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.
In the past few years, Betthany Frankel has made a major name for herself as a philanthropist after founding the
BStrong initiative, which has provided relief to people impacted by natural disasters as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, BStrong is shifting its focus to Ukraine, raising millions of dollars in donations for those impacted by Russia's invasion. Bethenny Frankel, the founder of BStrong, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Bryan Lee, Chief Investment Officer at Blue Zone Wealth Advisors, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on the volatility we've seen in the markets this week fueled by rising oil prices and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ari Redbord, Head of Legal and Government Affairs at TRM Labs, discusses how Binance, Coinbase and Kraken's decision to not unilaterally ban all Russian users from their platforms could put a dent in the West's plan to economically punish Russia.
One of Europe's leading micromobility providers, TIER mobility, is expanding into North America after acquiring the micromobility operator, Spin. Ford Motor Company previously owned Spin but is now selling the company to TIER Mobility, which says the deal will make it the largest multimodal micromobility operator in the world in terms of the number of cities it operates in and the number of vehicles in its fleet. Lawrence Leuschner, CEO of TIER Mobility, and Ben Bear, CEO of Spin, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Digital consulting company Publicis Sapient has its sights set on the Metaverse. The subsidiary of the French advertising giant Publicis Group is announcing a new partnership with NFT auction house Portion in an effor to help brands deliver experiences in the metaverse, including the sales of products. Publicis Sapient CEO Nigel Vaz joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "In the context of our collaboration with Portion, the first experience that we created was with Decentraland, which is a virtual world," he said. "And car manufacturers in this metaverse, in terms of their buyers, can interact with a virtual person, (and) they can view quality NFTs. They can examine a virtual vehicle, be inside the car, rev an engine, open doors, all without leaving their homes."
Identity and access management company ForgeRock looks to use pattern recognition and artificial intelligence to ease secure access for users as an alternative to just password management. CEO Fran Rosch joined Cheddar News to discuss how the company's services work. "I mean, who likes to set up and use a new password? And they're also really bad security because a lot of people repeat the same one and use it everywhere and use the simplest one possible," he said. "We're trying to really create a smarter better identity system where we can find different ways, smarter ways, of recognizing you as a user and giving you access to what you need by really eliminating the password altogether."
