Tag Archives: aapl

Facebook’s Dominance In App Ecosystem Is Striking, Above Alphabet

Facebook ( FB ) completely dominates the app field, taking a 60% market share in February, led by its WhatsApp and Messenger properties. Alphabet ( GOOGL ) followed Facebook in app downloads, with YouTube being the most popular, according to an analysis by Nomura. Netflix ( NFLX ) also showed impressive strength, while Spotify outpaced Pandora Media ( P ). “With apps representing about 80% of total time spent on mobile, the importance of app trends is difficult to understate,” wrote Nomura analyst Anthony DiClemente in a research report. “App user trends have major implications for industry and company-specific shifts in consumer behavior, and ultimately advertising spend trend.” User engagement trends are leading indicators of mobile ad spending. DiClemente estimates mobile ad spend should reach $75 billion globally in 2016, growing 44% year over year. Alphabet and Facebook scored big in a recent survey of advertisers, receiving the highest budget allocations and the best return on investment of digital media properties. DiClemente examined 14 of the most prominent social apps on both the Apple ( AAPL ) and Alphabet Android operating systems. The apps covered were downloaded a total of 217 million times in February. In the analysis, using data from SensorTower , DiClemente said Facebook properties held the top four spots in the global app download ranking and comprised a full 60% of the 217 million downloads. WhatsApp and Messenger held the top two spots, with nearly 40 million downloads each. For comparison, the Facebook flagship app was downloaded 30 million times in February, while Instagram posted 22 million downloads. Messenger is generally stronger in the U.S., while WhatsApp remains the preferred messaging service internationally, DiClemente said. “The strength of Facebook’s app portfolio reinforces our view that Facebook maintains a user growth and monetization runway,” DiClemente wrote. YouTube was by far the most popular suit of apps by Alphabet. It was downloaded 12.5 million times, far outpacing Google Gmail. But many Google apps come preloaded on Android phones and likely understates Google’s prominence, DiClemente wrote. Following YouTube, music sharing site Spotify tied with Netflix, with both showing 7.9 million downloads. Spotify competitor Pandora had 5.3 million downloads. Pandora still leads in the U.S., but Spotify is beating Pandora by 75% in global downloads. At Netflix, international downloads surpassed domestic totals following January’s expansion into 130 countries. Alphabet and IBD 50 company Facebook carry best-possible IBD Composite Ratings of 99. Both were up more than 1% in midday trading in the stock market today , with major stock indexes up. Image provided by Shutterstock .

Apple-FBI Feud Over iPhone Encryption Turns Ugly

The fight over smartphone encryption between Apple ( AAPL ) and the Department of Justice is being waged as much in the court of public opinion as it is in a federal court in Riverside, Calif. Late Thursday, Apple delivered an angry response to a DOJ court filing that accused the Cupertino, Calif., company of trying to sway opinion with false rhetoric and “corrosive” comments about the federal government. In its latest filing, the Justice Department accused Apple of deliberately raising technological barriers to prevent law enforcement officials from accessing data on its smartphones. It said Apple’s arguments about increasing data security on its iPhones to protect its customers’ privacy was a “diversion.” On Feb. 16, a federal judge in Southern California ordered Apple to provide “reasonable technical assistance” to the FBI to help unlock a password-protected iPhone belonging to Syed Farook, one of the killers in the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attack on Dec. 2. The Justice Department says the case is about only the one iPhone, but Apple believes it will set a precedent that will create a backdoor for government spies, criminals and hackers. “Apple’s rhetoric is not only false, but also corrosive of the very institutions that are best able to safeguard our liberty and our rights: the courts, the Fourth Amendment, longstanding precedent and venerable laws, and the democratically elected branches of government,” the DOJ said in its filing Thursday. Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell took offense at the claims of federal prosecutors. “In 30 years of practice I don’t think I’ve seen a legal brief that was more intended to smear the other side with false accusations and innuendo, and less intended to focus on the real merits of the case,” Sewell said in a statement Thursday . Sewell called the DOJ filing a “cheap shot.” “We add security features to protect our customers from hackers and criminals,” Sewell said. “And the FBI should be supporting us in this because it keeps everyone safe. To suggest otherwise is demeaning. It cheapens the debate and it tries to mask the real and serious issues. I can only conclude that the DOJ is so desperate at this point that it has thrown all decorum to the winds.” Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch went on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” to defend the FBI’s stance in the case. She reiterated the government’s claims that the case is “very narrow and very focused” on one smartphone and that the feds aren’t trying to create a backdoor to Apple’s iPhone security. Apple claims that if the government succeeds in this case it will set a dangerous precedent that will allow it and other governments to keep coming back to Apple to hack its iPhones. Worse, if the technology becomes available to circumvent iPhone security, it’s only a matter of time before it leaks out to hackers and criminal enterprises who will go after iPhone users’ personal and financial data. RELATED:  Tech Rivals Unite To Support Apple In iPhone Privacy Case Vs. FBI .

5 Chip Stocks To Watch, With Apple’s Big Event March 21

A basket of top-rated chip stocks are making moves around buy points now. And Apple ( AAPL ), a big user of semiconductors, just sent out press invitations for a March 21 event where it’s expected to introduce a small iPhone and another iPad. So which chip stocks are highly rated by IBD and get at least some of their business from Apple?  Broadcom ( AVGO ), IBD Leaderboard stock  Macom Technology ( MTSI ), Cirrus Logic ( CRUS ), Mellanox ( MLNX ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ) make the list. All are at least somewhat diversified, with revenue streams in everything from data center and mobile networking systems to powerful graphics chips for virtual reality and gaming, to connected car technology and now even artificial intelligence. Chips And Profit Going into Friday trading, IBD 50 stock Broadcom was a few percentage points into buy range from a double bottom base. Broadcom made IBD’s Stocks On The Move screen early Thursday, heading up in high volume alongside Google owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and a few other stocks. Early Thursday, Broadcom’s management team had presented at a Susquehanna Financial analysts’ conference. “It’s a great time to operate in the semiconductor industry,” CEO Hock Tan said there. “You have a substantial profit pool … compared to similar industries of the same size.” Loading the player…   Broadcom started giving up some of its gains as stock indexes dipped into the red with falling oil prices, but it ended up with a 1.7% rise for the day. Several other top-rated chip stocks declined Thursday. Mellanox slipped to the bottom of buy range. So did Macom Technology. Nvidia edged down to about 4% under a buy point from a cup base. While the stock market’s in a confirmed uptrend, much of the action is choppy with ups and downs in oil prices and economic concerns around the globe. All five of these top-ranked chipmakers have fallen from a week ago, between 1% and 7%, with the S&P 500 index down 1%. Cirrus Logic and Mellanox were up 14% and 15% this year, respectively, going into Friday. Macom was up 1% while Avago was down 1% and Nvidia down 4%. Nvidia, an IBD 50 stock, has the strongest IBD Composite Rating of the bunch, a best-possible 99, taking into account earnings growth, stock price gains and several other metrics. The others range between 90 and 98 in Composite Rating. Apple Chips It will take awhile for teardowns to show whose chips go into whatever new products Apple introduces, and longer for those chips to translate into reported sales, and lagging iPhone sales growth lately hasn’t helped the chips. Apple Sets March 21 To Launch Small iPhone, New iPad, Watch Bands https://t.co/MxIpxMFKvc pic.twitter.com/iPxQ1lTAFF — Investors.com (@IBDinvestors) March 10, 2016 Other markets are driving growth, however. Nvidia, for instance, said in its fourth quarter report, in February, that it’s at the “center of four exciting growth opportunities — PC gaming, VR (virtual reality), deep learning and self-driving cars.” Nvidia is a partner to electric car maker  Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) and other auto manufacturers, and said last month that it’s in an alliance with Facebook ( FB ) and Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group ( BABA ) for speedy artificial intelligence chips.