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☆ Why foldable phones are so incredibly expensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“I’ve owned practically every Pixel device,” said Pantons, 33, who has posted hundreds of YouTube videos about Pixel phones and other tech products. Premium partsThe flexible screen found on foldable phones is one of the biggest reasons why they cost so much. And the Google Pixel Fold has two: a 5.8-inch cover display and a 7.6-inch inner display. The new Google Pixel Fold phone Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesOther components unique to foldables also drive up the cost. Foldable phones are also notoriously fragile.

☆ 3 of our tech stocks are in the news. Here are the takeaways from the headlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Here's a breakdown of the news, and how the headlines impact our investment approaches to the companies. Morgan Stanley likes PANW PANW YTD mountain Palo Alto Networks' year-to-date stock performance. Despite concerns around overall tech spending, Morgan Stanley said that companies still want to streamline their cybersecurity spending. Meta's stock has, of course, been on a tear since bottoming under $89 per share back in November. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long PANW, META, GOOGL and AAPL.

☆ Tencent cuts cloud service prices up to 40% to fend off rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) said last month it would slash prices for some cloud products by up to 50%. Wei Yunfeng, a researcher at data firm IDC, said the price cuts were triggered in part by high sales targets despite slowing growth for the market. Alibaba's cloud revenue accounts for about 9% of its total revenue. James Mitchell, Tencent's chief strategy officer, told analysts on a call: "The impact of price cuts on Tencent as a whole is not notable." Moreover, price cuts only apply to its infrastructure-as-a-service business, which represent only a portion of Tencent's cloud services.

☆ Tencent slashes cloud service prices by up to 40% as price war intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, May 17 (Reuters) - Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) is cutting prices for cloud services by up to 40% from June amid similar moves from rivals that have plunged the sector into a price war. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) said last month it will slash prices for some cloud products by up to 50%. Charlie Chai, an analyst at 86Research, said Chinese cloud service providers had in the past made efforts to avert a price war but "at the end of the day they still went down this path". Alibaba's cloud revenue accounts for about 9% of its total revenue. Tencent does not break out separate figures for cloud revenue.

☆ Microsoft releases update that allows iPhone users to text from Windows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft announced Monday that the latest version of Phone Link for Windows 11 PCs can receive notifications, send texts and answer calls from a user's paired iPhone. Most Americans use iPhones, and Apple's integration across its products has helped its Mac business take market share from Windows PCs in recent years. It works through Bluetooth, according to The Verge, and requires the iPhone to have Microsoft's "Link to Windows" app installed. A Phone Link-enabled Windows PC gets notifications from the user's iPhone and shows the messages in Windows. It doesn't support group texts through iMessage and doesn't allow users to send photos or videos, either.

The company’s revenue was slightly better than what Wall Street had expected, but it nonetheless represented the second consecutive quarterly revenue decline for the iPhone maker. Despite the continued revenue decline, there were bright spots in the report. Apple also posted an all-time services sales record of $20.9 billion for the quarter. The services business — which includes Apple Music and Apple TV+ — is an increasingly important revenue driver for Apple that is less cyclical than hardware sales. Apple’s latest quarterly earnings report comes amid a sharp decline in PC and smartphone sales globally after a surge earlier in the pandemic.

☆ Apple set to report quarterly earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter results after the close of regular trading on Thursday. Here's what analysts are expecting:EPS: $1.43 per share, according to Refinitiv$1.43 per share, according to Refinitiv Revenue: $92.96 billion, according to RefinitivRevenue is expected to decrease 4.4% from $97.28 billion in the same quarter a year ago. The information it provided earlier this year suggested that sales would drop for a second straight quarter by roughly 5%. In the first quarter, PC shipments decreased almost 30%, according to IDC, while smartphone shipments were off 14%. Apple's report wraps up earnings season for tech's mega-cap companies, after Alphabet , Amazon , Meta and Microsoft all issued results last week.

☆ Qualcomm gives light forecast, phone chip sales fall 17%
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Analysts were expecting current-quarter earnings guidance of $2.16 per share, but Qualcomm said it expected it that to be around $1.80. Qualcomm reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday that were in line with analyst expectations but saw sales from handset chips, a core business for the company, decline 17% on an annual basis. The biggest part of QCT's sales come from handset chips, which are the processors at the heart of most Android phones. Qualcomm reported $6.11 billion in handset sales, down 17% from last year. Qualcomm said it made $900 million in share repurchases and paid $800 million in dividends during the quarter.

Hardware sales are set to decline over 7% to $71.93 billion in the second quarter, according to 23 analysts polled by Visible Alpha. Mac sales, which account for nearly a tenth of Apple's revenue, likely fell by a quarter, while revenue from flagship iPhone is estimated to have declined by over 3%. Davidson, who expects iPhone sales there to rise. That would mark its second lowest growth rate since at least the first quarter of fiscal 2017. He expects Apple to have added 30 million users to its active installed user base - the number of active Apple devices in the world.

☆ AMD revenue drops 9% as PC chip sales decline sharply
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

AMD reported first-quarter results on Tuesday that showed revenue dropping 9% on an annual basis. While earnings and sales beat Wall Street expectations, AMD's guidance for the current quarter was light and shares dropped over 3% in extended trading. AMD reported $739 million in sales in the category, a 65% decrease from $2.1 billion in sales during the same period last year. AMD management also said that the category is likely to grow in the current quarter. Last week, Intel, AMD's primary competitor in the PC and server chip markets, reported that its overall sales dropped 36%.

☆ Earnings playbook: The second half of the season kicks off with Apple, Ford and a pharma giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

What history shows: Data from Bespoke Investment Group shows Pfizer beats earnings expectations 87% of the time. Ford Motor is set to report earnings after the close, followed by a call at 5 p.m. What history shows: Ford earnings outperform earnings expectations 69% of the time, per Bespoke. AMD is set to report earnings after the close, with management scheduled to hold a conference call at 5 p.m. Friday Warner Bros Discovery is set to report earnings before the open, followed by a conference call at 8 a.m.

☆ Intel reports largest quarterly loss in company history
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

It's also Intel's largest quarterly loss of all time, beating out the fourth quarter of 2017, when it lost $687 million. In the first quarter, Intel swung to a net loss of $2.8 billion, or 66 cents per share, from a net profit of $8.1 billion, or $1.98 per share, last year . For the second quarter, Intel expects to lose 4 cents per share on revenue of $12 billion. Still, the loss per share and sales were slightly better than soft Wall Street expectations. In the meantime, a business that used to print money is struggling, especially in PC chips, which used to be the company's strongest product line.

☆ Samsung faces weakest quarter since 2009 as memory chip market in 'worst slump in decades'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A lack of demand and a chip glut has put pressure on memory prices which could hammer Samsung's profit. Samsung is the world's largest maker of memory chips, which go into everything from PCs to servers in data centers. But buyers are now cutting back on purchases of these goods due to inflation and macroeconomic concerns, leading to somewhat of a memory chip glut. Analysts at Mirae Asset Securities estimate that Samsung's chip division will post a 4.4 trillion Korean won loss in the first quarter. "Memory chip losses are expected to persist in the coming quarters as inventories remain at all-time highs, putting further downward pressure on chip prices," CrispIdea analysts said.

The size of subsidies under the EU Chips Act, which aims to tempt the world's top chipmakers to build factories in the bloc and double its share of global output to 20% by 2030, lags the $52 billion CHIPS for America Act. Taiwan accounts for more than 60% of global chip production and concerns are growing about heightened tensions between Taipei and Beijing. But Europe's relatively modest subsidies could put a brake on its ambition, said Richard Windsor of research company Radio Free Mobile. GOOD STARTThe EU Chips Act is a good start given the EU has little choice but to join the subsidy race, but the bloc should play to its chipmaking strengths, said Christopher Cytera, research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis. Catching up on the chips race is more than just building factories and the Chips Act acknowledges this with its focus on developing skilled labour for the future, said Anielle Guedes, senior research analyst at IDC Technologies.

☆ Why India is so important to Apple
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Cook said in February that Apple had its best sales quarter ever for iPhones in India in the quarter ending in December. Most phones sold in India are priced below even the least-expensive new Apple iPhone. India could end up being a big winner as Apple looks for non-Chinese manufacturing options. Tim Cook, Apple's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) reacts as a man shows him Apple's Macintosh outside the Apple store at Jio World Drive mall, Mumbai, India on April 18, 2023. Apple was bullish on India back then, too: "India will be the most populous country in the world in 2022," Cook told CNBC's Jim Cramer at the time, saying it had "huge market potential."

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Bitcoin breaches $30,000 as the economy slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Markets in the U.S. reopened Monday but seemed to retain a post-holiday sluggishness as investors digested multiple signs of a slowing — but still strong — economy. Traders will certainly pore through those reports, but they'll also want to see what the U.S. consumer price index and producer price index say about the economy. Subscribe here to get this report sent directly to your inbox each morning before markets open.

☆ CNBC Daily Open: State of the economy: Slowing, but strong
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

☆ PC Shipments Fall 29%, Led by Drop in Apple Devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Will Feuer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Inventories have come down in the past few months but are still elevated, according to market research firm International Data Corp.PC shipments sagged on weaker demand, with Apple Inc. leading the decline as the industry grapples with a pandemic-driven glut in inventory, according to market research firm International Data Corp. Global PC shipments tumbled to 56.9 million in the first quarter, down 29% from the same period a year earlier and below the 59.2 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2019, before the pandemic drove a surge in demand, IDC said.

☆ Global PC shipments slide in first quarter, Apple takes biggest hit, IDC says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In separate reports published on Monday, market research firms IDC and Canalys blamed weak demand, excess inventory and a bleak economic outlook for the shipment declines of 29% and 33%, respectively. Of the top five PC makers analysed in the reports, Apple saw the largest drop with a fall of more than 40%. Both the research firms also predicted the market could start to recover later this year and gather momentum in 2024 if the economic outlook improves. "We expect significant market upside as consumers look to refresh, schools seek to replace worn-down Chromebooks, and businesses move to Windows 11," IDC said. Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam and Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Global PC shipments slide in Q1, Apple takes biggest hit - IDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In the report published Sunday, the International Data Corporation (IDC) said global PC shipments numbered 56.9 million in the first quarter of this year, down from 80.2 million in the same period last year. Of the top five PC companies analysed in the report, Apple's Q1 shipments saw the largest drop of 40.5% from the same period in 2022, with Dell Technologies Inc (DELL.N) coming in second with a drop of 31%. Lenovo Group Ltd (0992.HK), Asustek Computer Inc (2357.TW) and HP Inc (HPQ.N) also faced declines in shipments, the IDC said. In February, Apple reported that sales of its Mac computers, which had boomed during the wave of working from home during the pandemic, declined 29% YoY to $7.7 billion in their most recent quarter. Shipment volume in Q1 2023 was noticeably lower than the 59.2 million units shipped in Q1 2019 and 60.6 million in Q1 2018," IDC said.

☆ Apple's Mac shipments fall more than 40%, worse than major rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A new MacBook Air running M2 chip is seen displayed during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, June 6, 2022. Apple's worldwide computer shipments fell 40.5% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2023, amid a broader contraction in consumer demand, according to research firm IDC. Apple's worldwide PC market share fell between the first quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023, from 7.2% to 8.6%, according to IDC data. The company shipped 2.8 million fewer devices year-over-year in the first quarter of 2023, according to IDC. Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the time that the challenging macroeconomic environment impacted iPhone, Mac and Apple Watch sales.

☆ Demand for Apple computers has dropped 40% since last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A recent International Data Corporation report outlined global PC shipment data from Q1 of this year. Demand has dropped across the industry, with a 29% decrease compared to last year. Apple, in particular, has suffered from a 40.5% drop off in demand for its computers. Among the five biggest manufacturers, Apple was impacted the most: The number of Apple PCs shipped dropped 40.5% from the first quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023. Global shipments include shipments to end users and distribution channels, like BestBuy and other electronics retailers.

OAKLAND, California, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. chip giant Intel Corp (INTC.O) said on Wednesday its first semiconductor for data center customers focused on power efficiency, Sierra Forest, would be delivered in the first half of next year, as it outlined a chip release schedule after prior delays. Intel still dominates the markets for PC and server processing chips, with a market share greater than 70%, tech research firm IDC has calculated. Intel said the next power-efficient chip, Clearwater Forest, would come to market in 2025. Rivera said that Intel was also working on building the Intel Developer Cloud with 256 Xeon chips and 512 Gaudi chips for artificial intelligence (AI) that would be available for AI developers to train and run new models. She said AI startups Hugging Face and Stable Diffusion were already using Intel chips.

☆ Ukrainian troops are putting a Vietnam-era US anti-tank weapon into use against Russian armor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Maya Carlin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukrianian troops are using US-made TOW missiles against Russian armored vehicles in Ukraine. TOW missiles were first used by US troops in the Vietnam War and have been in service since then. Ukrainian troops are using an array of foreign-made anti-tank missiles against Russian forces. A US Army mockup of the Heavy Antitank Weapon, a project that led to the TOW missile, in 1964. The TOW missile in UkraineOn Monday, Ukraine Weapons Tracker tweeted footage depicting an M41A7 TOW HMMWV-mounted ITAS being fired by a Ukrainian soldier.

☆ Microsoft introduces an A.I. chatbot for cybersecurity experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft on Tuesday announced a chatbot designed to help cybersecurity professionals understand critical issues and find ways to fix them. The Microsoft Security Copilot draws on GPT-4, the latest large language model from OpenAI — in which Microsoft has invested billions — and a security-specific model Microsoft built using daily activity data it gathers. Microsoft isn't talking about how much Security Copilot will cost when it becomes more widely available. The service will work with Microsoft security products such as Sentinel for tracking threats. Security Copilot will be available to a small set of Microsoft clients in a private preview before wider release at a later date.

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