FitBit is a pioneer in wearable technology. But the company has recently shifted its strategy amid competition from the Apple Watch, and as the wearable market has failed to really see mass adoption. Cheddar's Hope King and Brad Smith explore the company's performance using E*Trade's innovative platform.
Adult wearable technology users in the U.S. is expected to grow nearly 12 percent this year, according to eMarketer. In a survey conducted by Cheddar, 18 percent said they own a FitBit compared to 27 percent who've said they own an Apple Watch. 47 percent of those surveyed by Cheddar say they don't wear any wearable technology.
FitBit has had an up and down year, with shares ranging between $5 and $7 a share. Overall, shares are down 17 percent over the course of the past year. The company did introduce its first smartwatch in 2017, and is looking to directly compete against the Apple Watch at a similar price point. Shares also hit a 52-week high in December during the holiday shopping season.
FitBit reports fourth quarter earnings after the Closing Bell Monday. Analysts expect revenue of nearly $590 Million, and to break even in profit.
Swedish startup Amuse looking to re-invent the record label through machine learning. The company, the world's first mobile record company, just launched a new feature called 'Fast Forward' that uses data to predict and pay artists for their future royalties. "We allow artists around the world to use our digital distribution service," explained Co-Founder and CEO Diego Farias. "They upload the music to us, we deliver it to Apple, Spotify, etc. Whatever earnings they get they keep, so 100 percent of what they make."
Ted Christie recently took over the chief executive role at Spirit Airlines, and said the airline's ultra-low fares are driving "really, really high" demand. Because Spirit crams more seats onto its planes, that means it can also better defray the cost of oil when prices spike, he said.
Video game development platform Unity Technologies is gearing up to go public, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, which was valued at a little more than $3 billion as of its last funding round in June 2018, is aiming to do its initial public offering during the first half of 2020 ー provided that market conditions are favorable, a source told Cheddar.
Mark Zuckerberg has both a champion and a critic in Roger McNamee.For some of the formative years in the Facebook CEO's early career, the famed investor served as a mentor. For the past few, McNamee has been a thorn in Zuckerberg’s side. McNamee has said he’s spoken out so strongly against Facebook because he feels "guilty" about the monster he helped to create, and wants to do everything he can to tame it. But he has never called for him to step down. Through McNamee's rose-tinted glasses, with the right mix of moral decision-making and regulation, Facebook can and will finish on the right side of history.
IBM in partnership with its subsidiary, The Weather Company, is using artificial intelligence and predictive technology to mitigate power outages during extreme weather conditions. But Weather Company CEO Cameron Clayton says the technology could have major implications for utilities companies that are struggling to keep up with increasingly unpredictable weather.
About half of U.S. gamers are women, but you wouldn't necessarily know it by looking at hardware design. Vivian Lien, chief marketing officer at ASUS North America, joined Cheddar Friday to discuss how her company is trying to make gaming more welcoming for women.
Snap Inc. laid off five employees from its research group this week, according to people familiar with the matter. The five employees were part of a team led by Bobby Murphy, Snap's co-founder, chief technology officer, and second largest individual shareholder.
It's not fitness. It's life. Such is the motto of wellness brand Equinox ー which is taking that commitment to the next level with "Cycle for Survival." "At Equinox, we are a 'do good' company. We're about high-performance living and we felt that this was a cause we wanted to get involved in, " Scott Rosen, president of Equinox, told Cheddar.
Abra's new investment features that allow users to invest their Bitcoin in traditional stocks and ETFs are the latest step forward for the crypto wallet and exchange to become a global crypto bank, CEO Bill Barhydt told Cheddar Thursday.
