Apple Sues Pegasus as Zoom Crashes.
Apple has moved to sue NSO Group, the Israeli based tech firm that has hacked its devices on behalf of governments.
Hey Hisa fan,
It’s midweek, time for a roller. Apple Inc is going after the hacker, affirming its focus on user security. Zoom released its fiscal third-quarter results, and the Biden administration released a few million barrels from the U.S Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a bid to ease oil prices.
Apple Vs Pegasus
Apple Inc., the world’s largest company by market capitalization on Monday moved to sue NSO Group, an Israeli based tech company that sells software to governments and law enforcement that enables them to hack into iPhones and read the data on them, including messages and other communications.
In the lawsuit, Apple is seeking a permanent injunction to ban NSO Group from using Apple software, services or devices. It’s also seeking damages over $75,000.
Pegasus’ users can remotely surveil the iPhone owner’s activities, collect emails, text messages and browsing history, and access the device’s microphone and camera, Apple alleged in its lawsuit.
The U.S. Commerce Department earlier in the month blacklisted NSO Group, prohibiting it from using American technology in its operations. Meta (formerly Facebook) is also separately suing NSO Group, alleging it helped hack users in its Whatsapp subsidiary.
Apple shares did not react to the news, however, shares continued to rally after last week, Bloomberg confirmed in a report that the tech giant was "pushing to accelerate development of its electric car" and "refocusing the project around full self-driving capabilities."
Zoom Video Comunications Inc., [NASDAQ: ZM]
Zoom’s 3Q21 earnings were up 35% year on year, slower however as compared to the revenue growth of 54% in 3Q2020 and the slowest since 2018. A lot were in view for zoom including the announcement that the company will be launching its own cloud services after the proposed Five9 acquisition flopped earlier this year.
GAAP income from operations for the Q3 for the company posted a 27.7% jump to $290.9 million.
Total cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, excluding restricted cash for 3Q21 stood at $5.4 billion.
Net cash from operating activities was down 4.1% to USD 394.6 million from the $411.5 million in 3Q2020.
Zoom top customer spending was at $100k; over 2,500 customers are spending more than $100,000 a year, a 94% jump from the same period a year earlier.
Net Income and Diluted Net Income Per Share was $1.11 per share up from $0.99 per share over a similar period a year earlier.
Zoom shares however declined after the company issued guidance for its full fiscal year 2022, warning investors of a slowdown in earnings. Zoom expects total revenue to range between $4.079 billion and $4.081 billion, a modest 19% growth.
Zoom shares were down 14.71% on Tuesday, posting current market sentiments, also dragged by the Nasdaq who’s major components including Tesla and Microsoft all dragged down.
So, will Zoom continue the decline? That’s a one to watch.
What Other Cowries are We collecting?
Safaricom Plc [NSE: SCOM] - The largest company by market cap on the NSE has been on the decline over the past two weeks. Safaricom’s share which last touched Kes 40.00 per share a week ago is currently trading between Kes 36.75 and Kes 37.95 per share.
NCBA Group Plc [NSE: NCBA] - NCBA posted a 158.99% year on year growth in profit after tax at Kes 6.53 billion. Share prices have been fairly flat. Just like other banks, we are watching if this will be a mover in markets.
Retail Stocks [Wallmart, Costco, Dollar Tree] - The Thanksgiving holiday definitely comes in with a frenzy of shopping, with the retail sector having have faced a supply chain crisis. What effect will the festive season have on the retail stocks?
Note: U.S Stock markets will be closed tomorrow: Thursday, November 25 for observation of the Thanksgiving holiday. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Hisa!