Apple Due For Much-Needed iPhone Upgrade Cycle

Apple will trigger a much-needed iPhone upgrade cycle when it integrates its artificial-intelligence offering, called Apple Intelligence, into the iPhone 16 this fall, DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria says in a research note. The integration may be one of the most compelling use-cases of generative AI on the consumer-side, and should drive upgrades, particularly as the backwards compatibility of Apple Intelligence only goes to the iPhone 15 Pro, the analyst says. Apple’s iPhone sales were down slightly but relatively flat in 2Q, but the iPhone 15 family is still leading the smartphone category in many key markets, Luria says. Shares rise 3% to $224.83, on a day that the overall tech sector is under pressure

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Amazon’s Long-Term Prospects Outshine Short-Term Pain

Amazon sinks 10% after mixed 2Q results, lower North American segment margin and modestly weaker-than-expected advertising growth, but Wedbush analysts say they’d be buyers. The long-term thesis of the company is unchanged, they say. Amazon’s revenue mix is shifting toward higher-margin Amazon Web Services and advertising is structural and should contribute billions of dollars to incremental profit each year, the analysts say. That shift in business mix should combine with ongoing cost efficiencies in the core retail business to sustain operating margin expansion, they say.

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Amazon’s Margin Growth May Have to Take a Breather

The timing of several elements of Amazon’s forward guidance are conspiring to slow the upward trajectory of its margin expansion, Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos says in a research note. Management has pointed out several near-term headwinds, including a drop in the useful-life estimate tailwinds for AWS servers, an investment in the buildout of AWS, and incremental investments in a subsidiary’s Project Kuiper mission to get thousands of satellites off the ground in 4Q, the analyst says. The resulting downward margin pressure in the next couple quarters may blunt some prior momentum and put a sharper focus on revenu at a time when the macro environment looks unstable, Kurnos says. Shares slide 10% to $165.63.

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Intel Faces Turbulence As 6 Analysts Weigh In On Restructuring, Earnings Miss: ‘We Don’t See An Easy Fix’

Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) has made headlines with its recent announcement of significant restructuring and disappointing quarterly earnings. The tech giant reported earnings of just 2 cents per share, falling dramatically short of the analyst consensus estimate of 10 cents. This represents a staggering 84.62% decrease from the same period last year. Intel’s response includes a major $10 billion cost-reduction plan aimed at streamlining operations and reducing headcount by over 15%, with the majority of cuts expected by the end of 2024. Additionally, the company will suspend its dividend starting in Q4 2024. Analysts are reacting with a mix of skepticism and cautious optimism. Here’s how key industry voices are interpreting the latest developments. BofA Securities analyst Vivek Arya downgraded the stock to Underperform with a price target of $23, down from $35. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse maintains a Neutral rating with a revised price target of $27, down from

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Apple Fiscal Q3 Results, Q4 Guidance Won’t Sway Sentiment, UBS Says

Apple’s (AAPL) fiscal Q3 results and Q4 outlook are unlikely to sway investor sentiment, UBS said in a report sent Friday. “Apple bulls will continue to hang their hat on the view that the iPhone is entering a ‘supercycle’ later this year driven by GenAI and will act as an accelerant to Services growth,” the investment firm said. “On the other hand, more cautious investors will point to a reported [September revenue] guide that is not accelerating on an adjusted basis from the June [quarter],” it said. Following the “largely inline” quarterly results, UBS raised its full-year 2024 EPS forecast to $6.69 from $6.56, and fiscal 2025 EPS at $6.88 versus its previous estimate of $6.86. UBS is projecting iPhone shipments totaling 51 million units in the September quarter, up 4% year over year and largely in line with consensus of 50.7 million units. That would account for about 23%

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Intel at Disadvantage to Rivals, Lacks Competitive AI Accelerators

Downgrades of Intel keep coming as its latest quarterly results showcase its ongoing struggles. Vivek Arya and Duksan Jang, analysts at BofA Securities, say in a research note that the chip-maker’s IDM structure isn’t equipped to simultaneously compete against rivals including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. They also list a lack of competitive AI accelerators that continues to reduce relevance to critical cloud customers and the suspension of its dividend that could make its stock less attractive to some investors. The analysts lower their price objective to $23 from $35 and downgrade their rating to “underperform” from “neutral.”

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Apple Delivered ‘Modest’ Fiscal Q3 Beat, ‘Best Is Yet to Come,’ BofA Says

Apple (AAPL) posted a “modest beat” for fiscal Q3 revenue and earnings, supported by strength across most divisions, and projected Q4 gains in iPhone and service segments signal “the best is yet to come,” BofA Securities said Thursday in a report. Results on from Q3 showed “growth accelerated in iPhone, iPad and wearables and across regions,” while guidance for the September quarter was “conservative,” BofA said. “We see upside in iPhones/Services given the upcoming launch of iPhone 16 with Apple Intelligence,” BofA said. “We further see the potential for significant acceleration of units in the December quarter and overall in FY25 with the rollout of Apple Intelligence.” BofA reiterated its buy rating on Apple, citing “potential for consensus estimates to be revised higher given multiyear iPhone upgrade cycle, tailwinds to gross margins and strong cash flows.” BofA kept its $256 price objective on Apple stock. At least four other analysts

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Intel’s Stock Plummets After Earnings: What To Know

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) shares are falling on heavy volume Friday after the company posted worse-than-expected second-quarter results. The Details: Intel missed analysts’ expectations with quarterly sales of $12.83 billion, a 0.9% decrease year-over-year and earnings of 2 cents per share. The company also suspended its quarterly dividend beginning in Q4 and announced a $10 billion cost-reduction plan that it says will include a headcount reduction of greater than 15%. Intel guided for a loss of 3 cents per share in the third quarter. “Our Q2 financial performance was disappointing, even as we hit key product and process technology milestones. Second-half trends are more challenging than we previously expected, and we are leveraging our new operating model to take decisive actions that will improve operating and capital efficiencies while accelerating our IDM 2.0 transformation,” said Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO. Analysts React: Raymond James downgraded Intel from Outperform to Market Perform, and

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Amazon.com’s Q2 Results Fell Short of Expectations; AI, AWS Trends on Rise, BofA Says

Amazon.com (AMZN) reported “mixed” Q2 results versus higher expectations as retail margins failed to exceed by as much as expected, advertising growth slowed, the Amazon Web Services backlog declined and the revenue outlook for retail was “soft,” BofA Securities said in a note Friday. For Q2, the company reported revenue slightly below expectations. Retail revenues fell short due to lower sales per unit, but margins were better than expected due to improved efficiency. Amazon Web Services growth was 19%, surpassing the 17% forecast, and AWS earned $9.3 billion in profit with a 36% margin, higher than the 32% estimate, the analysts said. The midpoint of the company’s Q3 revenue forecast is $154 billion to 158.5 billion, however, Amazon typically exceeds its guidance, so if profits hit the high end of the range, it will grow quarter-over-quarter despite margin pressure from Prime Day and added retail capacity, which is a positive

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New Boeing CEO Faces Debt Challenge

Kelly Ortberg inherits a Boeing with $57.9 billion in debt and a credit rating hovering a notch above junk at one agency with negative watches at two others. April’s $10 billion bond issue at least bolstered a cash pile that had fallen into single-figure billions, but $4.2 billion of that was burned through in the latest quarter. With cash expected to be negative for the year, Ortberg and CFO Brian West may still have to return to the debt market to cover borrowings assumed from the planned takeover of Spirit AeroSystems.

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Boeing’s Stock up as Earnings Fall Short of Estimates as Company Sees Progress With Safety Plan

The Boeing Co.’s stock (BA) rose 2% early Wednesday, after the aerospace giant second-quarter earnings fell short of estimates, but the company said it’s making progress in beefing up its quality management system. The company had a net loss of $1.439 billion, or $2.33 a share, wider than the loss of $149 million, or 25 cents a share, posted in the year-earlier period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company’s loss per share came to $2.90, wider than the FactSet consensus for a loss of $1.90. Revenue fell 15% to $16.866 billion from $19.751 billion a year ago, also missing the $17.350 billion FactSet consensus. “Despite a challenging quarter, we are making substantial progress strengthening our quality management system and positioning our company for the future,” said CEO Dave Calhoun in prepared remarks. The company submitted its safety and quality plan to the Federal Aviation Administration during the quarter, while the

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