Tag Archives: avgo

Apple, Samsung Need Complex Chips, Antennas To Juggle Airwaves

Apple ( AAPL ), Samsung and other smartphone makers will need more advanced chips and antenna components as wireless service providers combine multiple radio-frequency bands to improve network capacity and data speeds, says a Citigroup report. AT&T ( T ), Verizon Communications ( VZ )and Sprint ( S ) are among the wireless firms turning to “carrier aggregation,” a term for combining two or more frequency bands to provide a single communications channel with more bandwidth. This juggling act requires more complex radio frequency chips, says Citigroup. It forecasts a growing market opportunity for chipmakers Qualcomm ( QCOM ), Broadcom ( AVGO ),  Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ),   Qorvo ( QRVO ), Murata and others. Wireless firms are using carrier aggregation as mobile video traffic surges.  “Carrier aggregation is like adding more lanes to widen the highway and creating more space for more cars to travel on the highway at the same time,” says the report. While Apple designs its own antennas, there’s still a market opportunity for Amphenol and AAC Technologies to supply China-based smartphone brands, says Citigroup. Apple’s iPhone 6S series supports 23 frequency bands and the number is expected to keep growing in future devices, says Citigroup. Xiaomi’s new Mi 5 supports carrier aggregation to double its data download speeds, says the report. In the U.S., AT&T was the first to move to carrier aggregation for 4G LTE-A network upgrades, followed by Sprint and Verizon, analysts say. “According to Cisco ( CSCO ) (Systems), mobile data traffic is expected to grow more than 50% in the next five years,” said Citigroup. It expects more “world” phones to be built, with the ability to roam on 4G LTE networks as subscribers travel.

Tesla’s Apple, AMD Hiring Scoops Could Squeeze Chipmaker Nvidia

Tesla Motors ’ ( TSLA ) poaching of key Apple ( AAPL ) and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) engineers could squeeze graphics-chips partner Nvidia ( NVDA ), an MKM analyst wrote Monday ahead of Nvidia’s April 5 analyst day. But MKM analyst Ian Ing reiterated his buy rating and 39 price target on Nvidia stock, which was up 1% in afternoon trading on the stock market today , earlier touching an eight-year high at 34.98. Nvidia and Tesla have partnered in machine-learning — widely seen as key to autonomous driving — for the better part of a decade. Last year, Nvidia’s automotive segment grew 80% — to $320 million in revenue. Together, the duo faces stiff autonomous-driving competition from rivals like General Motors ( GM ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Apple. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has famously called Apple the “ Tesla graveyard,”   saying Apple has hired engineers that Tesla had fired, but recent reports indicate that Tesla might be swiping Apple and AMD engineers. Still, Ing says those engineers aren’t as steeped in graphics processing units and machine learning as Nvidia’s staff. “Although there are widely reportedly headlines that Tesla has been hiring chip architects from Apple and AMD, we note that expertise has been focused more on multi-purpose application processors vs. the GPU accelerators necessary for machine learning,” Ing wrote. Nvidia stock rocketed 35% over the past month, recovering from a five-month low of 24.75, hit Feb. 12. On Feb. 17, Nvidia reported record Q4 and 2015 sales that easily topped Wall Street expectations. Core gaming brought in 58% of Nvidia’s January-quarter sales, but the chipmaker also has a bright future in virtual reality, self-driving cars, autonomous drones and cloud data center acceleration, Ing wrote. And a recent data center wave featuring  Qualcomm ( QCOM ), Intel ( INTC ), Broadcom ( AVGO ), Integrated Device Technology ( IDTI ) and Inphi ( IPHI ) will likely lift Nvidia’s tide as well, Ing wrote. Last month, Nvidia noted its alliances with Chinese Internet major Alibaba ( BABA ) and Facebook ( FB ) for speedy artificial-intelligence chips. This year, Google joined Facebook’s Open Computer Project, which aims to lower the cost of data center ownership. Google also announced a beta “cloud machine learning” service that lets users customize machine learning, ahead of Amazon ( AMZN ) Web Service and Microsoft ( MSFT ) Azure. Image provided by Shutterstock .

Microsoft Reportedly Among Those In Yahoo Acquisition Mix

The process of finding a buyer for struggling Web portal Yahoo ( YHOO ) is reportedly in the middle of its first round, and interest is high, according to a CNBC report , which cited sources close to the matter. This comes after a separate report said  Microsoft ( MSFT ) might put up “significant” financing in a bid for Yahoo. Microsoft executives are in talks with potential investors about providing funds to buy the troubled Internet company , Re/Code reported. A Reuters report said those talks are in the early stages. Microsoft and Yahoo have a longstanding search and ad partnership, and Microsoft is focused on preserving that relationship, it said. Private equity firms interested in Yahoo have approached Microsoft, Reuters said. Microsoft declined to comment. Microsoft has been meeting with private-equity firms and saying it might lend “significant” financing in a bid for Yahoo, according to Re/Code . In 2008, then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer tried to buy Yahoo for about $45 billion. Yahoo’s overall market cap is now $33 billion, but that includes its its major stakes in China e-com leader  Alibaba Group ( BABA ) and in Yahoo Japan. Minus those holdings, analysts have pegged the price of Yahoo’s core business at $6 billion to $8 billion. Excluding its 15% stake in Alibaba, Rosenblatt analyst Martin Pyykkonen said in an industry note last week : “Yahoo’s current market cap implies $3.3 billion valuation for the core business and the Yahoo Japan stake. We think the fundamental outlook for Yahoo as a ‘growth’ stock is continuing to erode, especially in light of strong secular trends which are benefiting the likes of Facebook ( FB ) and Google owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ), both of which have more revenue concentration from mobile advertising.” Possible Yahoo Buyers Said To Include AT&T, Verizon Re/Code said that Yahoo started engaging with “strategic” bidders that include AT&T ( ATT ), Verizon ( VZ )and Comcast ( CMCSA ), with private equity and other investment firms to come next, the report’s sources said. Interested parties reportedly include Advent International, Vista Equity Partners, TPG and KKR ( KKR ). Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said in December that the U.S. wireless carrier could look at buying Yahoos’s core business if it were a good fit. Activist investor Starboard Value announced Thursday that it wants to sweep  out all of the ailing Web company’s nine directors and replace them with its own slate during Yahoo’s 2016 shareholder meeting. This month, Yahoo appointed two members to its board: Catherine Friedman, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley ( MS ), and Eric Brandt, a former chief financial officer at  Broadcom ( AVGO ). “This is gearing up to be an epic proxy fight, and we believe that this will create a significant overhang on Yahoo shares,” said Mizuho analyst Neil Doshi in an industry note on Thursday. “It’s unusual to see an investor try to replace an entire board, but this clearly highlights to us that Starboard does not trust any of the existing board members will do what needs to be done to create value for Yahoo shareholders.” Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer has struggled to turn the company around in her nearly four years as Yahoo’s leader. Yahoo stock was up 1%, near 35, in afternoon trading in the stock market today .