Thursday, 2 November 2017
Apple sees strong holiday sales, smooth sailing for iPhone X
An Apple’s new iPhone X is seen in this illustration picture, November 2, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Illustration
November 2, 2017
By Stephen Nellis
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc <AAPL.O> on Thursday reported better-than-expected earnings and offered a rosy forecast for the holiday shopping season, allaying investor concerns about production delays on the new iPhone X and demonstrating remarkable strength across its growing line of products and services.
The stellar earnings report came just as the iPhone X went on sale Friday morning in Australia. Long lines were forming at Apple stores around the world, recalling the consumer frenzy that greeted early versions of the iPhone, but had faded with more recent launches.
With supplies potentially tight, some Australian purchasers were already planning to sell their phones for as much as A$3,000, nearly double the A$1,579 selling price.
Apple shares rose 4 percent in after-hours trading to hit an all-time high, with analysts lavishing praise on Apple CEO Tim Cook and speculating on when Apple might become the first public company worth a trillion dollars.
The earnings demonstrate how Apple is able to drive growth across an ever-expanding product line that now includes five different iPhone models along with the iPad, the Mac, the Apple Watch and a suite of fast-growing services offerings.
“We had good success, I would say, through the different iPhones,” Cook said on a call with analysts. “We tried hard to have an iPhone that is as affordable as possible for people that really want an iPhone, but may have a more limited budget.”
Just a few weeks ago, Apple appeared to be facing a rare stumble with a delay in the iPhone X launch and rumors of production problems that could limit supply.
But Apple executives on Thursday shrugged off the concerns as Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told Reuters the company was “quite happy” with how manufacturing of the iPhone X was progressing.
Analysts have been eager to see whether Apple can meet demand for the iPhone X during the crucial holiday quarter, with most saying it will likely take it until next year or early spring to do so.
“Where the demand curve and supply curve are going to intersect, we do not know. It does not have a predecessor product,” Maestri told Reuters.
STRONG MARGINS
Apple forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue of $84 billion to $87 billion, at the high end of analysts average expectations of $84.18 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
“A trillion-dollar market cap may now be in Cook’s sights in light of these results and guidance around iPhone X,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at GBH Insights, referring to Apple’s chief executive.
The Cupertino, California-based company’s market capitalization of about $868 billion already makes it the world’s most valuable publicly-traded company.
There are still questions around supplies of the new phone and longer-term demand.
Bob O’Donnell, head of Techanalysis Research, cautioned that if Apple is not able to fill demand for iPhone X over the holiday quarter, it would push buyers to wait until Apple’s March quarter, by which time they may have spent their money elsewhere.
“What we don’t know is, how long will this first group of (iPhone X buyers) last?” O’Donnell said.
Apple said it sold 46.7 million iPhones in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, above analysts’ estimates of 46.4 million, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet. However, average selling prices of $618 fell short of forecasts of $638.
The company’s net income rose to $10.71 billion, or $2.07 per share, in the quarter, from $9.01 billion, or $1.67 per share, a year earlier. That beat the average analyst estimate of $1.87 per share.
Apple forecast a gross margin of 38 percent to 38.5 percent, higher than many analysts expected because new products often have higher costs.
Maestri attributed the margin strength to Apple’s growing services business, which brought in $8.5 billion in revenue compared to analyst estimates of $7.5 billion. That included a favorable $640 million adjustment, though Apple officials did not elaborate.
The $28.85 billion revenue from iPhone sales accounted for nearly 55 percent of total revenue, which rose 12.2 percent to $52.58 billion.
Analysts on average were expecting total revenue of $50.7 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Apple also said it returned to revenue growth in China, bringing in $9.8 billion compared with $8 billion a year ago, driven by double-digit unit sale increases of the iPhone. Maestri also told Reuters the company had doubled its revenue in India during the fiscal fourth quarter, though he did not give any details.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; editing by Jonathan Weber, Bill Rigby and G Crosse)
source https://capitalisthq.com/apple-sees-strong-holiday-sales-smooth-sailing-for-iphone-x/
Poll: Nearly Half Of Americans Think Trump Is A Criminal
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a tax reform industry meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
3:24 PM 11/02/2017
WhatsAppNearly half of Americans believe that President Donald Trump committed a crime “in connection with possible Russian attempts to influence the election,” according to a poll released Thursday.
The Washington Post/ABC poll also found that 58 percent of Americans approve of how Special Counsel Robert Mueller is conducting his probe into alleged Russian election interference. The investigation has so far charged three former Trump campaign aides.
Two of the aides, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, were charged with financial crimes, while former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to federal officials about his ties to individuals with alleged connections to the Russian government.
The Post/ABC poll found that 53 percent of U.S. adults think these charges represent broader wrongdoing, and 29 percent believe that the cases are just limited to these three aides.
Thirty percent of Americans who believe Trump is a criminal base this belief on “suspicion only,” while 19 percent say there is “solid evidence.” Fourty-four percent say that it is unlikely the president committed any crime related to Russian election interference.
The poll showed a party divide in Americans’ beliefs. Eighty-two percent of Republicans think it is unlikely that Trump is a criminal, but 74 percent of Democrats say otherwise.
Trump continues to maintain that he himself is not under investigation.
The poll was conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 and is of 714 adults. It has a margin of error of 4.5 percent.
source https://capitalisthq.com/poll-nearly-half-of-americans-think-trump-is-a-criminal/
Bitcoin rockets above $7,000 for the first time
FILE PHOTO: A sign is seen outside a business where a Bitcoin ATM is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada June 3, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
November 2, 2017
By Jemima Kelly
LONDON (Reuters) – Digital currency bitcoin took another leap higher on Thursday, rocketing above $7,000 for the first time after a more than tenfold increase in its value over the past year.
Bitcoin has seen eye-watering gains in recent months, having more than doubled in value in the past seven weeks alone. It is on track for a fifth consecutive quarter of increases — a run not seen since 2012-2013, when it was approaching $100 for the first time.
It hit as high as $7,354.10 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange on Thursday <BTC=BTSP>, before settling back to $7,030 by 1630 GMT, still up over 4 percent on the day.
Credit Suisse <CSGN.S> Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam expressed caution about the booming cryptocurrency, saying the current interest in it could eventually subside.
“From what we can identify, the only reason today to buy or sell bitcoin is to make money, which is the very definition of speculation and the very definition of a bubble,” he said on Thursday.
The latest rally was driven in large part by news earlier this week that the world’s largest derivatives exchange operator CME Group <CME.O> is to launch bitcoin futures.
“The move by such a well-known, established exchange throws open the doors for institutions to get into bitcoin,” said analyst Arnaud Masset at Swissquote, a brokerage that offers bitcoin trading to retail clients.
“Still, traditional investors will remain cautious and will not rush.”
Thursday’s price move took bitcoin’s aggregate value or “market cap” — its price multiplied by the number of bitcoins released into circulation — to more than $122 billion, according to industry website Coinmarketcap.
The aggregate value of all cryptocurrencies hit a record high of more than $194 billion, the website said, more than the market values of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley combined.
“This has been another incredibly bullish week for the cryptocurrency, with the visible upside attracting investors from all directions,” said Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM, a brokerage.
“It must be kept in mind that bitcoin’s exponential gains are not only phenomenal, but (also) somewhat frightening.”
(Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Abhinav Ramnarayan and Catherine Evans)
source https://capitalisthq.com/bitcoin-rockets-above-7000-for-the-first-time/