Videogame publishers and their outlooks, a spinoff from IBM, and Alphabet shares reach new, and lofty heights.
There was an array of highlights in the tech sector this past week, and with consumers getting ready for Christmas and the holidays, it was no surprise that videogame companies had a lot to say.
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) said is third-quarter bookings more than doubled from a year ago, and it also raised its guidance for the final three months of the year. Take-Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) also said it's expecting a strong holiday season, as Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick touted the company's ability to succeed in the "metaverse".
Back to Sony for a minute...The company's music division is reportedly is discussions to buy Bruce Springsteen's music catalog for as much as $415 million.
There's a new company in the technology services sector, but it's not a rookie in the market. On Thursday, IBM (NYSE:IBM) completed its spinoff of Kyndryl Holdings (NYSE:KD) after more than a year of preparation.
Google parent company Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) could make history this week as it's on the brink of reaching $2 trillion in market cap. It almost hit that milestone on Friday when its shares climbed above $3,000 for the first time in the company's history.
Chinese Internet and tech companies had a busy week, as Barclays analyst Jiong Siao started coverage of eight of China's best-know tech players. Siao called Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) the best of the bunch and his "top pick" for the sector.
Several companies that were hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 said their businesses are continuing on the road to recovery.
Uber (NYSE:UBER) reported a 73% increase in its third-quarter revenue, and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said "All signals are pointing to green" for the ride-sharing leader.
Meanwhile, Uber's leading competitor, Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT), reported sizable gains in active riders and revenue per rider over the same period a year ago.
And Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) said it booked almost 80 million "nights and experiences" in its third quarter, a 29% increase from a year ago, as travelers took vacations that they put off last year.
As Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has just released the iPhone 13, and wants to make a splash with its new phone during the holidays, it would make sense that the company would do all it can to ensure products and supplies for the iPhone are plentiful. Which could explain why Apple has reportedly shifted production from the iPad to the iPhone 13 as both products use many of the same chips and other parts.
Graphics chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) had a strong week following upbeat comments from Wells Fargo about Nvidia's (NVDA) ability to take advantage of Facebook's (NASDAQ:FB) "metaverse" concept. Nvidia (NVDA) is also expected to gain attention next week at its GTC conference on Tuesday.