Tag Archives: apple

Apple to Shift iCloud from Amazon to Google

Apple Inc.AAPL has reportedly made a deal with Alphabet Inc. GOOGL under which Google’s cloud platform will power a certain portion of Apple’s iCloud infrastructure. The deal is said to have been signed last year. According to a report

IVE: Why To Get Back Into Value With This ETF

By Jonathan Jones and Tom Lydon The value factor is starting to shake off several years of slack performance to outpace its growth and momentum counterparts as investors yearn for safer destinations in 2016, according to industry analyst ETF Trends . That is proving to be good news for exchange traded funds such as the $9.4 billion iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (NYSEArca: IVE ) . “It’s got a nice 2.5% dividend and when you are stuck in a trading range you want to be in value,” said Brock Moseley, president of Miracle Mile Advisors, of IVE in an interview with TheStreet.com . As the market cools off and moves toward more stable growth, exchange traded funds that track the value style may outperform. “Should economic conditions continue to stabilize, value stocks may be one of the bigger beneficiaries,” according to Russ Koesterich, Global Chief Investment Strategist and Head of the Model Portfolio & Solutions Business at BlackRock . “Value typically outperforms during periods when economic conditions are improving.” Value stocks typically trade at cheaper prices relative to fundamental measures of value, such as earnings and the book value of assets. In contrast, growth stocks tend to run at higher valuations since investors expect rapid growth in those company measures. IVE holds nearly 370 stocks, almost 24% of which are financial services names. Energy stocks account for over 12% of IVE’s weight and healthcare and industrial stocks each command allocations of more than 11%. The S&P 500 Value ETF showed a 14.62 price-to-earnings and a 1.65 price-to-book. In contrast, the S&P 500 Growth ETF has a 19.34 P/E and a 3.99 P/B while the S&P 500 Index ETF was trading at a 16.7 P/E and a 2.34 P/B. Plain vanilla index ETFs that track the value theme has outperformed so far this year, or at least have not done as poorly as broader benchmarks. Nevertheless, potential investors should still look under the hood of these value stock ETFs as no two are created alike and offer varying performances. iShares S&P 500 Value ETF Click to enlarge Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Apple-Alphabet Cloud Accord Could Help Google Catch Up With Amazon

Google-owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ) has snared iPhone maker Apple ( AAPL ) as a customer for its Google Cloud Platform, a deal that could help Google’s service catch up with industry leader Amazon.com ( AMZN ), says an industry note from Pacific Crest Securities on Thursday. Amazon unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) is now the biggest provider of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), where customers rent computer servers and data storage systems via the Internet. Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Alphabet’s Google rank next. Apple signed a contract worth between $400 million and $600 million to use Google’s Cloud Platform, according to CRN . Apple now uses cloud services from Amazon and Microsoft, but intends to end its reliance on all its rivals in the next few years, as it builds its own data centers, according to Re/Code. While Apple has reportedly used AWS historically for iCloud, “the more surprising shift is from Apple to Google, which are odd bedfellows given the two companies’ mudslinging and competition in other areas,” wrote Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson. “Did Google throw in free cloud as a way to renegotiate the search contract? Definitely adds to the perception of Google’s momentum,” Wilson added. The deal has not been confirmed by Google or Apple, but Apple did disclose its reliance on AWS and on Microsoft’s Azure in a 2014 white paper. The alleged Apple-Google accord would help “Google Cloud Platform catch up to Amazon and Microsoft — at least in terms of perception — as a real third player in the space instead of a distant third. Google has done similar deals with Snapchat, PricewaterhouseCoopers, General Mills ( GIS ) Coca-Cola ( KO ), HTC and Best Buy ( BBY ),” said Wilson. In total, the cloud opportunity is big enough for all three Internet powerhouses, said Wilson, who estimated “a potential $25 billion windfall opportunity in cloud services for Amazon, Microsoft and Google, collectively.” While AWS has been the biggest IaaS price-cutter of the last decade, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) has been aggressive since moving into the market. Google slashed prices in March 2014, October 2014 and May-June 2015, Goldman analyst Heather Bellini said in an industry report last month. Goldman Sachs says that the top three service providers are gaining share as Verizon Communications ( VZ ), Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) and others exit the public IaaS market and focus on private clouds. Goldman Sachs estimates that AWS’ revenue will hit $12.5 billion in 2016, up from $7.88 billion last year. Apple stock was down a fraction in midday trading in the stock market today , near 106. Alphabet was up a fraction, near 760, while Microsoft stock was also up a fraction, near 55. IBD 50 stock Alphabet gets a best-possible Composite Rating of 99 from IBD. Microsoft has a 75 and Apple a 70. Image provided by Shutterstock .