Apple’s IPhone 15 Pro Manufacturing Issues; Instagram’s Threads Faces User Exodus

iOS 15 logo displayed on a phone screen and Apple logo in the background are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland. PHOTO BY JAKUB PORZYCKI/GETTY IMAGES 

Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models are facing manufacturing issues.

• The iPhone maker and its suppliers are struggling with a “new manufacturing process” that allows the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max to have larger screen displays without increasing the device size.
• The screens made by LG Display have failed reliability tests during production, causing delays and shortages.
• Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) Instagram-linked app Threads faces user exodus, with daily active users dropping to 23.6 million from a peak of 49 million in July.

Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google stock is trading higher Friday amid reports of co-founder Sergey Brin increasing his involvement in the tech giant’s artificial intelligence (AI) research, returning to the company’s Mountain View, California, offices three to four days a week.

• While Brin had been relatively hands-off after stepping down from an executive role at parent company Alphabet in 2019, he is now actively participating in meetings about AI and working closely with researchers developing Google’s long-awaited AI model, Gemini. The Gemini AI program aims to rival OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, which powers the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT.

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) chief Satya Nadella bagged $1 billion in compensation fueled by the stock surge amid the ChatGPT frenzy.

The FDA approved Emergent BioSolutions Inc’s (NYSE: EBS) anthrax vaccine for adults aged 18 through 65.

• The vaccine Cyfendus (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed, Adjuvanted), previously known as AV7909, is approved for post-exposure prophylaxis of disease following suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthracis when administered in conjunction with recommended antibacterial drugs.
• Barbie doll manufacturer Mattel Inc (NASDAQ: MAT) has been accused of stealth marketing in schools, according to an investigative piece in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, speaks with Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG, (not pictured) at a “fireside chat” to the media about a joint project between the two companies called the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud on February 27, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. Microsoft is working with several automakers to advance the carmakers’ digitalization. PHOTO BY SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES 

 

• American Express Co (NYSE: AXP) stock is trading lower after it reported Q2 revenue (net of interest expense) growth of 12% year-on-year to $15.05 billion, missing the consensus of $15.48 billion.
• Card Member spending hit another all-time high, growing 8% on an FX-adjusted basis, driven by double-digit U.S. Consumer and International Card Member spending growth. Total Network Volumes grew 8% Y/Y to $426.6 billion.
• American Express reaffirmed guidance for revenue growth of 15% – 17% (consensus of $61.57 billion) and EPS of $11.00 – $11.40 (consensus of $11.11).

 

 

Produced in association with Benzinga