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.
Guimar Vaca Sittic and Borja Moreno De Los Rios, co-founders and co-CEOs of blue-collar job platform Merlin, said they were frustrated that most job platforms seemed tailored to skilled labor positions. With Merlin, hourly workers can now search for positions in their fields.
Friday's strong employment report, showing an addition of 201,000 jobs in August and a 2.9 percent rise in wages, is a "tribute to Republican leadership," Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House, said in an interview on Cheddar.
Social live-streaming is today where social media was in the mid-2000s. At least that's what 21st Century Fox is betting. The CEO of Caffeine, which just took a $100 million investment from the media giant, is looking toward the future of the industry.
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At the Crypto Finance Conference, Cheddar's Tanaya Macheel speaks with Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen about the state of Ripple, and how he thinks XRP can rebound from its summer slump.
Jennifer Smith of the Wall Street Journal reports on a theory that autonomous trucks could come to market before passenger cars and obliterate an industry in the process.
Champion, the apparel company that has regained life as a cool-kid staple, is partnering with eSports teams. Champion's president of sports apparel John Fryer called gaming a "global phenomenon."
Bobby Lee of digital asset firm BTCC told Cheddar that assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum are more comparable to securities than crypto tokens, and it's where he said he remains bullish.
Lance Ulanoff, tech and social media expert, and Ian Sherr, executive editor of CNET News, agreed that Google's decision to not send a top executive to testify to Congress alongside Sheryl Sandberg and Jack Dorsey is going to cause significant damage among lawmakers for the company.
The activist, diversity consultant, and author is unsure if tech executives like Sheryl Sandberg and Jack Dorsey are equipped to fix platforms that they in part helped create and which, at least in the case of Twitter, might be fundamentally broken.
