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.
Stocks closed near session lows Thursday as investors digested Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comment about a potential 50 basis point rate hike at the central bank's May meeting. Powell's announcement also sent the 10-year and other yields higher, with the benchmark 10-year rate hitting its highest level since late 2018. Victor Zhang, CIO at American Century Investments, joins Closing Bell to discuss today's close, Powell's comments, the Fed's moves on inflation, and more.
Tesla has continued to beat expectations as illustrated by its last quarter earnings despite issues in Shanghai, China. Dan Ives, the managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, joined Cheddar News to talk about the resilience of Tesla. "I thought they were almost Cinderella-like numbers," he said about the delivery numbers. "They are performing just miles ahead of any auto player, and that's why the stock is doing what it's doing. In my opinion, they're expanding their lead in EVs, even in this Category 5 hurricane that we're seeing in China." Ives noted that issues in China could pose ongoing challenges going forward even with the largely positive outlook.
Inflation is driving a return to the gig economy, according to a new survey from Branch & Marqeta that found 85 percent of workers have increased or planned to increase their amount of gig work in the past six months, with 58 percent citing inflation as the reason behind this change. Arun Sundararajan, professor at NYU Stern School of Business, breaks down this dynamic and how it's impacting the broader economy. "Inflation is rampant and people need more money. Salaried wages haven't kept up. Plus the labor market is tight. People can't find full time employees, employers can't find full time employees, and so some people are being opportunistic," he said. "And I also think there's a COVID effect because people have gotten used to more flexibility and time and space because people have gotten used to more flexibility and time and space, through the months of the lockdown."
A new report from DrakeStar Partners, an investment bank that closely tracks the sector, said $98.7 billion in deals were announced or closed in the first three months of the year. T
AT&T reported a 2.5 percent rise in its core wireless revenue for the first quarter as its 5G rollout expands across the United States, even as the company pivots away from streaming to focus on its communication business amid heightened demand for high-speed internet. CEO John Stankey joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the company's 5G plans, its divestment from WarnerMedia, and its push into the metaverse. "To the extent that we start to see social aspects come into the metaverse that allows people to — as they're out and about — experience those kinds of things, that just puts a higher premium on mobile networks and scaled robust mobile networks to enable those applications, which is our bread and butter, and it's probably one of our best returning and best yielding businesses," he said.
The last pocket of resistance in Mariupol, Ukraine, has been given a brief respite, the Biden admin is appealing the transit mask mandate being overturned, and Tesla reports earnings. Here is all the news you Need2Know for April 21, 2022.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 21, 2022, with President Biden set to announce more security assistance funding to Ukraine, polls showing a majority of Americans in favor of transit mask mandates, rapper A$AP Rocky's arrest, and more.
