Apple's Bolstering the Economy With Slew of New Products Along with Other S&P Tech Stocks

In a Year of Tumultuous Change due to the Outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide, Apple Along with High-Performing S&P Tech Stocks, Bolsters the Economy

“Apple capped off a fiscal year defined by innovation in the face of adversity with a September quarter record, led by all-time records for Mac and Services. Despite the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, Apple is in the midst of our most prolific product introduction period ever, and the early response to all our new products, led by our first 5G-enabled iPhone lineup, has been tremendously positive. From remote learning to the home office, Apple products have been a window to the world for users as the pandemic continues, and our teams have met the needs of this moment with creativity, passion, and the kinds of big ideas that only Apple can deliver.”

— Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO

Data via Refinitiv; Graph by Julia Horowitz, CNN

On Thursday, Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2020 fourth quarter ended September 26, 2020 with a record September quarter revenue of $64.7 billion and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $0.73. Live streaming of Apple’s Q4 2020 financial results conference call is now available at apple.com/investor/earnings-call/ for two weeks. Consolidated financial reports can be viewed here.

Other notable S&P tech stocks keeping the economy going strong include Alphabet’s Google, Amazon, Netflix, Facebook and Microsoft.

Data via FactSet, Image via Financial Times, Mamta Badkar

Over the course of the last three months starting in September, Apple has been releasing a slew of new products with one event per month.

September’s Event brought a new Apple Watch SE, an eighth generation iPad, iPad Air and iOS 14.

October’s Event brought a brand new iPhone 12 with Pro and Max versions and a new HomePod Mini.

This month on November 10th, Apple is expected to release new products such as updated MacBook Pros and the debut of Apple Silicon Macs.

COVID-19 has brought on many challenges, but it has also brought opportunities from increased product delivery at home for Amazon, which has seen its revenue skyrocket to $96 billion in the past quarter - a new record - to an increased demand for Apple’s products as more people work from home.

Apple May Soon Develop Health-Tracking AirPods While Facing Stiff Competition

Health monitoring features may be coming to Air Pods but Apple faces some stiff competition from two other tech giants keen on getting a large share of the market, Amazon and Google. While Air Pods have been used on both Apple and Android devices, the devices are designed for iPhone use, enabling Siri use.

Based on the various patents Apple has applied for pertaining to ear bud features and functionality including biometric sensors, new health-tracking AirPods could be used for detecting health data. The AirPods could possibly also integrate with the Apple Watch. Industry analysts expect that Apple may create AirPods with wireless charging support and a Bluetooth specification upgrade in early 2019.

Both Amazon and Google are working on their own consumer devices with Goertek and Unitech to create their own AirPod-like earpieces. Both tech giants offer Apple stiff competition in the space given the dominance of their individual brands and Amazon’s powerful voice assistant service. Amazon and Google versions of AirPods are expected to ship in the second half of 2019, with 10 to 20 million units. AirPods are expected to ship in large numbers in 2019, with 55 million units, then up to 80 million by 2020, and as high as 110 million AirPods shipped by 2021.

Amazon Opens 2 New HQ on the East Coast: NYC and Arlington, VA

After almost a yearlong search with fierce competition among U.S. cities eager for the new business, Amazon settles on the Queens neighborhood in New York City and the city of Arlington, Virginia for its new HQ on the East Coast

It’s not every day that a tech giant builds a new headquarters. Amazon announced that the company was in search of a new American location to house a second HQ apart from its primary location in Seattle, Washington in 2017. Cities all over the country were eager to bring in Amazon to their states, thus ensuring new jobs and employment for their residents. City after city sent in their applications, with hefty promises and tax cuts to attract the e-commerce giant. Amazon had remained silent on the issue over the course of the year. It was only in the past week that Amazon finally revealed its front runners and surprising decision to choose two locations instead of one.

“We can recruit more top talent by being in two locations. These are fantastic cities that attract a lot of great talent.”

— Amazon

Apart from Seattle, Amazon’s second largest location up till now housed up to 3,100 employees. The two new headquarters, in Queens, New York and Arlington, Virginia will house up to 50,000 new employees. The new positions are lucrative for the local economies, giving a much needed boost to NYC in particular, as each job is listed at $150k and up. The states in turn have delivered huge tax benefits to Amazon with billion-dollar tax cuts.

Amazon has cited talent as being a top driver in the decision-making process. Both NYC and Virginia are home to many enterprising companies and tech talent, thus offering Amazon the opportunity of cross-pollination and exposure to ongoing ideas, initiatives and some of the country’s best known talent.

In addition to these two centers, Amazon has also announced the development of a new customer service center including transportation and logistics in Nashville, Tennessee. Given the company’s large annual production and profitability, Amazon is expected to have a significantly beneficial influence for local economies in terms of wages, education and local business supporting the tech giant’s enterprise.

Amazon had invested significant resources to the development of its primary headquarters in Seattle, WA, including the development of biospheres and eco-initiatives. Both residents and visitors alike are curious to know how the new HQ in Queens and Arlington will look and function.