This Week In Appleverse: $3.8B Lawsuit, EU Directives, And Upcoming Products
It was a rollercoaster week for Apple Inc. AAPL. From facing a hefty legal claim in the UK to receiving directives from the EU, the tech giant had its hands full. Amidst these challenges, Apple also revealed exciting plans for new tech products set to challenge industry competitors. Here’s a quick recap of the major stories that unfolded over the weekend.
Apple Faces $3.8B Legal Claim Over iCloud
Consumer group Which? has lodged a £3 billion ($3.81 billion) legal claim against Apple, alleging the company breached UK competition law with its iCloud service. The claim suggests that Apple has exploited its market dominance by directing customers towards its integrated iCloud service without presenting alternative cloud storage options. The case could result in compensation for approximately 40 million UK iPhone and iPad users.
EU Orders Apple to End Geo-Blocking Practices
The European Union has instructed Apple to cease geo-blocking on its media services. The European Commission identified several geo-blocking practices on Apple’s platforms, including the App Store, Apple Arcade, Music, iTunes Store, Books, and Podcasts. The Commission warned of potential enforcement actions by national regulators if Apple fails to address these issues.
See Also: Amazon Set To Introduce New AI Chips In December To Rival Jensen Huang’s AI Stalwart
Apple’s New AI Wall Tablet Set to Challenge Amazon and Google
Apple reportedly plans to unveil a new AI wall tablet, codenamed J490, to compete with Amazon.com Inc. AMZN and Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL Google in the smart home race. The device, expected to be announced as early as March, will serve as a home command center.
Apple’s Smart Camera Coming in 2026
Apple is reportedly planning to enter the smart home IP camera market in 2026, aiming for “tens of millions” of annual shipments, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The device will integrate with Apple products, with a goal of more than 10 million annual shipments.
Apple’s iOS 18.1 Update Adds ‘Inactivity Reboot’
Apple has introduced an automatic reboot feature for idle iPhones in its latest iOS 18.1 update to enhance device security. The new feature triggers an automatic reboot of an iPhone that has been idle for a certain period.
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XRP Sees Record Futures Bets Amid Price Surge Above $1.20
Regulatory clarity and upcoming technical changes are spurring growth in XRP-tracked futures, with open interest zooming to record highs on Saturday as prices spiked more than 20% over 24 hours.
XRP and U.S. dollar-denominated open interest are at record levels as of Sunday, with over 2 billion tokens (worth nearly $2 billion at current prices) in futures positions betting on further market volatility.
Long/short data shows that traders are slightly biased toward shorts, with 51% in bets against further price increases. (While the ratio should theoretically remain 50:50 at all times as there is always a short trade for each long trade, the bias gives an insight into how savvy traders are positioning over a very short-term period, such as 24 hours.)
Open Interest (OI) refers to the total number of outstanding derivative contracts not settled for an asset.
An increase in both OI and prices typically indicates that new money is entering the market — indicative of a bullish trend. On the other hand, if the price rises but OI falls, the rally might be driven by short covering rather than new buying, potentially signaling a weaker trend.
XRP prices zoomed above $1.20 in U.S. morning hours Saturday, taking weekly gains to over 87%, which set a three-year price high for the token.
Gains in XRP started late Thursday as 18 U.S. states filed to sue the SEC and commissioners, including chairman Gary Gensler, accusing them of unconstitutional overreach of the crypto industry.
The speculative optimism among traders is that a crypto-friendly Trump administration could benefit tokens linked to U.S.-based companies, such as Ripple Labs (related to XRP) and Uniswap (UNI), as the firms are more involved in boosting value for token holders as the regulatory headwinds appear to have cleared.
In addition, a key fundamental development that may boost future gains in XRP is the upcoming RLUSD stablecoin by Ripple Labs, a company closely related to the issuance of XRP.
Ripple plans to use RLUSD in its cross-border payments product, providing liquidity, facilitating faster and cheaper transactions, and potentially integrating with various decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols across multiple blockchains, as previously reported.
XRP has beaten a flat bitcoin (BTC) and a 2.7% gain in the broader crypto market tracked by the liquid CoinDesk 20 index (CD20) over the past 24 hours.
3 Growth Stocks Down 84%, 28%, and 97% to Buy Right Now
While the broad market may be uncomfortably near record highs right now, this isn’t the case for every stock. Some tickers not only didn’t get swept higher by the recent marketwide rally, but they are trading down from their peak prices. Fortunately, it’s likely for reasons that won’t last.
Here are three discounted growth stocks you might want to consider buying while they’re still trading at sale prices. Their long-term bullish cases are still well intact.
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If you’ve been keeping tabs on Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) of late then you likely know a budding rebound was upended at the end of last month. Although its third-quarter sales and its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were both up year over year and its top and bottom lines each topped expectations, guidance for the quarter now underway was disappointing. The company forecasted revenue of $465 million versus the analysts’ consensus forecast of $477 million, while Roku’s projected Q3 EBITDA of $30 million is short of analysts’ expectation of $36.2 million. The immediate post-earnings sell-off now leaves Roku shares 28% below their late-2023 high, and down 84% from their 2021 peak price.
However, the market is missing a couple of key things about this company’s business.
First, Roku is in the habit of topping estimates regardless of its guidance. In fact, not counting the unpredictable years of 2022 and 2023 — when the company was also logging regular losses by investing heavily in its future growth — Roku has reliably beat analysts’ consensus earnings estimates.
And the second (and much bigger) point many investors are underappreciating? The reach of Roku’s streaming ecosystem.
As of Pixalate’s most recent look, Roku accounts for 37% of North America’s connected television market. The next nearest noteworthy rival is Amazon‘s FireTV platform, but at only 15% market share it enjoys less than half of Roku’s domestic reach. Roku’s also doing very well in overseas markets like Latin America, where it’s made a concerted effort to establish itself.
Being the brand name behind the continent’s most popular streaming platform is only half the bullish argument though. Roku is also part of the streaming content landscape. Numbers from TV-ratings service Nielsen say The Roku Channel is more watched within the U.S. than Warner Bros. Discovery‘s HBO Max or Paramount‘s Paramount+. That’s not insignificant for Roku’s home-grown ad-supported streaming service.
GE Aerospace Stock: Buy, Sell, or Hold?
The General Electric of old, a sprawling conglomerate, is no more. Today the GE ticker is fastened to GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE), a company focused on just one industry, aerospace and defense.
This more focused company is a worthy place for the iconic GE ticker to land. But is GE Aerospace stock a buy, sell, or hold today?
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After the long-established General Electric spun off several businesses into their own entities and sold off the rest to others, GE Aerospace remained. The company’s core business is providing parts and services to the aerospace and defense sectors. It’s expected to be a very good niche, at least as far as Wall Street is concerned. Some industry watchers project that the consumer aviation industry will add as many as 45,000 new aircraft over the next two decades or so at a cost of $3.3 trillion. GE Aerospace is well-positioned to serve this growing industry and capture a good share of that market.
The company already has a $149 billion backlog of work to be done on the civilian side of its business. Add in another $18 billion from the defense side of the business and GE Aerospace’s total backlog is well over $150 billion. That’s a lot of work lined up to power the company’s revenues and earnings over the next few years.
GE Aerospace was able to boost earnings by 25% year over year in the third quarter of 2024, which is hard to complain about. Powering the bottom line of the income statement was a 6% increase in revenue and a 150-basis-point jump in the company’s profit margin. It looks very much like GE Aerospace is getting off on the right foot as it starts its stand-alone life (the final spinoff of noncore assets took place in April 2024). These are all solid reasons to consider buying the stock today.
The reasons to continue holding on to GE Aerospace are basically the same as the reasons you might want to buy it. The company looks like it is well-positioned to take advantage of the expected long-term growth in the aerospace sector. But there’s a caveat here. The stock price has roughly doubled in a year.
That’s a very big move over a very short period of time. That period includes a span where GE Aerospace and GE Verona (NYSE: GEV), the last company it spun off, were still one entity. Arguably, the stock should have been worth more at that point. Interestingly, GE Verona’s stock price has more than doubled since it was spun off in April. So, perhaps, the stock rallies here should be viewed with a bit of skepticism. There might be more emotion driving the price move than fact, even though GE Aerospace appears well-positioned to serve a growing market.
Is iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF a Millionaire Maker?
Bitcoin has soared an eye-popping 22,000% over the past decade, so it’s clear that many early adopters probably have become millionaires — the world’s biggest crypto launched back in 2009. And this top cryptocurrency continues to head higher these days, with a 100% increase so far this year, suggesting there may be a lot more to gain if you continue to hold on to Bitcoin for the long term.
This means it isn’t too late to get in on this popular cryptocurrency. But some investors may not be comfortable enough with cryptocurrency markets to invest directly in an asset like Bitcoin. Well, the good news is you don’t have to be a crypto expert — or even buy Bitcoin itself — to benefit from the cryptocurrency’s performance. This is thanks to a newish class of assets, approved by regulators earlier this year: spot bitcoin exchange-traded-funds (ETFs).
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The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ: IBIT) has been the most traded among rivals since its launch, showing its popularity among investors, and in recent days has attracted huge inflows. The asset holds Bitcoin and tracks the performance of this top cryptocurrency — and you only need about $50 to get in on it. Could this investment make you a millionaire? Let’s find out.
First, a little background about ETFs. These funds buy a particular asset or set of assets to replicate the performance of an asset, an industry, or an index — for instance, biotech stocks or the S&P 500. And they trade daily throughout trading sessions just like a stock. So, you can easily buy or sell them as you would do with a stock. The one difference that’s important to note is ETFs come with fees that cover the management of the fund — you’ll want to choose an ETF with fees that are under 1% so they don’t diminish your returns over time.
ETFs are a great way to get in on areas we may not be too familiar with, because the fund’s manager does the work of selecting the assets and making those purchases.
Now, let’s consider the iShares Bitcoin Trust. It comes with a fee of 0.25% so it meets our expense criteria. And it’s also important to note that the ETF is managed by BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager with more than $10 trillion in assets under management. BlackRock buys Bitcoin for the fund at spot prices, or current prices, so that it can accurately reflect the crypto’s performance.
This has proven to be the right strategy as the ETF has climbed in lockstep with the underlying asset, as you can see in the chart below.
Should You Buy Nio Stock While It's Below Its IPO Price?
Nio (NYSE: NIO), a Chinese maker of electric vehicles (EVs), went public at $6.26 per American depositary share just over six years ago. Its stock soared tenfold to a record high of $62.84 during the apex of the meme stock rally on Feb. 9, 2021, but it now trades at less than $5.
Like many other smaller EV companies, Nio struggled to ramp up its production, maintain its pricing power, and narrow its losses. China’s cooling economy and rising tariffs on its exported EVs exacerbated that pressure. But should contrarian investors buy Nio’s stock as it languishes below its IPO price?
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Nio produces a wide range of electric sedans and SUVs. Instead of relying on traditional chargers, Nio differentiates itself from its competitors with removable batteries that can be quickly swapped out at its battery swapping stations. Nio started delivering its first vehicles in 2018, and its annual deliveries soared 81% in 2019, 113% in 2020, and 109% to 91,429 vehicles in 2021. Its annual vehicle margin rose from negative 9.9% in 2019 to positive 20.1% in 2021 as it scaled up its business. Those robust growth rates propelled Nio’s stock to its all-time highs.
However, Nio’s annual deliveries only rose 34% in 2022 and 31% to 160,038 vehicles in 2023. It mainly blamed that slowdown on supply chain issues, weather-related disruptions, macro challenges, and a protracted price war in China’s EV market. Its vehicle margin sank to 9.5% in 2023 as it struggled to control its costs and retain its pricing power.
But in the first 10 months of 2024, Nio’s deliveries grew 35% year over year to 170,257 vehicles. That acceleration was driven by its robust sales of premium ET-series sedans, the rollout of its cheaper Onvo smart vehicles in China, and its gradual expansion in Europe.
For the full year, analysts expect Nio’s revenue to increase 26% to 70.3 billion yuan ($9.7 billion) as it narrows its net loss from 21.15 billion yuan to 19 billion yuan ($2.6 billion). For 2025, they expect Nio’s revenue to grow 39% to 97.4 billion yuan ($13.5 billion) as it narrows its net loss to 14 billion yuan ($1.9 billion).
Nio expects its near-term growth to be driven by steady demand for its premium vehicles (ET5T, ES6, EC6, ET7, ES7, and ES8) in China, the recent launch of Onvo’s L60 to challenge Tesla‘s Model Y in the domestic midsize crossover SUV market, and the rollout of its plug-in hybrid electric vehicle Firefly brand in select overseas markets in 2026.
Asset Managers Bet Grid Stocks Will Soar in Trump’s Anti-ESG Era
(Bloomberg) — After watching wind and solar stocks plummet in the hours after Donald Trump’s election victory, asset managers are zeroing in on a corner of the green transition they say will defy the president-elect’s anti-ESG agenda: the grid.
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One day after the election, analysts at TD Securities told clients that grids and the equipment needed to build them now represent one of “the best-positioned energy transition sub-sectors.”
It’s a call that’s already paying off. Since the Nov. 5 election, a key stock-market gauge of the equipment that goes into grids is up about 6%, while the broader S&P Global Clean Energy Index has lost roughly a tenth of its value. Suppliers in Asia and Europe that get sizable chunks of their revenue from the American market also have rallied, with Japan’s Hitachi Ltd. up more than 8% in the same period.
Money managers say investing in US power and grids is a way to dodge the fallout of tariffs that will hurt other sectors. And as Trump’s protectionist policies look set to force more manufacturing back into the US, American demand for energy is set to soar, adding to the investment case.
“We’re really bullish on US power demand,” says Ran Zhou, portfolio manager at New York-based hedge fund Electron Capital Partners LLC. “And associated with that is long-term carbon-free energy.”
Companies developing grid equipment that have seen their share prices rise since the Nov. 5 election include Eaton Corp., Rockwell Automation Inc. and Ametek Inc., which are all up more than 6%. Emerson Electric Co. has added more than 7%.
Companies tied to electrical grids were already outperforming other corners of the green sector well before the US election, with the NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index up 20% last year. But a bigger US-based manufacturing sector driven by Trump’s tariffs looks set to trigger a new growth wave for US grid stocks, according to asset managers interviewed by Bloomberg.
Trump has made clear he wants to rescind unspent funds from the Biden administration’s signature climate law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. And his pro-fossil fuel stance has fueled a panic among green investors that a Trump White House will stunt the development of renewable energy projects in the US.
3 Reasons to Buy Altria Stock Like There's No Tomorrow
Altria (NYSE: MO) is a stock that you are likely to either love or hate. There’s very little middle ground. And the reasons that people might find themselves on either side of the debate will likely center around some of the same core facts. Here’s a look at three key reasons that investors might like Altria… and why those same reasons might lead investors to avoid the stock.
Dividend investors are the most likely kind of investor to be attracted to Altria thanks to the stock’s huge 7.3% dividend yield. The average consumer staples company has a yield of just 2.6%, using the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT: XLP) as a proxy, while the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is only offering 1.2%. And Altria has been increasing its dividend regularly for years as well. From this perspective, there’s a lot to like.
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However, stocks don’t generally find themselves with well above average dividend yields for no reason. In Altria’s case the problem is pretty simple. It has been selling less and less of its main product, cigarettes, every year. The downtrend has been going on for a while and there’s no sign of the trend shifting in a more positive direction. In fact, the declines look like they may be speeding up. Cigarette volume fell 9.7% in 2022, 9.9% in 2023, and 10.6% through the first three quarters of 2024.
Yes, Altria is offering a high yield, but dividend investors need to recognize that the yield comes with high risks, too. With Altria the risk is that its most important business could be in a permanent state of decline.
That said, Altria’s position within the cigarette business is interesting. For starters, it only operates in North America. And it happens to control the most important cigarette brand in that market, Marlboro. The brand’s market share of the North American cigarette industry is a massive 41.7%. Within the premium segment in which it more directly competes, Marlboro has a 59.3% share. There’s no question that Altria is the market leader in the markets it serves, and that has material value. That includes the ability to be more aggressive with price increases, which have been used to offset the volume declines noted above.
There’s a flip side, however. Altria is almost the definition of a one-trick pony. It was spun off from Philip Morris International, which basically operates all of the same brands as Altria, but outside of North America. With just a single market, Altria simply doesn’t have as much diversification as it once had. That’s compounded by the fact that its business is really centered around one core brand, Marlboro. If there’s a problem with Marlboro in North America, like ongoing volume declines, Altria’s options are pretty limited when it comes to finding a solution.
Better AI Stock to Buy Today: Dell Technologies vs. Amazon
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the hottest trend on the market for the past couple of years, and it shows no signs of letting up. Unlike other trends that have stormed the markets in recent years, AI, specifically generative AI, has unlocked incredible value for users, both techies and laypeople.
Chipmaker Nvidia has gotten much of the attention — and stock gains to match. But other players are also reaping the benefits and have tons of potential. Consider Dell Technologies (NYSE: DELL) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). Which is the better AI stock to buy today?
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Keith Noonan: Dell has been posting strong growth thanks to big gains in the AI server market. While overall revenue rose 9% to $25 billion in its last reported quarter, revenue for its infrastructure solutions segment increased 38% to $11.6 billion. Within the segment, servers and networking revenue grew 80% to $7.7 billion. There’s likely plenty of growth still to come in the product category.
In addition to its own competitive strengths, Dell is poised to benefit from the missteps of one of its biggest competitors. Super Micro Computer (also known as Supermicro) had been the hottest player in the high-performance server market, but the company has suffered some seemingly self-inflicted setbacks.
Last month, Supermicro’s auditor stepped down and said it could no longer deal with the company because it couldn’t rely on management’s representations or the company’s financial statements. Supermicro had already delayed filing its annual 10-K report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before its auditor resigned, and it subsequently delayed the filing of its 10-Q report for the first quarter of its current fiscal year.
Supermicro’s accounting issues have had a major impact on the company’s reputation and played a big role in tanking its stock. Its share price is down more than 60% during the past month alone. The stumbles also seem likely to have a significant impact on the server specialist’s business performance and competitive positioning.
In response to the controversy and uncertainty, reports emerged that Nvidia had begun diverting orders that would have gone to Super Micro Computer to other companies. Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs) were the key hardware in Supermicro’s most advanced servers. Even more striking, Supermicro recently ranked as Nvidia’s third-largest customer.
Borderlands Mexico: Toyota pumping $1.45B into Mexico to boost Tacoma production
Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Toyota pumping $1.45B into Mexico to boost Tacoma production; Union Pacific to serve Volkswagen hub at Texas seaport; South Korean freight transporter to open subsidiary in Mexico; and Nefab expands in Arizona with warehousing and logistics facility.
Japanese automaker Toyota plans to strengthen its manufacturing presence in Mexico with a $1.45 billion investment.
The funding will increase Toyota’s production capacity in the country by expanding factories in the cities of Apaseo el Grande and Tijuana.
The investments will go toward production of Toyota’s newest generation of Tacoma pickup trucks, as well as produce a new line of Tacoma hybrid electric vehicles.
“[Toyota] is one of the companies with which we are working most closely and it has a big future in our country,” said Mexico’s economy minister, Marcelo Ebrard, in a video posted on X Nov. 8 announcing Toyota’s investment. “The government of President Claudia Sheinbaum is committed to providing certainty and confidence to investors, and promoting, through investment, development with well-being in the country. We will continue working as she has asked us to attract more investment and generate quality jobs.”
Toyota’s factory in Apaseo el Grande will receive $1.1 billion in investment and add 450 jobs. The plant currently employs 1,700 workers and produces about 100,000 Tacoma pickup trucks annually, which are exported to the United States.
Apaseo el Grande is in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato and is a major automotive production hub.
In Tijuana, Toyota is investing $336 million to expand Tacoma production, generating 1,200 jobs. The plant employs 2,000 workers and produces about 130,000 Tacomas annually for the U.S. market.
Tijuana is across the border from San Diego.
“At Toyota, we believe in Mexico and in the relevance that investments have for the economic, environmental and social development of the country,” Luis Lozano, president of Toyota Mexico, said in a news release. “With this announcement, Toyota has achieved an investment of more than $3 billion in Mexico, a country that is essential for the regional competitiveness of North America.”