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Moving the Galaxy S7 launch up helped Samsung's profits
Samsung's Galaxy phones drove rapidly growing profits until sales peaked a couple of years ago, but the company just reported its Q1 2016 operating profit is up 12 percent from 2015. Coming at the same time as Apple faced its first revenue drop in a decade, Samsung is getting a boost from releasing its Galaxy S7 earlier in the year than usual. Even a "one time royalty expense" didn't make a noticeable dent in the segment's performance, which is the highest it's been since the second quarter of 2014.
Twitter's 5 million new users aren't enough
First the good news: Twitter added an additional 5 million monthly active users during the first quarter of 2016. The company can now boast 310 million subscribers. That's both a year-over-year and quarterly increase. The bad news is that the company is still not profitable, as it booked a $79 million loss for the quarter.
LG sees its future in smartphones and cars
If you had to summarize LG's financial health in a few seconds, you could just shrug and say "life's good." That's because the Korean company is one of the few in the technology industry right now that's actually making a decent profit from the hardware it sells. In the last three months, the company managed to get 15.4 million smartphones out the door, largely due to the fact that LG phones are getting more popular in the US. It may not be an exciting thing to write about, but the company's white goods arm also brought home a sizeable chunk of cash.
Netflix will roll out a new look for its TV apps later this year
This quarter's Netflix earnings report is especially interesting because it's the first one since HBO's online-only Now service launched, so investors and other looking to see how it responds to direct competition. The streaming company just announced that it not only added nearly five million subscribers in the last three months, but it has a new UI coming for its TV apps in the second half of this year. It's described as bringing video playback "forward" into the browsing experience, but there's not much more detail available and Netflix isn't talking yet. We're wondering if Netflix could start pushing live streaming channels like traditional TV, or just video previews that start playing even before you choose what to watch. At CES in January, director of corporate communications and technology Cliff Edwards told us that it's looking to put internet TV on the same footing as cable, and a new way of using its apps could do a lot to help that. As usual, Netflix will broadcast its earnings call live on YouTube at 6PM ET, and the video is embedded below. If there's any news from there, we'll update the post and let you know.
Microsoft's Surface tablet business is booming
Microsoft appears to be well past the days when it was writing off unsold Surface tablets and struggling to match Sony in game console sales. The Windows developer reports that its Devices and Consumer group's revenue grew 8 percent year over year in the last calendar quarter of 2014, thanks in no small part to healthy Surface and Xbox sales. It's not revealing shipment numbers for the Surface, but it notes that revenue for the slate computers shot up 24 percent versus a year earlier, thanks in no small part to the Surface Pro 3.
Dead Rising sales still good, can't save Capcom's Q1
Capcom's first quarter in the 2014 - 2015 fiscal year starts on a down note, with a 45.1 percent decrease in net sales compared with the previous year. Operating income is up 75.3 percent, while net income is down 7.5 percent year-over-year, Capcom says in its Q1 financial report. Capcom attributes the downturn to a lack of major new releases in Q1, though it says that Dead Rising 3 "continued to show a robust sale" during the quarter, as did the online game Monster Hunter Frontier GG. For mobile, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (iOS) performed well, Capcom says. "Capcom has promoted measures to improve earnings by reducing the cost of sales in the Mobile Contents sub-segment, etc. and cutting back on selling, general and administrative expenses, which resulted in 75.3 percent growth in operating income," Capcom says. The company's forecast for the year ending March 31, 2015, remains the same – net sales of 80,000 million yen ($786 million) and an operating income of 10,500 million yen ($103 million). [Image: Capcom]
BlackBerry steadies the ship but smartphone sales continue to evaporate
BlackBerry's plan to cut costs and shift to services is starting to pay dividends. While the company's latest financial earnings report shows it's still suffering losses, they aren't as bad as expected. It certainly wasn't thanks to its smartphones, which were once BlackBerry's main source of revenue, as they fell to just 2.6 million units from 3.4 million in the last quarter. This time around, the Canadian smartphone maker didn't divulge how many BB7 and BB10 handsets it sold, suggesting the newer OS just isn't tempting consumers and businesses to part with their iPhones and Android devices. For reference: BB7 smartphone sales more than doubled those of BlackBerry 10 last quarter.
Sprint loses hundreds of thousands of customers due to 'service disruption'
Now that T-Mobile has upped its game, Sprint is left as the only major US carrier still struggling with financial losses. That didn't get much better this quarter, as the company lost 364,000 pre-paid and 231,000 valuable postpaid customers. It says the losses were anticipated, and were largely due to widespread annoyance at disruptions to its service, caused by the ongoing overhaul of its network infrastructure. Whatever the reason, the end result was the same old story: It finished with a net loss of $151 million for the quarter. The good news, however, is that Sprint's losses seem to be getting smaller as time ticks on -- it actually lost four times as much money in the same period last year.
Google earnings focus on the search and ads that actually pay the bills
With all the modular phone concepts, balloon internet projects, robots and drones it can be easy to forget Google's main business angle: search and advertising. Google reported its first quarter earnings today and didn't have much to say about our favorite topics -- we'll hear more about those at Google I/O in June -- or even its pending sale of Motorola to Lenovo. Responding to an analyst's question, Google execs Patrick Pichette and Nikesh Arora mentioned the need to "keep evolving (search) results," as it increasingly serves up info (sports scores, TV listings, restaurant menus) on its own website instead of just providing links. That's probably also behind its push for Google Now results that bring up relevant info before the user even asks, on the desktop and mobile. In a brief reference to the Chromecast, Pichette called the $35 device a hit, mentioning the over 3,000 developers had signed up to build apps since the launch of the SDK.
Microsoft Q1 2014 financials show 16 percent increase in revenue
Microsoft revealed its first quarter 2014 financial results (the period of July 2013 through September 2013), primarily showing growth in revenue and net income. The company brought in $18.53 billion in revenue in the quarter, a 16 percent increase from its reported revenue from Q1 2013 report one year ago, $16.01 billion. This is also a 6.88 percent decline from its $19.9 billion revenue reported in the last quarter. Microsoft also reported $6.33 billion in net income, a 19 percent increase from last year. The earnings report noted a deferral of $113 million of revenue from Windows 8.1 pre-sales as well as a four percent growth in devices and consumer revenue to $7.46 billion.
Square-Enix improves losses in Q1
Square-Enix's latest financial numbers (PDF) are a bit mixed. The publisher posted a loss for the first quarter of its fiscal 2014, but said loss is an improvement over the loss posted during the same period last year. Specifically, Square-Enix posted net sales of 24 billion yen ($245.3 million), down from 24.9 billion yen ($253.7 million) during Q1 last year. The company recorded a net loss of 493 million yen ($5 million) an improvement over last year's loss of 2 billion yen ($21.1 million). Outside of Square-Enix's overall performance, the Digital Entertainment arm of the company (i.e. video games) showed some growth, with net sales of 11.5 billion yen ($118 million) and an operating income of 1.3 billion yen ($13.4 million), up from sales of 11.3 billion yen ($115 million) and a 111 million yen ($1.1 million) operating loss last year. Even so, Square-Enix cited "weak" sales of console games, as no major titles were released during its first quarter. Meanwhile, its browser and smartphone titles have been making "smooth progress" and the Wii MMO Dragon Quest X "has been showing steady performance." The financial statement reiterated comments from earlier this year – when the company posted a $134 million loss – noting the rapid spread of mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, while the console game market becomes increasingly competitive. These changes have already led to major restructuring, in particular a lot of executive shuffling.
Sharp posts quarterly loss, but sees sales up 33 percent on mobile LCD demand
Despite posting a small 15.36 million yen ($182 million) loss, it would be hard to call Sharp's latest Q1 2013 financial quarter anything but a success after last year's $1.2 billion debacle. After gaining investment from companies like Samsung and, more recently, Qualcomm, Sharp saw revenue up 32.6 percent to 607 billion yen ($6.2 billion) on strong LCD demand. In fact, sales of small- and medium-sized panels for smartphones and tablets were up a hefty 54.8 percent over Q1 2012, with its electronics division up 46.6 percent overall. The company thinks it'll hit a net profit for the fiscal year thanks to "high-value" 4K LCD TVs, Aquos phones in Japan and more IGZO displays for upcoming handhelds. If devices like a rumored Retina iPad mini with a Sharp-built display bear fruit, we may just believe it.
Sony's Q1 earnings show a $35 million net profit, mobile revenue jumps 36 percent
Sony's first earnings report of the new financial year is in and it's eked out a profit, albeit a small one. The $35 million net profit is an improvement from last year's results for the same period, and the good news is most pronounced in its Mobile Products & Communications department. Revenue grew 36 percent from last year, partially due to changes in the value of the yen, but also thanks to higher sales for smartphones (9.6 million units), and a higher average selling price. The games division recorded an operating loss for the quarter, as sales of the PS3, PSP and PS2 dropped slightly while spending on R&D for the upcoming PlayStation 4 rose. Sony's new TV strategy may have shown some results, with year-on-years sales up 18.2 percent and attributed to an "improved product mix in LCD TVs" and cost reductions.
Profits decline in Capcom's Q1 financial results
Capcom has posted its financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal 2014 calendar, and despite continued strong sales of its Resident Evil 5 pachislo machine, overall profits are down. When compared to the same period last year, profits were down by 37 percent: ¥828 million ($8.4 million) in Q1 2014 vs. ¥1.32 billion ($13.4 million) in Q1 2013. The report says that these results are "generally in line with the fiscal year targets," which predict profits of ¥6.8 billion ($69.1 million) for the year in total. Capcom's major releases for the three month period ending June 30 were the console/PC ports of Resident Evil: Revelations, and pseudo-expansion/rerelease Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. Revelations performed best at retail out of the two, selling 900,000 units worldwide since the game's release on May 21 in North America. Meanwhile, Dark Arisen has sold 550,000 units since its release on April 23. The document made only brief mention of recent layoffs at the company, saying that "reorganization (development, overseas subsidiaries) is now under way in association with the prior year's business structural improvements." This was listed under "Growth Strategy Initiatives," which is business-speak for "How We're Going to Get Dat Paper." This subsection also contained the document's sole mention of Monster Hunter 4's impending September 14 release in Japan. In related news, Capcom appears to have invented a time-travel device, as it also plans on releasing a Devil May Cry 4-themed pachislo machine this September.
EA reports flat first quarter of fiscal 2014
EA has released its financial report for the first quarter of fiscal 2014, which spans the three month period ending on June 30. When compared with the publishing goliath's performance during that same window in fiscal 2013, there wasn't a tremendous amount of change in terms of either revenue or profit. Total revenue (read: income) for the period tallied up at $949 million; not even one percent less than the $955 million earned by the end of Q1 2013. Meanwhile, post-tax, post-operating expense profit for Q1 of fiscal 2014 was $222 million, which was a 10-percent increase over the $201 million in profit gained during the same time last year. Looking forward, EA expects about $625 million in revenue for the second quarter, but does expect a loss for the soft summer months.
Gamestop Q1 sales and profits down, mobile/digital sales up
Gamestop's financial data for the first quarter of its fiscal 2013 have arrived like a pizza with nearly 25 percent fewer toppings than the pizza you ordered during the same 13-week period last year. Also, cheesy bread sales are way up? This may not be the strongest analogy. In non-allegorical terms, gross revenue (overall sales) and net income (post-tax profit) were both down year-over-year, at $1.865 billion and $54.6 million, respectively. As far as net income, that's a 24.69 percent decrease from the $72.5 million Gamestop reported at the end of Q1 2012. Meanwhile, mobile device sales were up 290 percent, though this massive increase was largely due to the fact that Gamestop's mobile trade-in/sales program was just getting started during Q1 of 2012. Digital sales also increased, to the tune of 47.3 percent year-over-year, while new software sales, both physical and digital, fell 3.8 percent. As was the case during Q1 2012, used hardware and software sales accounted for the majority of Gamestop's pre-tax profit, with new hardware and software sales making up just 29.5 percent of the quarter's overall gross.
NVIDIA Q1 earnings: $77.9 million profit on $954 million in revenue
NVIDIA's balance sheet may not look as appealing as it did just a quarter ago, but the company nonetheless managed to beat the consensus expectations and its stock is now climbing in after-hours trading. Profit for NVIDIA's fiscal Q1 2014 rang in at $77.9 million, which is a 55 percent decrease from the previous quarter, but still 29 percent higher than what it netted in Q1 of last year. It's a similar story for revenue: the company reported sales of $954.7 million, down 13 percent from the previous quarter, but up slightly from Q1 2013. Even beyond beating Wall Street's expectations, NVIDIA is giving investors two other reasons to smile: the success of Kepler has led to record margins of 54.3 percent, and the company will return over $1 billion during the year by way of stock repurchases and dividend payments. As for where it's headed? NVIDIA is looking to return to growth as the year progresses, thanks to a little something called the Tegra 4.
Dish Network adds 66,000 broadband, 36,000 TV customers in Q1
While Dish Network's $25.5 billion bid for Sprint continues to wave in the breeze, the company has reported its earnings for the first quarter. Net subscriber growth only totaled 36,000 compared to 104,000 in the same period last year, as subscriber churn rose due to a price hike earlier this year. Its profits were lower in Q1 2013 than 2012 partially due to Blockbuster-related drops and a boost received last year from its DBSD purchase. (We're guessing higher content costs for things like AMC didn't help either.) A growing percentage of the 654,000 new customers it added got Hopper DVRs, which also raised costs a bit for the new set-top boxes and all those TV advertisements its been running. Even as it waits to add some terrestrial LTE to its "Seinfeld" wireless data strategy, the dishNET satellite broadband service added 66,000 customers in the quarter, up from from just 6,000 new customers in Q1 2012. We'll have to wait for the earnings call at noon to see if CEO Charlie Ergen has anything else to say about its battle with Softbank to buy Sprint, but all of the data is in the press release and slide below.
T-Mobile USA Q1 2013 revenue drops 5 percent for second consecutive quarter to $4.7 billion
T-Mobile USA has been making a big push for pre-paid customers since it launched its Uncarrier plans in March, and it seems to be working -- unfortunately, at the expense of more lucrative post-paid clients. While pre-paid revenue bumped to $503 million over $474 million last quarter, post-paid revenue fell to $3.2 billion, a drop of 4.7 percent, and overall revenue dropped by about the same percentage to $4.7 billion from $4.9 billion in Q4 2012. Net income also swooned year-over-year to $107 million from $200 million, but was up over last quarter, when the company took a small net loss. On the bright side, the company did pick up 579,000 customers in total, and claimed its lowest client turnover rate, 1.9 percent, since way back in 2008. Another silver lining has been the addition of the iPhone, as the company has already pushed around 500,000 of the 4, 4S and 5 models out the door since it launched at the Uncarrier event -- perhaps due to the very attractive pricing. Of course, with MetroPCS soon joining forces with T-Mo thanks to the recent merger, all that might change -- once we see how the powers-that-be decide to divvy up the two carriers.
Comcast gains 583,000 new subscribers, while revenues reach $15.3 billion for Q1 2013
Comcast had a dramatic Q4 last year when it announced the buyout of NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion along with the purchase of New York's iconic 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Still, it's the cable TV and internet business that pays the freight, and that side of the Comcast's operations didn't it let it down in Q1 2013 thanks to a 6.4 percent bump in revenue to $10.2 billion along with 583,000 new subscribers. Other operations didn't fare as well, as revenue for NBCUniversal dropped 2.4 percent to $5.3 billion, but the overall picture was still pretty sunny, as the communications giant saw an 11.2 percent increase in operating income over last year to $3.1 billion. If you want to see a breakdown by division, check the source for more. Update: Comcast also revealed its new X1 set-top box platform is now available in 10 markets (Atlanta; Augusta, Ga.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Greater Boston; Philadelphia; New Jersey; Washington D.C.; Independence, Mo.; Colorado Springs, Colo., and the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Fresno, Stockton and Santa Barbara, Calif. ) It claims it's working to bring the tech to half of its service areas by the end of June, with more major markets to be announced "soon." While most of us wait, the other good news is that it will add 4-tuner recording to the X1 platform in an update set to roll out later this month.
