Cisco’s revenue jumped 7% in fiscal Q3 ended May 1 on strong “broad-based demand” across the board in “hybrid work, digital transformation, cloud and continued strong uptake of our subscription-based offerings,” said CEO Chuck Robbins on a Wednesday call. Cisco had “early momentum in the ramping of key technology cycles” including for 5G, he said. Cisco added more than 400 new features and devices to its Webex portfolio in the past six months, said Robbins. Cisco is “extending the Webex suite of devices, including digital signage, touchless calls, room capacity alerts and environmental sensors to help enable a safe return to the office.” Chip supply chain constraints will "be with us through" calendar 2021, he said. The supply chain team entered the middle of the quarter “concerned about what they could see for the next two months” into the shortages, he said. The team since is “getting better visibility,” he said.
Citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, Target scrapped mask requirements Monday for “fully vaccinated guests and team members,” except where required by local ordinances. Face coverings will continue to be “strongly recommended for guests and team members who are not fully vaccinated." Target will continue increased safety and cleaning measures, including social distancing, in its stores, it said. Beginning Tuesday, fully vaccinated Walmart employees won’t need to wear a mask at work, said the retailer Friday. Unvaccinated associates must still wear face coverings, it said, citing CDC guidance. Employees need to provide proof of vaccination; $75 will be added to their paycheck after a vaccine card is processed. Walmart is reviewing whether masks may still be required for certain job codes for health and sanitation purposes. “Some associates may choose to continue to wear masks, and as part of our value of respect for the individual we should all support their right to do so,” it said. It welcomed vaccinated customers to shop maskless as of Friday, unless required by local ordinance, and requested that nonvaccinated customers wear face coverings in stores and clubs.
U.S. Q1 business-to-business tech sales jumped 4% to $24.1 billion, including 3% software revenue growth and 4% in hardware, reported NPD Thursday. As with consumer tech, B2B tech sales trends that began during the onset of the pandemic continued, with strong growth in products “that enable working and learning from home,” it said. USB camera sales revenue increased 320% from Q1 2020 and notebooks were up 51%, said NPD. Though tablet revenue increased 18%, the category slowed from its peak 2020 growth, it said. “As many in the U.S. begin their return to ‘normal' we are starting to see some of the pandemic-related sales momentum shift,” said analyst Mike Crosby. “As businesses and schools begin opening, we are likely to see some growth shift from the hardware that was needed to outfit home offices, back to software for business operations.”
Amazon is hiring 75,000 fulfillment and logistics workers in the U.S. and Canada, it said Thursday. New hires already vaccinated for COVID-19 get $100, said Alicia Davis, vice president-global customer fulfillment. Open roles have an average starting pay of over $17 per hour, plus sign-on bonuses in some locations of about $1,000. Locations with the most openings are in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin.
UL debuted a COVID-19 vaccination tracker as U.S. “return-to-work programs gear up,” it said Thursday: The service's software tools are especially for companies that plan to return employees to the office but lack “software solutions in place to support regulatory and healthcare compliance.”
COVID-19-induced demand for home connectivity and entertainment tools drove Acer to a 26.3% April revenue increase year over year to $24.95 billion Taiwan new dollars ($899.2 million), reported the brand Monday. Revenue in 2021's first four months reached 96.51 billion Taiwan new dollars ($3.48 billion), up 40.7% from the same 2020 period. April notebooks revenue grew 39.5% and monitor revenues gained 37.3%. April revenue in Acer’s gaming-related products and businesses increased 119.9%.
The Wireless Infrastructure Association is moving its Connectivity Expo from Aug. 3-6 in Boston to Oct. 4-7 in Orlando, at the Hyatt Regency. President Jonathan Adelstein Tuesday cited a " commitment to deliver an exceptional and safe in-person event." For news on who is and isn't meeting in person, see here.
All Vornado Realty tenants “are telling us that they are anxious to bring their employees back to the office” by the fall, “and we are anxious to welcome them back,” said CEO Steven Roth on a Q1 earnings call Tuesday. Despite COVID-19's nearly universal work-from-home phenomenon, New York’s largest commercial landlord remains “strong in our belief that working from the office will be the preferred mode of work for the companies and their employees post-pandemic,” he said. “The kitchen table may be a place for some, but I continue to believe the urban office is the workplace of the future.”
Momentum in the North American market drove a 13.5% increase in Alarm.com Q1 revenue to $172.5 million, the company reported. Software-as-a-service and license revenue grew 16.8% to $107.4 million. Commercial sales opportunities in the large enterprise segment were below pre-pandemic levels, said CEO Steve Trundle on a Tuesday call; international business is more affected by COVID-19 than the U.S. and Canadian business. Alarm.com expects Q2 SaaS and license revenue to be $108.9 million-$109.1 million, based on higher than expected Q1 revenue due to a higher rate of new subscribers: “We don’t anticipate them going anywhere,” said Trundle. Chief Financial Officer Steve Valenzuela noted video and video analytics attachment rates, over 70%, continued to grow. Customers get a much better experience with intelligence from video alerts, said Trundle. If customers are impressed with technology, and it’s making their lives easier, “I'd like to believe that you're more durable as a customer,” he said. As customers see more areas where they can benefit from smart home -- video or the company’s smart water valve that can detect leaks, for instance -- they become more dependent on it, he said. There’s also the likelihood of customers not being satisfied with their experience, which could have negative results, he said. Ongoing residential momentum in the past couple of quarters is a “positive contribution from COVID,” said Trundle, citing people being at home more and an overall shift to the suburbs. On whether he sees those trends continuing, he said it could be that the shift to more homeownership and a shift out of urban centers will be an ongoing trend for five years or more, “but we just don't know for sure.” Alarm.com’s Florida service providers say business is “popping” and they can’t keep up, said Trundle. Though there’s some migration to there, most new business is from suburban customers who have left urban locations, he said.
The pandemic “permanently elevated consumer prioritization of convenience and flexibility” in healthcare, reported Kyruus Tuesday. The medical industry data management services provider hired Wakefield Research to canvass 1,000 U.S. adults in March, finding more than half “delayed some sort of care” during the pandemic and most “will seek a hybrid of virtual and in-person options” when they resume medical visits. Of those who deferred care, 48% say they did so because they didn’t feel safe visiting a doctor’s office. “Hybrid care delivery is here to stay,” it said, citing the 60% who say telehealth visits “will play a role in where they opt to get care in the future.” Sustained interest in virtual care is highest among patients with “routine and mental health needs,” it said.