*By Bridgette Webb*
Turtle Beach is on a roll.
The headset producer unveiled a new line of gaming gear called Atlas that's specifically designed for PC gamers.
"We are doing the same thing in the PC segment that we are doing in the console headset gaming segment for many years," said Turtle Beach CEO Juergen Stark in an interview Thursday on Cheddar. "We've put a lot of effort in making sure the build quality, the audio quality and the mic quality is the best you can get."
The new headset was introduced after the company reported second-quarter results that blew away analysts' expectations. Net revenue, net income, and earnings were higher than any second quarter since the company's 2014 IPO. Turtle Beach reported $60.8 million in revenue for the quarter ー up from $19.1 million the year before.
Stark attributed Turtle Beach's success to cost cutting on one side of its balance sheet and the booming demand for headsets generated by the popularity of battle royale games Fortnite and PUBG.
As promising a year as it's been so far, Stark said international tariffs could hurt sales of the imported Turtle Beach headsets.
"It will effect retail pricing for us, and for everyone in the category if what people are threatening goes through," he said. "I'm hopeful that it doesn't happen, I don't see how increasing the prices for consumers for everything you buy that's electronic is going to help anybody."
When asked how tariffs would affect the price of gaming headsets, Stark offered a matter-of-fact outlook.
"If there is a 10 percent tariff and you are building a product in China, the retail price point is going to go up 10 percent. If it's a 25 percent tariff that's being threatened, the retailer is it going to go up 25 percent."
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/turtle-beach-expands-further-into-pc-gaming).
Volvo's headlights are fixed firmly on the future ー so firmly that it decided to bring a concept, not a car to the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. Volvo's Chief Digital Officer Atif Rafiq told Cheddar's Tamara Warren that it took the "extreme step of not having a car at a car show" to make a statement about Volvo's future in mobility ー even as the automaker regains its balance after abruptly canceling its public debut.
Crypto exchanges have improved their anti-money laundering compliance (AML), but the the Treasury Department's next priority is to remind them about the looming threat of terrorist financing.
At this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, I came face to face with a future promised by sci-fi novels and films. The BMW Vision iNEXT concept car drew me in and refused to let me go. The electric SUV, which promises to have level 3 autonomy when production begins in 2021, looks like nothing else on the road ー yet somehow seems familiar.
Facebook recently set up a small booth at the University of British Columbia in Canada with free t-shirts, dogs to pet, and the opportunity to win a $1,000 cash prize. All students had to do was download a new app called Bonfire.
Even as Mercedes-Benz unveils its latest models to the public at the L.A. Auto Show on Friday, designers at the company will be thinking much further ahead ー to the future of the auto industry.
At this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, one of the first booths visitors will see when they enter belongs to Tesla, which is set up right near the entrance to the South Hall of the L.A. Convention Center. But as Cheddar took in the show during Wednesday's media preview, Tesla's presence was felt far beyond its booth.
Mashahiro Moro, president and CEO of Mazda North American Ops, spoke with Cheddar at the L.A. Auto Show about the redesigned Mazda 3 sedan, and the company's continued commitment to small, fuel-efficient passenger cars.
Derrick Hatami, the executive vice president of sales and marketing at Volkswagen, told Cheddar's Tamara Warren at the L.A. Auto Show about the retiring of the iconic VW Beetle, and the automaker's new focus on electric cars and a concept van that calls back to another VW icon -- the bus.
The future of the sedan is parked on shaky ground in the U.S.
But according to the president of the Lincoln Motor Company, the car model is still major in China. “But we’re in a little bit of different situation because in China — sedans are still 50 percent of the market.” Joy Falotico told Cheddar Wednesday morning at the Los Angeles Auto show.
Logitech may eye a Turtle Beach acquisition as it turns away from a Plantronics deal. "Logitech has a great history as far as making very smart M&A transactions," said Tom Forte, a senior research analyst at D.A. Davidson. "I do see a potential longer term for Turtle Beach to be acquired. Logitech is one potential suitor ー Microsoft's ($MSFT) another," he added.
