Facebook Beats Second-Quarter Revenue Estimates, But Stock Falls On High Spending
Expectations were high for Facebook going into second-quarter results, and the social media giant's revenue didn't disappoint. However, an 82% jump in spending weighed on the stock. Facebook's strong mobile ad business helped the company beat estimates for revenue, after narrowly missing revenue forecasts in the first quarter. However, Facebook's stock fell about 3% in after-hours trading after closing up 1.8%, in reaction to the social network's bump in expenses.
- Chinese Hackers Undetected Inside United For A Year. Is World's 2nd Biggest Airline Out of Control?
From Desktop to Thumb top: A Sneak Glimpse of E-commerce in 2016
As history has taught us about media and technology in the past, with the introduction of any new technology, we’ll always have the initial hype and scare that life, as we know it will never be the same. But eventually, instead of disappearing into the shadows, the old medium will be forced to adapt to live simultaneously with new emerging technology
3 Things To Know About SolarCity's Financial Health
Executives at SolarCity, a bellwether of the solar retail business, discussed the company’s second-quarter earnings this afternoon, and here are three takeaways.
1. Show Me the Money: For the first time, SolarCity teases out the cash it’s been generating from the long-term power sales contracts it signs with customers, most of whom are homeowners. For the 12 months before the end of the second quarter, the company generated $114 million in cash from the contracts.Those contracts typically run 20 years and form the chief source of revenues for the California company. SolarCity makes money by first raiseing money to finance and install solar panels, and then to operate and maintain them. Home and business owners pay a monthly fee to use the solar electricity and avoid the upfront equipment and installation cost in the procesShowing how much cash it generates from the contracts helps the company delineate its financial growth, especially when the company has been selling notes backed by these contracts to finance more installations (SolarCity completed the country’s first securitization of rooftop solar assets).
2. Going After Small Businesses: Most of the company’s customers are homeowners with high FICO scores of over 700. The company also has installed solar panels for large commercial customers, such as big box retailers like WalMart. But it hasn’t been able to snag a high volume of small and medium business customers mainly because there’s a lack of financial metrics, like the FICO scores for homeowners, that allow SolarCity to assign credit scores and screen business customers. That problem means lining up each customer takes more time and the risk of defaults appeared great.SolarCity’s struggle to grow in the commercial segment isn’t unique, and its executives expressed it frustration last year when the company didn’t meet its commercial installation goals.A change in California law last year now allows business owners to pay for solar electricity through their property tax bills. Tying the solar lease payments to property tax assessments makes small business projects more financially attractive to investors who finance installations (“It automatically makes it an investment-grade credit,” said SolarCity’s CEO, Lyndon Rive, during the earnings call). The new setup also allows solar companies to use a standard contract for all small business customers who pay through their property bills. Now SolarCity plans to make use of its large sales and installation workforce to pursue small business owners. The company’s chief operating officer, Tanguy Serra, told analysts during the earnings call that, “We believe we’ve cracked the code of commercial growth … ending our flattish commercial megawatt deployment record.”But this new payment setup is only good in California. SolarCity hopes other states will follow California’s lead.
3. If the Federal Tax Credit Goes Away: A 30% federal investment tax credit is set to fall to 10% for commercial projects and zero for homeowners who pay cash for their solar panels at the end of 2016. While solar trade groups are lobbying Congress for a renewal, companies like SolarCity are trying to figure out how to blunt the impact of what has been a key driver for the solar market growth.Reducing the costs of sales and installation while lining up customers at a faster clip are key strategies for SolarCity and its competitors. If they are able to still deliver good returns to financial institutions that finance solar panel installations after the tax credit goes away, then they will more likely be able to raise more funds and grow their business. SolarCity’s CFO Brad Buss, told analysts that the company has set itself up to achieve that.
2. Going After Small Businesses: Most of the company’s customers are homeowners with high FICO scores of over 700. The company also has installed solar panels for large commercial customers, such as big box retailers like WalMart. But it hasn’t been able to snag a high volume of small and medium business customers mainly because there’s a lack of financial metrics, like the FICO scores for homeowners, that allow SolarCity to assign credit scores and screen business customers. That problem means lining up each customer takes more time and the risk of defaults appeared great.SolarCity’s struggle to grow in the commercial segment isn’t unique, and its executives expressed it frustration last year when the company didn’t meet its commercial installation goals.A change in California law last year now allows business owners to pay for solar electricity through their property tax bills. Tying the solar lease payments to property tax assessments makes small business projects more financially attractive to investors who finance installations (“It automatically makes it an investment-grade credit,” said SolarCity’s CEO, Lyndon Rive, during the earnings call). The new setup also allows solar companies to use a standard contract for all small business customers who pay through their property bills. Now SolarCity plans to make use of its large sales and installation workforce to pursue small business owners. The company’s chief operating officer, Tanguy Serra, told analysts during the earnings call that, “We believe we’ve cracked the code of commercial growth … ending our flattish commercial megawatt deployment record.”But this new payment setup is only good in California. SolarCity hopes other states will follow California’s lead.
3. If the Federal Tax Credit Goes Away: A 30% federal investment tax credit is set to fall to 10% for commercial projects and zero for homeowners who pay cash for their solar panels at the end of 2016. While solar trade groups are lobbying Congress for a renewal, companies like SolarCity are trying to figure out how to blunt the impact of what has been a key driver for the solar market growth.Reducing the costs of sales and installation while lining up customers at a faster clip are key strategies for SolarCity and its competitors. If they are able to still deliver good returns to financial institutions that finance solar panel installations after the tax credit goes away, then they will more likely be able to raise more funds and grow their business. SolarCity’s CFO Brad Buss, told analysts that the company has set itself up to achieve that.
Google Translate's 'Word Lens' Feature Now Supports 27 Languages
In January, Google integrated the “Word Lens” feature into the Google Translate mobile app with support for 7 languages. “Word Lens” translates large printed text when you place the camera in front of it, including street signs and consumer goods labels. “Word Lens” is activated by opening the Google Translate app, tapping on the camera icon and holding your device in front of the text. The text transforms live on your screen into the language that you want
In January, Google integrated the “Word Lens” feature into the Google Translate mobile app with support for 7 languages. “Word Lens” translates large printed text when you place the camera in front of it, including street signs and consumer goods labels. “Word Lens” is activated by opening the Google Translate app, tapping on the camera icon and holding your device in front of the text. The text transforms live on your screen into the language that you want
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