Mobile, First Quarter Earnings | featured news

Quick Take Facebook will release its Q1 2013 earnings on May 1. We expect healthy advertising revenue growth driven by improved mobile monetization and a growing user base. Margins will shrink due to higher headcount related costs and infrastructure investments. We’ll also look for any color on the success of Graph Search, which could be one of the key features of Facebook going forward. Facebook will report its Q1 2013 earnings on May 1. We expect to see mobile advertising results improve driven by the company’s efforts to integrate ads into its mobile platform.

The flow of new customers to Sprint stopped in the latest quarter, the company reported Wednesday as it weighed the offers of two corporate suitors. Sprint Nextel Corp., the country's third-largest cellphone carrier, said it added a net of just 12,000 customers to its Sprint brand in the quarter, and it would have lost 252,000 if it wasn't for Nextel customers moving over now that their network is being shut down.

The evidence continues to mount that the mobile phone business is evolving into a two-horse race. It’s Apple, Samsung, and a host of desperate hangers on. In the first quarter, according to Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt, Apple accounted for about 80% of all profits in the mobile phone business, with Samsung accounting for the rest. The two companies combined, he figures, had 74% of mobile handset industry revenues.

While the company's new Lumia line of smartphones is gaining traction, those using the older Symbian operating system have lost their appeal.

Moody's ratings agency downgraded Nokia's debt grade to near junk status on Monday, citing a sharp decline in first-quarter cellphone sales that led to a 35 percent fall in revenue.

Motorola Mobility this afternoon posted better-than-expected Q1 results. For the quarter, the company reported revenue of $3 billion and a non-GAAP loss of 8 cents a share; the Street had expected $2.84 billion and a loss of 12 cents a share. The company said it sold 9.3 million mobile devices in the quarter, including 4.1 million smart phones, and more than 250,000 tablets. Revenues were up 22% from a year ago.