AAPL

Apple Proves It Isn’t Dead

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On Tuesday, Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio holding Apple (click ticker for report: ) posted strong third quarter results and solidified our view that the iPhone is far from dead. Revenue increased 1% year-over-year to $35.3 billion, exceeding consensus estimates. Earnings per share were also better than the consensus had anticipated, falling 20% year-over-year to $7.47 per share. Year-to-date, free cash flow remains terrific at $37.5 billion or roughly 28% of total revenue. Image Source: AAPL 3Q FY13 Earnings Report Apple’s most important product, the iPhone, did phenomenally well as the firm sold 31.2 million units compared to the consensus estimate of 26.2 million. Remember how media pundits have claimed repeatedly that people only want Samsung Galaxies? We’ve made the argument … Read more

Verizon Shows Off Cash-Flow Generating Prowess in Second Quarter

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Thursday morning, Verizon (click ticker for report: ) reported in-line but strong second quarter results and raised its capital spending guidance for 2013, casting a positive light on the telecom equipment makers. We continue to pay very close attention to Verizon’s operating performance, as we consider the firm one of our top contenders for addition to our Dividend Growth portfolio. Verizon’s revenue performance during the quarter was solid (up more than 4% on a consolidated basis), with wireless service revenues and wireless retail service revenues both up about 8%. The company posted 941,000 retail postpaid net additions (up 6% year-over-year), driving total retail postpaid connections to 94.3 million (retail postpaid churn was 0.93% in the second quarter). Apple’s (click ticker … Read more

Intel’s Second Quarter: Soft But Not Panic-Worthy

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Best Ideas and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Intel (click ticker for report: ) reported lackluster second quarter results Wednesday afternoon. Revenue declined 5% year-over-year to $12.8 billion, falling short of consensus estimates. Earnings-per-share also came in below consensus expectations, falling 28% year-over-year to $0.39. Even though earnings dropped, the firm still generated $2 billion in free cash flow, equal to about 16% of revenue. Intel’s personal computer (PC) revenue declined 7% year-over-year to $8.1 billion and remains the firm’s largest segment by a wide margin. We think the issue in PCs is secular rather than company specific, but there are signs that suggest the PC market may finally be bottoming. Though international PC shipments fell 11% year-over-year during the … Read more

Another Elite Mind Heads to Apple

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Best Ideas Newsletter holding Apple (click ticker for report: ) is perhaps best known for its relentless focus on design elegance, with a legacy started by Steve Jobs and carried on by Jony Ive. That trend continued this week when the company nabbed high-end fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve. Devene will join as an executive in charge of “special projects” and will allegedly report directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Why does this matter? In our view, it signals that Apple could be branching out into different product lines, and after Apple filed to trademark iWatch in Japan, we think it could mean the company is currently focusing more extensively on wearable technology. At the ‘All Things … Read more

Price Momentum Got Ahead of Fundamentals at BlackBerry

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Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry (click ticker for report: ) reported weak results for its fiscal year 2014 first quarter Friday morning. Revenue increased 9% year-over-year to $3.1 billion, which was well below consensus estimates. Earnings per share had several moving parts, but when adjusted for one-time issues, came in at a loss of $0.06. The loss was a drastic improvement from the same period a year ago when the company lost nearly $1 per share, but fell short of consensus expectations calling for a slight profit. BlackBerry 10 shipments were also below consensus estimates, coming in around 2.7 million units compared to the 3 million units the Street anticipated. Geographic Performance Image Source: BBRY Q1 FY2014 Earnings Release Geographic data reveals exactly … Read more

Revenue Growth Not an Issue at Synaptics

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After persistent rumors surrounding weakness in Samsung Galaxy S4 sales weighed on the stock, touch-screen control supplier Synaptics (click ticker for report: ) raised its fourth quarter outlook Tuesday. The increase wasn’t a small one either–the firm increased its revenue outlook to the range of $227-$230 million, much higher than the initial guidance calling for revenue in the range of $190-$205 million. Gross margins are expected to be around 50%, which will be a modest improvement from the previous quarter. Though no company ever likes to see demand cuts from one of its largest customers, it doesn’t appear that the cut will have much impact on Synaptics. The firm provides technology for all sizes of touch screen experiences, and it … Read more

iOS Gets a Facelift: Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference

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Day 1 has passed at Best Ideas Newsletter holding Apple’s (click ticker for report: ), and we were hit with a barrage of news. The most pertinent issue of the day was the introduction of iOS 7, the iPhone and iPad’s new operating system. It is the first major overhaul of iOS, and it signals the company is serious about bringing positive changes. In addition to a new mobile operating system, Apple unveiled iTunes Radio, a streaming music service to compete with the likes of Pandora (click ticker for report: ) and Spotify. Lastly, the firm unveiled its newest Mac Pro—one of the most innovative products we’ve seen from the company in the last year. iOS 7 Image Source: Apple … Read more

Apple Can “Amazon” Pandora

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Over the past year, the idea of Apple (click ticker for report: ) launching an internet streaming radio has been in the back of our minds. In fact, we think it’s the one of the few interesting features that could make the Apple ecosystem even stickier. According to reports, iRadio could be introduced next week. Pandora (click ticker for report: ) shareholders are clearly worried, sending shares tumbling over the past few days, and we believe they should be. While Apple has (wisely) been unwilling to sell its phones or hardware at lower prices in order to win market share, we do not think this logic necessarily applies to iAds/iRadio. For one, Apple’s hardware presents advertisers with an enormous installed … Read more

What Did We Learn About Apple from the All Things D Conference?

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During the past few weeks, Apple (click ticker for report: ) has re-entered the market’s collective psyche in a big way. First, CEO Tim Cook was grilled by congress over how the company skirts US income taxes. While Apple broke no laws, the company still got targeted for its complex tax avoidance structure. We think this news couldn’t be any less material, especially since literally thousands of other companies use similar tactics. In our view, Apple was singled out because it’s one of the largest companies in the world. The hearing is nothing more than a silly sideshow, and we doubt it will amount to anything more than a few weeks of headlines. On the other hand, Cook spoke on … Read more

Microsoft Wants to Be the Apple of Your Living Room

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Earlier today, Dividend Growth Newsletter holding Microsoft (click ticker for report: ) finally unveiled its next generation console, the Xbox One. It wasn’t hard to tell that something big was around the corner for the next generation console, as the company had made some new hires including former CBS executive Nancy Tellem to head the firm’s content development initiative. Let’s take a look at the revelations and how it might impact the company. Steven Speilberg produces a Halo TV show As we mentioned earlier, Xbox’s move into exclusive content was not at all a surprise. In fact, we assumed we might hear about an exclusive TV show or movie even earlier. However, we were a little stunned to see legendary … Read more