COVID-19 restrictions “started to relax” in Q2 across PayPal’s core markets, “and we saw the beginning of a return to normalcy in consumer behavior,” said Chief Financial Officer John Rainey on a quarterly call Wednesday. “Consumers are spending again in verticals that had been severely affected and have become more comfortable shopping in person and dining out.” Merchants in the PayPal ecosystem “are repositioning for the post-pandemic world,” said Rainey. “Relative to our expectations, which were for reopening spend to closely track vaccination rates, we've seen travel and events volumes return more rapidly.” Even in markets that have reopened fully for in-person shopping, “elevated e-commerce spending above pre-pandemic levels is ongoing and indicative of permanent shifts in consumer behavior,” he said. “We continue to see the categories that benefited from quarantine measures and shelter in place activities last year maintain higher levels of e-commerce volumes in comparison to pre-COVID levels.”
Kodak Moments has a new version of its Kiosk software, giving users more instant products including for in-store self-printing, it said Wednesday. Version 11.0 adds wall tiles, available as 8-by-8-inch images in a black frame or with a 1-inch white border; canvas prints available in four sizes up to 16 by 20 inches; acrylic 2-by-2-inch magnets; and photo boards in sizes up to 20 by 30 inches, it said.
Global 5G subscriptions are nearly 300 million, “on track to double that by the end of 2021,” Corning CEO Wendell Weeks told a Q2call Tuesday. “We’re in the early innings of a large capital deployment cycle across 5G, fiber to the home and hyperscale data centers.” Q2 sales in Corning’s optical communications business were $1.08 billion, up 21% year over year. “Momentum ... is building” in its optical communications business, said Weeks. “Demand on the network has only been increasing.” June broadband usage gained 33% from pre-pandemic levels, 10% above June 2020, “a peak quarantine period,” he said.
Some 72% of consumers report regularly using multiple platforms to consume video, Parks Associates reported Tuesday. Four in 10 view video on all tested platforms: TV and TV-connected devices, mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, and PCs, said the research firm. “Consumers today have much higher expectations of their video entertainment experiences,” said Pierre Donath, chief product and marketing officer, 3 Screen Solutions, saying Netflix and other streaming services “set a new benchmark and continue to improve it.” With connected device use increasing, building “mutually beneficial partnerships with these device platforms is an important component of WarnerMedia’s distribution strategy,” said Melissa de la Rama, vice president-distribution. With major studios making moves in the over-the-top video world, the viewer experience will become “the most important way to retain viewers,” said Lexie Knauer, Brightcove senior product marketing manager. Parks plans a virtual Future of Video webcast Wednesday.
CTA announced T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert as its first CES 2022 keynoter, a year after picking Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg as the first keynoter for virtual CES 2021. Sievert “will discuss 5G innovations for consumers, businesses and thought leadership,” and how 5G advancements will enable people “to work, communicate and learn more efficiently,” said CTA Tuesday. A spokesperson confirmed Sievert will be in-person on the Las Vegas keynote stage.
Silicon Labs completed divesting its Infrastructure & Automotive business to Skyworks in an all-cash transaction for $2.75 billion, it said Monday: The sale lets Silicon Labs focus on “secure, intelligent wireless connectivity" for the global IoT market, it said.
The installed base of roaming 5G subscribers is projected to reach 210 million people globally in 2026 from 4.5 million this year, reported Juniper Research Monday. As 5G roaming “proliferates,” vendor competition for such roaming services will “intensify,” it said. Juniper forecasts that global roaming data traffic from 5G subscribers will increase to 770 petabytes by 2026, from 2.6 PB this year, “enough data to stream 115 million hours of 4K video from platforms like Netflix.” One petabyte is 1,000 terabytes.
Uber’s announcement it’s buying Transplace for $2.25 billion shows the ride-hailing company is “leaning into Freight” after divesting noncore businesses, Cowen analyst John Blackledge wrote investors Friday. On Thursday, Uber said the purchase from TPG Capital will create “one of the leading logistics technology platforms, with one of the largest and most comprehensive managed transportation and logistics networks.” Uber Freight head Lior Ron said this brings together an “industry-first shipper-to-carrier platform that will transform shippers’ entire supply chains.” Transplace has access to over 30,000 carriers, and is expected to manage about $15 billion worth of freight this year, said Blackledge. Uber Freight would serve more customers at all levels of the freight industry and expand its presence into Mexico, said the company.
Global time spent watching content on Snap grew year over year, “while lapping the boost in engagement we saw at the onset" of COVID-19, CEO Evan Spiegel told a Q2 call Thursday. “We have also observed a year-over-year decrease in daily time spent” watching user-generated content created by friends, “even as the number of daily viewers of that content has grown,” he said. Snap attributes this partly to declining daily posting activity “coinciding with mobility restrictions and behaviors" due to the pandemic, "which reduces the amount of content created by friends,” he said. The stock closed 23.8% higher Friday at $77.97 after Snap significantly exceeded revenue and profit forecasts for the quarter.
Dolby.io is a “game changer” that expands Dolby's addressable market and creates a recurring revenue-based business, Colliers analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Thursday to preview the company’s July 29 quarterly earnings report. The platform also expands Dolby’s reach to applications, moving beyond the traditional focus on devices. Dolby's virtuous cycle is driving broader adoption of Vision and Atmos, “leading to more content supporting these formats which, in turn, drives more device adoption,” Frankel said. The analyst cited “significant advancements” for Dolby with Apple’s May announcement that it was rolling out Atmos Music for no additional charge to Apple Music subscribers and said, “We expect Spotify to follow suit” in the fall. Spotify didn’t comment. Wider deployment of Atmos Music will spur further adoption of Atmos in smart speakers and headphones, he said. Dolby got another shot in the arm from Comcast’s announcement (see 210714003) that X1 customers can experience the Tokyo Olympics in 4K Vision and Atmos, the first North American delivery of live sports in the two formats: “We suspect the number of live sporting events available in Vision/Atmos is likely to grow.” Colliers’ model calls for Q3 FY 2021 revenue of $286.9 million vs. management’s $260 million-$290 million.