Q4
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Yahoo is laying off 1,700 people and closing five offices
Yahoo can't seem to figure out how to turn itself around. Today it announced a new "aggressive strategic plan" to pare itself down to focus on its strength in its Q4 earnings report. That plan involves laying off 15 percent of its workforce and closing five international offices.
Nintendo's profit slump shows the NX can't come soon enough
Nintendo didn't do too bad in 2015, but its latest financial report highlight's one thing: while the company's not struggling, it's depending too much on a handful of legacy titles. Overall, profits reported for the period ending last December were 40,558 million yen (about $336 million), down around a third from last year's 59,515 million yen ($493). A downward trend, but given Nintendo had struggled to make a profit since 2011, the company will be happy to have stayed in the black.
Amazon put $1.3 billion into Prime Instant Video last year
Amazon may have surprised Wall Street by how much sales went up in the fourth quarter of last year ($29.3 billion, with a profit of $214 million), but for customers its Prime service is the big deal. Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said Prime membership in the US grew by 50 percent last year, despite a price hike. That growth probably explains (and helps justify) the expanding number of services it's tacked on to what was originally just an offer of free / cheap shipping. According to Bezos, Amazon plowed $1.3 billion into Prime Instant Video alone in 2014, snapping up exclusives, content from HBO and creating award winning programming like Transparent. [Image credit: Shutterstock]
AT&T took a $10 billion hit, but it's hoping you won't notice
In an extra-special Friday-night-before-a-holiday-weekend news dump, AT&T just announced that its Q4 results will include about $10 billion in charges. That includes a $7.9 billion "related to actuarial gains and losses on pension and postemployment benefit plans", plus a $2.1 billion charge for abandoning some copper lines it says it doesn't need anymore. Of course, you're probably already well into whatever your weekend plans are, so you'll barely even notice this happened once you get back to work on Tuesday -- which is just how AT&T hoped it would go. [Image credit: shutterstock]
Analyst predicts Apple will sell 71.5M iPhones in Q4
Considering that Apple just hit a record $700 billion market valuation, it's probably going to be a happy holiday around the Cupertino offices, but there may be even more cause for celebration. Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI, is predicting that Apple will sell 71.5 million iPhones this quarter thanks to demand for the iPhone 6. The report was discovered by AppleInsider. It's interesting to see just how important to current iPhone demand the iPhone 6 is, even when considering lower level iPhones like the 5s and 5c. According to KGI Apple is expected to 41.6 million units of the iPhone 6, but only 15.1 million of the 6 Plus. For comparison, the 5s is on track to sell 8.8 million units while the 5c is predicted to move 4.3 million. Those are all impressive numbers, but they're dwarfed by the massive number predicted for the iPhone 6. Of course the lower numbers for the iPhone 6 Plus aren't from a lack of demand. Kuo's report says that the continuing product shortage shows there's a desire for the product, and confirms that rumors of production issues are true. If the supply issue can be fixed, the report says the final numbers may change. The report also suggests that Q1 will see sales drop below 50 million units. We look forward to the next earnings call to see how these numbers pan out.
BlackBerry loses its bread and butter as Bold and Curve sales finally collapse
In commercial terms, BlackBerry's much-hyped BB10 phones barely made a dent. The manufacturer's financial health has actually been propped up this whole time by sales of its older classics, Bolds and Curves running on BB7. It's pretty incredible how long those models have lasted, but BlackBerry's latest earnings report reminds us that nothing lasts forever: BB7 sales have fallen 50 percent year-over-year to 2.3 million units, which is double BlackBerry 10 sales, but not nearly enough to help the company stay in the black. Of course, the collapse of legacy hardware isn't news to the CEO, John Chen, who has promised to support BB7 devices "for as long as there's demand," but who has also set about rebuilding BlackBerry as fast as he possibly can.
T-Mobile's UnCarrier plans are working, gains 4.4 million new customers in 2013
When John Legere jointed T-Mobile, the company had lost two million customers and was eating some substantial losses. The party-crashing CEO, however, seems to have turned things around with the UnCarrier, Jump and Simple Choice programs. In the company's annual report, T-Mobile has announced that 2013 saw the network add a whopping 4.4 million customers across the year. For Q4, while the company added 1.6 million customers, it also marked a loss of $20 million -- so perhaps some of the money spent baiting rival networks should have stayed in the bank.
Life's good at Lenovo: shipping tons of tablets, making lots of money
Lenovo may be the world's biggest PC maker, but it's clearer than ever that much of the company's growth now comes from mobile. The Chinese tech giant has reported a 30 percent year-over-year jump in its calendar fourth quarter profit ($265 million) that's owed partly to massive spikes in non-PC shipments. Its smartphone deliveries grew by 47 percent to 13.9 million, and its tablet volume tripled to 3.4 million -- apparently, the Yoga Tablet has been flying off the shelves. The combined mobile units were enough to eclipse computer shipments of 15.3 million, and "PC Plus" devices (phones, TVs and tablets) represented 16 percent of its total revenue versus the 11 percent from late 2012. That's no mean feat when Lenovo just managed to rake in its highest-ever revenue, at $10.8 billion. And remember, this is all before the company finishes acquiring Motorola's phone business; its best times may still be ahead.
Time Warner reveals how much money HBO makes, and why it's not splitting from cable yet
Wondering why you still need a cable TV package to subscribe to HBO in the US? Because HBO is making truckloads of cash keeping things the way they are -- even though that might not last forever. Its parent company Time Warner (which spun off Time Warner Cable in 2009) announced financial results for the year, and for the first time in years, it included some details about HBO's business. HBO alone pulled in $1.3 billion in the last three months of 2013, and $4.9 billion for the entire year. Netflix's numbers are actually pretty close, as the streaming company posted sales of $1.18 billion for the quarter and $4.3 billion for the year, despite having fewer customers than HBO worldwide. The real difference right now is in how much money each keeps in profits after costs for things like original content (House of Cards and Game of Thrones aren't made for free) are accounted for. HBO's operating profit in Q4 is $414 million, and $1.7 billion for the year, but Netflix's Q4 profit came in at $82 million, and for its efforts it made $228 million all year. According to Variety, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said on the earnings call that HBO and Cinemax added about 2 million customers last year, while Netflix grew by 6 million, and added more than 2 million customers just in Q4. If that difference in growth is making Bewkes sweat, then he's not showing it publicly, saying "HBO is in a league of its own" and pointing to stats that show viewers with HBO and Netflix actually view more of both. The "Albanian Army" is expected to continue its European expansion in 2014 and has already sealed up exclusives for streaming content in the next few years, we'll wait and see if that changes the landscape significantly.
Samsung profits drop slightly, but it's still seeing increased demand for phones, tablets
Samsung has released a detailed report of its earnings for the fourth quarter, and as it predicted, its operating profit is slightly lower than last year. While 8.3 trillion won (about $7.8 billion) is nothing to sneeze at, last year Samsung notched 8.84 trillion won ($8.27 billion) in operating profit, creating concerns growth is slowing in its highly successful tablet and phone business. According to Samsung however, buyers want its phones and tablets more than ever (tablet sales doubled from last year), however marketing costs and "year-end inventory adjustments" lowered shipments and cut into profits. According to Yonhap News and Reuters an $745 million one-off special bonus payment to employees celebrating the 20th anniversary of its "New Management Initiative" also had an effect, while a stronger Korean won cut 700 billion won from profits. Details about the Galaxy Gear weren't broken out (it did get a mention on the call, as Samsung stated once again that more wearables are on the way), but we did see the first mention of OLED and Ultra HD TVs. Reflecting its CES focus on Ultra HD, Samsung says the customer base for high-res displays is increasing, with increased sales and a new manufacturing plant in operation. OLED earnings dropped an unspecified amount due to lower shipments, even though new product sales actually increased. Prices for standard LCDs continued to fall, but demand for extra large 60-inch+ HDTVs and smart TVs are both way up. We're listening in on the company's earnings call right now, we'll let you know if it drops any Galaxy S 5-sized tidbits amongst the boring money discussions.
Nokia's phone business ends not with a bang, but with a whimper
2013 is the last year that we'll see Nokia in its current form, as the world-famous handset business should be hived-off to become part of Microsoft's corporate family in the next few months. But how did it do in the last quarter? Not particularly well, it seems, but it's hard to judge how badly, as the company has decided not to break out sales of its Lumia and Asha handsets, so we're left looking for evidence elsewhere. What we do know is that the company has conceded that both smart and dumb-phone sales have fallen. Naturally, Nokia is blaming the drop on the usual suspects, like the competitive market and cheaper devices from rival manufacturers. From the figures, it appears as if the company's phone department lost around €198 million ($270 million) in the period, so whatever Microsoft plans to do with its latest toy, it's still got some work to do before Windows Phone 8 can be considered a success. Update: Nokia has since gone on the record to say that it sold 8.2 million Lumia handsets in the quarter, a small dip compared to the 8.8 million sold in Q3.
Netflix ends 2013 with 44 million subscribers, will keep experimenting with pricing
Netflix had a big year in 2013 with award-winning original content, new features and millions of new customers. Now, the company's fourth quarter report reveals it wrapped up last year with over 44 million customers worldwide. Interestingly, an entire section of the letter to investors is related to the recent appeals court ruling that struck down key parts of net neutrality. CEO Reed Hastings doesn't appear overly worried however, and says the most likely case is that ISPs "will avoid this consumer unfriendly path of discrimination," like extra fees or tiers for access to streaming video. If they do go that route however, the company will protest on its own behalf, and encourage customers to join in. In the US Netflix now counts over 33 million customers, and it predicts that by the end of the current quarter, it will be over 35 million, with 48 million total worldwide. Another segment deals with its recent pricing tests, which Netflix says it hopes to boil down to "three simple options to fit everyone's taste." That said, it's not ruling out pricing changes for new members, but promises (in bold type) "existing members would get generous grandfathering of their existing plans and prices." We'll see if bold type is enough to quell the customer unrest that happened the last time Netflix shifted around its plans. Speaking of those old plans, Netflix still maintains 6.9 million DVD subscribers, and plans to advertise the direct link to its disc business with dvd.netflix.com branding. Unlike its last address, Netflix also found time to shout to the competition, referencing Hulu's 3 CEOs in the last year and impressive growth, recent moves by Verizon -- it bought Intel's OnCue IPTV platform, a content delivery network and a streaming software firm -- the rise of Aereo and Sony's IPTV plans. Strong words from the company that's diving into 4K to maintain the perception that it's a leader in streaming -- Hastings and the rest of the team will take questions live on YouTube in a few minutes, check after the break for more details.
Verizon matches T-Mobile's success with 1.6 million new mobile customers
T-Mobile might be better at gaining publicity, thanks to its attention-seeking CEO, but Verizon appears to be just as good at attracting new customers. According to the company's latest earnings report, 1.6 million of us were enticed by its wireless products and plans during Q4 of last year, which exactly matches the bumper results T-Mobile experienced during the same period. Part of VZW's success may be due to its ever-expanding (and accelerating) LTE network, which is now claimed to cover 97 percent of the US population, if not its slightly ambiguous customer satisfaction ratings. Meanwhile, the popularity of the carrier's more recent moves -- including the introduction of the bargain Moto G handset for $100 off-contract and a new $20 "Share Everything" tier -- won't become apparent until it reports its next set of financials in the spring.
Intel's revenue and profit stay flat in Q4 as PC sales level off
Intel may have just validated concerns that the PC market was relatively weak in the fourth quarter. The company has reported a net profit for the period of $2.6 billion based on revenue of $13.8 billion, which is only slightly better than its performance last year; it's also a drop from what we saw in the summer. The company believes that Q4 showed "signs of stabilization" for the PC business, although the numbers also hint that a recovery isn't coming any time soon. While the firm's Data Center and Other Intel Architecture groups did boost their revenue year-over-year by 8 and 9 percent, respectively, its PC Client division was flat. In other words, any extra cash came largely from embedded chips (including mobile) and servers, not regular desktops and laptops. The Q4 results have also given Intel a chance to look back at its results for all of 2013, and they too suggest that the PC market hasn't been kind to the processor giant. The Data Center group was the only one to boost its revenue during the year; the PC group saw its revenue drop 4 percent, while the Other Intel group dipped 7 percent. It's not entirely surprising, then, that Intel is shifting its focus from traditional PCs to wearables and other forms of ultra-mobile computing, where it's more likely to see long-term growth.
T-Mobile has best quarter in 8 years, added 1.6 million net customers in Q4
In the last quarter of 2012, things were looking down for T-Mobile. The network lost over 500,000 postpaid customers, and had lost well over 2 million customers for the year overall. Now, things are starting to turn around: at CES the company revealed that Q4 2013 was its best quarter in over eight years, and it grew by more than 1.6 million new customers in that time period. Company CEO John Legere didn't specifically say how many of these customers came from the competition but did call out Sprint has the carrier it ported the most numbers from, followed closely by AT&T and distantly by Verizon. In all, the company gained 4.4 million net customers for the year, an enormous turnaround from its 2012 losses. Naturally, Legere points to the company's Uncarrier initiative as the secret to its success. "There will never be contracts in our business! 12.2 million customers have come to simple choice." Hungry for more mumblings from the magenta network? Check out our CES 2014 Liveblog right here!
Samsung estimates that its operating profit dropped to $7.8 billion in Q4
Samsung may have had a record-setting summer, but it wasn't able to repeat that achievement in the fall. The Korean tech giant estimates that its operating profit dropped to about 8.3 trillion won ($7.8 billion) in the fourth quarter, or lower than both the 8.84 trillion won ($8.3 billion) from one year ago and the 10.16 trillion won ($9.6 billion) from Q3. Samsung didn't say what triggered the dip, but the forecast isn't helping concerns that the company's red-hot growth in smartphones may be cooling down. It's not exactly crisis time at Samsung -- the company generates more operating profit in a quarter than many of its mobile rivals do in total revenue. Still, we suspect that it's happy to be launching a slew of new gadgets that could make up for the underwhelming earnings.
Apple to announce Q4 earnings on October 28
We'll learn the exact impact the sale of the iPhone 5s and 5c will have on Apple, as the company will be announcing its fourth quarter earnings on October 28. This period covers July through September, which includes the first 10 days that the latest iPhone was on sale. Apple will hold its earnings call at 2 PM PT/ 5 PM ET. In its Q3 results in July, Apple made US$35.3 billion, turning a profit of $6.9 billion. The company sold 31.2 million iPhones, 14.6 million iPads and 3.8 million Macs in Q3.
Microsoft Q4 financials reveal Xbox division gains, $900M Surface loss
Microsoft has released its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results ending June 30, 2013, revealing a boost in earnings for its entertainment division and a significant loss related to its Surface tablet series. The company took in $19.9 billion in revenue this quarter – up 10 percent compared to last year's earnings – with $4.97 billion in net income. Revenue for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, which includes Xbox 360 hardware and software sales, grew by 8 percent ($134 million) this quarter, and 6 percent ($566 million) year-on-year. Microsoft additionally reports that Xbox Live transactional revenue grew by nearly 20 percent during the last quarter year. Microsoft's quarterly results include a $900 million charge for "Surface RT inventory adjustments," impacting stock by 7 cents per share. The loss follows a recent round of Surface price drops, suggesting that Microsoft is struggling for position in the tablet market.
Sony's 2012 earnings show a net profit of $458 million, its first since 2008
We've already heard from Sony about the positive effects some of its recent moves like the sales of several of its buildings are having on its finances, and now the company is revealing its detailed results for the last year. Sony has managed a net profit of 43 billion yen ($458 million) in 2012, its first in several years and a good sign after it projected such optimism in last year's results. The most anticipated news is what it projects for 2013, a year where CEO Kaz Hirai has promised better integration between its products and of course, the PlayStation 4. Sony's forecast projects sharply improved sales next year, however it expects the operating income to remain flat with a net profit of 50 billion yen ($506 million). For the year, its TV sales were down 38 percent, reflecting the same drop in the market reported by competitors like Samsung and LG, as well as Sony's cutbacks to reduce its losses. In phones, the newly-consolidated Sony Mobile experienced an increase in sales thanks to the shift to smartphones, however the cost of its inclusion caused the division to lose money. Next year, it's anticipating sales of 42 million smartphones, up from 33 million. In the games division, Sony had a decrease in sales for the PS3, PSP and PS Vita of 12.2 percent from last year, although of course it's counting on the PS4 to turn that around. There aren't any numbers listed for next-gen, but it's expecting sales of PS3 hardware to drop to 10 million units from 16.5 million (including the PS2) the year before. We'll have to wait for the earnings call later this morning to hear more of the company's future projections, for now you can check the links below for the full details on its results.
Best Buy announces fourth quarter net loss of $377 million, no rescue bid coming from founder
It's a hard time to be in the tech-retail sector, a fact that Best Buy knows all too well. The business has announced a fourth quarter net loss of $377 million on revenues of $16.7 billion. Incoming CEO Hubert Joly was upbeat despite the bad numbers, saying that the company's domestic sales helped offset its failures overseas. At the same time, Best Buy announced that founder Richard Schulze's attempted bid to buy back his company had failed, as the deadline for his offer expired at the end of February. As such, the company will now concentrate on turning a profit without any Apple store-style reinvention.
