AAPL - Apple Inc.
| Previous Close | 316.57 |
| Open | 318.58 |
| Bid | 318.52 x 1200 |
| Ask | 318.45 x 1000 |
| Day's Range | 317.31 - 318.94 |
| 52 Week Range | 151.70 - 319.02 |
| Volume | 10,604,295 |
| Avg. Volume | 27,018,948 |
| Market Cap | 1.395T |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 1.24 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 26.77 |
| EPS (TTM) | 11.89 |
| Earnings Date | Jan. 27, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 3.08 (0.97%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | Nov. 05, 2019 |
| 1y Target Est | 290.15 |
- TechCrunch
Amazon Music passes 55M customers across its free and paid tiers, but still lags behind Spotify and Apple
Amazon Music, the streaming music service from the e-commerce and cloud giant that competes against the likes of Spotify and Apple Music, announced a milestone in its growth today: it has passed 55 million customers across the six different pricing tiers that it offers for the service, ranging from $15 per month through to a free, ad-supported tier. Amazon does not break out how many users are in each of its tiers, although we are asking and will update if we learn more. The overall figure, Amazon said, includes growth of more than 50% for the top tier, called Amazon Music Unlimited, which includes HD-quality tracks for about 50 million songs in the U.S., UK, Germany, Japan and most recently Brazil.
- TechCrunch
Apple Card users can now download monthly transactions in a spreadsheet
One of the big questions I got around the time the Apple Card launched was whether you’d be able to download a file of your transactions to either work with manually or import into a piece of expenses management software. Now Apple is announcing that Apple Card users will be able to export monthly transactions to a downloadable spreadsheet that they can use with their personal budgeting apps or sheets. As do, of course, personal solutions rolled in Google Sheets or other spreadsheet programs.
- Bloomberg
Big Tech’s Lobbying Boost Reflects New Washington Hostility
(Bloomberg) -- Four of the five biggest U.S. technology giants boosted their lobbying spending last year as they battled charges of unfair competition, sought to shape privacy legislation and pursued large government contracts in an increasingly hostile Washington.The five biggest tech companies by market value -- Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. -- shelled out $62.2 million in 2019, 3% less than what they spent the year before.The overall drop was driven by Alphabet Inc.’s Google. It reported a 44% decline in 2019 spending, to $11.8 million from $21.2 million. The company spent much of last year reshuffling its Washington office, including ending its relationships with more than a dozen lobbyists at six outside firms. It also replaced Susan Molinari, a former Republican House member, with Mark Isakowitz, a onetime GOP Senate aide, to head up its Washington policy shop.The disclosures, which are filed quarterly with Congress, include amounts spent to weigh in on legislation or other pressing matters before Congress, the White House and Executive Branch agencies. The reports were due Tuesday.Existential ThreatsWith their broad portfolios, U.S. tech companies have been worried about everything from Trump’s trade deals to stalled privacy legislation and drone regulations. But perhaps their most existential threats are the antitrust probes.The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are reviewing the biggest internet platforms to determine if they are harming competition. The FTC is scrutinizing Facebook and Amazon, while the Justice Department is investigating Google and is also looking at Facebook.Large coalitions of state attorneys general are likewise considering cases against Facebook and Google.For more: Justice Department Questions Publishers in Ongoing Google ProbeIn addition, the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, led by Rhode Island Democrat David Cicilline, has a sprawling inquiry underway. Cicilline has hauled executives before his subcommittee and peppered the companies with exhaustive questions about their business practices.Facebook surged to the front of the pack among the tech behemoths. The social-media company spent $16.7 million last year, its highest-ever yearly spending and up 32% from $12.6 million in 2018. It lobbied on such issues as intellectual property, cybersecurity, privacy, cryptocurrency and election integrity, according to the annual lobbying disclosures.E-commerce giant Amazon was close behind Facebook, upping its spending to a record $16.1 million from $14.2 million. Despite the increase, its public policy shop has experienced a number of high-profile failures. In October, for example, Amazon learned that it lost a $10 billion Pentagon cloud contract to rival Microsoft.Amazon has blamed that loss on presidential meddling. Numerous parts of the “evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias -- and it’s important that these matters be examined and rectified,” the company said in November.It doesn’t help that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and President Donald Trump have been feuding since before Trump was elected and that Bezos owns the Washington Post, which Trump sees as one of his fiercest critics.Apple RecordApple’s $7.4 million lobbying outlay last year was also a record. That amount was up 10% from $6.7 million in 2018. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has had a better working relationship with Trump than have many of his tech rivals. He was among several dozen global tech leaders who attended a breakfast with the president at the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.But Cook is also in the hot seat for his company’s refusal to help the FBI unlock an encrypted iPhone used by the Saudi air force student who allegedly killed three people at a Florida naval base.Microsoft, which spent $10.2 million on lobbying last year, up from $9.5 million the year before, has largely avoided the political pitfalls of its peers. Winning the Pentagon’s lucrative cloud contract was a major victory, considering its underdog status. In August, Pentagon vendors also were awarded a contract worth as much as $7.6 billion to provide Microsoft software to the Defense Department.The tech industry has become one of the biggest spenders in Washington. While the amounts pale in comparison with the billions in revenue each company receives and, in some cases now, their trillion-dollar market values, money can buy influence in the nation’s capital.The pharmaceutical industry is often singled out as the lobbying powerhouse of Washington. Its lead trade group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, typically conducts the lion’s share of the industry’s lobbying; it spent $28.9 million in 2019, up slightly from $27.5 million in 2018.On a company level, the $34.7 million in spending by the five largest U.S. drug makers -- Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Pfizer Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Eli Lilly & Co. -- was far less than the $62.2 million in lobby expenses by the five biggest tech companies.Big Tech also beat the biggest spender among the business lobbies, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which spent $58.2 million to lobby in 2019.Some of the big checks Facebook, Google and others are writing in Washington are going to lobbying firms and trade groups pushing industry-friendly privacy bills.Privacy PushThe industry hoped to see federal privacy legislation adopted last year, but that didn’t happen.California’s new privacy law went into effect Jan. 1, becoming the most influential U.S. privacy statute. New York, Washington State and others are considering their own privacy bills, which could create a patchwork of state privacy regulations, making compliance difficult for global tech giants.The tech companies, hoping to avoid that, are again lobbying Congress to adopt a federal privacy law before the 2020 elections.Chinese telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co., after minimal outlays, started spending heavily on lobbying in the second half of last year as it found itself in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. In May, the Commerce Department placed the company on a blacklist designed to cut it off from U.S. suppliers.Huawei spent $1.1 million in the fourth quarter and nearly $3 million for the full year, up from $165,000 in 2018. The increase was primarily to pay lobbyist Michael Esposito, who touts his connections to Trump, though the president has said he doesn’t know him.Trade WarsIn the final months of 2019, companies and trade groups intensified their lobbying on international trade issues as the Trump administration sought to end the tariff war with China and pass a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada.Earlier this year, the U.S. and China signed what they billed as the first phase of a broader trade pact that commits China to do more to crack down on the theft of American technology and avoid currency manipulation. The Senate passed Trump’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement or USMCA, which replaced the North America Free Trade Agreement, following House passage late last year.The National Association of Manufacturers’ spending on federal lobbying rose to $8.4 million in the last three months of 2019, a nearly 313% jump compared with the third quarter, and $14.6 million in all of 2019. The trade group lobbied on both China and North American trade issues, according to its filings.(Updates with Facebook spending from second paragraph)\--With assistance from Naomi Nix.To contact the reporters on this story: Eric Newcomer in San Francisco at enewcomer@bloomberg.net;Ben Brody in Washington, D.C. at btenerellabr@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, ;Molly Schuetz at mschuetz9@bloomberg.net, Paula DwyerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Netflix’s Decline Emphasizes Limited Value of Users Overseas
(Bloomberg) -- Netflix Inc.’s latest earnings report spurred mixed feelings across Wall Street as growth overseas was offset by a slowdown in the U.S. amid rising competition from Walt Disney Co., Apple Inc. and more forthcoming launches.Needham Co. believes the spike in streaming rivals will increase Netflix’s churn and customer acquisition costs, most likely lowering the lifetime value per subscriber as growth overseas isn’t equivalent to that domestically. Netflix would need to “add four $3-per-month subscriptions in India to offset each U.S. subscriber lost,” Laura Martin, TMT analyst at Needham, wrote in a note.Shares in Netflix fell as much as 3.7% on Wednesday morning, the most in 10 weeks, before trimming some of that decline. The stock has fluctuated since the streaming service reported Tuesday post-market.Analysts remained generally positive about the results and, despite first-quarter guidance missing estimates, believe the forecast appeared to be cautious. Netflix added 8.3 million subscribers internationally in the fourth quarter to surpass 100 million paid memberships outside of the U.S. for the first time.“Netflix is taking a conservative tone to start the year, with the assumption of slight headwinds,” wrote Raymond James’s Justin Patterson. “This reflects content timing, a competitive launch in Europe, and working through 2019’s U.S. churn,” he added.Stifel analyst Scott W. Devitt also said Disney+ appeared to have a less meaningful impact in available international markets than in the U.S. Still, the analyst cautioned about potential effects of the broader rollout of Disney+ in the EMEA region toward the end of the first quarter.Here’s what Wall Street is saying:Morgan Stanley, Ben SwinburneOverweight, price target $400Update reinforces bullish long-term view and, going forward, analyst expects 90% of global paid net additions to come from outside the U.S., amid continued elevated domestic churn.Notes that local originals were the most popular titles in 2019 in countries including India, Japan, Turkey, Sweden and the U.K.Guidance for nearly $1 billion in free cash flow improvement begins the path toward positive free cash flow and reinforces confidence in the earnings outlook.Piper Sandler, Michael OlsonOverweight, price target $400Netflix reported a “strong” fourth quarter thanks to international subscriber additions, though its first-quarter outlook was below consensus and “likely conservative.”Domestic streaming net subscriber additions were below the Street, likely due to the combination of elevated churn from pricing changes applied earlier in the year and new competition from Disney and Apple.Loup Ventures, Gene Munster“A mixed bag,” with domestic competition demonstrated by U.S. churn but with outperformance at the international business, leaving Netflix’s underlying growth opportunity intact.Also notes that from next year, consumers will have to make more thoughtful streaming decisions as promotional pricing from Apple TV+ and Disney+ comes to an end.“Including video offerings with other paid products and services creates a temporary perception of value in the minds of consumers and an opportunity for video providers to hook viewers, but, eventually, that perception changes.”BMO Capital Markets, Daniel SalmonOutperform, price target $440While U.S. churn remained slightly elevated after a price increase and competitive launches, “solid” growth in U.S. subscribers pushes back materially on the most bearish views.Combined with better-than-expected results in non-U.S. subscribers, BMO says that story remains “firmly intact” for growth investors, whereas free cash flow guidance for 2020 coming in better-than-expected should support interest from GARP (growth at a reasonable price) investors as Netflix makes the free cash flow turn.Bernstein, Todd JuengerOutperform, raises price target to $423 from $415International net paid adds accelerated in every region to a new fourth-quarter all-time high, beat the guide, and beat Bernstein’s estimate and consensus. Since international is where all the total addressable market and future growth lies, says Juenger, “perhaps we should just end this report right here.”“Imagine how differently this EPS report might have been received if Netflix had found an additional 200,000 U.S. net adds.” Netflix still grew in the U.S., Juenger wrote.Netflix’s U.S. subscribers “responded to the Disney+ launch by watching more Netflix.”“With very little new original Disney+ content over the next several quarters, we think consumers will be reinforced in their appreciation of Netflix’s unique value proposition: ‘always something new to watch.’”Citigroup, Jason BazinetNeutral, price target $325Citigroup expects the stock to trade flattish as the better EPS outlook is offset by the lower-than-expected net add guidance.“All told, while the firm delivered a solid set of 4Q19 results and issued 1Q20 EPS guidance above expectations, we suspect that management’s 1Q20 net add guidance is less robust than the market expected.”Needham, Laura MartinUnderperform rating“U.S. subscribers historically have been 3x more profitable than international subs. This gap is widening, and India highlights this problem.”Going forward, Netflix will aggregate low return on investment (ROI) international subs with U.S. subscribers, which masks Netflix’s true ROI trends. Management must add four $3-per-month subscriptions in India to offset each U.S. subscriber lost.Needham expects rising U.S. competition to increase Netflix’s churn and customer acquisition costs, which should lower the company’s lifetime value per subscriber versus historical levels, and put downward pressure on valuation multiples.RBC Capital Markets, Mark MahaneyOutperform, price target $420“We are incrementally positive. In a year when Netflix had two hands tied behind its back (material price increases and pullback in marketing spend), it managed to add almost as many global paid subs in FY19 as in FY18.”“That said, the ‘churn coast’ is not yet clear in the U.S., with domestic adds slowing, as Netflix felt roughly equal impacts from last year’s price increase and new competitive launches.”Evercore ISI, Vijay JayantIn-line, price target $300“With the service likely having reached ‘peak net adds’ we remain cautious on longer-term ARPU and margin trends and view the risk/reward tradeoff as fair at best at current valuations.”“While bulls will point to a better content slate in the 2Q as a means of making up any 1Q shortfall, we are less convinced given a flurry of competitive launches as a headwinds to consider and believe it likely that 2018 will ultimately represent peak net additions for the company.”Raymond James, Justin PattersonStrong buy, price target $415“Netflix is taking a conservative tone to start the year, with the assumption of slight headwinds on UCAN and international markets.”“This reflects content timing, a competitive launch in Europe, and working through 2019’s U.S. churn.”(Adds share move in third paragraph, Needham and Raymond James comments to second and fifth, and more commentary in analyst section after BMO.)\--With assistance from Lisa Pham and William Canny.To contact the reporters on this story: Joe Easton in London at jeaston7@bloomberg.net;Kit Rees in London at krees1@bloomberg.net;Kamaron Leach in New York at kleach6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, Celeste Perri, Jeremy R. CookeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
Netflix to Gain From Expanding International Content in 2020
Netflix (NFLX) to gain from international content deals and the expansion of the content portfolio with the slated release of 21 films from Studio Ghibli as well as the latest Pokemon animation.
- Zacks
Disney Launching Disney+ a Week Early in Western Europe
Disney (DIS) moves up launch date of Disney+ in Western Europe to gain market and strengthen competitive position.
- Zacks
Apple's (AAPL) Low-Cost iPhones Likely to Debut In March
Apple (AAPL) is expected to begin manufacturing of its unannounced affordable iPhone variant in February ahead of a public debut in March, per Bloomberg.
- Zacks
ETFs in Focus on Netflix's Solid Q4 But Weak Outlook
Netflix offered a weak outlook, raising concerns about its dominance in an increasingly crowded field.
- Bloomberg
Netflix Slides on Outlook for Greater Competitive Threats
(Bloomberg) -- Netflix Inc. says it’s ready to take on the toughest year in its history in terms of new streaming competition. Investors have their doubts.Netflix delivered generally upbeat fourth-quarter results after Tuesday’s close, with overseas growth helping offset a slowdown at home, but it expects to add fewer subscribers in the current quarter than Wall Street projected.The shares tumbled as much as 3.7%, the most since November, in New York trading Wednesday morning, after trending mostly higher amid volatile trading since the postclose report.With technology and media giants such as Apple Inc., AT&T Inc., Comcast Corp. and Walt Disney Co. all bringing new video platforms online, Netflix is working to keep customers loyal with a flood of shows and movies. The company plans to boost its spending by 20% this year, bringing its programming budget to about $12 billion on a profit-and-loss basis.“We view our big long-term opportunity as big and unchanged,” Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings said during a pretaped recap of its fourth-quarter earnings, released Tuesday.Despite the muted first-quarter subscriber forecast, Netflix said there’s “ample room for many services to grow.”Netflix investors have been grappling with whether the company’s days of reliable growth are over. The company added fewer customers in 2019 than it did in 2018, and its increase in the U.S. and Canada decelerated by more than 3 million. In posting the results Tuesday, Netflix said price hikes and a growing array of options have made it harder to attract customers.It’s only going to get tougher. Apple’s TV+ and the Disney+ platform both launched in the U.S. during November, enticing consumers with lower-cost services, while AT&T’s HBO Max and Comcast’s Peacock are both coming online in the next few months.All those competitors are likely to slow customer additions and increase the number of existing customers who cancel Netflix.Against that backdrop, Netflix posted its weakest year of domestic subscriber growth since it first broke out its online service from the company’s traditional DVD-by-mail business in 2011. Netflix is projecting a gain of 7 million paid subscribers worldwide in the first quarter, short of the 7.82 million estimate.“We are working hard to improve our service to combat these factors,” it said in a letter to shareholders.Staying the CourseBut the Los Gatos, California-based company argues that its strategy is still sound, and competition shouldn’t cause it to change course. Losing popular shows such as “Friends” to its new rivals has had no impact on viewership so far. Netflix subscribers are just finding other shows to watch, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said.For proof, Netflix can point to its global growth in the latest quarter. The company added 8.76 million customers in the period, compared with forecasts of 7.65 million. Hastings described them as “amazing numbers.”Netflix has pinned its future potential on growth outside the U.S., where it doesn’t yet face the same level of competition. Europe and Latin America have been the company’s engine in the past couple years, and continued to serve that role in the fourth quarter. Netflix added 4.4 million customers in Europe, bringing its overall total to almost 52 million, and another 2.04 million customers in Latin America.Non-English ShowsNetflix plans to release more than 100 seasons of local language programming next year. Though its biggest global hits are mostly English-language shows such as “Stranger Things” and “The Witcher,” its most popular programs in many territories are in other languages, like Spain’s “Casa de Papel.” The company is also experimenting with different pricing plans in Asia.Netflix has borrowed billions to fund all that programming, and its long-term debt stands at almost $15 billion. But the company said this past year will mark the high-water mark in terms of its cash burn. Earnings of $1.30 a share also handily beat analyst estimates of 30 cents, lifted by a tax benefit.Investors weren’t sure what to make of Netflix’s results at first. The shares had dropped as much as 3% to $327.97 in extended trading before rebounding, then drifted lower again Wednesday morning into the open. The company’s shares had climbed 4.5% so far this year before Tuesday’s close.“After several years of unchecked dominance in the U.S. streaming-video industry, Netflix faces high-profile new streaming rivals,” Geetha Ranganathan, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, said in a report. “Yet the breadth of its content and a compelling value proposition will make it hard for new entrants like Disney+ to unseat the company.”(An earlier version of the story corrected a quarterly financial comparison.)To contact the reporter on this story: Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards III, Cécile DauratFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
Amphenol (APH) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Down Y/Y
Amphenol's (APH) fourth-quarter 2019 results reflect a lackluster performance in communications end markets.
- Zacks
Garmin to Gain Traction Among Golfers With Approach S62 Watch
Garmin (GRMN) unveils a GPS smartwatch, Approach S62, to expand its share in the wearables market.
- Zacks
Netflix (NFLX) Q4 Earnings Crush Estimates, Revenues Up Y/Y
Netflix (NFLX) adds 8.76 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2019, better than management's expectation of 7.60 million.
- Zacks
5 High-Flying Stocks to Buy Ahead of Earnings Next Week
Although several large-cap stocks have skyrocketed in the past year, some of them are set to beat earnings estimate in the ongoing reporting cycle.
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Facebook, Apple, Alibaba, Amazon and Alphabet
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Facebook, Apple, Alibaba, Amazon and Alphabet
- Zacks
Viavi Settles Patent Issue With LG, Optrontec Faces Lawsuit
Viavi (VIAV) settles patent infringement case with LG Electronics and LG Innotek. However, legal proceedings continue against Optrontec for similar charges.
- Zacks
Coronavirus-Led Pullback Provides Good Entry Point to Market
The coronavirus disease broke in a crucial time as the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday will start from Jan 24 with hundreds of millions of people expected to travel to and from China.
- Zacks
Top Ranked Momentum Stocks to Buy for January 22nd
Top Ranked Momentum Stocks to Buy for January 22nd
- Bloomberg
Apple Battery Supplier Varta’s Biggest Bull Turns Bearish
(Bloomberg) -- Varta AG has gone from one of Europe’s hottest stocks last year to one of the worst performers in 2020. Now the German battery maker has lost its biggest booster among analysts.Commerzbank AG’s Stephan Klepp cut his recommendation on the stock to reduce from hold, his second downgrade this month. He lowered his price target to 82 euros from 135 euros, which had been the highest among six analysts tracked by Bloomberg.The stock soared almost fivefold last year as investors rewarded Varta for its position as the dominant supplier for one of the year’s hottest consumer products, wireless earphones such as Apple Inc.’s AirPods. An anonymous short seller triggered a plunge in the stock this month by reporting that a teardown of earphones showed that Chinese rivals increasingly are taking business away from Varta.“Many investors and analysts, including myself, were all caught up in excitement at end of last year,” Klepp said by instant message. “But we all had to learn that the competition is closer to Varta than we thought.”Varta may face increasing pressure on its lithium-ion microbatteries that are used in most premium earbuds because of their superior energy density, the analyst said.Earnings estimates already reflect strong growth but not the fact that the company is likely to have to raise money through a sale of new shares to pay for additional production capacity, Klepp said.The shares dropped 3.2% to 86.60 euros at 10:30 a.m. in Frankfurt, extending its 2019 loss to 29%. The company has a market value of 3.5 billion euros ($3.9 billion).On Jan. 8, Varta fell 21% after the short seller’s report and Klepp’s downgrade of the stock to hold from buy. The company has taken legal action against two Chinese producers for allegedly violating Varta’s patents, it said at the time.In October, Klepp dismantled a pair of the latest Apple AirPods to prove that they are powered by Varta batteries, which the company had neither confirmed nor denied.Producing its headset microbatteries in Germany safeguards Varta’s know-how from rivals in China and Korea, Chief Executive Officer Herbert Schein said in a Bloomberg interview in the company’s headquarters in Ellwangen in October.To contact the reporter on this story: David Verbeek in Frankfurt at dverbeek1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Schaefer at dschaefer36@bloomberg.net, Phil Serafino, Tom LavellFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
New Low-Cost iPhone to Enter Mass Production in February
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. suppliers plan to begin assembling a new low-cost iPhone in February, people familiar with the plan said, as the company looks to address a wider swath of the global smartphone market ahead of its 5G handsets later this year.The Cupertino, California-based company is expected to officially unveil the new phone as early as March, one person familiar with its road map said. The assembly work for the new handset will be split among Hon Hai Precision Industry, Pegatron Corp. and Wistron Corp., the people added.This will be the first lower-cost iPhone model since the iPhone SE. It will look similar to the iPhone 8 from 2017 and include a 4.7-inch screen, Bloomberg News has previously reported. The iPhone 8 is still on the market, currently selling for $449, whereas Apple sold the iPhone SE for $399 when that handset launched in 2016.The new phone is expected to have Touch ID built into the home button, reusing established Apple technology instead of opting for an in-display fingerprint sensor like most modern Android rivals. It will not have Apple’s Face ID biometric authentication, but it will feature the same processor as Apple’s current flagship device, the iPhone 11.An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.Apple Expects IPhone Shipments to Return to Growth in 2020Apple’s more affordable iPhones have proven popular with consumers, including the latest iPhone 11, whose starting price was $50 lower than Apple’s typical pricing. Strong demand for iPhones has prompted Apple to ask Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to make more chips in the current quarter, according to two people familiar with the matter.Shares in Japan Display Inc., which supplies LCD screens for Apple’s lower-tier iPhones, closed 1.35% higher on Wednesday.Apple is planning a slew of new high-end iPhones for release later in 2020 that include 5G connectivity, faster processors, and new 3-D cameras on the back, Bloomberg News has reported.A cheaper offering may help Apple better compete in the most price-competitive and fast-growing emerging phone markets, particularly India. iPhones are still a hard sell in the country, which is overrun by aggressively-priced Android rivals coming in at less than $200. Still, Apple has shown a will to carve out a niche for itself and is eyeing locations for Apple stores within its borders.The U.S. tech juggernaut is hoping its handset shipments will return to growth this year, having set itself the goal of shipping more than 200 million units in 2020. The successor to the iPhone SE will play a significant role in that task.(Updates with Japan Display share price move)To contact the reporters on this story: Debby Wu in Taipei at dwu278@bloomberg.net;Mark Gurman in Los Angeles at mgurman1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Vlad SavovFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Foxconn’s Terry Gou Vows to Fire Up Wisconsin Plant This Year
(Bloomberg) -- Foxconn’s Terry Gou pledged to begin production at a long-delayed electronics plant in Wisconsin sometime this year, kick-starting a signature U.S. project that’s expected to play a pivotal role in expanding the billionaire’s manufacturing empire.The Foxconn founder said the factory will be up and running in 2020 and drive his company’s vision of manufacturing components for fifth-generation wireless and artificial intelligence applications, without elaborating. Gou, who failed in his bid to contest the Taiwanese presidential elections, added he will spend a lot of time in the U.S. this year and intends to send more employees over.“I hope many Hon Hai colleagues will go work in the U.S. to help America boost manufacturing and build a supply chain,” Gou told employees at his company’s new year’s party in Taipei.Foxconn’s Wisconsin complex, which President Donald Trump has hailed as a symbol of America’s manufacturing revival, has spurred controversy since its 2017 inception. The project once envisioned as a $10 billion investment on display panels has fallen far behind schedule and drawn fire from politicians because of lofty incentives Foxconn had wrung from local government. At one point, the Taiwanese company toyed with the idea of scaling back on the factory complex, along with a promise to bring 13,000 jobs to the Badger State.Foxconn, whose main listed vehicle is Apple Inc. iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., has since kept its precise plans under wraps. Originally conceived as a factory to make liquid crystal displays for TVs, the company reduced the size and scope of the manufacturing center it committed to building and missed its maximum first-year hiring target by 82%. Wisconsin’s deal with Foxconn has also been politically fraught: Republican Governor Scott Walker, who helped strike the state’s partnership along with Trump, lost his reelection bid in 2018 in part because of the controversy surrounding the Foxconn project.Read more: Foxconn Struggles to Put Wisconsin First After Subsidy DealTo contact the reporter on this story: Debby Wu in Taipei at dwu278@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Edwin Chan, Colum MurphyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
WRAPUP 10-China virus deaths hit 17, heightening global alarm
BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Deaths from China's new virus rose to 17 on Wednesday with more than 540 cases confirmed, increasing fears of contagion from an infection suspected to originate from illegally-traded wildlife. The previously unknown, flu-like coronavirus strain is believed to have emerged from an animal market in central Wuhan city, with cases now detected as far away as the United States.
- Bloomberg
Apple Is Raising TSMC Chip Orders to Meet Strong iPhone Demand
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. has asked chipmaking partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to increase its output of A-series processors this quarter in order to satisfy higher-than-anticipated iPhone demand, people familiar with the company’s plans said.The iPhone 11 and 11 Pro models were well received on their debut in the fall and their sales in China have been particularly strong, outselling 2018’s releases in a market that has otherwise been shrinking. Even without fifth-generation wireless networking, iPhone demand has been outperforming the market and Apple’s expectations, and the company asked assembly partners to increase their production of the latest generation.The most affordable iPhone 11 model, equipped with an LCD screen, was a particular driver for the increased demand, one person said.New Low-Cost IPhone Said to Enter Mass Production in FebruaryAlong with the popularity of existing models, Apple’s business with TSMC is also set for a boost from an imminent iPhone SE successor, a low-cost model that will begin mass production in February ahead of an official unveiling as soon as March, Bloomberg News reported. It will be built around the same processor as the iPhone 11 generation.TSMC spokeswoman Nina Kao said the company doesn’t comment on its business with any specific customer. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.The Taiwanese chipmaker recently reported earnings above most analysts’ expectations and it forecast another good quarter ahead. Though it faces potential headwinds from the threat of tightening U.S. sanctions on key customer Huawei Technologies Co., analysts believe additional demand from Apple and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will replace any potential Huawei drop-off.\--With assistance from Mark Gurman.To contact the reporter on this story: Debby Wu in Taipei at dwu278@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edwin Chan at echan273@bloomberg.net, Vlad SavovFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
