Apple’s Stock Price Rising, But for How Long?
Peek-a-boo. Speaking of Apple, we were led to believe by Apple execs that financial details of the company’s legal settlement with Qualcomm would not be disclosed. But on Wednesday, Qualcomm tipped a $ 4.5 billion to $ 4.7 billion revenue gain next quarter for the settlement. Qualcomm also reported revenue last quarter fell 5% to $ 5 billion and issued a tepid forecast for the “next couple of quarters.” Its shares, up 51% since the April 16 settlement, were down 1% in premarket trading on Thursday. The forecast comes as worldwide smartphone shipments dropped 7% in the first quarter, “a clear sign that 2019 will be another down year,” IDC reports.
Charge card. Elsewhere on Wall Street, Square failed to cash in with its outlook while Fitbit ran stronger. Payments processor Square said its gross payment volume rose 27% to $ 22.6 billion but it forecast less profit and revenue for the next quarter than analysts expected. Square’s stock, up 31% this year, declined 6% in premarket trading. At wearable maker Fitbit, revenue rose 10% to $ 272 million as the number of devices sold rose 36% to 2.9 million. Fitbit shares, previously up 8% this year, gained 2%.
Uninvited guests. There may be a new privacy boss at Facebook soon, and one who doesn’t exactly please the company. As part of settlement talks with the Federal Trade Commission, Facebook is considering appointing a “federally-approved privacy official,” Politico reports. At Google, the company is voluntarily giving users more privacy control, promising a new tool to adjust how long it keeps location, search and other personal data. And on the flip side of its Duplex appointment-making A.I. assistant, Google announced CallJoy, an A.I. appointment-taking assistant for small businesses.
Don’t cut me off. A new law in Russia will seek to create a “sovereign Internet” that the government could easily disconnect from the global Internet at any time. Internet service providers in the country will have to route all traffic through servers controlled by Roscomnadzor, the country’s Internet censor.
Rocket ships. The venture capital investing superstars at Andreessen Horowitz reloaded, completing fundraising on two new funds with $ 2.75 billion of fresh dough. The bulk of the money will be for “late stage” startups. What’s that? “New companies that are just hitting escape velocity, and that may need a more venture-like mindset to support their further company building and scaling,” the firm explained in a blog post.
