Tech Companies Exceed Expectations in 1Q21, 2Q21
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Tech Companies Exceed Expectations in 1Q21, 2Q21

Photo by:   M.B.M, Unsplash
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By MBN Staff | MBN staff - Thu, 04/29/2021 - 16:00

It is quarterly reporting season. 

It is no surprise that the revenues of most tech companies, especially the big ones, have been driven by the pandemic. In their latest quarterly reports, companies showed that this trend continued. Among the latest to demonstrate this is Apple, which beat analysts' expectations in its 2Q21 by reporting net sales of US$89.5 billion, 53.6 percent higher than the previous period. Sales of the iPhone grew by 65.5 percent to US$47.9 billion, Mac sales rose 70 percent to US$9.1 billion and iPad sales increased 78.8 percent to US$7.8 billion. In its report, the California-based company said the iPhone 12, which recently received the purple color in the family, was eagerly received as more customers migrate to 5G models. 

The good uptake of its M1 chip and the boost in long-distance education have been key factors driving Mac and iPad sales. “Both of those things happening at once really supercharged the Mac sales. The last three quarters on Mac have been the strongest three quarters ever in the history of the Mac,” CEO of Apple Tim Cook told Reuters this week.

Facebook also beat market expectations for quarterly revenue. Its total revenue, which primarily consists of ad sales, amounted to US$26.1 billion in 1Q21, beating analysts’ average estimate of US$23.6 billion, according to Refinitiv. Monthly active users of the platform run by Mark Zuckerberg also increased by 10 percent due to the pandemic. “We had a strong quarter as we helped people stay connected and businesses grow,” said Zuckerberg in the report. “We will continue to invest aggressively to deliver new and meaningful experiences for years to come, including in newer areas like augmented and virtual reality, commerce and the creator economy.”

Microsoft reported revenues of US$41.7 billion, also beating analysts' estimates of US$41.03 billion, according to Refinitiv. Its Azure public cloud business was a major contributor to this result as it grew by 50 percent, faster than the 46 percent growth analysts had expected, according to CNBC. 

Another industry player that also reported an increase in revenues but suffered under pressure from Amazon and Apple music in 1Q21 was Spotify. During that period, the Sweden company reported revenues of US$2.6 billion, which represents an increase of 16 percent against the same period last year. This figure, however, is 1 percent less from its growth in 4Q20. In user metrics, the company added 3 million premium subscribers. Earlier this week, Spotify introduced subscription-based podcasts and Facebook app integration, allowing users to listen to music and podcasts on Mark Zuckerberg’s social network without leaving the app.

More news below:

  • In today's challenging cybersecurity environment, Tenable is betting on an all-in-one risk-based vulnerability management platform that “is designed to scale as enterprise computing requirements change. This solution combines industry-leading products and allows our customers to view all their assets and vulnerabilities, as well as metrics on key threats on a single dashboard”, Luis Fornelli, Country Manager of Tenable, told MBN this week. Read the full interview here.
  • Mexico won second place in the attraction of resources for fintech companies in Latin America, according to the latest LatamFintech Hub report. The association announced that Mexican fintech companies obtained a total investment of US$567 million, almost 20 percent of what was collected by all fintech companies in Latin America. Brazil came in first place followed by Mexico, Uruguay, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Panama and Paraguay.
  • Finvero, a fintech that offers credit and financial solutions to businesses up to MX$10 million (US$500,000), aims at providing SMEs with liquidity through credit at one of the lowest rates in the market. In this interview with MBN, its CEO, Mario Hernández, talks with us about how democratizing access to credit can help to close the financial gap in Mexico.
  • Although data is considered the ‘fuel’ of the future, in fact it already is today’s main engine. How can a company exploit its own data? In his article for MBN, Mario Gamboa, Founder and CEO of Intelimétrica, explains why centralizing information, generating valuable data and even being willing to make mistakes and learn from them is part of a successful strategy to unlock the potential of data.
  • The pandemic has given telemedicine a boost with more patients and doctors looking into this option. Doctoralia, one of the big players in this field, has registered more than 3 million appointments from April 2020 until January, when it started offering online appointments. “Every month, about 4.5 million people book an appointment and they return for another one. This is reflected in an increased number of prescriptions. We have delivered over 22,000 electronic prescriptions, which shows how the environment is evolving,” told MBN this week Ricardo Moguel, Country Manager of Doctoralia. Get the full insight here.
Photo by:   M.B.M, Unsplash

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