Tag: Personal Electronics

3 Things Businesses Should Remember When Handling Used Consumer Electronics | Entrepreneur

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Recycling or handling used consumer electronics is a complex endeavor for all involved parties. Employers, consumers, electronics manufacturers, repair services, and recycling companies all need to play their part since there are many factors to consider when recycling consumer electronics.

For example, consumers often lack convenient ways to dispose of consumer electronics properly. Additionally, after a product has been recycled, there will most likely be some toxic waste that has to be properly stored and disposed of. This electronic waste, or e-waste, is a big issue for the environment and people’s health.

Some components, such as batteries, must be fully disassembled to extract toxic elements for proper disposal. Additionally, capacitors, resistors, and other electronic components that can be reused need to be removed and properly stored instead of being thrown on massive piles of e-waste in a landfill.

So, to effectively recycle consumer electronics, a circular economy is necessary. That being said, there are some things to keep in mind when handling or recycling used consumer electronics.

Related: How the Circular Economy of Consumer Electronics Can Change Sustainability

1. The importance of properly dealing with consumer electronics waste

The proliferation of consumer electronics in the last decades has led to a rapid surge in electronic waste generation. Globally, more than 53 million metric tons of e-waste are being produced each year, and it is projected that the global e-waste generation will reach 75 million metric tons annually by 2030.

Due to the presence of toxic substances, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, e-waste poses a severe threat to the environment. Consequently, many countries worldwide have set regulations to ensure the responsible handling of e-waste. For example, China banned the import of e-waste over two decades ago. While this helped immensely, there are still tons of e-waste being imported illegally.

Since proper electronic waste disposal practices demonstrate commitment to environmental responsibility, it shouldn’t be surprising that companies with high ratings for environmental, social and governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) factors have been found to have lower debt and equity costs. Further, consumer electronics contain valuable resources, including precious metals and rare earth elements.

As a result, the production of consumer electronics leads to the depletion of finite natural resources. Not only does extracting these materials through recycling reduce the impact of environmentally damaging mining practices, but it is also a massive value gain since the raw materials found in e-waste are estimated to be worth around $60 billion.

Additionally, recycling conserves energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions that occur while producing new electronics. So, it is imperative to understand the benefits and necessity of recycling and properly disposing of consumer electronics. Further, ensuring accessible and sustainable disposal or recycling options for consumers is crucial to encourage responsible e-waste management.

Related: Why Many Tech Execs Are Skipping the Consumer Electronics Show

2. Challenges associated with handling used electronics

While selling or donating used electronic devices can extend their lifespan and reduce e-waste, it comes with its own host of challenges. For example, neglecting to wipe clean electronic devices from data can pose a significant risk, especially if they are not properly disposed of.

When an intact storage medium, like an SD card or an SSD, is found and still contains data, the information that’s on it can be extracted. This can potentially lead to identity theft or data breaches. So, it is vital to properly wipe data or physically destroy storage mediums before disposing of a device.

Another factor to consider when handling used consumer electronics is proper storage. Of course, this is usually not a big issue when devices are being repaired. However, the situation is more complex when devices get recycled.

Toxic elements found in electronics can contaminate soil, water, and air if not handled correctly. This can not only lead to serious health issues, but it can also negatively affect the environment. Hence, proper e-waste management is essential. This involves separating hazardous materials, recycling reusable components, and ensuring the safe disposal of toxic substances.

Since only around 17 percent of the global annual e-waste is recycled, implementing appropriate disposal methods, such as sending e-waste to certified recycling facilities, can have a huge impact, especially if the recycling infrastructure is made accessible to consumers.

3. How to properly recycle or dispose of used electronic devices

While there are challenges associated with handling or recycling used electronic devices, the demand for refurbished and used consumer electronics is increasing. Even though supply chains for pre-owned consumer electronics are still underdeveloped across the globe, consumer sentiment is shifting, and people are looking for sustainable ways to handle their used devices. Accordingly, ATRenew has seen a rise in engagement and has transacted more than 32 million used devices via its nearly 2,000 offline stores in 2022.

To effectively handle consumer electronics, both consumers and businesses should follow some guidelines. For example, consumers should consider donating or selling their device to extend its lifespan if it is in good working condition. Further, they should avoid throwing away electronic devices in regular waste bins.

Instead, they should look for certified local e-waste recycling centers or collection events. Additionally, consumers should always ensure that all personal data is erased before they dispose of any electronic device. For example, at ATRenew, we’ve developed a data cleaning system, dubbed AiQingChu, that protects users’ data security through multiple times of data erasure and overwriting, thus preventing malicious recovery of data.

On the other hand, businesses should ensure that these options are as accessible to consumers as possible. Further, they should collaborate with certified e-waste handlers to build the necessary infrastructure.

By offering trade-in or recycling programs, companies can encourage consumers to return old devices for proper recycling or disposal. Not only does this promote convenience and encourage responsible e-waste management, but it also enables businesses to educate consumers.

Closing thoughts

Handling and recycling consumer electronics requires careful consideration and responsible practices from all involved parties. While consumers and businesses have a big role, legislation worldwide is also essential when properly recycling used consumer electronics. Fortunately, many countries already have legislation in place.

For example, China implemented e-waste regulations decades ago, and Germany has been known for its advanced recycling infrastructure and collection systems for ages. Further, it has pioneered initiatives that hold manufacturers responsible for recycling their products.

By prioritizing proper disposal methods, addressing data security concerns, and promoting accessible recycling options, the amount of e-waste and its detrimental impact on the environment and human health can be reduced. Embracing a circular economy approach ensures that valuable resources are extracted, toxic substances are safely disposed of, and electronic devices are given a second life.

Kerry Chen

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August 2, 2023
Amazon and Apple to headline Q2 earnings this week

When Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. report quarterly results on Thursday, we’ll get a look at two big companies, with big expectations, trying to do smaller things — or at least less exciting things, or things that might be more inconveniencing to customers — to stay bigger.

For Apple
AAPL,
+1.35%,
D.A. Davidson analyst Tom Forte said, the focus will be on the iPhone, as always, as well as demand abroad and a new VR headset, as its stock hovers near record highs and its market value holds above $3 trillion. And he said that Amazon
AMZN,
+3.09%,
meanwhile, could face questions about the impact of cost cuts on e-commerce growth, and what AI could do to boost slower growth in its cloud business.

The results from those companies, which are big enough to make or break a single quarter’s worth for the S&P 500 Index
SPX,
+0.99%,
will follow those from the other tech giants like Microsoft Corp.
MSFT,
+2.31%
and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc.
META,
+4.42%.
And they’ll arrive as Wall Street starts to get a tad more realistic about AI: Microsoft shares fell after management said the expansion of its AI capabilities would be “gradual” — and gradually more expensive.

D.A. Davidson analyst Tom Forte, in a research note this month, said Amazon, like other big tech companies, was taking more steps to control its costs. That might help margins, he said. But he said he’d be watching for any impact to e-commerce sales growth, following thousands of layoffs and pulling back on its expansion of Amazon Fresh.

Amazon began tacking on servicing fees onto some Amazon Fresh delivery orders this year. And Forte noted what he said were other tweaks to service: Charging for a home pickup of a defective smoke alarm that used to be free, and incentives to wait longer during Prime Day.

“In our view, Amazon is playing a ‘game of chicken’ and banking on other e-commerce companies not to offer a superior service, instead of its historical approach of working backwards with a customer-obsessed approach,” D.A. Davidson analyst Tom Forte said in a research note.

He added later: “We believe there is something to be said about the experience of having an Amazon-branded delivery vehicle show up at your house EVERY day. Having one show up once a week or twice is not the same.”

At Apple, Forte said in a separate note, the iPhone, whose sales were still solid, had turned into more of a consumer staple than a discretionary buy. He also said he’d be looking for more detail about the upcoming iPhone 15 — likely to be modestly fancier than previous iPhones — the recovery in China and growth in India. Apple last month also unveiled its Vision Pro VR headset — for $3,499. Forte said he had his doubts.

“We believe Apple will have to overcome a number of structural challenges to achieve mass adoption for its AR/VR headset,” he said.

This week in earnings

Apple and Amazon will report as more companies than normal report quarterly profit ahead of estimates, according to a FactSet report on Friday. For the week ahead, 170 S&P 500 companies report results, with four from the Dow, the repot said.

Results from Uber Technologies Inc.
UBER,
+3.28%
and DoorDash Inc.
DASH,
+4.20%
will offer an update on the gig economy and how far app-based deliveries can go, while results from Kraft Heinz Inc.
KHC,
-0.11%
will offer an update on food prices and how much they might ease from the highs seen in recent months.

With the “Barbie” movie lifting rival Mattel Inc.
MAT,
-2.40%,
results from Hasbro Inc
HAS,
-0.29%
during the week will offer a glance at the rest of the toy industry, where demand hasn’t exactly been great, and what entertainment options Hasbro has up its sleeve to keep apace with its archrival. Drug maker Pfizer Inc.
PFE,
-0.36%
reports, as does video-game maker Electronic Arts Inc.
EA,
+0.25%.
Starbucks Corp.
SBUX,
+0.47%
reports as well.

The call to put on your calendar

“Barbie,” the Hollywood strike and Warner Bros. Discovery: Mattel has said it wants to turn “Barbie” into a content franchise. Now we’ll hear what Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.
WBD,
+4.07%,
the media conglomerate that produced the film, thinks about the film’s results and its prospects, as studios increasingly pump out sequels or offshoots of well-known, established character universes like “Star Wars,” Marvel and DC. The company — which reports oversees Warner Bros. CNN, TNT and the streaming service Max — reports quarterly results on Thursday. But even as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” carry the parts of the entertainment industry that are still functioning through the Hollywood strike, Wall Street will likely be focused on contingency plans, and any sense of whether more viewers are turning to streaming with productions on pause.

The number to watch

Payments and crypto volumes: Results this week from trading app Robinhood Markets Inc.
HOOD,
+4.09%
and crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc.
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+2.23%,
along with PayPal Holdings Inc.
PYPL,
+2.71%
and Block
SQ,
+3.42%,
will land at the intersection of rebounding markets and job-market concerns.

UBS analysts predicted solid growth and cost control for Block, and “steady” e-commerce trends for PayPal. But BofA analysts said PayPal’s search for a new chief executive, following the announcement of Dan Schulman’s retirement at the end of the year, would become more important, adding that “we think investors should rightfully expect the CEO search to conclude in the near-term.” While Bitcoin’s rebound helped Coinbase, the company and others in the industry face the prospect of tougher regulations. Robinhood and PayPal report on Wednesday. Coinbase and Block report on Thursday.

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July 30, 2023
Micron CEO calls bottom in memory-chip market, but weak PC, smartphone forecasts cut into expected AI gains

Micron Technology Inc. shares rose in the extended session Wednesday after the memory-chip maker’s chief executive called the bottom on the sector, and quarterly results came in better than expected.

Micron
MU,
+0.42%
shares had jumped more than 5% after hours following the release of results, but by the end of the company’s conference call with analysts, the stock was up less than 2%. Shares finished Wednesday’s session with a 0.4% gain to close at $67.07, while the S&P 500 index
SPX,
-0.04%
declined less than 0.1%.

The Boise, Idaho-based company forecast an adjusted loss of $1.26 to $1.12 a share on revenue of $3.7 billion to $4.1 billion for the fourth quarter, while analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated a loss of $1.07 a share on revenue of $3.88 billion for the fourth quarter, and a loss of $4.65 a share on revenue of $15.32 billion for the year.

Read: Snowflake stock rallies as ‘blizzard’ of AI product announcements make Wall Street happy

In the near term, Micron Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra told analysts on the call that while sales forecasts received a considerable boost from larger-than-expected AI sales, forecasts for PC, smartphone and standard server sales are looking worse than feared, and will eat into those gains. All told, however, the CEO told analysts that supply reductions are beginning to stabilize the market.

Micron Chief Financial Officer Mark Murphy said the company took about $400 million in inventory write-downs in the third quarter, contributing to negative gross margins of 16%, an improvement of 15 percentage points sequentially. When Micron reported its worst loss ever a quarter ago, the company had taken a $1.4 billion inventory charge. When Micron started flashing signs of negative margins earlier in the year, many analysts saw that as signs of a bottom on the horizon.

Read: Is Micron selling memory chips for less than they cost to make? That may mean the bottom is near.

Micron makes two types of memory chips: DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, the type of memory commonly used in PCs and servers; and NAND, the flash memory chips used in smaller devices like smartphones and USB drives. After prices for memory soared early in the COVID-19 pandemic, companies overbought large stores of chips to avoid shortages, creating a glut.

“As we have said before, AI servers have six to eight times the DRAM content of a regular server and three times the NAND content,” Mehrotra told analysts on the call. “In fact, some customers are deploying AI compute capability with substantially higher memory content.”

For the third quarter, Micron reported third-quarter loss of $1.9 billion, or $1.73 a share, versus net income of $2.63 billion, or $2.34 a share, in the year-ago period.

The adjusted loss, which excluded stock-based compensation expenses and other items, was $1.43 a share, versus net income of $2.59 a share in the year-ago period.

Revenue dropped to $3.75 billion from $8.64 billion in the year-ago quarter, as a two-year shortage of chips, triggered by the COVID pandemic, flipped quickly, but unevenly, into a glut around this time last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of $1.61 a share on revenue of $3.65 billion.

“We believe that the memory industry has passed its trough in revenue, and we expect margins to improve as industry supply-demand balance is gradually restored,” Mehrotra had said in an earlier statement.

Read: Nvidia stock falls after CFO says no material impact from prospective wider ban on AI chip sales to China

The CEO also called a recent order by the Chinese government to stop using Micron chips because of alleged serious, but unspecified, risks “a significant headwind that is impacting our outlook and slowing our recovery.”

On the call with analysts, Mehrotra said he expects to see a “record total addressable market in calendar 2025 along with a return to more normalized levels of profitability.”

Leading up to earnings, analysts had said that Micron is “at the bottom of this deep downturn,” but “China complicates the recovery plan.” For the year, Micron shares are up 34%, compared with the S&P 500’s 14% gain.

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June 28, 2023
The $3,499 Vision Pro headset, iOS 17, and everything else Apple just announced at WWDC

Apple Inc.’s $3,499 Vision Pro headset stole the show Monday as Apple kicked off its annual WWDC event.

Chief Executive Tim Cook and other executives showed off the next chapter of Apple
AAPL,
-0.76%
technology — “spatial computing” — during a keynote event that failed to maintain Apple’s record stock price. Shares had been on track to close at an all-time high before the event began, but were trading in the red once the event wrapped.

While the Vision Pro and its eye-popping price tag was the biggest news from the presentation, Apple also teased forthcoming software enhancements and new Mac computers.

Here’s everything that was announced Monday.

The Vision Pro headset

Apple was widely expected to roll out a mixed-reality headset at Monday’s event, but the announcement still brought a few surprises.

While Apple was rumored to be planning a price tag in the range of $3,000 for its new Vision Pro headset, the actual price of $3,499 was higher. Also, Apple won’t be selling the device until early next year, later than expected, in a move that means the company will miss the holiday season.

The company spent ample time during Monday’s presentation showing off what the Vision Pro can do in terms of bringing photographs, movies and everyday web browsing into physical spaces. Though the company discussed some gaming applications, and a partnership with Unity Software Inc.
U,
+17.16%,
executives didn’t dwell on gaming and focused the immersive experience more fully.

See MarketWatch’s enhanced coverage of the Vision Pro launch here.

New iPhone software

Apple’s iPhone software enhancements are typically a focus of WWDC, an event aimed at developers who create apps for that and other Apple platforms. This year’s update — iOS 17 — will feature new ways to share contact information, journal and make use of the iPhone while it’s locked.

With iOS 17 this fall, Apple users will also be able to set up contact “posters” for themselves, which will appear in full screen when they call others. They’ll be able to see live transcriptions of voice mails so they can determine whether to pick up calls they initially ignored.

See MarketWatch’s full guide to the new iOS 17 features here.

Read: Are thousand-dollar iPhones now a necessity? From reactions to Apple earnings, you sure might think so.

A 15-inch MacBook Air

Apple is making the MacBook Air bigger with a new 15-inch model that features the company’s M2 chip. This version will start at $1,299 and become officially available next week, though preorders begin today. The device gets 18 hours of battery life, is 11.5-millimeters thin and weighs just over 3 pounds.

Mac Pro and Mac Studio

Apple had set out to infuse its personal-computer lineup with custom chips, and the company rounded that out Monday with new Mac Pro and Mac Studio devices that feature Apple Silicon processing. The Mac Studio will start at $1,999, and the Mac Pro will begin at $6,999.

Don’t miss: AI could give a big boost to profit margins — but there’s one key unknown, Goldman Sachs says

New iPad software

Apple will refresh its iPad software as well, with a new custom lock screen, widget enhancements, machine-learning tools that help with PDF editing and better annotation functions for PDFs. Plus, users will be able to at last set multiple timers.

New Mac software

Apple plans to upgrade its Mac operating system as well with a new version that will be called Sonoma. A key feature of this update is a redesign of the widgets function, giving users the ability to place widgets on their home screens and see these automatically fade when necessary so they don’t become distracting.

The new Sonoma operating system will add various tools for web presentations, including a feature that lets people appear as overlays on top of their presentation content and new reaction animations that can show balloons and confetti in response to meeting content.

Within Safari, family members will be more easily able to share passwords. The company will also let people create separate profiles for home, work, and school use of a Mac.

Audio and video improvements

Apple is adding Adaptive Audio to help AirPods users drown out distracting sounds when appropriate. The technology will proactively lower outside volume when someone is on a call and detect when someone is talking to a real-life companion in order to lower music volume for the duration of the conversation.

Within video, Apple will let people use their phone cameras to engage in FaceTime conversations shown on an Apple TV. The company will also support AirPlay connectivity at hotels.

Apple Watch software enhancements

WatchOS 10, the new Apple Watch operating system, will let users retain their aesthetic watch faces but twist the digital crown to see widgets for information like weather, timers and events. The company is also looking to make the Apple Watch more useful for cyclists with advanced tracking features. One part of this allows users to pair an iPhone and see cycling data on the phone’s lock screen, which can be useful for those who dock their phones on a bike while also wearing the watch.

Watch owners will receive a new hiking app as well, which will let users see elevation data and topographical information.

Read: Apple could be cooking up 3 more $10 billion-plus businesses, one analyst says

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June 5, 2023
Here are all the new software features coming to Apple’s iPhone this year

Users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone will soon be able to more easily screen calls, check-in with loved ones and exchange contact information.

Apple
AAPL,
+0.43%
executives teased the elements of its forthcoming iOS17 software update at the keynote address of its WWDC event Monday, which also brought the introduction of new Macs.

Consumers will gain the ability to choose how they come up when they call others through a new “poster” feature. Users will be able to customize posters with photographs and fonts, and have these appear in another person’s contacts app.

The company is also changing up how calls work by adding a way for people to pick up calls while they’re in the middle of receiving a voice mail. A new on-device live-voicemail feature will show transcripts of a voice mail while it’s in progress, so people can determine that a call isn’t spam or is important enough to stop what they’re doing before they pick it up.

Users will also gain the ability to leave a message when using FaceTime, Apple’s video-calling app.

See also: Apple’s stock at all-time highs ahead of WWDC headset reveal

Within iMessage, Apple will offer the ability for people to share their locations within a conversation and check in with loved ones. People will be able to set up a check-in option that can notify loved ones when they get home and offer alerts about battery, cell service, and location if they end up running late.

Apple is also enhancing the Stickers feature within iMessage with the ability to create “live stickers” from photos. Further, it’s tucking iMessage apps like Stickers behind a menu so they don’t initially clutter the message screen.

Within iMessage, Apple will make it easier for people to jump to the top of long group threads and swipe to reply to a given message.

Apple is introducing a NameDrop feature that lets people share contact information just by tapping their phones together. It’s also augmenting AutoCorrect with in-line predictions that go beyond one word and the ability for people to teach autocorrect their preferences better.

Read: Apple could be cooking up 3 more $10 billion-plus businesses, one analyst says

The company is rolling out two new apps, including one for journaling. People will be able to collect photos, music, and written notes into moments. A new StandBy app will turn a locked iPhone into a smart display that users can customize based on their preferences and the time of day.

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June 5, 2023

20 AI stocks expected to post the highest compound annual sales growth through 2025

Things move quickly in the world of artificial intelligence. It is easy to sit back and complain about developments that could be disruptive, but sometimes investors are best served by putting emotions aside and observing new developments and how they affect markets. Could AI developments and related trends make you a lot of money?

Below is a new screen showing a group of AI-oriented companies expected to increase their sales most rapidly through 2025, based on consensus estimates among analysts polled by FactSet. Then we show expected revenue growth rates for the largest AI-oriented companies in the screen.

Over the long haul, many businesses might perform more efficiently by employing AI. Maybe this technology can create an economic revolution similar to the one that moved the majority of the working population away from agricultural labor during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Back in February, we screened 96 stocks held by five exchange-traded funds focused on AI and related industries and listed the 20 that analysts thought would rise the most over the following 12 months.

Three months is a long time for AI, and the shakeout hasn’t even started.

Read: Congress and tech seem open to regulating AI efforts, but that doesn’t mean it will happen

There is no way to predict how politicians will react to perceived or real threats of AI and machine learning. And the largest U.S. tech players are doing everything they can to employ the new technology and remain dominant. But that doesn’t mean they will grow more quickly than smaller AI-focused players.

A new AI stock screen

Once again we will begin a screen with these five ETFs:

The Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF
BOTZ,
+0.97%
BOTZ was established 2016 and has $1.8 billion in assets under management. The fund tracks an index of companies listed in developed markets that are expected to benefit from the increased utilization of robotics and AI. There are 44 stocks in the BOTZ portfolio, which is weighted by market capitalization and rebalanced once a year. Its largest holding is Intuitive Surgical Inc.
ISRG,
+0.53%,
which makes up 10% of the portfolio, followed by Nvidia Corp.
NVDA,
+3.30%
at 9.4%.
The iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF
IRBO,
+1.64%
holds 116 stocks that are equal-weighted, as it tracks a global index of companies that derive at east 50% of revenue from robotics or AI, or have significant exposure to related industries. This ETF was launched in 2018 and has $304 million in assets.
The $246 million First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence & Robotics ETF
ROBT,
+1.83%
has 107 stocks in its portfolio, with a modified weighting based on how directly companies are involved in AI or robotics. It was established in 2018.
The Robo Global Artificial Intelligence ETF
THNQ,
+1.81%
has $26 million in assets and was established in 2020. I holds 69 stocks and isn’t concentrated. It uses a scoring system to weight its holdings by percentage of revenue derived from AI, with holdings also subject to minimum market capitalization and liquidity requirements.
The newest ETF on this list is the WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Fund
WTAI,
+2.42%,
which was established in December and has $13 million in assets and holds 73 stocks in an equal-weighted portfolio. According to FactSet, stocks are handpicked and selected companies “generate at least 50% of their revenue from AI and innovation activities, including those related to software, semiconductors, hardware technology, machine learning and innovative products.”

Altogether and removing duplicates, the five ETFs hold 270 stocks of companies in 23 countries. We first narrowed the list to 197 covered by at least nine analysts and for which consensus sales estimates are available through calendar 2025. We used calendar-year estimates because some companies have fiscal years that don’t match the calendar.

Here are the 20 screened AI-related companies expected by analysts to have the highest compound annual growth rates (CAGR) for sales from 2023 through 2025. Sales estimates are in millions of U.S. dollars. The list also shows which of the above five ETFs holds each stocks.

Company	Ticker	Estimated sales – 2023 ($mil)	Estimated sales – 2024 ($mil)	Estimated sales – 2025 ($mil)	Two-year estimated sales CAGR through 2025	Held by
BioXcel Therapeutics Inc.	BTAI, -2.47%	$5	$39	$121	411.5%	WTAI
Luminar Technologies Inc. Class A	LAZR, +8.82%	$86	$266	$588	161.0%	ROBT, WTAI
BlackBerry Ltd.	BB, +6.01%	$685	$769	$1,925	67.6%	ROBT
Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd.	CRDO, +10.29%	$183	$259	$363	40.9%	IRBO
SentinelOne Inc. Class A	S, +1.05%	$619	$881	$1,176	37.9%	WTAI
Wolfspeed Inc.	WOLF, +5.02%	$982	$1,323	$1,860	37.6%	WTAI
SK hynix Inc.	000660, +1.66%	$18,319	$27,899	$34,542	37.3%	WTAI
Mobileye Global Inc. Class A	MBLY, +1.67%	$2,109	$2,782	$3,920	36.3%	ROBT, WTAI
Snowflake Inc. Class A	SNOW, +1.42%	$2,811	$3,863	$5,139	35.2%	IRBO, THNQ, WTAI
Lemonade Inc.	LMND, +8.08%	$395	$471	$712	34.2%	THNQ, WTAI
Nio Inc. ADR Class A	NIO, +1.39%	$11,874	$16,733	$21,304	33.9%	ROBT
Stem Inc.	STEM, +4.88%	$607	$833	$1,055	31.8%	WTAI
Upstart Holdings Inc.	UPST, +10.37%	$547	$768	$938	31.0%	BOTZ, WTAI
Cloudflare Inc. Class A	NET, +5.84%	$1,284	$1,669	$2,194	30.7%	THNQ
Samsara Inc. Class A	IOT, +1.42%	$830	$1,062	$1,364	28.2%	THNQ
Ambarella Inc.	AMBA, +3.45%	$287	$355	$472	28.2%	IRBO, ROBT, THNQ, WTAI
iflytek Co. Ltd. Class A	002230, -1.34%	$3,561	$4,582	$5,851	28.2%	THNQ
Tesla Inc.	TSLA, +4.41%	$99,558	$128,412	$161,061	27.2%	ROBT, THNQ, WTAI
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. Class A	CRWD, +2.40%	$2,935	$3,793	$4,739	27.1%	THNQ, WTAI
PB Fintech Ltd.	543390, +1.39%	$358	$462	$573	26.5%	IRBO
Source: FactSet

Click the tickers for more about each company or ETF.

Click here for Tomi Kilgore’s detailed guide to the wealth of information for free on the MarketWatch quote pages.

We have screened for expected revenue growth, rather than for earnings or cash flow, because in a newer tech-oriented business area, investors are most likely to consider the top line as companies sacrifice profits to build market share.

It is important to do your own research if you consider purchasing any individual stock, to form your own opinion about a company’s ability to remain competitive over the long term. Starting from the top of the list, BioXcel Therapeutics Inc.
BTAI,
-2.47%
is expected to show exponential sales growth, but that is from a low expected baseline this year.

What about the largest AI-related companies held by these ETFs?

Here are the largest 20 companies in the screen by market capitalization, ranked by expected sales CAGR from 2022 through 2025. Once again the sales estimates are in millions of U.S. dollars, but the market caps are in billions.

Company	Ticker	Estimated sales – 2023 ($mil)	Estimated sales – 2024 ($mil)	Estimated sales – 2025 $mil)	Two-year estimated sales CAGR through 2025	Market Cap ($bil)	Held by
Tesla Inc.	TSLA, +4.41%	$99,558	$128,412	$161,061	27.2%	$528	ROBT, THNQ, WTAI
Nvidia Corp.	NVDA, +3.30%	$29,839	$36,877	$46,154	24.4%	$722	BOTZ, IRBO, ROBT, THNQ, WTAI
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. ADR	TSM, +5.83%	$71,434	$86,284	$101,112	19.0%	$445	ROBT, WTAI
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.	AMD, +2.23%	$22,976	$26,823	$30,359	15.0%	$163	IRBO, ROBT, THNQ, WTAI
ASML Holding NV ADR	ASML, +2.83%	$28,974	$32,374	$37,796	14.2%	$263	THNQ, WTAI
Microsoft Corp.	MSFT, +0.95%	$223,438	$251,028	$282,397	12.4%	$2,318	IRBO, ROBT, THNQ, WTAI
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.	005930, -0.61%	$200,595	$227,286	$252,129	12.1%	$292	IRBO, WTAI
Amazon.com Inc.	AMZN, +1.85%	$559,438	$626,549	$702,395	12.1%	$1,164	IRBO, ROBT, THNQ, WTAI
Adobe Inc.	ADBE, +3.34%	$19,470	$21,784	$24,276	11.7%	$158	IRBO, THNQ
Netflix Inc.	NFLX, +1.86%	$33,915	$38,067	$42,275	11.6%	$148	IRBO, THNQ
Tencent Holdings Ltd.	700, -0.58%	$88,727	$99,212	$110,556	11.6%	$422	IRBO, ROBT
Salesforce Inc.	CRM, +2.37%	$34,392	$38,273	$42,786	11.5%	$205	IRBO, THNQ
Alphabet Inc. Class A	GOOGL, +1.11%	$299,810	$333,077	$369,195	11.0%	$710	IRBO, ROBT, THNQ, WTAI
Intel Corp.	INTC, -1.20%	$51,060	$57,799	$62,675	10.8%	$122	IRBO, ROBT
Meta Platforms Inc. Class A	META, +1.53%	$125,901	$139,545	$154,259	10.7%	$528	IRBO, WTAI
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. ADR	BABA, +2.17%	$134,140	$148,206	$162,199	10.0%	$235	ROBT, THNQ
Texas Instruments Inc.	TXN, +1.20%	$17,941	$19,433	$20,799	7.7%	$148	IRBO
Apple Inc.	AAPL, +0.36%	$390,845	$416,761	$445,956	6.8%	$2,706	IRBO, WTAI
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft	SIE, +2.55%	$84,681	$89,145	$93,925	5.3%	$130	ROBT
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ, -0.20%	$98,761	$100,990	$103,870	2.6%	$414	ROBT
Source: FactSet

Tech-stock picks that are small and focused: This fund invests in unsung innovators. Here are 2 top choices.

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May 17, 2023

Tech-stock picks that are small and focused: This fund invests in unsung innovators. Here are 2 top choices.

When investors think of technology stocks, they might automatically gravitate toward “the next big thing,” or to the giant companies that dominate the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.40%.
But Robert Stimson, chief investment officer of Oak Associates Funds, makes a case for diversification through exposure to smaller innovators which he believes are “overlooked in this environment.”

The River Oak Discovery Fund
RIVSX,
+0.98%
invests in tech-oriented companies with market capitalizations of $5 billion or less, with an average of about $2 billion. It has a five-star rating, the highest, from Morningstar, despite having what the investment information firm considers “above average” annual expenses of 1.19% of assets under management. The fund is ranked in the 6th percentile among 546 funds in Morningstar’s “Small Blend” category for five-year performance and in the 13th percentile among 374 funds for 10-year performance. The performance comparisons are net of expenses.

The Black Oak Emerging Technologies Fund
BOGSX,
+1.54%
has more of a midcap focus, with some small-cap stocks and follows a similar strategy to that of RIVSX. But with no restriction on the size of companies this fund invests in, “we don’t have to sell stocks,” Stimpson said. So long-term holdings of this fund include Apple Inc.
AAPL,
-0.05%
and Salesforce.com Inc.
CRM,
+0.69%.
This fund is rated three stars within Morningstar’s “Technology” category and has a lower expense ratio of 1.03%.

Both funds are concentrated. The River Oak Discovery Fund held 34 stocks and the Black Oak Emerging Technologies Fund held 35 stocks as of March 31. Lists of both funds’ largest holdings are below.

During an Interview, Stimpson, who co-manages both funds, said that when investing in the small-cap technology space, he and colleagues identify companies that are “focused on niches.

“I want a company that knows who they are, what they do and do it well, rather than a small company trying to growing into the next Microsoft, Google or Salesforce,” he said.

More about giant companies dominating stock indexes: This twist on a traditional S&P 500 stock fund can lower your risk and still beat the market overall

Stimpson said Oak Associates pays close attention to what corporate management teams say during earnings calls and in presentations, preferring comments related to improving sales and operations with a market niche, rather than expressions of grand visions for exponential growth.

That type of narrow focus can support higher valuations over time, Stimpson said. “They have better execution, a better ability to fend-off competition and they are quality acquisition candidates.”

“ “I caution everyone that until there is revenue, earnings and a product, the hype can be more dangerous than an opportunity.” ”

— Robert Stimpson, chief investment officer at Oak Funds, when discussing AI and ChatGPT.

All of those factors can be important to investors, considering how easily tech giants such as Microsoft Corp.
MSFT,
+1.00%
or Google holding company Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL,
+2.89%

GOOG,
+2.88%
can begin to compete with smaller innovative companies because they can afford to make such large investments, he said.

Simpson went further, saying that when running screens for “quality” metrics, such as improving free cash flow yields, the Oak Associates team also looks for “shareholder friendly practices.” For example, a company may be repurchasing shares. But are the buybacks lowering the share count significantly (which boosts earnings per share) or are they merely mitigating the dilution caused by the shoveling of new shares to executives as part of their compensation?

Finally, Simpson cautioned investors not to get caught up in tech-focused hype.

“When I talk to our clients, I get questions about AI and ChatGPT and how to play it. People get focused on a new great tech innovation,” he said. “You can replace ChatGPT with bitcoin, metaverse or 3-D printing.”

“I caution everyone that until there is revenue, earnings and a product, the hype can be more dangerous than an opportunity.”

Two examples

These companies are held by theRiver Oak Discovery Fund and the Black Oak Emerging Technologies Fund.

Cirrus Logic Inc.
CRUS,
-2.37%
is the largest holding of the River Oak Discovery Fund. Stimpson calls the company “a derivative play on the success of Apple.”

“They are focused on the chips that go into mobile and [vehicles],” as well as the needs of their customers, including Apple, “rather than problem areas of the chip sector, such as memory or PCs. They are not talking about chips for AI, for example,” Stimpson said.

Cirrus focuses on systems and related software used in audio systems..

Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc.
KLIC,
+1.92%
makes equipment, tools and related software used by a variety of manufacturers of computer chips and integrated electronic devices.

Stimpson likes the company as a long-term play on the worldwide disruption in semiconductor manufacturing and supply, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. “All chip companies learned that any supply disruption in Southeast Asia is a problem. Over time, the opportunities for semiconductor equipment makers are very good. There will be more plants in more locations, so more equipment,” he said.

He said KLICK was in a “protected” position, with returns on equity of about 20% and free cash flow yields of about 10%.

Top holdings of the funds

Here are the largest 10 holdings of the River Oak Discovery Fund as of March 31:

Company	Ticker	% of portfolio
Cirrus Logic Inc.	CRUS, -2.37%	4.9%
Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc.	KLIC, +1.92%	4.6%
Advanced Energy Industries Inc.	AEIS, +0.30%	4.5%
Cohu Inc.	COHU, +1.45%	3.7%
Asbury Automotive Group Inc.	ABG, -1.75%	3.7%
Korn Ferry	KFY, -0.96%	3.6%
Kforce Inc.	KFRC, -2.40%	3.4%
Ambarella Inc.	AMBA, -0.50%	3.3%
Applied Industrial Technologies Inc.	AIT, -1.71%	3.3%
Perficient Inc.	PRFT, +0.72%	3.2%

Click on the tickers for more about each company.

Click here for Tomi Kilgore’s detailed guide to the wealth of information available for free on the MarketWatch quote page.

Here are the largest 10 holdings of the Black Oak Emerging Technology Fund as of March 31:

Company	Ticker	% of portfolio
Apple Inc.	AAPL, -0.05%	5.7%
KLA Corp.	KLAC, +1.69%	4.6%
Advanced Energy Industries Inc.	AEIS, +0.30%	4.5%
Cohu Inc.	COHU, +1.45%	4.1%
SolarEdge Technologies Inc.	SEDG, -3.76%	3.9%
Cirrus Logic Inc.	CRUS, -2.37%	3.9%
Cohu Inc.	COHU, +1.45%	3.9%
Ambarella Inc.	AMBA, -0.50%	3.4%
Applied Industrial Technologies Inc.	AIT, -1.71%	3.4%
Salesforce Inc.	CRM, +0.69%	3.3%

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May 16, 2023

Apple earnings show surprise jump in iPhone sales and a 4% dividend hike

Apple Inc. on Thursday revealed surprise growth in its iPhone business during the first three months of the year, overcoming a shortfall in Mac revenue as the company promised investors billions more in dividends and stock repurchases.

Apple shares
AAPL,
-0.99%
rose 2.5% in extended trading.

The company reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $94.8 billion, down from $97.3 billion a year before, while analysts had been expecting $92.9 billion. Revenue for the iPhone category rose to $51.3 billion from $50.6 billion, with analysts surveyed by FactSet expecting a decline to $48.7 billion.

Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said on the earnings call that the iPhone growth was driven by “strong performance in emerging markets from South Asia and India to Latin America and the Middle East.”

The company recently opened its first two Apple stores in India, and Chief Executive Tim Cook noted opportunity in India.

“What I do see in India is a lot of people entering the middle class, and I’m hopeful that we can convince some number of them to buy an iPhone,” he said.

Apple logged net income of $24.2 billion, or $1.52 a share, compared with $25 billion, or $1.52 a share, in the year-prior quarter. Analysts were modeling $1.43 a share in earnings on average, according to FactSet.

Apple’s results arrived amid concern about the state of consumer-electronics spending, given worrisome third-party data points and cautious signals from players like Qualcomm Inc.
QCOM,
-5.54%
and DuPont de Nemours Inc.
DD,
-0.53%.

See also: Qualcomm stock falls as backed up Apple iPhone inventory contributes to weak outlook

The company saw steep revenue declines in both the iPad and Mac categories. Sales of iPads fell to $6.7 billion from $7.6 billion a year ago and matched the FactSet consensus. Mac revenue sank to $7.2 billion from $10.4 billion, while analysts were looking for $7.8 billion.

The Mac segment was up against tough comparisons to a year-ago period that saw the “incredibly successful rollout of our M1 chips,” Cook noted. It’s “facing some macroeconomic and foreign exchange headwinds as well.”

Apple’s wearables, home and accessories category was essentially flat, with sales of $8.8 billion. The FactSet consensus called for $8.4 billion. The services segment showed growth, with revenue up to $20.9 billion from $19.8 billion, roughly in line with the FactSet consensus of $21.0 billion.

Maestri noted that “certain services offerings, such as digital advertising and mobile gaming, continue to be affected by the current macroeconomic environment,” though advertising, Apple Care and video set revenue records for the March quarter.

Executives shared some very big-picture views on recent financial-services initiatives, though without any financial specifics. Apple’s recently launched savings account, which has a 4.15% yield, has had an “incredible” initial response, while Apple Pay Later, a buy-now-pay-later product, has received “really good” feedback as well, they said.

Read: Apple Card savings account has an attractive 4.15% interest rate, but beware of these pitfalls before signing

Apple also announced Thursday that it was boosting its buyback program by $90 billion while upping its quarterly dividend by 4% to 24 cents a share. That compares to a $90 billion increase to the share-repurchase authorization and 5% dividend hike a year ago.

While Apple stopped giving traditional guidance at the start of the pandemic, Maestri said on the call that he expects June-quarter revenue growth to be similar to what was seen in the March quarter on a year-over-year basis, assuming a stable macroeconomic climate.

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May 4, 2023
Qualcomm stock sinks as weak smartphone demand pushes inventory drawdown out to ‘at least the next couple quarters’

Qualcomm Inc. shares fell in the extended session Wednesday after the chip maker said inventory issues will remain past June because of a downturn in handset demand and the company’s outlook disappointed.

After declining 2.8% to close the regular session $112.83, Qualcomm
QCOM,
-2.82%
shares started sliding after the release of the company’s results at Wednesday’s close, and sank to a deficit of more than 7% after hours by the time the executives’ call with analysts ended. Shares ended the extended trading session down 6.6%.

On the conference call, Qualcomm Chief Executive Cristiano Amon told analysts that the “evolving macroeconomic backdrop has resulted in further demand deterioration, particularly in handsets, at a magnitude greater than we previously forecasted.”

Earlier, Qualcomm had forecast adjusted earnings of $1.70 to $1.90 a share on revenue of $8.1 billion to $8.9 billion for the fiscal third quarter. Analysts had estimated earnings of $2.17 a share on revenue of $9.13 billion for the third quarter.

Qualcomm shares sank after hours Wednesday.

FactSet

Last quarter, Qualcomm said inventory issues would persist into June, and Wall Street pretty much accepted it. Qualcomm’s inventory problems go back to last year, when the company’s share price fell in November to lows not seen in more than two years after executives said there was up to 10 weeks of inventory in the channel, and forecast a $2 billion shortfall coming off record sales.

A drop in handset demand, however, has extended the time frame of inventory drawdowns considerably past the previously forecast end of June, the company said. As its largest business segment, Qualcomm handset sales fell 17% to $6.11 billion from a year ago.

“As a result, we’re operating under the assumption that inventory drawdown dynamics remain a significant factor for at least the next couple quarters,” Amon told analysts. “Additionally, while expectations are for a rebound in China demand in the second half of the calendar year, we have not seen evidence of meaningful recovery and are not incorporating improvements into our planning assumptions.”

The company reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $1.7 billion, or $1.52 a share, compared with $2.93 billion, or $2.57 a share, in the year-ago period. The chip maker reported adjusted earnings, which exclude stock-based compensation expenses and other items, of $2.15 a share, compared with $3.21 a share in the year-ago period. Total revenue for the quarter fell to $9.28 billion from $11.16 billion in the year-ago period.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast $2.15 a share on revenue of $9.09 billion, based on Qualcomm’s forecast of $2.05 to $2.25 a share on revenue of $8.7 billion to $9.5 billion.

In Qualcomm’s other end-market segments, auto sales rose 20% to $447 million and Internet-of-Things sales fell 24% to $1.39 billion for the second quarter, the company said.

Late Monday, auto chip supplier NXP Semiconductor NV
NXPI,
-2.30%
topped Wall Street expectations, and shares rallied Tuesday, while last week, another big supplier to the auto market, Texas Instruments Inc.
TXN,
-0.36%
said that sales to the auto industry remained strong.

Qualcomm shares already lag the broader chip sector and market, and were up only 3% year to date at Wednesday’s close. In comparison, the PHLX Semiconductor Index
SOX,
-1.32%
has surged 17%, the S&P 500 index
SPX,
-0.70%
has gained 7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
-0.46%
has grown 15%.

In other chip earnings, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
AMD,
-9.22%
shares dropped 9.2% Wednesday after the chip maker’s optimism for the second half of the year late Tuesday did not rub off on analysts.

Read: ‘AI for us is broader than cloud,’ AMD CEO tells analysts, but chip maker still needs PC recovery to improve margins

And last week, Intel Corp.
INTC,
+2.96%
reported its largest quarterly loss ever, but saw its shares rise because PC and data-center sales, while on the decline, had come in better than expected. Intel also lowered expectations on its forecast.

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May 3, 2023
The new Steve Jobs book is free to download now — here’s where to get it

Apple founder Steve Jobs has continued to inspire even after his death in 2011. Just this week, in fact, Tim Cook — Apple’s AAPL current CEO and chief operating officer for a decade-plus under Jobs — mused in a GQ interview on life lessons imparted by his predecessor.

And now anyone who wants to get an intimate glimpse into Jobs’s wisdom and reflections on his life, which was cut short at just 56, can download a curated collection of personal correspondence, speeches and interviews — for free.

“Make…

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April 11, 2023
Apple CEO Tim Cook explains why consumers would want a mixed-reality headset

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook, GQ’s latest cover boy, has a sales pitch for a mixed-reality headset.

“The idea that you could overlay the physical world with things from the digital world could greatly enhance people’s communication, people’s connection,” Cook told GQ, without confirming the rumored June 5 announcement of Apple’s
AAPL,
+0.77%
Reality Pro headset.

Apple’s plunge into the so-called metaverse would offer a jolt to a flagging industry as well as serious competition to Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc.
META,
+0.53%,
Alphabet Inc.’s
GOOGL,
+0.61%

GOOG,
+0.88%
Google, Microsoft Corp.
MSFT,
-0.37%,
Snap Inc.
SNAP,
+0.27%
and others.

“ ‘It’s the idea that there is this environment that may be even better than just the real world — to overlay the virtual world on top of it might be an even better world.’ ”

— Tim Cook

Creative users, the lifeblood of Apple’s business model, stand to gain the most from virtual-reality products, according to Cook.

“It’s the idea that there is this environment that may be even better than just the real world — to overlay the virtual world on top of it might be an even better world,” Cook told GQ. “If it could accelerate creativity, if it could just help you do things that you do all day long and you didn’t really think about doing them in a different way.”

Cook also looked inward during the far-ranging interview, explaining his persona and the challenges in succeeding the legendary Steve Jobs as Apple CEO. Jobs died in 2011.

“I always hate the word normal in a lot of ways, because what some people use to describe normal equals straight,” Cook said. “Some people would use that word in that kind of way. I don’t know — I’ve been described as a lot of things, but probably normal is not among those.”

Added Cook: “I knew I couldn’t be Steve. I don’t think anybody could be Steve. I think he was a once-in-a-hundred-years kind of individual, an original by any stretch of the imagination. And so what I had to do was to be the best version of myself.”

From the archives (October 2011): Steve Jobs: MarketWatch’s CEO of the Decade

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April 3, 2023
Micron Sales Plunge 53%. It Is Cutting More Staff. Better Days Lie Ahead.

Micron

Technology shares are modestly higher in late trading Tuesday after the memory chip company posted financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended March 2 that were about in line with expectations, as a weak market for PCs and smartphones continued to weigh on the company’s results. Micron also said that as part of its cost-reduction program, it will reduce staff by about 15%—up from a previous plan to cut heads by 10%.

But there are some promising signs for the memory chip maker.

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March 28, 2023
Disney eliminates metaverse division in cost-cutting purge: report

The metaverse is among the first victims of Walt Disney Co.’s cost-cutting purge.

The Magic Kingdom is shutting down its next-generation storytelling and consumer-experiences unit, the small division that was developing metaverse strategies, as part of a plan to slash 7,000 jobs, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday.

Disney…

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March 28, 2023
Silicon Valley Confronts the End of Growth. It’s a New Era for Tech Stocks.

Silicon Valley could use a reboot. The biggest players aren’t growing, and more than a few are seeing sharp revenue declines. Regulators seem opposed to every proposed merger, while legislators push for new rules to crack down on the internet giants. The Justice Department just can’t stop filing antitrust suits against Google. The initial public offering market is closed. Venture-capital investments are plunging, along with valuations of prepublic companies. Maybe they should try turning the whole thing on and off.

The only strategy that seems to be working is to lay people off. Tech CEOs suddenly are channeling Marie Kondo, tidying up and keeping only the people and projects that “spark joy,” or at least support decent operating margins. Layoffs.fyi reports that tech companies have laid off more than 122,000 people already this year.

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March 3, 2023
Apple earnings show steepest sales decline in more than 6 years

Apple Inc. posted its largest revenue decline in more than six years amid underwhelming sales of iPhones, Macs and wearables, but its shares pared back most of their initial losses in after-hours trading Thursday after the company blamed its smartphone declines on supply issues.

Apple’s
AAPL,
+3.71%
iPhone revenue fell to $65.8 billion in the fiscal first quarter from $71.6 billion a year before, whereas analysts tracked by FactSet were looking for $67.8 billion. The performance comes after Apple warned in November that its iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max shipments would be impacted by pandemic-fueled production constraints at a major Foxconn
2354,
-0.35%
facility in China.

Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Apple’s earnings call that he believes the company would have shown iPhone sales growth in the quarter had it not been for the supply constraints.

At the same time, he noted that it’s “very hard” to estimate the company’s ability to recapture lost sales, “because you have to know exactly what would’ve happened.”

Apple shares ended the extended session Thursday down 3.2%, after having been down as much as 5.6% in after-hours trading.

After reporting a quarterly revenue record for Macs in the September quarter, Apple fell way short of those heights in the December quarter with its Thursday afternoon report, and the company missed expectations by a wide margin. Mac sales declined to $7.7 billion from $10.9 billion a year earlier, while analysts had been looking for $9.4 billion.

Those big misses helped drive total revenue lower on the year and fueled a miss on the top line, despite a sizable beat in the iPad category. Overall revenue declined to $117.2 billion from $123.9 billion a year ago, while analysts were looking for $121.4 billion.

Dating back to its report for the December 2017 quarter, Apple has only missed revenue expectations twice, according to FactSet, including one time when the company issued a formal warning ahead of its official results.

The smartphone giant’s sales decline of 5.48% was its steepest year-over-year fall since the September quarter of 2016, when sales slipped 8.12%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Apple executives once again declined to provide a traditional financial forecast, though Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri shared on the call that he expects Apple’s year-over-year revenue performance in the March quarter to be similar to what was seen in the December quarter. That would actually mark an acceleration of sorts, he said, since the December quarter benefited from an extra week.

Within iPhones specifically, Maestri also anticipates that year-over-year revenue growth will accelerate.

Apple’s profits fell as well in the latest period, as the company generated net income of $30.0 billion, or $1.88 a share, compared with $34.6 billion, or $2.10 a share, a year earlier. Analysts were modeling $1.94 in earnings per share.

Maestri called out “significant foreign-exchange headwinds, supply constraints on iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max and a challenging macroeconomic environment” in discussing the company’s smartphone performance. Mac growth was negatively impacted by economic conditions, currency pressures and tough comparisons to a year before.

Within its iPad segment, Apple showed sharp growth. Revenue increased to $9.4 billion from $7.3 billion a year earlier. The FactSet consensus was for $7.8 billion.

Maestri noted that the iPad business benefited from the launch of new iPads during the quarter as well as comparisons to a year-earlier period in which Apple faced supply constraints.

Revenue for wearables, home and accessories came in at $13.5 billion, down from $14.7 billion a year before and far below the $15.3 billion that analysts were modeling. Services revenue rose to $20.8 billion from $19.5 billion and beat the FactSet consensus, which was for $20.4 billion.

Shares of Apple have fallen 14.2% over the past 12 months, though they’re up 16.1% to start 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.11%
is off 4.4% over a 12-month span but ahead 2.7% so far this year.

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February 2, 2023
Infineon profit nearly doubles as revenue climbs on strong demand for chips

Infineon Technologies AG on Thursday posted higher revenue and profit for its fiscal first quarter as strong chips sales in the automotive and industrial segments offset weaker demand for smartphones, computers and data centers.

The German chip maker
IFX,
+7.46%
said revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 climbed to 3.95 billion euros ($4.34 billion) from EUR3.16 billion the prior-year quarter. Infineon’s automotive segment contributed EUR1.87 billion to the total.

“The energy transition and expansion of electromobility are causing a continuously high need for our solutions in industrial and automotive applications. In contrast, we are seeing significantly weaker demand in areas such as smartphones, PCs and data centers,” Chief Executive Jochen Hanebeck said.

Last week, Intel Corp. reported a fourth-quarter loss and a decrease in sales, reflecting, in part, the sharp downturn the personal-computer market has been experiencing over recent months. Infineon also saw lower demand for chips in laptops, TVs and games consoles.

Net profit jumped to EUR728 million from EUR457 million. Infineon’s segment result, a key profitability metric, surged to EUR1.11 billion from EUR717 million, generating a margin of 28%.

Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast revenue of EUR4 billion, a net profit of EUR675 million and a segment result of EUR1 billion.

Infineon had guided for revenue of around EUR4 billion and a segment result margin of about 25%.

For the fiscal second quarter, Infineon is targeting revenue of around EUR3.9 billion and a segment result margin of around 25%.

“We are continuing to navigate carefully in these challenging times and remain flexible in our approach to market dynamics. All in all, we are increasing our guidance slightly for the fiscal year, adjusting for currency effects,” Mr. Hanebeck said.

For the fiscal year, Infineon continues to expect revenue of around EUR15.5 billion, plus or minus EUR500 million, but raised its segment result margin forecast to around 25% from about 24% previously. The company based its guidance on an exchange rate of $1.05 to the euro, up from $1 previously.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com; @MauroOrru94

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February 1, 2023
Apple valued below $2 trillion for the first time in more than 21 months as stock slides

Apple Inc. finished Tuesday with a valuation below $2 trillion for the first time in more than 21 months amid a continued slide in its stock that reflects concerns about the impact of production issues and the sustainability of consumer demand.

The smartphone giant was valued at $1.990 trillion as of the end of Tuesday trading. Prior to that, Apple hadn’t closed with a valuation south of $2 trillion since March 8, 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data, and its stock price hasn’t implied an intraday valuation below that level since March 30, 2021.

The slide in Apple shares
AAPL,
-3.74%
over the past year has shaved $996.5 billion from the company’s peak closing market capitalization.

The smartphone giant peaked with a closing valuation of $2.986 trillion exactly a year ago, on Jan. 3, 2022. More recently, the company has been dogged by questions about the impact of manufacturing issues in China, where COVID-19 curbs forced production disruptions late last year.

While the company is typically thought to have durable demand on the assumption that customers will delay purchases or put up with long delivery times in order to obtain desired Apple products, some analysts have questioned whether Apple will be able to make up for all of its lost demand in future quarters.

A Nikkei Asia report from earlier this week hinted at demand challenges. The report, which cited anonymous sources, said that Apple has told some of its suppliers to make fewer components for AirPods, Apple Watches and MacBook computers in the first quarter.

Apple didn’t respond to a MarketWatch request for comment.

Apple’s stock was the biggest loser in the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.03%
Tuesday.

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January 3, 2023
Apple Makes Plans to Move Production Out of China

In recent weeks, Apple Inc. has accelerated plans to shift some of its production outside China, long the dominant country in the supply chain that built the world’s most valuable company, say people involved in the discussions. It is telling suppliers to plan more actively for assembling Apple products elsewhere in Asia, particularly India and Vietnam, they say, and looking to reduce dependence on Taiwanese assemblers led by Foxconn Technology Group.

Turmoil at a place called iPhone City helped propel Apple’s shift. At the giant city-within-a-city in Zhengzhou, China, as many as 300,000 workers work at a factory run by Foxconn to make iPhones and other Apple products. At one point, it alone made about 85% of the Pro lineup of iPhones, according to market-research firm Counterpoint Research.

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December 2, 2022
All eyes on China as Apple and Foxconn outline zero-COVID issues. Meanwhile, cases are rising again in the U.S.

China’s strict zero-COVID policy was making headlines Monday after Apple and iPhone manufacturer Foxconn said over the weekend that restrictions are crimping production and will delay shipments of the high-end iPhone 14.

“We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models,” Apple
AAPL,
-0.82%
announced in a Sunday evening press release. “However, we now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.”

Also read: Will Apple’s latest production issues destroy demand?

Foxconn, meanwhile, which trades as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.
2317,
-0.50%,
lowered its fourth-quarter guidance and said anti-COVID measures were affecting some of its operations in Zhengzhou, China, as Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Foxconn said that the Henan provincial government had made it clear that it would fully support the company. Foxconn’s most advanced iPhone plant, located in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, has been battling a COVID outbreak.

Foxconn said it is working with the government to halt the outbreak and resume production at full capacity as quickly as possible.

Workers at the world’s biggest assembly site for Apple’s iPhones walked out last week as Foxconn struggled to contain a COVID-19 outbreak. The chaos highlighted the tension between Beijing’s rigid pandemic controls and the need to keep production on track. Photo: Hangpai Xinyang/Associated Press

Investors have been closely watching China for signs that its government would start to lift the tough pandemic restrictions that have been in place for almost three years. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the country’s leaders are considering steps but have not yet set a timeline.

Chinese officials have become concerned about the costs of their zero-tolerance approach to COVID, which has resulted in lockdowns of cities and whole provinces, crushing business activity and confining hundreds of millions of people to their homes for weeks and sometimes months on end.

But they are weighing those concerns against the potential costs of reopening on public health and on support for the Communist Party. On Saturday, officials from China’s National Health Commission again reaffirmed their commitment to a firm zero-COVID strategy, which they described as essential to “protect people’s lives.”

Still, there are plans in Beijing to further cut the number of days incoming travelers must quarantine in hotels from 10 to seven, followed by three days of home monitoring, the paper reported, citing people involved in the discussions.

And officials have told retail businesses that they intend to reduce the frequency of PCR testing as soon as this month, partly because of the cost.

In the U.S., known cases of COVID and hospitalizations are climbing again for the first time in a few months.

The daily average for new cases stood at 39,954 on Sunday, according to a New York Times tracker, up 6% compared with two weeks ago. But cases are sharply higher in several states, led by Nevada, where they are up 96% from two weeks ago, followed by Tennessee, where they are up 69%; Louisiana, where they are up 68%; Utah, where they have climbed 61%; and New Mexico, where they are up 56%.

Cases are climbing in 30 states and in Washington, D.C.

The daily average for hospitalizations was up 2% to 27,419, while the daily average for deaths was down 11% to 320.

Physicians are reporting high numbers of respiratory illnesses like RSV and the flu earlier than the typical winter peak. WSJ’s Brianna Abbott explains what the early surge means for the winter months. Photo illustration: Kaitlyn Wang

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants accounted for 35.3% of new cases in the week through Nov. 5, up from 27.1% a week ago.

The two variants accounted for 52.3% of all cases in the New York region, which includes New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, up from 42.5% the previous week. That was more than the BA.5 omicron subvariant, which accounted for 24.9% of new cases in the New York area in the latest week.

The BA.5 omicron subvariant accounted for 39.2% of all U.S. cases, the data show.

BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 were still lumped in with BA.5 variant data as recently as three weeks ago, because at that time, their numbers were too small to break out. BQ.1 was first identified by researchers in early September and has been found in the U.K. and Germany, among other places.

Coronavirus Update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began

Other COVID-19 news you should know about:

• BioNTEch SE
BNTX,
+2.84%,
the German biotech that has partnered with Pfizer
PFE,
-0.53%
on a COVID vaccine, posted earnings early Monday, showing a roughly 50% drop in profit that sent its stock lower, despite beating consensus estimates. The Mainz-based company said it had invoiced about 300 million doses of its bivalent vaccine, which targets the omicron variant as well as the original virus. The company chalked up €564.5 million ($563.9 million) in direct COVID vaccine sales in the quarter, down from €1.351 billion a year ago. BioNTech raised the lower end of its full-year COVID vaccine revenue range to €16 billion to €17 billion, from a previous €13 billion to €17 billion.

• Thousands of runners took to the streets of the Chinese capital on Sunday for the return of Beijing’s annual marathon after a two-year hiatus, the Associated Press reported. However, the good news was offset by anger about another death related to COVID restrictions, this time of a 55-year-old woman in a sealed building. An investigation report released Sunday in Hohhot, the capital of China’s Inner Mongolia region, blamed property management and community staff for not acting quickly enough to prevent the death of the woman after being told she had suicidal tendencies.

• The U.S. flu season is off to an unusually fast start, contributing to an autumn mix of viruses that have patients filling hospitals’ and physicians’ waiting rooms, the AP reported separately. Reports of flu are already high in 17 states, and the hospitalization rate hasn’t been this high this early since the 2009 swine flu pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So far, there have been an estimated 730 flu deaths, including at least two children. The winter flu season usually ramps up in December or January.

Here’s what the numbers say:

The global tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped 632.6 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.60 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. leads the world with 97.7 million cases and 1,072,598 fatalities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracker shows that 227.3 million people living in the U.S., equal to 68.5% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.

So far, just 26.3 million Americans have had the updated COVID booster that targets the original virus and the omicron variants, equal to 8.4% of the overall population.

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November 7, 2022
Apple warns that iPhone 14 Pro shipments will be hit by China production snags

Apple Inc. said Sunday that it now expects lower shipments of its high-end iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max devices than it did previously, as COVID-19 issues hamper production in China.

“We continue to see strong demand for iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models,” the company announced in a Sunday evening press release. “However, we now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated and customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.”

Apple
AAPL,
-0.19%
acknowledged in its release that COVID-19 issues have “temporarily impacted” production of the devices at the Zhengzhou site that is the “primary” assembly facility for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. That facility is currently seeing “significantly reduced” operating capacity.

“We are working closely with our supplier to return to normal production levels while ensuring the health and safety of every worker,” the company added in the release.

Analysts have been discussing iPhone production disruption at manufacturer Foxconn’s
2354,
+1.31%
Zhengzhou facility for the past week amid fallout from COVID-19 restrictions in the city.

“Although Apple earnings were only a week ago, supply shortages at the high end of the market and recent COVID lockdowns in China impacting a Foxconn plant could negatively impact iPhone units in the December quarter,” UBS analyst David Vogt wrote Wednesday, ahead of Apple’s press release. “While we believe iPhone demand tends to not be perishable, a slippage of a couple of million units is possible below our 86 million forecast.”

While Apple was the only Big Tech company to see its shares rally in the wake of its late-October earnings report, shares have struggled more since then. They logged their worst weekly performance since March 2020 last week.

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November 6, 2022