Tech
Apple reports quarterly earnings and Hong Kong debuts spot cryptocurrency ETFs
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported its second-quarter earnings on Thursday (May 2), wrapping up two weeks of quarterly earnings reports.
Meanwhile, researchers at the US Department of Energy have found that automation could increase economic opportunities in the country’s wind turbine industry, and the case against Google led by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has concluded with closing arguments on Friday (May 3).
Stay informed on the latest developments in the tech world with Investing News Network’s recaps.
1. Apple’s quarterly earnings beat analysts’ expectations
Apple reported it Second quarter earnings report after the closing bell on Thursday. At the time, Apple’s stock price had fallen about 7% year to date due to declining iPhone sales in the Greater China region. Apple is facing an escalation competition in Chinawith local Chinese brands such as Huawei, HONOR and Xiaomi (OTC Pink:XIACFHKEX:1810) continuing to grow.
Before the release, analysts expected a 4.75% year-over-year decline in total revenues to $90.3 billion, and a decline in revenues in the Greater China region to $15.87 billion. Additionally, iPhone revenue was expected to decline by 10.8%, iPad by 11%, and Mac by 5%.
Actual earnings exceed estimates by a modest amount. The company’s quarterly revenue was $90.8 billion, down 4% from a year earlier. Surprisingly, even though sales in the Greater China region declined year-on-year, they were higher than expectations at $16.37 billion. Mac sales also performed well, growing by 3.9%. However, iPhone sales fell 10%, in line with expectations, and iPad sales fell 16%.
Ultimately, earnings per share came in at $1.53, slightly above estimates of $1.50.
The company also announced a record $110 billion share buyback program largest ever recorded and 22% more than last year’s $90 billion buyback – and raised its quarterly dividend by 4% to $0.25 per share, payable on May 16.
Additionally, Apple hinted at an exciting announcement during its upcoming launch Product launch on May 7thwith many speculating that it could be a new iPad.
In response to these developments, shares rose 7.8% after Thursday’s close and opened at $186.64 Friday morning, up 8.39% from Thursday morning. Apple closed the week at $183.38.
2. Debut of spot cryptocurrency ETFs in Hong Kong
Six spot ETFs on Bitcoin and Ether launched in Hong Kong on Monday (April 29), generating 11.2 million dollars on the first day of trading.
The Bosera hash key Bitcoin ETF (HKEX:3008), Bosera HashKey Ether ETF (HKEX:3009), ChinaAMC Bitcoin ETF (HKEX:3042), ChinaAMC Ether ETF (HKEX:3046), Harvest Bitcoin Spot ETF (HKEX:3439) and Harvest Ether Spot ETF (HKEX:3179) are first place Crypto ETFs listed in Asia.
According to a declaration provided by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), the successful launch of three futures-based crypto ETFs: Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF (HKEX:3135), CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF (HKEX:3066) and CSOP Ether Futures ETF (HKEX:3068) — in 2022 has led to growing investor interest in virtual assets.
Although the new assets are available to qualified foreign investors and investors in Hong Kong, the Chinese government has prohibited all cryptocurrency-related activities from 2021, leaving mainland Chinese investors out of the ecosystem.
Unlike US-based Bitcoin spot ETFs, which can only be purchased with dollars, Hong Kong spot crypto products allow investors to buy ETFs with cryptocurrencies and sell them for cash, or buy ETFs for cash and redeem them into cryptocurrency . The in-kind feature of Hong Kong cryptocurrency spot ETFs gives them unique two-way investment flexibility.
Compared to the American approval of January 10, which generated 4.6 billion dollars on the first day of trading, the Hong Kong spot ETF’s debut looks lackluster. However, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Blachunas considers this figure commendable in the context of Hong Kong spot crypto ETFs that already had substantial assets under management before trading began, indicating a more sizable level of investment than the volumes suggest of exchange.
Another difference is that Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission conditionally approved spot ETFs on April 15, making them available to investors ahead of final approval. US regulators gave their full approval on the same day trading began.
“If you track down the numbers, this was BIG: for example the ChinaAMC bitcoin ETF took in $123 million on its first day,” he said. published to X, formerly Twitter, on April 30.
3. Anthropic launches two updates for the Claude chatbot
Software provider Anthropic, an artificial intelligence startup founded by former executives of OpenAI, announced two updates for its AI chatbot Claude which will put the ChatGPT rival in the hands of multiple users.
The company has launched a new team plan where team members can create unique workspaces and leverage the AI capabilities of the Claude Model 3 family to manage the workflow. It comes with built-in security and data protection, as well as a range of administrative tools and a billing management system. Users will also have access to all Claude Pro features such as early access to new tools and priority access during high traffic periods.
In a press release, Anthropic indicated that additional features will be rolling out in the coming weeks. The team plan costs US$30 per user per month for a minimum of five team members.
The second update is Anthropic releasing a version of Claude’s iOS app that is free to all users.
4. DOJ and Google provide closing arguments
Closing arguments in the antitrust case against Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGLE) Google took place Thursday and Friday. The Justice Department and Google made their final statements before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta.
The Department of Justice originally filed a lawsuit against Google in January 2023accusing the company of illegally monopolizing the search engine and advertising market by striking exclusive deals with mobile carriers and large-cap companies such as Apple.
A crucial aspect of the process is the 21-year exclusive agreement between Google and large-cap technology company Apple. Apple initially agreed to keep Google as the default search engine on its web browser, Safari, at no cost. Subsequently, the two companies agreed to share the profits generated by search advertising. Kevin Murphy, a University of Chicago professor who testified for Google in November 2023, disclosed that Google pays Apple 36% of what it earns from search advertising through Safari.
Judicial documents reveal that in 2020, 17.5% of Apple’s operating income came from Google payments. In 2021, Google paid Apple more than $1 billion per month to maintain its position, and in 2022 Google paid Apple a total of $20 billion, a figure provided by Apple’s senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue.
Despite accusations Against Google engaging in anti-competitive behavior to maintain its dominant position, the company reiterated that it simply offers the best product and that people choose to use it over its competitors.
“Google winning contracts because it offers a better product is not a detriment to the competitive process,” said John Schmidtlein, the company’s lawyer. supported during his trial last fall.
Justice Mehta is expected issue a ruling on Google’s antitrust case in late summer or early fall.
5. Automation could bring turbine blade manufacturing home
In an excellent example of how robotics can be applied to solve real-world problems and improve working conditions for humans, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are investigating the use robots to deal with the difficult working conditions in wind turbines. production, specifically with the creation of the blades.
Robots have been used to paint and polish blades in the past, but recent research has done so established that automation can be applied to the cutting, grinding and smoothing of wind turbine blades.
“I would consider it a success,” said Hunter Huth, a robotics engineer at NREL and lead author of the paper detailing the research, published in Wind energy on Monday. “Not everything worked out the way we would have liked, but we learned all the lessons we think we need to meet or exceed our expectations.”
According to a Press release on the NREL website, the motivation behind the research was to find cost-effective ways to produce shovels in the United States. High labor costs are one of the main reasons blades are made overseas, Hugh said. Although the robot’s performance in the research was not compared to that of a human, Huth said the aim of the research was to develop an automated system for retaining skilled labor.
“The finishing process is labor intensive and has a high turnover rate due to the tough nature of the work,” he said. Post-molding work can be dangerous and requires workers to wear protective clothing, including breathing equipment and ladder scaffolding.
Huth also said that consistency in manufacturing would improve with automation and that a robot could sand with tougher abrasives than a human could.
While the process still has a long way to go to perfection – as in some cases the robot ground the blade too much while in other cases it did not grind enough – it is a promising step forward in the wind turbine manufacturing industry.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, have no direct investment interest in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
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