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.
As cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant continue to pop up, including the first U.S. case in California, how will domestic holiday travel be impacted? That part of the travel sector has mostly recovered from the year-long pandemic rout, while business travel continues its slump. But could a new variant bring new lockdowns and domestic restrictions? Clint Henderson, Senior News Editor at The Points Guy, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what the omicron variant means for holiday travel, best practices for passengers traveling through airports, and more.
Microsoft recently announced the standalone Teams Essentials as businesses continue to update their practices for the new norm of hybrid work life. Jared Spataro, corporate VP at Microsoft Modern Work, joined Cheddar to talk about solutions the tech giant has rolled out in order to help underserved small and medium-sized companies continue operations seamlessly. "We're excited about the opportunity to serve their needs better, and that, in particular, is focused on their meeting and communication needs," he said. "We start with Teams, which has been a wildly successful product for us up in the enterprise space, and now we have created a form of Teams that is particularly suited for small businesses."
Online resale platform eBay is growing its investment in the sneakers market after acquiring Sneaker Con's authentication business. Garry Thaniel, general manager of sneakers at eBay, spoke to Cheddar about why this was an ideal time to take the already established relationship between the companies to vet collectible footwear. "The sneaker market is valued at over $20 billion, and what we've seen at eBay is quarter-over-quarter, double-digit growth," he noted. "When we talk about our partnership with Sneaker Con, we've authenticated over a million and a half sneakers in just over a year."
No matter what you're in the market for this holiday season, there is one way that you can put some cash back in your pocket and stretch your gift budget a little bit further this year. With Lolli, for every gift you buy for someone else, you get the gift of free bitcoin back. CEO of Lolli, Alex Adelman, joins Cheddar News.
Just about a week after being re-nominated, Federal Reserve Chair Jermone Powell is changing his tune. After nearly a year of referring to inflation as 'transitory,' Powell said he will retire the 'T' word as inflation remains elevated. Christopher Russo, Post-Graduate Research Fellow, Mercatus Center joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
With the delta variant, financial uncertainty, political polarization and more, companies have had to get creative in order to stay afloat this year. During times of stress and anxiety, consumers tend to stick with more established brands or products they already use. That sentiment is reflected in data intelligence company Morning Consult's annual list of the Fastest Growing Brands, which measures growth for both emerging and established companies. Joanna Piacenza, head of industry intelligence at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar to break down the key findings of the report.
Iwao Fusillo, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, GM, joins Cheddar News to dispel myths and cut straight to the facts about GM's role in an all-electric future.
Goldman Sachs is rolling out an Amazon Web Service for trading firms called GS Financial Cloud for Data with Amazon Web Services. The move comes as Wall Street looks to keep up with today's evolving tech.
Online ad-tech company Innovid made its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange. CEO and co-founders Zvika Netter joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to discuss factors that drove the company to launch an IPO via a SPAC deal. He noted that the rapid growth of connected TV advertising (CTV) made it an opportune time for his business to go public. While the company is profitable, Netter also explained the various avenues it will take to increase total revenue.
Lululemon is accusing Peloton of copying a number of patented apparel designs and has filed a lawsuit. Julie Zerbo, founder and Editor-In-Chief at The Fashion Law, joined Cheddar to discuss whether or not Lululemon has a valid case. The lawsuit comes as sales for Peloton's premiere products, like its treadmills, have been slowing and it looks to provide more offerings. Zerbo also discussed a co-branding partnership between the two companies that ended amicably earlier this year and how it could play into the outcome of the case.
