Tag Archives: technology

Microsoft Explores Self-Driving Cars With Toyota Partnership

Source Microsoft. The efforts on the part of tech giants such as Apple and Alphabet to disrupt the automobile market have made up some of the most interesting developments in tech

PayPal, Visa Could Be In Talks About A Possible Partnership: Analyst

PayPal ( PYPL )and Visa ( V ) apparently are in talks about a possible partnership, but whether the companies can reach an agreement remains to be seen, investment bank SunTrust said Wednesday. At the moment, PayPal attempts to push its customers into using cheap funding sources such as direct access to bank accounts and funds stored in PayPal accounts. But, should the company strike a deal with Visa (or MasterCard ( MA )) and present credit cards as an equal option, the company would likely see a $300 million transaction-expense increase, SunTrust analyst Robert Peck wrote in a research note. To offset the increased expense, Peck says PayPal would have to either negotiate for some kind of expense offset, see a 7% lift in payment volume funded by credit cards, or see a 3% lift in volume from its cheapest funding sources. San Jose, Calif.-based PayPal, through a spokesperson, declined to comment. PayPal stock was up about 2%, below 39, in afternoon trading on the stock market today . PayPal found support at its 50-day moving average Wednesday, a positive move just when the stock needed one. The stock is still below a buy point at 40.03 but above a 38.62 entry. The company has an IBD Composite Rating of 91, where 99 is the highest, putting it among the top 9% of all stocks on key metrics such as earnings and sales growth. In his research note, Peck upped his price target on PayPal stock to 44 from 38, citing better market conditions. Peck maintained a buy rating on the stock. Peck says that there are “breadcrumbs” that indicate a solid Q1 for the company. PayPal is set to report results April 27 after the close . Last week, e-commerce leader Amazon.com ( AMZN ) announced new features for its languishing payments platform that take aim at PayPal, and rivals such as Square ( SQ ).

Facebook Revs Engine On Multibillion-Dollar Market Opportunities

A series of announcements by Facebook ( FB ) at its conference for developers this week puts the company on a solid path toward adding billions to its revenue stream. CEO Mark Zuckerberg set a 10-year strategy for Facebook on Tuesday that emphasized pushing its Messenger chat platform deeper into the business world with chatbots and by enhancing Live video with virtual reality. Zuckerberg presented his vision in a keynote speech at the start of Facebook’s two-day F8 Developer Conference on Tuesday in San Francisco. Analysts say the monetization strategy of Messenger will closely follow that of Instagram, with both platforms seen becoming multibillion-dollar businesses. That will be followed by its Oculus Rift virtual reality business and its WhatsApp messaging platform. “We see Facebook’s revenue growth visibility being enhanced by Instagram this year, Messenger in 2017, and more mass-market virtual reality and maybe WhatsApp by 2018,” wrote Rosenblatt Securities analyst Martin Pyykkonen in a research note Wednesday. He estimates Instagram’s ad revenue will reach $1 billion this year. “It’s still very early, but Messenger could become that single app interface for multiple mobile payments and be a competitive issue for the likes of PayPal ( PYPL ), Square ( SQ ) and credit card companies,” he wrote. Cowen analyst John Blackledge wrote in a research note that, given Messenger’s sheer user scale, it could potentially be another transformational platform for Facebook. Messenger has 900 million users, up from 800 million in January. “Facebook will continue to follow its proven playbook of building great products, achieving scale and then building ecosystems around those products/apps in order to monetize,” Blackledge wrote. Facebook Messenger Can Be Added Feature For Ads Facebook provided a glimpse as to how it might monetize Messenger at the F8 conference. Examples included businesses placing an ad on Facebook and then, when the ad is clicked, the user is taken over to Messenger, where that user can communicate with the company and transact on the platform. As widely expected, Zuckerberg announced a program for developers to write apps that are powered by artificial intelligence, known as chatbots. The digital assistants will help Messenger users communicate with businesses for services, perhaps to fix a problem or to buy goods. Demonstrations on how bots will be used by businesses included ordering flowers through the chatbot of 1-800-Flowers ( FLWS ). Facebook highlighted over 40 existing partnerships that included Shopify ( SHOP ) and Hyatt Hotels ( H ). While ads and promotions are not currently allowed in the bot platform, Facebook has begun testing “Sponsored Messages” in small groups. Facebook also said it will be able to earn revenue through “Click to Message” links in News Feed ads. Another major focus at the F8 conference is on live video streaming, which generates 10 times more comments than regular videos. Facebook is already pumping up revenue from standard video ads placed on its website. The addition of Facebook Live video will accelerate that opportunity. Blackledge estimates Facebook video revenue will hit $10 billion by 2021, up from $1.8 billion last year. Facebook Live is comparable to the Twitter ( TWTR ) Periscope app, which launched last year and has logged more than 100 million broadcasts. Twitter has integrated Periscope into the Twitter app feed. The vast majority of Facebook revenue comes from ads on its main website, but the company is looking to build on that with Instagram, Messenger and Live. “Messenger is clearly increasingly important, in our view, but its vision of the post-app world will be a challenge to pull off,” wrote Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson in a research note. “It has a real opportunity with Live video in the near term.” Facebook stock was down more than 2%, near 108, in early afternoon trading in the stock market today . Facebook is set to report Q1 earnings after the market close on April 27. Analysts expect revenue will rise 48% from the year-earlier quarter to $5.25 billion, while earnings per share minus items also are expected to rise 48%, to 62 cents.