⚔️ Apple: Is 2021 a WarZone or Victory Lap?
⚔️ Apple: Is 2021 a WarZone or Victory Lap?
Palantir melts on slower growth guidance. FTC probes Nvidia.
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Apple: Is 2021 a WarZone or Victory Lap?
Apple reported its biggest revenue quarter in the company’s history at $111.4B in Q1 (Vs. estimates of $103B). Even so, 2021 will be a big year for the company with announcements expected on Apple Car. The company is also carrying forward some of the animosity generated last year with Facebook and Epic Games.
Background: Apple has always maintained a strong stance on the data privacy of customers. Tim Cook has often disagreed with Facebook, especially in the context of the Cambridge Analytica Scandal. Apple also announced a privacy update to its iOS 14 operating system. This update will let users allow/deny permission to apps like Facebook as they try to track user activity. This is a serious threat to Facebook's targeted ads, which brings in a revenue of $86B annually. Facebook, in return, has been taking out full-page ads making its displeasure known.
Apple is also in the middle of a stand-off against Epic Games. At issue is in-app purchases and Apple’s claim to 30% of these transactions. Both Epic Games and Facebook have taken up cudgels against this fee as espoused by Google and Apple. Lawsuits on this matter are currently making their way in California’s courts.
What Happened?: Epic Games has pushed the stakes up higher and filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission Epic Games has repeatedly accused Apple of barring rivals from launching gaming subscription services on iOS. Apple has traditionally prevented app developers from bundling games together, while its own Arcade service faces no such restrictions.
Apple has also struck a conciliatory tone, by lowering its cut to 15% for new developers and the existing ones who make less than $1 million annually. Fortnite is expected to be back on the iPhone’s Safari browser sooner than later. In the meantime, it’s deposition time for these bickering companies as the trial date for the lawsuit inches closer.
Market Reaction: AAPL closed the day at $133.19, down 1.61% from Tuesday.
Company Snapshot 📈
AAPL $133.19 -2.18 (1.61%)
Analyst Rating (41 Ratings) BUY 71% HOLD 22% SELL 7%
Newsworthy 📰
Slow Year: Big data firm Palantir signals slower annual revenue growth, shares fall (PLTR -12.75%)
Moderation: Shopify rips strong quarter, expects hot growth rate to moderate (SHOP +0.74%, pre-market -3.66%)
Investigation: Federal Trade Commission Probes NVIDIA's Acquisition of Chipmaker Arm Holding (NVDA +2.47%)
Later Today 🕒
Before Market Open: Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc Earnings (FDP)
Before Market Open: Garmin Ltd Earnings (GRMN)
After Market Close: Hyatt Hotels Corp Earnings (H)
After Market Close: Fastly Inc Earnings (FSLY)
7:00 PM IST: Retail sales
7:45 PM IST: Industrial production
Fun Fact of The Day 🌞
Elephants can’t jump. Every other mammal can.
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