Zoom fiscal Q2 revenue grew 54% year over year to $1.02 billion, in its first “billion-dollar-plus” quarter, said Chief Financial Officer Kelly Steckelberg on a Monday call. “As we’ve just lapped our first full quarter year-over-year compare since the start of the pandemic, we have seen customers return to more thoughtful, measured buying patterns.” Revenue and profitability were strong in the quarter ended July 31, but “other metrics have begun to normalize, especially when compared to the unprecedented year-over-year comps,” she said. Zoom expects its online business “will be a headwind in the coming quarters,” she said. The online sector consists “primarily” of small-business people and individual consumers, many of whom are “socializing in person now,” doing fewer Zoom calls, “and that's where we are starting to see some of the challenges,” she said. Zoom had expected the “slowdown” toward the end of the year, but it “just happened a little bit more quickly than we expected,” she said. The stock closed down 17% Tuesday at $289.50.
The Home Technology Specialists of America buying group said Friday it suspended all in-person group events for the remainder of 2021, citing health and safety reasons amid “currently evolving events.” HTSA had planned a Tommapalooza training event associated with CEDIA Expo this week in Indianapolis and a cocktail party Tuesday before the Expo’s opening Wednesday. It also canceled its fall conference scheduled for Oct. 12-14 at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel and regional member events, a spokesperson emailed. HTSA will continue its member education initiatives with announcements forthcoming, it said.
More exhibitors pulled out of CEDIA Expo this week, citing concerns over COVID-19. The show is to be Sept. 1-3 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Digital Projection put its North American trade show schedule “on hiatus” for the remainder of 2021, Kyle Greetham, marketing and communications manager, emailed industry contacts Wednesday. “Meeting face-to-face with our customers, partners, and friends is something we look forward to each year,” Greetham said, but due to risks of COVID-19, the company won't exhibit at CEDIA Expo, InfoComm, or Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference shows. “For 2022, we remain optimistic that we will return to most of the trade shows that we missed this year,” he said. Josh.ai, which held a webinar last week with Lutron (see 2108180057) announcing an integration for a light switch with its voice control technology, said Tuesday, “after much thought and consideration, Josh.ai will no longer be exhibiting at CEDIA Expo 2021.” Though the Josh.ai sales team will have a presence at the show for meetings, the company canceled in-person activities, including its booth presence, it said. Other exhibitors that pulled out of CEDIA Expo 2021 over concerns about rising COVID-19 cases include JVC, Legrand, LG, Lutron, Nortek, Samsung, Savant, Sonance, Sonos, Sony and Sound United.
Nearly a third of Americans admit succumbing to online “addiction” during the COVID-19 pandemic, reported NortonLifeLock Tuesday. The cybersecurity company hired the Harris Poll to canvass 1,000 U.S. adults May 20-June 8, finding consumers spend an average of 6.3 hours a day online outside of school or work, and two-thirds think that’s too much. The survey found a quarter bought a new connected device to “better cope with the pandemic,” and the average home owns six devices. Though more than four in 10 said the increased screen time has helped them feel more connected, 38% said it made them “less physically active,” and a fifth said it “negatively impacted their mental health,” said NortonLifeLock.
ALTI-Expo show owner Barry Vogel confirmed the cancellation of the Audio & Loudspeaker Technology Association's Oct. 24-25 audio event (see 2108230070) in Orlando. The fall show was a postponement from the original June 13-14 dates, Vogel emailed registrants Monday. Most of the revenue for the association comes from the annual trade show, “so of course this is difficult,” Vogel told us Tuesday. “We are a fairly small, specialized show” with about 300-400 total attendees, “though we are working on growing that (at least we WERE prior to Covid!).” The association was also looking forward to its first ALTI Automotive Audio Conference in concert with the High End Audio Show in Munich, but that event was pushed off from September to May due to COVID-19. Vogel assumed ownership of ALTI in July 2020 “knowing that (re)building an association in today’s world is a challenge under the best of situations,” he said: “This has been anything but the best of situations.” ALTI expanded services to members to help them do business in the COVID-19 era, he said. “The dynamic loudspeaker and related technologies industry needs and deserves an association dedicated exclusively to it,” he said, saying ALTI is that group, and “we will survive this.”
The Audio Expo North America (Axpona) show, scheduled for Oct. 28-30 in Schaumburg, Illinois, was canceled and rescheduled for April 22-24 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center. “Throughout this spring and early summer, enthusiasm for AXPONA in October was sky high,” said Event Director Liz Smith and Sales Vice President Mark Freed in a letter to the Axpona community. They cited spiking COVID-19 cases, “concerns over personal health, the unpredictability of international travel restrictions and reinstated companywide travel bans.” Audio & Loudspeaker Technologies International didn’t comment, meanwhile, on reports that its ALTI Expo, slated for Oct. 24-25 in Orlando, was canceled. The website showed registration still taking place Monday with fees of $499 for members, $699 for nonmembers.
Samsung teamed with the Commons Project Foundation on smart health cards that display COVID-19 vaccination status within Samsung Pay, said the electronics company Wednesday. This feature allows U.S. consumers to download a verifiable digital version of their vaccine record from pharmacies, providers or health systems and securely store it in Samsung Pay via the CommonHealth app on supported Galaxy smartphones. The feature will roll out over the next two weeks to all addressable devices, said the company.
Nortek Control confirmed Friday its brands won't exhibit at CEDIA Expo 2021, after reports earlier in the week it had joined the list of major companies to pull out of the show amid concern over rising COVID-19 cases (see 2108160047). “Through conversations with our customers and after careful consideration given the recent rapid rise in Covid cases, we have decided to cancel all on-site activities and our booth presence at CEDIA 2021,” Bruce Mungiguerra, senior vice president-global sales and marketing, said in a statement. The decision to cancel “wasn’t an easy one but we believe strongly that the safety and health of our Nortek Control team and the rest of the Pro AV community must be our highest priority,” he said. Nortek’s brands include 2Gig, Elan, Furman, Gefen, Panamax, Proficient, SpeakerCraft, Sunfire, Niles, IntelliVision and Mighty Mule. Among other companies to withdraw from the show are AudioQuest, LG, Legrand, Samsung, Savant, Snap One, Sones, Sony and Sound United. Expo show owner Emerald, meanwhile, announced Friday a perk for “scheduled registered attendees”: an AI-based “digital companion” called CEDIA Expo Connect that’s an adjunct to the physical show, scheduled for Sept. 1-3 in Indianapolis. The trade show company called Connect a “powerful platform designed to facilitate smart business matchmaking, product discovery, and relevant content” that connects attendees to exhibiting brands and products “pre-show, onsite and post-show.” Jason McGraw, group vice president-CEDIA Expo/KBIS, said the “matchmaking” platform is a first for the trade show industry.
The Transportation Security Administration extended through Jan. 18 from Sept. 13 its face mask requirements for all travelers aboard U.S. commercial airlines and commuter and inter-city rail and bus lines, said the agency Friday. The mandate also applies to U.S. airports and train and bus stations.
About 53% of consumers currently prefer online meetings and virtual conferences to meeting people in person, said an August study from Resonate on how the “delta turning point” is affecting American sentiment and behavior. Twenty-nine percent of respondents to a survey fielded July 14-Aug. 2 believe it will take a year for life to return to normal, up 44% since June; 12% said they didn’t believe life would ever get back to normal. Some 68% said they prefer to shop in store, aligning with trends reported this week by Target and Walmart, up 18% since June. Nearly 64% of respondents are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, nearly 20% plan to be within seven months, and 19.2% said they never will be. After a 46% drop in pro-mask sentiment in late June, Resonate found a 14% increase in the latest report. A third said they’re spending less than before the COVID-19 era; 23% are saving more.