Q1 2011

Gaming
July 11, 2011
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NPD: $1.85B spent on non-standard gaming content, including mobile games, in Q1

By on July 11, 2011 at 11:30 PM.

NPD: $1.85B spent on non-standard gaming content, including mobile games, in Q1

A staggering $1.85 billion was spent on video game content outside of physical video and PC game hardware and software in the U.S. during the first quarter. The number represents just over 31% of total spending on video games in the U.S., which came in at $5.9 billion in the first quarter of 2011. The impressive stat is noted by The NPD Group in its latest Games Industry: Total Consumer Spend report, which includes used game purchases, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full-game downloads, social network games, downloadable content and mobile games in this emerging category. The firm notes that physical retail channels still accounted for the the majority of industry sales in the first quarter, but the fact that these newer gaming channels such as social gaming and mobile gaming have grown to encompass nearly a third of the U.S. gaming industry so quickly speaks volumes to where gaming might be headed in the future. The NPD Group’s full press release follows below. More →

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Mobile
May 4, 2011
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Canalys: Android dominance grows as Q1 market share climbs to 35%

By on May 4, 2011 at 8:10 PM.

Canalys: Android dominance grows as Q1 market share climbs to 35%

Market research and analysis firm Canalys on Wednesday released its global country-level smartphone market share data for the first quarter of 2011. According to the firm’s report, Android continued to dominate the worldwide smartphone market as global shipments grew to 37.5 million units, giving Google’s mobile OS a market-leading 35% share of smartphone sales in the quarter. Nokia’s market share fell dramatically year-over-year from 39% in the first quarter of 2010 to just 24% last quarter, according to the report, and Apple’s share grew to 19%. Though the smartphone market outgrew Nokia at an alarming pace, the Finnish company did manage to increase shipments 13% year-over-year to 24.2 million units last quarter. Global smartphone shipments grew 83% from 55.2 million units in the first quarter of 2010 to 101 million units in the same quarter this year. The Asia Pacific region showed the most growth over the first quarter last year — 98% — while first-quarter smartphone shipments in the U.S. grew 85% from 13.3 million in 2010 to 24.7 million units in 2011. Hit the break for the full press release. More →

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Business
April 28, 2011
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LG profits up, mobile shipments down, in Q1 2011 earnings

By on April 28, 2011 at 3:33 AM.

LG profits up, mobile shipments down, in Q1 2011 earnings

LG struggled in 2010, but it’s slowly righting the ship in 2011. The firm reported its Q1 2011 earnings on Wednesday, and its operating profit of 131 billion won was the first positive return in the past three quarters. LG attributed the change to successful cost-reduction efforts and steady performance across all four of its businesses. The firm reported 13.2 trillion won in revenues, a 0.4% decline year-over-year. Its LG’s mobile communications business posted a loss of 101 billion won, an improvement over the 261 billion won loss the firm noted during the same period in 2010. Handset sales were down 9.2 percent year-over-year and 14.3 percent quarter-over-quarter, and the firm said it shipped 24.5 million phones, a 10% drop year-over-year and a 20% decline quarter-over-quarter. LG hopes the launch of its Optimus Black and Optimus 3D handsets will improve those figures during Q2. Despite shipping more televisions in Q1, the world’s second largest TV manufacturer attributed its 20.6% decline in home entertainment sales to slower demand and a decline in average selling price. LG’s home entertainment company posted an 82 billion won operating profit during the first quarter, which LG said was fueled by its line of 3D and Smart TVs, as well as cost cutting measure the company has taken. Hit the jump for the full release. More →

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General
April 26, 2011
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Netflix reports subscriber growth, revenue spike in Q1 2011 earnings

By on April 26, 2011 at 5:59 AM.

Netflix reports subscriber growth, revenue spike in Q1 2011 earnings

Netflix released its fiscal first quarter 2011 earnings on Monday and, thanks to record amounts spent on marketing, the firm reported an increase in net customer additions and a spike in revenues. The video subscription service added 3.3 million domestic net customers during the quarter, a 94% increase year-over-year — that service now serves 23.6 million subscribers globally. Netflix reported revenues of $719 million, up 46% year-over-year, and a net income of $60 million, an 88% jump from the same period a year ago. The company said noted that it expects DVD shipments to decline and spending on streaming content to “increase substantially” in the second quarter and beyond. Hit the jump for Netflix’s letter to shareholders. More →

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Business
April 21, 2011
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Verizon Wireless is activating iPhones faster than AT&T

By on April 21, 2011 at 10:13 AM.

Verizon Wireless is activating iPhones faster than AT&T

In the company’s earnings report on Thursday, Verizon Wireless revealed that it activated 2.2 million iPhone 4 units in the first quarter of 2011. While AT&T reported earlier this week that it activated 3.6 million iPhones in the March quarter — 64% more than Verizon Wireless — the story doesn’t end there. AT&T’s loss of iPhone exclusivity might not have had the immediate dramatic impact some analysts predicted, but Verizon did manage to achieve a milestone right out of the gate: the nation’s top carrier activated iPhones at a much faster pace in the first quarter of 2011 than rival AT&T. While AT&T activated plenty more units, those activations were spread over the full 13 weeks of the March quarter. Verizon Wireless released the iPhone 4 just seven weeks ago on February 10th. As such, AT&T activated iPhones at a rate of 277,000 per week while Verizon Wireless was activating an average of roughly 314,000 units each week. The device was brand new for Verizon, of course, and pent up demand for the iPhone lead to the strongest pre-orders in the carrier’s history. AT&T also included the $49 iPhone 3GS activations in its total, however, so the numbers were bolstered on both sides.

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General
April 21, 2011
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Nokia reports Q1 earnings; smartphone share dips, profit dips more

By on April 21, 2011 at 9:16 AM.

Nokia reports Q1 earnings; smartphone share dips, profit dips more

Nokia on Thursday reported earnings for the first quarter of 2011, which saw the Finnish giant’s smartphone market share dip below 30% for the first time in over a decade. Nokia shipped 24.2 million smartphones in the quarter, which is up a respectable 13% over the same quarter last year. But the market outgrew Nokia by a significant margin, leaving the company’s share of global smartphone shipments at 26% for the quarter. Nokia’s revenue grew by 9% to €10.4 billion sequentially, but operating profit dipped 14% from last quarter to €704 million — a 35% decline compared to the first quarter last year. Nokia’s short-term outlook isn’t great: “Following a solid first quarter, we expect a more challenging second quarter,” said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop in a statement. “However, we are encouraged by our roadmap of mobile phones and Symbian smartphones, which we will ship through the balance of the year. We are fully focused on delivering the needed accountability, speed and results to positively drive our future financial performance.” Nokia announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Microsoft ahead of schedule, but this statement might lead us to believe that agreement won’t bear any fruit in 2011. Hit the break for the full press release. More →

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Mobile
April 20, 2011
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ThunderBolt outsells iPhone 4 at Verizon, firm claims

By on April 20, 2011 at 3:42 PM.

ThunderBolt outsells iPhone 4 at Verizon, firm claims

AT&T on Wednesday reported impressive first-quarter iPhone activations that hardly seemed affected by the carrier’s recent loss of iPhone exclusivity. Now, investment research firm ITG is suggesting Verizon Wireless’ iPhone 4 might not even be the carrier’s top seller anymore. As reported by the New York Post, ITG claims that the 4G LTE-capable HTC ThunderBolt overtook the iPhone last month to become Verizon’s No. 1 smartphone. The Post did not report March sales figures for the ThunderBolt or the iPhone, though it did say Verizon had only sold a total of 2 million iPhone 4 units through the end of March. Apple is scheduled to report its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, and analysts are expecting iPhone sales to total 16-17 million units. More →

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General
April 20, 2011
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AT&T reports Q1 earnings; iPhone activations up by 1 million in spite of Verizon iPhone launch

By on April 20, 2011 at 8:28 AM.

AT&T reports Q1 earnings; iPhone activations up by 1 million in spite of Verizon iPhone launch

AT&T on Wednesday reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2011. The report is highlighted by impressive iPhone activations that were up by almost 1 million units year-over-year to 3.6 million. Many analysts believed Verizon Wireless’ launch of the iPhone 4 in early February would have a tremendous impact on AT&T’s iPhone business, but the effects were far less significant than expected. First-quarter revenue came in at $31.2 billion, up 2.3% over the same quarter last year, but operating income dropped from $6 billion in the first quarter of 2010 to $5.8 billion in the first quarter this year. The carrier added 2 million wireless subscribers in the first quarter of 2011 for a total of 97.5 million as of the end of March. Thanks in large part to the iPhone 4, AT&T also sold a record 5.5 million smartphones in the quarter. Smartphone users now combine to comprise 46.2% of AT&T’s postpaid subscriber base, which played a large role in pushing wireless revenue up 10.2% over the first quarter in 2010 to $15.3 billion. Wireless data revenue was up by $1 billion in the quarter, and branded computing subscribers — a category that includes tablet, aircard and other data-only product users — were up about 100% over the same quarter last year to 3.4 million. AT&T only sold 322,000 tablets in the quarter, roughly 258,000 of which were booked as prepaid, further supporting the notion that first-quarter iPad sales were far less impressive than analysts had expected. Hit the jump for the full release. More →

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General
April 19, 2011
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Sony Ericsson reports Q1 2011 results; profit cut in half on slow sales

By on April 19, 2011 at 10:36 PM.

Sony Ericsson reports Q1 2011 results; profit cut in half on slow sales

Sony Ericsson on Tuesday reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2011, during which profit fell sharply on slowed device shipments. While smartphones made up twice the number of total device sales compared to the same quarter in 2010, Sony Ericsson still only managed to ship 8.1 million devices — compared to 10.5 million in the first quarter last year. The average selling price of the company’s devices grew to €141 from €134 in the same quarter last year, but profit dropped 48% year-over-year to €11 million. Sony Ericsson did note that the earthquakes in Japan caused some disruption in its supply chain, but we’re not sure the cell phone maker was on track for a solid quarter either way. Hit the break for the full press release. More →

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General
April 14, 2011
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Google posts 27% increase in revenues; Q1 earnings slightly miss mark

By on April 14, 2011 at 5:30 PM.

Google posts 27% increase in revenues; Q1 earnings slightly miss mark

Internet juggernaut Google has released its financial results from the first-quarter of 2011, and things are looking pretty good. The company posted revenues of $8.58 billion during the quarter — which represents a 27% increase year-over-year — with $5.88 billion of that figure being generated by Google-owned websites. The company failed to meet Wall Street’s earning expectations, however, coming in $0.03 shy of the predicted $8.11 earnings per share. “These results demonstrate the value of search and search ads to our users and customers, as well as the extraordinary potential of areas like display and mobile,” said Patrick Pichette, the company’s CFO. “It’s clear that our past investments have been crucial to our success today–which is why we continue to invest for the long term.” said Patrick Pichette, the company’s CFO. The company’s stock was trading down nearly 5% in after-hours trading at time of article writing. The full Q1 report is after the break. More →

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Business
April 14, 2011
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iPad causes U.S. PC market to dive; Apple, Toshiba only winners

By on April 14, 2011 at 10:31 AM.

iPad causes U.S. PC market to dive; Apple, Toshiba only winners

Apple’s iPad has left the traditional PC market in a state of flux and in a painful bit of irony for Apple’s competition, the Cupertino company is also one of the few manufacturers whose traditional PC business managed to grow last quarter. Research firm IDC released its first-quarter figures on Wednesday and detailed bleak times for the bulk of PC makers in the U.S. and globally. Stateside, Apple and Toshiba were the only companies with significant market shares whose shipments grew year-over-year; Apple’s shipments climbed 9.6% to 1.375 million units and Toshiba shipped 1.663 million units for a 10.4% increase. Overall however, the market was down 10.7%, with Dell and Acer having recorded the biggest loses. Dell’s shipments declined 11.8% while Acer’s U.S. PC shipments slid a massive 42.1% year-over-year, from 2.298 million units in the first quarter of 2010 to 1.331 million in the same quarter this year. Globally, Lenovo was the biggest winner as its shipments grew an impressive 16.3% to 8.172 million units. Acer was again the biggest loser, with total shipments dropping 15.8% from 10.733 million units in the first quarter last year to 9.039 million units in the first quarter of 2011. Hit the jump for IDC’s full press release. More →

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General
April 8, 2011
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HTC Q1 profit triples on demand for Android phones

By on April 8, 2011 at 8:00 AM.

HTC Q1 profit triples on demand for Android phones

HTC on Friday reported first-quarter 2011 earnings highlighted by profit that handily beat analysts’ estimates. Tremendous demand for the company’s popular Android smartphones such as the EVO 4G and ThunderBolt helped HTC record a first-quarter profit of NT$14.83 billion ($511 million) compared to analyst expectations of NT$12.99 billion. HTC said its first-quarter revenue grew 174% to NT$104.2 billion, and analysts believe continued strong demand for Android devices will help HTC’s revenue grow up to 20% in the second quarter of this year. BGR on Thursday reported that HTC’s market capitalization, which recently surpassed that of Finnish phone giant Nokia, is expected to surpass NT$1 trillion this year, making HTC only the third company on the Taiwan Stock Exchange to reach the milestone. Share of HTC stock closed down 3.33% on Friday.

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General
February 22, 2011
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HP reports Q1 2011 earnings, lowers full-year guidance

By on February 22, 2011 at 10:03 PM.

HP reports Q1 2011 earnings, lowers full-year guidance

Hewlett-Packard on Tuesday reported its earnings for the first quarter of the company’s 2011 fiscal year, which ended on January 31st. Revenue missed Wall Street’s expectations slightly, coming in at $32.3 billion versus the Street’s projected revenue of between $32.75 and $33.59 billion. Earnings per share was up an impressive 26% year-over-year to $1.17, but it still missed the Street’s expectation of between $1.26 and $1.32 per share. Cash flow from operations was up 28% year-over-year, however, and profit was up 16% to $2.6 billion. “I’m pleased with our EPS and margin expansion during the quarter. Going forward, we have the opportunity to further capitalize on our customers’ demands for higher value-added solutions,” said HP’s CEO Léo Apotheker in a statement. “HP has a powerful portfolio, including exciting, recently announced cloud and connectivity offerings. We are focused on leveraging these strengths to extend our leadership and accelerate growth.” HP lowered its full-year revenue forecast from between $131.5 and $133.5 billion to between $130 and $131.5 billion. Hit the break for HP’s full press release. More →

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