Tag Archives: apple

Skyworks Growth Threatened By ‘Unfavorable’ Apple iPhone Comparison

Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ) is “rebuilding” after Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) iPhone flop last quarter but is still looking at double-digit growth in the second half of 2016, MKM analyst Ian Ing wrote in a research note after Apple-supplier stocks broadly toppled last week, when the iPhone maker reported its first-ever year-over-year decline in smartphone sales. In early trading Monday, Skyworks stock was down a fraction, as were shares of radio-frequency chip rivals Broadcom ( AVGO ) and Qorvo ( QRVO ). In early trading on the stock market today , Apple stock was also down a fraction, near 93, and down 10.5% since reporting its March-quarter earnings after the close Tuesday. That day, Apple reported  not only its first-ever year-over-year drop in iPhone sales, but also its first quarterly revenue decrease in 13 years. Skyworks’ Q2 guidance , released late Thursday, slugged that stock when its sales view missed by $50 million. But after just 2% sales growth last quarter, Skyworks expects double-digit growth in September, though strength in China and with Samsung might not be enough to outweigh an “unfavorable” year-over-year iPhone comparison. Last September, Apple sold 13 million iPhone 6S units in three days following the release. Chinese smartphone-makers are facing a largely saturated market, Ing noted. About 45% of China’s mobile phones are on 4G now. Wall Street largely expects a pause as the industry transitions to 5G — but that refresh is still more than a year away. Ing retained his buy rating on Skyworks stock, but he cut the price target to 93 from 98. At least two other analysts rated Skyworks a buy over the weekend.

Facebook, Microsoft Capital Spending Good For Data Center REITs

In their Q1 earnings reports, Apple ( AAPL ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) and other big Internet companies have signaled continued strong spending on cloud infrastructure — and that bodes well for data center operators, says Pacific Crest. “The five largest cloud companies ( Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Microsoft, Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) Google, Facebook ( FB ) and Apple), which account for 80% of the capital investments by top-20 cloud companies, showed an acceleration in capital investments during Q1,” Brent Bracelin, a Pacific Crest analyst, said in a research report. Data center operators have been among the best-performing real estate investment trusts in 2016. REITs are essentially portfolios of income-producing properties. They bypass the standard corporate income tax obligations by distributing at least 90% of their income to shareholders in the form of dividends. Among the top data center companies, Equinix ( EQIX ) reports Q1 earnings on Wednesday after the close, while CyrusOne ( CONE ) reports on Thursday. Equinix stock, which has a so-so IBD Composite Rating of 64, is up 9% in 2016. But  CoreSite Realty ( COR ) stock has shot up 32% and leads its group with a highest-possible CR of 99. DuPont Fabros ( DFT ) is up 25%, while Cyrus One has jumped 17%. Digital Realty ( DLR ), meanwhile, has climbed 16%. Still, IBD’s 50-company Finance-Property REIT group overall is up just 3% this year and ranks No. 53 out of 197 groups tracked. Bracelin said Facebook’s capital spending jumped 125% to $1.1 billion. Microsoft’s capital spending rose 66% to $2.3 billion, while Amazon.com’s increased 35% to $1.2 billion. “Because many of these cloud operators use custom software and white-box infrastructure, there are few direct beneficiaries across the traditional technology landscape beyond some of the data center REITs,” said Bracelin.