Tag Archives: technology

Apple, Alphabet May Gain If Self-Driving Cars Are 4th Video Screen

Apple ( AAPL ) and Alphabet’s Google helped turn mobile phones into the “third screen” for video consumption, joining the living-room TV and personal computers. Self-driving cars could emerge as the fourth video screen, says Morgan Stanley. And if that happens, Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Apple loom as Silicon Valley companies that could gain. A new Morgan Stanley research report explores the potential impact of autonomous (self-driving) cars along with the emergence of shared, on-demand Uber-type services on a wide range of industries. If consumers don’t need to watch the road while motoring, they’ll have more time to eyeball Internet content or mobile video. “The car is effectively the 4th screen for media content consumption after PCs, phones and TVs. In our view, this is what the Silicon Valley will be targeting by leveraging the (autonomous) utility,” said the report. “Silicon Valley is interested not only in the utility aspect but more importantly in the potential multitrillion-dollar opportunity selling data, content and experiences unfamiliar to today’s auto firms.” Tech companies loom as partners for new entrants or for traditional automakers. If the fourth-screen model proves accurate, Google could expand its advertising business to a new market. Apple’s services business stands to gain as well. “The automobile is being increasingly viewed as a potential smartphone on wheels,” said the Morgan Stanley analyst team. Apple reportedly is developing an electric car, with a target date of 2019. Google is testing autonomous vehicles in two cities. Competition is growing fast in the autonomous-car market. Tesla is pushing into autonomous vehicles, with Mobileye ’s ( MBLY ) help. Also in the self-driving car race are General Motors ( GM ), Ford ( F ) and other carmakers. GM is partnering with ride-sharing service Lyft. “Driving has long been seen as synonymous with personal freedom. But among the costs of this freedom is what we estimate to be approximately 400 billion hours of non-productive time gripping a steering wheel and trying to concentrate on the road ahead,” said the Morgan Stanley report. “What if the future of automotive transportation afforded consumers with all of the traditional benefits of personal freedom of mobility while using that precious hour per day for other activities?”

Facebook Passed 50-Day Test; Netflix, Illumina Broke 2 Support Areas

Facebook ( FB ) tested a key level Tuesday but came out stronger. But Netflix ( NFLX ) and Illumina ( ILMN ) crashed through support levels on weak Q1 figures. IBM ( IBM ) gets an incomplete. MaxLinear ( MXL ) triggered a sell rule as well as breaking a support level. Will trends reverse today? Facebook Facebook has been finding support at its 50-day moving average since April 11, when shares finished just below that key level. Since then the stock has closed above that support level. On Tuesday, Facebook shook off a morning dip to just above the 50-day to rally for a 1.7% gain at 112.29. On the upside, the next key level is a buy point at 117.09. Facebook rose 0.1% in afternoon trading on the stock market today . Facebook releases earnings next week, with analysts expecting a 48% EPS gain, the third straight quarter of accelerating growth. Netflix Netflix late Monday reported an unexpected rise in Q1 earnings per share. Subscriber growth also topped expectations. But the Web-streaming giant expects net global-customer growth of just 2.5 million in Q2, which would be the weakest quarterly gain in two years . It also guided Q2 earnings lower. Netflix stock dived 13% Tuesday, crashing through its 200-day and 50-day moving averages in one fell swoop. (Netflix retook its 200-day line just last week). Netflix rose 1.8% Wednesday afternoon, still below its 50-day line. Illumina Illumina late Monday gave Q1 preliminary revenue figures that were well below Wall Street estimates. The gene-sequencing tools giant sees Q1 sales up 6%, ending a 14-quarter string of double-digit growth. Illumina stock crashed 23.2% on Tuesday, back near two-year lows. Like Netflix, Illumina tumbled through its 200-day and 50-day lines. The stock on Monday topped its 200-day for the first time this year. Illumina rose 1% Wednesday afternoon. IBM IBM revenue and earnings did top Wall Street forecasts late Monday, though sales have fallen for 16 straight quarters. Also, IBM’s implied Q2 EPS guidance appeared to be below analyst estimates. IBM stock fell 5.6% on Tuesday, undercutting its 200-day line intraday but closing just above that area. But IBM could easily retest the 200-day line in the coming days, with the 50-day only slightly below that. IBM rose 1.% intraday. MaxLinear MaxLinear’s chip designs are used in video streaming. The stock cleared an entry point of 17.85 last month, rising to a 19.10 peak on April 4. But shares drifted lower since then. On Tuesday, the stock dived 10.2% to 15.86, triggering an 8% sell rule from that entry point and breaking through its 50-day moving average. It wasn’t immediately clear why the MaxLinear shares fell. On Wednesday, MaxLinear tightened its fiscal Q1 revenue guidance and raised its gross margin target. MaxLinear jumped 7.6% by the early afternoon,  retaking its 50-day line.

Dish Q1 Profit Beats, Viacom Dispute May Fuel Subscriber Losses

Dish Network ’s ( DISH ) Q1 profit topped views, sending the satellite TV broadcaster’s stock up, as shares in Viacom ( VIA ) fell again amid stalled negotiations with Dish over a programming contract renewal. Englewood, Colo.-based Dish, which normally reports Q1 earnings in May, said that profit rose 11% from the year-earlier period to 84 cents a share. Revenue rose 2% to $3.79 billion, Dish said. Analysts had modeled EPS of 62 cents and revenue of $3.8 billion. Dish stock was up nearly 2% in afternoon trading in the stock market today , near 48. The satellite TV broadcaster’s stock is down 15% in 2016. Dish has been unable to find a buyer for its wireless radio spectrum or a wireless partner to offer mobile video services. Viacom stock, which fell 7% on Tuesday, was down about 2% late Wednesday morning, near 38. Dish said that it lost 23,000 net pay-TV customers in Q1. The company combines satellite TV customers with subscribers to its new online video service branded “Sling,” but it does not break out results. Dish lost 158,0000 satellite TV customers in Q1 but gained 135,000 Sling customers, estimated Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson. While Dish aims to stabilize rising programming costs, its dispute with Viacom could increase subscriber losses, says Moffett. John Hodulik, a UBS analyst, agreed in a report. “DirecTV faced a similar dispute in July 2012, which kept Viacom networks off the air for 10 days, contributing to an 80% year-over-year drop in net adds in Q3 2012. While this is likely a negotiating tactic by Dish, since 2014 smaller cable operators, including Cable One and Suddenlink, have dropped Viacom’s networks entirely to save cost,” wrote Hodulik. Vijay Jayant, an analyst at Evercore ISI, said in a report: “We estimate that DISH pays Viacom between $350M and $400M in programming costs. While Dish will save these costs in case there is no agreement, it will also lose subscribers at a higher pace initially than in a scenario where there is a deal.  Dish also has an ongoing dispute with ( Comcast ( CMCSA )-owned) NBCU.” Viacom’s 24 cable networks include MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Viacom lacks sports content, a strength of Walt Disney ( DIS ) and 21st Century Fox ( FOXA ). Dish has had disputes with CBS ( CBS ), 21st Century Fox and Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting unit. Viacom rose more than 1% near 36 Wednesday afternoon after tumbling 8.3% on Tuesday.