Apple's revenue grew considerably during the most recent quarter but iPhone sales were down. The company sold 77.3 million iPhones during the holiday quarter, about one million less than the same time last year. It's the first time Apple has ever seen declining sales on its iPhones during the holiday season. However, the company did post $88.3 billion in revenue, up 13% from last year.
There was good news and bad news in the earnings report for Alphabet, the parent company of Google. The company beat expectations on revenue but fell short on earnings. Ad sales were strong but that profit was offset by increased ad spending.
And Amazon soared past Wall Street expectations thanks to strong holiday sales. The company beat on revenue and earnings. Amazon also set a new record, posting profits above $1 billion for the first time.
We dive into these earnings reports with Gene Munster, Managing Partner at Loup Ventures. Munster believes Amazon's profitability was a one-time thing. He is also predicting that Apple will release a new iPhone soon with a screen that's 25% bigger.
Plus, Cheddar's CEO Jon Steinberg talks to veteran newsman Dan Rather about his new partnership with The Young Turks. Rather now has a half-hour show airing on the network's YouTube channel. "The News with Dan Rather" will offer commentary and analysis on today's news, something he never did on "CBS Evening News." The show airs Mondays at 5:30pm ET.
Darren Schuringa, Founder & CEO, of ASYMmetric ETFs, talks about the strength of the U.S. consumer and discusses how tension between Russia and Ukraine is impacting the energy market.
Robert Conzo, CEO of The Wealth Alliance, breaks down the major headwinds impacting markets and highlights areas within technology showing potential growth.
Nissan is revving up its commitment to electric vehicles. the Japanese automaker announcing plans to invest $500 million to transform its assembly plant in Mississippi to build two all-new EV models starting in 2025. It's all part of Nissan's goal to have 23 electrified models for the Nissan and Infiniti brands globally by 2030. Ashwani Gupta, Nissan's COO, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss this announcement and the company's EV goals moving forward.
Blue Apron CEO Linda Findley joined Cheddar News to talk about the meal kit company’s Wellness 360 holistic wellness campaign and previewing Q4 and end of year results to be released next week. "Really the concept here is about holistic wellness and health," Findley said. "So thinking through not just what you're eating, but also mental health and financial health. And so we try to bring lots of tools to people so that they can think about ways to manage that balance."
Cepton made its debut on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ‘CPTN’ on Thursday. Jun Pei, the co-founder and CEO, joined Cheddar News to discuss going public and its lidar-based solutions for improving safety in autonomous features in cars. "It's really just a huge benefit in addition to radar and camera, and becomes an entire sensor suite that will bring cars to a higher level, both for safety and autonomy."
A Senate bill unveiled on Wednesday looks to tackleonline safety for children by regulating Big Tech and social media platforms to deter users from content that can harm their mental health. Irene Ly, a policy counsel for the age-based ratings and review organization Common Sense Media, joined Cheddar News to break down the potential of the Kids Online Safety Act. "We can't be imposing such a big burden on parents to be doing it all on theirselves," Ly said. "I think you also have to keep in mind that parents often didn't grow up with social media, so they don't understand what it's like to be addicted to social media or really understand how they work."
While many still remain skeptical about the metaverse, big tech firms and even one big bank are ready to expand their virtual worlds. Facebook parent company has pivoted so hard it will now call its employees 'Metamates,' and even JPMorgan Chase has created its own digital lounge on one virtual platform. While the sector remains young, there seems to be significant investment opportunity, especially with companies like Nvidia. Adam Johnson, a portfolio strategist at Adviser Investments, joins Closing Bell to discuss which companies could win in this space, consumer appetite, and more.
