Logitech managed through to the end of its “difficult pandemic comparisons,” but it faces “mounting currency headwinds” with its exposure to Europe and Asia, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Monday, before the company’s Q1 FY ’23 earnings report. The June quarter is the end of tough COVID-19 pandemic-fueled comparisons, Pachter said, saying Logitech maintained or expanded “heightened pandemic revenue streams” in some categories. Wedbush believes Logitech is well-positioned to capture a “sizeable share of burgeoning growth” in future PC peripherals and video conferencing driven by hybrid work, plus continued growth in global gaming. Pachter expects an expanded user base to join Logitech’s upgrade cycle in coming years. Logitech reports Q1 earnings Monday after markets close.

Dolby could face headwinds from “tough comparisons” for PCs and TVs that a year ago were still benefiting from COVID-19 stay-at-home trends, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Sunday. He cited reports of Samsung halting purchases of LCD panels in early July (see 2207120002) and said the company now plans to procure 40 million flat panels this year, down from 50 million last year and a prior forecast of 44 million. Dolby's full-year forecast anticipated a decline in TV shipments, especially in North America and Europe, “so some of this decline may already be reflected in the company's guidance,” Frankel said. “Material increases” in average selling price from the addition of Atmos and Vision help offset weakness in unit shipments, he said. Among Dolby highlights in the quarter, which ends in July, were French TV service Canal+ broadcasting the UEFA championship game in 4K with Dolby Vision and Atmos; Amazon's Wondery launching multiple Atmos-enabled podcasts for premium subscribers and Xiaomi announcing the $399 12 Lite and $900 12S smartphones with Vision and Atmos. Frankel noted Sky will be the first broadcaster in Germany to offer sports in Atmos during the 2022-2023 Bundesliga game of the week. Tencent is the first music service in China to offer Atmos-enabled tracks, and Apple Music is kicking off a series of live artist performances in Atmos, he said. Dolby is to report fiscal Q3 results in early August; Frankel expects revenue to be in line with guidance of $285 million-$310 million.

Acer’s consolidated revenue for June reached 30.94 billion New Taiwan dollars ($1.04 billion), an eight-year high for the month, based on 3.1% year-over-year growth and a 39.5% sequential increase from May, reported the PC vendor Friday. Consolidated revenue for 2022's first half was 150.72 billion New Taiwan dollars ($5.06 billion), down 0.4% year over year, it said: “The company also managed to continuously reduce overall inventory levels.”

Walmart’s Circular Connector sustainable packaging initiative (see 2204110045) teamed with the U.S. Plastic Pact on innovation awards to inspire new packaging and provide a platform for innovators to test their ideas, the retailer said Tuesday. Companies that submit packaging before Aug. 12 will be considered for an innovation award. The awards program, free to enter for companies serving the U.S. market, focuses on three categories: 1) recyclability, according to guidelines set by the Association of Plastic Recyclers or How2Recycle; 2) reuse/refill, where packaging is refilled or reused for the same purpose under which it was originally sold; and 3) compostability, according to Biodegradable Products Institute’s standards, Walmart said. Winners will receive manufacturing trial discussions with Walmart, four 30-minute mentoring sessions with Walmart Private Brand Packaging teams and a chance to be featured on a sustainable packaging podcast. Other judging criteria include sustainable sourcing, virgin plastic reduction and material health, the company said. Winners will be announced in fall, it said.

Xperi announced Thursday a $10 million increase in annual revenue and operating cash flow guidance for 2022 due to a resolved contract dispute with a customer. Revenue guidance is now $920 million-$960 million for the year ending Dec. 30 with cash flow guidance of $210 million-$240 million, the company said. Xperi's FotoNation subsidiary filed a request for arbitration in January 2020 against a mobile imaging customer for breach of contract. In settling the arbitration, Xperi signed an agreement that resolves all outstanding disputes, provides an upfront payment to Xperi for past licensing fees and requires additional license fees and payments to the company over the next few years, it said.

The macroeconomic environment is an “acute challenge" for TVs and game consoles, said Dolby Chief Financial Officer Robert Park at an investor conference Wednesday. Broadcast, comprising TVs and set-top boxes, is down high-single digits following a “huge take-up” in TV sales in FY 2021, Park said. Broadcast generates about 39% of Dolby revenue, he said. The drag on TV sales could be economy-related or "the tail end of a pull-through from COVID where people were loading up their living rooms," he said. Park cited Sony, noting a “serious shortage” of the PlayStation 5. “And with that, headsets don’t go and other things don’t go,” he said, referencing a trickle-down effect on accessory sales that embed Dolby technologies. Dolby is also feeling the brunt of lower auto sales in its core technologies business, but it's benefitting from manufacturers’ focus on premium technology amid declining sales, Park said. “The higher end SKUs … are faring better than the lower end,” said the executive: “If you only have 100 chips to ship, you’re going to ship the ones that have the highest margin.” Dolby hasn’t seen any deferment of OEM partnerships or adoption of higher end Dolby technologies as a result of slowing macroeconomic trends, Park said, but they could affect licensees' ability to ship product. “We get paid when it ships,” he said, and there are shipping delays even at the premier end. Commenting on Dolby Live, a Dolby Atmos-equipped venue at the Park MGM in Las Vegas, Park said the initial event featuring Aerosmith, scheduled to start this month, was delayed due to an issue with the band. The event, billed as the first live concert experience presented in Dolby Atmos, is now slated to premiere Sept. 14.

Western Digital opened a review of “potential strategic alternatives” that may include a “full separation” of its flash business, said the company Tuesday. Elliott Investment Management, one of Western Digital’s largest investors, is “prepared to provide strategic resources and additional capital to help the company realize the full value of both of its businesses,” it said.

Demand for the GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics processing units drove a 31% year-over-year increase in Nvidia’s gaming revenue to $3.6 billion in its fiscal Q1 ended May 1, said Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress on a Wednesday earnings call. “The gaming industry has grown tremendously, with 100 million new PC gamers added in the past two years,” said Kress, citing Newzoo data. “End demand” for RTX graphics cards “remained solid” throughout the quarter, “though mixed by region,” with demand in the Americas staying strong, she said. “We started seeing softness in parts of Europe related to the war in the Ukraine and in parts of China due to the COVID lockdowns. As we expect some ongoing impact as we prepare for a new architectural transition later in the year, we are projecting gaming revenue to decline sequentially in Q2.”

Apple's virtual Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off at 1 p.m. EDT June 6 from Cupertino, California, the company said Tuesday. The keynote will be available via apple.com, the Apple Developer app, the Apple TV app and YouTube, with on-demand playback available after the stream has concluded, the company said.

Clean Yield Asset Management urged a “yes” vote on a Walmart shareholder proposal on reproductive healthcare legislation, said a Wednesday SEC filing. The investment firm filed the proposal -- to be voted at the retailer's June 1 annual meeting -- on behalf of client Julie Kalish because of concerns that Walmart "may be negatively impacted by enacted or proposed state policies restricting reproductive health care, thus putting shareholder value at risk.” The resolution asks the Walmart board to issue a public report before Dec. 31 detailing “known and potential risks and costs to the company caused by enacted or proposed state policies severely restricting reproductive rights,” along with strategies beyond litigation and legal compliance that Walmart may deploy to minimize or mitigate risks, the filing said. It suggested the board’s analysis include effects on employee hiring, retention and productivity, plus decisions on "closure or expansion of operations” in states proposing or enacting restrictive laws and strategies around abortion, “such as any public policy advocacy by the Company, related political contributions policies, and human resources or educational strategies.” The proposal said “continuing to provide comprehensive reproductive health care coverage should be a priority for Walmart,” which has about 935,000 women employees, and the loss of access to abortion care “may disrupt or prevent employees from remaining in the workforce." In its opposition, Walmart said the proposal “is framed so broadly that we believe it would be extremely difficult for the company to fulfill this objective to a degree that would be of value or utility for our shareholders, associates and other stakeholders,” the filing said. Walmart also said it believes its resources “are better focused on its day-to-day review and design of our benefits plans and programs in order to remain competitive in our industry and in compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements in the jurisdictions where we operate.”