Latest news with #MobileWorldCongress2025
Mint
08-05-2025
- Mint
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge gets official launch date—Here's when and what's new
South Korean tech giant Samsung has finally announced a launch date for its much-awaited Galaxy S25 Edge, which was showcased at the Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona. The firm is expected to launch the slimmest flagship from the brand. Samsung has announced in a release that the Galaxy S25 Edge will debut on 13 May at 9 AM KST (05:30 AM IST). The company suggested that the device will be the slimmest Galaxy S series member to date and will come equipped with several AI features. Moreover, it has been confirmed that the handset will house a 200MP primary rear camera, just like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. As per a popular leaker Roland Quandt, who writes for WinFuture, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is anticipated to sport an ultra-slim design, measuring 5.85mm in thickness and weighing 163g. The smartphone is expected to feature a premium construction, amalgamating a titanium frame with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back, and Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the front – materials that have promised enhanced durability. The smartphone is reportedly expected to feature a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 1440x3120 resolution and a refresh rate of 120Hz. Moreover, it is believed to boast an ultrasonic under-display fingerprint sensor integrated for security purposes. In terms of power, the flagship is rumored to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, paired with 12GB of RAM. For storage, the device could offer 256GB and 512GB variants. The device is believed to be equipped with a 3,900mAh battery, supporting wireless charging, and will carry an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. Quandt claims the Galaxy S25 Edge will start at €1,249 in Germany for the 256GB version, rising to €1,369 for the 512GB model. Although direct currency conversions may not reflect exact pricing in other regions, this positions the device between the Galaxy S25 Plus and the Galaxy S25 Ultra in Samsung's range. The handset is expected to launch in Titanium Jet Black, Titanium Icy Blue, and Titanium Silver finishes, with shipping in Germany reportedly slated for late May—should the mid-May announcement prove accurate.
Forbes
01-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Microsoft And Meta Stocks Surge On Q1 Earnings But Tariffs Could Still Bite
The Mobile World Congress 2025 (MWC) kicks off in Barcelona, Spain, on March 1, 2025, becoming the ... More global epicenter of technological innovation. Organized by the GSMA, the event showcases the latest innovations and advancements in mobile technology, telecommunications, and digital connectivity, with a strong focus on the development of 5G, 6G, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality. This edition also highlights digital sustainability and the industry's transformation towards a smarter and more connected future. (Photo by Charlie Perez/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Shares of Microsoft and Meta rose 9.25% and 5%, respectively, after they beat expectations and raised guidance. In so doing, they joined a handful of other companies – notably Netflix, ServiceNow, and SoFi – that appear to be immune from the tariff uncertainty affecting many other companies, as I noted in an April Forbes post. Should investors bet Microsoft and Meta will continue to power through? The answer appears unclear. While both companies have very high profit margins, their ability to beat investor expectations and raise guidance depends on two external forces: If companies find they are not getting sufficient payoff, both companies could be saddled with high capital expenditures and lower cloud demand. Under that dire scenario, Microsoft and Meta shares might drop later in the year. For the March-ending quarter, Microsoft and Meta exceeded expectations. Microsoft's revenue – up 13% to $70 billion – and earnings beat expectations for all the company's business segments. The firm's Azure cloud services unit exceeded expectations – reporting 35% revenue growth – which is four percentage points faster than the Wall Street consensus, according to the Wall Street Journal. Moreover, the software giant's projections for the June-ending quarter were also ahead of analysts' expectations. Microsoft's business segment revenue forecast of $73.7 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter was 2% ahead of Wall Street's projections, the Journal reported. Demand signals for Microsoft remain strong as companies view software as a way to boost productivity and grow faster. Software is 'the most valuable resource we have to fight any type of inflationary pressure or any type of growth pressure, where you need to do more with less,' Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told the Journal. 'Cloud and AI are the essential inputs for every business to expand output, reduce costs and accelerate growth,' he added. Microsoft's capital expenditures will rise in its next fiscal year – albeit more slowly than the 57% the company expects to report for the current year-ending June 2025, chief financial officer Amy Hood told investors. Meta also reported stronger-than-expected first quarter revenue and guided second-quarter revenue 'in line with Wall Street's expectations,' CNBC reported. Meta's first-quarter sales rose 16% to $42.31 billion – $890 million more than the London Stock Exchange Group consensus – while the company's net income rose 35% to $16.64 billion, noted CNBC. The midpoint of Meta's revenue forecast for the current quarter was $44 billion – inline with LSEG estimates. While Meta suffered a slowdown in Asian advertising revenue, 'Our business is also performing very well, and I think we're well positioned to navigate the macroeconomic uncertainty,' Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts on an earnings call on Wednesday. Meta increased its 2025 capital expenditures estimate to $68 billion – the midpoint of a range – about 10% more than the company's prior outlook, noted CNBC. 'This updated outlook reflects additional data center investments to support our artificial intelligence efforts as well as an increase in the expected cost of infrastructure hardware,' noted Meta's earnings release. Will tariffs slow the economy and the job market? That appears likely. How so? A decline in first quarter gross domestic product, according to Reuters, and widespread reports of companies cutting back on long-term investment due to uncertainty could result in further economic declines and rising unemployment as companies seek to align their costs to a drop in revenue. While the Q1 GDP slowdown was due to a surge in imports – up 41.3% rate, the largest rise since the third quarter of 2020 – that increase 'obliterated a modest rise in exports, resulting in a large trade gap that chopped off a record 4.83 percentage points from GDP,' noted Reuters. Q2 GDP could grow but end the year in decline. How so? "If the blowout on trade was the result of firms pre-buying imported inputs to beat the tariffs, the decay in the trade balance will reverse in second quarter," High Frequency Economics chief economist Carl Weinberg told Reuters. "That will generate some GDP growth. However, corrosive uncertainty and higher taxes -- tariffs are a tax on imports -- will drag GDP growth back into the red by the end of this year," Weinberg added. Slower GDP growth and higher unemployment could reduce consumer spending, decrease business investment, and potentially slow the adoption of new technologies. Unless businesses see a high payoff from cloud services and artificial intelligence, such spending could be viewed as expendable – which might result in slower growth for Microsoft's Azure, software, and PC business units. A slower U.S. economy could extend the Asian advertising slowdown highlighted in Meta's latest earnings report to the U.S. market. A slower economy could also reduce user engagement on social media platforms – potentially lowering Meta's virtual reality and metaverse revenue. Some $1 trillion is being invested in generative AI but will it payoff? As I noted in my Value Pyramid case study, most generative AI use cases help people overcome creator's block — such as the anxiety about writing an email. Fewer generative AI applications help improve the productivity of business functions such as customer service or coding. And few, if any, applications of AI chatbots enable companies to add new sources of revenue. Until leaders deploy AI chatbots to make life much better for many people, their $1 trillion investment could go up in smoke. Now companies are struggling to create a return on AI, according to the Wall Street Journal. As of last year, while 78% of companies said they used artificial intelligence in at least one function, they typically found cost savings less than 10% and revenue increases below 5%, according to McKinsey's March 2025 State of AI survey featured in a Journal report. Why have these efforts resulted in so little payoff? One answer is so few of them – a mere 1% -- have deployed their AI applications throughout the company, while 43% report that they are still in the pilot stage, McKinsey reported. I think scaling is not the main issue. The main one is whether generative AI is being used to solve an essential business problem – either to reduce non-value-added costs or better yet creating a new source of revenue, as I wrote in my book, Brain Rush. An accounting services firm 1-800Accountant says it has achieved a return on investment from using an AI customer service agent to provide high quality responses to customer inquiries. Since the firm's AI addresses 65% of customer inquiries, with 30% arranging a call with a human, the payoff from AI is clear, the Journal wrote. The firm's payoff comes from saving money on the cost of human agents. 'The ROI in this case was abundantly clear,' 1-800Accountant's chief technology officer Ryan Teeples told the Journal. Unless more companies can earn clear payoffs from generative AI, an economic slowdown could drive some companies to reduce their investment in the technology to preserve their core business. This could make it more difficult for Microsoft and Meta to keep beating and raising.
Forbes
21-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
What's Next For Ericsson's Stock?
BARCELONA, SPAIN - 2025/03/04: The logo of Ericsson is seen at the Mobile World Congress 2025 (MWC) ... More at the Fira de Barcelona. (Photo by Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) recently posted stronger-than-anticipated Q1 results, with revenue reaching SEK 55 billion, marking a 3% increase from the prior year. A significant driver was the 20% surge in sales across North America, which helped to balance out declines in other regions. The company also recorded a notable boost in profitability, as adjusted gross margins climbed to 48.5% from 42.7% a year earlier. This improvement was largely due to a higher mix of U.S. sales, which are considered more profitable. In terms of segments, Networks revenue grew by 6% to SEK 36 billion, Cloud Software and Services held steady at SEK 13 billion, and Enterprise sales declined marginally by 1% to SEK 6 billion. Adjusted core earnings, excluding restructuring costs, jumped 44% year-over-year to SEK 6.2 billion for the quarter. If you're seeking upside potential with less volatility than individual stocks, explore the High-Quality portfolio, which has outperformed the S&P 500 and delivered returns over 91% since inception. Looking ahead to Q2 2025, revenues from Networks and Cloud Software and Services are projected to follow typical seasonal patterns observed over the past three years. The Networks segment is expected to maintain strong gross margins in the 48%-50% range, backed by favorable product and geographic mix and cost savings. Amortization of intangible assets is estimated at around SEK -0.5 billion per quarter, with SEK -0.4 billion attributed primarily to the Enterprise business. Restructuring expenses are anticipated to stay elevated, reflecting the company's ongoing transformation initiatives. Tariff Impact: Ericsson stated that tariffs are reducing margins by roughly one percentage point. However, its diversified manufacturing footprint across the U.S., South America, Europe, and Asia provides a buffer. Although the company faced a 4% FX headwind, management expects normalized Q2 seasonality, supported by a high-margin product mix and retroactive IP payments. Still, tariff uncertainties and potential inventory buildups could apply further margin pressure if conditions worsen. Regional Trends: North America remains the leading source of growth, while Europe and some Asian regions are beginning to stabilize after a period of elevated activity. Investments in these regions are expected to moderate. Competitive dynamics with Chinese vendors appear balanced, with market share changes outside North America largely neutralizing each other. Network Modernization: Progress continues in rolling out programmable networks, and early API revenue is emerging in key areas. Additionally, 5G standalone deployment is projected to gain momentum as carriers expand their mid-band infrastructure. Despite broader market sell-offs related to tariffs, ERIC shares are up 3% year-to-date. This suggests that investors may view the stock as a defensive option amid current macroeconomic uncertainty. We estimate Ericsson's Valuation at $8 per share, which is approximately in line with its current trading levels. This forecast assumes a 15x forward price-to-earnings multiple on expected earnings of $0.54 per share. Learn more about the Trefis RV strategy, which has outperformed its all-cap benchmark (including the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000) and delivered solid investor returns. For a steadier investment option, check out the High Quality portfolio, which has outpaced the S&P and achieved returns over 91% since inception. Invest with Trefis Market Beating Portfolios | Rules-Based Wealth
Express Tribune
25-03-2025
- Automotive
- Express Tribune
'Just $70k, that's it': IShowSpeed rides 1,526-HP Chinese EV Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, says it's faster than a Lambo
YouTube sensation IShowSpeed sent fans into a frenzy after riding in the newly released $70,000 Xiaomi SU7 Ultra — a high-performance electric vehicle boasting a jaw-dropping 1,526 horsepower and an acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in just 1.92 seconds. The influencer, known for his high-energy antics, didn't hold back during the ride, which many fans said felt like a real-life Fast & Furious sequel. One user joked, 'Throw IShowSpeed in any situation, he is bound to fill the room with the energy of a tornado.' IShowSpeed rode in the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which costs $70K with 1,526 horsepower and can go 0-60 in 1.92 seconds 😳 — FearBuck (@FearedBuck) March 24, 2025 The internet quickly erupted with memes and sarcastic reactions over Xiaomi's unexpected leap from smartphones to supercars. 'Xiaomi SU7 Ultra sounds like a damn smart phone,' one fan quipped on X (formerly Twitter), while another said, 'I thought Xiaomi only made WiFis.' still wont beat my civic — Is this thing on 🎤 (@Sam_king_88) March 24, 2025 Xiaomi SU7 Ultra sounds like a damn smart phone XD — RoundTripGCR.5mbK (@marianzera) March 24, 2025 As disbelief over the price kicked in, a now-viral comment summed up the mood: 'Just 70K, that's it?' Others echoed the sentiment with posts like, '0-60 in 1.92 seconds? Blink and it's gone,' and 'When did Xiaomi start making cars? Thought it was just phones & tablets.' 0-60 in 1.92 seconds? Blink and it's gone. 👀 — Soulbound TV (@Soulbound_TV) March 24, 2025 Xiaomi makes car too?? — UNIVERSAL FEEDS (@UNIVERSE_FEEDS) March 24, 2025 "Just 70K that's it" — toufik (@tbk396) March 24, 2025 Some users were stunned by the brand crossover, asking: 'Why am I getting ads for Xiaomi cars now?' Another added, 'The CEO at the Xiaomi water company watching the sales skyrocket today,' mixing humor with real surprise at the company's growing reach. The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which debuted at Mobile World Congress 2025, is making headlines for more than just its power. With sleek aesthetics, vibrant color options, and a cabin full of tech, the car was clearly designed to turn heads — and with IShowSpeed in the driver's seat, it's done exactly that. 'It seems Xiaomi didn't just make this car to be driven,' another post read. 'They designed it to turn heads and launch IShowSpeed into his typical over-the-top/scream-on-top-of-his-voice reaction.'
Mid East Info
17-03-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
Global Telecom Leaders Address AI-Driven B2B Transformation at MWC 2025 - Middle East Business News and Information
GSMA Intelligence and Industry Representatives Jointly Release a White Paper to Accelerate Operator Transformation. Barcelona, Spain, The AI Beyond Boundaries Summit was successfully held during Mobile World Congress 2025, bringing together global telecom leaders to explore new B2B opportunities in the AI era. The summit focused on transforming traditional telecommunications companies (Telcos) into technology-driven companies (Techcos), highlighting the role of AI, 5G, big data, cloud computing, and advanced computing capabilities in driving innovation and efficiency across vertical industries. A key milestone of the summit was the joint release of the Carrier Techco Transformation White Paper by GSMA Intelligence and industry representatives. Titled 'Taking the Plunge: Moving to Tech-co to Win with AI in B2B,' the white paper was presented by Allen Tang, President of ICT Marketing & Solution Sales, Huawei Middle East and Central Asia, and Wang Yongde, General Manager of Huawei Carrier XtoB Solutions Development, in attendance to celebrate this significant step toward industry transformation. The white paper emphasizes that as enterprise demand for AI-driven computing services surges, telecom operators must undergo a 'triple transition' to remain competitive: Capability Upgrade: Deploy next-generation infrastructures such as AI factories and GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) to transform network resources into orchestrated intelligent assets. Service Innovation: Develop differentiated 5G-powered services in games, streaming media, and fintech, creating a closed-loop value chain of 'connection + computing power + algorithm.' Ecosystem Reconstruction: Leverage digital platforms to integrate enterprise services and 5G capabilities, shifting from being a 'connectivity provider' to an 'ecosystem enabler.' The white paper explores Huawei's 'Techco 1.0' benchmark model, highlighting a structured, three-layer transformation approach that helps telecom operators transform into techcos through 'business servitization,' 'service platformization,' and 'platform intelligentization.' These concepts provide telecom operators with core growth areas and new market entry points, all built upon advanced networks to drive business growth in the intelligent era. The paper showcases several success cases where telecom operators have already adopted AI-driven strategies to enhance operational efficiency and enterprise services: Intelligent O&M Center: AI-powered automation has improved network fault prediction accuracy by over 98%. Industry Enablement Platform: Digital twin solutions in manufacturing have boosted enterprise O&M efficiency by 40%. Computing Trading Market: AI-based GPU resource scheduling has reduced high-frequency transaction latency in financial markets to mere milliseconds. Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence, highlighted that Techco transformation is not just about technology upgrades but a fundamental shift in business strategy. 'To lead in the trillion-dollar enterprise AI market, carriers must adopt a platform-driven mindset, streamlining the entire value chain from demand insight to capability packaging and value realization.' The Carrier Techco Transformation White Paper is now available globally on the GSMA official website, offering insights, practical frameworks, case studies, and actionable toolkits for telecom operators navigating their AI-driven transformation journey.
