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P. 25
BUSINESS A25
Wednesday 28 October
Apple beats earns estimates, issues healthy forecast
BRANDON BAILEY spite concerns that China’s in net income for the quar- ed two days of sales for its consumers in developed
Associated Press economy is slowing. ter ended Sept. 26, up 30 newest iPhone models, the nations already have one.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — And in a closely watched percent from a year earlier, 6S and 6S Plus. That’s about While it remains the world’s
Defying skeptics on Wall indicator, Apple issued a while sales rose 22 percent what analysts expected. biggest corporation by
Street, Apple says it plans forecast for the upcoming to $51.5 billion. Earnings But its forecast for the stock-market value, Apple
to keep setting records for December quarter that amounted to $1.96 cents a December quarter may shares have been off about
selling new iPhones around suggests it will slightly sur- share. please investors more. 15 percent from a mid-July
the world. pass last year’s record of Analysts surveyed by Fact- Apple’s stock has been peak of $132.97.
The giant tech company 74.5 million iPhones sold Set expected Apple to re- dogged for months by iPhone sales skyrocketed
reported quarterly earnings during the crucial holiday port revenue of $50.9 billion worries that the company last year after Apple intro-
Tuesday that beat analysts’ season. and adjusted earnings of might have difficulty main- duced new models with
estimates, while forecast- “We think we can grow $1.89 a share. taining its torrid growth. bigger screens in Septem-
ing healthy iPhone sales iPhone (sales) during the Apple’s stock price was up Apple relies heavily on ber 2014.
during the upcoming holi- December quarter,” Chief almost 2 percent in after- iPhone sales, which contrib- Analysts have questioned
days. Apple also said sales Financial Officer Luca hours trading. ute more than two-thirds of whether the company can
nearly doubled in China, Maestri told The Associated Apple said it sold 48 million its revenue. Overall smart- duplicate that success with
Hong Kong and Taiwan Press. iPhones during the Septem- phone sales are slowing the latest iPhones intro-
during the last quarter, de- Apple reported $11.1 billion ber quarter, which includ- around the world, as most duced last month.q
How Comcast wants to meter heavy Internet users
TALI ARBEL data use for Nashville, Ten- A pedestrian walks past the Comcast building in Rockefeller Center, in New York. Comcast re-
AP Business Writer nessee, customers at 300 ported quarterly financial results on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015.
NEW YORK (AP) — Most GB; going over the limit
home Internet service pro- cost $10 for every 50 GB. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
viders offer unlimited data, The company launched a
but cable giant Comcast is similar plan in Tucson, Ari- data. (In Atlanta, it’s $35 The change comes as Revenue rose 8.3 percent
moving in the opposite di- zona, that October — you a month.) At this point, Comcast’s Internet custom- to $18.7 billion in the July-
rection. got 300 GB for a base plan, roughly 12 percent of ers grow and cable slips. In September period, while
It’s started charging heavy 600 GB if you signed up for Comcast territory is subject the third quarter, Comcast net income dropped 23
Internet users extra in more a faster and more expen- to “usage-based pricing,” said Tuesday, it lost 48,000 percent to $2 billion be-
parts of the country. sive connection. MoffettNathanson analyst TV customers while adding cause of a tax gain from
The reason? A small but By December 2013, Com- Craig Moffett estimates. 320,000 Internet customers. last year.q
growing number of con- cast had rolled out the
sumers are skipping cable Nashville system to Atlanta
subscriptions and doing and a handful of smaller
their TV-watching over the markets, many in the South.
Internet instead. So finding It also offered a slow Inter-
a way to charge for heavi- net plan of 3 megabits per
er Internet use could bol- second that gave you a $5
ster Comcast’s revenue as credit if you used 5GB or less
the ranks of its cable cus- each month, and charged
tomers shrink. you $1 for each gigabyte
Comcast actually used of data over 5 GB.
to impose a monthly 250 This month, Comcast add-
gigabyte data cap on its ed a tweak as it expanded
customers, but ended it in the cap into Miami, Fort
May 2012 to experiment Lauderdale and the Keys
with alternative ways of in Florida: Customers can
managing bandwidth. That now pay an additional
August, it capped monthly $30 a month for unlimited
Twitter 3Q report illustrates challenges for new CEO
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — permanent basis. extending the company’s Twitter’s stock plunged up new ways to make Twit-
Twitter’s losses are mount- Twitter ended the period uninterrupted history of $4.07, or 13 percent, to ter more appealing and
ing as the messaging ser- with a core audience of losses since Dorsey co- $27.27 in extended trading easier to use for people
vice struggles to expand its 307 million active users, an founded the service nearly after the report came out. who have been turned off
audience under recently increase of just 3 million a decade ago. Although it remains among by the service’s chronologi-
hired CEO Jack Dorsey. from June. The San Francisco compa- the Internet’s most popu- cal presentation of posts
The challenges facing Dors- That wasn’t much better ny has now accumulated lar and influential means and sometimes-confusing
ey came into sharper focus than a gain of 2 million us- losses of about $2 billion. of communications, Twit- quirks, such as its reliance
in a third-quarter report re- ers in the previous quarter, The evidence of Twitter’s ter has seen its user growth on hashtags.
leased Tuesday. a letdown that led to the ongoing malaise reversed slow down since its initial Twitter recently rolled out
The numbers covered the departure of Twitter’s previ- a recent rally in Twitter’s public offering of stock two one of its biggest changes
three months ending in ous CEO, Dick Costolo. stock, which came as in- years ago. in years with a new channel
September, Revenue climbed 58 per- vestors grew optimistic that Facebook and other rival that bundles video, photos
a stretch when Dorsey was cent from last year to $569 things would rapidly im- services have been faring and links to news stories to
serving as interim CEO be- million. prove under Dorsey’s lead- far better over that time. make it easier for people to
fore Twitter hired him on a Twitter still lost $132 million, ership. Dorsey has vowed to come find. q
