Skullcandy, the lifestyle headphone company in which design is as important as performance (some would say more important), saw its stock skyrocket some 16% on Wednesday as word leaked out that the company’s founder was exploring the possibility of taking the company private in a buyout. This idea was revealed in a filing with securities regulators by Skullcandy founder Richard Alden.
Financial
Best Buy is Dying, Declares Major Investor Newsletter
In a report provocatively titled “Best Buy Isn’t Dead, but It Is Dying,” top investor service The Motley Fool (TMF) suggested that number one consumer electronics chain Best Buy’s “…best days are in the past.” Written by Rick Munarriz, the report dissects Best Buy’s last financial quarter report, as well as its future forecast.
See more on why The Motley Fool took this position on Best Buy… [Read more…] about Best Buy is Dying, Declares Major Investor Newsletter
Nortek Fiscal 2016 Q1 Results Improve, Except for AV
AVC Generates an Operating Loss on a 17.8% Decline in Sales
Nortek, Inc. (Nortek) released their results for the 2016 fiscal first quarter and generally showed broad improvement,with sales gains and profit improvements in most of their segments. But not in the Custom and Commercial Air segment which had a sales decline; and especially not in their AVC segment, which saw continued sales declines and generated a loss from operations.
See more on our Nortek 2016 Q1 report… [Read more…] about Nortek Fiscal 2016 Q1 Results Improve, Except for AV
B&W Acquired by EVA Automation
BREAKING NEWS
Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) announced this morning that they have been acquired by EVA Automation, a Silicon Valley-based technology company founded just two years ago by Gideon Yu. Yu is a well-known sports and technology executive that has launched EVA Automation with the expressed goal of “reimagining the audio/video experience by making products that will change how people interact and think about the home.”
He is also, apparently, a B&W enthusiast. See more… [Read more…] about B&W Acquired by EVA Automation
Sharp Considering Cutting Another 1,000 Jobs
Company Says Idea is Their Own, Not A Foxconn Requirement
Sharp Corp., the embattled Japanese manufacturer best known for LCD flat-panel televisions and soon to be division of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., (a Taiwanese company better known as Foxconn) is said to be strongly considering cutting another 1,000 jobs at the company as a result of continuing poor performance. This would be the third round of significant employment cuts in the last four years.
See more on Sharp’s continuing problems… [Read more…] about Sharp Considering Cutting Another 1,000 Jobs
Chaos in Cupertino: Apple’s First Quarterly Sales & Profit Decline in 13 Years
iPhone Sales Fall for the First Time in Its History
Cupertino, CA-based Apple, Inc. announced its fiscal first quarter results yesterday and it wasn’t a pretty picture. And although Wall Street acted with shock, no one should have been surprised as Apple had warned this would be a tough quarter back in January. Apple remains a huge and cash-rich company, but the deeper you dig into this latest report, the more obvious it becomes that there is a legitimate cause for concern.
See more on this tough quarter by the Tech’s largest company… [Read more…] about Chaos in Cupertino: Apple’s First Quarterly Sales & Profit Decline in 13 Years
LG’s Preliminary Q1 Results – Sales Down, Profits Up
LG Electronics, Inc. released preliminary financial results for their first quarter of the 2016 fiscal year earlier this month. The report was very brief, showing only top line revenues and operating profits. But as short as it is…it comes with a bit of a surprise.
See the results for LG as shown in their preliminary report… [Read more…] about LG’s Preliminary Q1 Results – Sales Down, Profits Up
Hitachi Spending Nearly $1B to Launch IoT Research Center in U.S.
Hitachi announced this week that it will invest ¥100 billion ($915 million) building a state-of-the-art research center in the United States to develop Internet of Things (IoT) products and technologies. A significant commitment by the company, with the project expected to take over three years to complete – the facility will be located in Santa Clara, California.
See more on this major R&D center in the U.S. by Hitachi… [Read more…] about Hitachi Spending Nearly $1B to Launch IoT Research Center in U.S.
On Saturday, Sharp Becomes Taiwanese
Savvy Negotiating by Gou Lands Him Sharp At a Discount
Hon Hai Presicion
Foxconn
The Boards of both Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (better known as Foxconn) and Sharp Corp. have approved the acquisition of 66% of the outstanding shares of Sharp by the Taiwanese OEM manufacturer of largely Apple, Inc. products. This day came largely as a result of some savvy negotiations and tactics from Foxconn’s CEO Terry Gou, who overcame tremendous odds to score this win.
Gou not only won Sharp, but he won it at a discount…see more… [Read more…] about On Saturday, Sharp Becomes Taiwanese
Gibson Brands Puts Assets Up For Sale
Just two weeks after we told you about Moody’s Investors Service downgrading Gibson Brands credit to junk status, the company has put two of their properties up for sale in an apparent effort to raise some much-needed cash. According to local reports, both properties contain warehouses and are located in redevelopment areas in downtown Nashville.
