Tag Archives: amzn

Apple Shakes Off Concerns About Becoming The Next BlackBerry

Apple ( AAPL ) stock rose Monday as investors digested a positive iPhone 7 production report, along with a cautionary article that suggested Apple was at risk of becoming the next BlackBerry ( BBRY ). Apple stock was up 1.6%, near 97, in afternoon trading on the stock market today . Taiwan’s Economic Daily News reported Monday that Apple has ordered contract manufacturers to produce 72 million to 78 million iPhone 7 handsets this year, a record figure for a new iPhone and above analyst estimates of 65 million units. The iPhone 7 is expected to be released in September, with a slimmer design, faster processor and improved camera as compared to earlier iPhones. This 10th-generation iPhone might even sport a waterproof design for the first time. Apple Falling Behind In AI Meanwhile, influential tech blogger and Web developer Marco Arment on Saturday posted an article that argued Apple is falling behind Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Facebook ( FB ) and Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google in artificial intelligence (AI), digital assistants and voice interfaces. He said Apple could miss the next big shift in computing, just as onetime cellphone giant BlackBerry missed the move to smartphones from email-centric feature phones. “Amazon, Facebook, and Google — especially Google — have all invested heavily in Big Data Web services and AI for many years, prioritizing them highly, iterating and advancing them constantly, accumulating relevant data, developing effective algorithms and attracting, developing and retaining tons of specialized talent,” Arment wrote. Arment says Apple is not putting the same emphasis on Big Data and AI as its rivals. “Becoming a major Big Data AI services company doesn’t happen completely in secret and suddenly get released to the world, completed, in a keynote,” Arment said. “It’s a massive undertaking, spanning many years, many people and a lot of noticeable interaction with the world. It’s easier to conceal the development of an entire car than a major presence in AI and services.” Analysts Keep Buy Ratings On Apple Stock Investors on Monday were more focused on the Economic Daily News article and a trio of reassuring analyst reports. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves on Sunday reiterated his overweight rating on Apple stock with a price target of 123. “We believe concerns about a potential lack of innovation in the iPhone 7 underestimate the extraordinary growth in the user base over the past two years, which is likely to drive increased replacement volume and overall iPhone unit growth in fiscal 2017, almost regardless of the hardware,” Hargreaves said. BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long also is positive on Apple because of the potential for iPhone users to upgrade with the iPhone 7 cycle. “What we find most interesting is that we believe we are entering the iPhone 7 cycle with the highest percentage of phones in the installed base at least two years old, at about 26% (compared to 23% for iPhone 6),” Long said. “This translates to about 120 million phones. As a result, we believe the device will drive an improved replacement rate, even if it has lackluster features.” Also, the huge growth in used iPhone sales will increase the installed base of iPhone users and boost services revenue, Long said. He reiterated his outperform rating on Apple stock, with a price target of 117. Nomura analyst Jeffrey Kvaal maintained his buy rating on Apple with a price target of 120. He noted the success of Apple’s recent iPhone SE launch but cautioned that the lower-cost smartphone could cannibalize sales of iPhone 6S handsets. Apple chip suppliers Broadcom ( AVGO ), Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ), Qorvo ( QRVO ) and NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) were up Monday intraday. Broadcom climbed 1.5%, Skyworks 2.4%, Qorvo 2.9% and NXP Semi 1.1%. RELATED: Apple Has Largest Cash Stockpile, Twice That Of Microsoft’s Apple Faces ‘Existential Threat’ From Messenger Bots .

Will Amazon’s Transportation Fleet Bring Down Hammer On FedEx, UPS?

It’s an ambitious plan by Amazon ( AMZN ), to procure a fleet of 40 airline freighters and lessen its dependence on FedEx ( FDX ) and United Parcel Service ( UPS ). The 40 aircraft that Amazon plans to have fully operational by 2018 will enable it to bring as much as 30% of its current delivery volume in-house, according to a research report Monday by Moody’s Investors Service analyst Jonathan Root. In terms of short- and medium-haul aircraft, Amazon’s fleet would be 21% the size of UPS’ and 14% the size of FedEx’s, says Root. In terms of payload capacity, Amazon’s fleet would be 26% the size of UPS’ and 17% of FedEx’s, excluding their largest freighters that fly mostly long-haul routes for those companies, Root wrote. “As significant as that sounds, the business that UPS and FedEx will lose may not be as bad as it sounds,” Root wrote. “Revenue and average daily volumes at UPS and FedEx will be hurt, but there’s plenty of opportunity for them to replace that lost business with growing volumes from higher-yielding customers” and growth in e-commerce. Root also says that Amazon is one of the least profitable customers for UPS and FedEx, because Amazon’s size enables it to negotiate considerable discounts. “The extent to which UPS and FedEx can offset volume declines from Amazon with new business from other customers will determine how beneficial or detrimental Amazon’s plan will be to the companies’ segment operating margins,” Root wrote. Amazon stock was down a fraction, near 700, in afternoon trading in the stock market today , after touching a record high above 722 on May 12. It’s an IBD Leaderboard stock. UPS stock was down a fraction, while FedEx was up a fraction. The threat would grow if other large retailers follow Amazon’s lead, which he says is possible. “We understand that Wal-Mart Stores ( WMT ) is investing to improve its e-commerce positioning by building eight e-commerce warehouses,” Root wrote. Wal-Mart already offers free shipping on orders of more than $50, and it might broadly offer an e-commerce membership that includes free shipping, as Amazon does with its Amazon Prime membership service. Still, it’s not clear how deeply Amazon will dive into transportation services. “We estimate that Amazon could build a competing U.S. ground network for between $8 billion and $15 billion,” Root wrote. “We believe the company has the financial capacity to continue adding fulfillment centers, pickup locations and local and regional delivery operations, it if chooses to do so.” More than that, Amazon could offer its delivery services to the many third-party sellers on its site. “Such an offering would be more problematic for UPS’ and FedEx’s longer-term financial performance,” Root wrote.

Facebook’s Alleged Liberal News Bias Gets Comedy Treatment

Facebook ( FB ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with conservative news figures this week to address concerns that editors of the social network’s Trending Topics feature have been suppressing conservative viewpoints. That gave comedians and satirists a great opening to take some shots at Facebook for its alleged liberal bias. “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert slammed Facebook for having misplaced priorities. “Apparently, Facebook censored popular stories about conservative topics from appearing on the trending news section. Folks, I think this is wrong,” Colbert said. “If Facebook is going to censor things, why not get rid of the stuff people really don’t want to see, like your ex’s tropical honeymoon? Or invitations to co-workers’ improv shows?” Satirical news website The Onion presented a fake response from Zuckerberg, who questioned why people are getting their news from Facebook to begin with. “Facebook is a great place to connect with friends and family, but frankly, if you’re on our site for 20 minutes or longer during the day and you’re reading the articles on here as your main connection to what’s actually happening in the world, then I’d say you’re a little mistaken about what this site is actually all about,” fake Zuckerberg said. “I’m happy to show anyone how to get to a regular news site if you need a little help.” Online comic The Joy of Tech also took a jab at the Facebook bias controversy. Plus, the story was material for political cartoonists including Jeff Darcy of Cleveland.com and Rick McKee of the Augusta Chronicle . Amazon, Tesla Also Come In For Some Zingers Facebook’s trending-news hullabaloo isn’t the only tech subject tickling funny bones lately. What follows are recent jokes from late-night comedians Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien and James Corden. Their zingers were directed at Amazon.com ( AMZN ), CBS ( CBS ), Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google, Priceline ( PCLN ), Tesla Motors ( TSLA ), Twitter ( TWTR ) and Uber Technologies. Fallon: Tesla unveiled its new model 3 electric car. And I saw that fans were camping outside Tesla stores to reserve one. Camping out is actually great practice for when their cars run out of power 30 miles from the nearest outlets. Fallon: Amazon Prime just unveiled new buttons you can press to order Doritos, Red Bull, and Trojan condoms. Yeah, Doritos, Red Bull and condoms. Or as that’s called in New Jersey, “A gift basket.” Fallon: The CEO of Priceline just resigned after it was revealed that he had an affair with an employee. As you can imagine, his wife is pretty mad, but on the bright side, at least he knows where to find a good deal on hotels. Fallon: CBS announced that season 33 of “Survivor” will be called “Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X.” It’ll start in September, and end 20 minutes later when both teams realize there’s no Wi-Fi. Conan: This week is the 43rd anniversary of the first cellphone call. Historians still don’t know which movie theater it took place in. Conan: Over the weekend, a man broke the world record for “Donkey Kong,” making it through the entire game using up just one life. That’s right — his own. Conan: Google has created several new emojis aimed at empowering women. So congratulations women, you asked for equal pay and you got five new emojis. Corden: The social media platform Twitter just signed a historic deal with the NFL to live stream Thursday Night Football games this coming season. Before this, the only thing Twitter ever live streamed was Kanye West’s meltdowns. Corden: The driverless car thing seems like it’s really catching on lately. In fact, the ride-sharing company Uber has begun testing driverless cars on the streets of Pittsburgh. Finally, Uber found a way to make out-of-work actors even more out of work. Corden: But don’t worry, for all of you who love Uber, the experience isn’t really going to change. To keep in line with Uber’s brand, their driverless cars will be programmed to smell like cologne and also make female passengers really uncomfortable.