Analysts reiterated their optimism over Facebook’s future after the social network reported first-quarter results, even as the shares opened down 1 percent Thursday in response to the earnings. Nearly 90 percent of Wall Street analysts have buy or overweight ratings on Facebook, according to FactSet. The company is one of the market’s best-performing names as its shares have rallied more than 30 percent this year through Wednesday versus the S&P 500’s 7 percent return. Below is a summary of what

Hulu’s business model gives it three ways to make money through streaming content, CEO Mike Hopkins told CNBC. Now that it’s adding a live TV service, it will have another revenue stream — something its competitors like Netflix and Amazon don’t have. “It’s the lifeblood of our company, but we’re excited to enter this [live TV] space as well.” Hulu with Live TV launched Wednesday at its Digital Content NewFront presentation in New York, an annual presentation to advertisers of upcoming programmin

On Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced plans for a $1 billion fund to expand advanced manufacturing jobs in the United States, but the company is no stranger to job creation. Apple has already created 2 million jobs in the U.S., from engineers to app developers to suppliers, Cook told “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer. Directly and indirectly, Apple has employed workers in all 50 states, boasting 80,000 company workers in areas like research and development, customer support, financial services an

Oracle continues to throw barbs at rival Salesforce, as the two companies compete to become the first software services company to reach $10 billion in cloud revenue. “If you look at our growth rate last quarter and just start doing the math …. we’re going to hit $10 billion relatively soon.” In February, Salesforce said it expects to achieve that goal in the next year with sales of $10.15 billion to $10.20 billion, “faster than any enterprise software company in history.” But Hurd said in Mar

A year ago, he started using VirZoom, a $400 stationary bike made for VR use. The bike comes with a VR game controller and is compatible with a wide range of VR devices. Customers then download the free VirZoom Arcade app, which contains a bunch of games specifically designed for the bike. You’re thinking, this is fun. Your body thinks you should be moving forward ” said Brierly “If your body is not moving but you’re moving in your mind’s eye, it can make people nauseous.”

Netflix stock hit an all-time high Thursday, even as companies like Twitter, Hulu and Facebook to announce plans to expand online video. Netflix didn’t have any new announcements, and though its beat expectations during its earnings report on April 17, it added fewer subscribers than expected. Reports earlier in April from GfK showed 8 percent of the U.S. population no longer subscribe to pay TV services, while another 9 percent never subscribed at all. “Hard to see a better derivative on cord c

If you’re among the dedicated few still attached to your BlackBerry, then listen up: We’ve been testing the BlackBerry KeyOne Android smartphone for the last few days, and we think you’re going to like it. One thing you should know: BlackBerry Limited doesn’t build its own smartphones anymore. Instead, it licenses its name and hardware patents (including the beloved keyboard) to TCL Communications and provides the software — Android with a BlackBerry skin — while TCL Communications manufactures

Tesla’s market value is $51 billion through Wednesday, according to FactSet. Apple’s current market value is $772 billion after a 27 percent rally this year. Many investors and auto industry experts are perplexed with Tesla’s worth, which is just below General Motors’ market value. AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson said in April he finds Tesla’s valuation “inexplicable” and it was “either one of the great Ponzi schemes of all time or it’s gonna work out.” If Tesla is going to one day be as big or bigg

If there was any doubt that Silicon Valley hates limitations on hiring skilled immigrants to work in the U.S., Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt made it clear. “The stupidest policy in the entire American political system was the limit on H-1B visas,” Schmidt said while speaking at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab on Wednesday. Schmidt also said that despite the rapid pace of technological advancement he isn’t worried about artificial intelligence taking jobs. Still,

Don’t worry if you accidentally opened that Google Doc that was floating around yesterday. If you have no idea what we’re talking about, here’s a quick brief: On Wednesday, a worm started spreading around Gmail that suggested to users a friend or colleague was trying to share a Google Doc. It was a classic phishing scam wherein an attacker tries to gain your information by tricking you into opening something. Since it’s not quite clear what sort of information that phishing attack could have gra

Microsoft has exited the smartphone business for the time being, and at least one exec there says it’s no big deal. “The phone is already dead,” Alex Kipman, the inventor of Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality glasses, told Bloomberg in an interview. “People just haven’t realized.” The statement might come as a surprise to Apple, which announced on Tuesday that it had sold more than 50 million iPhones in the first quarter of 2017 — a number that actually disappointed investors, who were expe

Robert Downey Jr. knows a hit when he sees one. “We’re like Comic-Con in a box,” says Davis, alluding to the annual San Diego convention of geeks and gamers. Davis and co-founder Matthew Arevalo began Loot Crate in 2012 with $25,000 in money from angels. The serial entrepreneurs met at a 2012 Hackathon Convention in Los Angeles. At the outset, they packed boxes in Davis’ father’s house and enlisted family when the demand got heavy.

Spring cleaning is child’s play compared with the projects many homeowners are planning. More than half of homeowners plan to continue or start remodeling this spring, according to a new survey from design and remodeling inspiration site Houzz. The site polled 95,920 of its users (who, arguably, are more inclined than the general population to undertake such projects). Project costs can vary widely based on factors including the room size, scope of the project, local prices for materials and whe

Yum Brands reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit due to strong global same-store sales growth, driven by robust demand at its Taco Bell restaurants and lower costs at its KFC chain. Sales rose 8 percent at Taco Bell restaurants open for more than a year, topping the 3.7 percent growth expected by analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix. While KFC’s same-store sales growth of 2 percent missed analysts’ estimates, its operating profit jumped 12 percent on lower costs and as it

A much-delayed U.S. rule requiring restaurants and retailers to clearly display food calorie counts has been pushed back again, and could be rewritten or scrapped as the Trump administration rebuffs Obama-era regulations. The rule was designed to help U.S. consumers, who eat and drink about one-third of their calories away from home, battle the bulge. It is part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as Obamacare, which the Trump administration has vowed to repeal and replace in a bid to

Around two thirds of Canada’s electricity in 2015 was generated using renewable sources, with hydropower accounting for roughly 60 percent, according to a report from the country’s National Energy Board (NEB). The report, released on Tuesday, said that electricity derived from hydropower in 2015 had typically come from large facilities with reservoirs. According to the International Energy Agency, hydropower is “the largest single renewable electricity source today.” Solar was seen as being a “r

Some of the largest telecom companies in the world really want their hands on Straight Path Communications. The latest surge came after Straight Path said it received a “superior proposal” from a mystery bidder, topping an offer already on the table from AT&T. Shares of Straight Path closed Tuesday slightly under $126. AT&T now has three days to negotiate its previous offer or outbid what’s on the table, Straight Path said. The wireless spectrum held by Straight Path is expected to play a large

For years, we’ve heard that millennials were afraid of the stock market because of the Great Recession. The market rally since the election may have changed some minds. Nearly one-third of investors age 18 to 34 recently said they plan to move more of their retirement savings into stocks, according to a new survey from MassMutual. While most investors — 60 percent — plan to stay the course with their 401(k)s and other workplace retirement plans, millennials are the most open to changing their po

U.S. equities opened lower on Wednesday as weaker-than-expected iPhone sales from Apple knocked off the Nasdaq composite from a record high. The tech giant said iPhone shipments totaled 50.8 million in the previous quarter, below the expected number of 52 million. That said, the company reported a mixed quarter overall, with adjusted earnings per share topping analyst expectations while revenue fell just short. We continue to believe Apple remains among the most underappreciated stocks in the wo

Sprint said on Wednesday that it narrowed its quarterly loss as the No. 4 U.S. wireless carrier cut costs as part of its turnaround plan and added phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill. Sprint said it added 42,000 phone subscribers who pay a monthly bill in the quarter. The company is likely to face questions from industry analysts over merger prospects on its post-earnings conference call. Now that the quiet period mandated by the FCC is over, it can have such discussions.