Tesla's Autopilot system is in the spotlight at a Miami trial over a student killed while stargazing
Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that Tesla's driver-assistance feature called Autopilot should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S sedan blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour in the April 2019 crash. Tesla lays the blame solely on the driver, who was reaching for a dropped cell phone.
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Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
The Most Important Thing for Apple Stock (AAPL) Investors to Watch in 2025
Key Points Apple is facing stronger competition from Chinese smartphone makers. The company's revenue and earnings have flattened since 2023. 10 stocks we like better than Apple › Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) used to be the most valuable company in the world. It used to be the undisputed bellwether of technology stocks. It used to be the dominant smartphone maker in the all-important China market. And it used to be the one name that you could count on to deliver outsize returns for your investment portfolio. None of that is true any longer. And while Apple is still one of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks and has a market capitalization of $3.2 trillion, it's not the growth driver of recent years. Apple is down 14% so far in 2025, far below the greater market. Among its Magnificent Seven peers, only Tesla is having a worse year. AAPL data by YCharts What will it take for Apple to turn things around? The stock is up 6% in the last month, giving investors some hope for the second half of 2025. Apple shareholders should be deeply concerned about Apple's falling market share in China, and that's the most important metric I'm watching for the rest of 2025, as it's critical to Apple's largest revenue stream and a market where Apple is showing vulnerability. Though it's not the only area of concern. Chinese smartphones are becoming a problem for Apple Apple entered the Chinese smartphone market in 2010 and gradually increased its market share, topping $70 billion a year in 2022 and 2023. Apple had a huge advantage in China as U.S. sanctions restricted a Chinese competitor, Huawei, from American technology, and Apple's smartphones were the most advanced in the market. But that began to change in the second half of 2023 as Huawei launched new 5G phones with locally made chips, much to the surprise of even analysts who cover the industry. There are also national subsidy programs in China that make smartphones more affordable, but they are only for phones priced below 6,000 renminbi ($838), which is below Apple's price point. Apple's market share in China fell from 21% in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 15% in the first quarter of 2025, while both Huawei and Xiaomi have market shares of 19%, according to Counterpoint Research. That trend continued into the second quarter, as Apple sales in Greater China dropped 2% on a year-over-year basis, even as sales in other geographic areas rose. Region Fiscal Q2 2025 Sales (ending March 29, 2025) Fiscal Q2 2024 Sales (ending March 30, 2024) Percent gain (loss) Americas $40.3 billion $37.8 billion 8% Europe $24.4 billion $21.1 billion 1% Greater China $16 billion $16.4 billion (2%) Japan $7.3 billion $6.2 billion 17% Other Asia-Pacific $7.3 billion $6.7 billion 8% Totals $95.3 billion $90.7 billion 5% Data source: Apple. So, Apple's weakness in China is having a significant impact on the company's revenue growth. Apple is profitable, but growth is weak Apple was a popular growth stock when the company was, well, growing. But its revenue and earnings growth has flatlined since 2023. AAPL Revenue (Annual) data by YCharts The company is still getting strong revenue growth from its lucrative Services segment, which includes the App store, Apple Music, its iCloud services, Apple Pay and Apple Card. Segment Fiscal Q2 2025 (ending March 29, 2025) Fiscal Q2 2024 (ending March 30, 2024) Percent gain (loss) iPhone $48.84 billion $45.96 billion 6.2% Mac $7.94 billion $7.45 billion 6.6% iPad $6.4 billion $5.55 billion 15.3% Wearables, Home, and Accessories $7.52 billion $7.91 billion (4.9%) Services $26.64 billion $23.86 billion 11.6% Totals $95.3 billion $90.7 billion 5% Data source: Apple. The Services segment is one of the best things about investing in Apple because the company doesn't have to invest the same type of research and development into Services as it does in creating new advancements to the iPhone. Companies that want to post a new application in the App Store of make music available through Apple simply pay it a cut. Apple's iPhone releases used to be closely watched because the company, in its heyday, made some revolutionary changes to smartphones. Things like the introduction to the App store, the launch of the Siri assistant, touchscreens, forward- and rear-facing cameras, and facial recognition encouraged people to trade in their iPhones for the latest model. But today's iPhones don't have the same kind of technological advancement, so people seem much more willing to hold on to iPhones for a longer period of time. Considering that Apple makes the lion's share of its money on iPhone sales, that is a problem. Tariffs are a huge concern Apple makes most of its products in China, which is locked in a trade war with the United States that doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon. In fact, President Donald Trump has threatened Apple with a 25% tariff if the company doesn't move its iPhone production to the U.S. Apple is in the process of moving some of its production to Vietnam and India, but that's a long process and it doesn't shield Apple from the bulk of the tariff threat. Apple is vulnerable on both ends of the trade war. In China, it's penalized for being a U.S. company and is battling for market share against companies that are making lower-cost products and taking advantage of government subsidies. In the U.S., its facing the specter of higher manufacturing and shipping costs, both which would either cut into the company's profit margins or force it to pass on costs to customers. Looking ahead for the rest of 2025 Apple reports its fiscal third-quarter earnings on July 31. Investors should be watching if sales in Greater China continue to decline and how that affects Apple's overall revenue and income growth. Apple won't be losing money -- it still churns out profits and a small dividend like clockwork -- but it's no longer the growth giant that it was in the past despite trading at nearly 28 times forward earnings. Until Apple solves its China problem or creates a new source of revenue, investors shouldn't expect the stock to outperform the market. Should you invest $1,000 in Apple right now? Before you buy stock in Apple, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Apple wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,628!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,063,471!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,041% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Will Starlink IPO Before SpaceX? What Investors Should Know.
Key Points Starlink operates as a subsidiary of SpaceX, and specializes in satellite internet services. There are multiple ways that SpaceX could take Starlink public while still maintaining majority control of the business. Industry estimates suggest that Starlink is SpaceX's largest source of revenue and is generating positive free cash flow, making now an interesting time to consider an IPO. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Be it in investing or life in general, people often want things that they can't have. When it comes to stocks, it's not uncommon for investors -- particularly retail investors -- to fawn over the prospects of owning equity in high-profile start-ups. Unfortunately, these types of investments are generally reserved for venture capital (VC) firms, private equity funds, or accredited investors. One of the most popular start-ups in the world is Tesla CEO Elon Musk's space exploration company, SpaceX. As of this writing, industry research suggests that SpaceX is the most valuable private technology company in the world -- having achieved a valuation of $350 billion earlier this year. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » In addition to rocket ships, SpaceX also provides satellite internet services through a subsidiary business, called Starlink. Over the last few years, Starlink's popularity has fueled speculation that it could potentially go public. But seeing as how Starlink operates within the broader SpaceX orbit, how would such a transaction even work? Let's dig into the mechanics around a potential Starlink initial public offering (IPO) and assess how and why such a deal could benefit SpaceX. SpaceX, Starlink, and retail investors: It's a complicated situation A concept that retail investors may not fully understand is that when you invest in a business -- especially one that is diversified -- you effectively gain a form of ownership in the various segments of the company. For example, if you're interested in autonomous vehicles and want to invest in Waymo, the easiest way to do that is by owning Alphabet stock. Waymo is a subsidiary of Alphabet, and so owning the stock provides investors with exposure to the company's entire ecosystem including Google, YouTube, Google Cloud, Waymo, and much more. Along the same lines, if SpaceX were to go public, investors would be able to buy stock through their brokerage account and have an ownership stake to the entire business (including exposure to Starlink). But what would a situation look like that features a completely separate initial public offering for Starlink? There are multiple different ways that SpaceX could structure such a deal. One option could be for SpaceX to partially spin off Starlink as its own legal entity and subsequently offer a certain percentage of the business through an IPO. Perhaps a more interesting structure would be for SpaceX to create a tracking stock just for the Starlink division. In such an event, investors could buy shares in stock that only tracks the performance of Starlink as opposed to the entire SpaceX operation. The broader point here is that taking Starlink public before SpaceX is entirely doable... but it's also complicated and requires some creative thinking as it pertains to deal structure. Taking this one step further, what would SpaceX's motivation be for taking Starlink public? Does a Starlink IPO even make sense for SpaceX? One benefit of taking Starlink public is that it would provide investors with some autonomy regarding how they want to allocate capital. In other words, by listing Starlink and SpaceX as separate public entities, investors have a choice over buying exposure into a lumpy aerospace and defense business (SpaceX) or a subscription-based, recurring revenue internet services company (Starlink). As a private company, SpaceX is not required to disclose its financial profile. With that said, sending rocket ships to space is a complex, time-consuming ambition. Moreover, space exploration is not exactly a linear type of business. What I mean by all of this is that SpaceX's core business doesn't necessarily have predictable revenue streams, but it requires hefty investments across research and development (R&D) and capital expenditures (capex) on an ongoing basis. According to a report published by Payload Space earlier this year, Starlink is believed to be the largest source of revenue within the entire SpaceX business. In addition, it's also suggested that the overwhelming majority of Starlink's revenue stems from recurring subscription services. With that in mind, Starlink's actual profitability profile is not entirely known. Reporting from Bloomberg has suggested that Starlink's profitability profile is not robust given the high costs of building and launching satellites. But on the other side of the equation, some would argue that Starlink's internet subscriptions help offset the maintenance costs affiliated with low-margin satellites. While the company's precise financial picture independent of SpaceX is not entirely known, I remain optimistic that a Starlink IPO would be well received. A Starlink IPO could represent a capital infusion for SpaceX while still allowing the company to retain control of Starlink from an ownership and governance perspective. In other words, SpaceX can leverage proceeds from a Starlink IPO to reinvest in the core space exploration business. This would permit for more aggressive investments in the core rocket business, ultimately helping SpaceX intensify the competitive landscape with the likes of Blue Origin or Rocket Lab. Given Starlink's reported explosive growth and SpaceX's ability to maintain control over the satellite business, I think Musk should seriously consider taking Starlink public sooner rather than later. Don't miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $449,961!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $40,603!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $636,628!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join Stock Advisor, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon. See the 3 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Former POWs in Russia channel their pain into rebuilding lives in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Since his release from a Russian prison in April, Stanislav Tarnavskyi has been in a hurry to build the life in Ukraine he dreamed about during three years of captivity. The 25-year-old has proposed to his girlfriend, bought an apartment and adopted a golden retriever. And that was just what he accomplished one week in July.
