Stock: [AAPL]: Apple Inc

Mar 31, 2022 11:09 AM | Report Abuse

周三美股盘中，数家苹果金融服务合作伙伴股价大跌，有消息称苹果正在开发自己的内部金融服务技术和基础设施，以便更直接参与金融服务行业。

苹果现金转账服务提供商Green Dot Corp盘中一度重挫超10%，收盘下跌5.2%；苹果信用卡支付处理服务提供商CoreCard Corp下跌12.2%；苹果信用卡合作方高盛股价下跌1.2%。

周三，彭博援引知情人士报道称，苹果正在开发支付处理技术和工具，作为一项代号为“突围（Breakout）”计划的一部分，意在摆脱现有金融系统的束缚。

这项长期计划将包括支付处理、风险评估、欺诈分析、信用检查和其他客户服务功能。目前，该项目专注于苹果未来的金融项目，而不是当前的项目。第一个依赖于新系统的产品预计是苹果即将推出的“先买后付”服务。

苹果现有的金融服务产品包括Apple Card、点对点Apple Pay和Wallet应用。新计划将逐渐减少苹果在金融服务领域对外部合作伙伴的依赖，并且推动苹果更深入地进入金融服务领域。

不过，该消息并没有对苹果股价产生太大影响。周三苹果下跌0.7%，结束了连续11个交易日的涨势。

“沉睡的巨人”
这是迄今为止，苹果在金融领域最大的一次尝试。

近日苹果在金融服务领域动作频频，包括宣布将开始允许商家使用iPhone作为非接触式支付的接收设备，并且收购了英国金融信用评分初创公司Credit Kudos。

彭博分析指出，拓展金融服务能够帮助苹果提升用户对iPhone的粘性，并从利息和交易费中产生收入。此外，新计划还可能帮助苹果公司将未来的服务扩展到其他国家。

由于目前苹果的合作方CoreCard和Green Dot主要专注于美国市场，导致诸如苹果信用卡等服务仅能在美国使用，这限制了苹果在金融服务领域的增长能力。

对于苹果来说，深入拓展高壁垒的金融行业并不是一项简单的任务。

其他科技公司，包括Facebook的母公司Meta platform Inc.和Alphabet Inc.的谷歌，都曾进行过雄心勃勃的金融项目，包括Meta开发自己的数字货币，以及谷歌的银行账户计划。但这些项目进展都不算顺利。

但苹果在金融服务领域的扩张潜力不容小觑。

苹果在2014年推出的Apple Pay服务如今已能创造700亿美元的年收入，目前已有70%的商家接受Apple Pay。

更重要的是，苹果拥有海量数据和以及庞大且高度忠诚的用户群，很大一部分消费者拥有并喜爱苹果的产品和服务。从竞争的角度来看，苹果是一个“沉睡的巨人”。

编辑/irisz

Stock: [PATH]: Uipath Inc Cl A

Mar 31, 2022 11:01 AM | Report Abuse

Shares of Uipath (NYSE: ) are down nearly 15% in premarket trading Thursday after the company released a weaker-thanexpected Q1 revenue forecast.
The software maker reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 5c, well above the analyst consensus of 2.6c per share. Total revenue in the quarter
came in at $289.7 million.
For the first quarter, UiPath expects revenue in the range of $223 million to $225 million, missing the consensus estimates of $246.4
million. The company expects Q1 adjusted operating loss in the range of $25 million to $30 million.
"We have built a global business that serves customers in more than 115 countries, including countries across eastern Europe and
Russia," said the company's CEO Daniel Dines.
Looking ahead, we feel confident in our market-leading position in automation and prospects for future growth at scale but believe it is
prudent at this time to factor both our European exposure and go-to-market leadership transition into the financial outlook we are
providing this afternoon.
Credit Suisse analyst Phil Winslow believes PATH's guidance reflects significant conservatism. The analyst slashed the price target to
$57.50 from the prior $75.00.
To further frame the conservatism in terms of new vs. expansion business, FY2023 ARR guidance excluding headwinds would imply
$0 ARR contribution from new customers and DBNRR declining from 145% to ~134% "despite maintaining a best-in-class range vs.
153% exiting FY2020. We reiterate our thesis that the market opportunity in terms of global automatable wages is both sizable and
largely untapped, we believe that UiPath, with the only purpose-built, end-to-end hyperautomation platform, is leading the paradigm
shift toward the fully-automated enterprise," Winslow said in a client note.
Cowen analyst Bryan Bergin sees many moving parts in the PATH story after EPS.

Stock: [RIVN]: Rivian Automotive Inc Cl A

Mar 30, 2022 9:09 AM | Report Abuse

RBC analyst Joseph Spak has reflected positively on Rivian's (RIVN) production ramp efforts.

The analyst said he is more confident in his Q1 delivery forecasts of 2,100 units and sees scope for upside. RBCs data shows an improving production ramp, Spak said in a client note.

Earlier this month, Rivian suggested they produced 1,410 vehicles in 2022 but said that in recent weeks the average weekly production rate was practically doubled to Q421 numbers.

RBC estimates the weekly production of around 320 vehicles per week. This implies a Q122 production level of ~2.37k.

We note that Visible Alpha consensus 1Q22 deliveries is 1.5k (but based on only 7 inputs). We forecast 1Q22 production is closer to the 2.4k level but assume that ~1 week of production is in transit, Spak added.

The analyst also weighed in on the massive selloff in Rivian shares.

The bar has been reset, we continue to have faith in management, the product, the business plan and the go-to-market strategy. We also believe Rivian is thinking thoughtfully about the entire value chain and how that needs to evolve (down and upstream). The near-term risk is supply chain, but we believe management contemplated the risks in their revised outlook. We view current levels as an attractive entry point for long-term holders. Tactically, as shown above, we may start to get more positive data points. Hitting near-term expectations can lead investors to gain more confidence in outer-year potential. And the valuation looks relatively attractive with an interesting risk/reward, Spak added.

By Senad Karaahmetovic