Foxconn Back Under Lock Down? April 16, 2022

Link here. 

Zhengzhou city in China today (Friday, April 15, 2022, implemented lockdowns near Foxconn's main iPhone manufacturing facilities, which could ultimately impact Apple's supply chain. 

Some areas in the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone have been placed under quarantine effective immediately, and people in the area must stay in their homes and are not permitted to leave. The Airport Economy Zone is where Foxconn's largest ‌iPhone‌ assembly plant is located, and the lockdown comes after employees have been undergoing mandatory Covid testing.

Zheng Zhou (various spellings) is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of China. Wiki entry here. 

T -- WBD -- April 16, 2022

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The aftermath, link here. From Steven Fiorillo:

• WarnerMedia has finally been spun off and a new chapter starts for shareholders as we now have legacy shares of T and newly minted shares of WBD.
• Legacy T still presents an attractive income play, yielding over 5.5% with only 40% of its FCF allocated to the dividend.
• WBD represents a growth play with several analysts seeing more than 50% upside in shares.

Netflix Earning Scheduled For Early This Next Week -- April 16, 2022

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.  

Link here.

Netflix earnings preview: Netflix (NFLX) will report earnings on April 19 to expectations for revenue of $7.9B and EPS of $2.87. 

As usual, the bigger focus will be on global paid subscriber additions. The streaming giant guided for 2.5M net adds and the consensus forecast from analysts is for 2.6M. 

One of the key metrics from the report will be average revenue per user, which is seen rising 8% year-over-year to $11.75 for the quarter. 

The content slate is stronger for Netflix in Q32 (sic -- probably meant Q3), with notable releases including Ozark finale); Stranger Things Season 4 Part 1, Elite Season 5; Our Great National Parks; Russian Doll; and, a new season of Peaky Blinders.

Feature Story -- Part 2 -- April 16, 2022

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 

Part 1 this morning, here.

For investors:

• Chips: link here. Chips, semiconductor: link here.

Featured story over at The WSJ today.

Now, Part 2. Link here. 

The lede: 

Apple chipmaking partner TSMC says it will be ready to move its 3nm chip process to volume production in the second half of this year, putting it on track to supply Apple with the next-generation technology in 2023.

Reminder: INTC is still struggling with its 10 nm chip and recently turned to TSMC to make chips. 

More from the linked article:

TSMC is expected to initially process 30,000-35,000 wafers manufactured using 3nm process technology monthly, according to industry sources cited by DigiTimes.

A July 2021 report from Nikkei Asia claimed Apple will launch an iPad this year featuring a processor based on TSMC's 3nm process. The report from DigiTimes today also claims the process will first be used by Apple in iPads, although it doesn't say which model or when it would launch.

If true, it would be the second time in recent years that Apple has debuted new chip technology in an ‌iPad‌ before using it in its flagship smartphones. Apple first debuted the A14 Bionic chip, based on 5nm technology, in 2020's fourth-generation iPad Air.

Whether or not it goes down the same adoption route, Apple is expected to release the majority of its devices with 3nm chips fabricated by TSMC in 2023, including Macs with M3 chips and iPhone 15 models with A17 chips.

The move to a more advanced process typically results in improved performance and power efficiency, enabling faster speeds and longer battery life on future Macs and iPhones. According to TSMC, 3nm technology can increase processing performance by 10% to 15% compared to 5nm tech, while reducing power consumption by 25% to 30%.

So many story lines. 

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

Feature Story -- Part 1 -- April 16, 2022

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 

For investors:

• Chips: link here. Chips, semiconductor: link here.

Featured story over at The WSJ today. 

Over the twelve years or so of blogging, the few non-Bakken posts or non-Bakken themes of which I am most proud;

• the first, unquestionably was my call on Netflix;
• Devon, tied with Netflix;
  
• T (the jury is still out)
• the death of energy transition (the jury is still out)
• Apple chips, of which I am most proud to have called

I'm sure there are a few others; just don't remember them right now.

Last night I was blown away when I sent to The WSJ and saw this article, top and center of the on-line edition (linked above).

Apple Inc. had a problem. While its iPhones were flying off shelves, sales of Mac computers were stagnating. Customers weren’t thrilled with their design or performance.

Five years later, Mac sales are soaring. The turnaround is due to an unusual, yearslong effort to build one of the world’s most advanced chip-design operations inside the world’s best-known gadget maker.

Led by a onetime Intel Corp.engineer and IBM executive named Johny Srouji, Apple Corp. semiconductor division launched a risky project to replace the Intel processors that powered Apple laptops and desktops for 15 years with chips designed in-house. Those M1 chips, which are far more energy-efficient than Intel’s, enabled Macs to run much faster and generate less heat, laying the groundwork for a resurgence in Apple’s computer line. The company has now gained control over an essential component just as supply-chain disruptions cause disorder in the rest of the chip market.

Mr. Srouji’s chip operation, which already designed chips that power iPhones, has helped Apple improve the profitability of its smartphones and computers. It also has positioned Apple to move into potential future products such as a car or extended-reality headsets.

The fourth and final version of the M1 family—the M1 Ultra—debuted last month and is made for high-end Macs aimed at video and graphics professionals.

Other tech juggernauts are now trying to emulate Apple’s approach. Tesla Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. are working on their own silicon as they chase more powerful computing needs for specialized applications like driverless cars, data centers and virtual reality. Meanwhile, suppliers of chips like Intel are scrambling to alter their strategy in response, investing heavily so they can fabricate chips designed by others.

Deciding to fire a crucial supplier and bring its production in-house can be a wrenching crossroads for any company. Mr. Srouji’s success building the M1 chips was far from a certainty—especially as the coronavirus pandemic threatened the rollout in 2020.

So much more at the link.

This is Part 1. Part 2 is here.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.