patents or other compensation,” they said. Nvidia fired the first shot in late 2014, claiming Samsung and Apple ( AAPL ) supplier Qualcomm ( QCOM ) had violated its patents on graphics processing chips. Samsung retaliated with a lawsuit that alleged Nvidia had violated its patents. Both sought to have some rival components banned from sale in the U.S. In December, a judge upheld an earlier ruling that Samsung and Qualcomm had not violated Nvidia’s patents. Monday’s decision would have wrapped Samsung’s case. In afternoon trading on the stock market today , Nvidia stock was up more than 1%, near 36. Shares are on a nearly three-month run, up 42% since a Feb. 11 bottom this year, likely helped along by the release of the Facebook ( FB ) Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset. The Oculus recommends use of devices that have graphics chips — graphics processing units — from Nvidia or Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ).

Apple’s PC Market Share Hits New High; Windows Notches Fresh Low

Apple ( AAPL ) saw its share of personal-computer operating systems in use on the Internet rise to a new high in April, Net Applications reported Sunday. Apple’s Mac operating systems collectively accounted for 9.2% of PCs online last month, up from 7.8% in March. Net Applications cautioned that the April data is preliminary. Still, Apple’s percentage of PCs in use on the Internet has been on the rise for several years. Its previous high was 8% in October. About year ago, in April 2015, Mac OS claimed 7.4% usage share. Net Applications data go back to November 2007, when Windows had 95.9% market share and Mac claimed just 3.4%. Conversely,  Microsoft ( MSFT ) has seen its stranglehold on the PC market loosen. Its usage share of the PC market fell below 90% for the first time last month. Windows accounted for 89.2% of PCs on the Internet in April, down from 90.5% in March, Net Applications said. The top version of the Mac OS in use is Mac OS X 10.11, called El Capitan. It garnered 4% of the PC market in April, Net Applications said.

Skyworks Growth Threatened By ‘Unfavorable’ Apple iPhone Comparison

Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ) is “rebuilding” after Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) iPhone flop last quarter but is still looking at double-digit growth in the second half of 2016, MKM analyst Ian Ing wrote in a research note after Apple-supplier stocks broadly toppled last week, when the iPhone maker reported its first-ever year-over-year decline in smartphone sales. In early trading Monday, Skyworks stock was down a fraction, as were shares of radio-frequency chip rivals Broadcom ( AVGO ) and Qorvo ( QRVO ). In early trading on the stock market today , Apple stock was also down a fraction, near 93, and down 10.5% since reporting its March-quarter earnings after the close Tuesday. That day, Apple reported  not only its first-ever year-over-year drop in iPhone sales, but also its first quarterly revenue decrease in 13 years. Skyworks’ Q2 guidance , released late Thursday, slugged that stock when its sales view missed by $50 million. But after just 2% sales growth last quarter, Skyworks expects double-digit growth in September, though strength in China and with Samsung might not be enough to outweigh an “unfavorable” year-over-year iPhone comparison. Last September, Apple sold 13 million iPhone 6S units in three days following the release. Chinese smartphone-makers are facing a largely saturated market, Ing noted. About 45% of China’s mobile phones are on 4G now. Wall Street largely expects a pause as the industry transitions to 5G — but that refresh is still more than a year away. Ing retained his buy rating on Skyworks stock, but he cut the price target to 93 from 98. At least two other analysts rated Skyworks a buy over the weekend.