Good Evening! U.S. stocks fluctuated during a packed schedule of earnings reports from corporations including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.
The S&P 500 experienced a slight increase of 0.09%. The Dow Jones and the Nasdaq Composite experienced a decline and fell below the neutral level by 0.03% and 0.04%, respectively.
IT IS EARNING SEASON
Following the bell on Tuesday, Netflix (NFLX) disclosed its first-quarter earnings, which were a combination of positive and negative results. Consequently, the company’s shares experienced a decline of over 10% during after-hours trading.
- Revenue: $8.24 Billion vs. $8.18 Billion expected
- Earnings Per Share: $2.88 vs. $2.86 expected
- Subscribers: 1.75 Million vs. 2.3 Million expected
It is time to say goodbye… Netflix has extended its crackdown on VPN usage to encompass several countries, including Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain, in addition to the previously targeted test countries of Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. The company has announced its intention to implement a comprehensive rollout of this crackdown in the current quarter, which will include the United States.
Update on the Ad-supported tier. The company stated that it is enhancing its advertising experience by increasing the number of streams and improving the video quality in order to appeal to a wider audience. This decision was based on the positive performance and growth of its per-member advertising economics, particularly in the United States.
APPLE REACH WIDENS
With the collaboration between Apple Inc. and Goldman Sachs, they have now introduced a savings account that offers a substantial annual interest rate of 4.15% for depositing funds.
So how does one get an account? You can utilize the Wallet app on your iPhone. However, meeting the eligibility criteria requires possession of an Apple Card. Also, the account does not have a minimum deposit, but the maximum balance allowed is $250,000. Additionally, all funds deposited are protected by FDIC insurance.
Where does this stack up? Apple’s yield of 4.15% is noteworthy, however, it is entering a highly competitive market of online banks offering similar yields. Marcus by Goldman Sachs and Wealthfront’s cash account offer annual percentage yields of 3.9% and 4.3%, respectively. Several other accounts promote a yield of over 5% on deposited funds.
However, with the Apple ecosystem… Apple is relying on the credibility of its brand and the ease of creating an account on an iPhone to gain a competitive advantage.