Tag Archives: sbux

Apple, Starbucks Expand Mobile Payment Reach Vs. PayPal, Google

Apple ( AAPL ) and Starbucks ( SBUX ) are expanding the reach of their mobile payment systems, aiming to get a bigger edge on rivals such as PayPal ( PYPL ) and Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) Google. Apple Pay — which supports in-store shopping at retail checkout as well as in-app purchases for Uber, Disney stores and others – will be included in Apple’s Safari browser in time for Q4 holiday shopping, says a Re/code report . The payment system will continue to work with Apple’s fingerprint ID technology as a substitute for inputting 16-digit credit card numbers. Apple aims to solve a problem with mobile shopping; smartphone users tend to browse for products but often don’t pull the trigger to buy. “The checkout page tends to be clunky and requires much in the way of manual entry. Apple Pay boils the checkout down to putting your finger on Touch ID, eliminating multiple steps,” Jordan McKee, an analyst at 451Research, told IBD. “This is troubling news for dominant Web players such as PayPal.” PayPal stock was down 4.5% in early trading in the stock market today while shares of Visa ( V ) and MasterCard ( MA ) were down a fraction. “While this (Apple Pay-Safari) could represent some near-term headline risk for PayPal, we believe the competitive impact introduced by Apple Pay in-browser will be limited due to potential consumer and merchant adoption hurdles,” said Jason Kupferberg, a Jefferies analyst, in a research report. “PayPal’s own expedited checkout process, One Touch, is already in use by more than 250 of the top 500 internet retailers” Apple Pay will also be more competitive with Visa CheckOut. Visa, though, has been active making deals, said Josh Beck, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, in a report. “Visa has certainly not been sitting idle as shown by recent minority investments in Chain, Stripe and Square ( SQ ) and product enhancements, including Visa Commerce Network, Visa Token Services and Visa Checkout,” wrote Beck. Starbucks, which has one of the most successful mobile wallets, is expanding its rewards system using a branded prepaid Visa card. Starbucks on Wednesday said the loyalty rewards system will allow customers to earn points for all purchases made with the prepaid  card. The Starbucks branded card can be used at any retailer that accepts Visa cards. Image provided by Shutterstock .

Software Updates To Thump ‘Motivated’ Internet Of Things Hackers

SAN FRANCISCO — Gemalto exec David Etue hinged the success of the nascent Internet of Things industry — and its 30 billion connected devices in four years — to an efficient software update process. Because when 30 billion devices are connected to the Internet, there’s a lot that can go wrong … and fast. “Our adversaries are highly motivated,” Etue told attendees at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, a major annual gathering of security companies. “But if we can get a secure software update process right, at least we can make changes.” He added: “If we get this right, this puts us in a position for long-term success.” France-based Gemalto competes in the software application and secured devices market, and therefore has a big dog in the upcoming Internet of Things fight for market share. Although the IoT presents a huge market opportunity for tech and pure cybersecurity players, its mass scale also terrifies chief information security officers, Etue said. “We don’t generally intentionally put our IoT-connected devices in hostile territory,” he said. “We might put them on the local Starbucks ( SBUX ) Wi-Fi. … That’s not that scary when it’s your fitness meter. It’s pretty scary when it’s a pacemaker.” On the business side, retail stores use sensors to count shoppers — information hedge funds used to pay people to gather outside brick-and-mortar establishments. Farmers use devices to track the development of seeds. Tesla Motors ( TSLA ), Apple ( AAPL ), Toyota ( TM ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Ford ( F ) are already racing toward autonomous vehicles. “So we’re seeing a lot of demand to monetize this data,” Etue said. But on the flip side, consumers are spooked after a fault in Fiat Chrysler ‘s ( FCAU ) Jeep Cherokee GPS system allowed it to be hacked,  Rapid7 ( RPD ) researchers were able to hack baby monitors and Santa Cruz, Calif., residents protested smart meters. “We get really excited about the device, but forget about where that data is from and how it’s being managed,” Etue said. He suggests consumers and developers ask themselves a series of questions before taking on Internet of Things devices. Most of those questions center on how, where and what data are stored; whether it’s accessible by a third party; and who manages the accessibility. “We’re never going to get this right the first time,” he said. “We’re going to have to change.” Image provided by Shutterstock .

Pricing Power? Look At Comcast, Starbucks, Amgen, Biogen: Report

Cable TV leader  Comcast ( CMCSA ), coffee king  Starbucks ( SBUX ),  “innovative” drug companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb ( BMY ) and a few biotechs make Morgan Stanley’s list of companies with pricing power. Amid a low-inflation environment and worries over a global recession, stocks with pricing power should get a serious look, says the Morgan Stanley report. Its list also includes American Tower ( AMT ), Amgen ( AMGN ), Biogen ( BIIB ), Celgene ( CELG ), Constellation Brands ( STZ ), Equinix ( EQIX ), L Brands ( LB ), Mindbody ( MB ), Phillip Morris ( PM ), Reynolds American ( RAI ), Sally Beauty Holdings ( SBH ), and Sherwin-Williams ( SHW ). Here’s Morgan Stanley’s take on why some of these companies have pricing power. 1) American Tower. “Towers effectively offer local monopolies, and there is little alternative for wireless carriers wishing to add capacity to improve network quality.” 2) Amgen. “While drug pricing has been a topic of debate since U.S. presidential candidates raised focus on the topic in the late summer of 2015, we continue to see pricing power among large cap biotech.” 3) Biogen. “In 2015, management took around 11% to 12% gross price increases across its portfolio.” 4) Celgene. “Management in 2015 took 7-10% gross price increases across its portfolio and we would expect a similar net price trend in 2016.” 5) Comcast. “We are positive on CMCSA’s broadband growth story and see improved results in video given X1 (set-top box deployment).” 6) Sherwin-Williams. “(Its) pricing power relates to its control of its own distribution, as well as its outsized leverage to professional painting contractors. 7) Starbucks. “SBUX remains the category leader in the high-margin, premium coffee segment and benefits from selling an often-craved, habitual product.”