Tag Archives: request

Amazon, Google Cloud Services Price War Back On Amid Apple Loss?

A cloud computing price war pitting Google vs. Amazon Web Services could be back on amid Amazon’s customer defections, most notably  Apple ( AAPL ), says Oppenheimer. The investment bank cut its price target on Amazon.com ( AMZN ) stock and lowered its AWS revenue estimates. Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein forecasts that AWS will slash prices for cloud services by 10% after Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google’s user conference Wednesday and Thursday. Some observers speculate that Google could cut prices for its infrastructure-as-a-service offering, in which customers rent computer servers and data storage systems via the Internet. Apple has reportedly shifted some of its iCloud business to Google from AWS. AWS is the  biggest IaaS provider, followed by Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Google. Helfstein says that AWS also faces market share gains by Microsoft’s Azure cloud service. “We believe AWS will reduce prices 10%, vs. 5%  previously, following this week’s Google Cloud Platform event,” wrote Helfstein in a research report. “While AWS is still far ahead of the competition in features and services, as reflected in zero price reductions in 2015, we cannot ignore recent press reports of potential client losses (Apple, Spotify and Dropbox).” The new boss of Google’s cloud business, Diane Greene, will make her debut at this week’s user conference. In November, Google acquired Greene’s startup, Bebop, for $380 million. Helfstein lowered his price target on Amazon stock to 660 from 700. He lowered 2016 and 2017 AWS revenue estimates by 4% and 11%, respectively. While AWS has been the biggest IaaS price-cutter of the last decade, Google has been aggressive since moving into the market. Google slashed prices in March 2014, October 2014 and June 2015. “With no price reductions in 2015, AWS clearly viewed itself in a very strong competitive position. However, this was out-of-sync with the historical trend of 20%-25% annual price reductions and the 45% reduction in 2014 (mostly in reaction to Google),” added the Oppenheimer analyst.

Glut Feeling: Chinese Solar Manufacturers Ignore ‘Bellwether’ Views

Chinese firms JA Solar ( JASO ), JinkoSolar ( JKS ) and Trina Solar ( TSL ) will force a solar panel glut in 2016, expanding capacity despite a 4.5-gigawatt demand cliff in Japan and the U.K., Credit Suisse analyst Patrick Jobin suggested Monday. Meanwhile, “bellwether” U.S. rooftop solar installers, including  SolarCity ( SCTY ), Sunrun ( RUN ) and Vivint Solar ( VSLR ), have cut their 2016 guidance by 0.6 GW, on average vs. initial expectations, Jobin wrote. European incentives and a Chinese boom oversupplied the market in 2012, causing prices to topple and manufacturers like SunPower ( SPWR ) to cut jobs. The upcoming glut puts higher-cost solar panel makers JA Solar and Trina Solar at heavy risk, Jobin says. On their Q4 earnings conference calls, all three acknowledged a potential 2016 supply glut, but “still announced capacity expansions, citing growth from efficiency improvements and higher capacity build outside China,” Jobin wrote in a research report. Jobin cut his price targets on JinkoSolar and Trina Solar to 40 from 42, and to 14 from 15, respectively. Midday, shares of Trina Solar and JinkoSolar were both down nearly 1% in early afternoon trading on the stock market today . JA Solar stock was up a fraction. Regulators in Japan and the U.K. recently announced cuts to solar feed-in-tariffs (FiT), key subsidies that triggered a surge in solar investment. In 2016, Jobin expects Japanese and U.K. demand to slow by a respective 2 GW and 2.5 GW. In the U.S., a much-lauded extension to the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) on solar installations pushed out installation of 1 GW to 2017, Jobin wrote. Globally, manufacturers see 10 GW in solar cell capacity expansions in 2016, vs. market demand for 6.1 GW. Demand is expected to slow to 11.5% growth in 2016 vs. 17% growth in 2015, Jobin wrote. Compounding that, manufacturers expect a 5%-10% decline in second-half 2016 average sales prices. “We anticipate the need for capacity expansion outside China, especially as the ITC extension improves the long-term demand outlook in the U.S., but we believe the timing and magnitude of new capacity builds may exacerbate oversupply and pressure margins,” he wrote. Among the three companies, Jobin prefers vertically-integrated JinkoSolar, which he says keeps internal production and outside sourcing costs low. But even a 1-cent per-watt decline in gross profits could reduce JinkoSolar, Trina Solar and JA Solar’s 2016 earnings by 33%, 38% and 58%, he said.

Alibaba Hits Merchandise Milestone, But Growth Challenges Lie Ahead

Total sales transaction on e-commerce websites owned by Alibaba ( BABA ) have surpassed 3 trillion yuan ($463 billion), up from 1 trillion yuan in 2012, in what Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai referred to as a milestone that’s just a gas stop on the road ahead. The 3 trillion yuan milestone in gross merchandise volume was achieved with 10 days remaining in Alibaba’s fiscal year, which runs through to the end of March. That’s up 23% year over year in local currency, in line with Wall Street expectations though marking a slowdown from 46% growth in fiscal 2015. Alibaba stock was up more than 2%, near 78, in early afternoon trading in the stock market today . The stock has risen than 30% since falling to 59.25, near an all-time low, on Feb. 9. Alibaba has an IBD Composite Rating of 82. The milestone is one of several that Alibaba has set to spur revenue and profitability, Tsai wrote in his first blog post , published Monday. “We are proud of what this achievement means for China,” he wrote. “It reflects economic growth propelled by consumption and job creation in the service sector.” The shift toward consumption and services is a massive transformation that will drive a new Chinese economy for years to come, he wrote. The gross merchandise volume represents the total value of goods sold on Alibaba websites. Alibaba gets a cut from the sale of goods. In the e-commerce arena, Alibaba competes primarily with JD.com ( JD ), which is the largest online direct-sales company in China. JD — which offers a wide range of electronics, apparel, home appliances, food and beverages and other general merchandise — reported Q4 earnings on March 1. Revenue rose 57% in local currency to $8.35 billion, year over year. Gross merchandise volume rose 69% to $22.2 billion In his blog post, Tsai acknowledged challenges ahead. “Growth is meaningless unless it is sustainable. Thus, we have turned our focus to quality growth and broadening domestic consumption,” he wrote. Alibaba’s challenges also include removing counterfeit goods and fake product sales that have plagued its reputation. In the past year, Alibaba has stepped up efforts to bring “quality producers and brands” onto its platform, especially from overseas, Tsai wrote. It also has a program to penetrate 600,000 villages across China. “We still have a lot of work ahead of us,” he wrote. Image provided by Shutterstock .