Tag Archives: apple

Facebook Doubles Length Time On Instagram Video Ads

In its ongoing ad expansion, Facebook ( FB ) has doubled the length of video ads on Instagram to 60 seconds, with T-Mobile ( TMUS ) and Warner Bros. the first to jump aboard. Facebook derives more than 96% of total revenue from advertising, with video ads deriving a premium price. The social networking giant has been methodical in rolling out video ads on its products, including its photo- and video-sharing app Instagram, as the company says that its priority is user experience. “We recognize that advertisers have a variety of creative resources and want to bring more choice to help them reach their business goals,” an Instagram spokeswoman told IBD in an email exchange. “Instagram allows brands to amplify campaigns and build anticipation heading into key moments in time,” such as the Super Bowl football game Sunday or a highly anticipated movie premiere, she wrote. T-Mobile is using the new 60-second ad format to promote bonus scenes of their Super Bowl ad spot. Warner Bros. Entertainment, a division of Time Warner ( TWX ), used the 60-second format to promote its new movie “Me Before You.” On June 3rd #LiveBoldly. Based on the best-selling novel by @jojomoyesofficial, here’s the first trailer for #MeBeforeYou, starring @emilia_clarke and @mrsamclaflin. A video posted by Me Before You Movie (@mebeforeyouofficial) on Feb 3, 2016 at 8:00am PST Instagram has more than 400 million users; Facebook and Instagram are the two most important mobile advertising platforms. Facebook continued to show that it is king of social media last week with a report of fourth-quarter earnings that soundly beat expectations on booming mobile ad revenue. Facebook reported ad revenue of $5.84 billion, up 52% year over year. Mobile advertising revenue shot up 69% vs. a year earlier, accounting for 80% of total ad revenue. We’re in the #BigGame with @ChampagnePapi. #YouGotCarriered A video posted by tmobile (@tmobile) on Feb 3, 2016 at 8:37am PST Facebook does not break out Instagram revenue, but COO Sheryl Sandberg in the Q4 earnings conference call said, “We’re pleased with the growth on Instagram.” Facebook has more than 2.5 million active advertisers, with 98 of the top 100 advertisers on Facebook also advertising on Instagram. In the past year, Facebook has been more aggressively expanding ads on Instagram and offering better analytics and measurement tools. Facebook competes with Apple ( AAPL ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Microsoft ( MSFT ), Twitter ( TWTR ) and others to attract more advertisers. Facebook is also expected to introduce ads on its messaging platforms, WhatsApp and Messenger, down the road. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in the Q4 earnings call, suggested that ads on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, which now has 800 million users, are in the works . Facebook stock fell 1.8% to close at 110.66 in the stock market today . Facebook stock hit an all-time high of 117.59 on Tuesday.

Amazon.com Turns Up Heat On Apple, Makes Spotify Easier On Echo

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) announced Thursday that it would make Spotify Premium — which has between 20 million and 25 million subscribers — available on its Echo speaker and Alexa virtual assistant. Spotify is an iTunes-like music streaming service for mobile and desktop. “Now playing your favorite music from Spotify is as easy as asking Alexa,” Toni Reid, Amazon Alexa director, said in a statement. “Music is one of the most popular features on Amazon Echo, and Spotify has been one of the most requested services, so we’re excited to bring it to our customers today.” Amazon.com stock was up a fraction in afternoon trading in the stock market today . Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal uncovered Amazon’s plans to build a beer-can-sized version of the Echo that will likely put pressure on other virtual personal assistant providers, such as Apple ( AAPL ) and its Siri. Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) Google also offer virtual personal assistants. Spotify was available on Echo prior to Thursday’s announcement, but it wasn’t seamless and required several steps to set up, according to Re/code .

Apple Supplier NXP Semiconductors Earnings Beat Amid ‘Challenges’

Apple ( AAPL ) supplier NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) reported much-better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and revenue late Wednesday, despite some “challenges.” Fellow iPhone chipmaker Qorvo ( QRVO ) on tap after the market close Thursday. NXP Semiconductors earned $1.25 a share excludng various items, down 7% vs. a year earlier but easily exceeding Wall Street estimates for $1.07. Revenue climbed 4.5% to $1.61 billion. Analysts had expected a 16% drop to $1.29 billion. The fourth-quarter results include one month of contribution from newly acquired Freescale Semiconductor. The Freescale deal is aimed at making NXP an automotive chip powerhouse. Automotive-related sales rose 45% to $422 million. The deal also halves its Apple iPhone exposure. For the current Q1, NXP expects revenue of $2.15 billion to $2.27 billion with non-GAAP EPS of $1.05-$1.15. Analysts expect Q1 EPS of $1.09. Revenue also was in line. “Looking forward, our task is to continue to outgrow the market despite the uncertain environment,” said CEO Richard Clemmer. NXP stock rose 6.2% in morning trading On Wednesday, shares closed down 3.1% on the  stock market , near 52-week lows set last month. Apple rose 0.6% intraday. On Wednesdsay, its shares rallied 2%, as Apple regained its market cap crown from Alphabet ( GOOGL ) after Alphabet took the lead on Tuesday.  (Alphabet lost 4% Wednesday.) Late Thursday, Qorvo should report a 16% sales decline to $620.3 million, with non-GAAP EPS down 37% to 94 cents. Qorvo slashed its revenue forecast in December. Goldman Sachs downgraded Qorvo Wednesday, saying it’s losing out to rival radio frequency chipmaker  Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ), yet another Apple supplier. Qorvo stock rose 3.4% after losing 0.2% Wednesday. Skyworks Solutions dipped 0.4% intraday after falling 0.4% on Wednesday.