Tag Archives: amzn

Apple Seeks Reversal Of Judge’s Order In iPhone Encryption Case

Apple ( AAPL ) on Thursday asked a federal judge to reverse her order that the company work with the FBI to hack a password-protected iPhone used by one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attack. In a court filing, Apple argued that the government has overstepped its bounds. “The government’s request here creates an unprecedented burden on Apple and violates Apple’s First Amendment rights against compelled speech,” it said. To fulfill the government’s demands, Apple would have to write special software that would create a “backdoor” to bypass the iPhone’s privacy and security protections. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that complying with the court order would set a “dangerous precedent” that threatens the personal data of all iPhone users. If Apple creates the software that the government wants, it would make iPhones vulnerable to hackers, criminals, and foreign and domestic spies, he said. “This is not a case about one isolated iPhone,” Apple’s legal team wrote. “Rather, this case is about the Department of Justice and the FBI seeking through the courts a dangerous power that Congress and the American people have withheld: the ability to force companies like Apple to undermine the basic security and privacy interests of hundreds of millions of individuals around the globe.” Apple’s motion to vacate says the court order would open the floodgates to other law enforcement and government requests to hack iPhone security. Apple said the Justice Department and FBI are trying to do an end run around Congress and use the courts to set a legal precedent by invoking “terrorism.” Earlier Thursday, FBI Director James Comey told a congressional panel that court approval of the FBI’s request was “unlikely to be a trailblazer” in other cases. While the case “will be instructive for other courts,” larger policy questions about reasonable law enforcement access to encrypted data will need to be resolved by Congress and others, Comey said, according to Reuters . Microsoft ( MSFT ) President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith said his company “wholeheartedly” sides with Apple in its fight with the FBI over unlocking a terrorist’s iPhone, the Seattle Times reported . “We at Microsoft support Apple and will be filing an amicus brief next week,” Smith said Thursday during a congressional hearing on laws governing data transfers across borders. An Amazon.com ( AMZN ) spokesperson said that company is looking to file a brief supporting Apple’s position, BuzzFeed reported , and Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) Google is also in support. On Feb. 16, U.S. Magistrate Sheri Pym ordered Apple to provide “reasonable technical assistance” to the FBI to unlock an iPhone belonging to Syed Farook, one of the killers in the San Bernardino shootings. The order calls for Apple to create software that can get around or disable the security option that erases data from an iPhone after 10 unsuccessful attempts to unlock it. Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, shot and killed 14 people on Dec. 2. The radicalized Muslim couple, described in press reports as supporters of terror group ISIS, later died in a gun battle with police. RELATED: Poll Shows Solid Support For Apple In iPhone Encryption Case .

Best Buy Posts Better-Than-Expected Q4, Ups Dividends

Consumer electronics retailer Best Bu y ( BBY ) reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results early Thursday, but it continues to face declining sales overall and in key categories, and its guidance missed Wall Street estimates. Best Buy stock was up 2%, above 32, in afternoon trading on the stock market today , as investors cheered the announcement of a special cash dividend and higher quarterly dividend. Best Buy said it will pay a special dividend of 45 cents a share, or about $145 million, related to the net after-tax proceeds of certain legal settlements and asset disposals. The retailer also boosted its regular quarterly dividend by 22% to 28 cents a share. Plus, Best Buy announced a new $1 billion share-repurchase plan expected to be completed over the next two years. Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly said the company aims to be a “premium dividend payer,” with a non-GAAP dividend payout ratio between 35% to 45%. In its fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, the Richfield, Minn.-based company earned $1.53 a share excluding items on sales of $13.62 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected Best Buy to earn $1.39 a share on sales of $13.61 billion. On a year-over-year basis, EPS rose 3% and sales fell 4%. Under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Best Buy’s earnings per share fell 5% to $1.39. Best Buy’s same-store sales slipped 1.8% in Q4. But the company’s e-commerce sales jumped  nearly 14% to $1.95 billion, accounting for 15.6% of total U.S. revenue. In its online sales segment, Best Buy competes with industry powerhouse Amazon.com ( AMZN ). Growth in health and wearables, home theater and major appliances was more than offset by “significant declines” in mobile phones, tablets and digital cameras, Best Buy said in a press release . For the current quarter, Best Buy expects to earn 31 to 35 cents a share, vs. 37 cents a year earlier. The midpoint of 33 cents a share would represent a year-over-year decline of 11%. It sees sales falling 3% to $8.3 billion based on the midpoint of guidance. Best Buy Sees Growth Later In Year Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were modeling for Best Buy to earn 38 cents a share on sales of $8.4 billion. Best Buy Chief Financial Officer Sharon McCollam said the retailer expects to see sales decline in the first half of the fiscal year, followed by growth in the back half. Best Buy is targeting flat domestic revenue for the full year. Appliances, home theater and connected home products are likely to be the top growth categories, she said. Best Buy said it will counter soft overall-sales growth in consumer electronics by focusing on market share gains and by making operational improvements to boost profits. On a conference call with analysts, Joly spoke about the product categories that will drive Best Buy sales. Household appliances, connected home products and large-screen ultra HD or 4K televisions are bright spots, he said. Virtual reality headsets are a new category that Best Buy is “very excited about,” Joly said. “This is an interesting category,” he said. “It will be small this year. It may help in the computing category with (sales of) higher-end computers because you’re going to need that computing power. But from a financial perspective, it’s going to be limited.” Three VR platforms are coming to market this year: Facebook ’s ( FB ) Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Sony ’s ( SNE ) PlayStation VR.

Wayfair Nowhere Near Size Of Amazon, But Notches Earnings Milestone

Though Wayfair ( W ) is nowhere near the size of mighty e-commerce leader  Amazon.com ( AMZN ), its swing to EBITDA profitability and its Q4 beat on both the top and bottom lines has analysts optimistic about its future. Wayfair, an online seller of furniture and other products mostly for the home, early Thursday handily beat expectations, posting adjusted Q4 EBIDTA of $2.8 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had estimated a $2.1 million loss on adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, deductions and amortization. Fourth-quarter sales jumped 80% from the year-earlier quarter, to $740 million. Wayfair lost 7 cents per share minus items, the company reported . Wall Street had estimated a 15-cent per-share loss, and revenue of $678 million. “Due to the exceptional growth of our business throughout 2015, we’re able to achieve and exceed this goal much faster than previously anticipated,” CEO Niraj Shah said on the company’s earnings call with analysts. “And importantly, this positive adjusted EBITDA was generated while we maintained our ongoing investment into the business” Wayfair stock was up 7%, near 43, in afternoon trading on the stock market today . The company has an IBD Composite Rating of 72, where 99 is the highest. Its stock chart is a fuzzy one, but there is a double-bottom base forming, with a buy point at 47.78. “Wayfair delivered another outstanding quarter with a solid revenue and adjusted EBITDA beat,” Wells Fargo analyst Matt Nemer said in a research note. Goldman Sachs analyst Debra Schwartz this month upgraded Wayfair stock to a buy. Earlier this week, e-commerce company Etsy ( ETSY ) saw its stock pop after its Q4 earnings beat .