Tag Archives: nvda

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 ).

Before Tesla Motors Reports Earnings, You Need To Know This

Now that it’s impressed the world with higher-than-expected demand for its new Model 3, Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) is set to report its quarterly results after the close on Wednesday. Analysts expect the luxury electric car maker’s per-share loss to widen to 57 cents amid production and Gigafactory investments. Revenue is projected to jump 45% to nearly $1.6 billion. The jump marks a third straight quarter of faster top-line growth. Tesla cleared a cup-with-handle base with a 239.98 buy point on April 1. Shares continued to climb the next few days but have pulled back, briefly undercutting the buy point Friday intraday. Positive results could potentially send shares to their highest level this year, while negative results could send the stock back to its 200-day and 50-day lines, which are close to converging. Meanwhile, Tesla partner Mobileye ( MBLY ) reports before the open on Thursday. The maker of advanced driver assistance systems is also working with other automakers on their autonomous and semi-autonomous car efforts. Earnings are projected to pop 75% while revenue increases 61%. Mobileye stock is trading about 40% below its all-time high reached last August, but the stock has rallied sharply from its February low. And Tesla chip supplier Nvidia ( NVDA ) is extended 8% from a cup-with-handle base buy point initially cleared in March. Nvidia shares are dropping 2% in quick trade Friday, ahead of its quarterly report on May 12.

Intel’s Next Threat: AMD Chinese Deal May Plunder Server Market

Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) is making a play for Intel ’s ( INTC ) Chinese server market — and maybe “Super 7” clients Alibaba ( BABA ), Baidu ( BIDU ) and Tencent ( TCEHY ) — as the No. 1 chipmaker prepares for 12,000 layoffs, MKM analyst Ian Ing suggested Friday. Late Thursday, during AMD’s Q1 earnings call, AMD CEO Lisa Su announced a $293 million joint venture with China’s Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment to “help gain share in the fastest-growing region of the server market.” Su might as well have shouted a battle cry. This week, Intel announced a 12,000-layoff restructuring plan, cutting about 11% of its workforce, to “intensify” investments in the Internet of Things, memory and data centers. Intel’s Q1 data center sales rose 9% year over year, vs. 7% for the company overall. AMD’s Chinese joint venture is “(the) best challenge yet to Intel’s server dominance,” MKM analyst Ian Ing wrote in a research report. Last year, Chinese officials announced a plan to curb reliance on foreign chips. Partnering in China gives AMD “access to design and IP resources that are tailored to the China market and significant local field sales and support resources to help win designs at a wide range of customers,” Ing wrote. Intel’s turn from PC reliance — 55% of its total sales in Q1 — could further boost AMD, which might scoop some PC market share, Ing wrote as he upgraded AMD stock to buy from neutral but maintained his price target of 4. For Q1, a 13-week quarter, AMD reported $832 million in sales, down 19% year over year, and a per-share loss ex items of 12 cents vs. a 13-cent loss in the year-earlier quarter. Both metrics topped the consensus of 27 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for $818.2 million and a 13-cent per-share loss. The consensus’ Q2 sales guidance, calling for a 15% sequential hike, implies $956 million, which would be up 2%. The consensus saw $889 million, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Kinngai Chan noted in a report. AMD stock jump 52% Friday, to 3.99, a 19-month high. Intel stock fell 1%; AMD’s graphics chips rival Nvidia ( NVDA ), a Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) partner, fell a fraction.