Q22016
Latest
CBS and Showtime have two million internet-only subscribers
While CBS is busy licensing content to Netflix for display outside of the US and Canada, here its own streaming services are off to a good start. On today's earnings call, execs said CBS All Access and the streaming version of Showtime have combined to reach more than two million subscribers, with the number "about evenly split" between the two.
Facebook just can't stop growing
In stark contrast to Twitter's recent woes, Facebook is enjoying what is probably its most successful year-to-date. The social network has reported that it made $6.44 billion in revenue and $2.05 billion in profit this past quarter, which is 59 percent over this time last year. What's even more amazing is that its user numbers continue to grow: it now has 1.71 billion monthly active users overall, while 1.57 billion of its monthly users are on mobile. Indeed, it now has over 1.03 billion mobile users a day. Mobile is such an avenue of growth for the company that a whopping 84 percent of its advertising revenue came from mobile ads.
Netflix's growth slows as its delayed price hike sets in
Our first real peek at the reaction to Netflix's "ungrandfathered" pricing is here, as it releases numbers for the second quarter. What they show is much slower subscriber growth compared to the last couple of years, failing to meet the company's own projections both in the US and around the world. Netflix predicted it would grow by 2.5 million customers in the quarter (500,000 in the US, 2 million internationally) and ended up adding a net 1.68 million customers, up only 160,000 in the US. In a letter to shareholders (PDF), execs noted media coverage of the delayed price hikes was "coincident" with customers leaving, but said the new prices "will provide us with more revenue to invest in our content to satisfy members."
PC shipments recover in the US
It's not all doom and gloom in the PC world... for once. Both Gartner and IDC estimate that PC shipments actually grew in the US for the first time in over a year, climbing in the second quarter by either 1.4 percent according to Gartner (which includes Windows tablets) or 4.9 percent if you ask IDC (which doesn't). There's no one answer as to why the computer industry is bouncing back, regardless of who you ask. A stronger US economy is playing a part, but the analyst groups also point to strong Chromebook sales to schools as well as a possible spike in purchases from governments and other public outfits.
Apple iPhone sales and revenue finally decline
The inevitable has finally happened. After years of continually growing iPhone sales (and corresponding revenue growth), Apple has hit a bump. The company just announced its fiscal Q2 2016 results, and the company sold 51.2 million iPhones, a 16 percent decline from the 61 million it sold one year ago. It's the first time iPhone sales have ever declined year-over-year. Similarly, revenues of $50.6 billion were down 13 percent from the $58 billion it made in Q2 2015. The company warned on its last earnings call that this was likely to happen, but it's still quite notable. Apple has describing its quarterly revenue as "record-breaking" for so long that it's hard to remember the last time it had a down quarter. (The Wall Street Journal says it's been an incredible 13 years.)
