By:
On:
In: Around the web
Tagged: , ,
With: 0 Comments

Google parent company Alphabet [stckqut]GOOGL[/stckqut] has taken away Apple’s title as the most valuable company in the world by reaching a market value of about $544 billion in after-hours trading today.

Alphabet closed Monday at around $518 billion, but its after-hours stock spike means that it’s bigger — for now. We’ll see if it maintains that at tomorrow’s open.

Apple [stckqut]AAPL[/stckqut] passed Exxon Mobil [stckqut]XOM[/stckqut] in 2011 to become the most valuable public company in the world, worth around $350 billion, before falling to about $538 billion at today’s close.

The changing of the guard here has less to do with an ascendant Alphabet and more to do with Apple’s iPhone sales, which are beginning to slow down. When Cupertino released its earnings report last week, it posted its slowest growth in phone sales since Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007.

Source: Google Surpasses Apple as the Most Valuable Company in the World | Re/code

By:
On:
In: Around the web
Tagged: , , ,
With: 0 Comments

Apple [stckqut]AAPL[/stckqut] is known for brutal efficiency, regularly killing off features and products that no longer serve its purposes.

So there is irony in the fact investors have taken a similarly ruthless view of Apple itself, penalizing the company heavily ahead of what is expected to be the slowest year on record for its key product: the iPhone. Apple’s share price ended 2015 down 4.6%, marking its first drop in seven years. That selloff looks overdone, even if one accepts the prevailing view that the iPhone 6s won’t sell at a pace anything like that of its predecessor.

Consider that Apple is now the cheapest stock among the 10 largest tech companies in the S&P 500, once its huge net cash pile of $150 billion is excluded. That means Apple is cheaper than other growth-challenged giants like Microsoft [stckqut]MSFT[/stckqut], Oracle, Cisco Systems [stckqut]CSCO[/stckqut] and International Business Machines [stckqut]IBM[/stckqut].

Source: Apple Peeled: Getting Under the Skin of iPhone Worries

By:
On:
In: Around the web
Tagged: , , , ,
With: 0 Comments

Whether through its Apple Pay mobile wallet or a new, person-to-person payments network reportedly in the works, Apple [stckqut]AAPL[/stckqut] wants to be at the center of consumers’ financial lives in the same way it has changed the way people communicate, listen to music and, if other ventures are successful, watch TV and even drive. Given Apple’s track record of disruption, the company’s plans could put the traditional financial services industry on the defensive.

The gadget maker is said to be in talks with several major banks to launch a personal payments service that would allow, say, friends to split a check or emigrants to send money back home via their iPhones. It would compete with existing services like Square, Android Pay or Venmo, which is operated by PayPal [stckqut]PYPL[/stckqut]. PayPal has seen its share price tumble since reports about Apple’s initiative emerged.

The Wall Street Journal said that Apple may launch the venture in partnership with JPMorgan Chase [stckqut]JPM[/stckqut], Capital One Financial Corp. [stckqut]COF[/stckqut], Wells Fargo [stckqut]WFC[/stckqut] and U.S. Bancorp [stckqut]USB[/stckqut].

The service could be a boon for those financial institutions in the short term. Although they would have to cede a portion of so-called interchange fees to Apple, likely about 15 percent, they could make up the difference in volume if an Apple-branded service encourages a spike in electronic payments. But longer term, market watchers say, the banks risk becoming an anonymous transaction engine rather than the all-encompassing service providers that currently play a central role in consumers’ financial lives.

Source: Apple Inc. Wants To Be Your Bank, And The Big Banks Should Be Worried

By:
On:
In: Around the web
Tagged: ,
With: 0 Comments

Skyworks Solutions [stckqut]SWKS[/stckqut] posted fiscal 4Q financial results late Thursday that impressed investors and raised its EPS forecasts, sending shares rising almost 8% in recent market action.

At $1.52, EPS rose in line with the Street’s expectations during the quarter that ended Oct. 2 while revenue climbed 23% to almost $881 million. During the current quarter, Skyworks expects to earn $1.60 a share on revenue of $925 million to $930 million, besting the $1.57 and $921.5 million expected by the Street.

But it’s the company’s longer-term EPS guidance that caught everyone’s attention. Skyworks expects annualized EPS of $8 within the next two years, up from the $7 previous target. That overshadowed lingering worries that maturing iPhone sales will hurt Skyworks and other members of Apple’s [stckqut]AAPL[/stckqut] supply chain during the coming holiday season.

Source: Skyworks Raises the Bar; Sees $8 EPS in 2 Years

By:
On:
In: Around the web
Tagged: , ,
With: 0 Comments

Silicon Valley’s armies of disruption are used to certain, and often quick, victory. But in the war for the future of payments, established financial giants aren’t going to raise a white flag.

That was evident last week when J.P. Morgan Chase [stckqut]JPM[/stckqut] lifted the wraps on its revamped Chase Pay service, expected to launch next year. The service will only be available to the bank’s customers, though that is a large base to build from. J.P. Morgan claims about 94 million holders of its credit, debit and prepaid cards.

That will increase the competitive pressure for companies like PayPal [stckqut]PYPL[/stckqut] and Square; the latter may go public next month. Those companies are racing to sign up merchants to their own systems, as is Apple [stckqut]AAPL[/stckqut]. It launched its Apple Pay service a year ago. At the time, many expected Apple to quickly dominate the payments sphere, as it has done in many other areas.

But Silicon Valley enthusiasts are likely underestimating the ability of the big banks to defend their turf. The banks have been in a fiercely competitive environment for years, battling each other tooth and nail for market share. And with new regulations putting pressure on many of their businesses, they are incentivized to expand less capital-intensive areas such as credit cards and digital payments.

Source: What Chase Pay Means for Silicon Valley – WSJ