Amazon shares sank 5.4 percent Friday to $1,626.53 after its Q4 call suggested soft revenue guidance, slowing gross margin expansion, falling physical store sales and lingering questions about India's e-commerce market. The stock was up as much as 3.4 percent in post-market trading Thursday after a 20 percent year-over-year revenue jump to $72.4 billion, but fell 4.6 percent during the call on revenue guidance.
Experts doubt the partial federal shutdown and looming threat of another will mean more worker turnover in coming months at the FCC and other agencies. That's especially among professionals ranks such as engineers and lawyers. Others are less sure.
Gear up for nearly a year of privacy debate over possible legislative edits to the 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act, said a top state senator and business and privacy advocates in interviews. The law will be enforced from Jan. 1, though the attorney general has until July 1, 2021, to adopt rules and guidance interpreting CCPA. Final text will be “incredibly important” even for those outside the state because California is the No. 5 economy, said Mintz Levin's Cynthia Larose.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected FCC tribal Lifeline support limits and procedures Friday. The 2017 order was vacated and remanded for a new rulemaking in a potential win for wireless resellers like TracFone (see 1902010017). It's a clean win for the order's opponents and the biggest loss for Chairman Ajit Pai so far in court, lawyers said Friday. Others said the FCC likely won’t try a do-over on the order or pursue removal non-facilities-based providers in general from the program.
Federal judges pressed both sides on the FCC's net neutrality rollback case in oral argument (audio) at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Friday. It ran almost four-and-a-half hours, almost twice what was scheduled, plus a break. All three judges questioned challenger contentions the FCC erred in reclassifying broadband internet access as a Communications Act Title I information service, particularly given Chevron deference to reasonable agency decisions on ambiguous statutes, including 2005 Brand X affirmation of Title I cable modem service. Two judges questioned FCC decisions, including to scrap net neutrality rules -- particularly for public safety operations -- pre-empt state and local governments, and use Section 257 authority for transparency rules.
Dolby is “reaping the benefits of growing momentum” behind its Atmos, Cinema, Vision and Mobile businesses, wrote Dougherty & Co. analyst Steven Frankel Thursday after the company’s Wednesday earnings call. Concerns Dolby was facing “stiff headwinds” from a slowing smartphone market, China slowdown and tariffs “proved to be for naught,” as Dolby’s $302.4 million fiscal Q1 revenue, and $98.2 million profit, beat guidance. Repeating a “buy” rating, Frankel cited Dolby’s “dominant competitive position, strong cash flow and increased traction with new revenue initiatives.”
Verizon would “very much like to see federal privacy legislation passed in 2019,” said Vice President-Public Policy Melissa Tye Thursday at an FCBA event. Director-Regulatory Affairs Rachel Sanford Nemeth also pledged CTA’s support for federal legislation to avoid a patchwork of state regulations.
The poor could be in danger of losing support for phone service due to shortcomings of the Lifeline national verifier (NV), state commissioners told us this week. NARUC plans to vote at its Feb. 10-13 meeting in Washington on a resolution proposing changes to reduce barriers to accessing Lifeline (see 1901290029). Lifeline providers and a consumer advocate hope the resolution is a wake-up call. The FCC said critics seek to undermine efforts to protect the fund’s integrity.
SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer sees “a lot I love about Pandora” but worries about the streaming service’s steady “decline in listening hours,” he said on a Q4 call Wednesday. Meyer expects SiriusXM’s $3.5 billion all-stock buyout to close Friday, after Pandora shareholders approved the transaction Tuesday (see 1901290056).
After Jan. 2's warning on weak China sales, Apple (see Jan. 4 issue) continued efforts to promote its higher margin services business on the company's fiscal Q1 call Tuesday. Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri for the first time broke out gross margin into categories -- 34.3 percent for hardware, 62.8 percent for services in the year-end quarter -- saying the new reporting strategy “will foster a better understanding of our business.” The company is on track to reach its goal to double services from 2016 by 2020, said CEO Tim Cook.