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.
Jill Steinberg, the wife of Cheddar's CEO, took the DIY genetic test out of curiosity and found out she was prone to breast cancer. "There's always something there to learn," says Anne Wojcicki, CEO and founder of 23andMe.
Shares of the electronic signature company surged around 37 percent in its market debut Friday. CEO Dan Springer told Cheddar the company has all of the components to be "a rock solid public company."
Homepolish is like Tinder for interior design, where clients are matched up with designers based on not just aesthetics but also "personality, working style," says the founder and CEO Noa Santos.
Divya Narendra, who founded HarvardConnection with the Winklevoss twins and later sued Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for stealing the idea, tells Cheddar the market's reaction to the Cambridge Analytica scandal was an "overreaction."
Many worry that fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal could weigh down Facebook's growth in the next few quarters, but "fatigue with the platform" may be the bigger drag, says Scott Devitt, an analyst at Stifel.
Since Russia banned the encrypted messaging service last week, Google and Amazon have also been dragged into the fight. This comes at a time when Telegram is considering an ICO and has already raised a total of $1.7 billion, making it the biggest potential coin offering in history.
Rather than having users manually enter every single transaction, Cointracker automatically tracks activity across 14 different exchanges. "It's totally independent from what other companies have done," says the co-founder Chandan Lodha.
The social media giant reported better-than-expected earnings, despite questions about its privacy and data security. [But the real impact of the Cambridge Analytica scandal will only be reflected in the next quarter, says Damon Beres, Executive Editor at Mashable.](https://mashable.com/2018/04/25/facebook-q1-2018-earnings/)
The Netherlands is the best place to test new innovations in the autonomous vehicles space, according to a recent report from KPMG. That's thanks to great infrastructure and political support, says Florien van der Windt, Project Manager of Connected and Automated Driving at the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.
The second generation of Snap's smart glasses are available for sale in the U.S. starting today. Prices start at $150 and come in a variety of colors. Cheddar Senior Reporter Alex Heath broke news of the launch back in March.
