Technology Select Sector SPDR® ETF

A lower unemployment rate is one of the key objectives of the Fed. In 2017, the unemployment rate fell, reaching 4.1% in its latest November reading.

The inability of employers to find suitable workers is leading to wage increases, especially in the professional, technical (XLK), and production (XLI) sectors.

As per the latest JOLTS report, about 3.2 million Americans quit their jobs voluntarily last month. This is an increase of 0.1 million from the previous month.

In the first half of fiscal 2018 or fiscal 1H18, Nvidia distributed $166 million in dividends and repurchased shares worth $758 million.

The big technology companies (XLK) are expected to continue dominating the markets (SPY) (QQQ) thanks to their size, innovations, acquisitions, and investments in 2017.

According to the latest Commitment of Traders report, large speculators have increased their net bullish positions in the S&P 500 futures.

Apple (IYW) (XLK) is not only the first US technology company but also the first and largest US corporation to issue green bonds.

In August 2015, FIS acquired SunGard for $9.1 billion, its largest acquisition to date. SunGard is expected to expand FIS’s top line by nearly 50%.

Payment processors are now seeing improved performances on increased spending, new technologies, expansion into global markets, and the stable US dollar.

The relationship between the US dollar and US stock indexes can be best said to be complex. It’s mostly a change in the greenback that impacts stocks.

The cyclical sector has a sizeable correlation with the different phases of the business cycle.

On Friday, technology (XLK) heavyweight Cisco (CSCO) fell 5% on news of the United Kingdom leaving the European (FEP)(EFA) Union.

FIS plans to build stronger client relationships through multidimensional offerings. Its SunGard acquisition should also help expand client relationships.

In 2015, FIS reorganized and began reporting its results under three segments. But after the SunGard acquisition, another restructuring process is underway.

As of April 6, 2016, Microsoft was the largest software player by market capitalization on a global scale. It was followed by Oracle (ORCL).

Apple (AAPL) has repeatedly stated that it has a very satisfied and loyal customer base. In fiscal 1Q16, Apple experienced a high switch rate from Android (GOOG) to iPhone.

Revenues from the financial services segment of the India-based (EPI) Infosys (INFY) were $663 million in fiscal 3Q16. This is 27.5% of total revenues.

In an annual study conducted in 2013 by Brand Finance, Ferrari stood as the world’s most popular and instantly recognizable global brand.

Nvidia’s revenue depends on design wins. The company maintains strong relationships with customers to assist them in defining their new products.

In 3Q15, the selling, general, and administrative expenses for Accenture rose to $1.41 billion from $1.38 billion in 3Q14 and $1.36 billion in 3Q13.

Macroeconomic factors like the Greek debt crisis, the declining Chinese stock market, and global growth issues have made tech stocks not so attractive.

In this series, we’ll analyze the YTD performance of firms in the Technology, Hardware, and Storage subsector and that are a part of the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK).

On August 20, 2015, Oracle (ORCL) announced the acquisition of Maxymiser. The financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed.

HP is considering the sale of its TippingPoint business. Some private equity firms have shown interest in TippingPoint, valuing the business in the range of $200–$300 million.

Solera connects insurers and auto service providers. Its software is used by auto insurance companies, auto dealers, collision repair facilities, assessors, auto recyclers, and various other entities.

Intel’s Skylake will offer new wireless charging and data transfer for a wire-free computing environment. Thus, Intel’s Skylake should help the PC market.

Accenture is one of the world’s largest multinational technology services, management consulting, and outsourcing companies and is headquartered in Dublin.

Cloud is moving into a second wave of adoption. Organizations are leveraging cloud to fuel innovation, growth, and disruption.

In 2Q15, Tesla’s gross profit margin was 22.3%—much higher than other that of established automakers. Tesla expects to post net profits on GAAP in 2020.

Project Lightning is a new feature. It’s a button that’s available on Twitter’s social media mobile app. Users can view pictures and videos of live events.

Instagram reported its click-through rate of 1.50% for the month of August to date. This is almost double Facebook’s rate. Instagram clearly has the potential to churn out big money for Facebook.

With relationships with emerging and boutique designers, online retailer Zulily uses proprietary technology to match its customers with vendors. This technology is a major reason why Liberty Interactive is buying Zulily.

Seagate manufactures products for a variety of business segments, including enterprise applications, and client compute and non-compute applications.

Net shipments for Seagate Technology (STX) declined by 14% in 4Q15 to 43.1 million units in comparison to 51.15 million units in 3Q15 on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

Visa’s open-loop payments network connects and manages the exchange of information between issuers and acquirers.

Cash and checks constitute ~85% of the retail payment transactions worldwide. However, electronic payment methods are increasingly replacing cash and check payments globally.

MasterCard focuses on growth in its core business of credit, debit, prepaid offerings, and processed transactions. It seeks to diversify its customer base, including smaller merchants and consumers who still use cash and checks.

In May 2012, Facebook’s stock price was $38, and its PE ratio was 80.0 x. The ratio reached an all-time high of 7,930x, when net income dropped to $53 million that year.

In 4Q15, Autodesk’s subscription business grew 17% to $300 million, beating analysts’ estimates. ADSK’s cloud-based products, Fusion 360 and PLM 360, increased its customer base.

The Technology Hardware & Storage subsector underperformed the most since the beginning of January 2015. The stocks have primarily generated negative returns.

The acquisition bolsters Capgemini’s exposure in the financial verticals—where IGATE is particularly strong—as well as manufacturing, retail, and healthcare.

The NASDAQ’s 5000 level is not like the tech bubble. Earnings have grown multifold, making current valuations sane.

As the US economy expands, innovation seems to be the tide that is lifting all boats. Innovation is being driven by technology.

For those investors who believe that a rising tide lifts all boats, as John F. Kennedy once said, understanding business cycle investing is a must.

According to Verizon, the AWS-3 spectrum acquisition helped it gain depth in its spectrum holdings.

Along with its move toward the digital space, console upgrades are the reason Electronic Arts stock returned 66% to shareholders in 2013 and 105% in 2014.

In this space, companies whose franchises have yet to make a mark spend considerably on marketing to raise customer awareness.

IBM (IBM) intends to fuel its growth in the cloud space through the investment of billions of dollars, as well as strategic acquisitions.

Verizon (VZ) reported its 4Q14 results on January 22, 2015. We’ll analyze the company’s quarterly performance while focusing on Verizon’s wireless revenues.

In 3Q15, Electronic Arts (EA) managed to report good revenue growth due to its major sports titles—Madden NFL mobile and FIFA 15 Ultimate Team mobile.