Tag Archives: grmn

Fitbit, Apple Lead In Wearables, But Other Brands Gaining Fast

Fitbit ( FIT ) continues to lead in wearable fitness devices and Apple ( AAPL ) remains atop the smartwatch market, but a host of little-known brands are rapidly taking market share, research firm IDC reported Monday . San Francisco-based Fitbit grabbed 29.4% of the basic wearables market in Q1, with worldwide shipments of 4.8 million devices. It grew unit shipments by 25.4% year over year, but the overall market jumped 65.1%, IDC said. Fitbit’s market share fell from 38.7% in Q1 2015. China-based Xiaomi came in second in basic wearables with a 22.8% market share, followed by Garmin ( GRMN ) with 5%. But both of those companies lost market share compared with Q1 2015, IDC said. Jumping into the top five for basic wearables in Q1 were China-based BBK and Lifesense, each with about 4% market share, up from nothing a year earlier. BBK sells devices under the XTC brand. Meanwhile, all other vendors in the basic wearables market grew unit shipments by 98.2% and increased their collective market share to 34.5% in Q1 from 28.7% a year earlier. In the smartwatch market, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple took the top spot with worldwide shipments of 1.5 million Apple Watch units in Q1, giving it 46% market share. It launched the Apple Watch in Q2 2015. Samsung came in second with 700,000 units shipped and 20.9% market share, followed by Motorola with 400,000 units and 10.9% market share. China-based Huawei jumped into fourth place with 200,000 units and 4.7% market share. Garmin placed fifth with 100,000 smartwatches shipped and 3% market share. Unlike the basic wearables market, the ranks of other vendors in smartwatches dwindled in Q1. Other vendors accounted for 14.5% market share in the first quarter, vs. 52% in the same period a year ago. Unit shipments among the other smartwatch vendors dropped 44.2%. The overall smartwatch market grew unit shipments by 100.2% to 3.2 million units in Q1, from 1.6 million units in Q1 2015. “There’s a clear bifurcation … within the wearables market,” IDC analyst Jitesh Ubrani said in a statement . “Smart watches attempt to offer holistic experiences by being everything to everyone, while basic wearables like fitness bands, connected clothing, or hearables (smart headphones) have a focused approach and often offer specialized use cases.” RELATED: Apple Watch Still Preferred By Dudes; Fitbit Liked By Ladies Fitbit Fails Q1 Physical, Stock Collapses On Q2 Guidance How Many Watches Did Apple Sell Last Quarter?

GoPro Posts Mixed Q1 Earnings, Delays Drone Until Holiday Season

Action-camera maker GoPro ( GPRO ) late Thursday reported a wider-than-expected loss for the first quarter, but sales beat forecasts. GoPro also reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance. GoPro stock fell nearly 3% after-hours trading, following the earnings news release. GoPro stock fell 6.1%, to 10.71, in Thursday’s regular session. GoPro also announced that it is delaying the launch of its Karma flying-camera drone until the holiday shopping season. It had been scheduled for release this quarter. The San Mateo, Calif.-based company lost 63 cents a share in the March quarter, compared with earnings per share of 24 cents in the year-earlier period. It posted sales of $183.5 million, down 49%. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected GoPro to lose 60 cents a share on sales of $169.1 million. GoPro did not give Q2 guidance, but said it continues to expect full-year sales of $1.35 billion to $1.5 billion, or $1.43 billion at the midpoint. Wall Street had been modeling full-year sales at $1.37 billion. GoPro is facing concerns about market saturation and pricing pressure from competitors, including Garmin ( GRMN ), Sony ( SNE ). Possible catalysts for the company include its upcoming drone and devices for recording 360-degree videos for virtual reality headsets like Facebook ’s ( FB ) Oculus Rift.

Fitbit Fails Q1 Physical, Stock Collapses On Q2 Guidance

Fitbit ( FIT ) stock tumbled Thursday after the maker of wearable fitness trackers said increased spending on marketing and R&D will cut into earnings near term. Fitbit shares were down 14%, near 14.50, in morning trading on the stock market today . The stock sliced through its 50-day moving average, a key support level, in touching a six-week low. Late Wednesday, Fitbit smashed Wall Street’s targets for the first quarter , but the company delivered mixed guidance for the current quarter. It earned 10 cents a share excluding items on sales of $505.4 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 3 cents EPS and $444.3 million in sales. On a year-over-year basis, Q1 sales rose 50%, but earnings dropped 63%. For the current quarter, Fitbit is projecting earnings per share of 8 to 11 cents excluding items on sales of $575 million at the midpoint of guidance. Wall Street had been modeling Fitbit to earn 26 cents a share on sales of $531.3 million. Fitbit competes in the health and fitness wearables market with Apple ( AAPL ), Garmin ( GRMN ) and others. Battle Of Fitbit Bulls And Bears Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz reiterated his outperform rating on Fitbit stock with a 12- to 18-month price target of 25. The digital health market is showing strong demand, but Fitbit management “is struggling with the pushes and pulls of operating a rapidly growing business,” he said in a research report. Volatility in operating expenses is pressuring the stock, he says. Fitbit bulls say the company is “striking while the iron is hot” and ramping up marketing and R&D spending to capitalize on the growing market. But bears argue that if Fitbit “takes its foot off the gas, the ride will stop,” Uerkwitz said. FBN Securities analyst Shebly Seyrafi maintained his outperform rating on Fitbit stock but trimmed his price target to 22 from 25. S&P Global analyst Angelo Zino kept his hold rating on Fitbit stock with a price target of 20. “Fitbit is seeing good penetration for its newest devices, Blaze and Alta,” Zino said in a report. “But we are cautious about elevated second-half expectations and intense competitive pressures.” Edison Investment Research analyst Richard Windsor said Fitbit’s higher sales and marketing spending has placed “unrealistic expectations of profitability” in the second half of the year. “This is particularly worrying as there are clear signs that commoditization is forcing the company to increase spending, hitting profits,” he said in a report. To meet its EPS guidance, Fitbit will need to generate 83% of its net profit in the last six months of the year, he said. “Given the environment, this looks to be a very tall order and there is likely a heavy cut to full-year EPS guidance coming either in June or October,” Windsor said. Piper Jaffray analyst Erinn Murphy reiterated her neutral rating on Fitbit, with a price target of 16. “While we are pleased with the traction of new products, we are wary of the Q4-weighted guide and opt to remain on sidelines,” she said in a report. Fitbit Dominates Fitness Device Market On the company’s earnings conference call with analysts, Fitbit CEO James Park expressed confidence in the company’s ability to continue to lead the nascent digital health market. “Fitbit has had an incredible and consistent track record of creating and launching innovative devices and software that people love,” he said. “Over nine years of creating and leading this category, we’ve gained a deep and proprietary understanding of the market and our customers.” San Francisco-based Fitbit is putting a lot of “marketing muscle” worldwide behind its Blaze fitness watch and Alta activity tracker, which were both launched in March, Park said. Retail sales tracker NPD Group on Thursday reported that Fitbit remained the king of connected digital fitness devices in the first quarter. It said Fitbit accounted for 81% of the dollars spent in the category in the U.S. in Q1. Fitbit does most of its business in the U.S. In Q1, 70% of Fitbit’s revenue came from the U.S. Europe, Middle East and Africa contributed 15% of sales, followed by Asia-Pacific with 11%.