question
stringlengths 15
323
| context
stringlengths 2.33k
16.8k
| chunks
sequencelengths 2
11
| num_chunks
int64 2
11
| relvent_doc
sequencelengths 2
11
| ndcg
float64 0
1
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
What was the year-to-date sales growth for ADAS in Q3 | icant opportunities for future growth. Please turn to Slide 5.
Within Advanced Connectivity we see 5G as a multiyear growth opportunity for Rogers where market indications continue to point toward increased deployments in 2020. At a recent forum China Mobile increased their target for 5G coverage to 340 cities by the end of next year underscoring their expansion plans. This followed recent news from Chinese telecoms that advanced subscriptions for 5G service which is not yet available have already reached approximately 9 million. Third-party experts expect 2020 5G deployments to be in the range of 600000 base stations which at that scale would provide an opportunity for substantial growth in our 5G wireless infrastructure business next year. Low earth orbit or LEO is a significant emerging growth opportunity within Advanced Connectivity. Several companies are competing to deploy large constellations of satellites that would provide high-speed internet to underserved areas. Rogers is well-positioned to capitalize on this opportunity given our tremendous strength in the materials technologies needed to enable the complex antenna solutions that will be part of the receiver systems located on Earth. We are also encouraged by the progress of some companies in this sector to launch commercial services. For example in recent months one leading company announced plans for broadband internet coverage in targeted areas in 2020 with full global coverage by the end of 2021. Looking to advanced mobility we remain optimistic about the strong opportunities in EV and HEVs. A recent IHS market report projects that through 2025 sales of EVs and HEVs will increase at a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 30%. These expectations for ambitious growth are underpinned by the plans of leading automakers and reinforce that this is a growing sustainable market for Rogers' Power Electronics Solutions. One example is VW which recently unveiled the first model in its new all-electric brand that will be delivered to customers early next year. This is the first step in VW's plan to sell up to 3 million EVs and HEVs annually by 2025.
Additionally, Daimler recently announced that they will discontinue all future development of internal combustion engines further signaling the shift in focus to electric vehicles. By 2022 Daimler is scheduled to bring 10 all-electric vehicles to market and plans to eventually electrify the entire Mercedes Benz portfolio. Rogers is also targeting EV charging infrastructure which is a related emerging growth opportunity for our Power Electronics Solutions. Please turn to Slide 6. ACS third quarter net sales were $79 million a decrease of 15% from the prior quarter and an increase of 10% versus the prior year. As discussed earlier this decline is primarily attributed to lower 4G and 5G sales. ADAS demand remained strong in Q3 and year-to-date sales have grown 8% compared to 2018. Aerospace and defense sales increased 17% versus Q2 and year-to-date results are up over 20% versus the prior year. This market segment is highly program-dependent and while we don't anticipate demand for these applications to grow at the same rate into the future we do expect stable and consistent high single-digit growth over time. As we look ahead we anticipate that 4G and 5G demand will continue to be soft through the end of the year. However we expect 5G demand to rebound in the first half of 2020 with the next wave of deployments. Turning to Slide 7 in Q3 EMS net sales were $95 million a slight increase compared to Q2. Seasonally strong portable electronics sales drove the sequential increase in revenue. A decline in demand for general industrial and EV/HEV battery applications partially offset the growth in portable electronics. Year-to-date sales of applications for EV/HEV battery pads and battery pack sealing systems have increased 29% versus the prior year highlighting the excellent growth opportunity in this area. The lower Q3 revenue is the result of the recent decline in the China EV market. We are very pleased with the progr | [
"icant opportunities for future growth. Please turn to Slide 5.\nWithin Advanced Connectivity we see 5G as a multiyear growth opportunity for Rogers where market indications continue to point toward increased deployments in 2020. At a recent forum China Mobile increased their target for 5G coverage to 340 cities by the end of next year underscoring their expansion plans. This followed recent news from Chinese telecoms that advanced subscriptions for 5G service which is not yet available have already reached approximately 9 million. Third-party experts expect 2020 5G deployments to be in the range of 600000 base stations which at that scale would provide an opportunity for substantial growth in our 5G wireless infrastructure business next year. Low earth orbit or LEO is a significant emerging growth opportunity within Advanced Connectivity. Several companies are competing to deploy large constellations of satellites that would provide high-speed internet to underserved areas. Rogers is well-positioned to capitalize on this opportunity given our tremendous strength in the materials technologies needed to enable the complex antenna solutions that will be part of the receiver systems located on Earth. We are also encouraged by the progress of some companies in this sector to launch commercial services. For example in recent months one leading company announced plans for broadband internet coverage in targeted areas in 2020 with full global coverage by the end of 2021. Looking to advanced mobility we remain optimistic about the strong opportunities in EV and HEVs. A recent IHS market report projects that through 2025 sales of EVs and HEVs will increase at a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 30%. These expectations for ambitious growth are underpinned by the plans of leading automakers and reinforce that this is a growing sustainable market for Rogers' Power Electronics Solutions. One example is VW which recently unveiled the first model in its new all-electric brand that will be delivered to customers early next year. This is the first step in VW's plan to sell up to 3 million EVs and HEVs annually by 2025.\n",
"Additionally, Daimler recently announced that they will discontinue all future development of internal combustion engines further signaling the shift in focus to electric vehicles. By 2022 Daimler is scheduled to bring 10 all-electric vehicles to market and plans to eventually electrify the entire Mercedes Benz portfolio. Rogers is also targeting EV charging infrastructure which is a related emerging growth opportunity for our Power Electronics Solutions. Please turn to Slide 6. ACS third quarter net sales were $79 million a decrease of 15% from the prior quarter and an increase of 10% versus the prior year. As discussed earlier this decline is primarily attributed to lower 4G and 5G sales. ADAS demand remained strong in Q3 and year-to-date sales have grown 8% compared to 2018. Aerospace and defense sales increased 17% versus Q2 and year-to-date results are up over 20% versus the prior year. This market segment is highly program-dependent and while we don't anticipate demand for these applications to grow at the same rate into the future we do expect stable and consistent high single-digit growth over time. As we look ahead we anticipate that 4G and 5G demand will continue to be soft through the end of the year. However we expect 5G demand to rebound in the first half of 2020 with the next wave of deployments. Turning to Slide 7 in Q3 EMS net sales were $95 million a slight increase compared to Q2. Seasonally strong portable electronics sales drove the sequential increase in revenue. A decline in demand for general industrial and EV/HEV battery applications partially offset the growth in portable electronics. Year-to-date sales of applications for EV/HEV battery pads and battery pack sealing systems have increased 29% versus the prior year highlighting the excellent growth opportunity in this area. The lower Q3 revenue is the result of the recent decline in the China EV market. We are very pleased with the progr"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What was the organic growth rate for the SimonsVoss, Interflex, and Global Portable Security businesses in 2020 | in our General Managers. Thought there one of the key moves was to simplify and reduce the overall cost of running the International segment. Two is, within those portfolios, we think we're well positioned to move ahead, especially as -- electronic as a driver. Our Gainsborough offerings are being updated in terms of electronics and we continue to drive the SimonsVoss and Interflex business with new products that -- and a supply chain that I think has helped us grow during the pandemic.
Third is, Global Portable Security with Kryptonite, AXA, and Trelock has performed into a nice operating position as demand for bikes and demand for growth as an OEM supplier have been nicely. So, we expect Tim to advance that and lean into the electronics growth and potentially further acquisitions in that space.
Patrick Shannon -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Josh, I would just add too. You saw it in the numbers, we exited 2020 in really good shape. Good organic growth, as Dave mentioned on the SimonsVoss, Interflex, Global Portable Security. We would expect that to continue, obviously, in 2021, leveraging the good work that was done in the back half of '20. And then on the operational margin performance, outstanding Q4 and our outline has always been, hey, the continuous improve our margin profile associated with our International region and we would expect that to continue going forward. Again, relative to some of the cost actions we took early in 2020, you saw that come through in the year and we expect that momentum to continue in '21.
Josh Chan -- Robert W. Baird & Co. -- Analyst
That's great. That's good color. Thank you. And my follow-up is on the non-res specification business, recognizing that that's a longer cycle business, are you seeing any sort of uptake in the early stages of the design process? And -- where in terms of verticals might you be seeing any types of movement or improvement there in terms of the early stages of the design?
David D. Petratis -- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
So, our specification levels have remained strong and we have continued to invest in digital capability and keeping that specifying capability strong. So, we're in a good position. We expect to see a rebound in the second half. There has not been a lot of activity on the campuses of the world, especially the campuses of North America and as we normalize, we expect some pickup in the second half.
As we look at the overall project load, we see positive traction as those institutional products -- projects reload but also in the hospital sector, where we're very nicely positioned. That whole structure has been severely tested and clearly, the economics would suggest that that will be a continued opportunity when we get to the other side of the pandemic, Josh.
Josh Chan -- Robert W. Baird & Co. -- Analyst
Great. Thanks for the color and thanks for the time.
David D. Petratis -- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you.
Operator
The next question from David MacGregor of Longbow Research. Please go ahead.
David MacGregor -- Longbow Research -- Analyst
Yes. Good morning, everyone.
David D. Petratis -- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Good morning.
David MacGregor -- Longbow Research -- Analyst
Thanks for all the color on the outlook. And as you pointed out your cyclical business organic growth is going to be soft this year. So, I guess, that raises the question, given the strength of your cash flow with inorganic growth. And so, I'm just wondering if you could talk a little bit about how you're thinking about the acquisition growth opportunity in '21. Do we see any departure from the pattern of more bolt-on transactions? Do we start leaning into perhaps larger deals as a way to support that acquisition growth? And, I guess, how -- overall just how confident are you in your ability to deliver growth by acquisitions?
David D. Petratis -- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
I'd say, number one, strong message from our Board of Directors pull this lever. Two, we've been activ | [
"in our General Managers. Thought there one of the key moves was to simplify and reduce the overall cost of running the International segment. Two is, within those portfolios, we think we're well positioned to move ahead, especially as -- electronic as a driver. Our Gainsborough offerings are being updated in terms of electronics and we continue to drive the SimonsVoss and Interflex business with new products that -- and a supply chain that I think has helped us grow during the pandemic.\nThird is, Global Portable Security with Kryptonite, AXA, and Trelock has performed into a nice operating position as demand for bikes and demand for growth as an OEM supplier have been nicely. So, we expect Tim to advance that and lean into the electronics growth and potentially further acquisitions in that space.\nPatrick Shannon -- Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer\nJosh, I would just add too. You saw it in the numbers, we exited 2020 in really good shape. Good organic growth, as Dave mentioned on the SimonsVoss, Interflex, Global Portable Security. We would expect that to continue, obviously, in 2021, leveraging the good work that was done in the back half of '20. And then on the operational margin performance, outstanding Q4 and our outline has always been, hey, the continuous improve our margin profile associated with our International region and we would expect that to continue going forward. Again, relative to some of the cost actions we took early in 2020, you saw that come through in the year and we expect that momentum to continue in '21.\nJosh Chan -- Robert W. Baird & Co. -- Analyst\nThat's great. That's good color. Thank you. And my follow-up is on the non-res specification business, recognizing that that's a longer cycle business, are you seeing any sort of uptake in the early stages of the design process? And -- where in terms of verticals might you be seeing any types of movement or improvement there in terms of the early stages of the design?\nDavid D. Petratis -- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer\nSo, our specification levels have remained strong and we have continued to invest in digital capability and keeping that specifying capability strong. So, we're in a good position. We expect to see a rebound in the second half. There has not been a lot of activity on the campuses of the world, especially the campuses of North America and as we normalize, we expect some pickup in the second half.\n",
"As we look at the overall project load, we see positive traction as those institutional products -- projects reload but also in the hospital sector, where we're very nicely positioned. That whole structure has been severely tested and clearly, the economics would suggest that that will be a continued opportunity when we get to the other side of the pandemic, Josh.\nJosh Chan -- Robert W. Baird & Co. -- Analyst\nGreat. Thanks for the color and thanks for the time.\nDavid D. Petratis -- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer\nThank you.\nOperator\nThe next question from David MacGregor of Longbow Research. Please go ahead.\nDavid MacGregor -- Longbow Research -- Analyst\nYes. Good morning, everyone.\nDavid D. Petratis -- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer\nGood morning.\nDavid MacGregor -- Longbow Research -- Analyst\nThanks for all the color on the outlook. And as you pointed out your cyclical business organic growth is going to be soft this year. So, I guess, that raises the question, given the strength of your cash flow with inorganic growth. And so, I'm just wondering if you could talk a little bit about how you're thinking about the acquisition growth opportunity in '21. Do we see any departure from the pattern of more bolt-on transactions? Do we start leaning into perhaps larger deals as a way to support that acquisition growth? And, I guess, how -- overall just how confident are you in your ability to deliver growth by acquisitions?\nDavid D. Petratis -- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer\nI'd say, number one, strong message from our Board of Directors pull this lever. Two, we've been activ"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected revenue driver for Inseego moving forward, based on the information provided in the transcript | grew 182% year-over-year in Q2 and now represents almost 29% of total revenue. And cloud software portfolio grew 49% year-over-year, which is now 20% of total revenue. Combined, these next-generation products now represent almost half of total revenue, up from 44% of our business just last quarter. Let me reiterate that because it's impressive. Our new generation of products now represents almost half of total revenue, and we are just getting started. Inseego's end-to-end portfolio is laying the foundation toward 5G controlled enterprise networks that can untether numerous applications and extend reach to areas never connected before. What an exciting time to be in the 5G space. Now let me provide details on our key businesses. Let's start with mobile broadband. We saw great growth in the quarter with this portfolio and, as Dan mentioned earlier, we see no signs of that slowing down with two more 4G launches on track for the third quarter in the U.S. Our 5G solutions are proving to be perfect for the work-from-anywhere paradigm and our carrier customers are leveraging these solutions to provide amazing broadband experiences for a variety of use cases like employee remote connectivity. This is because these solutions are capable of delivering sustained 5G performance with gigabit-plus speeds, low latency and security. Let me provide an example of a new use case. We are collaborating with a Tier one carrier in Western Europe for digital transformation.
This program is powering a wide range of innovative use cases across multiple sectors. One such use case is for mission-critical search and rescue efforts in which our 5G mobile solutions are being leveraged to greatly improve time to locate and rescue injured persons. By utilizing drones outfitted with location equipment and cameras, search and rescue teams can map unknown areas, especially areas with complex terrain before deploying a land team. Our solution is enabling real-time mapping with ultra-fast processing of massive data. Use cases like this are not possible with lower speeds and higher latency of legacy technologies. Next, let's talk about fixed wireless access. In the first half of the year, we released a series of 5G FWA products including two indoor products and two rugged outdoor products, which were certified for use in many markets globally. We also just released a new industrial 5G gateway purpose-built for vertical markets. Response has been extremely positive, and we believe 5G FWA will be a major revenue driver for us moving forward. In addition to anchor channel partners who've been quick to adopt our portfolio, we secured four product awards with operators in the U.S., Australia and the Middle East. Also note that we now have five 5G products certified by both T-Mobile and Verizon including hotspots and FWA. These new products are the primary drivers of the dramatic increase in customer engagements, and they will be instrumental in driving revenue growth in the coming quarters. Let me highlight three factors that are driving the adoption of these 5G products. First, the 5G networks continue to be rolled out at an aggressive pace, and operators are looking to quickly capitalize on this newly added network capacity. This is reinforced by the work-from-anywhere paradigm and a growing enterprise customer pool. Second, the breadth and depth of our 5G portfolio is resonating with customers. Our partners and customers tell us that Inseego products bring out the best in their networks. No other vendor has the performance of our 4G and 5G solutions. Not only are Inseego solutions fast, but they are extremely reliable and proven to deliver consistent throughput for long periods of time. And our new fixed wireless outdoor products can also sustain better connection at exceptionally long distances. In addition, our products are built with a security-first mindset with multiple layers of security built in our proprietary hard and operating system software, which is at the core of all of our devices. In this environment with ransomware and security breaches dramati | [
"grew 182% year-over-year in Q2 and now represents almost 29% of total revenue. And cloud software portfolio grew 49% year-over-year, which is now 20% of total revenue. Combined, these next-generation products now represent almost half of total revenue, up from 44% of our business just last quarter. Let me reiterate that because it's impressive. Our new generation of products now represents almost half of total revenue, and we are just getting started. Inseego's end-to-end portfolio is laying the foundation toward 5G controlled enterprise networks that can untether numerous applications and extend reach to areas never connected before. What an exciting time to be in the 5G space. Now let me provide details on our key businesses. Let's start with mobile broadband. We saw great growth in the quarter with this portfolio and, as Dan mentioned earlier, we see no signs of that slowing down with two more 4G launches on track for the third quarter in the U.S. Our 5G solutions are proving to be perfect for the work-from-anywhere paradigm and our carrier customers are leveraging these solutions to provide amazing broadband experiences for a variety of use cases like employee remote connectivity. This is because these solutions are capable of delivering sustained 5G performance with gigabit-plus speeds, low latency and security. Let me provide an example of a new use case. We are collaborating with a Tier one carrier in Western Europe for digital transformation.\n",
"This program is powering a wide range of innovative use cases across multiple sectors. One such use case is for mission-critical search and rescue efforts in which our 5G mobile solutions are being leveraged to greatly improve time to locate and rescue injured persons. By utilizing drones outfitted with location equipment and cameras, search and rescue teams can map unknown areas, especially areas with complex terrain before deploying a land team. Our solution is enabling real-time mapping with ultra-fast processing of massive data. Use cases like this are not possible with lower speeds and higher latency of legacy technologies. Next, let's talk about fixed wireless access. In the first half of the year, we released a series of 5G FWA products including two indoor products and two rugged outdoor products, which were certified for use in many markets globally. We also just released a new industrial 5G gateway purpose-built for vertical markets. Response has been extremely positive, and we believe 5G FWA will be a major revenue driver for us moving forward. In addition to anchor channel partners who've been quick to adopt our portfolio, we secured four product awards with operators in the U.S., Australia and the Middle East. Also note that we now have five 5G products certified by both T-Mobile and Verizon including hotspots and FWA. These new products are the primary drivers of the dramatic increase in customer engagements, and they will be instrumental in driving revenue growth in the coming quarters. Let me highlight three factors that are driving the adoption of these 5G products. First, the 5G networks continue to be rolled out at an aggressive pace, and operators are looking to quickly capitalize on this newly added network capacity. This is reinforced by the work-from-anywhere paradigm and a growing enterprise customer pool. Second, the breadth and depth of our 5G portfolio is resonating with customers. Our partners and customers tell us that Inseego products bring out the best in their networks. No other vendor has the performance of our 4G and 5G solutions. Not only are Inseego solutions fast, but they are extremely reliable and proven to deliver consistent throughput for long periods of time. And our new fixed wireless outdoor products can also sustain better connection at exceptionally long distances. In addition, our products are built with a security-first mindset with multiple layers of security built in our proprietary hard and operating system software, which is at the core of all of our devices. In this environment with ransomware and security breaches dramati"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the revenue growth rate for GIB in 2021-Q3 compared to the same period in the previous year? | continue to accelerate digitization on all fronts innovating and adopting newer technologies at a faster pace in order to drive growth and profitability. And we will continue to collaborate with them as they invest, helping them harness the power of technologies such as machine learning, cloud, blockchain and 5G.
In fact, we just announced a partnership with Nokia to build a 5G lab in CGI's innovation center in London, which will showcase the capabilities of both companies. Together, we will explore and apply the potential for how 5G can enable industrial digitization in multiple sectors from manufacturing to healthcare in areas such as autonomous robots, augmented in virtual reality and real-time remote control of machines. We believe the gap between the results that leaders are realizing from digital compared with all other organizations will spur a further acceleration of digitization and corresponding IT spend increases.
These new investments will have a deeper focus on driving enterprise-level modernization programs to help break down and reconnect the silos in their systems, processes and data. Clients are increasingly turning to CGI given our global cross-industry perspective and experiences, bringing best practices, methodologies and IP to help advance their digital initiatives. Through our business consulting services, we help clients design the best path forward for their organization, including addressing culture and change management so that their transformation efforts are sustainable for the longer term.
And through our managed services offerings, we can deliver immediate savings to help them fund critical digitization initiatives. All of the findings from our proprietary research continue to represent longer-term shifts in client demand and a need for trusted enterprise partners. These shifts are in line with the investments we've been making and will continue to make in our Build and Buy strategy. CGI is one of the few global firms with the necessary combination of client partnership culture, proximity-based talent and end-to-end service offerings to help clients implement their digital strategies with agility and at scale.
We also remain focused on progressing the buy side of our profitable growth strategy. The current market conditions are conducive for further industry consolidation, and this is driving growth in our pipeline of new opportunities and active discussions. Our buy side focus is on prospective acquisitions that will bring CGI new client relationships in existing or new geographies, along with complementary in-demand consulting and technology skills to help clients advance their digital agendas.
We remain focused on expansion within all CGI geographies with current pipeline momentum in Western and Southern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, U.K. and Australia and the U.S. We continue to have the operational strength and financial capacity to move quickly with discipline on the right buy side opportunities. In closing, we remain confident in our positive growth outlook for the future. Our strategic aspiration remains to double the size of the company over the next five to seven years.
Thank you for your interest and support. Let's go to the questions now, Maher.
Maher Yaghi -- Vice-President, Investor Relations
Thank you, George. And operator, we'll go to the questions. But before we do, I just want to remind everyone that a replay of the call will be available either via our website or by dialing one (800) 408-3053 and using the passcode 7978334. As well, a podcast of this call will be available for download within a few hours. Follow-up questions after the call can be directed to me at (514) 415-3651.
Paul will go now to the Q&A, please.
Questions and Answers:
Operator
We will now take questions from the telephone lines. [Operator Instructions] The first question is from Thanos Moschopoulos from BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Your line is open, Sir.
Thanos Moschopoulos -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst
Hi, good morning. George, can you expand a little bit in terms of M&A? So you p | [
" continue to accelerate digitization on all fronts innovating and adopting newer technologies at a faster pace in order to drive growth and profitability. And we will continue to collaborate with them as they invest, helping them harness the power of technologies such as machine learning, cloud, blockchain and 5G.\nIn fact, we just announced a partnership with Nokia to build a 5G lab in CGI's innovation center in London, which will showcase the capabilities of both companies. Together, we will explore and apply the potential for how 5G can enable industrial digitization in multiple sectors from manufacturing to healthcare in areas such as autonomous robots, augmented in virtual reality and real-time remote control of machines. We believe the gap between the results that leaders are realizing from digital compared with all other organizations will spur a further acceleration of digitization and corresponding IT spend increases.\nThese new investments will have a deeper focus on driving enterprise-level modernization programs to help break down and reconnect the silos in their systems, processes and data. Clients are increasingly turning to CGI given our global cross-industry perspective and experiences, bringing best practices, methodologies and IP to help advance their digital initiatives. Through our business consulting services, we help clients design the best path forward for their organization, including addressing culture and change management so that their transformation efforts are sustainable for the longer term.\nAnd through our managed services offerings, we can deliver immediate savings to help them fund critical digitization initiatives. All of the findings from our proprietary research continue to represent longer-term shifts in client demand and a need for trusted enterprise partners. These shifts are in line with the investments we've been making and will continue to make in our Build and Buy strategy. CGI is one of the few global firms with the necessary combination of client partnership culture, proximity-based talent and end-to-end service offerings to help clients implement their digital strategies with agility and at scale.\nWe also remain focused on progressing the buy side of our profitable growth strategy. The current market conditions are conducive for further industry consolidation, and this is driving growth in our pipeline of new opportunities and active discussions. Our buy side focus is on prospective acquisitions that will bring CGI new client relationships in existing or new geographies, along with complementary in-demand consulting and technology skills to help clients advance their digital agendas.\n",
"We remain focused on expansion within all CGI geographies with current pipeline momentum in Western and Southern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, U.K. and Australia and the U.S. We continue to have the operational strength and financial capacity to move quickly with discipline on the right buy side opportunities. In closing, we remain confident in our positive growth outlook for the future. Our strategic aspiration remains to double the size of the company over the next five to seven years.\nThank you for your interest and support. Let's go to the questions now, Maher.\nMaher Yaghi -- Vice-President, Investor Relations\nThank you, George. And operator, we'll go to the questions. But before we do, I just want to remind everyone that a replay of the call will be available either via our website or by dialing one (800) 408-3053 and using the passcode 7978334. As well, a podcast of this call will be available for download within a few hours. Follow-up questions after the call can be directed to me at (514) 415-3651.\nPaul will go now to the Q&A, please.\nQuestions and Answers:\nOperator\nWe will now take questions from the telephone lines. [Operator Instructions] The first question is from Thanos Moschopoulos from BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Your line is open, Sir.\nThanos Moschopoulos -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst\nHi, good morning. George, can you expand a little bit in terms of M&A? So you p"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the percentage of payments processed in a touchless way in digital operations | raditional incumbent VPNs. We will work with larger enterprise customers to help them mak the switch from legacy VPNs to faster, more reliable and cost-efficient SD-WAN-based solutions. We have seen the substantial benefits of migrating to the cloud inside our own business. So we fully understand the speed and productivity advantages that are possible. In addition, we will leverage strategic partnerships to ensure we move quickly with best-in-class solutions as seen with IBM on cloud solutions and AWS with edge cloud services. We are only at the beginning of fully understanding and deploying the potential of IoT across industry sectors. We already have a leading position in the automotive sector, in which, over 30 million cars are connected by Vodafone through our global leading platform that now has over 100 million connections.
We are now coupling our IoT expertise with 5G to offer mobile private networks. We are targeting 30 large-scale customer pilots across three industry verticals this year. We firmly believe that a greater focus on these emerging technologies will enable us to increase our share of the value chain in which we operate. Over the past two years, we have delivered a significant shift in our cost base and productivity through targeted deployment of digital technology. At our open office event in September last year, we showcased a number of advancements we are making to be the industry leader in this area, emphasizing at the time that this was a fundamental transformation of our operating model and not just cost cutting. This provides an important platform to make a step change in our ambition, driven by behavioral changes experienced over the last few months.
Within customer management, we've delivered a 20% reduction in the number of calls over the last two years through initiatives, including the deployment of our AI assistant TOBi. We've also further optimized our branded retail store footprint with a decrease of 9% so far. In digital operations, we are now processing 80% of our payments in a touchless way. Through these activities and many more, we believe we will enhance the customer experience, improve customer loyalty, sell more services and ultimately deliver more cost savings. Our new cost target, which Margherita covered, means we will be taking out over EUR1.8 billion from our FY '18 starting point, a 20% structural reduction in our opex over five years. Over the last 18 months, we've executed a series of agreements across our markets to enable a mix of active and passive sharing of mobile network infrastructure. You will see from the map this supports our strong 4G coverage already established across our markets. During the year, we reached agreements in Germany with DT, TI in Italy, with all MNOs in the UK for enhanced rural coverage and extended the scope with Orange in Spain and O2 in the UK.
Complementing our strong mobile coverage through a mix of direct cable and fiber ownership alongside strategic wholesale deals and regulatory access, we can market NGN broadband services to over 136 million homes across our markets in Europe. In addition, we are rapidly rolling out DOCSIS 3.1 across our cable networks, serving 32 million households with gigabit speeds on our own infrastructure, an increase from 24 million at H1. We're targeting to upgrade most of our 54 million NGN homes passed by 2023.
I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the pace and sheer breadth of portfolio activity we've executed in the last 12 months. One of the most important transactions we completed during the year was the merger of our towers in Italy with INWIT, as they allowed us to engage with the European Commission to establish the right principles for network sharing in Europe. As you see from the chart, there has been a range of models discussed and we believe that a national passive share with active sharing outside of major cities remains the optimal target sites, providing a quicker, more optimal way to improve coverage and speeds, while allowing us to drive industrial synergies.
In return for our towers, we | [
"raditional incumbent VPNs. We will work with larger enterprise customers to help them mak the switch from legacy VPNs to faster, more reliable and cost-efficient SD-WAN-based solutions. We have seen the substantial benefits of migrating to the cloud inside our own business. So we fully understand the speed and productivity advantages that are possible. In addition, we will leverage strategic partnerships to ensure we move quickly with best-in-class solutions as seen with IBM on cloud solutions and AWS with edge cloud services. We are only at the beginning of fully understanding and deploying the potential of IoT across industry sectors. We already have a leading position in the automotive sector, in which, over 30 million cars are connected by Vodafone through our global leading platform that now has over 100 million connections.\nWe are now coupling our IoT expertise with 5G to offer mobile private networks. We are targeting 30 large-scale customer pilots across three industry verticals this year. We firmly believe that a greater focus on these emerging technologies will enable us to increase our share of the value chain in which we operate. Over the past two years, we have delivered a significant shift in our cost base and productivity through targeted deployment of digital technology. At our open office event in September last year, we showcased a number of advancements we are making to be the industry leader in this area, emphasizing at the time that this was a fundamental transformation of our operating model and not just cost cutting. This provides an important platform to make a step change in our ambition, driven by behavioral changes experienced over the last few months.\n",
"Within customer management, we've delivered a 20% reduction in the number of calls over the last two years through initiatives, including the deployment of our AI assistant TOBi. We've also further optimized our branded retail store footprint with a decrease of 9% so far. In digital operations, we are now processing 80% of our payments in a touchless way. Through these activities and many more, we believe we will enhance the customer experience, improve customer loyalty, sell more services and ultimately deliver more cost savings. Our new cost target, which Margherita covered, means we will be taking out over EUR1.8 billion from our FY '18 starting point, a 20% structural reduction in our opex over five years. Over the last 18 months, we've executed a series of agreements across our markets to enable a mix of active and passive sharing of mobile network infrastructure. You will see from the map this supports our strong 4G coverage already established across our markets. During the year, we reached agreements in Germany with DT, TI in Italy, with all MNOs in the UK for enhanced rural coverage and extended the scope with Orange in Spain and O2 in the UK.\nComplementing our strong mobile coverage through a mix of direct cable and fiber ownership alongside strategic wholesale deals and regulatory access, we can market NGN broadband services to over 136 million homes across our markets in Europe. In addition, we are rapidly rolling out DOCSIS 3.1 across our cable networks, serving 32 million households with gigabit speeds on our own infrastructure, an increase from 24 million at H1. We're targeting to upgrade most of our 54 million NGN homes passed by 2023.\nI'd like to take a moment to reflect on the pace and sheer breadth of portfolio activity we've executed in the last 12 months. One of the most important transactions we completed during the year was the merger of our towers in Italy with INWIT, as they allowed us to engage with the European Commission to establish the right principles for network sharing in Europe. As you see from the chart, there has been a range of models discussed and we believe that a national passive share with active sharing outside of major cities remains the optimal target sites, providing a quicker, more optimal way to improve coverage and speeds, while allowing us to drive industrial synergies.\nIn return for our towers, we"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the percentage reduction in the number of calls achieved through initiatives, including the deployment of the AI assistant TOBi in customer management over the last two years? | raditional incumbent VPNs. We will work with larger enterprise customers to help them mak the switch from legacy VPNs to faster, more reliable and cost-efficient SD-WAN-based solutions. We have seen the substantial benefits of migrating to the cloud inside our own business. So we fully understand the speed and productivity advantages that are possible. In addition, we will leverage strategic partnerships to ensure we move quickly with best-in-class solutions as seen with IBM on cloud solutions and AWS with edge cloud services. We are only at the beginning of fully understanding and deploying the potential of IoT across industry sectors. We already have a leading position in the automotive sector, in which, over 30 million cars are connected by Vodafone through our global leading platform that now has over 100 million connections.
We are now coupling our IoT expertise with 5G to offer mobile private networks. We are targeting 30 large-scale customer pilots across three industry verticals this year. We firmly believe that a greater focus on these emerging technologies will enable us to increase our share of the value chain in which we operate. Over the past two years, we have delivered a significant shift in our cost base and productivity through targeted deployment of digital technology. At our open office event in September last year, we showcased a number of advancements we are making to be the industry leader in this area, emphasizing at the time that this was a fundamental transformation of our operating model and not just cost cutting. This provides an important platform to make a step change in our ambition, driven by behavioral changes experienced over the last few months.
Within customer management, we've delivered a 20% reduction in the number of calls over the last two years through initiatives, including the deployment of our AI assistant TOBi. We've also further optimized our branded retail store footprint with a decrease of 9% so far. In digital operations, we are now processing 80% of our payments in a touchless way. Through these activities and many more, we believe we will enhance the customer experience, improve customer loyalty, sell more services and ultimately deliver more cost savings. Our new cost target, which Margherita covered, means we will be taking out over EUR1.8 billion from our FY '18 starting point, a 20% structural reduction in our opex over five years. Over the last 18 months, we've executed a series of agreements across our markets to enable a mix of active and passive sharing of mobile network infrastructure. You will see from the map this supports our strong 4G coverage already established across our markets. During the year, we reached agreements in Germany with DT, TI in Italy, with all MNOs in the UK for enhanced rural coverage and extended the scope with Orange in Spain and O2 in the UK.
Complementing our strong mobile coverage through a mix of direct cable and fiber ownership alongside strategic wholesale deals and regulatory access, we can market NGN broadband services to over 136 million homes across our markets in Europe. In addition, we are rapidly rolling out DOCSIS 3.1 across our cable networks, serving 32 million households with gigabit speeds on our own infrastructure, an increase from 24 million at H1. We're targeting to upgrade most of our 54 million NGN homes passed by 2023.
I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the pace and sheer breadth of portfolio activity we've executed in the last 12 months. One of the most important transactions we completed during the year was the merger of our towers in Italy with INWIT, as they allowed us to engage with the European Commission to establish the right principles for network sharing in Europe. As you see from the chart, there has been a range of models discussed and we believe that a national passive share with active sharing outside of major cities remains the optimal target sites, providing a quicker, more optimal way to improve coverage and speeds, while allowing us to drive industrial synergies.
In return for our towers, we | [
"raditional incumbent VPNs. We will work with larger enterprise customers to help them mak the switch from legacy VPNs to faster, more reliable and cost-efficient SD-WAN-based solutions. We have seen the substantial benefits of migrating to the cloud inside our own business. So we fully understand the speed and productivity advantages that are possible. In addition, we will leverage strategic partnerships to ensure we move quickly with best-in-class solutions as seen with IBM on cloud solutions and AWS with edge cloud services. We are only at the beginning of fully understanding and deploying the potential of IoT across industry sectors. We already have a leading position in the automotive sector, in which, over 30 million cars are connected by Vodafone through our global leading platform that now has over 100 million connections.\nWe are now coupling our IoT expertise with 5G to offer mobile private networks. We are targeting 30 large-scale customer pilots across three industry verticals this year. We firmly believe that a greater focus on these emerging technologies will enable us to increase our share of the value chain in which we operate. Over the past two years, we have delivered a significant shift in our cost base and productivity through targeted deployment of digital technology. At our open office event in September last year, we showcased a number of advancements we are making to be the industry leader in this area, emphasizing at the time that this was a fundamental transformation of our operating model and not just cost cutting. This provides an important platform to make a step change in our ambition, driven by behavioral changes experienced over the last few months.\n",
"Within customer management, we've delivered a 20% reduction in the number of calls over the last two years through initiatives, including the deployment of our AI assistant TOBi. We've also further optimized our branded retail store footprint with a decrease of 9% so far. In digital operations, we are now processing 80% of our payments in a touchless way. Through these activities and many more, we believe we will enhance the customer experience, improve customer loyalty, sell more services and ultimately deliver more cost savings. Our new cost target, which Margherita covered, means we will be taking out over EUR1.8 billion from our FY '18 starting point, a 20% structural reduction in our opex over five years. Over the last 18 months, we've executed a series of agreements across our markets to enable a mix of active and passive sharing of mobile network infrastructure. You will see from the map this supports our strong 4G coverage already established across our markets. During the year, we reached agreements in Germany with DT, TI in Italy, with all MNOs in the UK for enhanced rural coverage and extended the scope with Orange in Spain and O2 in the UK.\nComplementing our strong mobile coverage through a mix of direct cable and fiber ownership alongside strategic wholesale deals and regulatory access, we can market NGN broadband services to over 136 million homes across our markets in Europe. In addition, we are rapidly rolling out DOCSIS 3.1 across our cable networks, serving 32 million households with gigabit speeds on our own infrastructure, an increase from 24 million at H1. We're targeting to upgrade most of our 54 million NGN homes passed by 2023.\nI'd like to take a moment to reflect on the pace and sheer breadth of portfolio activity we've executed in the last 12 months. One of the most important transactions we completed during the year was the merger of our towers in Italy with INWIT, as they allowed us to engage with the European Commission to establish the right principles for network sharing in Europe. As you see from the chart, there has been a range of models discussed and we believe that a national passive share with active sharing outside of major cities remains the optimal target sites, providing a quicker, more optimal way to improve coverage and speeds, while allowing us to drive industrial synergies.\nIn return for our towers, we"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What kind of attack was it? | Suicide bombers killed 60 people near a holy Shiite shrine in Baghdad on Friday and a car bomber left seven people dead in Diyala, according to security and medical officials. A little girl whose parents are missing in the Baghdad bombings Friday rests in a hospital. Along with the 60 dead, many of whom were Iranian pilgrims, at least 125 others were wounded when two female suicide bombers struck on roads leading to the Imam Musa al-Kadhim shrine, one of the holiest in Shiite Islam, the Interior Ministry said. The Iranians who were killed and wounded were on a pilgrimage to holy sites in Iraq, an Interior Ministry official said. The bombers hit the Kadhimiya neighborhood of Baghdad, where the shrine is located, on the Muslim day of prayer. Iraqi State TV reported that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has ordered an investigation. The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, told CNN's "American Morning" on Friday he believes Iraqis won't be "intimidated by the attack" and "they will not let this stand in their way of moving forward." Watch the scene at the hospital as victims of the shrine attacks arrive » Later on Friday, a suicide car bomber detonated explosives in Diyala province, killing at least seven people and wounding 29 others. The bomber attacked a car dealership in Jawlawla, a town that has been the center of a territorial dispute between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Fridays attacks follow the deadliest day in Iraq this year, in which 87 people were killed in attacks, after months of plummeting violence. Many of the dead on Thursday were also Shiite pilgrims from Iran. Friday's bombings were the third attack on Kadhimiya this month. Reaction was swift in predominantly Shiite Iran. The media reported that Reza Moussavi, spokesman of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, announced a ban on Iranians crossing into Iraq via the Khosrawi border for pilgrimage until further notice. Javad Jahangirzadh, a member of Iran's parliament, was quoted as saying the aim of the attackers "was to show that the Iraq government was not successful and not performing well. "There must be a plot behind all of this aimed at damaging the growing relationship between Iran and Iraq." Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamedinejad earlier issued condolences for the Iranian pilgrims killed on Thursday. "The report on martyrdom and injury of a group of dear compatriots, who were on their way to holy sites [in Iraq], has caused deep sorrow," he said. "The incident once again showed that the results and gift of occupation and terrorism for regional nations are insecurity and innocent people's bloodshed," he said. Odierno said "this spike in suicide attacks that we've seen over the last couple of days, frankly, is another tragic event caused by al Qaeda and their links. They are killing many innocent people. They are killing pilgrims going to pray. They're killing women and children. They're killing homeless." The violence erupted as the Obama administration plans to withdraw American troops from Iraq. The U.S.-Iraqi security agreement negotiated last year set a June 30 deadline for combat troops to be pulled out of urban areas. The Iraqi government could request that combat forces remain in some cities and the agreement could be amended. The agreement calls for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. Odierno was asked what effect the violence will have on that deadline and whether the volatile city of Mosul -- where al Qaeda in Iraq has had a potent presence -- would be included in the combat withdrawals. "The one area I'm still not sure about is Mosul," Odierno said.Most of the 87 people who died Thursday were killed in a bombing in Diyala province, in which 55 died, and an attack in Baghdad that killed 28. Many of the dead in the Diyala attack were also Shiite pilgrims from Iran. In the Baghdad attack, a female suicide bomber struck as national police were helping distribute Red Crescent aid to displaced families in | [
"Suicide bombers killed 60 people near a holy Shiite shrine in Baghdad on Friday and a car bomber left seven people dead in Diyala, according to security and medical officials. A little girl whose parents are missing in the Baghdad bombings Friday rests in a hospital. Along with the 60 dead, many of whom were Iranian pilgrims, at least 125 others were wounded when two female suicide bombers struck on roads leading to the Imam Musa al-Kadhim shrine, one of the holiest in Shiite Islam, the Interior Ministry said. The Iranians who were killed and wounded were on a pilgrimage to holy sites in Iraq, an Interior Ministry official said. The bombers hit the Kadhimiya neighborhood of Baghdad, where the shrine is located, on the Muslim day of prayer. Iraqi State TV reported that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has ordered an investigation. The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, told CNN's \"American Morning\" on Friday he believes Iraqis won't be \"intimidated by the attack\" and \"they will not let this stand in their way of moving forward.\" Watch the scene at the hospital as victims of the shrine attacks arrive » Later on Friday, a suicide car bomber detonated explosives in Diyala province, killing at least seven people and wounding 29 others. The bomber attacked a car dealership in Jawlawla, a town that has been the center of a territorial dispute between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Fridays attacks follow the deadliest day in Iraq this year, in which 87 people were killed in attacks, after months of plummeting violence. Many of the dead on Thursday were also Shiite pilgrims from Iran. Friday's bombings were the third attack on Kadhimiya this month. Reaction was swift in predominantly Shiite Iran. The media reported that Reza Moussavi, spokesman of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, announced a ban on Iranians crossing into Iraq via the Khosrawi border for pilgrimage until further notice. Javad Jahangirzadh, a member of Iran's parliament, was quoted as saying the aim of the attackers \"was to show that the Iraq government was not successful and not performing well. \"There must be a plot behind all of this aimed at damaging the growing relationship between Iran and Iraq.\" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamedinejad earlier issued condolences for the Iranian pilgrims killed on Thursday. ",
"\"The report on martyrdom and injury of a group of dear compatriots, who were on their way to holy sites [in Iraq], has caused deep sorrow,\" he said. \"The incident once again showed that the results and gift of occupation and terrorism for regional nations are insecurity and innocent people's bloodshed,\" he said. Odierno said \"this spike in suicide attacks that we've seen over the last couple of days, frankly, is another tragic event caused by al Qaeda and their links. They are killing many innocent people. They are killing pilgrims going to pray. They're killing women and children. They're killing homeless.\" The violence erupted as the Obama administration plans to withdraw American troops from Iraq. The U.S.-Iraqi security agreement negotiated last year set a June 30 deadline for combat troops to be pulled out of urban areas. The Iraqi government could request that combat forces remain in some cities and the agreement could be amended. The agreement calls for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. Odierno was asked what effect the violence will have on that deadline and whether the volatile city of Mosul -- where al Qaeda in Iraq has had a potent presence -- would be included in the combat withdrawals. \"The one area I'm still not sure about is Mosul,\" Odierno said.Most of the 87 people who died Thursday were killed in a bombing in Diyala province, in which 55 died, and an attack in Baghdad that killed 28. Many of the dead in the Diyala attack were also Shiite pilgrims from Iran. In the Baghdad attack, a female suicide bomber struck as national police were helping distribute Red Crescent aid to displaced families in"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the estimated impact of the supply shortage on the company's revenue in the first quarter? | evice, which you can attach to something and then you will find it with your phone. Now, all of that is going to help with Samsung, but of course, also with the other OEMs, drive further and speedy ultrawideband adoption in line with what we did in the Investor Teach-In some time ago. So those two pillars are standing firm, and I'd say, certainly, some of the big OEM customers also have good run rates, John, but I would say, for us, it continues to be a content growth story.
Secure mobile wallet, secure ultrawideband, and then you know, we also had the eUICC, which is coming in, so there is a number of very specific content drivers which make us actually quite optimistic in mobile on a continued basis beyond the unit rate.
John Pitzer -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst
And, Kurt, do you have enough data yet to think about how your content trends from 4G to 5G? I'm assuming that these new applications are more broadly adopted in 5G firms.
Kurt Sievers -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Yeah. Sorry, I didn't respond to this in the first place. I think actually in principle this is not dependent or required as an association with 4G or 5G, specifically. Clearly, 5G will be about high-end phones in the first place, where the early adoption of these features might be first. But it is not necessarily something which is dependent on 4G or 5G, so which is good actually. So, we are kind of agnostic to that.
John Pitzer -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst
Perfect. Thank you.
Operator
Your next question comes from the line of Ross Seymore with Deutsche Bank.
Ross Seymore -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
Hi, guys. Thanks for letting me ask the question. First, Peter, congratulations on your retirement announcement. I know you're going to be with us for another year or so. But congrats nonetheless.
Peter Kelly -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Thanks, Ross.
Ross Seymore -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
I guess, as my first question, overall, everybody knows that there are supply shortages, but I hope to get a little more color on it from a somewhat higher level. Could you size in any way, shape or form the impact on what you couldn't ship, and so what you're revenue impact of the supply constraint was in the fourth quarter, the first quarter? Any color about which end market is more acutely hit as you split your business? And then in the timing wise, when do you think you'll be able to catch up?
Peter Kelly -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Kurt, I think you are on mute.
Kurt Sievers -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Peter?
Peter Kelly -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Oh, it's me. Okay. Right. I guess, I'd say a couple of things really, Ross. You can look to really big numbers in the fourth quarter and the first quarter, just if you do some change our math on our months of supply, and -- sort of months of inventory and distribution, but I'm not sure how relevant it is really. So, in theory, we could have shipped hundreds of millions of dollars of more. But then I don't know to what extent you be then pulling that out of Q3 and Q4.
We're seeing strength across our businesses. Obviously, there's a lot more reporting in the automotive sector because they are having real supply issues and having to maybe close down factories in certain cases and you talked about people not being able to work for weeks' of time, which is maybe different than you see in some of the smaller customers, who don't have the same megaphone. But even in those areas, they are seeing problems. So, I would say, it's pretty general, and I'll go back to one of Kurt's comments, which was 2019, the supply chain really got empty, demand was very weak. We really forgot about '19 in the context of COVID. And then in the first half of '20, we had absolutely the same issue. So, we're looking at pretty empty supply chains across the board. To some extent, it's exacerbated by maybe people moving into the big Taiwanese foundries outside of China buy the -- the fact that people thought maybe they would not be able to buy pro | [
"evice, which you can attach to something and then you will find it with your phone. Now, all of that is going to help with Samsung, but of course, also with the other OEMs, drive further and speedy ultrawideband adoption in line with what we did in the Investor Teach-In some time ago. So those two pillars are standing firm, and I'd say, certainly, some of the big OEM customers also have good run rates, John, but I would say, for us, it continues to be a content growth story.\nSecure mobile wallet, secure ultrawideband, and then you know, we also had the eUICC, which is coming in, so there is a number of very specific content drivers which make us actually quite optimistic in mobile on a continued basis beyond the unit rate.\nJohn Pitzer -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst\nAnd, Kurt, do you have enough data yet to think about how your content trends from 4G to 5G? I'm assuming that these new applications are more broadly adopted in 5G firms.\nKurt Sievers -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nYeah. Sorry, I didn't respond to this in the first place. I think actually in principle this is not dependent or required as an association with 4G or 5G, specifically. Clearly, 5G will be about high-end phones in the first place, where the early adoption of these features might be first. But it is not necessarily something which is dependent on 4G or 5G, so which is good actually. So, we are kind of agnostic to that.\nJohn Pitzer -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst\nPerfect. Thank you.\nOperator\nYour next question comes from the line of Ross Seymore with Deutsche Bank.\nRoss Seymore -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst\nHi, guys. Thanks for letting me ask the question. First, Peter, congratulations on your retirement announcement. I know you're going to be with us for another year or so. But congrats nonetheless.\nPeter Kelly -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nThanks, Ross.\nRoss Seymore -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst\n",
"I guess, as my first question, overall, everybody knows that there are supply shortages, but I hope to get a little more color on it from a somewhat higher level. Could you size in any way, shape or form the impact on what you couldn't ship, and so what you're revenue impact of the supply constraint was in the fourth quarter, the first quarter? Any color about which end market is more acutely hit as you split your business? And then in the timing wise, when do you think you'll be able to catch up?\nPeter Kelly -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nKurt, I think you are on mute.\nKurt Sievers -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nPeter?\nPeter Kelly -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nOh, it's me. Okay. Right. I guess, I'd say a couple of things really, Ross. You can look to really big numbers in the fourth quarter and the first quarter, just if you do some change our math on our months of supply, and -- sort of months of inventory and distribution, but I'm not sure how relevant it is really. So, in theory, we could have shipped hundreds of millions of dollars of more. But then I don't know to what extent you be then pulling that out of Q3 and Q4.\nWe're seeing strength across our businesses. Obviously, there's a lot more reporting in the automotive sector because they are having real supply issues and having to maybe close down factories in certain cases and you talked about people not being able to work for weeks' of time, which is maybe different than you see in some of the smaller customers, who don't have the same megaphone. But even in those areas, they are seeing problems. So, I would say, it's pretty general, and I'll go back to one of Kurt's comments, which was 2019, the supply chain really got empty, demand was very weak. We really forgot about '19 in the context of COVID. And then in the first half of '20, we had absolutely the same issue. So, we're looking at pretty empty supply chains across the board. To some extent, it's exacerbated by maybe people moving into the big Taiwanese foundries outside of China buy the -- the fact that people thought maybe they would not be able to buy pro"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the estimated percentage of greenhouse gases globally generated from the construction and maintenance of buildings that CCM products can offset | of building envelope products CCM offers complete set of solutions and systems to aid in the design of efficient building envelope efficient projects backed by industry leading warranties and a focus on green principles.
On Slide 6, you can see how this building envelope concept can deliver substantial energy savings for building owners. CCM products provide a substantial offset to the estimated 40% of greenhouse gases globally generated from the construction and maintenance of buildings and our teams are focused on continuing to support the growing efforts in global energy efficiency.
It is because of this history of innovation, investment and continuous improvement that we have more conviction than ever that CCM's future success is secure. We believe the extensive planning of Vision 2025 identified the strengths of CCM's core markets, demonstrated a consistent reroofing revenue stream and elevated the power of CCM's sustainable business model. 2020 only served to crystallize our confidence.
Turning to Slide 7. I'd like to spend a few minutes talking in more detail about CCM's future and what drives our confidence in the CCM business model. First, as you've heard us speak about it like CCM's core business is predominantly driven by replacement roofing demand. Non-residential buildings built 10 to 20 years ago make up over 25% of current infrastructure and those roofs will need replacing in the next decade.
As a reminder, roof replacements are not discretionary. Aided by the Carlisle experience and our market position, CCM should continue to capture placement of installed roofing systems and grow share with new energy-efficient, labor reducing and cost-effective product and solutions in the $6 billion and growing market. While the majority of our core CCM business revenue comes from reroofing, past construction cycles evidenced residential construction as a strong leading indicator of new commercial construction, which augments core CCM growth.
Growing residential construction demand, which accelerated in 2020 coinciding with urban relocation due to COVID will require increased commercial infrastructure, including big-box retailers, hospitals, warehouses and educational buildings to support a growing population of suburban families and workers. Second, as shown on Slide 8, the recent addition of our Polyurethane platform to CCM included spray foam insulation, which is a sustainable high single-digit growth market. Our top performing formulations provide unmatched energy efficiency in both residential and non-residential applications.
Driven by our industry-first concept of the combined material and equipment solution, which we call IntelliSpray, it was developed and introduced with engineering support from Carlisle Fluid Technologies. Carlisle's CCM is uniquely positioned to grow at above market levels in spray Polyurethane foam insulation. This innovative new system will allow us to provide the contractor, builder and homeowner with greater application efficiency and control, savings from application efficiency improvements and ultimately a better foam insulation product.
Third, like Polyurethane, Architectural Metals is an exciting new platform for CCM, it's a $1 billion market growing at approximately 2 times GBP provides an attractive opportunity to diversify into the sloped roof market with a highly sustainable product. Our metals platform is seeing healthy organic growth as it offers a lasting high ROI system solution to building owners, generating solid pull through sales of CCM insulation and other layman products.
To support our regional growth strategy, we are expanding our metals footprint in 2021 by opening three new locations in the U.S. Metal roofing systems also complement our drive to deliver solutions that support the construction of an efficient building envelope. Metal roofs are 100% recyclable, increase energy efficiency of the building up to 20% versus traditional materials and reduce waste in the manufacturing process.
Fourth, we are committed to accelerating growth in Europe, a $10 billion -- or EU | [
"of building envelope products CCM offers complete set of solutions and systems to aid in the design of efficient building envelope efficient projects backed by industry leading warranties and a focus on green principles.\nOn Slide 6, you can see how this building envelope concept can deliver substantial energy savings for building owners. CCM products provide a substantial offset to the estimated 40% of greenhouse gases globally generated from the construction and maintenance of buildings and our teams are focused on continuing to support the growing efforts in global energy efficiency.\nIt is because of this history of innovation, investment and continuous improvement that we have more conviction than ever that CCM's future success is secure. We believe the extensive planning of Vision 2025 identified the strengths of CCM's core markets, demonstrated a consistent reroofing revenue stream and elevated the power of CCM's sustainable business model. 2020 only served to crystallize our confidence.\nTurning to Slide 7. I'd like to spend a few minutes talking in more detail about CCM's future and what drives our confidence in the CCM business model. First, as you've heard us speak about it like CCM's core business is predominantly driven by replacement roofing demand. Non-residential buildings built 10 to 20 years ago make up over 25% of current infrastructure and those roofs will need replacing in the next decade.\nAs a reminder, roof replacements are not discretionary. Aided by the Carlisle experience and our market position, CCM should continue to capture placement of installed roofing systems and grow share with new energy-efficient, labor reducing and cost-effective product and solutions in the $6 billion and growing market. While the majority of our core CCM business revenue comes from reroofing, past construction cycles evidenced residential construction as a strong leading indicator of new commercial construction, which augments core CCM growth.\nGrowing residential construction demand, which accelerated in 2020 coinciding with urban relocation due to COVID will require increased commercial infrastructure, including big-box retailers, hospitals, warehouses and educational buildings to support a growing population of suburban families and workers. Second, as shown on Slide 8, the recent addition of our Polyurethane platform to CCM included spray foam insulation, which is a sustainable high single-digit growth market. Our top performing formulations provide unmatched energy efficiency in both residential and non-residential applications.\n",
"Driven by our industry-first concept of the combined material and equipment solution, which we call IntelliSpray, it was developed and introduced with engineering support from Carlisle Fluid Technologies. Carlisle's CCM is uniquely positioned to grow at above market levels in spray Polyurethane foam insulation. This innovative new system will allow us to provide the contractor, builder and homeowner with greater application efficiency and control, savings from application efficiency improvements and ultimately a better foam insulation product.\nThird, like Polyurethane, Architectural Metals is an exciting new platform for CCM, it's a $1 billion market growing at approximately 2 times GBP provides an attractive opportunity to diversify into the sloped roof market with a highly sustainable product. Our metals platform is seeing healthy organic growth as it offers a lasting high ROI system solution to building owners, generating solid pull through sales of CCM insulation and other layman products.\nTo support our regional growth strategy, we are expanding our metals footprint in 2021 by opening three new locations in the U.S. Metal roofing systems also complement our drive to deliver solutions that support the construction of an efficient building envelope. Metal roofs are 100% recyclable, increase energy efficiency of the building up to 20% versus traditional materials and reduce waste in the manufacturing process.\nFourth, we are committed to accelerating growth in Europe, a $10 billion -- or EU"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What was the number of cloud management subscriptions for carriers and enterprises in 2020 | ese products. Second, a geographic expansion that help drive the long-term growth of our 5G business. Our early technology lead is opening many doors, and our products are outperforming competition in our product categories. I want to point out that about 18 months ago, we started to play some key sales and support resources in a few focused markets, which resulted in a strong and growing pipeline of opportunities. These opportunities are now turning into real deployments, and I'm happy to report 5G revenue coming from Europe, Middle East and Japan. As I mentioned earlier, launching 5G products is an involved process, particularly as it relates to new network build-outs.
And we maintain confidence in our continued invest-to-grow strategy. Third is our strategy to create a global fixed wireless access business, both with carriers, and importantly, with enterprises. In Q4, we launched a market-leading high performance 5G FWA solution with UScellular. This is a powerful 5G platform that incorporates the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology and can be easily set up utilizing the Inseego mobile app. We also just launched a version of this solution for enterprise customers in several global markets, and the reception has been extremely positive. In addition to these indoor solutions, we are working on launching several other indoor-outdoor and industrial FWA solutions in the next few months.
In several instances, we are through the field trials and technical acceptance from carriers, while working to complete certifications, and begin commercial orders. In other cases, we are in the customer labs testing the product and looking forward to getting their approval soon. 5G FWA is a new greenfield market that would provide an alternate way to bring broadband into homes and enterprises. This includes taking 5G into enterprise and SMB markets for WAN as use cases. Businesses of all sizes are focused on creating flexible working environments with employees at home, in the office, or in the field closer to their workflows. Our 5G FWA solutions are a key enabler to this new way of working. And we are making great strides in bringing high performance FWA solutions with many customers worldwide.
In addition to these traditional FWA users, there is an interesting ecosystem starting to form around the private network market. We are actively engaging in the market and we plan to build up our business as the market develops over the next few years. Fourth is broadening our software business through value-added features that our customers can monetize. In 2020, we revamped our cloud solutions portfolio, Inseego Manage. Our cloud subscriptions grew significantly to over 3.5 million subscriptions. We also launched a new cloud management solution, Inseego Connect, which is built for highly scalable remote management of our 4G and 5G solutions.
We also released a new mobile app that simplifies the installation and onboarding of our solutions. These new software solutions allow the end customers to self-install their broadband connections for many different use cases. Moving forward, we are focused on growing recurring more SaaS-like revenues that are bundled with our 5G equipment-based solutions. Our focus is on three types of recurring revenue, complex carrier subscription management, cloud management services for carrier and enterprises and 5G Edge enablement. All these areas have a large TAM associated with them.
Now, I'd like to hand it over to Craig.
Craig Foster -- Chief Financial Officer
Good afternoon, everyone. And thank you for taking the time to join the call today. While preparing for the earnings call, we are provided with an opportunity to reflect on the evolution that Inseego is currently undergoing. It was only a few years ago that we were basically a one product, one customer company. What we lacked as a firm was not initiative or drive, but a comprehensive strategy on how we're going to develop this growing market. From my point of view, our current strategy boils down to four major initiatives, all of which are well under way. First is ou | [
"ese products. Second, a geographic expansion that help drive the long-term growth of our 5G business. Our early technology lead is opening many doors, and our products are outperforming competition in our product categories. I want to point out that about 18 months ago, we started to play some key sales and support resources in a few focused markets, which resulted in a strong and growing pipeline of opportunities. These opportunities are now turning into real deployments, and I'm happy to report 5G revenue coming from Europe, Middle East and Japan. As I mentioned earlier, launching 5G products is an involved process, particularly as it relates to new network build-outs.\nAnd we maintain confidence in our continued invest-to-grow strategy. Third is our strategy to create a global fixed wireless access business, both with carriers, and importantly, with enterprises. In Q4, we launched a market-leading high performance 5G FWA solution with UScellular. This is a powerful 5G platform that incorporates the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology and can be easily set up utilizing the Inseego mobile app. We also just launched a version of this solution for enterprise customers in several global markets, and the reception has been extremely positive. In addition to these indoor solutions, we are working on launching several other indoor-outdoor and industrial FWA solutions in the next few months.\nIn several instances, we are through the field trials and technical acceptance from carriers, while working to complete certifications, and begin commercial orders. In other cases, we are in the customer labs testing the product and looking forward to getting their approval soon. 5G FWA is a new greenfield market that would provide an alternate way to bring broadband into homes and enterprises. This includes taking 5G into enterprise and SMB markets for WAN as use cases. Businesses of all sizes are focused on creating flexible working environments with employees at home, in the office, or in the field closer to their workflows. Our 5G FWA solutions are a key enabler to this new way of working. And we are making great strides in bringing high performance FWA solutions with many customers worldwide.\n",
"In addition to these traditional FWA users, there is an interesting ecosystem starting to form around the private network market. We are actively engaging in the market and we plan to build up our business as the market develops over the next few years. Fourth is broadening our software business through value-added features that our customers can monetize. In 2020, we revamped our cloud solutions portfolio, Inseego Manage. Our cloud subscriptions grew significantly to over 3.5 million subscriptions. We also launched a new cloud management solution, Inseego Connect, which is built for highly scalable remote management of our 4G and 5G solutions.\nWe also released a new mobile app that simplifies the installation and onboarding of our solutions. These new software solutions allow the end customers to self-install their broadband connections for many different use cases. Moving forward, we are focused on growing recurring more SaaS-like revenues that are bundled with our 5G equipment-based solutions. Our focus is on three types of recurring revenue, complex carrier subscription management, cloud management services for carrier and enterprises and 5G Edge enablement. All these areas have a large TAM associated with them.\nNow, I'd like to hand it over to Craig.\nCraig Foster -- Chief Financial Officer\nGood afternoon, everyone. And thank you for taking the time to join the call today. While preparing for the earnings call, we are provided with an opportunity to reflect on the evolution that Inseego is currently undergoing. It was only a few years ago that we were basically a one product, one customer company. What we lacked as a firm was not initiative or drive, but a comprehensive strategy on how we're going to develop this growing market. From my point of view, our current strategy boils down to four major initiatives, all of which are well under way. First is ou"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the total number of sites that American Tower plans to build in the next five years | , and Africa, we continue to see solid demand for our critical infrastructure largely driven by deployments of legacy network technologies, particularly 4G.
Whether looking at Brazil, Mexico, India, or Nigeria, consumers are rapidly increasing their utilization of smartphones, thereby driving mobile data usage growth higher. In many of these regions, existing network infrastructure is insufficient to support this deluge of usage as cell site performance is challenged with increased levels of network load. In response to these trends, we are aggressively marketing our existing assets and continue to look for additional acquisition opportunities to bolster our footprint in these markets. But at the same time, we have significantly ramped up our new build program given the tremendous need for entirely new infrastructure.
In fact, if you take the nearly 5,900 sites we built last year and add our expected 7,000 sites at the midpoint of our outlook to be constructed this year, it would represent almost as many sites as the previous five years combined. And as we laid out a few quarters ago, we are targeting the construction of up to 40 to 50,000 new sites over the next five years. With day one NOI yields on these builds continuing to average above 10%, we are excited about deploying significant capital to these initiatives going forward as we capitalize on the advancement of network technology across the emerging world while helping to connect billions of people. In addition to the core secular growth trends driving our global tower business, we are seeing indications, particularly in more mature markets like the United States, of a broad evolution within the overall wireless ecosystem.
This evolution is closely intertwined with 5G and includes an increased prevalence of cloud-native network solutions, more emphasis on the various permutations of the network edge and an ever-increasing intersection of the wired and wireless portions of today's converged network architecture. As networks virtualize, O-RAN or Open RAN, it's expected to become a more important option to improve their economics. We are now starting to see this phenomenon with DISH in the United States, and in Germany, where one and one has spoken extensively about its intent to utilize this technology. By utilizing O-RAN, carriers have the potential to optimize network design and drive cost efficiencies, freeing up incremental capital to invest in densification and other network enhancements that help drive growth in site deployments and colocations.
Importantly, the role of the tower in this evolving network design is as critical as ever. While base station functionality will likely continue to evolve to be cloud native software agile, the radio equipment that is placed on the tower itself, which has always driven our revenue, will continue to reside on the tower. Importantly, we believe we can leverage our extensive global distributed real estate portfolio to not only drive continued strong growth in our core tower business but also to take advantage of other emerging opportunities as networks virtualize. This may include multi-access edge computing and potential other edge cloud permutations of neutral host infrastructure.
At the end of the day, modern software-driven networks are becoming smarter, faster, more capable, and more dynamic, and we are focused on ensuring that American Tower has a meaningful role to play in this context on the infrastructure and real estate side of the equation. One of the areas we focused on is the development of the network edge or, more accurately, the development of multiple layers of the network edge. With the need for lower latency expected to become more and more critical over time with applications like AR, VR, telemedicine, real-time analytics, autonomous driving, entertainment, streaming, you name it, and many others are beginning to emerge, we continue to believe that this could be a meaningful opportunity for American Tower. As we've done more work on the evolution of the edge, the concept of multiple edge layers has co | [
", and Africa, we continue to see solid demand for our critical infrastructure largely driven by deployments of legacy network technologies, particularly 4G.\nWhether looking at Brazil, Mexico, India, or Nigeria, consumers are rapidly increasing their utilization of smartphones, thereby driving mobile data usage growth higher. In many of these regions, existing network infrastructure is insufficient to support this deluge of usage as cell site performance is challenged with increased levels of network load. In response to these trends, we are aggressively marketing our existing assets and continue to look for additional acquisition opportunities to bolster our footprint in these markets. But at the same time, we have significantly ramped up our new build program given the tremendous need for entirely new infrastructure.\nIn fact, if you take the nearly 5,900 sites we built last year and add our expected 7,000 sites at the midpoint of our outlook to be constructed this year, it would represent almost as many sites as the previous five years combined. And as we laid out a few quarters ago, we are targeting the construction of up to 40 to 50,000 new sites over the next five years. With day one NOI yields on these builds continuing to average above 10%, we are excited about deploying significant capital to these initiatives going forward as we capitalize on the advancement of network technology across the emerging world while helping to connect billions of people. In addition to the core secular growth trends driving our global tower business, we are seeing indications, particularly in more mature markets like the United States, of a broad evolution within the overall wireless ecosystem.\nThis evolution is closely intertwined with 5G and includes an increased prevalence of cloud-native network solutions, more emphasis on the various permutations of the network edge and an ever-increasing intersection of the wired and wireless portions of today's converged network architecture. As networks virtualize, O-RAN or Open RAN, it's expected to become a more important option to improve their economics. We are now starting to see this phenomenon with DISH in the United States, and in Germany, where one and one has spoken extensively about its intent to utilize this technology. By utilizing O-RAN, carriers have the potential to optimize network design and drive cost efficiencies, freeing up incremental capital to invest in densification and other network enhancements that help drive growth in site deployments and colocations.\n",
"Importantly, the role of the tower in this evolving network design is as critical as ever. While base station functionality will likely continue to evolve to be cloud native software agile, the radio equipment that is placed on the tower itself, which has always driven our revenue, will continue to reside on the tower. Importantly, we believe we can leverage our extensive global distributed real estate portfolio to not only drive continued strong growth in our core tower business but also to take advantage of other emerging opportunities as networks virtualize. This may include multi-access edge computing and potential other edge cloud permutations of neutral host infrastructure.\nAt the end of the day, modern software-driven networks are becoming smarter, faster, more capable, and more dynamic, and we are focused on ensuring that American Tower has a meaningful role to play in this context on the infrastructure and real estate side of the equation. One of the areas we focused on is the development of the network edge or, more accurately, the development of multiple layers of the network edge. With the need for lower latency expected to become more and more critical over time with applications like AR, VR, telemedicine, real-time analytics, autonomous driving, entertainment, streaming, you name it, and many others are beginning to emerge, we continue to believe that this could be a meaningful opportunity for American Tower. As we've done more work on the evolution of the edge, the concept of multiple edge layers has co"
] | 2 | [
0,
1
] | 0.63093 |
What was the company's 18% same-store sales growth in emerging markets in the quarter | e bigger than expected. I don't know the long-term trajectory there. You would think at some point in the long term, China will rebound and that business should see growth.
But I'm sure the timing on that is uncertain. If you think about other puts and takes, I think emerging market strength. If you look at our 18% same-store sales growth in emerging markets, that's a great sign of recovery and a big important part of our business. So that's a place where you might see upside.
Of course, on the flip side, we'll continue to navigate the really dynamic environment around inflation, pricing and how those are playing out in each of our markets around the globe. Right now, we think we're dealing with those incredibly well. Our scale gives us advantage and gives our franchisees advantage in dealing with those. But -- a very dynamic environment, but we feel really good about the overall profit engine of the business.
Jodi Dyer -- Vice President, Investor Relations
Operator. We have time for one more question this morning.
David Tarantino -- Robert W. Baird and Company -- Analyst
Thank you.
Operator
Our final question this morning is from Brian Mullan of Deutsche Bank. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.
Brian Mullan -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
Thank you. Just kind of a big picture question, but do you see any potential one day for a cross-brand loyalty program at Yum!? Is that something that you think could potentially work in the quick service restaurant industry in the U.S.? Or conversely, are there some reasons why that wouldn't work or wouldn't be a good idea maybe from a consumer perspective or a franchisee perspective?
Chris Turner -- Chief Financial Officer
Yes. So Brian, good question. Loyalty is becoming an increasingly important part of our business, increasingly important part of our digital experience that we provide to customers. More than half of our restaurants around the globe are part of a loyalty program.
Taco Bell in the U.S. is a great example of how we're driving excitement through loyalty. That's what we did with the Taco Lover's Pass. And that helps to drive app downloads and people signing up into the program, and we continue to see significant growth in membership in that program.
Pizza Hut obviously in the U.S. has a large and very impactful loyalty program. And KFC has great loyalty programs in a number of markets around the globe. So we're going to continue to focus on that, implementing it in markets where it makes sense.
Interesting question. Obviously, we thought about it in terms of cross-brand loyalty. Right now, we're focused on maximizing the value of our brand-focused loyalty programs. But obviously, as our data and analytics capabilities continue to evolve, all sorts of possibilities are out there in the future.
But for the time being, we'll remain focused on brand-specific loyalty programs.
David Gibbs -- Chief Executive Officer
So thank you, everybody. I appreciate your time. Just to wrap up, it was another strong quarter obviously with good top line sales growth, all brands growing. The development numbers, obviously, we continue to set records, which we're very proud of.
And that's widespread, right? All of our brands grew at least 5% on a net new unit basis in the quarter. Another digital sales record, which we keep saying on every call and we just keep on delivering on. And then this time, we passed that important milestone of 40% digital mix. And I just think, in total, the quarter represents our brands all around the world are healthy and can perform in any environment.
This is certainly one of the most challenging ones we've ever had to deal with, proving the resiliency of our business model. Thank you for your time.
Operator
[Operator signoff]
Duration: 55 minutes
Call participants:
Jodi Dyer -- Vice President, Investor Relations
David Gibbs -- Chief Executive Officer
Chris Turner -- Chief Financial Officer
Dennis Geiger -- UBS -- Analyst
John Glass -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst
Jon Tower -- Citi -- Analyst
David Palmer -- Evercore ISI -- Analyst
John Ivankoe -- JPMorgan Chase a | [
"e bigger than expected. I don't know the long-term trajectory there. You would think at some point in the long term, China will rebound and that business should see growth.\nBut I'm sure the timing on that is uncertain. If you think about other puts and takes, I think emerging market strength. If you look at our 18% same-store sales growth in emerging markets, that's a great sign of recovery and a big important part of our business. So that's a place where you might see upside.\nOf course, on the flip side, we'll continue to navigate the really dynamic environment around inflation, pricing and how those are playing out in each of our markets around the globe. Right now, we think we're dealing with those incredibly well. Our scale gives us advantage and gives our franchisees advantage in dealing with those. But -- a very dynamic environment, but we feel really good about the overall profit engine of the business.\nJodi Dyer -- Vice President, Investor Relations\nOperator. We have time for one more question this morning.\nDavid Tarantino -- Robert W. Baird and Company -- Analyst\nThank you.\nOperator\nOur final question this morning is from Brian Mullan of Deutsche Bank. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.\nBrian Mullan -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst\nThank you. Just kind of a big picture question, but do you see any potential one day for a cross-brand loyalty program at Yum!? Is that something that you think could potentially work in the quick service restaurant industry in the U.S.? Or conversely, are there some reasons why that wouldn't work or wouldn't be a good idea maybe from a consumer perspective or a franchisee perspective?\nChris Turner -- Chief Financial Officer\nYes. So Brian, good question. Loyalty is becoming an increasingly important part of our business, increasingly important part of our digital experience that we provide to customers. More than half of our restaurants around the globe are part of a loyalty program.\nTaco Bell in the U.S. is a great example of how we're driving excitement through loyalty. That's what we did with the Taco Lover's Pass. And that helps to drive app downloads and people signing up into the program, and we continue to see significant growth in membership in that program.\n",
"Pizza Hut obviously in the U.S. has a large and very impactful loyalty program. And KFC has great loyalty programs in a number of markets around the globe. So we're going to continue to focus on that, implementing it in markets where it makes sense.\nInteresting question. Obviously, we thought about it in terms of cross-brand loyalty. Right now, we're focused on maximizing the value of our brand-focused loyalty programs. But obviously, as our data and analytics capabilities continue to evolve, all sorts of possibilities are out there in the future.\nBut for the time being, we'll remain focused on brand-specific loyalty programs.\nDavid Gibbs -- Chief Executive Officer\nSo thank you, everybody. I appreciate your time. Just to wrap up, it was another strong quarter obviously with good top line sales growth, all brands growing. The development numbers, obviously, we continue to set records, which we're very proud of.\nAnd that's widespread, right? All of our brands grew at least 5% on a net new unit basis in the quarter. Another digital sales record, which we keep saying on every call and we just keep on delivering on. And then this time, we passed that important milestone of 40% digital mix. And I just think, in total, the quarter represents our brands all around the world are healthy and can perform in any environment.\nThis is certainly one of the most challenging ones we've ever had to deal with, proving the resiliency of our business model. Thank you for your time.\nOperator\n[Operator signoff]\nDuration: 55 minutes\nCall participants:\nJodi Dyer -- Vice President, Investor Relations\nDavid Gibbs -- Chief Executive Officer\nChris Turner -- Chief Financial Officer\nDennis Geiger -- UBS -- Analyst\nJohn Glass -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst\nJon Tower -- Citi -- Analyst\nDavid Palmer -- Evercore ISI -- Analyst\nJohn Ivankoe -- JPMorgan Chase a"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected reduction in global office facility investments in 2020 compared with 2019, and what is the reason for this reduction | hich we are well positioned. So we will continue to invest in these areas including Search, machine learning, and Google Cloud. Finally, with respect to capex, on the fourth quarter call, we shared our expectation that investments in both technical infrastructure and office facilities would increase compared to 2019. We now anticipate a modest decrease in the level of total capex in 2020 compared with last year. The biggest change in our outlook is a reduction in global office facility investments due to both the need to pause most of our ground-up construction and fit-outs in response to COVID-19 and our decision to slow down the pace at which we acquire office buildings. In terms of technical infrastructure, we expect a moderate reduction to our forecast relative to the beginning of the year given the impact of COVID-19 on data center construction delays as well as the benefit of our ongoing focus on server efficiency. Overall, we anticipate technical infrastructure investment to remain at roughly the same level as in 2019 with relatively more spend on servers than on data center construction. Thank you and Sundar and I will now take your questions.
Questions and Answers:
Operator
Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Eric Sheridan from UBS. Your line is now open.
Eric Sheridan -- UBS -- Analyst
Thanks for taking the question and hope all is safe and well with everyone on the team there at Alphabet. Two questions if I can. One, on the comment with respect to direct response advertising on YouTube, would love to get a little more color on how direct response advertising as ad units continue to evolve and perform and how advertisers are using those ad units as part of their broader advertising goals. And then maybe, Ruth, for you, on the comment on expenses, just want to understand a little bit of how much of what your messaging on expenses is efficiency gains that you were aiming for in 2020 before we got to COVID-19 versus elements of the cost structure that you're reexamining as a result of the pandemic. Thanks so much.
Sundar Pichai -- Chief Executive Officer
Eric, Thanks for the wishes. On YouTube direct response, we definitely are seeing traction there. I think an area where it really works well for example is app installs. That's a great example of it. Gaming is another good example of it and we are working on iterating and making the formats work better so that it applies to more context as well, but in general, I think businesses are learning to adapt. Obviously, we've had great success with Search and so we are bringing a lot of those learnings and we're sharing it with our customers and so we expect to see more traction there over time.
Ruth Porat -- Chief Financial Officer
And on your second question, I like the way you framed it. Yes, we do have efficiency efforts that we started that we had going as we entered this year, but as a result of what we're seeing in the environment, our view was that we should really double down on those. And so when we go through the various areas that I mentioned, we had started the year with an expectation about really optimizing headcount around the various areas. What we've determined is we're going to, at this point, slow the pace of hiring. To be very clear, we are continuing to hire, but we are slowing the pace of hiring and that's helping as we're driving a deeper look into how do you optimize within each area. The same is true for example in some of the comments on marketing. We are continuing to invest in marketing. As you know well, sales and marketing line, the majority of it is headcount related and we do continue to invest here in ads and in particular in Cloud.
As it relates to the marketing component, namely ads and promo spend, we did reduce it relative to our plans in the beginning of the year and we continue to have a healthy budget for ads and promo particularly in digital to support many business areas, but as with the other areas of investment, we're really focused on optimizing across products and services and with physical event | [
"hich we are well positioned. So we will continue to invest in these areas including Search, machine learning, and Google Cloud. Finally, with respect to capex, on the fourth quarter call, we shared our expectation that investments in both technical infrastructure and office facilities would increase compared to 2019. We now anticipate a modest decrease in the level of total capex in 2020 compared with last year. The biggest change in our outlook is a reduction in global office facility investments due to both the need to pause most of our ground-up construction and fit-outs in response to COVID-19 and our decision to slow down the pace at which we acquire office buildings. In terms of technical infrastructure, we expect a moderate reduction to our forecast relative to the beginning of the year given the impact of COVID-19 on data center construction delays as well as the benefit of our ongoing focus on server efficiency. Overall, we anticipate technical infrastructure investment to remain at roughly the same level as in 2019 with relatively more spend on servers than on data center construction. Thank you and Sundar and I will now take your questions.\nQuestions and Answers:\nOperator\nThank you. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Eric Sheridan from UBS. Your line is now open.\nEric Sheridan -- UBS -- Analyst\nThanks for taking the question and hope all is safe and well with everyone on the team there at Alphabet. Two questions if I can. One, on the comment with respect to direct response advertising on YouTube, would love to get a little more color on how direct response advertising as ad units continue to evolve and perform and how advertisers are using those ad units as part of their broader advertising goals. And then maybe, Ruth, for you, on the comment on expenses, just want to understand a little bit of how much of what your messaging on expenses is efficiency gains that you were aiming for in 2020 before we got to COVID-19 versus elements of the cost structure that you're reexamining as a result of the pandemic. Thanks so much.\nSundar Pichai -- Chief Executive Officer\n",
"Eric, Thanks for the wishes. On YouTube direct response, we definitely are seeing traction there. I think an area where it really works well for example is app installs. That's a great example of it. Gaming is another good example of it and we are working on iterating and making the formats work better so that it applies to more context as well, but in general, I think businesses are learning to adapt. Obviously, we've had great success with Search and so we are bringing a lot of those learnings and we're sharing it with our customers and so we expect to see more traction there over time.\nRuth Porat -- Chief Financial Officer\nAnd on your second question, I like the way you framed it. Yes, we do have efficiency efforts that we started that we had going as we entered this year, but as a result of what we're seeing in the environment, our view was that we should really double down on those. And so when we go through the various areas that I mentioned, we had started the year with an expectation about really optimizing headcount around the various areas. What we've determined is we're going to, at this point, slow the pace of hiring. To be very clear, we are continuing to hire, but we are slowing the pace of hiring and that's helping as we're driving a deeper look into how do you optimize within each area. The same is true for example in some of the comments on marketing. We are continuing to invest in marketing. As you know well, sales and marketing line, the majority of it is headcount related and we do continue to invest here in ads and in particular in Cloud.\nAs it relates to the marketing component, namely ads and promo spend, we did reduce it relative to our plans in the beginning of the year and we continue to have a healthy budget for ads and promo particularly in digital to support many business areas, but as with the other areas of investment, we're really focused on optimizing across products and services and with physical event"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the current EBIT margin for the Neenah operating system | rket opportunity. We'll continue to invest to extend our technologies and expand our presence and these complimentary filtration markets. I've talked about the opportunities we have in specialty coatings with ITASA and with our digital transfer business.
Our third platform engineered materials utilizes some of our most specialized material technologies in a growing market. This business is growing double digits top line and bottom line with future growth supported by recent investments that will increase our capacity, while our growth will come disproportionately from technical product, which is now 70% of Neenah. We're also successfully growing and premium packaging and consumer products. I mentioned earlier a few of these recent successes that are driving growth in these areas.
Finally, I know that all four of our targeted growth platforms benefit from favorable macro trends, like the need for improved air and water quality, an aging population and a growing preference for sustainable products. And nation is also like key catalysts that will add to our growth rate. Well, always a part of our focus. I'm encouraged by the direction we're heading under our new Global Head of innovation. We've aligned our R&D teams to leverage their knowledge and skills across Neenah, and are tapping into employees and customers for input insights and ideas. This will allow us to identify and act more quickly on opportunities to unlock even greater value with existing and new customers and market. And I expect our pace of development to continue to increase over time.
Turning next to margins, we expect both segments. Ultimately, to achieve sustainable mid team EBIT margins. Margins will benefit from an improving and diversified mix. As our faster growing and more advanced products tend to be the most profitable as our performance this quarter demonstrates. And our innovation efforts will also be pointed to these higher margin products and markets. The Neenah operating system is another way we'll continue to drive meaningful and sustainable margin improvement.
As a reminder, this global manufacturing initiative is based on lean principles. And we've recently begun implementation at two of our largest facilities. That's far results have exceeded our expectations. And ultimately, we expect to unlock $20 million of value annually and support our employees and customers with improved safety, quality, delivery and cost.
As I said in our last call, none of this would be possible without the right people. I'm pleased with our talent and with a culture that makes safety the top priority if result oriented with a strong bias to speed, and it's collaborative and inclusive. We started off the year strong with our growth and margin engines delivering ahead of expectations. In the near-term, we are facing inflationary headwinds, and we're taking actions to overcome these just as we have historically, we have a strategy with clear catalysts and initiatives under way that will create long term value and continued Neenah's transformation into a faster growing more profitable specialty materials company.
Before we open the line for questions, I'd like to thank Bill McCarthy, who has been our Investor Relations leader from the start, and with over 66 quarters of earnings cloud experience with Neenah in addition to IR, Bill has been involved in multiple areas in Neenah and we have valued and benefited from his expertise guidance Like, internally and externally. On our next call, we'll introduce Kyle Anderson, who will be taking over the IR function, and his contact information is on our website. Kyle has deep and broad experience with Neenah. And I'm confident he will also be highly effective in this role.
I'd now like to open the call for questions.
Questions and Answers:
Julie Schertell -- Chief Executive Officer
Hi, this is Julie and Paul. I don't know if we have a bad connection. But if you can hear us ask questions, we're here and available to answer
Pete Lukas -- CJS Securities -- Analyst
Yeah, can you hear me?
Paul DeSantis -- Chief Financial Officer
Y | [
"rket opportunity. We'll continue to invest to extend our technologies and expand our presence and these complimentary filtration markets. I've talked about the opportunities we have in specialty coatings with ITASA and with our digital transfer business.\nOur third platform engineered materials utilizes some of our most specialized material technologies in a growing market. This business is growing double digits top line and bottom line with future growth supported by recent investments that will increase our capacity, while our growth will come disproportionately from technical product, which is now 70% of Neenah. We're also successfully growing and premium packaging and consumer products. I mentioned earlier a few of these recent successes that are driving growth in these areas.\nFinally, I know that all four of our targeted growth platforms benefit from favorable macro trends, like the need for improved air and water quality, an aging population and a growing preference for sustainable products. And nation is also like key catalysts that will add to our growth rate. Well, always a part of our focus. I'm encouraged by the direction we're heading under our new Global Head of innovation. We've aligned our R&D teams to leverage their knowledge and skills across Neenah, and are tapping into employees and customers for input insights and ideas. This will allow us to identify and act more quickly on opportunities to unlock even greater value with existing and new customers and market. And I expect our pace of development to continue to increase over time.\nTurning next to margins, we expect both segments. Ultimately, to achieve sustainable mid team EBIT margins. Margins will benefit from an improving and diversified mix. As our faster growing and more advanced products tend to be the most profitable as our performance this quarter demonstrates. And our innovation efforts will also be pointed to these higher margin products and markets. The Neenah operating system is another way we'll continue to drive meaningful and sustainable margin improvement.\nAs a reminder, this global manufacturing initiative is based on lean principles. And we've recently begun implementation at two of our largest facilities. That's far results have exceeded our expectations. And ultimately, we expect to unlock $20 million of value annually and support our employees and customers with improved safety, quality, delivery and cost.\n",
"As I said in our last call, none of this would be possible without the right people. I'm pleased with our talent and with a culture that makes safety the top priority if result oriented with a strong bias to speed, and it's collaborative and inclusive. We started off the year strong with our growth and margin engines delivering ahead of expectations. In the near-term, we are facing inflationary headwinds, and we're taking actions to overcome these just as we have historically, we have a strategy with clear catalysts and initiatives under way that will create long term value and continued Neenah's transformation into a faster growing more profitable specialty materials company.\nBefore we open the line for questions, I'd like to thank Bill McCarthy, who has been our Investor Relations leader from the start, and with over 66 quarters of earnings cloud experience with Neenah in addition to IR, Bill has been involved in multiple areas in Neenah and we have valued and benefited from his expertise guidance Like, internally and externally. On our next call, we'll introduce Kyle Anderson, who will be taking over the IR function, and his contact information is on our website. Kyle has deep and broad experience with Neenah. And I'm confident he will also be highly effective in this role.\nI'd now like to open the call for questions.\nQuestions and Answers:\nJulie Schertell -- Chief Executive Officer\nHi, this is Julie and Paul. I don't know if we have a bad connection. But if you can hear us ask questions, we're here and available to answer\nPete Lukas -- CJS Securities -- Analyst\nYeah, can you hear me?\nPaul DeSantis -- Chief Financial Officer\nY"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the expected comparable operating margin range for Nokia in 2022 | ring that we have a technology leadership, not only today, but also longer term, why we invest more in Bell Labs and also the NGP, our venture fund that Pekka just mentioned.
And in both of these areas, we also have a business in. When it comes to NGP, we just announced today a new fund, Fund V, and that's about a USD 400 million fund that we'll invest in the next coming years in areas that are strategically relevant to Nokia. And if you look at the track record of NGP, it's being very good. So far, they have had about 15% to 20% IRR at maturity.
In addition to that, of course, the good financial position that we have, we have to secure that we can fulfill those commitments we have toward our customers. And that's why we will intelligently think how to increase the inventory levels that we have, especially in these situations where we see that there's supply chain constraints. And if we look at our working capital rotation days, we've seen a pretty good development in the past two years' time. And also, the inventory rotation days have been declining in a nice way.
And I'm not worried about if we increase inventories, inventory levels as such because that will definitely benefit our top line and margins. You see a slight increase in accounts receivables toward the end of the year. And I would say that this is mainly because of we reduced the sale of receivables. So the underlying development is very good.
And when it comes to the distribution to our shareholders, thanks to the strong liquidity position that we have. Actually, the board of directors have today proposed to the AGM a EUR 0.08 of dividend for results of 2021, and this will be paid on a quarterly basis. Also, to manage our capital structure and excess cash, the board of directors will initiate now a share buyback program with the intention of repurchasing up to EUR 600 million over the next coming two years. And let's go over to '22 outlook and giving some more details of each of these three different areas.
And just stating the outlook itself on the net sales side, EUR 22.6 billion to EUR 23.8 billion, and the comparable operating margin between 11% and 13.5%. Free cash flow, we actually have changed how we guide that in the future. So now it's a conversion from comparable operating profit to cash flow. And we believe that in 2022, that will be between 25% to 55%.
And let's look into each of these in a little bit more detail, what is the background and support for these. Starting with the top line. If we look at the operating -- the addressable market, we see that it's growing about 3% on constant currencies. And we see growth across all businesses.
In Mobile Networks, the driver is 5G deployments. In Network Infrastructure, it is connectivity, investments in national broadband initiatives and also the fixed wireless. And when it comes to cloud and network services, we see continued growth in enterprise sector, especially in private wireless, but also Webscale like Edge computing. And regionally, I would say that we see growth in all regions, especially in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
And of course, without the constraints that we see in the supply chain, I think we would see higher growth than this as well. Just a couple of words about Mobile Networks as well. This is now excluding China. And Network Infrastructure is excluding the Submarine business.
And mobile networks growth of 3%. I would say that if we compare with external analyst firms like Dell'Oro, this is pretty much aligned with their expectations as well. This is now in constant currencies in euros, while they usually have USD. And also the perimeter is a little bit different.
They only look the RAN while we have a little bit wider perimeter. And if we look at operating margin, we can see that starting from '21 and excluding the one-offs, about 150 basis points we land at 11%. And we see that sales growth and operational improvements will be the main driver of the margin improvements during this year, of course, tempered by the impact from supply chain costs, general cost inflation an | [
"ring that we have a technology leadership, not only today, but also longer term, why we invest more in Bell Labs and also the NGP, our venture fund that Pekka just mentioned.\nAnd in both of these areas, we also have a business in. When it comes to NGP, we just announced today a new fund, Fund V, and that's about a USD 400 million fund that we'll invest in the next coming years in areas that are strategically relevant to Nokia. And if you look at the track record of NGP, it's being very good. So far, they have had about 15% to 20% IRR at maturity.\nIn addition to that, of course, the good financial position that we have, we have to secure that we can fulfill those commitments we have toward our customers. And that's why we will intelligently think how to increase the inventory levels that we have, especially in these situations where we see that there's supply chain constraints. And if we look at our working capital rotation days, we've seen a pretty good development in the past two years' time. And also, the inventory rotation days have been declining in a nice way.\nAnd I'm not worried about if we increase inventories, inventory levels as such because that will definitely benefit our top line and margins. You see a slight increase in accounts receivables toward the end of the year. And I would say that this is mainly because of we reduced the sale of receivables. So the underlying development is very good.\nAnd when it comes to the distribution to our shareholders, thanks to the strong liquidity position that we have. Actually, the board of directors have today proposed to the AGM a EUR 0.08 of dividend for results of 2021, and this will be paid on a quarterly basis. Also, to manage our capital structure and excess cash, the board of directors will initiate now a share buyback program with the intention of repurchasing up to EUR 600 million over the next coming two years. And let's go over to '22 outlook and giving some more details of each of these three different areas.\n",
"And just stating the outlook itself on the net sales side, EUR 22.6 billion to EUR 23.8 billion, and the comparable operating margin between 11% and 13.5%. Free cash flow, we actually have changed how we guide that in the future. So now it's a conversion from comparable operating profit to cash flow. And we believe that in 2022, that will be between 25% to 55%.\nAnd let's look into each of these in a little bit more detail, what is the background and support for these. Starting with the top line. If we look at the operating -- the addressable market, we see that it's growing about 3% on constant currencies. And we see growth across all businesses.\nIn Mobile Networks, the driver is 5G deployments. In Network Infrastructure, it is connectivity, investments in national broadband initiatives and also the fixed wireless. And when it comes to cloud and network services, we see continued growth in enterprise sector, especially in private wireless, but also Webscale like Edge computing. And regionally, I would say that we see growth in all regions, especially in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.\nAnd of course, without the constraints that we see in the supply chain, I think we would see higher growth than this as well. Just a couple of words about Mobile Networks as well. This is now excluding China. And Network Infrastructure is excluding the Submarine business.\nAnd mobile networks growth of 3%. I would say that if we compare with external analyst firms like Dell'Oro, this is pretty much aligned with their expectations as well. This is now in constant currencies in euros, while they usually have USD. And also the perimeter is a little bit different.\nThey only look the RAN while we have a little bit wider perimeter. And if we look at operating margin, we can see that starting from '21 and excluding the one-offs, about 150 basis points we land at 11%. And we see that sales growth and operational improvements will be the main driver of the margin improvements during this year, of course, tempered by the impact from supply chain costs, general cost inflation an"
] | 2 | [
0,
1
] | 0.63093 |
What is the company's guidance for revenue growth in the 2021-Q4 quarter compared to the 2020-Q4 quarter | se Wi-Fi routers and those to more in real infrastructures like I mean in data centers or these communication between the data centers and the switchers and even towers. So the last years, our customers are pulling a lot of revenues. And this time, then we see all the other things are going like 5Gs and including the commercial Wi-Fi systems and then and -- where we play a critical role on these in these areas. And we see the expansions, and we will see a further -- continue to expand in the next few quarters.
Bernie Blegen -- Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Yes. I think we remain very optimistic about our long-term positioning within the communication sector and in particular, infrastructure as it relates to 5G. But I think that right now, we have not hit a constant investment cadence on the part of the carriers in either Europe or North America. So we think that as that starts to gain momentum and gets more predictable, we're very well positioned to participate in that.
Ross Seymore -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
Thanks for that color. I guess as my follow-up, seasonality versus kind of cyclicality and/or supply driven moves. Obviously, your fourth quarter has guided a bit better than your traditional seasonality kind of flattish this year. But how are you thinking about that as we go into next year and beyond? Is it mainly going to be driven by the product cycles you have in short supply in aggregate? So those would be big tailwinds? Or do you believe seasonality is going to become a framework that's something that investors should consider as we go into 2022?
Michael R. Hsing -- Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
Well, Ross, you see the -- this market is an exceptionally strong market, I mean. And like I mean, a lot of demand is everywhere, so like I mean, also are constrained by the supply. And we do have a delinquencies. And I mean, but that's we're facing delinquency for many quarters, like I mean -- and for -- I think we still have the -- my opinion is that we still have some kind of seasonality in fourth quarters because all these holidays, all these and it will kind of affect us. And so we see the -- as I said earlier, we see the demand is still very strong. So like I mean we're just cautious, and we are on our guidance.
Ross Seymore -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
And just to add to that is that right now, what we are continuing to do is investing and expanding our capacity because we do believe that this robust demand that we're experiencing will continue, and we want to be able to participate, optimize to the best of our ability, this growth opportunity.
Michael R. Hsing -- Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
Yes, let me clarify the shortages, OK. All these -- what I mean with shortage is that we have a few thousand products and always have some mixed issues. And as we don't have a serious -- we don't have fab capacity issues. And -- but all these are mixed in the -- for particular product that we may have -- we have a few products that have a -- are facing shortages now. So -- and as we transfer to a different fab, it just takes time to qualify this.
Ross Seymore -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst
Got it. Thanks, guys.
Genevieve Cunningham -- Supervisor of Marketing Communications
Our next question is from Alex Vecchi of William Blair. Alex, your line is now open.
Alex Vecchi -- William Blair -- Analyst
Hey, guys. Congratulations on the strong results. Maybe just to piggyback on Ross' question a little bit with seasonality. Bernie, can you give a little color on how we should think about the sequential growth rate by end market for Q4 in terms of maybe strongest end market to weakest?
Bernie Blegen -- Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Sure. So, when you look at Q4, I think that the two primary drivers are going to be computing and continuation of automotive. And then you would normally expect and we expect to see a slight downturn in consumer.
So, I think many of the trend lines that we're familiar with are continuing and ongoing, but the amplitude mi | [
"se Wi-Fi routers and those to more in real infrastructures like I mean in data centers or these communication between the data centers and the switchers and even towers. So the last years, our customers are pulling a lot of revenues. And this time, then we see all the other things are going like 5Gs and including the commercial Wi-Fi systems and then and -- where we play a critical role on these in these areas. And we see the expansions, and we will see a further -- continue to expand in the next few quarters.\nBernie Blegen -- Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nYes. I think we remain very optimistic about our long-term positioning within the communication sector and in particular, infrastructure as it relates to 5G. But I think that right now, we have not hit a constant investment cadence on the part of the carriers in either Europe or North America. So we think that as that starts to gain momentum and gets more predictable, we're very well positioned to participate in that.\nRoss Seymore -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst\nThanks for that color. I guess as my follow-up, seasonality versus kind of cyclicality and/or supply driven moves. Obviously, your fourth quarter has guided a bit better than your traditional seasonality kind of flattish this year. But how are you thinking about that as we go into next year and beyond? Is it mainly going to be driven by the product cycles you have in short supply in aggregate? So those would be big tailwinds? Or do you believe seasonality is going to become a framework that's something that investors should consider as we go into 2022?\nMichael R. Hsing -- Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer\nWell, Ross, you see the -- this market is an exceptionally strong market, I mean. And like I mean, a lot of demand is everywhere, so like I mean, also are constrained by the supply. And we do have a delinquencies. And I mean, but that's we're facing delinquency for many quarters, like I mean -- and for -- I think we still have the -- my opinion is that we still have some kind of seasonality in fourth quarters because all these holidays, all these and it will kind of affect us. And so we see the -- as I said earlier, we see the demand is still very strong. So like I mean we're just cautious, and we are on our guidance.\nRoss Seymore -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst\n",
"And just to add to that is that right now, what we are continuing to do is investing and expanding our capacity because we do believe that this robust demand that we're experiencing will continue, and we want to be able to participate, optimize to the best of our ability, this growth opportunity.\nMichael R. Hsing -- Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer\nYes, let me clarify the shortages, OK. All these -- what I mean with shortage is that we have a few thousand products and always have some mixed issues. And as we don't have a serious -- we don't have fab capacity issues. And -- but all these are mixed in the -- for particular product that we may have -- we have a few products that have a -- are facing shortages now. So -- and as we transfer to a different fab, it just takes time to qualify this.\nRoss Seymore -- Deutsche Bank -- Analyst\nGot it. Thanks, guys.\nGenevieve Cunningham -- Supervisor of Marketing Communications\nOur next question is from Alex Vecchi of William Blair. Alex, your line is now open.\nAlex Vecchi -- William Blair -- Analyst\nHey, guys. Congratulations on the strong results. Maybe just to piggyback on Ross' question a little bit with seasonality. Bernie, can you give a little color on how we should think about the sequential growth rate by end market for Q4 in terms of maybe strongest end market to weakest?\nBernie Blegen -- Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nSure. So, when you look at Q4, I think that the two primary drivers are going to be computing and continuation of automotive. And then you would normally expect and we expect to see a slight downturn in consumer.\nSo, I think many of the trend lines that we're familiar with are continuing and ongoing, but the amplitude mi"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the breakdown of TSMC's $40 billion to $45 billion capex in terms of geographic location (Taiwan, US, Japan) | n specifically on the N6-based RF transceiver. I recall that in your symposium back in June last year, you mentioned that the N6-based RF transceiver fr 5G. Can you give us more update, as we know that there's not much expansion on 16- or 12-nanometer, which is the major technology node for 5G, the RF transceiver? And with the limited supply, just curious about the N6-based 5G RF transceiver, would that become the mainstream? Or what TSMS's capacity plan in this area? And also the client engagement for the N6-based RFs?
Jeff Su
OK, Laura. Let me try to summarize. Her questions about RF transceivers for 5G. She wants to know, there doesn't seem to be any major capacity expansion.
So what is TSMC's strategy for RF transceivers for 5G and also N6? You're talking in N16 or N6, sorry, Laura?
Laura Chen -- KGI Securities -- Analyst
The N6 because right now, most of are transceiver are in 16, from my understanding.
Jeff Su
Yes.
Laura Chen -- KGI Securities -- Analyst
Yes. But there is not much difference.
Jeff Su
So she wants to update on N6 RF transceiver strategy.
C.C. Wei -- Chief Executive Officer
OK, Laura. We always are working with our customers closely, right? And the customer makes their decision to choose which technology node and to match their product design best. And you are right. Right now, transceiver is starting moving from 28-nanometer to 16, and now moving to N6.
We are expanding our capacity to meet the demand. That's all I can say. Did that answer your question?
Laura Chen -- KGI Securities -- Analyst
OK. yes. I think -- can I follow up that will we expect that N6-based RF will be the majority sometime, say, in 2023 or '24?
Jeff Su
So Laura's follow-up is, can we expect N6 RF to be the majority in -- by 2023 or '24?
C.C. Wei -- Chief Executive Officer
Well, I should not comment on that. This is between TSMC and the TSMC's customers.
Laura Chen -- KGI Securities -- Analyst
Got it. Thank you very much.
Jeff Su
OK. Thank you. Operator, in the interest of time, I think we'll take the final two questions.
Operator
Next one to ask questions, Krish Sankar from Cowen and Company.
Krish Sankar -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst
Yes. Thanks for taking the question, and congrats on the really strong results. My first question is on gross margins. Wendell, you said long-term gross margin about 53%.
The last couple of quarters, you said it will be over 50%. So is it safe to assume that the price increases are the big reason for this increase in gross margin? And are these structural? Or are they cyclical? And is there some other variable in play given in gross margin improvement, since it's interesting that capex is going up, but the depreciation is not having an impact longer term on the gross margins? That's my first question.
Jeff Su
OK. Krish, let me summarize your first question. So Krish notes that Wendell is -- and C.C. said our long-term gross margin target -- last time we said 50% and higher.
Now today, we said 53% and higher. So is this because of price? And is this a cyclical element only? Or is this something structural in terms of a higher 53% and higher long-term gross margin target?
Wendell Huang -- Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Yes. Well, let me share with you that. We're talking about long term. So several years down the road.
I think that shouldn't be a cyclical issue. So previously, it's long term, 50% and higher. Now it's long term, 53% and higher, OK? So that's the difference. And we are working closely with our customers and suppliers to both sell our value and drive our cost improvements.
So those are the -- this is the result of all these efforts together.
Krish Sankar -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst
Got it. Got it. All right. And then my second question is kind of a two-part question.
It's a capex and the opex question, you spoke about $40 billion to $45 billion capex. Can you just tell us how much of the capex is going to be split between Taiwan and US and Japan, like a geographic breakdown of that $40 billion to $44 billion? And the opex side, I understand you don't want to comment o | [
"n specifically on the N6-based RF transceiver. I recall that in your symposium back in June last year, you mentioned that the N6-based RF transceiver fr 5G. Can you give us more update, as we know that there's not much expansion on 16- or 12-nanometer, which is the major technology node for 5G, the RF transceiver? And with the limited supply, just curious about the N6-based 5G RF transceiver, would that become the mainstream? Or what TSMS's capacity plan in this area? And also the client engagement for the N6-based RFs?\nJeff Su\nOK, Laura. Let me try to summarize. Her questions about RF transceivers for 5G. She wants to know, there doesn't seem to be any major capacity expansion.\nSo what is TSMC's strategy for RF transceivers for 5G and also N6? You're talking in N16 or N6, sorry, Laura?\nLaura Chen -- KGI Securities -- Analyst\nThe N6 because right now, most of are transceiver are in 16, from my understanding.\nJeff Su\nYes.\nLaura Chen -- KGI Securities -- Analyst\nYes. But there is not much difference.\nJeff Su\nSo she wants to update on N6 RF transceiver strategy.\nC.C. Wei -- Chief Executive Officer\nOK, Laura. We always are working with our customers closely, right? And the customer makes their decision to choose which technology node and to match their product design best. And you are right. Right now, transceiver is starting moving from 28-nanometer to 16, and now moving to N6.\nWe are expanding our capacity to meet the demand. That's all I can say. Did that answer your question?\nLaura Chen -- KGI Securities -- Analyst\nOK. yes. I think -- can I follow up that will we expect that N6-based RF will be the majority sometime, say, in 2023 or '24?\nJeff Su\nSo Laura's follow-up is, can we expect N6 RF to be the majority in -- by 2023 or '24?\nC.C. Wei -- Chief Executive Officer\nWell, I should not comment on that. This is between TSMC and the TSMC's customers.\nLaura Chen -- KGI Securities -- Analyst\nGot it. Thank you very much.\nJeff Su\n",
"OK. Thank you. Operator, in the interest of time, I think we'll take the final two questions.\nOperator\nNext one to ask questions, Krish Sankar from Cowen and Company.\nKrish Sankar -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst\nYes. Thanks for taking the question, and congrats on the really strong results. My first question is on gross margins. Wendell, you said long-term gross margin about 53%.\nThe last couple of quarters, you said it will be over 50%. So is it safe to assume that the price increases are the big reason for this increase in gross margin? And are these structural? Or are they cyclical? And is there some other variable in play given in gross margin improvement, since it's interesting that capex is going up, but the depreciation is not having an impact longer term on the gross margins? That's my first question.\nJeff Su\nOK. Krish, let me summarize your first question. So Krish notes that Wendell is -- and C.C. said our long-term gross margin target -- last time we said 50% and higher.\nNow today, we said 53% and higher. So is this because of price? And is this a cyclical element only? Or is this something structural in terms of a higher 53% and higher long-term gross margin target?\nWendell Huang -- Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nYes. Well, let me share with you that. We're talking about long term. So several years down the road.\nI think that shouldn't be a cyclical issue. So previously, it's long term, 50% and higher. Now it's long term, 53% and higher, OK? So that's the difference. And we are working closely with our customers and suppliers to both sell our value and drive our cost improvements.\nSo those are the -- this is the result of all these efforts together.\nKrish Sankar -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst\nGot it. Got it. All right. And then my second question is kind of a two-part question.\nIt's a capex and the opex question, you spoke about $40 billion to $45 billion capex. Can you just tell us how much of the capex is going to be split between Taiwan and US and Japan, like a geographic breakdown of that $40 billion to $44 billion? And the opex side, I understand you don't want to comment o"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What was the reported revenue for the fourth quarter of 2019 for the merged company ONTO | nts. And as we manage through this situation and assess timing, our first priority will be to the safety and well-being of our staff and their families.
Looking more broadly at 2020, we see demand for 5G-enabled devices and high-performance computing sparking a broader recovery in the market. Gartner forecasts that worldwide, mobile phones will see a modest increase this year versus a decline in 2019. Driving the majority of that increase are the 5G-enabled handsets, which Gartner predicts will account for 12% of all mobile phone shipments in 2020, increasing to 43% of all mobile phones in 2022. As a result, we expect to see a number of Onto Innovation markets expand in 2020.
The most obvious impact of this growth is in our specialty devices and advanced packaging segment. Underscoring this opportunity is our release from earlier in this -- in the month announcing the receipt of orders for 15 inspection systems from two customers rapidly expanding advanced packaging capacity to support wafer-level packaging of 5G devices. We see continued growth in these markets in 2020, driven by volume increases as well as additional devices migrating to advanced packaging. We also see 5G and high-performance computing, benefiting our advanced node segments in which leaders, such as SK Hynix, recently forecast 5G smartphones will drive a 25% increase in DRAM content per phone, while NAND will benefit from 20% increase per phone.
And TSMC recently cited growing demand for their 5 nanometer process from 5G processors, RF front-end modules and advanced computing. We expect our advanced semiconductor nodes segment to grow modestly with sustained levels of logic foundry spending and a pickup in memory spending starting with DRAM. In conclusion, semiconductor markets are becoming more diverse every year. We see chip innovations and cameras, sensing and communications, enabling new customer products such as smart home, smart grids and wearable health monitors.
We see innovations in the advanced nodes for both memory and logic, enabling data centers and AI engines to open up entirely new markets such as medicine, autonomous driving and energy. We see a growing number of customers increasing their focus on advanced packaging technology to unlock the full potential of new chip designs and more tightly integrated and high-performing form factors. Across the spectrum, Onto Innovation is an important partner to our customers. Our merger strengthens our ability to provide value-enhancing services to our customers, increase our pace of product innovation and deliver more comprehensive, integrated solutions to challenges further down our customers road map.
We are only at the very start of this journey but we are committed to maximizing our potential to the benefit of all of our stakeholders, customers, shareholders and our team. With that, I'll turn the call over to Steve Roth to review the financial highlights.
Steven Roth -- Chief Financial Officer
Thanks Mike. Before I begin my financial remarks today, I want to remind you as usual the financial results discussed here will be provided on a non-GAAP basis. And that our non-GAAP presentation for the new merged company no longer excludes stock-based compensation as the former Rudolph financials did. In addition, as detailed in our last conference call, Rudolph was deemed the financial acquirer in the merger.
And therefore, the combined financial results presented today represent the results of Rudolph for the full fourth quarter but only the results of former Nanometrics since the closing of the merger on October 25. I recognize that this partial quarter makes comparability of prior period somewhat difficult and I'll try to bridge those differences for comparative purposes to the prior periods. As Mike mentioned, our reported fourth-quarter revenue was $120.6 million, above the midpoint of our guidance. That revenue excludes both $10 million of Nanometrics October shipments and $1.7 million of deferred revenue that would have rolled into the quarter but was eliminated in the merger accounting.
Theref | [
"nts. And as we manage through this situation and assess timing, our first priority will be to the safety and well-being of our staff and their families.\nLooking more broadly at 2020, we see demand for 5G-enabled devices and high-performance computing sparking a broader recovery in the market. Gartner forecasts that worldwide, mobile phones will see a modest increase this year versus a decline in 2019. Driving the majority of that increase are the 5G-enabled handsets, which Gartner predicts will account for 12% of all mobile phone shipments in 2020, increasing to 43% of all mobile phones in 2022. As a result, we expect to see a number of Onto Innovation markets expand in 2020.\nThe most obvious impact of this growth is in our specialty devices and advanced packaging segment. Underscoring this opportunity is our release from earlier in this -- in the month announcing the receipt of orders for 15 inspection systems from two customers rapidly expanding advanced packaging capacity to support wafer-level packaging of 5G devices. We see continued growth in these markets in 2020, driven by volume increases as well as additional devices migrating to advanced packaging. We also see 5G and high-performance computing, benefiting our advanced node segments in which leaders, such as SK Hynix, recently forecast 5G smartphones will drive a 25% increase in DRAM content per phone, while NAND will benefit from 20% increase per phone.\nAnd TSMC recently cited growing demand for their 5 nanometer process from 5G processors, RF front-end modules and advanced computing. We expect our advanced semiconductor nodes segment to grow modestly with sustained levels of logic foundry spending and a pickup in memory spending starting with DRAM. In conclusion, semiconductor markets are becoming more diverse every year. We see chip innovations and cameras, sensing and communications, enabling new customer products such as smart home, smart grids and wearable health monitors.\n",
"We see innovations in the advanced nodes for both memory and logic, enabling data centers and AI engines to open up entirely new markets such as medicine, autonomous driving and energy. We see a growing number of customers increasing their focus on advanced packaging technology to unlock the full potential of new chip designs and more tightly integrated and high-performing form factors. Across the spectrum, Onto Innovation is an important partner to our customers. Our merger strengthens our ability to provide value-enhancing services to our customers, increase our pace of product innovation and deliver more comprehensive, integrated solutions to challenges further down our customers road map.\nWe are only at the very start of this journey but we are committed to maximizing our potential to the benefit of all of our stakeholders, customers, shareholders and our team. With that, I'll turn the call over to Steve Roth to review the financial highlights.\nSteven Roth -- Chief Financial Officer\nThanks Mike. Before I begin my financial remarks today, I want to remind you as usual the financial results discussed here will be provided on a non-GAAP basis. And that our non-GAAP presentation for the new merged company no longer excludes stock-based compensation as the former Rudolph financials did. In addition, as detailed in our last conference call, Rudolph was deemed the financial acquirer in the merger.\nAnd therefore, the combined financial results presented today represent the results of Rudolph for the full fourth quarter but only the results of former Nanometrics since the closing of the merger on October 25. I recognize that this partial quarter makes comparability of prior period somewhat difficult and I'll try to bridge those differences for comparative purposes to the prior periods. As Mike mentioned, our reported fourth-quarter revenue was $120.6 million, above the midpoint of our guidance. That revenue excludes both $10 million of Nanometrics October shipments and $1.7 million of deferred revenue that would have rolled into the quarter but was eliminated in the merger accounting.\nTheref"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
who is the favorite | The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the oldest civil rights groups in the nation, will announce the successor to Chairman Julian Bond on Saturday as the organization strives to prove its relevance and influence to a new generation. NAACP Vice Chair Roslyn Brock has emerged as the favorite to fill the seat left by Bond, a civil rights leader who has held the post since 1998. Bond, a stalwart of the civil rights movement, helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, known for its student sit-ins in the early 1960s, and served as the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He served in both houses of the Georgia Legislature, totaling two decades in office, before leading the NAACP. "I think he's been enormously effective; he's just a thoughtful person with a rich history in civil rights struggles," said historian Patricia A. Sullivan, whose book, "Raise Every Voice," chronicled the history of the NAACP. Sullivan said Bond brought his experiences from the forefront of the civil rights movement to his role as chairman to take on disparities in the criminal justice system, education, housing and unemployment to the national level. Most recently, amid internal, grass-roots level tensions over whether the NAACP would support same-sex marriage, Bond appeared at the National Equality March in Washington in October. "I'm fond of saying there's no such thing as saying gay rights or black rights. There's civil rights, and every American deserves civil rights," he said at the time. "He's very clear on what has long been the NAACP message of civil rights and inclusive democracy," Sullivan said. Bond also is known for some of his political criticism, doling it out consistently against the Republican Party and the Bush administration in the earlier years of his tenure. At the 2001 NAACP convention, which was held before the September 11 attacks, Bond sharply criticized some of President George W. Bush's political appointments, saying Bush had "selected nominees from the Taliban wing of American politics, appeased the wretched appetites of the extreme right wing and chosen Cabinet officials whose devotion to the Confederacy is nearly canine in its uncritical affection." Bush spoke before the NAACP in 2000, during his first run for the presidency, but he did not make another appearance until 2006, during his second term. Bond has called out Democrats as well, complaining they are too often "not an opposition; they're an amen corner. ... When one party is shameless, the other party cannot afford to be spineless." "Julian has been very effective," said Mary Frances Berry, former chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. "He came out of a tradition of conflict and advocacy, and has taken on people rather vocally at times. "Probably, the next person will need to take into account the change in terms of people they're dealing with." Bond, 70, indicated he was ready to leave the organization in 2008, but stayed on in 2009 as the NAACP celebrated its 100th anniversary. At the time, there was talk about whether the organization was still relevant in what some observers called a "post-racial" United States. John McWhorter, a linguist and conservative political commentator, spelled it out in a February 2009 column titled, "If the NAACP ceased to exist tomorrow, would it have a significant effect on black America?" For Bond, the answer was obvious. "We have for the first time a black man who can open the doors to Air Force One, but we now know his children couldn't go to a pool in Philadelphia," Bond said in July, referring to a decision by a suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, swim club to revoke privileges of a largely minority day care center last year. "So, as long as this disparity exists, we're not the national association for the advancement of one colored person, we want all colored people to advance," he continued. "And for us | [
"The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the oldest civil rights groups in the nation, will announce the successor to Chairman Julian Bond on Saturday as the organization strives to prove its relevance and influence to a new generation. NAACP Vice Chair Roslyn Brock has emerged as the favorite to fill the seat left by Bond, a civil rights leader who has held the post since 1998. Bond, a stalwart of the civil rights movement, helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, known for its student sit-ins in the early 1960s, and served as the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He served in both houses of the Georgia Legislature, totaling two decades in office, before leading the NAACP. \"I think he's been enormously effective; he's just a thoughtful person with a rich history in civil rights struggles,\" said historian Patricia A. Sullivan, whose book, \"Raise Every Voice,\" chronicled the history of the NAACP. Sullivan said Bond brought his experiences from the forefront of the civil rights movement to his role as chairman to take on disparities in the criminal justice system, education, housing and unemployment to the national level. Most recently, amid internal, grass-roots level tensions over whether the NAACP would support same-sex marriage, Bond appeared at the National Equality March in Washington in October. \"I'm fond of saying there's no such thing as saying gay rights or black rights. There's civil rights, and every American deserves civil rights,\" he said at the time. \"He's very clear on what has long been the NAACP message of civil rights and inclusive democracy,\" Sullivan said. Bond also is known for some of his political criticism, doling it out consistently against the Republican Party and the Bush administration in the earlier years of his tenure. At the 2001 NAACP convention, which was held before the September 11 attacks, Bond sharply criticized some of President George W. Bush's political appointments, saying Bush had \"selected nominees from the Taliban wing of American politics, appeased the wretched appetites of the extreme right wing and chosen Cabinet officials whose devotion to the Confederacy is nearly canine in its uncritical affection.\" Bush spoke before the NAACP in 2000, during his first run for the presidency, but he did not make another appearance until 2006, during his second term. Bond has called out Democrats as well, complaining they are too often \"not an opposition; they're an amen corner. ... ",
"When one party is shameless, the other party cannot afford to be spineless.\" \"Julian has been very effective,\" said Mary Frances Berry, former chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. \"He came out of a tradition of conflict and advocacy, and has taken on people rather vocally at times. \"Probably, the next person will need to take into account the change in terms of people they're dealing with.\" Bond, 70, indicated he was ready to leave the organization in 2008, but stayed on in 2009 as the NAACP celebrated its 100th anniversary. At the time, there was talk about whether the organization was still relevant in what some observers called a \"post-racial\" United States. John McWhorter, a linguist and conservative political commentator, spelled it out in a February 2009 column titled, \"If the NAACP ceased to exist tomorrow, would it have a significant effect on black America?\" For Bond, the answer was obvious. \"We have for the first time a black man who can open the doors to Air Force One, but we now know his children couldn't go to a pool in Philadelphia,\" Bond said in July, referring to a decision by a suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, swim club to revoke privileges of a largely minority day care center last year. \"So, as long as this disparity exists, we're not the national association for the advancement of one colored person, we want all colored people to advance,\" he continued. \"And for us"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
what was the joke about | The two men who claimed to have found the carcass of Bigfoot have surfaced to say: Hey, it was just a joke. Matt Whitton has been fired from his job as a police officer because of his role in the hoax. Not everyone is laughing. In an exclusive interview with CNN affiliate WSB, the two hoaxers -- car salesman Rick Dyer and now-fired police officer Matt Whitton -- said the whole situation began as a joke and then got out of hand. "It's just a big hoax, a big joke," Dyer said. "It's Bigfoot," Dyer explained. "Bigfoot doesn't exist." Whitton chimed in: "All this was a big joke. It got into something way bigger than it was supposed to be." Watch the two men explain their "joke" » At a news conference in California last week, the two men had stood by their claims that they had discovered Bigfoot's corpse and had it on ice. Scientific analysis would prove it, they said. Not quite. Now the two Georgia men admit that the hairy, icy blob was an Internet-purchased Sasquatch costume stuffed with possum roadkill and slaughterhouse leftovers. Whitton and Dyer say that when they came up with the hoax, they had no idea it would become a media circus. "It got legs and ran. It's crazy now," Dyer told WSB. Co-hoaxer Whitton agrees: "It started off as some YouTube videos and a Web site. We're all about having fun." "Fun" isn't exactly how Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner sees it. He has kicked Whitton off the police force. "He lied on national TV," Turner says of Whitton, "so a defense attorney now could say, 'How do we know you're not lying now?' " Whitton and Dyer had announced that they had found the body of a 7-foot-7-inch, 500-pound half-ape, half-human creature while hiking in the north Georgia mountains in June. They also said they had spotted about three similar living creatures. Still unclear is how much money Whitton and Dyer got out of the hoax. Steve Kulls, who maintains the SquatchDetective Web site and hosts a similarly named Internet radio program, first interviewed Dyer on July 28 for the radio program. On August 12, Kulls said, Dyer and Whitton "requested an undisclosed sum of money as an advance, expected from the marketing and promotion." Two days later, after signing a receipt and counting the money, Dyer and Whitton showed the Searching for Bigfoot team the freezer containing what they claimed was the carcass: "Something appearing large, hairy and frozen in ice," Kulls wrote on the Web site. It was, as many had suspected, an ape-like costume stuffed with entrails. After the news conference last week, Dyer and Whitton disappeared from view. The truth came out over the weekend. In a Web posting this week, Kulls wrote that "action is being instigated against the perpetrators." The two hoaxers have hired attorney Steve Lister to represent them. "There have been some threats made to them for both civil and criminal prosecution," Lister said. The attorney says the Bigfoot incident "got out of hand." Dyer, asked whether he ever thought that the hoopla had become more than just a joke, implied that everyone should have known it was a hoax. "Well, we told 10 different stories," he said. "Everyone knew we were lying." | [
"The two men who claimed to have found the carcass of Bigfoot have surfaced to say: Hey, it was just a joke. Matt Whitton has been fired from his job as a police officer because of his role in the hoax. Not everyone is laughing. In an exclusive interview with CNN affiliate WSB, the two hoaxers -- car salesman Rick Dyer and now-fired police officer Matt Whitton -- said the whole situation began as a joke and then got out of hand. \"It's just a big hoax, a big joke,\" Dyer said. \"It's Bigfoot,\" Dyer explained. \"Bigfoot doesn't exist.\" Whitton chimed in: \"All this was a big joke. It got into something way bigger than it was supposed to be.\" Watch the two men explain their \"joke\" » At a news conference in California last week, the two men had stood by their claims that they had discovered Bigfoot's corpse and had it on ice. Scientific analysis would prove it, they said. Not quite. Now the two Georgia men admit that the hairy, icy blob was an Internet-purchased Sasquatch costume stuffed with possum roadkill and slaughterhouse leftovers. Whitton and Dyer say that when they came up with the hoax, they had no idea it would become a media circus. \"It got legs and ran. It's crazy now,\" Dyer told WSB. Co-hoaxer Whitton agrees: \"It started off as some YouTube videos and a Web site. We're all about having fun.\" \"Fun\" isn't exactly how Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner sees it. He has kicked Whitton off the police force. \"He lied on national TV,\" Turner says of Whitton, \"so a defense attorney now could say, 'How do we know you're not lying now?' \" Whitton and Dyer had announced that they had found the body of a 7-foot-7-inch, 500-pound half-ape, half-human creature while hiking in the north Georgia mountains in June. They also said they had spotted about three similar living creatures. Still unclear is how much money Whitton and Dyer got out of the hoax. Steve Kulls, who maintains the SquatchDetective Web site and hosts a similarly named Internet radio program, first interviewed Dyer on July 28 for the radio program. ",
"On August 12, Kulls said, Dyer and Whitton \"requested an undisclosed sum of money as an advance, expected from the marketing and promotion.\" Two days later, after signing a receipt and counting the money, Dyer and Whitton showed the Searching for Bigfoot team the freezer containing what they claimed was the carcass: \"Something appearing large, hairy and frozen in ice,\" Kulls wrote on the Web site. It was, as many had suspected, an ape-like costume stuffed with entrails. After the news conference last week, Dyer and Whitton disappeared from view. The truth came out over the weekend. In a Web posting this week, Kulls wrote that \"action is being instigated against the perpetrators.\" The two hoaxers have hired attorney Steve Lister to represent them. \"There have been some threats made to them for both civil and criminal prosecution,\" Lister said. The attorney says the Bigfoot incident \"got out of hand.\" Dyer, asked whether he ever thought that the hoopla had become more than just a joke, implied that everyone should have known it was a hoax. \"Well, we told 10 different stories,\" he said. \"Everyone knew we were lying.\""
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What was the monthly active user growth of Pluto in 2020 | onal streaming
Thanks, Tom. 95% of the world's population, 7.5 billion people live outside of the U.S. The international opportunity in streaming is massive. Let's start with Pluto. Since ViacomCBS acquired Pluto and began expanding outside the U.S., our monthly active user growth has gone through the roof. In 2020, with growth in the U.K. and Germany as well as new launches in Latin America and Spain, our international monthly active users jumped from 1 million to 13 million. This year, with Pluto's expansion in France and Italy, we expect that incredible growth to continue. The SVOD space is still early in international markets. We expect over 350 million new subscriptions to come online in the next three years, giving us a lot of room to grow.
With Paramount+, we have a four-pronged strategy to meet this global opportunity. First, we start with a truly global brand, an average of 91% of people in key markets we tested know the Paramount brand and 96% have a positive association with it. Around the globe, the Paramount brand means premium content, blockbuster films and must-see TV. Second, we deliver a powerful mix of global and local content that lives up to that storied reputation. Internationally, Paramount+ will be the home of Paramount movies with select first run movies in certain markets, as well as some of the world's biggest scripted dramas from Showtime, CBS Studios and others. This new service will feature many of the exciting Paramount plus series you've heard about today including originals such as The Man Who Fell to Earth, Halo and Kamp Koral, as well as fan favorites, like NCIS.
Paramount+ will also be the international home to many of the fantastic Showtime titles you just heard about including new ads like the First Lady and American Rust, as well as classics such as Dexter and Bllions. You will also see widely acclaimed dramas from third-party studios in select markets including award-winning shows like The Handmaid's Tale and Killing Eve and local formats of some of MTV's biggest global reality franchises such as Acapulco Shore and And Are You The One: Brazil. All of these will be available to international consumers as part of a single subscription. Here's a quick look.
[Video playing]
Offering this unparalleled collection of global content is key to our strategy and through ViacomCBS International Studios, we're also working closely with top global content creators to ensure we have a robust offering of premium scripted local dramas. These include The Envoys, a supernatural thriller produced with Academy Award winning director and screenwriter, Juan Jose Campanella. Cecilia, a female-led dramedy from renowned Argentine writer and director, Daniel Burman and Last King of the Cross and organized crime drama, based on the best selling autobiography by John Ibrahim.
We'll premier all of these in 2021 with more to come in 2022. The third pillar of our strategy is to provide this premium content experience at a value price point, creating a must-have service. That's why all of this incredible content from Paramount, Showtime, and our global content creators, will come at a considerably lower price than competitors in each market. Finally, we are leveraging the massive global reach of ViacomCBS to distribute this service.
We have a deep history of relationships with the MVPDs and telco partners in every major market around the world and we are thrilled to announce that our service will have broad distribution across dozens of platforms in Latin America and the Nordics in addition to our direct-to-consumer distribution. Paramount+ will also be made available internationally through our global relationships with major platform partners such as Apple, Amazon, and Google.
With a universally recognized brand and unparalleled collection of local and global content offerings, a value price point and a massive network of distributors, we are well positioned for rapid growth. So on the same day we launched in the U.S., we'll launch in all Latin American markets and in Canada. Just a few weeks after that, we will | [
"onal streaming\nThanks, Tom. 95% of the world's population, 7.5 billion people live outside of the U.S. The international opportunity in streaming is massive. Let's start with Pluto. Since ViacomCBS acquired Pluto and began expanding outside the U.S., our monthly active user growth has gone through the roof. In 2020, with growth in the U.K. and Germany as well as new launches in Latin America and Spain, our international monthly active users jumped from 1 million to 13 million. This year, with Pluto's expansion in France and Italy, we expect that incredible growth to continue. The SVOD space is still early in international markets. We expect over 350 million new subscriptions to come online in the next three years, giving us a lot of room to grow.\nWith Paramount+, we have a four-pronged strategy to meet this global opportunity. First, we start with a truly global brand, an average of 91% of people in key markets we tested know the Paramount brand and 96% have a positive association with it. Around the globe, the Paramount brand means premium content, blockbuster films and must-see TV. Second, we deliver a powerful mix of global and local content that lives up to that storied reputation. Internationally, Paramount+ will be the home of Paramount movies with select first run movies in certain markets, as well as some of the world's biggest scripted dramas from Showtime, CBS Studios and others. This new service will feature many of the exciting Paramount plus series you've heard about today including originals such as The Man Who Fell to Earth, Halo and Kamp Koral, as well as fan favorites, like NCIS.\nParamount+ will also be the international home to many of the fantastic Showtime titles you just heard about including new ads like the First Lady and American Rust, as well as classics such as Dexter and Bllions. You will also see widely acclaimed dramas from third-party studios in select markets including award-winning shows like The Handmaid's Tale and Killing Eve and local formats of some of MTV's biggest global reality franchises such as Acapulco Shore and And Are You The One: Brazil. All of these will be available to international consumers as part of a single subscription. Here's a quick look.\n[Video playing]\n",
"Offering this unparalleled collection of global content is key to our strategy and through ViacomCBS International Studios, we're also working closely with top global content creators to ensure we have a robust offering of premium scripted local dramas. These include The Envoys, a supernatural thriller produced with Academy Award winning director and screenwriter, Juan Jose Campanella. Cecilia, a female-led dramedy from renowned Argentine writer and director, Daniel Burman and Last King of the Cross and organized crime drama, based on the best selling autobiography by John Ibrahim.\nWe'll premier all of these in 2021 with more to come in 2022. The third pillar of our strategy is to provide this premium content experience at a value price point, creating a must-have service. That's why all of this incredible content from Paramount, Showtime, and our global content creators, will come at a considerably lower price than competitors in each market. Finally, we are leveraging the massive global reach of ViacomCBS to distribute this service.\nWe have a deep history of relationships with the MVPDs and telco partners in every major market around the world and we are thrilled to announce that our service will have broad distribution across dozens of platforms in Latin America and the Nordics in addition to our direct-to-consumer distribution. Paramount+ will also be made available internationally through our global relationships with major platform partners such as Apple, Amazon, and Google.\nWith a universally recognized brand and unparalleled collection of local and global content offerings, a value price point and a massive network of distributors, we are well positioned for rapid growth. So on the same day we launched in the U.S., we'll launch in all Latin American markets and in Canada. Just a few weeks after that, we will "
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the current market share of Ericsson in the enterprise sector in the top 20 operators in the world | ional capex, it really needs to get more traffic onto. So the China is a few years ahead of the rest of the world. So I think we are likely to see applications now starting to be developed on the Chinese network that are going to drive traffic.
But they will be -- because of the capacity they already have in the 5G network, they are ahead of the West. If you look at the U.S. specifically, what we see there -- is actually a very -- we see the C-band buildout continuing into 2023, as Carl said before, and that will, of course, drive capex. But the other thing we also see and that's important is, we see also a shift in capex need into more active components into densification of the network, i.e., in wireless capex, a lot of the capex, only three quarters of the capex goes into fiber, concrete, steel towers, etc.
And that the bulk of capex, our part is a small portion. And that portion, we believe, given the development of the underlying traffic in the network, actually will continue to grow. And that's what we also see when we look at North America as the networks becomes increasingly loaded with new traffic. They will also continue to expand capacity in the network.
And that's why -- we're still seeing 2023 as a very good year for wireless capex.
Peter Nyquist
Good. Thanks, Francois. We'll move to [Inaudible] -- on enterprise?
Borje Ekholm -- Chief Executive Officer
We didn't answer the --
Peter Nyquist
OK. Sorry. Sorry.
Borje Ekholm -- Chief Executive Officer
Maybe, Carl can take that?
Carl Mellander -- Chief Financial Officer
Francois, thanks for the question. And no, I can just say, it's relatively small scale, of course, of Ericsson's total business today, but it is a fast growing sector. And that's why we are obviously attracted into it and focus so much on the enterprise side as part of the strategy as well. And we have talked about the overall addressable market for our customers growing very rapidly into the future.
And we believe probably this is as large as the consumer side or as the CSP side as well going forward. Of course, it would take a little bit of time and as Borje said, we are certainly working and engaging with many, many enterprise sectors, etc., to stimulate that demand and show what is possible with 5G. And we see great interest also from the enterprise side. So I would say, today rather small base, but high ambitions and a high growth rate in that market going forward, which is underpinning our statements that we believe that the fifth generation wave is going to be stronger for -- longer.
This is what will come in addition to the traditional RAN business stuff.
Peter Nyquist
Thanks, Carl. Then we will move to [Inaudible] Industries. So please, [Inaudible].
Unknown speaker
Thank you, Peter. Good morning, and thank you for taking my question, and congratulations on a strong underlying performance. I have two questions, if I may. The first one regards with Borje said earlier on in the call that the -- resolution of the DOJ matters likely would result in monetary and other measures.
I'm interested in what you can say about what other measures potentially could be? The second question is regarding digital services. You say that you're happy -- with what you have, but it's a question of deliverance. So my question there is, do you see any need for a possible changes in structure or leadership within digital services? Thank you.
Borje Ekholm -- Chief Executive Officer
Maybe you take the first, Carl, and I can answer the second one. The reality is, we have been on a journey to execute indigenous services. This is an area where we've had the losses for a long period of time. And so, of course, we need to look at what can we do to improve, say, this execution, what can we do to improve our delivery of competitive products to the market? But what I'm also trying to say is, we have a very strong portfolio today.
The team has done an outstanding job at getting that portfolio on to the market. And when you look at winning 16 out of the 20 largest operators on 5G core, for example, that's a pretty good achievem | [
"ional capex, it really needs to get more traffic onto. So the China is a few years ahead of the rest of the world. So I think we are likely to see applications now starting to be developed on the Chinese network that are going to drive traffic.\nBut they will be -- because of the capacity they already have in the 5G network, they are ahead of the West. If you look at the U.S. specifically, what we see there -- is actually a very -- we see the C-band buildout continuing into 2023, as Carl said before, and that will, of course, drive capex. But the other thing we also see and that's important is, we see also a shift in capex need into more active components into densification of the network, i.e., in wireless capex, a lot of the capex, only three quarters of the capex goes into fiber, concrete, steel towers, etc.\nAnd that the bulk of capex, our part is a small portion. And that portion, we believe, given the development of the underlying traffic in the network, actually will continue to grow. And that's what we also see when we look at North America as the networks becomes increasingly loaded with new traffic. They will also continue to expand capacity in the network.\nAnd that's why -- we're still seeing 2023 as a very good year for wireless capex.\nPeter Nyquist\nGood. Thanks, Francois. We'll move to [Inaudible] -- on enterprise?\nBorje Ekholm -- Chief Executive Officer\nWe didn't answer the --\nPeter Nyquist\nOK. Sorry. Sorry.\nBorje Ekholm -- Chief Executive Officer\nMaybe, Carl can take that?\nCarl Mellander -- Chief Financial Officer\nFrancois, thanks for the question. And no, I can just say, it's relatively small scale, of course, of Ericsson's total business today, but it is a fast growing sector. And that's why we are obviously attracted into it and focus so much on the enterprise side as part of the strategy as well. And we have talked about the overall addressable market for our customers growing very rapidly into the future.\n",
"And we believe probably this is as large as the consumer side or as the CSP side as well going forward. Of course, it would take a little bit of time and as Borje said, we are certainly working and engaging with many, many enterprise sectors, etc., to stimulate that demand and show what is possible with 5G. And we see great interest also from the enterprise side. So I would say, today rather small base, but high ambitions and a high growth rate in that market going forward, which is underpinning our statements that we believe that the fifth generation wave is going to be stronger for -- longer.\nThis is what will come in addition to the traditional RAN business stuff.\nPeter Nyquist\nThanks, Carl. Then we will move to [Inaudible] Industries. So please, [Inaudible].\nUnknown speaker\nThank you, Peter. Good morning, and thank you for taking my question, and congratulations on a strong underlying performance. I have two questions, if I may. The first one regards with Borje said earlier on in the call that the -- resolution of the DOJ matters likely would result in monetary and other measures.\nI'm interested in what you can say about what other measures potentially could be? The second question is regarding digital services. You say that you're happy -- with what you have, but it's a question of deliverance. So my question there is, do you see any need for a possible changes in structure or leadership within digital services? Thank you.\nBorje Ekholm -- Chief Executive Officer\nMaybe you take the first, Carl, and I can answer the second one. The reality is, we have been on a journey to execute indigenous services. This is an area where we've had the losses for a long period of time. And so, of course, we need to look at what can we do to improve, say, this execution, what can we do to improve our delivery of competitive products to the market? But what I'm also trying to say is, we have a very strong portfolio today.\nThe team has done an outstanding job at getting that portfolio on to the market. And when you look at winning 16 out of the 20 largest operators on 5G core, for example, that's a pretty good achievem"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
Tell me what I need to know about the Dunning Kruger effect. | The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias whereby people with low ability, expertise, or experience regarding a certain type of task or area of knowledge tend to overestimate their ability or knowledge. Some researchers also include the opposite effect for high performers: their tendency to underestimate their skills. In popular culture, the Dunning–Kruger effect is often misunderstood as a claim about general overconfidence of people with low intelligence instead of specific overconfidence of people unskilled at a particular task.
The Dunning–Kruger effect is usually measured by comparing self-assessment with a measure of objective performance. For example, the participants in a study may be asked to complete a quiz and then estimate how well they performed. This subjective assessment is then compared with how well they actually performed. This can happen in either relative or absolute terms, i.e., in comparison with one's peer group as the percentage of peers outperformed or in comparison with objective standards as the number of questions answered correctly. The Dunning–Kruger effect appears in both cases, but is more pronounced in relative terms; the bottom quartile of performers tend to see themselves as being part of the top two quartiles. The initial study was published by David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999. It focused on logical reasoning, grammar, and social skills. Since then various other studies have been conducted across a wide range of tasks, including skills from fields such as business, politics, medicine, driving, aviation, spatial memory, examinations in school, and literacy.
Many models have been suggested to explain the Dunning-Kruger effect's underlying causes. The original model by Dunning and Kruger holds that a lack of metacognitive abilities is responsible. This interpretation is based on the idea that poor performers have not yet acquired the ability to distinguish between good and bad performances. They tend to overrate themselves because they do not see the qualitative difference between their performances and the performances of others. This has also been termed the "dual-burden account" since the lack of skill is paired with the ignorance of this deficiency. Some researchers include the metacognitive component as part of the definition of the Dunning–Kruger effect and not just as an explanation distinct from it. Various researchers have criticized the metacognitive model and proposed alternative explanations. According to the statistical model, a statistical effect known as regression toward the mean together with the cognitive bias known as the better-than-average effect are responsible for the empirical findings. The rational model holds that overly positive prior beliefs about one's skills are the source of false self-assessment. Another explanation claims that self-assessment is more difficult and error-prone for low performers because many of them have very similar skill levels. Another model sees lack of incentive to give accurate self-assessments as the source of error.
The Dunning–Kruger effect has been described as relevant for various practical matters, but disagreements exist about the magnitude of its influence. Inaccurate self-assessment can lead people to make bad decisions, such as choosing a career for which they are unfit or engaging in dangerous behavior. It may also inhibit the affected from addressing their shortcomings to improve themselves. In some cases, the associated overconfidence may have positive side effects, like increasing motivation and energy. | [
"The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias whereby people with low ability, expertise, or experience regarding a certain type of task or area of knowledge tend to overestimate their ability or knowledge. Some researchers also include the opposite effect for high performers: their tendency to underestimate their skills. In popular culture, the Dunning–Kruger effect is often misunderstood as a claim about general overconfidence of people with low intelligence instead of specific overconfidence of people unskilled at a particular task.\n\nThe Dunning–Kruger effect is usually measured by comparing self-assessment with a measure of objective performance. For example, the participants in a study may be asked to complete a quiz and then estimate how well they performed. This subjective assessment is then compared with how well they actually performed. This can happen in either relative or absolute terms, i.e., in comparison with one's peer group as the percentage of peers outperformed or in comparison with objective standards as the number of questions answered correctly. The Dunning–Kruger effect appears in both cases, but is more pronounced in relative terms; the bottom quartile of performers tend to see themselves as being part of the top two quartiles. The initial study was published by David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999. It focused on logical reasoning, grammar, and social skills. Since then various other studies have been conducted across a wide range of tasks, including skills from fields such as business, politics, medicine, driving, aviation, spatial memory, examinations in school, and literacy.\n\n",
"Many models have been suggested to explain the Dunning-Kruger effect's underlying causes. The original model by Dunning and Kruger holds that a lack of metacognitive abilities is responsible. This interpretation is based on the idea that poor performers have not yet acquired the ability to distinguish between good and bad performances. They tend to overrate themselves because they do not see the qualitative difference between their performances and the performances of others. This has also been termed the \"dual-burden account\" since the lack of skill is paired with the ignorance of this deficiency. Some researchers include the metacognitive component as part of the definition of the Dunning–Kruger effect and not just as an explanation distinct from it. Various researchers have criticized the metacognitive model and proposed alternative explanations. According to the statistical model, a statistical effect known as regression toward the mean together with the cognitive bias known as the better-than-average effect are responsible for the empirical findings. The rational model holds that overly positive prior beliefs about one's skills are the source of false self-assessment. Another explanation claims that self-assessment is more difficult and error-prone for low performers because many of them have very similar skill levels. Another model sees lack of incentive to give accurate self-assessments as the source of error.\n\nThe Dunning–Kruger effect has been described as relevant for various practical matters, but disagreements exist about the magnitude of its influence. Inaccurate self-assessment can lead people to make bad decisions, such as choosing a career for which they are unfit or engaging in dangerous behavior. It may also inhibit the affected from addressing their shortcomings to improve themselves. In some cases, the associated overconfidence may have positive side effects, like increasing motivation and energy."
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What was the growth rate of equipment orders in the offshore wind segment in the first half of 2021 | roductivity through lean and prior period restructuring. At the same time, we're accelerating our growth investment, particularly in digital and AI-enabled applications with increased spend planned for the second half.
And we'll continue to evaluate inorganic investments to complement this, such as Zionexa. Based on our first half, we now expect organic margins to expand more than 100 basis points for the year. This will be influenced by how quickly we can ramp certain growth investment. However, our medium-term expectations remain 25 to 75 basis points expansion.
Our investment ramp will support continued innovation and help us drive higher revenue growth over time. Turning to renewables. We're continuing to lead the energy transition, growing new generation, lowering the cost of electricity and modernizing the grid with a focus on new product platforms and technologies that enables profitable growth and cash generation over time. Looking at the market.
In onshore wind, we still expect the U.S. market to decline in the near term before stabilizing. We're watching the potential U.S. production tax credit extension closely.
A blanket long-term extension likely result in near-term uncertainty because it pushes out investment decisions for what could be years. This may impact our second half orders profile and positive free cash flow outlook for the year. In offshore wind, global momentum should continue through the decade. The recent U.S.
federal approval of the Vineyard Wind project supported by our Haliade-X represents meaningful progress for the U.S. market. And as the global energy transition accelerates and government stimulus increases, the grid will need to be upgraded and more actively managed. Orders grew mid-single digits, where onshore services more than doubled as repower orders increased, which will convert to second half deliveries.
This was partially offset by lower onshore equipment orders due to PTC dynamics. While both onshore and offshore equipment orders are lumpy, we expect them to increase significantly in the second half versus first half. Revenue was up 9%, driven by higher equipment revenue, offset by lower services. And reported equipment was up 12% on a two year view versus '19.
In onshore, equipment was up year over year on higher international unit deliveries while services were down on fewer repower upgrades, though up sequentially. And services ex repower grew double digits again. Segment margin, while still negative, improved more than 500 basis points as we drive toward segment profitability over time. Onshore was profitable in the quarter and year-to-date.
This was driven by continued cost out and volume leverage that more than offset mix and other headwinds, such as lower margin on new products, which typically improves our product life cycle. In grid, cost productivity was offset by elevated restructuring. Looking ahead, we're focused on our operational priorities, including cost reduction to help offset increased medium-term headwinds from the market inflation and new technology and platform transitions. Moving to power.
The team performed very well with operational improvements across the business, particularly at Gas Power. Looking at the market. Global gas generation grew low single digits while GE gas turbine utilization continued to be resilient, with megawatt hours growing high single digits. Encouragingly, outage starts were up 50% year over year and up mid-single digits versus 2Q '19.
For the year, we expect the gas market to remain stable with gas generation growing low single digits. The dispatch of our fleet is well positioned with upgraded missions and a growing HA backlog. Outside of gas, markets remain mixed. Power orders were up significantly, driven by gas power equipment.
This quarter, we booked 12 heavy-duty gas turbines and 35 aeroderivative orders, primarily LM, that will complement variable renewable power by providing distributed fast-response power to help deliver grid stability. Orders were also up in gas power services, steel, power conversion and nuclear. Power | [
"roductivity through lean and prior period restructuring. At the same time, we're accelerating our growth investment, particularly in digital and AI-enabled applications with increased spend planned for the second half.\nAnd we'll continue to evaluate inorganic investments to complement this, such as Zionexa. Based on our first half, we now expect organic margins to expand more than 100 basis points for the year. This will be influenced by how quickly we can ramp certain growth investment. However, our medium-term expectations remain 25 to 75 basis points expansion.\nOur investment ramp will support continued innovation and help us drive higher revenue growth over time. Turning to renewables. We're continuing to lead the energy transition, growing new generation, lowering the cost of electricity and modernizing the grid with a focus on new product platforms and technologies that enables profitable growth and cash generation over time. Looking at the market.\nIn onshore wind, we still expect the U.S. market to decline in the near term before stabilizing. We're watching the potential U.S. production tax credit extension closely.\nA blanket long-term extension likely result in near-term uncertainty because it pushes out investment decisions for what could be years. This may impact our second half orders profile and positive free cash flow outlook for the year. In offshore wind, global momentum should continue through the decade. The recent U.S.\nfederal approval of the Vineyard Wind project supported by our Haliade-X represents meaningful progress for the U.S. market. And as the global energy transition accelerates and government stimulus increases, the grid will need to be upgraded and more actively managed. Orders grew mid-single digits, where onshore services more than doubled as repower orders increased, which will convert to second half deliveries.\nThis was partially offset by lower onshore equipment orders due to PTC dynamics. While both onshore and offshore equipment orders are lumpy, we expect them to increase significantly in the second half versus first half. Revenue was up 9%, driven by higher equipment revenue, offset by lower services. And reported equipment was up 12% on a two year view versus '19.\nIn onshore, equipment was up year over year on higher international unit deliveries while services were down on fewer repower upgrades, though up sequentially. And services ex repower grew double digits again. Segment margin, while still negative, improved more than 500 basis points as we drive toward segment profitability over time. Onshore was profitable in the quarter and year-to-date.\n",
"This was driven by continued cost out and volume leverage that more than offset mix and other headwinds, such as lower margin on new products, which typically improves our product life cycle. In grid, cost productivity was offset by elevated restructuring. Looking ahead, we're focused on our operational priorities, including cost reduction to help offset increased medium-term headwinds from the market inflation and new technology and platform transitions. Moving to power.\nThe team performed very well with operational improvements across the business, particularly at Gas Power. Looking at the market. Global gas generation grew low single digits while GE gas turbine utilization continued to be resilient, with megawatt hours growing high single digits. Encouragingly, outage starts were up 50% year over year and up mid-single digits versus 2Q '19.\nFor the year, we expect the gas market to remain stable with gas generation growing low single digits. The dispatch of our fleet is well positioned with upgraded missions and a growing HA backlog. Outside of gas, markets remain mixed. Power orders were up significantly, driven by gas power equipment.\nThis quarter, we booked 12 heavy-duty gas turbines and 35 aeroderivative orders, primarily LM, that will complement variable renewable power by providing distributed fast-response power to help deliver grid stability. Orders were also up in gas power services, steel, power conversion and nuclear. Power"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 for the company FORM | And then I've got a follow-up question for Shai.
Mike Slessor -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Quinn, it's Michael. I'll handle that one. The foundry and logic strength is quite broad-based as it was in the third quarter as well. If you take a look at our 10% customer list, you can see some nice strength across multiple leaders in the foundry and logic space there. We're seeing the same thing continue here in the fourth quarter, so it is reasonably diversified, nicely broad-based. A lot of the drivers we talked about before, certainly, 5G -- major 5G handset launches are behind that. Infrastructure data spending -- data center spending, some really nice robust trends continuing here through the back part of the year. On the China situation, we tried to give you a little more detail in the prepared remarks.
The domestic China business for us has been sort of a mid-single-digit percent of revenue for the past several quarters. Majority of our China business is serving the multinationals in the region. And as a consequence, you can imagine the major domestic foundry is not a really big business for us. Having said that, for sure, as a U.S. company, there have been some headwinds associated with serving them and other domestic China customers. And I think, like everybody else, we're working our way through investigating the different ways we can mitigate that, whether they be through licenses or other compliance activities.
Quinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst
Great. And then the other question for Shai, just you talked about a less favorable mix in the quarter. I guess I just look at foundry and logic strength with lower NAND and about flat DRAM, I would think that, that mix would generally be positive for you. So can you sort of walk us through within foundry and logic and perhaps the memory business. What in-segment mix shift maybe going on that would sort of offset what I would have thought to be a tailwind with the mix shifting toward foundry and logic?
Shai Shahar -- Chief Financial Officer
Sure, Quinn. That's a good observation. We did say in the past that if you look at the different markets we serve, historically or maybe on average, Systems has the highest gross margin followed by foundry and logic, then DRAM and then Flash. But a few things. First of all, there is some overlap there. There are cases that you can have the DRAM card with a higher gross margin than a foundry and logic card. And also the mix within these markets -- the product mix within these markets even within the same customer can change. So it's true that if you look at the trend for Q4, foundry and logic is expected to be higher, and Flash is expected to be down. But the mix within these markets also has an impact and that's why at the midpoint of the outlook range, we expect to have gross margin lower than Q3 even though revenue is a little higher.
Quinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst
Got it. And then, Shai, I may have missed it, but did you give a quarter-to-quarter sort of guidance for what the Systems business would do in the fourth quarter?
Shai Shahar -- Chief Financial Officer
We did not when we spoke about the 3, maybe the market.
Quinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst
Okay. Great. Thank you all. I'll be back in the queue.
Operator
[Operator Instructions] Our next question will come from the line of Carlin Lynch from B. Riley. Your line is now open.
Carlin Lynch -- B. Riley -- Analyst
Hey guys, this is Carlin on for Craig. Two quick questions. One, starting with you, Mike, you had talked, I think, previously about the Livermore plant asset purchase. If you could just give us an update on how that ramp is coming and what we can expect in terms of timing and production facility conversion, that would be great. And then I have a follow-up.
Mike Slessor -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Yes. I think we're still in the fairly early stages of that. To remind everyone, we bought close to 100,000 square foot building, which is going to be utilized entirely for manufacturing capacity adjacent to our existing footprint in Livermore, Califor | [
"And then I've got a follow-up question for Shai.\nMike Slessor -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nQuinn, it's Michael. I'll handle that one. The foundry and logic strength is quite broad-based as it was in the third quarter as well. If you take a look at our 10% customer list, you can see some nice strength across multiple leaders in the foundry and logic space there. We're seeing the same thing continue here in the fourth quarter, so it is reasonably diversified, nicely broad-based. A lot of the drivers we talked about before, certainly, 5G -- major 5G handset launches are behind that. Infrastructure data spending -- data center spending, some really nice robust trends continuing here through the back part of the year. On the China situation, we tried to give you a little more detail in the prepared remarks.\nThe domestic China business for us has been sort of a mid-single-digit percent of revenue for the past several quarters. Majority of our China business is serving the multinationals in the region. And as a consequence, you can imagine the major domestic foundry is not a really big business for us. Having said that, for sure, as a U.S. company, there have been some headwinds associated with serving them and other domestic China customers. And I think, like everybody else, we're working our way through investigating the different ways we can mitigate that, whether they be through licenses or other compliance activities.\nQuinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst\nGreat. And then the other question for Shai, just you talked about a less favorable mix in the quarter. I guess I just look at foundry and logic strength with lower NAND and about flat DRAM, I would think that, that mix would generally be positive for you. So can you sort of walk us through within foundry and logic and perhaps the memory business. What in-segment mix shift maybe going on that would sort of offset what I would have thought to be a tailwind with the mix shifting toward foundry and logic?\nShai Shahar -- Chief Financial Officer\n",
"Sure, Quinn. That's a good observation. We did say in the past that if you look at the different markets we serve, historically or maybe on average, Systems has the highest gross margin followed by foundry and logic, then DRAM and then Flash. But a few things. First of all, there is some overlap there. There are cases that you can have the DRAM card with a higher gross margin than a foundry and logic card. And also the mix within these markets -- the product mix within these markets even within the same customer can change. So it's true that if you look at the trend for Q4, foundry and logic is expected to be higher, and Flash is expected to be down. But the mix within these markets also has an impact and that's why at the midpoint of the outlook range, we expect to have gross margin lower than Q3 even though revenue is a little higher.\nQuinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst\nGot it. And then, Shai, I may have missed it, but did you give a quarter-to-quarter sort of guidance for what the Systems business would do in the fourth quarter?\nShai Shahar -- Chief Financial Officer\nWe did not when we spoke about the 3, maybe the market.\nQuinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst\nOkay. Great. Thank you all. I'll be back in the queue.\nOperator\n[Operator Instructions] Our next question will come from the line of Carlin Lynch from B. Riley. Your line is now open.\nCarlin Lynch -- B. Riley -- Analyst\nHey guys, this is Carlin on for Craig. Two quick questions. One, starting with you, Mike, you had talked, I think, previously about the Livermore plant asset purchase. If you could just give us an update on how that ramp is coming and what we can expect in terms of timing and production facility conversion, that would be great. And then I have a follow-up.\nMike Slessor -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nYes. I think we're still in the fairly early stages of that. To remind everyone, we bought close to 100,000 square foot building, which is going to be utilized entirely for manufacturing capacity adjacent to our existing footprint in Livermore, Califor"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What was the growth rate of the germanium substrate business in 2020 | tory for expected future demand. In Q4 of 2020, however, our revenue achievement was spread across many customers and money applications.
We believe the current revenue diversity demonstrates the broad and sustainable nature of our growth opportunities in indium phosphide. It was in April of 2019 that we first mentioned 5G revenue on our earnings report. Let's say, a year later, 5G and its closely related power applications are driving significant growth in our indium phosphide revenue. Demand had been particularly strong in China and Taiwan, and we don't see any slowing in 2021, as 5G continues to roll out worldwide.
We believe capacity in our industry remains very tight. We have and will continue to run capacity at our Beijing facility to keep pace with customer demand. Scaling quickly and cost it effectively is something AXT is uniquely able to do, and we expect to gain market share because we have the shortest lead time among our primary competitors. In data center connectivity, the ever-expanding number of users, devices, and applications is driving the transition to technology that transports faster, more scalable infrastructures.
High-capacity connectivity will continue to be essential. In fact, many believe that the evolution from 100G to 400G will happen faster than the move to 100G. We are seeing this growth in silicon photonics reflected in our steady, strong demand in data center-related revenue. Moreover, we are pleased with the highly productive customer relationships we are developing in this area of our business, and we are applying the tier one processes we have developed to benefit customer experiences across our portfolio.
In 2021, we expect to see the meaningful emergence of additional new applications for indium phosphide in such areas as healthcare monitoring and consumer devices. Money are being innovatively driven by tier one players and showcase the unique properties of indium phosphide. These applications have the potential to represent an entirely new growth area, for which we are well-positioned and engaged. Now turning to gallium arsenide.
LED revenue continued to rebound, driven by high-end applications, including automotive. Wireless gallium arsenide revenue was down seasonally in Q4, but IoT applications seem to be providing a lift in ongoing demand for semi-insulating gallium arsenide substrates. New applications, both emerging today and on the horizon, include world-facing cameras, augmented and virtual reality, automotive sensors and biosensors and more. As we talked about previously, micro-LED may follow as the next major volume driver of gallium arsenide chips.
Micro LEDs are expected to consume less power, provide sharper contrast, and produce brilliant lighting and colors. Their applications are set to scale from wearable devices and handheld devices to very large screen, like high-end televisions of the future. While current market expectations vary greatly, and they are subject to change over time, we're seeing reports that the micro-LED market for small consumer devices like wearables and phones may eventually reach an annual demand of 2 million six-inch gallium arsenide substrates for the ready LED portion alone. If that comes to pass, it will be larger than the entire current market for semiconductor gallium arsenide substrate.
Regardless of the specific numbers, this is an exciting space that could add significant new values to the LED market in 2024 and beyond. Tier one players are already driving the development, and we believe that our wafers are being used for early stage activities. In recent quarters, with so much happening in other parts of our product portfolio, we haven't focused much of our business commentary on germanium substrate. But for the context, this area of our business grew more than 20% in 2020, after a significant slowdown in 2019.
The primary driver is the satellite solar cell market, which appears to have entered a period of recovery. We expect to see further improvement in 2021. Now turning to raw materials. This is an interesting, exciting time for o | [
"tory for expected future demand. In Q4 of 2020, however, our revenue achievement was spread across many customers and money applications.\nWe believe the current revenue diversity demonstrates the broad and sustainable nature of our growth opportunities in indium phosphide. It was in April of 2019 that we first mentioned 5G revenue on our earnings report. Let's say, a year later, 5G and its closely related power applications are driving significant growth in our indium phosphide revenue. Demand had been particularly strong in China and Taiwan, and we don't see any slowing in 2021, as 5G continues to roll out worldwide.\nWe believe capacity in our industry remains very tight. We have and will continue to run capacity at our Beijing facility to keep pace with customer demand. Scaling quickly and cost it effectively is something AXT is uniquely able to do, and we expect to gain market share because we have the shortest lead time among our primary competitors. In data center connectivity, the ever-expanding number of users, devices, and applications is driving the transition to technology that transports faster, more scalable infrastructures.\nHigh-capacity connectivity will continue to be essential. In fact, many believe that the evolution from 100G to 400G will happen faster than the move to 100G. We are seeing this growth in silicon photonics reflected in our steady, strong demand in data center-related revenue. Moreover, we are pleased with the highly productive customer relationships we are developing in this area of our business, and we are applying the tier one processes we have developed to benefit customer experiences across our portfolio.\nIn 2021, we expect to see the meaningful emergence of additional new applications for indium phosphide in such areas as healthcare monitoring and consumer devices. Money are being innovatively driven by tier one players and showcase the unique properties of indium phosphide. These applications have the potential to represent an entirely new growth area, for which we are well-positioned and engaged. Now turning to gallium arsenide.\n",
"LED revenue continued to rebound, driven by high-end applications, including automotive. Wireless gallium arsenide revenue was down seasonally in Q4, but IoT applications seem to be providing a lift in ongoing demand for semi-insulating gallium arsenide substrates. New applications, both emerging today and on the horizon, include world-facing cameras, augmented and virtual reality, automotive sensors and biosensors and more. As we talked about previously, micro-LED may follow as the next major volume driver of gallium arsenide chips.\nMicro LEDs are expected to consume less power, provide sharper contrast, and produce brilliant lighting and colors. Their applications are set to scale from wearable devices and handheld devices to very large screen, like high-end televisions of the future. While current market expectations vary greatly, and they are subject to change over time, we're seeing reports that the micro-LED market for small consumer devices like wearables and phones may eventually reach an annual demand of 2 million six-inch gallium arsenide substrates for the ready LED portion alone. If that comes to pass, it will be larger than the entire current market for semiconductor gallium arsenide substrate.\nRegardless of the specific numbers, this is an exciting space that could add significant new values to the LED market in 2024 and beyond. Tier one players are already driving the development, and we believe that our wafers are being used for early stage activities. In recent quarters, with so much happening in other parts of our product portfolio, we haven't focused much of our business commentary on germanium substrate. But for the context, this area of our business grew more than 20% in 2020, after a significant slowdown in 2019.\nThe primary driver is the satellite solar cell market, which appears to have entered a period of recovery. We expect to see further improvement in 2021. Now turning to raw materials. This is an interesting, exciting time for o"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the expected contribution from new regions in DXCM's 2021-Q1 guidance | to take care of them all, what we will do is as organized with as rapid migration as we possibly can. And as far as G6 future plans, we do see a lot of opportunity here, but we really haven't disclosed anything.
Operator
And our next question comes from Steven Lichtman from Oppenheimer. Your line is open.
Steven Lichtman -- Analyst
Great, thanks for taking our questions. I just had a question on your international expansion efforts. What are some of the key countries and focus for you here over the near-term? And are you anticipating any contribution from these new regions in this year's guidance or is that more really more of a driver for 2022? Thank you.
Kevin Sayer -- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Yeah, I think that will be more of a driver for future years. We've talked about our launch in Japan which Terumo, and that's scheduled to happen in the second half of the year. We got reimbursement in France, as many of you know, so we do expect France to be a bigger part of our business than it has in the past, but the law of large numbers in our businesses, things have gotten so big, they can give us a whole lot that moves the needle when we start. Hence, the discussion we've had about increasing access in our more mature markets and looking at how we follow similar paths in these other geographies with the operating capability we have now there is no sense in going through and selling just the top end of this market, we want to get more aggressive and be more broad. So I think you'll see as we go into these geographies over time, we'll start as we started in the past, but we are going to get more reimbursement and try to get more patients more rapidly.
Operator
And our next question comes from Brandon Vazquez from William Blair. Your line is open.
Brandon Vazquez -- Analyst
Hi, thanks for taking the question. I just wanted to go back to one of the comments made during the prepared remarks and it sounded like there was maybe a little hinting at new connected systems coming this year. So curious if you could talk about those, and specifically what those kinds of products, I'm thinking is there something outside of the regular hardware upgrades that we see maybe somewhere on the software side, that could be a catalyst maybe for growth within maybe some of the TAM expansion opportunities like the Type 2 non-intensives, or gestational diabetes or anything like that. So is there anything we're kind of not thinking out-of-the-box here from the normal hardware that will be important in the coming 12 months or so?
Jereme Sylvain -- Cheif Financial Officer
I don't think that there is anything that you guys are missing in terms of the prepared remarks and speaking to some of those systems. The one thing that we certainly are excited about, has to be the Omnipod 5 product in the back half of the year, and we'll let Insulet speak to the exact timing of when we're ready to put that product into the marketplace, but having connectivity into a product like that is something that we're very excited about and believe that they'll have success with and will have success with as well.
I think with respect to the whole Type 2 population and the opportunity there, we couldn't be more bullish on the opportunity that sits in front of us, and I think by the day we learn more-and-more of that increases that bullishness for us in the confidence that there's going to be some real opportunity there to create value coming from it, and you're going to see a study a little bit later this year, mid-year at some of the mid-year society meetings, that's going to start to really lay out the benefit of using CGM relative to BGM in this Type 2 population, particularly the non-intensive population that just demonstrates the sort of impact we can have on patients that are on basal only and that's a 4 million patient population in the U.S.
So I think that sort of data starts to really accumulate in favor of opening up a whole another market segment that doubles the existing core U.S. intensive market today that we're very excited about. So you | [
"to take care of them all, what we will do is as organized with as rapid migration as we possibly can. And as far as G6 future plans, we do see a lot of opportunity here, but we really haven't disclosed anything.\nOperator\nAnd our next question comes from Steven Lichtman from Oppenheimer. Your line is open.\nSteven Lichtman -- Analyst\nGreat, thanks for taking our questions. I just had a question on your international expansion efforts. What are some of the key countries and focus for you here over the near-term? And are you anticipating any contribution from these new regions in this year's guidance or is that more really more of a driver for 2022? Thank you.\nKevin Sayer -- Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer\nYeah, I think that will be more of a driver for future years. We've talked about our launch in Japan which Terumo, and that's scheduled to happen in the second half of the year. We got reimbursement in France, as many of you know, so we do expect France to be a bigger part of our business than it has in the past, but the law of large numbers in our businesses, things have gotten so big, they can give us a whole lot that moves the needle when we start. Hence, the discussion we've had about increasing access in our more mature markets and looking at how we follow similar paths in these other geographies with the operating capability we have now there is no sense in going through and selling just the top end of this market, we want to get more aggressive and be more broad. So I think you'll see as we go into these geographies over time, we'll start as we started in the past, but we are going to get more reimbursement and try to get more patients more rapidly.\nOperator\nAnd our next question comes from Brandon Vazquez from William Blair. Your line is open.\nBrandon Vazquez -- Analyst\n",
"Hi, thanks for taking the question. I just wanted to go back to one of the comments made during the prepared remarks and it sounded like there was maybe a little hinting at new connected systems coming this year. So curious if you could talk about those, and specifically what those kinds of products, I'm thinking is there something outside of the regular hardware upgrades that we see maybe somewhere on the software side, that could be a catalyst maybe for growth within maybe some of the TAM expansion opportunities like the Type 2 non-intensives, or gestational diabetes or anything like that. So is there anything we're kind of not thinking out-of-the-box here from the normal hardware that will be important in the coming 12 months or so?\nJereme Sylvain -- Cheif Financial Officer\nI don't think that there is anything that you guys are missing in terms of the prepared remarks and speaking to some of those systems. The one thing that we certainly are excited about, has to be the Omnipod 5 product in the back half of the year, and we'll let Insulet speak to the exact timing of when we're ready to put that product into the marketplace, but having connectivity into a product like that is something that we're very excited about and believe that they'll have success with and will have success with as well.\nI think with respect to the whole Type 2 population and the opportunity there, we couldn't be more bullish on the opportunity that sits in front of us, and I think by the day we learn more-and-more of that increases that bullishness for us in the confidence that there's going to be some real opportunity there to create value coming from it, and you're going to see a study a little bit later this year, mid-year at some of the mid-year society meetings, that's going to start to really lay out the benefit of using CGM relative to BGM in this Type 2 population, particularly the non-intensive population that just demonstrates the sort of impact we can have on patients that are on basal only and that's a 4 million patient population in the U.S.\nSo I think that sort of data starts to really accumulate in favor of opening up a whole another market segment that doubles the existing core U.S. intensive market today that we're very excited about. So you"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What was the impact of nonrenewals on the organic revenue growth rate in the first quarter of 2022 | to increase that return over time as we add customers on our tower and fiber assets and grow our cash flow. To that point, we are seeing significant demand for our infrastructure solutions with our customers upgrading thousands of tower sites for 5G while also preparing for the next phase of network densification that will require tens of thousands of small cells as reflected in our record backlog of 60,000 small cell nodes. Importantly, we benefit from these superior growth trends while being leveraged solely for the favorable dynamics in the U.S. wireless market.
As compared to international markets, we believe the U.S. not only has the best growth profile as I just discussed, but it also has the lowest risk, resulting from a supportive market structure that incentivizes carriers to spend on improving their networks as they compete on network quality, resulting in less churn on our assets, no exposure to loss of value from foreign currencies and social and governmental policies that are stable and supportive of improving connectivity and expanding broadband access. Because we believe the U.S. has both greater growth potential and lower risk, we are focusing our investments solely in the U.S.
We have an unmatched portfolio of assets that is producing growing cash flows by providing access to existing and new customers that are building 5G networks, and we are investing in new small cell and fiber assets that our customers need for their wireless networks, which we believe increases our ability to capitalize on 5G growth trends. As a result of these actions, I believe Crown Castle offers shareholders a unique opportunity to benefit from the deployment and development of wireless networks in the U.S. In the near to medium term, we expect to, once again, deliver the highest tower revenue growth rate in the U.S. with 6% organic growth, and we are preparing for an acceleration in small cell deployments beginning in 2023 following the recent inflection in demand from our customers.
Longer term, we believe we are the only communications infrastructure company positioned for the future of 5G networks that will require network densification with small cells at scale. By continuing to invest in small cell and fiber assets, we believe we will be able to extend the runway of 7% to 8% annual growth in dividends per share. When I consider the durability of the underlying demand trends we see in the U.S. that provides significant visibility into the anticipated future growth for our business, the deliberate decisions we have made to reduce the risks associated with our strategy, and our history of steady execution, I believe Crown Castle stands out as an excellent investment that will generate compelling returns over time.
And with that, I'll turn the call over to Dan before we take some questions.
Dan Schlanger -- Chief Financial Officer
Thanks, Jay, and good morning, everyone. As Jay mentioned, we are encouraged by the continued high activity levels we are experiencing, which are driven by our customers' 5G upgrade and densification initiatives. Starting with our first-quarter results on Page 5, we began the year on a very positive note, with AFFO per share growth of 9% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 22% that were driven by strong demand from our customers. As I mentioned last quarter, we are now reporting organic revenue growth exclusive of the impact of prepaid rent amortization or what we refer to as organic contribution to site rental billings.
In the first quarter, we generated 6% core organic revenue growth, driven by more than 9% from core leasing activity and contracted escalators, net of approximately 3% from nonrenewals. Revenues were also positively impacted by approximately $15 million from items not expected to recur in 2022, with approximately $10 million in fiber solutions and the balance in towers. Turning to Page 6. I want to briefly walk through the increase to our full year 2022 outlook.
As a result of higher tower activity levels, we are experiencing -- we are increasing our expectations for site rental revenues | [
" to increase that return over time as we add customers on our tower and fiber assets and grow our cash flow. To that point, we are seeing significant demand for our infrastructure solutions with our customers upgrading thousands of tower sites for 5G while also preparing for the next phase of network densification that will require tens of thousands of small cells as reflected in our record backlog of 60,000 small cell nodes. Importantly, we benefit from these superior growth trends while being leveraged solely for the favorable dynamics in the U.S. wireless market.\nAs compared to international markets, we believe the U.S. not only has the best growth profile as I just discussed, but it also has the lowest risk, resulting from a supportive market structure that incentivizes carriers to spend on improving their networks as they compete on network quality, resulting in less churn on our assets, no exposure to loss of value from foreign currencies and social and governmental policies that are stable and supportive of improving connectivity and expanding broadband access. Because we believe the U.S. has both greater growth potential and lower risk, we are focusing our investments solely in the U.S.\nWe have an unmatched portfolio of assets that is producing growing cash flows by providing access to existing and new customers that are building 5G networks, and we are investing in new small cell and fiber assets that our customers need for their wireless networks, which we believe increases our ability to capitalize on 5G growth trends. As a result of these actions, I believe Crown Castle offers shareholders a unique opportunity to benefit from the deployment and development of wireless networks in the U.S. In the near to medium term, we expect to, once again, deliver the highest tower revenue growth rate in the U.S. with 6% organic growth, and we are preparing for an acceleration in small cell deployments beginning in 2023 following the recent inflection in demand from our customers.\n",
"Longer term, we believe we are the only communications infrastructure company positioned for the future of 5G networks that will require network densification with small cells at scale. By continuing to invest in small cell and fiber assets, we believe we will be able to extend the runway of 7% to 8% annual growth in dividends per share. When I consider the durability of the underlying demand trends we see in the U.S. that provides significant visibility into the anticipated future growth for our business, the deliberate decisions we have made to reduce the risks associated with our strategy, and our history of steady execution, I believe Crown Castle stands out as an excellent investment that will generate compelling returns over time.\nAnd with that, I'll turn the call over to Dan before we take some questions.\nDan Schlanger -- Chief Financial Officer\nThanks, Jay, and good morning, everyone. As Jay mentioned, we are encouraged by the continued high activity levels we are experiencing, which are driven by our customers' 5G upgrade and densification initiatives. Starting with our first-quarter results on Page 5, we began the year on a very positive note, with AFFO per share growth of 9% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 22% that were driven by strong demand from our customers. As I mentioned last quarter, we are now reporting organic revenue growth exclusive of the impact of prepaid rent amortization or what we refer to as organic contribution to site rental billings.\nIn the first quarter, we generated 6% core organic revenue growth, driven by more than 9% from core leasing activity and contracted escalators, net of approximately 3% from nonrenewals. Revenues were also positively impacted by approximately $15 million from items not expected to recur in 2022, with approximately $10 million in fiber solutions and the balance in towers. Turning to Page 6. I want to briefly walk through the increase to our full year 2022 outlook.\nAs a result of higher tower activity levels, we are experiencing -- we are increasing our expectations for site rental revenues "
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What was the growth rate of the company's digital business in the 2020-Q4 quarter | ing to completely abandon that and just see all of our growth come from digital. We think we can have tremendously outsized growth in digital.
Also, we're very-very excited about what continues to be the opportunities in China. And the opportunities in China are both digital and brick and mortar. So, we see that growth really outstripping some of our prior growth. And so, again, not to get too ahead of our skis, but we are excited about the opportunity ahead of us. As soon as you can tell me when the world returns to normal, I can tell you exactly when we'll see that massive inflection.
Joanne Crevoiserat -- interim Chief Executive Officer
And I'll just add to that, Mark. Through all brands, we're focused on the digital business and for an inflection in top and bottom line growth. As the environment and backdrop recovers, we're positioning our company to be able to take advantage of that.
And as Andrea pointed out, our digital margins are ahead of our margins in brick and mortar. We do see that as an accretive strategy for us. But again, our focus is on meeting the consumer where they are and responding and being available with the right experience and showing that we can drive further profitability moving forward. And we have confidence that the strategy helps us unlock that.
Operator
Our next question comes from the line of Jamie Merriman of Bernstein.
Jamie Merriman -- Bernstein -- Analyst
Thanks very much. With respect to your digital growth ambitions and the shift to really being much more data focused, can you just talk a little bit about how you're able to leverage your existing customer file or are there investments that you need to make in terms of being able to really tap into that data-driven decision making process still ahead? Thanks.
Joanne Crevoiserat -- interim Chief Executive Officer
Sure. I can kick that off and then maybe couple of the brands can provide some anecdotes. But we're well positioned to take advantage of the shift to digital. We have a pretty robust technology infrastructure and digital capabilities globally. But we are continuing to invest in that space, particularly with our customer file being able to add tools that allow us to better utilize and better use the information that we do have. So, those investments we are making this year and we expect to continue to make them going forward.
But a few anecdotes in terms of our ability to leverage that and drive both digital growth as well as profitability. I'll start with the traction we're seeing in new customer acquisition and some of the changes that we've made in our marketing process. We have embedded data and analytics more fully into our marketing operations and enabled those teams to really drive a test and learn mindset and test a lot of new things. I think we managed over 50 tests in the fourth quarter alone through that platform and we're learning a lot.
It's interesting because this test and learn platform allows us to learn new information really that we didn't have before about how our customers respond and some of those things work, some of them don't. We learnt fast, which is part of the agility. We're learning fast and we're scaling the wins. And we saw, again, a lot of traction in the fourth quarter behind that. Really pleased with the new customer acquisition. And the engagement of lapsed customers, so we are seeing traction there.
And then as it as it relates to being data-driven, I talked a little bit in my prepared remarks about some of the assortment analytics we're using to determine the right assortments at a door level. Again, unlocking more productivity out of our assortments, more productivity in our stores, and that's really a key enabler to driving AUR growth and gross margin.
And I don't know -- Liz, if you want to talk about some of the traction you've had in the marketing -- on the marketing side with the Kate brand, but some real traction there as well.
Liz Fraser -- Chief Executive Officer & Brand President, Kate Spade
Yes. Thanks, Joanne. I mean, absolutely the platform that we have from the Tapestry data | [
"ing to completely abandon that and just see all of our growth come from digital. We think we can have tremendously outsized growth in digital.\nAlso, we're very-very excited about what continues to be the opportunities in China. And the opportunities in China are both digital and brick and mortar. So, we see that growth really outstripping some of our prior growth. And so, again, not to get too ahead of our skis, but we are excited about the opportunity ahead of us. As soon as you can tell me when the world returns to normal, I can tell you exactly when we'll see that massive inflection.\nJoanne Crevoiserat -- interim Chief Executive Officer\nAnd I'll just add to that, Mark. Through all brands, we're focused on the digital business and for an inflection in top and bottom line growth. As the environment and backdrop recovers, we're positioning our company to be able to take advantage of that.\nAnd as Andrea pointed out, our digital margins are ahead of our margins in brick and mortar. We do see that as an accretive strategy for us. But again, our focus is on meeting the consumer where they are and responding and being available with the right experience and showing that we can drive further profitability moving forward. And we have confidence that the strategy helps us unlock that.\nOperator\nOur next question comes from the line of Jamie Merriman of Bernstein.\nJamie Merriman -- Bernstein -- Analyst\nThanks very much. With respect to your digital growth ambitions and the shift to really being much more data focused, can you just talk a little bit about how you're able to leverage your existing customer file or are there investments that you need to make in terms of being able to really tap into that data-driven decision making process still ahead? Thanks.\nJoanne Crevoiserat -- interim Chief Executive Officer\nSure. I can kick that off and then maybe couple of the brands can provide some anecdotes. But we're well positioned to take advantage of the shift to digital. We have a pretty robust technology infrastructure and digital capabilities globally. But we are continuing to invest in that space, particularly with our customer file being able to add tools that allow us to better utilize and better use the information that we do have. So, those investments we are making this year and we expect to continue to make them going forward.\n",
"But a few anecdotes in terms of our ability to leverage that and drive both digital growth as well as profitability. I'll start with the traction we're seeing in new customer acquisition and some of the changes that we've made in our marketing process. We have embedded data and analytics more fully into our marketing operations and enabled those teams to really drive a test and learn mindset and test a lot of new things. I think we managed over 50 tests in the fourth quarter alone through that platform and we're learning a lot.\nIt's interesting because this test and learn platform allows us to learn new information really that we didn't have before about how our customers respond and some of those things work, some of them don't. We learnt fast, which is part of the agility. We're learning fast and we're scaling the wins. And we saw, again, a lot of traction in the fourth quarter behind that. Really pleased with the new customer acquisition. And the engagement of lapsed customers, so we are seeing traction there.\nAnd then as it as it relates to being data-driven, I talked a little bit in my prepared remarks about some of the assortment analytics we're using to determine the right assortments at a door level. Again, unlocking more productivity out of our assortments, more productivity in our stores, and that's really a key enabler to driving AUR growth and gross margin.\nAnd I don't know -- Liz, if you want to talk about some of the traction you've had in the marketing -- on the marketing side with the Kate brand, but some real traction there as well.\nLiz Fraser -- Chief Executive Officer & Brand President, Kate Spade\nYes. Thanks, Joanne. I mean, absolutely the platform that we have from the Tapestry data "
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
who quarantined on China trip? | BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Travelers to China who display flu-like symptoms may be randomly quarantined over concerns of the swine flu virus, the U.S. State Department warned. A child traveling with his parents wears a face mask after they arrive at the Beijing, China, airport. There have been cases of children being separated from parents after either tested positive for the virus, also known as H1N1, a travel alert said Friday. Chinese officials may give medications to minors in such cases without consulting their parents, according to the alert. "Although the proportion of arriving Americans being quarantined remains low, the random nature of the selection process increases the uncertainty surrounding travel to China," the alert said. Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs transmitted to humans and caused by type A influenza virus. Symptoms include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. There have been about 48,000 confirmed cases worldwide, including 519 in China, according to the World Health Organization. The Chinese government has taken measures to stop the spread of the virus. They include placing passengers who have fever or flu-like symptoms on a seven-day quarantine, the alert said. Others facing quarantine include those sitting close to travelers with symptoms, those with elevated temperatures and those from areas where virus outbreaks have occurred. A 15-year-old from Topeka, Kansas, told CNN on Monday that she was quarantined in Beijing for a week. "Apparently, I was sitting too close to a man who had a fever on the 14-hour plane ride," Kaitlin Hannigan said, adding that she initially thought she had a fever, but her temperature was fine when officials checked it. A day after she arrived in Beijing with an educational group, government officials showed up at her hotel. "They were wearing quarantine suits, goggles and masks and, like, full body suits and gloves, and said I had to be quarantined for seven days because I came in contact with that guy," Hannigan said. Earlier in June, New Orleans, Louisiana, Mayor Ray Nagin was quarantined in Shanghai after possible exposure to the virus. Nagin was headed to Australia on an economic development trip when he was quarantined for four days after sitting beside a passenger who was being treated for suspected swine flu symptoms. Nagin showed no signs of illness. State officials warned Americans traveling to China that they have to follow local quarantines procedures. "The U.S. Embassy will be unable to influence the duration of stay in quarantine for affected travelers," the statement said. The travel alert expires in September. | [
"BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Travelers to China who display flu-like symptoms may be randomly quarantined over concerns of the swine flu virus, the U.S. State Department warned. A child traveling with his parents wears a face mask after they arrive at the Beijing, China, airport. There have been cases of children being separated from parents after either tested positive for the virus, also known as H1N1, a travel alert said Friday. Chinese officials may give medications to minors in such cases without consulting their parents, according to the alert. \"Although the proportion of arriving Americans being quarantined remains low, the random nature of the selection process increases the uncertainty surrounding travel to China,\" the alert said. Swine flu is a respiratory disease of pigs transmitted to humans and caused by type A influenza virus. Symptoms include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. There have been about 48,000 confirmed cases worldwide, including 519 in China, according to the World Health Organization. The Chinese government has taken measures to stop the spread of the virus. They include placing passengers who have fever or flu-like symptoms on a seven-day quarantine, the alert said. Others facing quarantine include those sitting close to travelers with symptoms, those with elevated temperatures and those from areas where virus outbreaks have occurred. A 15-year-old from Topeka, Kansas, told CNN on Monday that she was quarantined in Beijing for a week. \"Apparently, I was sitting too close to a man who had a fever on the 14-hour plane ride,\" Kaitlin Hannigan said, adding that she initially thought she had a fever, but her temperature was fine when officials checked it. A day after she arrived in Beijing with an educational group, government officials showed up at her hotel. \"They were wearing quarantine suits, goggles and masks and, like, full body suits and gloves, and said I had to be quarantined for seven days because I came in contact with that guy,\" Hannigan said. Earlier in June, New Orleans, Louisiana, Mayor Ray Nagin was quarantined in Shanghai after possible exposure to the virus. Nagin was headed to Australia on an economic development trip when he was quarantined for four days after sitting beside a passenger who was being treated for suspected swine flu symptoms. Nagin showed no signs of illness. State officials warned Americans traveling to China that they have to follow local quarantines procedures. \"The U.S. ",
"Embassy will be unable to influence the duration of stay in quarantine for affected travelers,\" the statement said. The travel alert expires in September."
] | 2 | [
1,
1
] | 1 |
What was the percentage of total revenue generated from Mainland China in the first quarter of 2021 | inning the patent litigation and excluding patent-related interference, we applied for our innovative technology in the United States such as 5G millisecond network reselection and hyper-connectivity solution. In Europe, we invest in iQsim, the leading provider of open virtual SIM, VSIM, platform and VSIM-enabled mobile device based in France, which is an important component of our global investment.
We will also officially release our hyper-connectivity product and service in the near future and are proactively exploring opportunities in new industries such as internet of vehicle and education. We expect that widespread vaccination will continue to increase recovery of cross-border activities and the international tourism, which we expect will benefit our 1.0 international business. Leveraging our innovative technologies, we will continuously develop our 2.0 local business and various IoT application scenarios with new industries which require high-quality data connectivity. I will now turn this forward for our CFO, Shi Yimeng, who will go through the business and financial highlights section.
Yimeng Shi -- Chief Financial Officer
Thank you, Mr. Chen. Hello, everyone. Let us turn to Page 16 for our business highlight.
The data for the first quarter of 2021 shows that the impact from COVID-19 is becoming stable. Left-hand side of the slide shows daily active terminal, DAT, as of March 31, 2021. The uCloudlink 2.0 service, accounted for around 66% of the total DAT here in the first quarter of 2021. Average daily data usage per terminal was 1.98 gigabyte in March of 2021.
Let us turn to Page 17, which shows global diversification of our business. Mainland China's revenue as a percentage of total revenues increased to 6% during the first quarter of 2021, compared to 5% during the fourth quarter of 2020. And then we had 94% of total revenue from outside Mainland China. During the first quarter of 2021, Japan contributed to 57% of total revenue and it continued to be the single largest market for our business.
For other countries revenue, the U.S. market had the largest contribution to our business. In the first quarter of 2020, we had 19% of total revenue came from Mainland China, 53% of total revenue came in from Japan, and 28% of total revenue came in from other countries and the regions. Let us turn to Page 19.
So we go through our financial highlights for the first quarter of 2021. Service-related revenue as a percentage of total revenue decreased from 52% in the first quarter of 2020 to 47.4% during the first quarter of 2021. The development of our local data connectivity service business through our PaaS and SaaS platform contributed to the demands of the sales of products. Revenue from PaaS and SaaS service increased 18.3% from US$1.9 million in the first quarter of 2020 to US$2.3 million in the first quarter of 2021.
This increase was primarily due to the increase of business partner that used our PaaS and SaaS service to provide local data connectivity service. Revenue from PaaS and SaaS as percentage to the revenue increased to 13% during the first quarter of 2021. Let us move to Page 20, which shows revenue breakdown of our two business segments, namely revenue from service and the sales of products. During the first quarter of 2021, revenue from service and the sales of products accounted for 47.4% and 72.6% of total revenue, respectively.
Our total revenue decreased by 47.2% from US$33.5 million in a three month ended March 31, 2020, to US$17.7 million in a three month ended March 31, 2021. Revenue from service were US$8.4 million, representing a decrease of 51.9% from US$17.4 million for the same period of 2020. This decrease was primarily attributable to the decrease in revenue from international and the local data connectivity service to a certain extent mainly because of the continuous and prolonged impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Our total revenue increased 3.9% compared to US$17 million in the first quarter of 2020.
Let us turn to Page 21 for gross margin of our business. Our service gross margin and overall | [
"inning the patent litigation and excluding patent-related interference, we applied for our innovative technology in the United States such as 5G millisecond network reselection and hyper-connectivity solution. In Europe, we invest in iQsim, the leading provider of open virtual SIM, VSIM, platform and VSIM-enabled mobile device based in France, which is an important component of our global investment.\nWe will also officially release our hyper-connectivity product and service in the near future and are proactively exploring opportunities in new industries such as internet of vehicle and education. We expect that widespread vaccination will continue to increase recovery of cross-border activities and the international tourism, which we expect will benefit our 1.0 international business. Leveraging our innovative technologies, we will continuously develop our 2.0 local business and various IoT application scenarios with new industries which require high-quality data connectivity. I will now turn this forward for our CFO, Shi Yimeng, who will go through the business and financial highlights section.\nYimeng Shi -- Chief Financial Officer\nThank you, Mr. Chen. Hello, everyone. Let us turn to Page 16 for our business highlight.\nThe data for the first quarter of 2021 shows that the impact from COVID-19 is becoming stable. Left-hand side of the slide shows daily active terminal, DAT, as of March 31, 2021. The uCloudlink 2.0 service, accounted for around 66% of the total DAT here in the first quarter of 2021. Average daily data usage per terminal was 1.98 gigabyte in March of 2021.\nLet us turn to Page 17, which shows global diversification of our business. Mainland China's revenue as a percentage of total revenues increased to 6% during the first quarter of 2021, compared to 5% during the fourth quarter of 2020. And then we had 94% of total revenue from outside Mainland China. During the first quarter of 2021, Japan contributed to 57% of total revenue and it continued to be the single largest market for our business.\nFor other countries revenue, the U.S. market had the largest contribution to our business. In the first quarter of 2020, we had 19% of total revenue came from Mainland China, 53% of total revenue came in from Japan, and 28% of total revenue came in from other countries and the regions. Let us turn to Page 19.\n",
"So we go through our financial highlights for the first quarter of 2021. Service-related revenue as a percentage of total revenue decreased from 52% in the first quarter of 2020 to 47.4% during the first quarter of 2021. The development of our local data connectivity service business through our PaaS and SaaS platform contributed to the demands of the sales of products. Revenue from PaaS and SaaS service increased 18.3% from US$1.9 million in the first quarter of 2020 to US$2.3 million in the first quarter of 2021.\nThis increase was primarily due to the increase of business partner that used our PaaS and SaaS service to provide local data connectivity service. Revenue from PaaS and SaaS as percentage to the revenue increased to 13% during the first quarter of 2021. Let us move to Page 20, which shows revenue breakdown of our two business segments, namely revenue from service and the sales of products. During the first quarter of 2021, revenue from service and the sales of products accounted for 47.4% and 72.6% of total revenue, respectively.\nOur total revenue decreased by 47.2% from US$33.5 million in a three month ended March 31, 2020, to US$17.7 million in a three month ended March 31, 2021. Revenue from service were US$8.4 million, representing a decrease of 51.9% from US$17.4 million for the same period of 2020. This decrease was primarily attributable to the decrease in revenue from international and the local data connectivity service to a certain extent mainly because of the continuous and prolonged impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Our total revenue increased 3.9% compared to US$17 million in the first quarter of 2020.\nLet us turn to Page 21 for gross margin of our business. Our service gross margin and overall "
] | 2 | [
1,
1
] | 1 |
What is the company's current investment plan in in-building systems? | me with fiber and small cells. And it's why we made the investment many years ago, got ourselves into the space and started to learn how to build it, how to deploy it and get the right kind of assets for where the world was headed. We saw this densification coming and the need for it, realized that macro towers wouldn't be able to entirely meet that need. And so we began to invest in the complementary assets of small cells and fiber that are going to make this densification possible. So I think you'll see co-locations on towers. Towers is going to see a great amount of growth from the deployment of these spectrum bands, and then I think you're really going to see the reason why we originally made these investments and have continued to make the investments.
As densification happens, I think that will happen in great amounts on fiber and small cells. Are there other areas of infrastructure that are interesting to us? You spoke to in-building. There are some small number of in-building systems that we are doing. We find venues to be attractive when they meet our rigorous approach to allocating capital, if they exceed our returns and we think there's co-location there. Some of those make sense. But frankly, in terms of the scale of investment, it's really relatively small compared to what we see in the more public right-of-way opportunities to do infill and site densification with small cells and fiber, complementing the tower portfolios that are out there. So I don't see anything on the horizon currently that would cause us to deviate from our plan of the primary investment opportunities in front of us are small cell related.
Brett Feldman -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst
If I can just ask a quick follow-up question. Your customers, your carrier customers have generally been able to use all of the spectrum bands that they hold licenses for off of their macro tower locations. Are you expecting that any site that they occupy today will eventually be upgraded to use the new mid-bands they're acquiring? Or do you think it's going to maybe be a subset of your towers that are in the right geographic locations to help with those frequencies?
Jay A. Brown -- President And Chief Executive Officer
I think If we took a long view and not kind of -- I don't think you're asking this question over the next two to three years because I would defer on that answer. But if I think about long term, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years out, in the top 100 markets, I think virtually all of the spectrum bands that the carriers have today will be operating all of those spectrum bands over time. The carriers will upgrade their equipment. They'll add additional lines and antennas and ultimately be broadcasting all of the spectrum bands that they have for the -- on the vast, vast majority of the macro tower sites that they're on. And then I think based on the amount of usage that ultimately happens, you'll see them be targeted in terms of the deployment and densification inside of those markets to supplement and extend the -- and expand the network capacity by utilizing fiber and small cells to make those macro sites as efficient as they possibly can.
That generally happens over a period of time. So if we go back in history and watch and look at how the carriers have deployed network, you can almost look at kind of the top urban markets, the most densely populated, and those will see the benefit of this kind of activity first. And then over time, you'd see that expand out to the more suburbia as well as to other markets that maybe are not quite as densely populated. So I think it's a long game and probably focused, at least initially, on the top markets.
Brett Feldman -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst
Thank you.
Operator
Next, we'll go to Ric Prentiss with Raymond James.
Ric Prentiss -- Raymond James -- Analyst
Hey guys.
Jay A. Brown -- President And Chief Executive Officer
Good morning, Ric.
Ric Prentiss -- Raymond James -- Analyst
A couple of questions. On the small cell side, given the Verizon contract within the Sprint's cancellation, how should we think about pac | [
"me with fiber and small cells. And it's why we made the investment many years ago, got ourselves into the space and started to learn how to build it, how to deploy it and get the right kind of assets for where the world was headed. We saw this densification coming and the need for it, realized that macro towers wouldn't be able to entirely meet that need. And so we began to invest in the complementary assets of small cells and fiber that are going to make this densification possible. So I think you'll see co-locations on towers. Towers is going to see a great amount of growth from the deployment of these spectrum bands, and then I think you're really going to see the reason why we originally made these investments and have continued to make the investments.\nAs densification happens, I think that will happen in great amounts on fiber and small cells. Are there other areas of infrastructure that are interesting to us? You spoke to in-building. There are some small number of in-building systems that we are doing. We find venues to be attractive when they meet our rigorous approach to allocating capital, if they exceed our returns and we think there's co-location there. Some of those make sense. But frankly, in terms of the scale of investment, it's really relatively small compared to what we see in the more public right-of-way opportunities to do infill and site densification with small cells and fiber, complementing the tower portfolios that are out there. So I don't see anything on the horizon currently that would cause us to deviate from our plan of the primary investment opportunities in front of us are small cell related.\nBrett Feldman -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst\nIf I can just ask a quick follow-up question. Your customers, your carrier customers have generally been able to use all of the spectrum bands that they hold licenses for off of their macro tower locations. Are you expecting that any site that they occupy today will eventually be upgraded to use the new mid-bands they're acquiring? Or do you think it's going to maybe be a subset of your towers that are in the right geographic locations to help with those frequencies?\nJay A. Brown -- President And Chief Executive Officer\n",
"I think If we took a long view and not kind of -- I don't think you're asking this question over the next two to three years because I would defer on that answer. But if I think about long term, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years out, in the top 100 markets, I think virtually all of the spectrum bands that the carriers have today will be operating all of those spectrum bands over time. The carriers will upgrade their equipment. They'll add additional lines and antennas and ultimately be broadcasting all of the spectrum bands that they have for the -- on the vast, vast majority of the macro tower sites that they're on. And then I think based on the amount of usage that ultimately happens, you'll see them be targeted in terms of the deployment and densification inside of those markets to supplement and extend the -- and expand the network capacity by utilizing fiber and small cells to make those macro sites as efficient as they possibly can.\nThat generally happens over a period of time. So if we go back in history and watch and look at how the carriers have deployed network, you can almost look at kind of the top urban markets, the most densely populated, and those will see the benefit of this kind of activity first. And then over time, you'd see that expand out to the more suburbia as well as to other markets that maybe are not quite as densely populated. So I think it's a long game and probably focused, at least initially, on the top markets.\nBrett Feldman -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst\nThank you.\nOperator\nNext, we'll go to Ric Prentiss with Raymond James.\nRic Prentiss -- Raymond James -- Analyst\nHey guys.\nJay A. Brown -- President And Chief Executive Officer\nGood morning, Ric.\nRic Prentiss -- Raymond James -- Analyst\nA couple of questions. On the small cell side, given the Verizon contract within the Sprint's cancellation, how should we think about pac"
] | 2 | [
0,
1
] | 0.63093 |
What was the revenue growth rate for DDOG in 2022-Q1 | And we're seeing some great customers onboarding, thanks to that.
David, you want to take the other question?
David Obstler -- Chief Financial Officer
Sure. Thanks, Kash. We believe that digital and cloud projects are still very high priority and are not being deprioritized. We haven't seen that.
We think we're still early on. So with the data we have so far, we think there will be continued strong investment. There is always some volatility across our customer base. Our customer base is very well diversified across industries, and we benefited from that over time.
So whereas we're not macro forecasters, and there may well be some sensitivity. We believe the long-term trends in digital migration and cloud will still be very strong throughout that cycle.
Operator
The next question comes from Fatima Boolani with Citi.
Fatima Boolani -- Citi -- Analyst
Oli, one quick one for you, just as it relates to the deeper strategic and technical penetration within the DevSecOps arena. I mean, it sounds like your thesis is very much because you have the critical massive data and the data gravity as it relates to your observability use cases, you're able to parlay that in a more meaningful way for security. And I'm wondering why not partner with some of your peers in that space versus kind of go at it alone? And then a quick follow-up for David, please.
Olivier Pomel -- Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Yes. So that's a good question. So there's two things we bring to the table in security. One is we have, as you mentioned, the gravity and we're in the path of data for pretty much everything that relates to our customers infrastructure applications and their own users, which is obviously fantastic.
The other thing we bring is we have -- we're being used all day by everyone in development and in operations. And that's not typically something that the other security products -- or the typical security products are built for. So it's actually hard if you wanted to partner, it's hard to find a product that's built for those people. Most security products are purely built for security teams.
So that's why we've been building a lot of that. Of course, we still partner with a lot of the other players in the industry. But we embarked on this journey because we think we have come from a different spot. We think we have different take on the problem that in the end, is -- offers us and our customers a lot more leverage in that actual chance at solving the six day issues, not just throwing software and resources at it.
So this is where we come from.
Fatima Boolani -- Citi -- Analyst
And, David, just with respect to that delta between reported revenue growth in billings, it's probably one of the bigger deltas we've seen in relation to recent quarters. And given your commentary around invoicing duration having stayed stable. I believe that would be -- that would imply seven to eight months. I'm still curious as to why you'd see such a meaningful acceleration in billings head and shoulders above revenue growth.
If you could just unpack that for us a little bit and when you expect that divergence to narrow.
David Obstler -- Chief Financial Officer
And I have to -- as I mentioned, there is variability in billing and RPO versus revenue based on when bills go out. We still have, for the most part, in our larger contracts pretty much annual billing. So the sending out of a large annual bill might move the duration a little bit, but not a lot. And the strong performance, the billing was very strong and indicative of the business.
it was complemented by the fact that in this quarter, we sent out the bill for some large contracts upfront annual billing and the timing of that causes the variability. Over the average and over the course of the year, that balances out with the timing of the billing, and we believe that billing converges with revenue growth. We remind everybody that revenue growth and implied ARR growth is a better metric of the progress of the business.
Operator
The next question comes from Sanjit Singh with Morgan Stanley.
Sanjit Singh - | [
"And we're seeing some great customers onboarding, thanks to that.\nDavid, you want to take the other question?\nDavid Obstler -- Chief Financial Officer\nSure. Thanks, Kash. We believe that digital and cloud projects are still very high priority and are not being deprioritized. We haven't seen that.\nWe think we're still early on. So with the data we have so far, we think there will be continued strong investment. There is always some volatility across our customer base. Our customer base is very well diversified across industries, and we benefited from that over time.\nSo whereas we're not macro forecasters, and there may well be some sensitivity. We believe the long-term trends in digital migration and cloud will still be very strong throughout that cycle.\nOperator\nThe next question comes from Fatima Boolani with Citi.\nFatima Boolani -- Citi -- Analyst\nOli, one quick one for you, just as it relates to the deeper strategic and technical penetration within the DevSecOps arena. I mean, it sounds like your thesis is very much because you have the critical massive data and the data gravity as it relates to your observability use cases, you're able to parlay that in a more meaningful way for security. And I'm wondering why not partner with some of your peers in that space versus kind of go at it alone? And then a quick follow-up for David, please.\nOlivier Pomel -- Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer\nYes. So that's a good question. So there's two things we bring to the table in security. One is we have, as you mentioned, the gravity and we're in the path of data for pretty much everything that relates to our customers infrastructure applications and their own users, which is obviously fantastic.\nThe other thing we bring is we have -- we're being used all day by everyone in development and in operations. And that's not typically something that the other security products -- or the typical security products are built for. So it's actually hard if you wanted to partner, it's hard to find a product that's built for those people. Most security products are purely built for security teams.\n",
"So that's why we've been building a lot of that. Of course, we still partner with a lot of the other players in the industry. But we embarked on this journey because we think we have come from a different spot. We think we have different take on the problem that in the end, is -- offers us and our customers a lot more leverage in that actual chance at solving the six day issues, not just throwing software and resources at it.\nSo this is where we come from.\nFatima Boolani -- Citi -- Analyst\nAnd, David, just with respect to that delta between reported revenue growth in billings, it's probably one of the bigger deltas we've seen in relation to recent quarters. And given your commentary around invoicing duration having stayed stable. I believe that would be -- that would imply seven to eight months. I'm still curious as to why you'd see such a meaningful acceleration in billings head and shoulders above revenue growth.\nIf you could just unpack that for us a little bit and when you expect that divergence to narrow.\nDavid Obstler -- Chief Financial Officer\nAnd I have to -- as I mentioned, there is variability in billing and RPO versus revenue based on when bills go out. We still have, for the most part, in our larger contracts pretty much annual billing. So the sending out of a large annual bill might move the duration a little bit, but not a lot. And the strong performance, the billing was very strong and indicative of the business.\nit was complemented by the fact that in this quarter, we sent out the bill for some large contracts upfront annual billing and the timing of that causes the variability. Over the average and over the course of the year, that balances out with the timing of the billing, and we believe that billing converges with revenue growth. We remind everybody that revenue growth and implied ARR growth is a better metric of the progress of the business.\nOperator\nThe next question comes from Sanjit Singh with Morgan Stanley.\nSanjit Singh -"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What was the sales growth rate in the Automotive segment in 2021 | s we combine our capabilities, reapply our talent, and repurpose existing assets. This provides a powerful value creation lever by unlocking new ways to integrate more of our content into our customers' ecosystems. We aren't exclusively relying on people buying more stuff.
We're driving more Corning content into the products they're already buying. Our progress in 2021 illustrates the effectiveness of our approach, and it gives us confidence that we're building on a strong foundation for additional growth in 2022. In Optical Communications, we've returned to growth with sales up 22% in 2021. And we expect strong growth to continue.
Operators are expanding network capacity, capability, and access. The pace of data center construction is accelerating as more applications move to the cloud and data creation continues to soar. And fiber-rich wireless deployments are underway. Meanwhile, governments around the world are initiating plans to extend the reach of broadband to more people in more places as network access is increasingly viewed as a human right.
For example, the recently passed U.S. infrastructure bill allocates $65 billion in new spending for broadband infrastructure, including $42 billion for new network builds. Our customers are stating their preferences for fiber to build these networks. As the only large-scale end-to-end manufacturer of optical solutions, Corning plays a vital role in driving the continued expansion of connectivity.
We're working even more closely with industry players at the regional and national levels, including expanding our longtime collaboration with AT&T. Stepping back, we're at the beginning of a large, multiyear wave of growth for passive optical networks. Project momentum is strong across our customer base. And as U.S.
infrastructure plans roll out, it could add as much as $1 billion a year to the market for four years starting as early as 2023. We believe private carrier and public infrastructure investments will push the market into double-digit growth over the next few years. In Life Sciences, we're delivering growth on multiple fronts with sales up 24% in 2021. We're seeing ongoing demand in support of a global pandemic response.
Our inventions are also helping the industry advance the transition to cell- and gene-based therapies. And we're making progress on our multibillion-dollar content opportunity in our pharmaceutical packaging business. After introducing Valor Glass vials in 2017, we recently introduced Velocity Vials. These vials are helping industry-leading drugmakers increase efficiency and throughput to drive faster manufacturing of vaccines to help meet global demand.
Velocity joins Valor and our glass tubing business as we build a comprehensive end-to-end pharmaceutical packaging portfolio. In fact, our portfolio has enabled the delivery of nearly 5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far. And earlier this week, West Pharmaceutical Services, a global leader in injectable drug administration, announced a long-term supply agreement and technology investment in Corning to enhance injectable drug packaging systems. In automotive, 2021 sales in our Environmental Technologies segment increased 16% to reach an all-time high $1.6 billion despite weakness in the automotive market related to chip shortages.
We're pursuing a $100-per-car content opportunity driven by trends that are reshaping the auto industry and reimagining the car. We delivered multiple proof points in 2021. Daimler launched the Hyperscreen dashboard display in the Mercedes-Benz EQS. The display features a Gorilla Glass cover nearly five feet wide.
Building on this momentum, we entered a new automotive product category with our Curved Mirror Solutions. This innovation is enabling the augmented reality head-up display in Hyundai's electric crossover, the IONIQ 5. And Jeep announced a product that brings our tough technical glass into their iconic vehicles. The new Jeep performance parts windshield featuring Gorilla Glass is now a factory-installed option on the Wrangler and Gladiator.
Additionally, tighter | [
"s we combine our capabilities, reapply our talent, and repurpose existing assets. This provides a powerful value creation lever by unlocking new ways to integrate more of our content into our customers' ecosystems. We aren't exclusively relying on people buying more stuff.\nWe're driving more Corning content into the products they're already buying. Our progress in 2021 illustrates the effectiveness of our approach, and it gives us confidence that we're building on a strong foundation for additional growth in 2022. In Optical Communications, we've returned to growth with sales up 22% in 2021. And we expect strong growth to continue.\nOperators are expanding network capacity, capability, and access. The pace of data center construction is accelerating as more applications move to the cloud and data creation continues to soar. And fiber-rich wireless deployments are underway. Meanwhile, governments around the world are initiating plans to extend the reach of broadband to more people in more places as network access is increasingly viewed as a human right.\nFor example, the recently passed U.S. infrastructure bill allocates $65 billion in new spending for broadband infrastructure, including $42 billion for new network builds. Our customers are stating their preferences for fiber to build these networks. As the only large-scale end-to-end manufacturer of optical solutions, Corning plays a vital role in driving the continued expansion of connectivity.\nWe're working even more closely with industry players at the regional and national levels, including expanding our longtime collaboration with AT&T. Stepping back, we're at the beginning of a large, multiyear wave of growth for passive optical networks. Project momentum is strong across our customer base. And as U.S.\ninfrastructure plans roll out, it could add as much as $1 billion a year to the market for four years starting as early as 2023. We believe private carrier and public infrastructure investments will push the market into double-digit growth over the next few years. In Life Sciences, we're delivering growth on multiple fronts with sales up 24% in 2021. We're seeing ongoing demand in support of a global pandemic response.\nOur inventions are also helping the industry advance the transition to cell- and gene-based therapies. And we're making progress on our multibillion-dollar content opportunity in our pharmaceutical packaging business. After introducing Valor Glass vials in 2017, we recently introduced Velocity Vials. These vials are helping industry-leading drugmakers increase efficiency and throughput to drive faster manufacturing of vaccines to help meet global demand.\n",
"Velocity joins Valor and our glass tubing business as we build a comprehensive end-to-end pharmaceutical packaging portfolio. In fact, our portfolio has enabled the delivery of nearly 5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far. And earlier this week, West Pharmaceutical Services, a global leader in injectable drug administration, announced a long-term supply agreement and technology investment in Corning to enhance injectable drug packaging systems. In automotive, 2021 sales in our Environmental Technologies segment increased 16% to reach an all-time high $1.6 billion despite weakness in the automotive market related to chip shortages.\nWe're pursuing a $100-per-car content opportunity driven by trends that are reshaping the auto industry and reimagining the car. We delivered multiple proof points in 2021. Daimler launched the Hyperscreen dashboard display in the Mercedes-Benz EQS. The display features a Gorilla Glass cover nearly five feet wide.\nBuilding on this momentum, we entered a new automotive product category with our Curved Mirror Solutions. This innovation is enabling the augmented reality head-up display in Hyundai's electric crossover, the IONIQ 5. And Jeep announced a product that brings our tough technical glass into their iconic vehicles. The new Jeep performance parts windshield featuring Gorilla Glass is now a factory-installed option on the Wrangler and Gladiator.\nAdditionally, tighter "
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is TSMC's expected revenue growth rate in U.S. dollar terms over the next several years | ferentiating factors, we expect our capacity utilization to remain healthy in 2023. And our business to be less volatile, they're more resilient, supported by the strong demand for our differentiated and leading advanced and specialty technologies.
Now let me talk about TSMC's long-term growth outlook. While macroeconomic headwinds bring near-term uncertainties that may persist, we believe the fundamental structural growth trajectory in the long-term semiconductor demand remains firmly in place. We continue to observe silicon content increase across many end devices, fueled by process technology migration and increased functionality. For example, the number of CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators in the data center are increasing.
5G smartphone carries substantially higher silicon content as compared to 4G smartphone. The amount of silicon content in today's car continue to rise. While the device unit growth of many electronics device may be flattish to low single-digit percentage range, in the next several years, the silicon content growth will be higher, in the mid- to high single-digit percentage range and support the long-term structural semiconductor demand and increase our addressable wafer demand. TSMC's capex and capacity planning are always based on the long-term structural market demand profile, not near-term factors.
We are working closely with our customer to plan our long-term capacity and investing in leading edge and specialty technology to support their growth. We will manage our business prudently through the near-term uncertainties, and we remain highly confident in our long-term growth outlook. With our technology leadership, manufacturing and capacity support and customers trust, TSMC is well positioned to capture the strong multiyear growth from the favorable structural megatrend of 5G and HPC-related applications and deliver profitable growth for our shareholders. We reiterate our long-term revenue to be between 15 and 20 CAGR over the next several years in U.S.
dollar terms. Next, let me talk about the tool delivery update. As a major player in the global semiconductor supply chain, TSMC work closely with all our tool supplier to plan our capex and capacity in advance. However, like many other industries, our suppliers have been facing greater challenges in their supply chains, which are extending toward delivery lead times for both advanced and mature nodes.
As a result, we expect some of our capex this year to be pushed out into 2023. TSMC is actively doing its part to help our tool suppliers address the supply chain challenges. In April, we said that we have increased regular high-level communications to trace the progress and send several teams on site to support our suppliers. Since then, we have worked closely to identify critical chips that are gauging toward delivery.
We are working dynamically with our customers and prioritize our wafer capacity to support these critical chips to help mitigate the chip constant issues. While challenges remain, the situation is improving. We do not expect any impact to our 2022 capacity plan. And we are able to put in the delivery schedule for certain amount of tools for our 2023 capacity.
We have been working closely with our customer for 2023 so that we can support their demand. Now let me talk about the N3 and N3 status. Our N3 is on track for volume production in second half of this year with Goodyear. We expect revenue contribution starting first half of 2023, with a smooth ramp in 2023, driven by both HPC and smartphone applications.
N3 will further extend our N3 family with the enhanced performance, power and yield. N3 will offer complete platform support for both smartphone and HPC applications. We observed a high level of customer engagement at N3. And volume production is scheduled for around one year after N3.
Our 3-nanometer technology will be the most advanced semiconductor technology in both PPA and transistor technology when it is introduced. Thus, we are confident that our N3 family will be another large and long-lasting node for TSMC. Finally, l | [
"ferentiating factors, we expect our capacity utilization to remain healthy in 2023. And our business to be less volatile, they're more resilient, supported by the strong demand for our differentiated and leading advanced and specialty technologies.\nNow let me talk about TSMC's long-term growth outlook. While macroeconomic headwinds bring near-term uncertainties that may persist, we believe the fundamental structural growth trajectory in the long-term semiconductor demand remains firmly in place. We continue to observe silicon content increase across many end devices, fueled by process technology migration and increased functionality. For example, the number of CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators in the data center are increasing.\n5G smartphone carries substantially higher silicon content as compared to 4G smartphone. The amount of silicon content in today's car continue to rise. While the device unit growth of many electronics device may be flattish to low single-digit percentage range, in the next several years, the silicon content growth will be higher, in the mid- to high single-digit percentage range and support the long-term structural semiconductor demand and increase our addressable wafer demand. TSMC's capex and capacity planning are always based on the long-term structural market demand profile, not near-term factors.\nWe are working closely with our customer to plan our long-term capacity and investing in leading edge and specialty technology to support their growth. We will manage our business prudently through the near-term uncertainties, and we remain highly confident in our long-term growth outlook. With our technology leadership, manufacturing and capacity support and customers trust, TSMC is well positioned to capture the strong multiyear growth from the favorable structural megatrend of 5G and HPC-related applications and deliver profitable growth for our shareholders. We reiterate our long-term revenue to be between 15 and 20 CAGR over the next several years in U.S.\ndollar terms. Next, let me talk about the tool delivery update. As a major player in the global semiconductor supply chain, TSMC work closely with all our tool supplier to plan our capex and capacity in advance. However, like many other industries, our suppliers have been facing greater challenges in their supply chains, which are extending toward delivery lead times for both advanced and mature nodes.\n",
"As a result, we expect some of our capex this year to be pushed out into 2023. TSMC is actively doing its part to help our tool suppliers address the supply chain challenges. In April, we said that we have increased regular high-level communications to trace the progress and send several teams on site to support our suppliers. Since then, we have worked closely to identify critical chips that are gauging toward delivery.\nWe are working dynamically with our customers and prioritize our wafer capacity to support these critical chips to help mitigate the chip constant issues. While challenges remain, the situation is improving. We do not expect any impact to our 2022 capacity plan. And we are able to put in the delivery schedule for certain amount of tools for our 2023 capacity.\nWe have been working closely with our customer for 2023 so that we can support their demand. Now let me talk about the N3 and N3 status. Our N3 is on track for volume production in second half of this year with Goodyear. We expect revenue contribution starting first half of 2023, with a smooth ramp in 2023, driven by both HPC and smartphone applications.\nN3 will further extend our N3 family with the enhanced performance, power and yield. N3 will offer complete platform support for both smartphone and HPC applications. We observed a high level of customer engagement at N3. And volume production is scheduled for around one year after N3.\nOur 3-nanometer technology will be the most advanced semiconductor technology in both PPA and transistor technology when it is introduced. Thus, we are confident that our N3 family will be another large and long-lasting node for TSMC. Finally, l"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected number of new subscriptions to come online for Paramount+ in the next three years | onal streaming
Thanks, Tom. 95% of the world's population, 7.5 billion people live outside of the U.S. The international opportunity in streaming is massive. Let's start with Pluto. Since ViacomCBS acquired Pluto and began expanding outside the U.S., our monthly active user growth has gone through the roof. In 2020, with growth in the U.K. and Germany as well as new launches in Latin America and Spain, our international monthly active users jumped from 1 million to 13 million. This year, with Pluto's expansion in France and Italy, we expect that incredible growth to continue. The SVOD space is still early in international markets. We expect over 350 million new subscriptions to come online in the next three years, giving us a lot of room to grow.
With Paramount+, we have a four-pronged strategy to meet this global opportunity. First, we start with a truly global brand, an average of 91% of people in key markets we tested know the Paramount brand and 96% have a positive association with it. Around the globe, the Paramount brand means premium content, blockbuster films and must-see TV. Second, we deliver a powerful mix of global and local content that lives up to that storied reputation. Internationally, Paramount+ will be the home of Paramount movies with select first run movies in certain markets, as well as some of the world's biggest scripted dramas from Showtime, CBS Studios and others. This new service will feature many of the exciting Paramount plus series you've heard about today including originals such as The Man Who Fell to Earth, Halo and Kamp Koral, as well as fan favorites, like NCIS.
Paramount+ will also be the international home to many of the fantastic Showtime titles you just heard about including new ads like the First Lady and American Rust, as well as classics such as Dexter and Bllions. You will also see widely acclaimed dramas from third-party studios in select markets including award-winning shows like The Handmaid's Tale and Killing Eve and local formats of some of MTV's biggest global reality franchises such as Acapulco Shore and And Are You The One: Brazil. All of these will be available to international consumers as part of a single subscription. Here's a quick look.
[Video playing]
Offering this unparalleled collection of global content is key to our strategy and through ViacomCBS International Studios, we're also working closely with top global content creators to ensure we have a robust offering of premium scripted local dramas. These include The Envoys, a supernatural thriller produced with Academy Award winning director and screenwriter, Juan Jose Campanella. Cecilia, a female-led dramedy from renowned Argentine writer and director, Daniel Burman and Last King of the Cross and organized crime drama, based on the best selling autobiography by John Ibrahim.
We'll premier all of these in 2021 with more to come in 2022. The third pillar of our strategy is to provide this premium content experience at a value price point, creating a must-have service. That's why all of this incredible content from Paramount, Showtime, and our global content creators, will come at a considerably lower price than competitors in each market. Finally, we are leveraging the massive global reach of ViacomCBS to distribute this service.
We have a deep history of relationships with the MVPDs and telco partners in every major market around the world and we are thrilled to announce that our service will have broad distribution across dozens of platforms in Latin America and the Nordics in addition to our direct-to-consumer distribution. Paramount+ will also be made available internationally through our global relationships with major platform partners such as Apple, Amazon, and Google.
With a universally recognized brand and unparalleled collection of local and global content offerings, a value price point and a massive network of distributors, we are well positioned for rapid growth. So on the same day we launched in the U.S., we'll launch in all Latin American markets and in Canada. Just a few weeks after that, we will | [
"onal streaming\nThanks, Tom. 95% of the world's population, 7.5 billion people live outside of the U.S. The international opportunity in streaming is massive. Let's start with Pluto. Since ViacomCBS acquired Pluto and began expanding outside the U.S., our monthly active user growth has gone through the roof. In 2020, with growth in the U.K. and Germany as well as new launches in Latin America and Spain, our international monthly active users jumped from 1 million to 13 million. This year, with Pluto's expansion in France and Italy, we expect that incredible growth to continue. The SVOD space is still early in international markets. We expect over 350 million new subscriptions to come online in the next three years, giving us a lot of room to grow.\nWith Paramount+, we have a four-pronged strategy to meet this global opportunity. First, we start with a truly global brand, an average of 91% of people in key markets we tested know the Paramount brand and 96% have a positive association with it. Around the globe, the Paramount brand means premium content, blockbuster films and must-see TV. Second, we deliver a powerful mix of global and local content that lives up to that storied reputation. Internationally, Paramount+ will be the home of Paramount movies with select first run movies in certain markets, as well as some of the world's biggest scripted dramas from Showtime, CBS Studios and others. This new service will feature many of the exciting Paramount plus series you've heard about today including originals such as The Man Who Fell to Earth, Halo and Kamp Koral, as well as fan favorites, like NCIS.\nParamount+ will also be the international home to many of the fantastic Showtime titles you just heard about including new ads like the First Lady and American Rust, as well as classics such as Dexter and Bllions. You will also see widely acclaimed dramas from third-party studios in select markets including award-winning shows like The Handmaid's Tale and Killing Eve and local formats of some of MTV's biggest global reality franchises such as Acapulco Shore and And Are You The One: Brazil. All of these will be available to international consumers as part of a single subscription. Here's a quick look.\n[Video playing]\n",
"Offering this unparalleled collection of global content is key to our strategy and through ViacomCBS International Studios, we're also working closely with top global content creators to ensure we have a robust offering of premium scripted local dramas. These include The Envoys, a supernatural thriller produced with Academy Award winning director and screenwriter, Juan Jose Campanella. Cecilia, a female-led dramedy from renowned Argentine writer and director, Daniel Burman and Last King of the Cross and organized crime drama, based on the best selling autobiography by John Ibrahim.\nWe'll premier all of these in 2021 with more to come in 2022. The third pillar of our strategy is to provide this premium content experience at a value price point, creating a must-have service. That's why all of this incredible content from Paramount, Showtime, and our global content creators, will come at a considerably lower price than competitors in each market. Finally, we are leveraging the massive global reach of ViacomCBS to distribute this service.\nWe have a deep history of relationships with the MVPDs and telco partners in every major market around the world and we are thrilled to announce that our service will have broad distribution across dozens of platforms in Latin America and the Nordics in addition to our direct-to-consumer distribution. Paramount+ will also be made available internationally through our global relationships with major platform partners such as Apple, Amazon, and Google.\nWith a universally recognized brand and unparalleled collection of local and global content offerings, a value price point and a massive network of distributors, we are well positioned for rapid growth. So on the same day we launched in the U.S., we'll launch in all Latin American markets and in Canada. Just a few weeks after that, we will "
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What was the total operating revenues for the first quarter of 2019 | are investing on many fronts. First, we're investing to meet the increased amount of data usage on our network. At the end of March, 67% of our postpaid customer base was total plans and 30% on unlimited plans. We expect daily usage to continue to drive capital investment for increased capacity. Second, we are on track to roll-out Voice over LTE to our New England and Mid-Atlantic markets later this year. And third, we are executing our network modernization program, which will enable our first 5G commercial launches in 2020. We believe the investments we are making now to ready our networks for 5G, will also provides benefits such as increased speed and capacity.
Our first 5G markets will be using our 600-megahertz spectrum with the expectation that we will to augment that in the future with mid and high band spectrum.
And last, to grow our business, we are expanding our footprint in emerging out into Northern Wisconsin and Sioux City later this year. As you can see our network engineers are management number of concurrent projects that are all very important to the organization. And even with spending $102 million in the first quarter many of these projects will be implemented in the second half of 2019. And so we expect our spend to ramp up throughout the year.
Now with that, let me turn the call over to Steven Campbell. Steven?
Steve Campbell -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Thank you, Ken and good morning everyone. I'll begin my comments by talking about postpaid connections. As shown on Slide 5 of the presentation, total postpaid gross additions for the first quarter of 2019, were 137,000 up 6% year-over-year. Gross additions of both handsets and connected devices were higher year-over-year. The increase in gross additions was partly offset by slightly higher disconnects but drove a modest improvement in net postpaid activity on a year-over-year basis. We ended the quarter with 4.4 million postpaid connections, which represented 90% of our total retail base. Postpaid handsets are our primary focus, so let's go next to that detail.
Postpaid handset gross additions and net losses for the first quarter were 102,000 and negative 14,000 respectively. Both improving year-over-year, albeit as Ken mentioned a bit earlier, not at the level we'd like (ph) . The increase in handset gross additions resulted from more aggressive promotions offered in the first quarter of 2019, compared to the prior year. We continue to have handset customers upgrading from feature phones to smartphones, that helps to drive more service revenue given that ARPU for a smartphone is running about $22 more than for a feature phones. Including the upgrades, total smartphone connections increased by 12,000 during the first quarter of 2019.
Along with the growth in gross additions that we've achieved postpaid churn has consistently been at a low level as shown on the next chart. Handset churn depicted by the blue bars was 0.99% for the first quarter of 2019. Fairly flat both year-over-year and sequentially. Churn for connected devices was just over 3% still elevated as heavily discounted tablets sold in connection with various past promotions, continue to roll out of contract. Total postpaid churn, combining handsets and connected devices was 1.26% for the first quarter of 2019, again fairly flat both year-over-year and sequentially.
Now let's turn to the financial results.
Total operating revenues for the first quarter were $966 million, up $24 million or 3% year-over-year. Retail service revenues, the blue portion of the bars, increased by 2% year-over-year to $659 million. The increase was due largely to higher average revenue per user, which I'll cover separately in a minute. Inbound roaming revenue, which is included in the gray portion of the bars was $34 million, that reflects an increase of 22% year-over-year, driven by higher volume. Equipment sales revenues, the green portion of the bars, increased by $7 million or about 3% year-over-year. This was driven by an increase in the average revenue per device sold. The impact | [
"are investing on many fronts. First, we're investing to meet the increased amount of data usage on our network. At the end of March, 67% of our postpaid customer base was total plans and 30% on unlimited plans. We expect daily usage to continue to drive capital investment for increased capacity. Second, we are on track to roll-out Voice over LTE to our New England and Mid-Atlantic markets later this year. And third, we are executing our network modernization program, which will enable our first 5G commercial launches in 2020. We believe the investments we are making now to ready our networks for 5G, will also provides benefits such as increased speed and capacity.\nOur first 5G markets will be using our 600-megahertz spectrum with the expectation that we will to augment that in the future with mid and high band spectrum.\nAnd last, to grow our business, we are expanding our footprint in emerging out into Northern Wisconsin and Sioux City later this year. As you can see our network engineers are management number of concurrent projects that are all very important to the organization. And even with spending $102 million in the first quarter many of these projects will be implemented in the second half of 2019. And so we expect our spend to ramp up throughout the year.\nNow with that, let me turn the call over to Steven Campbell. Steven?\nSteve Campbell -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nThank you, Ken and good morning everyone. I'll begin my comments by talking about postpaid connections. As shown on Slide 5 of the presentation, total postpaid gross additions for the first quarter of 2019, were 137,000 up 6% year-over-year. Gross additions of both handsets and connected devices were higher year-over-year. The increase in gross additions was partly offset by slightly higher disconnects but drove a modest improvement in net postpaid activity on a year-over-year basis. We ended the quarter with 4.4 million postpaid connections, which represented 90% of our total retail base. Postpaid handsets are our primary focus, so let's go next to that detail.\n",
"Postpaid handset gross additions and net losses for the first quarter were 102,000 and negative 14,000 respectively. Both improving year-over-year, albeit as Ken mentioned a bit earlier, not at the level we'd like (ph) . The increase in handset gross additions resulted from more aggressive promotions offered in the first quarter of 2019, compared to the prior year. We continue to have handset customers upgrading from feature phones to smartphones, that helps to drive more service revenue given that ARPU for a smartphone is running about $22 more than for a feature phones. Including the upgrades, total smartphone connections increased by 12,000 during the first quarter of 2019.\nAlong with the growth in gross additions that we've achieved postpaid churn has consistently been at a low level as shown on the next chart. Handset churn depicted by the blue bars was 0.99% for the first quarter of 2019. Fairly flat both year-over-year and sequentially. Churn for connected devices was just over 3% still elevated as heavily discounted tablets sold in connection with various past promotions, continue to roll out of contract. Total postpaid churn, combining handsets and connected devices was 1.26% for the first quarter of 2019, again fairly flat both year-over-year and sequentially.\nNow let's turn to the financial results.\nTotal operating revenues for the first quarter were $966 million, up $24 million or 3% year-over-year. Retail service revenues, the blue portion of the bars, increased by 2% year-over-year to $659 million. The increase was due largely to higher average revenue per user, which I'll cover separately in a minute. Inbound roaming revenue, which is included in the gray portion of the bars was $34 million, that reflects an increase of 22% year-over-year, driven by higher volume. Equipment sales revenues, the green portion of the bars, increased by $7 million or about 3% year-over-year. This was driven by an increase in the average revenue per device sold. The impact"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is a red shirt? | BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Demonstrators stormed a hotel Saturday where Asian leaders were to meet, forcing the indefinite postponement of the Association of South East Asian Nations summit. Thousands of anti-government protesters block a busy intersection during rush hour in Bangkok. Participating Asian leaders were on their way out of the country, according to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. He declared a state of emergency in Chonburi province and the southern coastal city of Pattaya, where the summit was to be held, but rescinded the order hours afterward. Thousands of "red shirt" protesters, named for the color of their attire, have rallied for days to demand Abhisit's resignation. The demonstrators flooded into the summit site after smashing through the hotel's glass doors, but were otherwise nonviolent. Hundreds of them streamed in, without police interference. Protesters hugged the officers and shook their hands. The red shirts have given the prime minister repeated deadlines to resign, but those have come and gone. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon he was disappointed by the summit's delay. "I understand the circumstances that led the Thai government to take this difficult decision. While I had hoped to have exchanges with the leaders of ASEAN and its dialogue partners, I continue to look forward to engaging again with them in the near future," Ban said. "I strongly value the long-standing relationship between ASEAN and the United Nations, and their cooperation in various fields. I hope for an early restoration of normalcy in Thailand and for the settlement of differences through dialogue and peaceful means," he added. The protesters are loyal to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. Thaksin now lives outside of Thailand. The protesters have said Abhisit's government was not democratically elected and want him to resign and schedule elections. Abhisit, who has held the position for four months, has rejected calls for him to step down. Lawmakers named the 44-year-old, Oxford University-educated Abhisit prime minister in December in the wake of months of demonstrations against Thaksin and his ruling party, People Power Party. On Tuesday, protesters rushed Abhisit's motorcade while it was struck in traffic. He escaped unharmed. Protesters opposed to Thaksin took to the streets last year wearing yellow shirts, occupied the Government House and blockaded Bangkok's major international airport, stranding throngs of tourists who provide much of the country's revenue. The demonstrations ended in early December when a court ruled that the People Power Party was guilty of electoral fraud and threw Thaksin's brother-in-law out of the prime minister's seat. The red shirt protesters said this week they would not take over the airports. Dan Rivers and Kocha Olarn contributed to this report. | [
"BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Demonstrators stormed a hotel Saturday where Asian leaders were to meet, forcing the indefinite postponement of the Association of South East Asian Nations summit. Thousands of anti-government protesters block a busy intersection during rush hour in Bangkok. Participating Asian leaders were on their way out of the country, according to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. He declared a state of emergency in Chonburi province and the southern coastal city of Pattaya, where the summit was to be held, but rescinded the order hours afterward. Thousands of \"red shirt\" protesters, named for the color of their attire, have rallied for days to demand Abhisit's resignation. The demonstrators flooded into the summit site after smashing through the hotel's glass doors, but were otherwise nonviolent. Hundreds of them streamed in, without police interference. Protesters hugged the officers and shook their hands. The red shirts have given the prime minister repeated deadlines to resign, but those have come and gone. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon he was disappointed by the summit's delay. \"I understand the circumstances that led the Thai government to take this difficult decision. While I had hoped to have exchanges with the leaders of ASEAN and its dialogue partners, I continue to look forward to engaging again with them in the near future,\" Ban said. \"I strongly value the long-standing relationship between ASEAN and the United Nations, and their cooperation in various fields. I hope for an early restoration of normalcy in Thailand and for the settlement of differences through dialogue and peaceful means,\" he added. The protesters are loyal to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. Thaksin now lives outside of Thailand. The protesters have said Abhisit's government was not democratically elected and want him to resign and schedule elections. Abhisit, who has held the position for four months, has rejected calls for him to step down. Lawmakers named the 44-year-old, Oxford University-educated Abhisit prime minister in December in the wake of months of demonstrations against Thaksin and his ruling party, People Power Party. On Tuesday, protesters rushed Abhisit's motorcade while it was struck in traffic. He escaped unharmed. Protesters opposed to Thaksin took to the streets last year wearing yellow shirts, occupied the Government House and blockaded Bangkok's major international airport, stranding throngs of tourists who provide much of the country's revenue. ",
"The demonstrations ended in early December when a court ruled that the People Power Party was guilty of electoral fraud and threw Thaksin's brother-in-law out of the prime minister's seat. The red shirt protesters said this week they would not take over the airports. Dan Rivers and Kocha Olarn contributed to this report."
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
Where can you find tips on saving money? | "You break it, you buy it..." Clark Howard says shoppers may save money if they keep their hands off the merchandise. "Look, but don't touch..." "Keep your hands to yourself..." Three tired platitudes you might hear in the world of retail that all suggest a direct connection between the power of touch and the act of buying something. Now a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research confirms what many have long believed, when you touch something in a store, you feel a sense of ownership and you're more likely to overpay for that item. That's why retailers like Apple always encourage you to play with the merchandise. First and foremost, the Journal of Consumer Research study presents a real caveat emptor for your wallet during a recession. And second, it confirms that I have the reading habits of a really dull guy! Hear a few interesting tips for saving money at the grocery store » The warning for you is that if you don't want to spend money, don't go out and handle the merchandise. Whenever I shop at Costco Wholesale, I never get a cart. I only buy what I can carry in my two arms. Once my arms are full, I'm not constantly picking up new items along the way to the register. You'd be surprised how you can cut down on your bill using this simple trick. But there's a further caution in the study. Even window shopping or browsing online can prove dangerous for your budget. The study's authors talk about the power of visualization. They suggest that if e-tailers can get you to picture yourself owning something -- even if you really can't afford it -- they have a better chance of converting you into an online sale. The question of why people spend money in ways that don't make sense is one that's addressed by behavioral economics. It's a field of study that used to be discredited in serious academic circles. But now it's proving to be an important discipline as people look for new ways to save more and spend less. A 2008 study in The American Journal of Psychiatry found that about 1 in 16 Americans -- that's some 6 percent of us -- have compulsive spending habits. This kind of behavior leads to a momentary rush of adrenaline, but afterward comes the financial hangover. Christa, my radio show's executive producer, has done a lot in her life to take control of her wayward spending habits. She believes that if you're always buying new clothes, for example, you disrespect the things you already have in your closet. When the shopping bug bites you, try paying attention to the stuff you've already acquired in your life. Speaking of closets, I once owned a house built in 1937. The master bedroom's sole closet was all of 2 x 1.5 feet in dimension! During those Great Depression years, that was big enough for a middle-class husband and wife. Today, a closet of that size would never work. Some people have so much clothing that they can go for months without wearing the same thing. So the best way to tackle compulsive spending is with shock therapy -- you've got to ban yourself from stores! Let's say you're prone to go on a shopping binge when you feel blue. You've got to make sure you don't even get into the car to go to the store or the mall. Go for a walk or go to the park if it's a nice day. If you have a conditioned response that's bad for you, you've got to work to change it. And the next time you're tempted to pick something up while shopping, remember the study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Or if that's too pointy-headed for you, just start humming the refrain from that old song by the Georgia Satellites: "Don't hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself!" | [
"\"You break it, you buy it...\" Clark Howard says shoppers may save money if they keep their hands off the merchandise. \"Look, but don't touch...\" \"Keep your hands to yourself...\" Three tired platitudes you might hear in the world of retail that all suggest a direct connection between the power of touch and the act of buying something. Now a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research confirms what many have long believed, when you touch something in a store, you feel a sense of ownership and you're more likely to overpay for that item. That's why retailers like Apple always encourage you to play with the merchandise. First and foremost, the Journal of Consumer Research study presents a real caveat emptor for your wallet during a recession. And second, it confirms that I have the reading habits of a really dull guy! Hear a few interesting tips for saving money at the grocery store » The warning for you is that if you don't want to spend money, don't go out and handle the merchandise. Whenever I shop at Costco Wholesale, I never get a cart. I only buy what I can carry in my two arms. Once my arms are full, I'm not constantly picking up new items along the way to the register. You'd be surprised how you can cut down on your bill using this simple trick. But there's a further caution in the study. Even window shopping or browsing online can prove dangerous for your budget. The study's authors talk about the power of visualization. They suggest that if e-tailers can get you to picture yourself owning something -- even if you really can't afford it -- they have a better chance of converting you into an online sale. The question of why people spend money in ways that don't make sense is one that's addressed by behavioral economics. It's a field of study that used to be discredited in serious academic circles. But now it's proving to be an important discipline as people look for new ways to save more and spend less. A 2008 study in The American Journal of Psychiatry found that about 1 in 16 Americans -- that's some 6 percent of us -- have compulsive spending habits. This kind of behavior leads to a momentary rush of adrenaline, but afterward comes the financial hangover. Christa, my radio show's executive producer, has done a lot in her life to take control of her wayward spending habits. ",
"She believes that if you're always buying new clothes, for example, you disrespect the things you already have in your closet. When the shopping bug bites you, try paying attention to the stuff you've already acquired in your life. Speaking of closets, I once owned a house built in 1937. The master bedroom's sole closet was all of 2 x 1.5 feet in dimension! During those Great Depression years, that was big enough for a middle-class husband and wife. Today, a closet of that size would never work. Some people have so much clothing that they can go for months without wearing the same thing. So the best way to tackle compulsive spending is with shock therapy -- you've got to ban yourself from stores! Let's say you're prone to go on a shopping binge when you feel blue. You've got to make sure you don't even get into the car to go to the store or the mall. Go for a walk or go to the park if it's a nice day. If you have a conditioned response that's bad for you, you've got to work to change it. And the next time you're tempted to pick something up while shopping, remember the study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Or if that's too pointy-headed for you, just start humming the refrain from that old song by the Georgia Satellites: \"Don't hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself!\""
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected growth rate for the Avalanche photodetectors inside of GPON equipment in 2022 | arting to sort of come back to normal. And so that risk has come down dramatically.
David Williams -- Benchmark -- Analyst
Okay. Great. Thanks. And then maybe some base station deployments in China. It seems like they've been a little bit slower roll out and COVID pockets are starting to appear. Just kind of curious your thinking about the base station deployments and just generally overall, kind of the China, Mainland, how you see that performing over the next maybe 12 months?
Stephen G. Daly -- President and Chief Executive Officer and Director
So I think there's going to be steady, very moderate growth. That's our expectation. There's been a lot of tenders out earlier in the year, mostly for 700 megahertz. We have little exposure to that platform. So from our point of view, deployment in China will be very muted, I would say, based on our current outlook. And from our point of view, what's important is that we win market share when we get our newest products, including our gain on silicon carbide, massive MIMO power amplifiers designed in wherever we can, and that's the focus for the business. We are seeing also an uptick in interest with ORAN. We're seeing an increased interest from international companies outside of China that are interested in MACOM's products, not only on the RF side, but also on the optical side as well as on the PON side of Telecom networks. So while China might be a bit muted, we see other opportunities outside of China.
Operator
Our next question coming from the line of Sam Peterman with Craig-Hallum Capital. Your line is open.
Sam Peterman -- Craig-Hallum Capital -- Analyst
Hi guys. Thanks for taking my question. I wanted to go back to Telecom and ask about growth drivers for the next year. I think at the beginning of the call, you listed out four things, if I remember right, as growth drivers there, including PON, cable infrastructure, microwave radios and SATCOM. And I was curious if you guys could just kind of rank order those, how you think those will impact your telecom growth in F 2022? And then if you could kind of comment on how you see potential cable capex spending rollover, balance out between kind of a lot of the new initiatives for fiber and fiber-to-the-home that have been going out here in the last couple of months? Thanks.
Stephen G. Daly -- President and Chief Executive Officer and Director
Thank you. So it's very difficult for us to rank order in those end markets. I think they're going to grow at different rates at different times during the next 12 months. We think that, as I talked about at a high level, our expectation is 15% year-over-year growth for the entire segment. Certainly, 5G will contribute, no doubt. Cable infrastructure is very strong right now here in the U.S., we do expect that to continue. To your question about sort of capex spending. We think this is a multiyear cycle. This will not be a 12-month cycle. This is a three year cycle minimum. We also believe that we're winning market share in 10G PON, specifically on burst mode TIAs and drivers, where we have a very strong position and lasers. So the 10G PON market will be an area where we have very strong growth. We also, I'll just point out -- and again, this speaks to the -- our thesis that our growth is product driven. We are gaining traction with our Avalanche photodetectors inside of GPON equipment. And so that's also exciting for us. So really, as we think about Telecom, it's our core product lines getting stronger and winning market share, whether it's high-power switches, front-end modules for base stations, components for fronthaul and GPON. So a lot of moving parts. I wouldn't necessarily want to rank order any one of them as being more important than the other.
Sam Peterman -- Craig-Hallum Capital -- Analyst
Got it. Okay. Thanks for all the color there. And then just a quick follow-up on capex. It looks like a pretty big step up to -- from $20 million-ish in the last two years to over $35 million this next year. You said it was mostly around production capacity in your fabs. Is this kind of rampi | [
"arting to sort of come back to normal. And so that risk has come down dramatically.\nDavid Williams -- Benchmark -- Analyst\nOkay. Great. Thanks. And then maybe some base station deployments in China. It seems like they've been a little bit slower roll out and COVID pockets are starting to appear. Just kind of curious your thinking about the base station deployments and just generally overall, kind of the China, Mainland, how you see that performing over the next maybe 12 months?\nStephen G. Daly -- President and Chief Executive Officer and Director\nSo I think there's going to be steady, very moderate growth. That's our expectation. There's been a lot of tenders out earlier in the year, mostly for 700 megahertz. We have little exposure to that platform. So from our point of view, deployment in China will be very muted, I would say, based on our current outlook. And from our point of view, what's important is that we win market share when we get our newest products, including our gain on silicon carbide, massive MIMO power amplifiers designed in wherever we can, and that's the focus for the business. We are seeing also an uptick in interest with ORAN. We're seeing an increased interest from international companies outside of China that are interested in MACOM's products, not only on the RF side, but also on the optical side as well as on the PON side of Telecom networks. So while China might be a bit muted, we see other opportunities outside of China.\nOperator\nOur next question coming from the line of Sam Peterman with Craig-Hallum Capital. Your line is open.\nSam Peterman -- Craig-Hallum Capital -- Analyst\nHi guys. Thanks for taking my question. I wanted to go back to Telecom and ask about growth drivers for the next year. I think at the beginning of the call, you listed out four things, if I remember right, as growth drivers there, including PON, cable infrastructure, microwave radios and SATCOM. And I was curious if you guys could just kind of rank order those, how you think those will impact your telecom growth in F 2022? And then if you could kind of comment on how you see potential cable capex spending rollover, balance out between kind of a lot of the new initiatives for fiber and fiber-to-the-home that have been going out here in the last couple of months? Thanks.\nStephen G. Daly -- President and Chief Executive Officer and Director\n",
"Thank you. So it's very difficult for us to rank order in those end markets. I think they're going to grow at different rates at different times during the next 12 months. We think that, as I talked about at a high level, our expectation is 15% year-over-year growth for the entire segment. Certainly, 5G will contribute, no doubt. Cable infrastructure is very strong right now here in the U.S., we do expect that to continue. To your question about sort of capex spending. We think this is a multiyear cycle. This will not be a 12-month cycle. This is a three year cycle minimum. We also believe that we're winning market share in 10G PON, specifically on burst mode TIAs and drivers, where we have a very strong position and lasers. So the 10G PON market will be an area where we have very strong growth. We also, I'll just point out -- and again, this speaks to the -- our thesis that our growth is product driven. We are gaining traction with our Avalanche photodetectors inside of GPON equipment. And so that's also exciting for us. So really, as we think about Telecom, it's our core product lines getting stronger and winning market share, whether it's high-power switches, front-end modules for base stations, components for fronthaul and GPON. So a lot of moving parts. I wouldn't necessarily want to rank order any one of them as being more important than the other.\nSam Peterman -- Craig-Hallum Capital -- Analyst\nGot it. Okay. Thanks for all the color there. And then just a quick follow-up on capex. It looks like a pretty big step up to -- from $20 million-ish in the last two years to over $35 million this next year. You said it was mostly around production capacity in your fabs. Is this kind of rampi"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
Should instruments used for pedicures did sterilized? | Shoes tell a lot about a person. If you stumbled into my closet, you would probably think I was a security guard, a construction worker or a Nurse Ratched wannabe. My taste in shoes tends to be boxy, low-heeled and sturdy. If the equipment isn't cleaned properly, you could be at risk for infection when you get a pedicure. So it probably doesn't surprise you to learn that when it comes to pedicures, I am hardly a nail salon enabler. Unfortunately, in some sort of twisted cosmic comedy, both my teen and my tween daughters are pedicure addicts. To pedicure addicts, there is nothing better than being seated in those massive padded massage chairs, chin deep in fashion magazines, while some woman bathes, chisels, files and paints their toes. And up until now, the only thing I worried about was how much the extra flower motif on her big toe was going to cost me. Now, I have plenty of other stuff to worry about. Dr. Dina Tsentserensky, a podiatrist in New York, made it clear. "I definitely see patients that have had problems as a result of getting a pedicure," she said. "I guess the most common is fungal nails." Fungal nails!!! I really don't want to pay for that. The National Institutes of Health, unfortunately, describes fungal nail in less-than-clear terms: Fungal nail infection is an infection of the nails by a fungus. Prescription treatments are only about 50 percent effective, and most of these infections usually require the loss of the infected nail itself, the NIH Web site says. Cuts, scrapes and some other infections are also common results of seemingly soothing foot romps. Tsentserensky thinks it's nothing new. "I think it's a chronic problem that has been going on for a while," she said. "People just maybe chose to ignore it or don't pay attention as much as they should." Anyone who did pay attention could have known about some of those risks eight years ago. That's when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported finding a nasty infection that hit more than 100 pedicure patients. The culprit: a less-than-sterile footbath screen. The result: an infection called mycobacterium fortuitum. That mouthful of a malady left these customers, most of them women, with prolonged boils on their lower legs and some long-term scars. Although that report prompted nail salons to clean the screens on those foot baths more often, it doesn't mean that in the land of pedicure pampering, you can just relax and enjoy the polishing. Tsentserensky's chief advice is to be on high cleanliness alert. "I tell patients to make sure that the bathtubs are being cleaned properly, that they are using enough time in between so the disinfectant has time to work," she said. And the magic timeframe, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is about 10 minutes between clients. The EPA also stresses that to ensure the safest conditions, the tubs need to be cleaned with an EPA-registered hospital disinfectant, which means the bottle itself will have a EPA registration number listed somewhere on the label. But it's not just the tubs that need to be clean. So do those instruments. "Make sure that instruments are getting sterilized properly," Tsentserensky cautions, "that they are using a sterilizer or an autoclave to properly sanitize the instruments or using the liquids for the proper periods of time." Timing is also important, but that's a condition that's on your side. Don't get a pedicure right after you've shaved your legs, had laser hair removal or have any cuts or bites on your legs. Any opening in the skin is an invitation that you might not want to be extending. And finally, make sure you can communicate with your nail technician to ensure he or she is taking the proper precautions to make your pedicure a stress-free experience and, more important, to | [
"Shoes tell a lot about a person. If you stumbled into my closet, you would probably think I was a security guard, a construction worker or a Nurse Ratched wannabe. My taste in shoes tends to be boxy, low-heeled and sturdy. If the equipment isn't cleaned properly, you could be at risk for infection when you get a pedicure. So it probably doesn't surprise you to learn that when it comes to pedicures, I am hardly a nail salon enabler. Unfortunately, in some sort of twisted cosmic comedy, both my teen and my tween daughters are pedicure addicts. To pedicure addicts, there is nothing better than being seated in those massive padded massage chairs, chin deep in fashion magazines, while some woman bathes, chisels, files and paints their toes. And up until now, the only thing I worried about was how much the extra flower motif on her big toe was going to cost me. Now, I have plenty of other stuff to worry about. Dr. Dina Tsentserensky, a podiatrist in New York, made it clear. \"I definitely see patients that have had problems as a result of getting a pedicure,\" she said. \"I guess the most common is fungal nails.\" Fungal nails!!! I really don't want to pay for that. The National Institutes of Health, unfortunately, describes fungal nail in less-than-clear terms: Fungal nail infection is an infection of the nails by a fungus. Prescription treatments are only about 50 percent effective, and most of these infections usually require the loss of the infected nail itself, the NIH Web site says. Cuts, scrapes and some other infections are also common results of seemingly soothing foot romps. Tsentserensky thinks it's nothing new. \"I think it's a chronic problem that has been going on for a while,\" she said. \"People just maybe chose to ignore it or don't pay attention as much as they should.\" Anyone who did pay attention could have known about some of those risks eight years ago. That's when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported finding a nasty infection that hit more than 100 pedicure patients. The culprit: a less-than-sterile footbath screen. The result: an infection called mycobacterium fortuitum. That mouthful of a malady left these customers, most of them women, with prolonged boils on their lower legs and some long-term scars. ",
"Although that report prompted nail salons to clean the screens on those foot baths more often, it doesn't mean that in the land of pedicure pampering, you can just relax and enjoy the polishing. Tsentserensky's chief advice is to be on high cleanliness alert. \"I tell patients to make sure that the bathtubs are being cleaned properly, that they are using enough time in between so the disinfectant has time to work,\" she said. And the magic timeframe, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, is about 10 minutes between clients. The EPA also stresses that to ensure the safest conditions, the tubs need to be cleaned with an EPA-registered hospital disinfectant, which means the bottle itself will have a EPA registration number listed somewhere on the label. But it's not just the tubs that need to be clean. So do those instruments. \"Make sure that instruments are getting sterilized properly,\" Tsentserensky cautions, \"that they are using a sterilizer or an autoclave to properly sanitize the instruments or using the liquids for the proper periods of time.\" Timing is also important, but that's a condition that's on your side. Don't get a pedicure right after you've shaved your legs, had laser hair removal or have any cuts or bites on your legs. Any opening in the skin is an invitation that you might not want to be extending. And finally, make sure you can communicate with your nail technician to ensure he or she is taking the proper precautions to make your pedicure a stress-free experience and, more important, to"
] | 2 | [
1,
1
] | 1 |
What was the revenue generated by the data centers business in the second quarter of 2021 | be just to ask specifically on data centers and animal health, some of your other emerging growth opportunities, just a progress report there. And any quantification on pace of growth or margin expansion? Thank you.
Christophe Beck -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Yes. So starting with data centers. As mentioned earlier, we've been growing. I think, 53% in the second quarter. It's been a terrific story. It used to be part of our light water industries business. In the past, we've created a dedicated unit, 12 or 18 months ago, which is really a division that's focused on data centers and microelectronics, by the way, the Intel of that world as well. And interestingly enough, its new expertise that we could build, its new offering that we could provide to those companies that are really interested in close to 100% uptime for all the reasons that we understand, our secure solutions as well from a digital technology perspective, they want to make sure that any access that we have with them is done in a totally secure way as well. And those are companies that are very sustainability-friendly as well. So they all want to get -- so close to the net-zero as fast as they can. All that is really driving that business in a great way.
Animal health is a complete different story. Obviously, as such, this is something that takes time as well. We've created a dedicated unit. We've made acquisitions as well in that field, underlying. I like where we're going. Q2 has been a bit subpar because we compare it to a very high Q2 in 2020, but that's a business that's going to be very interesting going forward for at least one important reason that most of the farmers won't be or are not allowed to use antibiotics to protect the animals, and they need way more solutions in order to make sure that they are in a healthy environment in order not to get sick. And this is exactly what animal health is doing in our business.
So it's an evolving proposition, but that's clearly aligned with the longer-term trends that customers and consumers like you and I ultimately are expecting from the food manufacturers.
Scott Schneeberger -- Oppenheimer -- Analyst
Thanks, Christophe. Appreciate the color.
Christophe Beck -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Scott.
Operator
Your next question comes from the line of Rosemarie Morbelli with Gabelli & Company. Please proceed with your question.
Rosemarie Morbelli -- Gabelli & Company -- Analyst
Thank you. Good morning, Christophe and everyone else.
Christophe Beck -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Rosemarie.
Rosemarie Morbelli -- Gabelli & Company -- Analyst
I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about M&A. You have been making small acquisitions. Do you have an appetite for larger ones? And are there targets that you would be interested in?
Christophe Beck -- President and Chief Executive Officer
So the short answer is, yes. We're interested in M&A and larger ones. We've done smaller ones over the past few months, as mentioned earlier, in the wipes area, which is a perfect complement to our offering in Institutional, in Healthcare and in Industrial. And we couldn't produce that ourselves. We were toll manufacturing with other companies, and we've seen during the pandemic that that could be a great business for us today and especially going forward. So we've done that as well.
We've done animal health as well last year, as I just mentioned as well as to the previous question. And we've been extremely active on the M&A front over the last six months. We have a very rich pipeline. We have very serious discussions with many as well out there. But at the end of the day, we have this very disciplined line on what we do and what we don't do. And when I look at all the discussions that we've had so far, we didn't find the exact opportunity so right now. But I feel confident that in the future, so we will get to a bigger opportunity at the right time.
Rosemarie Morbelli -- Gabelli & Company -- Analyst
Can you share with us any particular area where you are more likely to make a larger a | [
" be just to ask specifically on data centers and animal health, some of your other emerging growth opportunities, just a progress report there. And any quantification on pace of growth or margin expansion? Thank you.\nChristophe Beck -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nYes. So starting with data centers. As mentioned earlier, we've been growing. I think, 53% in the second quarter. It's been a terrific story. It used to be part of our light water industries business. In the past, we've created a dedicated unit, 12 or 18 months ago, which is really a division that's focused on data centers and microelectronics, by the way, the Intel of that world as well. And interestingly enough, its new expertise that we could build, its new offering that we could provide to those companies that are really interested in close to 100% uptime for all the reasons that we understand, our secure solutions as well from a digital technology perspective, they want to make sure that any access that we have with them is done in a totally secure way as well. And those are companies that are very sustainability-friendly as well. So they all want to get -- so close to the net-zero as fast as they can. All that is really driving that business in a great way.\nAnimal health is a complete different story. Obviously, as such, this is something that takes time as well. We've created a dedicated unit. We've made acquisitions as well in that field, underlying. I like where we're going. Q2 has been a bit subpar because we compare it to a very high Q2 in 2020, but that's a business that's going to be very interesting going forward for at least one important reason that most of the farmers won't be or are not allowed to use antibiotics to protect the animals, and they need way more solutions in order to make sure that they are in a healthy environment in order not to get sick. And this is exactly what animal health is doing in our business.\nSo it's an evolving proposition, but that's clearly aligned with the longer-term trends that customers and consumers like you and I ultimately are expecting from the food manufacturers.\nScott Schneeberger -- Oppenheimer -- Analyst\nThanks, Christophe. Appreciate the color.\nChristophe Beck -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nThank you, Scott.\nOperator\nYour next question comes from the line of Rosemarie Morbelli with Gabelli & Company. Please proceed with your question.\n",
"Rosemarie Morbelli -- Gabelli & Company -- Analyst\nThank you. Good morning, Christophe and everyone else.\nChristophe Beck -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nRosemarie.\nRosemarie Morbelli -- Gabelli & Company -- Analyst\nI was wondering if you could talk a little bit about M&A. You have been making small acquisitions. Do you have an appetite for larger ones? And are there targets that you would be interested in?\nChristophe Beck -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nSo the short answer is, yes. We're interested in M&A and larger ones. We've done smaller ones over the past few months, as mentioned earlier, in the wipes area, which is a perfect complement to our offering in Institutional, in Healthcare and in Industrial. And we couldn't produce that ourselves. We were toll manufacturing with other companies, and we've seen during the pandemic that that could be a great business for us today and especially going forward. So we've done that as well.\nWe've done animal health as well last year, as I just mentioned as well as to the previous question. And we've been extremely active on the M&A front over the last six months. We have a very rich pipeline. We have very serious discussions with many as well out there. But at the end of the day, we have this very disciplined line on what we do and what we don't do. And when I look at all the discussions that we've had so far, we didn't find the exact opportunity so right now. But I feel confident that in the future, so we will get to a bigger opportunity at the right time.\nRosemarie Morbelli -- Gabelli & Company -- Analyst\nCan you share with us any particular area where you are more likely to make a larger a"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What was EPAM's revenue growth rate in 2022-Q4 compared to the same quarter in the previous year | the balanced cost structure across our major delivery centers. At the same time, while we are fully committed to continuing our investments in our strategic differentiators, we are watching very carefully the balance of those investments to our current and immediately visible demand.
Given the necessity of looking at our business both from a long and shorter-term point of view, we are heavily utilizing our digital platforms, which have been instrumental in guiding our decisions so far in allowing us to monitor our business on a daily basis and making real-time collaborations when necessary to ensure that we protect our best talent as a key priority while still driving toward our historic growth and profitability levels. On the general slowdown issue, we do believe that in today's technology-dependent world, the real impact of slow demand on the IT services global market most likely should be limited just to several quarters. The pullback will encourage new players to enter the market with new technology-led business solutions and push enterprises to respond with new investment in order to protect their competitive positions, which in turn should accelerate growth for EPAM as our proposition is focused exactly in helping them to bring new strategy and implementation simultaneously in most coordinated and efficient ways. So, our goal today is to prepare EPAM exactly for that time and to be able to respond in fast to the next growth and capability challenges.
That is why we plan to focus our attention in the next quarters to further stabilize our global operations and to continuously invest into new talent, new capabilities, new offerings, and new markets and to maintain our strong engineering G&A but, this time, as a much more globally diversified company than ever in the past. Looking at our results for 2022. We generated over $4.8 billion in revenues, reflecting a greater than 28% year-over-year growth. Non-GAAP earnings per share were $10.90, a 20% increase over fiscal 2021.
And we also generated $382 million of free cash flow. And, one more time, we did all that during the year when we had almost 60% of our talent in regions directly or indirectly impacted by war and when we were supporting many thousands of EPAMers and their families during the continuous relocation process. In 2023, we are committed to accelerating our mission of becoming a true value orchestrator for our customers, and we are working every day to stay focused on our customer needs and demands. Even while we continue rolling our geographic expansions, our capabilities, and our commercial offerings of a larger, more diversified and more capable EPAM.
It is a bit strange to talk today again 12 months later about crossing 5 billion revenue mark in 2023 as we did back in February 2022. The war took a year of our life, a year of our growth, but we all know too well that it's nothing in comparison to what people in Ukraine must go through today and what is happening on the ground in Turkey as we speak right now. So, that is why with all that, what didn't change at all is our confidence that is what we build and continuously building, we would be able to navigate the challenges and come back to our 20% plus organic growth rate in the next several quarters and to our 10 billion aspiration within the next several years. With that said, let me turn the call over to Jason, who will talk about our Q4 and full-year '22 results and our business outlook for 2023.
Jason Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer
Thank you, Ark, and good morning, everyone. Before covering our Q4 results, I wanted to remind everyone that in addition to our customary non-GAAP adjustments, expenditures related to EPAM's humanitarian commitment to Ukraine, the exit of our Russian operations, and costs associated with accelerated employee relocations have been excluded from non-GAAP financial results. We have included additional disclosures specific to these and other related items in our Q4 earnings release. In the fourth quarter, EPAM delivered solid results.
The company generated revenues of | [
" the balanced cost structure across our major delivery centers. At the same time, while we are fully committed to continuing our investments in our strategic differentiators, we are watching very carefully the balance of those investments to our current and immediately visible demand.\nGiven the necessity of looking at our business both from a long and shorter-term point of view, we are heavily utilizing our digital platforms, which have been instrumental in guiding our decisions so far in allowing us to monitor our business on a daily basis and making real-time collaborations when necessary to ensure that we protect our best talent as a key priority while still driving toward our historic growth and profitability levels. On the general slowdown issue, we do believe that in today's technology-dependent world, the real impact of slow demand on the IT services global market most likely should be limited just to several quarters. The pullback will encourage new players to enter the market with new technology-led business solutions and push enterprises to respond with new investment in order to protect their competitive positions, which in turn should accelerate growth for EPAM as our proposition is focused exactly in helping them to bring new strategy and implementation simultaneously in most coordinated and efficient ways. So, our goal today is to prepare EPAM exactly for that time and to be able to respond in fast to the next growth and capability challenges.\nThat is why we plan to focus our attention in the next quarters to further stabilize our global operations and to continuously invest into new talent, new capabilities, new offerings, and new markets and to maintain our strong engineering G&A but, this time, as a much more globally diversified company than ever in the past. Looking at our results for 2022. We generated over $4.8 billion in revenues, reflecting a greater than 28% year-over-year growth. Non-GAAP earnings per share were $10.90, a 20% increase over fiscal 2021.\nAnd we also generated $382 million of free cash flow. And, one more time, we did all that during the year when we had almost 60% of our talent in regions directly or indirectly impacted by war and when we were supporting many thousands of EPAMers and their families during the continuous relocation process. In 2023, we are committed to accelerating our mission of becoming a true value orchestrator for our customers, and we are working every day to stay focused on our customer needs and demands. Even while we continue rolling our geographic expansions, our capabilities, and our commercial offerings of a larger, more diversified and more capable EPAM.\n",
"It is a bit strange to talk today again 12 months later about crossing 5 billion revenue mark in 2023 as we did back in February 2022. The war took a year of our life, a year of our growth, but we all know too well that it's nothing in comparison to what people in Ukraine must go through today and what is happening on the ground in Turkey as we speak right now. So, that is why with all that, what didn't change at all is our confidence that is what we build and continuously building, we would be able to navigate the challenges and come back to our 20% plus organic growth rate in the next several quarters and to our 10 billion aspiration within the next several years. With that said, let me turn the call over to Jason, who will talk about our Q4 and full-year '22 results and our business outlook for 2023.\nJason Peterson -- Chief Financial Officer\nThank you, Ark, and good morning, everyone. Before covering our Q4 results, I wanted to remind everyone that in addition to our customary non-GAAP adjustments, expenditures related to EPAM's humanitarian commitment to Ukraine, the exit of our Russian operations, and costs associated with accelerated employee relocations have been excluded from non-GAAP financial results. We have included additional disclosures specific to these and other related items in our Q4 earnings release. In the fourth quarter, EPAM delivered solid results.\nThe company generated revenues of"
] | 2 | [
0,
1
] | 0.63093 |
which presidents funeral included a riderless horse | Staff Sgt. Travis Nielsen had no idea when he joined the U.S. Army that his duty would include one of the most solemn and hallowed ceremonies in the military. John F. Kennedy's funeral in 1963 included a riderless horse with boots facing backwards in the saddle. During funeral processions at Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, Nielsen walks the riderless horse, a powerful military symbol that stands among the highest honors for the fallen. Images of the so-called caparisoned horse, often referred to as the "cap horse," remain emblazoned in the memories of millions of shocked Americans who watched President Kennedy's funeral procession shortly after his 1963 assassination. According to Army tradition, a ceremonial horse is led by a "cap walker," like Nielsen, in a procession with boots set backward in the saddle's stirrups. In addition to high-ranking government officials such as the president, the cap horse honor is reserved for officers of the rank of colonel or above. The tradition dates "to Roman times, or Genghis Khan," Nielsen said, "as a high honor bestowed on high-ranking fallen warriors." Watch Nielsen lead a riderless horse at Arlington » The ancient riderless horse ceremony didn't include backward boots, he said, but it did include an unusual meal. "They were shrouding their horses or putting him in battle armor or escorting the fallen to their grave," Nielsen said. "When that was done, they would eat the horse, and they would have a big feast." Today "the boots facing backward symbolize [that] the fallen won't ride again and [the rider is] looking back on his family one last time," he said. Nielsen serves with the ceremonial Caisson Platoon of the 3rd U.S. Infantry regiment, also known as the Old Guard, based at Fort Myer, Virginia, near the cemetery. Formed in 1784, the Old Guard ranks as the oldest active duty unit in the Army. "Memorial Day weekend is very busy around here," said Nielsen, who joins Old Guard comrades in the annual tradition at Arlington called "flags in." "We are responsible for going out in the cemetery and placing the American flags on all the headstones." Platoon soldiers rarely know any details about the troops or civilians they honor. "Sometimes someone who served with the fallen or maybe went to [military] academy with them will come up to you and tell you what a great guy they were," Nielsen said. When choosing Old Guard members, commanders "want guys who are punctual and disciplined and picky about the way they look and the way their horses look," he said. The focus of much of Nielsen's duties involves drilling and training horses such as Kennedy, a cap horse whose previous career involved running around harness racing tracks. Cemetery ceremonial horses are washed and brushed until their coats have a bright sheen. Saddles and brass are buffed and polished until they shine like mirrors. Ancient caissons that carry flag-draped caskets are cleaned and readied for a day of service. As for the soldiers, Old Guard members' woolen uniforms are flawless and take hours to prepare, as each inch is inspected again and again. Uniforms are pressed and ironed. Shoes and brass are polished and shined. "In the winter, it can get pretty cold out there," Nielsen said. "In the summer -- it's no joke -- the summers get extremely hot. There will be heat indexes of 100 to 115 degrees." Nielsen described his duty as rewarding. "We carry America's heroes to the final resting place," he said. Soldiers in formation lead the procession. An Army band plays, and the unit marches to muffled drums. The caisson passes, led by six horses, either black or white. The horses' harnesses jangle and the caisson wheels rumble through the hallowed paths of Arlington. Bringing up the rear of the procession is Nielsen, leading Kennedy. They pass in formation | [
"Staff Sgt. Travis Nielsen had no idea when he joined the U.S. Army that his duty would include one of the most solemn and hallowed ceremonies in the military. John F. Kennedy's funeral in 1963 included a riderless horse with boots facing backwards in the saddle. During funeral processions at Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, Nielsen walks the riderless horse, a powerful military symbol that stands among the highest honors for the fallen. Images of the so-called caparisoned horse, often referred to as the \"cap horse,\" remain emblazoned in the memories of millions of shocked Americans who watched President Kennedy's funeral procession shortly after his 1963 assassination. According to Army tradition, a ceremonial horse is led by a \"cap walker,\" like Nielsen, in a procession with boots set backward in the saddle's stirrups. In addition to high-ranking government officials such as the president, the cap horse honor is reserved for officers of the rank of colonel or above. The tradition dates \"to Roman times, or Genghis Khan,\" Nielsen said, \"as a high honor bestowed on high-ranking fallen warriors.\" Watch Nielsen lead a riderless horse at Arlington » The ancient riderless horse ceremony didn't include backward boots, he said, but it did include an unusual meal. \"They were shrouding their horses or putting him in battle armor or escorting the fallen to their grave,\" Nielsen said. \"When that was done, they would eat the horse, and they would have a big feast.\" Today \"the boots facing backward symbolize [that] the fallen won't ride again and [the rider is] looking back on his family one last time,\" he said. Nielsen serves with the ceremonial Caisson Platoon of the 3rd U.S. Infantry regiment, also known as the Old Guard, based at Fort Myer, Virginia, near the cemetery. Formed in 1784, the Old Guard ranks as the oldest active duty unit in the Army. \"Memorial Day weekend is very busy around here,\" said Nielsen, who joins Old Guard comrades in the annual tradition at Arlington called \"flags in.\" \"We are responsible for going out in the cemetery and placing the American flags on all the headstones.\" Platoon soldiers rarely know any details about the troops or civilians they honor. \"Sometimes someone who served with the fallen or maybe went to [military] academy with them will come up to you and tell you what a great guy they were,\" Nielsen said. ",
"When choosing Old Guard members, commanders \"want guys who are punctual and disciplined and picky about the way they look and the way their horses look,\" he said. The focus of much of Nielsen's duties involves drilling and training horses such as Kennedy, a cap horse whose previous career involved running around harness racing tracks. Cemetery ceremonial horses are washed and brushed until their coats have a bright sheen. Saddles and brass are buffed and polished until they shine like mirrors. Ancient caissons that carry flag-draped caskets are cleaned and readied for a day of service. As for the soldiers, Old Guard members' woolen uniforms are flawless and take hours to prepare, as each inch is inspected again and again. Uniforms are pressed and ironed. Shoes and brass are polished and shined. \"In the winter, it can get pretty cold out there,\" Nielsen said. \"In the summer -- it's no joke -- the summers get extremely hot. There will be heat indexes of 100 to 115 degrees.\" Nielsen described his duty as rewarding. \"We carry America's heroes to the final resting place,\" he said. Soldiers in formation lead the procession. An Army band plays, and the unit marches to muffled drums. The caisson passes, led by six horses, either black or white. The horses' harnesses jangle and the caisson wheels rumble through the hallowed paths of Arlington. Bringing up the rear of the procession is Nielsen, leading Kennedy. They pass in formation"
] | 2 | [
1,
1
] | 1 |
What was the revenue growth rate for the 3D Sensing business in the 2020-Q4 quarter | panies like II-VI that are vertically integrated and have a compelling technology and product road map resulting from innovation at all levels of the transceiver design.
Innovation in optical and electronics components technology, along with advanced packaging and assembly automation that enable new levels of performance and integration will become essential as the industry migrates to higher data rates in shrinking form factors. For example, we have been investing in the high-performance indium phosphide and gallium arsenide devices, including 100G data convexes, which enable 400-gigabit Internet transceivers for different reaches. Led by our CTO, Chris Koeppen, we have stepped up our investments in wafer-level integration platforms, including silicon photonics and have significantly increased our investment in integrated circuit technology, which we believe is critical to our road map and competitiveness. In telecom, we are seeing the strong customer demand for our 25G tunable transceivers for the 5G wireless front haul.
And for our laser solutions, which grew 38% quarter-over-quarter, driven primarily by strong growth implant laser and our Wavelength Selective Switch product lines. For OEMs and module integrators, we are also ramping production of our components for 400G coherent optics, including our highly integrated tunable transmitter receiver assembly. Looking beyond the communications market, our aerospace and defense business grew over 20% in FY '20 for the full year. Aerospace and defense is increasingly turning into a significant growth market for us.
In addition to our long-standing contribution to the F-35 aircraft and other strategic platforms that support vital intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting applications, we are further positioning II-VI to address exciting new opportunities in hypersonics and directed energy as well as satellites and contested space.mOur 3D Sensing business, once again, grew sequentially and in a seasonally low quarter. This month, we began our fourth year of volume shipments in this important supply chain that started with our first shipments from our Warren plants. We have also accelerated the pace of development of our next-generation devices to increase our by shortening our time-to-market even further. The emergence of world-facing LiDAR sensors so smartphones and tablets underlines the strategic importance of 3D Sensing.
We believe that world-facing LiDAR sensors will enable several applications, driving demand for 3D Sensing functionality in multiple end markets. We also believe it will increase the dollar content per device, it will be one of the growth drivers for 3D Sensing this year. We continue to be part of key next-generation 3D Sensing design engagements and are in a position to supply VCSEL products from our entirely U.S.-based vertical integrated facilities. We expect to continue to grow our VCSEL business and to gain market share in the upcoming product cycle by leveraging our state-of-the-art manufacturing operations in Sherman, which were qualified last quarter and where production continues to ramp.
Finally, as it relates to our announcement yesterday, I reflect on our strategy and demonstrated ability to identify and execute on valuable long-term investments. We saw the INNOViON opportunity and the importance of ionic implantations years ago. We made our original investment in INNOViON in fiscal year 2018. Yesterday, we announced our plans to acquire all the outstanding interest of the owners of the parent of INNOViON.
Along with our team and global footprint, INNOViON will make a great addition to our differentiated technology platforms. We similarly see significant long-term value and differentiation in Ascatron's silicon carbide epitaxy and device technology, and we're excited for them to become an integral part of II-VI too. With that, let me turn it over to Mary Jane. Mary Jane?
Mary Jane Raymond -- Chief Financial Officer
Thanks, Giovanni, and good morning. We closed our year with a strong performance that demonstrates our experience | [
"panies like II-VI that are vertically integrated and have a compelling technology and product road map resulting from innovation at all levels of the transceiver design.\nInnovation in optical and electronics components technology, along with advanced packaging and assembly automation that enable new levels of performance and integration will become essential as the industry migrates to higher data rates in shrinking form factors. For example, we have been investing in the high-performance indium phosphide and gallium arsenide devices, including 100G data convexes, which enable 400-gigabit Internet transceivers for different reaches. Led by our CTO, Chris Koeppen, we have stepped up our investments in wafer-level integration platforms, including silicon photonics and have significantly increased our investment in integrated circuit technology, which we believe is critical to our road map and competitiveness. In telecom, we are seeing the strong customer demand for our 25G tunable transceivers for the 5G wireless front haul.\nAnd for our laser solutions, which grew 38% quarter-over-quarter, driven primarily by strong growth implant laser and our Wavelength Selective Switch product lines. For OEMs and module integrators, we are also ramping production of our components for 400G coherent optics, including our highly integrated tunable transmitter receiver assembly. Looking beyond the communications market, our aerospace and defense business grew over 20% in FY '20 for the full year. Aerospace and defense is increasingly turning into a significant growth market for us.\nIn addition to our long-standing contribution to the F-35 aircraft and other strategic platforms that support vital intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting applications, we are further positioning II-VI to address exciting new opportunities in hypersonics and directed energy as well as satellites and contested space.mOur 3D Sensing business, once again, grew sequentially and in a seasonally low quarter. This month, we began our fourth year of volume shipments in this important supply chain that started with our first shipments from our Warren plants. We have also accelerated the pace of development of our next-generation devices to increase our by shortening our time-to-market even further. The emergence of world-facing LiDAR sensors so smartphones and tablets underlines the strategic importance of 3D Sensing.\n",
"We believe that world-facing LiDAR sensors will enable several applications, driving demand for 3D Sensing functionality in multiple end markets. We also believe it will increase the dollar content per device, it will be one of the growth drivers for 3D Sensing this year. We continue to be part of key next-generation 3D Sensing design engagements and are in a position to supply VCSEL products from our entirely U.S.-based vertical integrated facilities. We expect to continue to grow our VCSEL business and to gain market share in the upcoming product cycle by leveraging our state-of-the-art manufacturing operations in Sherman, which were qualified last quarter and where production continues to ramp.\nFinally, as it relates to our announcement yesterday, I reflect on our strategy and demonstrated ability to identify and execute on valuable long-term investments. We saw the INNOViON opportunity and the importance of ionic implantations years ago. We made our original investment in INNOViON in fiscal year 2018. Yesterday, we announced our plans to acquire all the outstanding interest of the owners of the parent of INNOViON.\nAlong with our team and global footprint, INNOViON will make a great addition to our differentiated technology platforms. We similarly see significant long-term value and differentiation in Ascatron's silicon carbide epitaxy and device technology, and we're excited for them to become an integral part of II-VI too. With that, let me turn it over to Mary Jane. Mary Jane?\nMary Jane Raymond -- Chief Financial Officer\nThanks, Giovanni, and good morning. We closed our year with a strong performance that demonstrates our experience "
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the company's revenue growth rate for Q2 compared to Q1 | transactional velocity deals as we look internationally versus domestically?
Jay Kreps -- Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Yes. Yes. So international has continued to outpace U.S. growth.
Kind of in just observing and talking with customers, I would say they're probably a little bit behind the curve on overall cloud adoption and a little bit behind on streaming, but catching up quickly. I think that in all regions, I've met with customers who are kind of going big at very senior levels, I think that's an exciting thing to say. So for us, the regional differences at this layer of the stack, they're not huge, right? There's many other products that have much bigger differences. By and large, I feel like this type of technology is kind of very international.
But it is true that I would say the European companies were a little slower on cloud, so just the total dollar spend in cloud is not at the same level yet as the counterparts -- similar sized company in the same industry would be at in the U.S. And then maybe a little bit, maybe a year behind the curve across the board on the world of streaming. But by and large, doing exactly the same projects in exactly the same way, so we see that as a super healthy thing as that business is kind of catching up to what we see in the U.S. You may have bits to add to that, Steffan, but those are my observations.
Shane Xie
All right. We'll take our next question from Brad Sills of Bank of America.
Adam Bergere -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst
This is Adam on for Brad. So just as you guys see deals get bigger, can you just remind us how we should be thinking about seasonality again? For example, like should we expect to see a more pronounced Q4 this year than maybe last year or the year prior?
Jay Kreps -- Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Yes. Do you want to speak to that, Steffan?
Steffan Tomlinson -- Chief Financial Officer
Sure. When we think about seasonality, it's really from a bookings basis primarily. That's where we start. And given the way that business is done in the enterprise, typically near the end of the calendar year, larger deals have more momentum, and we -- in deals in Q4, and it's also aligned with sales compensation plans.
But we're looking at doing very substantial deals throughout the whole year, but it just so happens the way that the enterprise business works. It tends to be -- Q4 tends to be higher from a booking standpoint. When you look at revenue, there's going to be a little bit of variability in our revenue on a quarter-to-quarter basis in terms of growth rates, and that's because we have a hybrid revenue model. Part of our model has Confluent platform, which you have part of it upfront and then the balance recognized ratably.
We are seeing an increased impact -- positive impact around our consumption business. And we talked about that there are some either seasonality or cyclicality type of dynamics to a consumption-based model. And so you could have Q4 to Q1 having less sequential consumption growth. But that's normal, and there are lots of different companies that are out there with a hybrid revenue model that sees that on a consumption basis.
But we're talking about this in the context of us continuing to raise numbers. We're leaning into a $50 billion-plus market. We're also leaning into improved visibility around how we're managing growth and profitability. And so I devoted a little bit of my comments to this in the script, but we remain committed to delivering high revenue growth and annual operating margins, operating margin improvement in FY '22.
We plan on accelerating that in FY '23 from an operating margin standpoint, and we plan on exiting Q4 '24 with positive non-GAAP operating margin, and we're doing this all in a high-growth format. And the last point I want to make on that is, if you think about the importance of managing growth and profitability and the timing of when we are achieving positive non-GAAP operating margin, we're a 2014 vintage company, and we have laid out basically like a 10-year dynamic from 2014 to Q4 | [
"transactional velocity deals as we look internationally versus domestically?\nJay Kreps -- Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer\nYes. Yes. So international has continued to outpace U.S. growth.\nKind of in just observing and talking with customers, I would say they're probably a little bit behind the curve on overall cloud adoption and a little bit behind on streaming, but catching up quickly. I think that in all regions, I've met with customers who are kind of going big at very senior levels, I think that's an exciting thing to say. So for us, the regional differences at this layer of the stack, they're not huge, right? There's many other products that have much bigger differences. By and large, I feel like this type of technology is kind of very international.\nBut it is true that I would say the European companies were a little slower on cloud, so just the total dollar spend in cloud is not at the same level yet as the counterparts -- similar sized company in the same industry would be at in the U.S. And then maybe a little bit, maybe a year behind the curve across the board on the world of streaming. But by and large, doing exactly the same projects in exactly the same way, so we see that as a super healthy thing as that business is kind of catching up to what we see in the U.S. You may have bits to add to that, Steffan, but those are my observations.\nShane Xie\nAll right. We'll take our next question from Brad Sills of Bank of America.\nAdam Bergere -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst\nThis is Adam on for Brad. So just as you guys see deals get bigger, can you just remind us how we should be thinking about seasonality again? For example, like should we expect to see a more pronounced Q4 this year than maybe last year or the year prior?\nJay Kreps -- Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer\nYes. Do you want to speak to that, Steffan?\nSteffan Tomlinson -- Chief Financial Officer\nSure. When we think about seasonality, it's really from a bookings basis primarily. That's where we start. And given the way that business is done in the enterprise, typically near the end of the calendar year, larger deals have more momentum, and we -- in deals in Q4, and it's also aligned with sales compensation plans.\n",
"But we're looking at doing very substantial deals throughout the whole year, but it just so happens the way that the enterprise business works. It tends to be -- Q4 tends to be higher from a booking standpoint. When you look at revenue, there's going to be a little bit of variability in our revenue on a quarter-to-quarter basis in terms of growth rates, and that's because we have a hybrid revenue model. Part of our model has Confluent platform, which you have part of it upfront and then the balance recognized ratably.\nWe are seeing an increased impact -- positive impact around our consumption business. And we talked about that there are some either seasonality or cyclicality type of dynamics to a consumption-based model. And so you could have Q4 to Q1 having less sequential consumption growth. But that's normal, and there are lots of different companies that are out there with a hybrid revenue model that sees that on a consumption basis.\nBut we're talking about this in the context of us continuing to raise numbers. We're leaning into a $50 billion-plus market. We're also leaning into improved visibility around how we're managing growth and profitability. And so I devoted a little bit of my comments to this in the script, but we remain committed to delivering high revenue growth and annual operating margins, operating margin improvement in FY '22.\nWe plan on accelerating that in FY '23 from an operating margin standpoint, and we plan on exiting Q4 '24 with positive non-GAAP operating margin, and we're doing this all in a high-growth format. And the last point I want to make on that is, if you think about the importance of managing growth and profitability and the timing of when we are achieving positive non-GAAP operating margin, we're a 2014 vintage company, and we have laid out basically like a 10-year dynamic from 2014 to Q4"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What was the revenue of Skyworks in the first quarter of 2022 | adoption of our solutions across 5G, IoT, automotive and wireless infrastructure, and an expanding set of new customers and markets from our recently acquired I&A business. Importantly, Skyworks continues to drive strong profit margins and exceptional cash flow.
We achieved gross margin of 51.2% and operating margin of 38.8%. We posted earnings per share of $3.14, above consensus and up 20% sequentially. Finally, we generated record Q1 operating cash flow of $582 million. As our first quarter results illustrate the growth trajectory we established in fiscal 2021 is extending into fiscal 2022.
We continue to see deployments accelerating with 5G cellular subscriptions predicted to grow from 700 million today to more than 4.4 billion by the year 2027. As connectivity becomes more vital to the ways we work, educate, and play, devices are increasingly integrating 5G with advanced WiFi, precision GPS, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and other wireless protocols, creating the seamless and ultrafast experience demanded by our customers. The rapid adoption of new wireless technologies enables a proliferating set of use cases with design wins spanning mobile and broad markets, further bolstered by contributions from our recently completed acquisition. Specifically in mobile, we shipped Sky5 platforms across leading smartphone OEMs, including Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, among others.
In Enterprise and IoT, we supported WiFi access points at Siemens, powered NETGEAR's latest WiFi 6 and 6E mesh system, partnered with British Telecom to launch 5G home routers, ramped WiFi 6 and 6E modules at Juniper Networks and Telus, and provided digital isolation solutions for GE consumer appliances. Moving to automotive. We leverage Sky5 technology to enable telematics, security, driver assist, and other advanced services at leading OEMs. We scaled volume production of timing and isolation products enabling the leading EV manufacturers.
And finally, across the infrastructure and industrial space, we captured design wins at Quectel for enterprise M2M platforms, delivered industrial IoT solutions to Itron, Honeywell, and Thales, supporting smart energy and factory automation. We also expanded our position in timing applications at the top five data centers. And as markets evolve, we expect to deploy billions of wireless devices, capitalizing on a strong multiyear growth trend. Advances in cloud and edge computing, autonomous vehicles and factory automation, together with the emergence of the Metaverse, we are intensifying the burden on existing networks, catalyzing demand for our highly integrated and customized platforms.
From inception, Skyworks has been a driving force empowering the wireless network revolution, connecting people, places and things. We invested early and extensively to develop and fabricate cutting-edge technology at massive scale. Today, we're a global leader providing the essential elements required to deliver the highest performance connectivity platforms in the industry, producing billions of units integrating core technology nodes, including gallium arsenide, Belton surface acoustic wave, as well as the most advanced multi-chip module test and assembly capabilities in the world. Underpinned by this powerful foundation, we are leading the transition of 5G inspiring a new era of unrivaled innovation.
The strength of our balance sheet and consistent outperformance demonstrates the significant value of our vertically integrated model and the compelling advantages it delivers. Looking forward, we are committed to supporting the strategic investments in technology, product development, and world-class manufacturing scale to further extend our market leadership. With that, I will turn the call over to Kris.
Kris Sennesael -- Chief Financial Officer
Thanks, Liam. Skyworks' revenue for the first fiscal quarter of 2022 was 1.51 billion, up 15% sequentially, driven by continued strong demand across our entire portfolio. Gross profit in the first quarter was 773 million, resulting in a gross margin of 51.2%, up 20 basis points sequentially. Ope | [
"adoption of our solutions across 5G, IoT, automotive and wireless infrastructure, and an expanding set of new customers and markets from our recently acquired I&A business. Importantly, Skyworks continues to drive strong profit margins and exceptional cash flow.\nWe achieved gross margin of 51.2% and operating margin of 38.8%. We posted earnings per share of $3.14, above consensus and up 20% sequentially. Finally, we generated record Q1 operating cash flow of $582 million. As our first quarter results illustrate the growth trajectory we established in fiscal 2021 is extending into fiscal 2022.\nWe continue to see deployments accelerating with 5G cellular subscriptions predicted to grow from 700 million today to more than 4.4 billion by the year 2027. As connectivity becomes more vital to the ways we work, educate, and play, devices are increasingly integrating 5G with advanced WiFi, precision GPS, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and other wireless protocols, creating the seamless and ultrafast experience demanded by our customers. The rapid adoption of new wireless technologies enables a proliferating set of use cases with design wins spanning mobile and broad markets, further bolstered by contributions from our recently completed acquisition. Specifically in mobile, we shipped Sky5 platforms across leading smartphone OEMs, including Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, among others.\nIn Enterprise and IoT, we supported WiFi access points at Siemens, powered NETGEAR's latest WiFi 6 and 6E mesh system, partnered with British Telecom to launch 5G home routers, ramped WiFi 6 and 6E modules at Juniper Networks and Telus, and provided digital isolation solutions for GE consumer appliances. Moving to automotive. We leverage Sky5 technology to enable telematics, security, driver assist, and other advanced services at leading OEMs. We scaled volume production of timing and isolation products enabling the leading EV manufacturers.\n",
"And finally, across the infrastructure and industrial space, we captured design wins at Quectel for enterprise M2M platforms, delivered industrial IoT solutions to Itron, Honeywell, and Thales, supporting smart energy and factory automation. We also expanded our position in timing applications at the top five data centers. And as markets evolve, we expect to deploy billions of wireless devices, capitalizing on a strong multiyear growth trend. Advances in cloud and edge computing, autonomous vehicles and factory automation, together with the emergence of the Metaverse, we are intensifying the burden on existing networks, catalyzing demand for our highly integrated and customized platforms.\nFrom inception, Skyworks has been a driving force empowering the wireless network revolution, connecting people, places and things. We invested early and extensively to develop and fabricate cutting-edge technology at massive scale. Today, we're a global leader providing the essential elements required to deliver the highest performance connectivity platforms in the industry, producing billions of units integrating core technology nodes, including gallium arsenide, Belton surface acoustic wave, as well as the most advanced multi-chip module test and assembly capabilities in the world. Underpinned by this powerful foundation, we are leading the transition of 5G inspiring a new era of unrivaled innovation.\nThe strength of our balance sheet and consistent outperformance demonstrates the significant value of our vertically integrated model and the compelling advantages it delivers. Looking forward, we are committed to supporting the strategic investments in technology, product development, and world-class manufacturing scale to further extend our market leadership. With that, I will turn the call over to Kris.\nKris Sennesael -- Chief Financial Officer\nThanks, Liam. Skyworks' revenue for the first fiscal quarter of 2022 was 1.51 billion, up 15% sequentially, driven by continued strong demand across our entire portfolio. Gross profit in the first quarter was 773 million, resulting in a gross margin of 51.2%, up 20 basis points sequentially. Ope"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the expected growth rate for Rambus's R&D expenses for the year | Seraphin -- Chief Executive Officer
Thanks, Sidney.
Operator
Your next question comes from the line of Mehdi Hosseini with SIG. Your line is open. You may ask your question.
Mehdi Hosseini -- Susquehanna International Group -- Analyst
Yes, thanks for taking my question. Just want to follow up to Sidney's. And want to dig into silicon IP opportunities, especially with AI and machine learning. And this is something that, in my opinion, we're still in the early phase.
But I want to see how much of those incremental opportunities are part of your expectation? Or would this actually provide any upside to your overall opportunities for this year and beyond? And I have a follow-up.
Luc Seraphin -- Chief Executive Officer
Hi, Mehdi. The AI and ML opportunities do add potential revenue for our IP cores, especially HBM where we do show a very high-bandwidth capability, you know? AI is going to be consuming a large portion of the data center growth going forward. So anyone building a chip for AI that goes into data center will eventually need these high-speed interfaces, mostly HBM, to some extent, GDDR6. So these growth of AI into the data center, the data center market growth itself are driving growth for IP cores.
You know, IP core business is growing in double-digit growth, but the AI through HBM GDDR6 are the main drivers for that.
Mehdi Hosseini -- Susquehanna International Group -- Analyst
So -- but would it be possible that this were early in adoption and perhaps if it materializes, it may provide upside to your expectation for this year and beyond? Or is it already dialed into what you have communicated for opportunities?
Luc Seraphin -- Chief Executive Officer
Maybe it is dialed in what we have communicated for our opportunities. The Rambus strategy has always been to focus on data centers and high-speed interfaces. So what we've done over the last few years is we focus our portfolio on the IP that serves those markets and HBM, GDDR6 controller, and PHY as well as a security IP focus on to benefiting from that market growth. So this is dialed in our expectations.
Mehdi Hosseini -- Susquehanna International Group -- Analyst
Got it. Thank you. And just a quick follow-up. Your pro forma opex over the past fourth quarter has remained below $50 million.
Is this something that we should be thinking of over the next four to eight quarters like at most $50 million of opex?
Rahul Mathur -- Chief Financial Officer
Hi, Mehdi, it's Rahul. Thanks very much for the question, and we're delighted to have you on the call today. In terms of an opex perspective, look, I think we've done a fantastic job of improving our operational efficiency and in particularly taking cost out of SG&A. What you've seen is that we've taken probably about $20 million of cost out compared to where we were a couple of years ago.
My expectation is that from an overall opex perspective, our SG&A through the course of this year should stay roughly flat on a quarterly basis. There's always some ins and outs on a quarterly basis related to tax or hiring or other things as well. What I'd expect, though, is that if we had some increases in spend, it would be on the R&D side. We are investing in these very exciting product programs that Luc was talking about earlier, both on the chip side as well as on the silicon IP side.
So you might see a little bit of increase on the R&D side from a quarter-to-quarter perspective. But I think that, you know, 50 million a quarter, we should be under that through the course of this year. But I'd like to see us continue to invest in R&D toward the back half of this year and then out in the future to fuel these products -- plans that are growing very nicely. Maybe to the question you're asking earlier, you know, we look at our silicon IP business on total, as Luc mentioned, growing kind of in the double-digit range on an annual basis.
And that's embedded, I think, in the growth estimates that you see for analysts and consensus estimates. And I think I mentioned that in our prepared remarks.
Mehdi Hosseini -- Susquehanna International G | [
"Seraphin -- Chief Executive Officer\nThanks, Sidney.\nOperator\nYour next question comes from the line of Mehdi Hosseini with SIG. Your line is open. You may ask your question.\nMehdi Hosseini -- Susquehanna International Group -- Analyst\nYes, thanks for taking my question. Just want to follow up to Sidney's. And want to dig into silicon IP opportunities, especially with AI and machine learning. And this is something that, in my opinion, we're still in the early phase.\nBut I want to see how much of those incremental opportunities are part of your expectation? Or would this actually provide any upside to your overall opportunities for this year and beyond? And I have a follow-up.\nLuc Seraphin -- Chief Executive Officer\nHi, Mehdi. The AI and ML opportunities do add potential revenue for our IP cores, especially HBM where we do show a very high-bandwidth capability, you know? AI is going to be consuming a large portion of the data center growth going forward. So anyone building a chip for AI that goes into data center will eventually need these high-speed interfaces, mostly HBM, to some extent, GDDR6. So these growth of AI into the data center, the data center market growth itself are driving growth for IP cores.\nYou know, IP core business is growing in double-digit growth, but the AI through HBM GDDR6 are the main drivers for that.\nMehdi Hosseini -- Susquehanna International Group -- Analyst\nSo -- but would it be possible that this were early in adoption and perhaps if it materializes, it may provide upside to your expectation for this year and beyond? Or is it already dialed into what you have communicated for opportunities?\nLuc Seraphin -- Chief Executive Officer\nMaybe it is dialed in what we have communicated for our opportunities. The Rambus strategy has always been to focus on data centers and high-speed interfaces. So what we've done over the last few years is we focus our portfolio on the IP that serves those markets and HBM, GDDR6 controller, and PHY as well as a security IP focus on to benefiting from that market growth. So this is dialed in our expectations.\nMehdi Hosseini -- Susquehanna International Group -- Analyst\nGot it. Thank you. And just a quick follow-up. Your pro forma opex over the past fourth quarter has remained below $50 million.\n",
"Is this something that we should be thinking of over the next four to eight quarters like at most $50 million of opex?\nRahul Mathur -- Chief Financial Officer\nHi, Mehdi, it's Rahul. Thanks very much for the question, and we're delighted to have you on the call today. In terms of an opex perspective, look, I think we've done a fantastic job of improving our operational efficiency and in particularly taking cost out of SG&A. What you've seen is that we've taken probably about $20 million of cost out compared to where we were a couple of years ago.\nMy expectation is that from an overall opex perspective, our SG&A through the course of this year should stay roughly flat on a quarterly basis. There's always some ins and outs on a quarterly basis related to tax or hiring or other things as well. What I'd expect, though, is that if we had some increases in spend, it would be on the R&D side. We are investing in these very exciting product programs that Luc was talking about earlier, both on the chip side as well as on the silicon IP side.\nSo you might see a little bit of increase on the R&D side from a quarter-to-quarter perspective. But I think that, you know, 50 million a quarter, we should be under that through the course of this year. But I'd like to see us continue to invest in R&D toward the back half of this year and then out in the future to fuel these products -- plans that are growing very nicely. Maybe to the question you're asking earlier, you know, we look at our silicon IP business on total, as Luc mentioned, growing kind of in the double-digit range on an annual basis.\nAnd that's embedded, I think, in the growth estimates that you see for analysts and consensus estimates. And I think I mentioned that in our prepared remarks.\nMehdi Hosseini -- Susquehanna International G"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What was the adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2019 | diary. And Geoverse has begun deploying into several verticals and is also partnering with multiple players interested in taking advantage of its network layer solution. What we see is the next stage of industry development of in-building and enterprise solutions is still early in its development, but we and many other participants expect things to move fairly quickly in 2020 and certainly 2021 with the advancement of the CBRS and 5G technology ecosystems. And as building owners and occupants realize, there is a much more powerful, secure and reliable solution than Wi-Fi available.
In renewable energy, while the revenue was relatively immaterial on a consolidated basis, the team was busy pursuing two large builds for top-tier corporate off-takers, and we hope these activities lead to a larger contribution as we get deeper into 2020. And as noted in our press release, we have invested approximately $32 million over the past three years and four early stage companies with telecom technology or services business models. In rough order of investment size, these include an international communications tower and neutral host company, two wireless technology companies and a developer of a new satellite antenna technology. While this company features still in relatively early stages of development, we are optimistic about creating shareholder value here, both through financial returns and through the contribution, in some cases, of technologies or solutions that leads to other business success at ATN.
We've also made controlling investments in several other businesses, including a private LTE in-building company and managed and cloud services business and long-haul fiber initiatives. The managed services business, Fireminds, is growing nicely for a young company and is contributing to the product set of both our international and U.S. telecom businesses. The fiber business is in protracted discussions with customers and what unsurprisingly is proving to be a long sales cycle business.
The in-building company, Geoverse, which I just discussed, has developed a strong solution and positive momentum. So to summarize for the quarter, I think the key takeaways are, while operating income and net income were negatively impacted by some impairments and other losses related to certain of our minority and overseas investments, our largest businesses performed well. And we were able to continue the positive momentum in our telecom segments through year end, and our visibility is quite a bit better today than it was a year ago. We like where these businesses are right now, and we expect continued positive comparisons as we move into 2020.
And with that, I'll hand it back to you, Jeff.
Justin Benincasa -- Chief Financial Officer
Great. Thank you, Michael. Just beginning with some of the relevant financial data. For the fourth quarter, total consolidated reported revenues were $112.1 million, up 4% from last year's reported total of $107.8 million.
Adjusting for the sale of the U.S. solar portfolio completed in late 2018, revenue increased 7% from last year. Throughout the year, we consistently reported steady revenue growth and improving profits from the international telecom segment. The U.S.
telecom segment also showed significant improvement this quarter over last year, and its revenue and EBITDA performance in the second half of the year was up 27% and 140%, respectively, from the first half of 2019. This reflects the benefits from the CAF II Federal Support Award that we won in 2018 and increased wholesale revenue as part of the FirstNet transaction. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $28.5 million, an increase of 22% over 2018 adjusted EBITDA of $23.4 million. Adjusting for the sale of the U.S.
solar portfolio, adjusted EBITDA increased 39% year on year. Looking at the segments and starting with the international telecom. Starting with international telecom, fourth-quarter revenues were up 6% to $83.1 million from $78 million last year, and adjusted EBITDA increased 29% to $26.6 million from $20.6 million. As Michael ment | [
"diary. And Geoverse has begun deploying into several verticals and is also partnering with multiple players interested in taking advantage of its network layer solution. What we see is the next stage of industry development of in-building and enterprise solutions is still early in its development, but we and many other participants expect things to move fairly quickly in 2020 and certainly 2021 with the advancement of the CBRS and 5G technology ecosystems. And as building owners and occupants realize, there is a much more powerful, secure and reliable solution than Wi-Fi available.\nIn renewable energy, while the revenue was relatively immaterial on a consolidated basis, the team was busy pursuing two large builds for top-tier corporate off-takers, and we hope these activities lead to a larger contribution as we get deeper into 2020. And as noted in our press release, we have invested approximately $32 million over the past three years and four early stage companies with telecom technology or services business models. In rough order of investment size, these include an international communications tower and neutral host company, two wireless technology companies and a developer of a new satellite antenna technology. While this company features still in relatively early stages of development, we are optimistic about creating shareholder value here, both through financial returns and through the contribution, in some cases, of technologies or solutions that leads to other business success at ATN.\nWe've also made controlling investments in several other businesses, including a private LTE in-building company and managed and cloud services business and long-haul fiber initiatives. The managed services business, Fireminds, is growing nicely for a young company and is contributing to the product set of both our international and U.S. telecom businesses. The fiber business is in protracted discussions with customers and what unsurprisingly is proving to be a long sales cycle business.\nThe in-building company, Geoverse, which I just discussed, has developed a strong solution and positive momentum. So to summarize for the quarter, I think the key takeaways are, while operating income and net income were negatively impacted by some impairments and other losses related to certain of our minority and overseas investments, our largest businesses performed well. And we were able to continue the positive momentum in our telecom segments through year end, and our visibility is quite a bit better today than it was a year ago. We like where these businesses are right now, and we expect continued positive comparisons as we move into 2020.\nAnd with that, I'll hand it back to you, Jeff.\n",
"Justin Benincasa -- Chief Financial Officer\nGreat. Thank you, Michael. Just beginning with some of the relevant financial data. For the fourth quarter, total consolidated reported revenues were $112.1 million, up 4% from last year's reported total of $107.8 million.\nAdjusting for the sale of the U.S. solar portfolio completed in late 2018, revenue increased 7% from last year. Throughout the year, we consistently reported steady revenue growth and improving profits from the international telecom segment. The U.S.\ntelecom segment also showed significant improvement this quarter over last year, and its revenue and EBITDA performance in the second half of the year was up 27% and 140%, respectively, from the first half of 2019. This reflects the benefits from the CAF II Federal Support Award that we won in 2018 and increased wholesale revenue as part of the FirstNet transaction. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $28.5 million, an increase of 22% over 2018 adjusted EBITDA of $23.4 million. Adjusting for the sale of the U.S.\nsolar portfolio, adjusted EBITDA increased 39% year on year. Looking at the segments and starting with the international telecom. Starting with international telecom, fourth-quarter revenues were up 6% to $83.1 million from $78 million last year, and adjusted EBITDA increased 29% to $26.6 million from $20.6 million. As Michael ment"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
Who picks up the interest on the loans? | Do you need to borrow to fund a college education for yourself or your child? Be sure you're taking my "Clark Smart" approach to borrowing. Clark Howard: If a four-year college is too cost prohibitive, try a two-year institution at a fraction of the cost Subsidized Stafford loans are the single best source of money you can borrow. The interest is picked up by the federal government -- courtesy of your fellow taxpayers -- while you're in school and for a six-month grace period following graduation. Once the loans go into repayment, subsidized Stafford loans taken out during the 2009-10 school year carry a fixed interest rate of 5.6 percent. The rate will be lower still at 4.5 percent for loans originating during the next school year, and all the way down to 3.4 percent the following year. There are, however, limits to the amount you can borrow. Freshman can get up to $3,500 annually; sophomores can borrow $4,500 each year; and juniors and seniors cap out at $5,500. Once you exhaust your subsidized Stafford stockpile, you want to move on to unsubsidized Stafford loans, which are now offered at 6.8 percent. Remember, though, to borrow as little as possible because the interest on these unsubsidized loans accumulates while you're in school. Watch smart choices when paying back the loans » As a third option, parents can take out PLUS loans, which are issued at a fixed rate of 8.25 percent. Visit FAFSA.ed.gov to determine your eligibility for all these loan options. What's one type of loan you do not want to take out? Private student loans. Back in 2005, the private student loan industry used its political influence to gain the right to use any and all tactics (short of threatening bodily harm or actually causing it) in their efforts to collect money. In fact, private student loans typically can't even be dismissed in bankruptcy. Remember my rule of thumb when it comes to determining what level of borrowing you can comfortably handle: Do not take on a total loan amount that exceeds the likely first-year earnings in your field. If college is still too cost-prohibitive after you've gotten all the financial aid and loans you can, I'd love for you to think about starting your degree at a two-year community college. The cost of a community college can be as little as one-tenth to one-twentieth that of a private college, as I discovered when I researched schools with my eldest daughter. Let's say you decide to do your first two years at a community college. People often worry about the lack of prestige associated with these kinds of schools. But most employers only look at the name of the traditional college that issues your degree after you've put in your time at a community school. In fact, an employer might even prefer someone who worked their way through a community college and had to struggle financially. Doesn't that show more fortitude in a job candidate than the person who cruised through a 4-year college on the silver-spoon plan? And for those of you already dealing with paying off student loan debt, there's a radical change coming that I want you to know about. Effective July 1, an income-based repayment plan (IBR) became available to borrowers with Stafford loans and Grad PLUS loans. Under the new program, your payment will be based on your current income and family size. That means your monthly payment could be an unprecedented zero dollars if you qualify! Contact your lender to see if you qualify and to apply for the IBR. In addition to the IBR, other new provisions that went into effect July 1 include loan forgiveness options for certain workers. Nonprofit workers and some government employees are eligible for loan forgiveness after making on-time monthly payments for 10 years. If you work in the traditional for-profit sector, it will take 25 years of on-time payments before you're eligible for loan forgiveness. Visit LoanConsolidation.ed.gov for more information. | [
"Do you need to borrow to fund a college education for yourself or your child? Be sure you're taking my \"Clark Smart\" approach to borrowing. Clark Howard: If a four-year college is too cost prohibitive, try a two-year institution at a fraction of the cost Subsidized Stafford loans are the single best source of money you can borrow. The interest is picked up by the federal government -- courtesy of your fellow taxpayers -- while you're in school and for a six-month grace period following graduation. Once the loans go into repayment, subsidized Stafford loans taken out during the 2009-10 school year carry a fixed interest rate of 5.6 percent. The rate will be lower still at 4.5 percent for loans originating during the next school year, and all the way down to 3.4 percent the following year. There are, however, limits to the amount you can borrow. Freshman can get up to $3,500 annually; sophomores can borrow $4,500 each year; and juniors and seniors cap out at $5,500. Once you exhaust your subsidized Stafford stockpile, you want to move on to unsubsidized Stafford loans, which are now offered at 6.8 percent. Remember, though, to borrow as little as possible because the interest on these unsubsidized loans accumulates while you're in school. Watch smart choices when paying back the loans » As a third option, parents can take out PLUS loans, which are issued at a fixed rate of 8.25 percent. Visit FAFSA.ed.gov to determine your eligibility for all these loan options. What's one type of loan you do not want to take out? Private student loans. Back in 2005, the private student loan industry used its political influence to gain the right to use any and all tactics (short of threatening bodily harm or actually causing it) in their efforts to collect money. In fact, private student loans typically can't even be dismissed in bankruptcy. Remember my rule of thumb when it comes to determining what level of borrowing you can comfortably handle: Do not take on a total loan amount that exceeds the likely first-year earnings in your field. If college is still too cost-prohibitive after you've gotten all the financial aid and loans you can, I'd love for you to think about starting your degree at a two-year community college. ",
"The cost of a community college can be as little as one-tenth to one-twentieth that of a private college, as I discovered when I researched schools with my eldest daughter. Let's say you decide to do your first two years at a community college. People often worry about the lack of prestige associated with these kinds of schools. But most employers only look at the name of the traditional college that issues your degree after you've put in your time at a community school. In fact, an employer might even prefer someone who worked their way through a community college and had to struggle financially. Doesn't that show more fortitude in a job candidate than the person who cruised through a 4-year college on the silver-spoon plan? And for those of you already dealing with paying off student loan debt, there's a radical change coming that I want you to know about. Effective July 1, an income-based repayment plan (IBR) became available to borrowers with Stafford loans and Grad PLUS loans. Under the new program, your payment will be based on your current income and family size. That means your monthly payment could be an unprecedented zero dollars if you qualify! Contact your lender to see if you qualify and to apply for the IBR. In addition to the IBR, other new provisions that went into effect July 1 include loan forgiveness options for certain workers. Nonprofit workers and some government employees are eligible for loan forgiveness after making on-time monthly payments for 10 years. If you work in the traditional for-profit sector, it will take 25 years of on-time payments before you're eligible for loan forgiveness. Visit LoanConsolidation.ed.gov for more information."
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the revenue brand for the retiree exchange in 2020 | ome of it is connected to just fundamental capabilities, certainly on the climate side, property side, on cyber side. So a lot we're doing that we are very excited about in terms of the ability to help clients address issues critical to them but, heretofore, haven't been addressed in the way they need it to be. So a lot happening from that standpoint. But Eric, anything else you throw in on this?
Eric Andersen -- President
Yes. You just gave a great overview of it, Greg. But if you think about intellectual property and the new skills required there, you think about the new risk areas about renewable energy, about climate modeling capabilities that we need. You mentioned cyber. And certainly in our human capital business, trying to invest in how we do ESG at scale for clients. So there's a whole lot happening on the ground, as Christa said, that is supporting the growth that we're seeing and recognizing that we need to keep investing to make sure we keep growing.
Philip Michael Stefano -- Deutsche Bank AG -- Analyst
You know what thank you, good luck!
Operator
And the last question that we have in the queue for today is from Brian Meredith with UBS. Your line is now open.
Brian Robert Meredith -- UBS Investment Bank -- Analyst
Yes, thanks. Two quick questions here. First one, just curious, Christa, what's the revenue impact of the sale of the retirement exchange? It looks like you're continuing forward with that one.
Christa Davies -- Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Yes. So the revenue brand in 2020 for the retiree exchange was $176 million. It is predominantly a Q4 business, as you know well.
Brian Robert Meredith -- UBS Investment Bank -- Analyst
Great. And then second question, I'm just curious, as a part of this process that you're going on with Willis Towers Watson, you'd obviously identified a lot of cost synergies and expense potential savings from the transaction. I'm curious if you were able to identify any -- specifically for Aon,that you could see potentially here going forward to help with cost savings and efficiencies as you went through this process?
Gregory Clarence Case -- Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director
Brian, this is what we were alluding to and talked about before, and I'll come back -- Eric is going to jump in on this. Eric's led this integration in the last 16 months, and this has really been at the one foot level, literally as we engage and connect with colleagues around the world and with clients around the world. And we've seen an uncovered multiple growth opportunities, investment opportunities, expense opportunities, highly approachable to Aon specifically. And all those are going to be baked in as we move forward. This is back to the theme. We came in the March 2020 with exceptional capability strength. And what we've done over the last 16 months around integration is fundamental improvement of our platform. What's going to be the combination combined platform, but it absolutely is applicable to Aon. But Eric, you led this, what do you think?
Eric Andersen -- President
Yes, Greg, I think there's two buckets, right? I think on the revenue synergies, you're talking about the client value-creation model that we've been working on, otherwise are delivering in Aon United strategy about how do you bring the firm together. We're talking about how we're perfecting it. That was done in the context of the integration management planning. But also on the expense side, certainly real estate strategy, technology strategy, all the areas that you would think, having a fresh look with teams that were built specifically to try and challenge the status quo and really pressure test how can we do it better, how can we do it more efficiently? How do we leverage our Aon Business Services model in a way that we had really started during pre-Willis Towers Watson combination to really accelerate how we actually use that capability. I wouldn't necessarily call that last one new. I would just call it expanding what we've been building and really getting it embedded across the firm across th | [
"ome of it is connected to just fundamental capabilities, certainly on the climate side, property side, on cyber side. So a lot we're doing that we are very excited about in terms of the ability to help clients address issues critical to them but, heretofore, haven't been addressed in the way they need it to be. So a lot happening from that standpoint. But Eric, anything else you throw in on this?\nEric Andersen -- President\nYes. You just gave a great overview of it, Greg. But if you think about intellectual property and the new skills required there, you think about the new risk areas about renewable energy, about climate modeling capabilities that we need. You mentioned cyber. And certainly in our human capital business, trying to invest in how we do ESG at scale for clients. So there's a whole lot happening on the ground, as Christa said, that is supporting the growth that we're seeing and recognizing that we need to keep investing to make sure we keep growing.\nPhilip Michael Stefano -- Deutsche Bank AG -- Analyst\nYou know what thank you, good luck!\nOperator\nAnd the last question that we have in the queue for today is from Brian Meredith with UBS. Your line is now open.\nBrian Robert Meredith -- UBS Investment Bank -- Analyst\nYes, thanks. Two quick questions here. First one, just curious, Christa, what's the revenue impact of the sale of the retirement exchange? It looks like you're continuing forward with that one.\nChrista Davies -- Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer\nYes. So the revenue brand in 2020 for the retiree exchange was $176 million. It is predominantly a Q4 business, as you know well.\nBrian Robert Meredith -- UBS Investment Bank -- Analyst\nGreat. And then second question, I'm just curious, as a part of this process that you're going on with Willis Towers Watson, you'd obviously identified a lot of cost synergies and expense potential savings from the transaction. I'm curious if you were able to identify any -- specifically for Aon,that you could see potentially here going forward to help with cost savings and efficiencies as you went through this process?\nGregory Clarence Case -- Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director\n",
"Brian, this is what we were alluding to and talked about before, and I'll come back -- Eric is going to jump in on this. Eric's led this integration in the last 16 months, and this has really been at the one foot level, literally as we engage and connect with colleagues around the world and with clients around the world. And we've seen an uncovered multiple growth opportunities, investment opportunities, expense opportunities, highly approachable to Aon specifically. And all those are going to be baked in as we move forward. This is back to the theme. We came in the March 2020 with exceptional capability strength. And what we've done over the last 16 months around integration is fundamental improvement of our platform. What's going to be the combination combined platform, but it absolutely is applicable to Aon. But Eric, you led this, what do you think?\nEric Andersen -- President\nYes, Greg, I think there's two buckets, right? I think on the revenue synergies, you're talking about the client value-creation model that we've been working on, otherwise are delivering in Aon United strategy about how do you bring the firm together. We're talking about how we're perfecting it. That was done in the context of the integration management planning. But also on the expense side, certainly real estate strategy, technology strategy, all the areas that you would think, having a fresh look with teams that were built specifically to try and challenge the status quo and really pressure test how can we do it better, how can we do it more efficiently? How do we leverage our Aon Business Services model in a way that we had really started during pre-Willis Towers Watson combination to really accelerate how we actually use that capability. I wouldn't necessarily call that last one new. I would just call it expanding what we've been building and really getting it embedded across the firm across th"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What was the recovery rate of the hotels packages and alternative accommodation business in Q1 2023 as compared to pre-pandemic levels | ndly, post the pandemic there is a permanent shift in how people perceive travel with a propensity to travel being much higher, and experiences becoming even more important. Thirdly, there is also a secular uptick in the online buying behavior, which bodes very well for us as most segments of the Indian travel industries have traditionally had low online penetration.
Lastly, and most importantly, India is still an under penetrated travel market with a huge scope of growth. Some of the factors favoring these growth trends are expansion of infrastructure, increasing per capita income, increasing disposable incomes, and higher willingness to travel and book online among the young working population. As per the Ministry of Civil Aviation estimates, Indian aviation will become world's third largest aviation market by 2024. Development of new airports, highways, and addition of hotels will help grow domestic tourism many fold in coming years.
Almost all the airlines are placed orders for new planes over the years. On the other hand, few hospitality chains have also announced their expansion plans which should add to capacity and fuel domestic travel growth. As a comprehensive travel service provider, we hope to leverage these macro growth trends. Let me now talk about the performance in the key travel segments.
And I would then share the prospects on some of the future growth areas both on the supply side and demand side. Coming to business segments. In our air business, we continue to maintain our leadership position and market share. We are recovering faster than the market.
During the quarter we witnessed over 90% recovery as compared to pre-pandemic levels. This is majorly on account of travel demand opening and more people traveling during the summer holiday season. I talked about high air fares earlier. This has affected recovery momentum to some extent, leisure destinations like Srinagar, Deheradun, Leh have shown more than 100% recovery, while business in metro destinations like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, etc.
have lagged a bit due to high fares and corporate demand still short of full recovery.On international travel short haul destinations like Southeast Asia, Maldives, UAE, and Nepal witness strong recovery. In the next few months as the visa backlog gets cleared, and new visa issuances for European and American destination get streamline, we expect to see stronger demand recovery in these long haul destinations as well. Coming to our hotels packages and alternative accommodation business. We witnessed a strong recovery driven by leisure travel.
Supply side services have now stabilized. In the top selling hotels 90% of the rooms are open and almost all chain hotels are now fully functioning. In many of the leisure destinations we are now seeing growth over pre-pandemic levels, which have helped taking the overall volumes recovery in the segment to around 87% of the pre-pandemic volumes. Accommodations are focused on building home stay supply has helped us improve supply leisure cities such as Rishikesh, Srinagar, Shimla, Manali, Missouri McLeodGanj, and Leh, which has helped us get past pre-pandemic volumes in this category.
We also launched Home stay Awards, which are one of its kind in the country, and we'll help popularize this category further. The awards attracted nominations for up to 2,500 plus home stays across the country, consumer voting is going on, and more than 4,60,000 votes have already been cast by the users. We continue to add more properties on our platform and increase our supply mode. It is encouraging to see that more and more properties in smaller towns are keen to come on our platform and sell online.
In Q1 we sold rooms in over 43,000 properties spread over 1,900 plus cities which reflects the extensive support being provided to small accommodation service providers, particularly in the remote towns and building deeper engagement with suppliers and customers in larger part. Coming to our bus ticketing business, we maintained our recovery momentum in the seasonally strong quarter. Demand and su | [
"ndly, post the pandemic there is a permanent shift in how people perceive travel with a propensity to travel being much higher, and experiences becoming even more important. Thirdly, there is also a secular uptick in the online buying behavior, which bodes very well for us as most segments of the Indian travel industries have traditionally had low online penetration.\nLastly, and most importantly, India is still an under penetrated travel market with a huge scope of growth. Some of the factors favoring these growth trends are expansion of infrastructure, increasing per capita income, increasing disposable incomes, and higher willingness to travel and book online among the young working population. As per the Ministry of Civil Aviation estimates, Indian aviation will become world's third largest aviation market by 2024. Development of new airports, highways, and addition of hotels will help grow domestic tourism many fold in coming years.\nAlmost all the airlines are placed orders for new planes over the years. On the other hand, few hospitality chains have also announced their expansion plans which should add to capacity and fuel domestic travel growth. As a comprehensive travel service provider, we hope to leverage these macro growth trends. Let me now talk about the performance in the key travel segments.\nAnd I would then share the prospects on some of the future growth areas both on the supply side and demand side. Coming to business segments. In our air business, we continue to maintain our leadership position and market share. We are recovering faster than the market.\nDuring the quarter we witnessed over 90% recovery as compared to pre-pandemic levels. This is majorly on account of travel demand opening and more people traveling during the summer holiday season. I talked about high air fares earlier. This has affected recovery momentum to some extent, leisure destinations like Srinagar, Deheradun, Leh have shown more than 100% recovery, while business in metro destinations like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, etc.\nhave lagged a bit due to high fares and corporate demand still short of full recovery.On international travel short haul destinations like Southeast Asia, Maldives, UAE, and Nepal witness strong recovery. In the next few months as the visa backlog gets cleared, and new visa issuances for European and American destination get streamline, we expect to see stronger demand recovery in these long haul destinations as well. Coming to our hotels packages and alternative accommodation business. We witnessed a strong recovery driven by leisure travel.\n",
"Supply side services have now stabilized. In the top selling hotels 90% of the rooms are open and almost all chain hotels are now fully functioning. In many of the leisure destinations we are now seeing growth over pre-pandemic levels, which have helped taking the overall volumes recovery in the segment to around 87% of the pre-pandemic volumes. Accommodations are focused on building home stay supply has helped us improve supply leisure cities such as Rishikesh, Srinagar, Shimla, Manali, Missouri McLeodGanj, and Leh, which has helped us get past pre-pandemic volumes in this category.\nWe also launched Home stay Awards, which are one of its kind in the country, and we'll help popularize this category further. The awards attracted nominations for up to 2,500 plus home stays across the country, consumer voting is going on, and more than 4,60,000 votes have already been cast by the users. We continue to add more properties on our platform and increase our supply mode. It is encouraging to see that more and more properties in smaller towns are keen to come on our platform and sell online.\nIn Q1 we sold rooms in over 43,000 properties spread over 1,900 plus cities which reflects the extensive support being provided to small accommodation service providers, particularly in the remote towns and building deeper engagement with suppliers and customers in larger part. Coming to our bus ticketing business, we maintained our recovery momentum in the seasonally strong quarter. Demand and su"
] | 2 | [
1,
1
] | 1 |
What was the non-GAAP EPS for QCOM in the second quarter of 2019 | econd wave of 5G devices launching in late 2019 and early 2020 to drive mainstream adoption of 5G.
Our early investments in 5G now allow us to offer the world's first modem-to-antenna system for commercial 5G new radio smartphone devices, spending millimeter-wave and sub-6 gigahertz bands including baseband, RF transceiver, RF front-end components, and millimeter wave antenna modules. This systems approach is creating a benchmark for 5G RF front-end performance. QUALCOMM is heavily engaged as a critical partner to leaders across many industries as they see 5G mobility as a foundational technology for their digital transformation.
Third, our cost structure and investment focus are aligned with the opportunities ahead. We will continue to invest where we can leverage our core competencies and bring innovative solutions to large markets. In 5G, this presents opportunities for growth in our core cellular market in addition to many adjacent industries as they leverage 5G to accelerate their digital transformation.
In summary, with our agreements with Apple, the beginning of the 5G ramp are focused on operational execution and capital return, we think we've laid the groundwork for growth in revenue and EPS and stockholder returns over the next several years.
As a management team, we are committed to driving stockholder value by taking thoughtful and deliberate actions that we believe will ensure the long-term growth of our company as you have seen.
We appreciate the positive reaction from investors and analysts through our recent announcement with Apple, especially the feedback from many stockholders over the last two weeks who have recognized and appreciated our commitment to sustaining Qualcomm's long-term differentiation and focus on technology and innovation.
I would now like to turn the call over to Dave.
David Wise -- Chief Financial Officer
Thank you Steve and good afternoon everyone. We are pleased to announce strong second quarter results with GAAP revenues of $5 billion above the midpoint of our guidance range and non-GAAP EPS of $0.77, $0.02 above the high end of our range. The outperformance in the quarter was primarily driven by QTL revenues of $1.12 billion that were positively impacted by approximately $100 million of out-of-period catch up offsetting some impacts from overall market weakness.
Additionally we saw improved QCT gross margins and operating expenses which came in lower than expected. QCT revenues of $3.7 billion were in line with expectations and the same shipments of 155 million units were within the guidance range, but below the midpoint reflecting overall weakness in global device shipments. QCT EBT margin was 14.6% for the quarter at the high end of our prior guidance range driven by improvements in gross margins. Please note results this quarter do not contain any contributions from the settlements of our disputes with Apple and its contract manufacturers.
Turning to our global 3G/4G/5G device forecast. We are lowering our estimates for calendar 2019 by another 50 million units at the midpoint to 1.85 billion units due to continued weakness in China and a lengthening of handset replacement cycle, potentially reflecting a pause in advance of 5G rollouts.
We now expect global handset units to decline slightly year-over-year offset by continued growth in non-handsets resulting in total overall unit growth of approximately 3% at the midpoint. In regards to our recently announced Apple agreements, we expect to record revenues resulting from the settlement of matters prior to the effective date of the agreement of $4.5 billion to $4.7 billion in our third fiscal quarter. This includes a cash payment from Apple and the release of related liabilities. The settlement amount will be excluded from our non-GAAP results.
Our guidance for the third fiscal quarter, we estimate GAAP revenues to be in the range of $9.2 billion to $10.2 billion and estimate GAAP EPS of $3.57 to $3.77 which includes the revenues related to the settlement with Apple and the contract manufacturers.
We estimate fiscal third quarter | [
"econd wave of 5G devices launching in late 2019 and early 2020 to drive mainstream adoption of 5G.\nOur early investments in 5G now allow us to offer the world's first modem-to-antenna system for commercial 5G new radio smartphone devices, spending millimeter-wave and sub-6 gigahertz bands including baseband, RF transceiver, RF front-end components, and millimeter wave antenna modules. This systems approach is creating a benchmark for 5G RF front-end performance. QUALCOMM is heavily engaged as a critical partner to leaders across many industries as they see 5G mobility as a foundational technology for their digital transformation.\nThird, our cost structure and investment focus are aligned with the opportunities ahead. We will continue to invest where we can leverage our core competencies and bring innovative solutions to large markets. In 5G, this presents opportunities for growth in our core cellular market in addition to many adjacent industries as they leverage 5G to accelerate their digital transformation.\nIn summary, with our agreements with Apple, the beginning of the 5G ramp are focused on operational execution and capital return, we think we've laid the groundwork for growth in revenue and EPS and stockholder returns over the next several years.\nAs a management team, we are committed to driving stockholder value by taking thoughtful and deliberate actions that we believe will ensure the long-term growth of our company as you have seen.\nWe appreciate the positive reaction from investors and analysts through our recent announcement with Apple, especially the feedback from many stockholders over the last two weeks who have recognized and appreciated our commitment to sustaining Qualcomm's long-term differentiation and focus on technology and innovation.\nI would now like to turn the call over to Dave.\nDavid Wise -- Chief Financial Officer\nThank you Steve and good afternoon everyone. We are pleased to announce strong second quarter results with GAAP revenues of $5 billion above the midpoint of our guidance range and non-GAAP EPS of $0.77, $0.02 above the high end of our range. The outperformance in the quarter was primarily driven by QTL revenues of $1.12 billion that were positively impacted by approximately $100 million of out-of-period catch up offsetting some impacts from overall market weakness.\n",
"Additionally we saw improved QCT gross margins and operating expenses which came in lower than expected. QCT revenues of $3.7 billion were in line with expectations and the same shipments of 155 million units were within the guidance range, but below the midpoint reflecting overall weakness in global device shipments. QCT EBT margin was 14.6% for the quarter at the high end of our prior guidance range driven by improvements in gross margins. Please note results this quarter do not contain any contributions from the settlements of our disputes with Apple and its contract manufacturers.\nTurning to our global 3G/4G/5G device forecast. We are lowering our estimates for calendar 2019 by another 50 million units at the midpoint to 1.85 billion units due to continued weakness in China and a lengthening of handset replacement cycle, potentially reflecting a pause in advance of 5G rollouts.\nWe now expect global handset units to decline slightly year-over-year offset by continued growth in non-handsets resulting in total overall unit growth of approximately 3% at the midpoint. In regards to our recently announced Apple agreements, we expect to record revenues resulting from the settlement of matters prior to the effective date of the agreement of $4.5 billion to $4.7 billion in our third fiscal quarter. This includes a cash payment from Apple and the release of related liabilities. The settlement amount will be excluded from our non-GAAP results.\nOur guidance for the third fiscal quarter, we estimate GAAP revenues to be in the range of $9.2 billion to $10.2 billion and estimate GAAP EPS of $3.57 to $3.77 which includes the revenues related to the settlement with Apple and the contract manufacturers.\nWe estimate fiscal third quarter "
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
Who was relieved of duty? | Iraq's most powerful Sunni Arab political party on Monday said a U.S. soldier's desecration of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, requires the "severest of punishments," not just an apology and a military reassignment. Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond apologizes after a U.S. soldier admitted using the Quran for target practice. The Iraqi Islamic Party, the movement of Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, condemned what it said was a "blatant assault on the sanctities of Muslims all over the world." An American staff sergeant who was a sniper section leader used a Quran for target practice on May 9. The U.S. commander in Baghdad on Saturday issued a formal apology and read a letter of apology from the shooter. The sergeant has been relieved of duty as a section leader "with prejudice," officially reprimanded by his commanding general, dismissed from his regiment and redeployed -- reassigned to the United States. But the Iraqi Islamic Party -- which said it reacted to the news "with deep resentment and indignation" -- wants the "severest of punishments" for the action. "What truly concerns us is the repetition of these crimes that have happened in the past when mosques were destroyed and pages of the Holy Quran were torn and used for disgraceful acts by U.S. soldiers," al-Hashimi said. "I have asked that first this apology be officially documented; second a guarantee from the U.S. military to inflict the maximum possible punishment on this soldier so it would be a deterrent for the rest of the soldiers in the future." A tribal leader said "the criminal act by U.S. forces" took place at a shooting range at the Radhwaniya police station on Baghdad's western outskirts. After the shooters left, an Iraqi policeman found a target marked in the middle of the bullet-riddled Quran. Read how the soldier could have provoked a crisis Copies of the pictures of the Quran obtained by CNN show multiple bullet holes and an expletive scrawled on one of its pages. On Saturday, Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, appeared at an apology ceremony flanked by leaders from Radhwaniya. Watch as the U.S. formally apologizes » "I come before you here seeking your forgiveness," Hammond said to tribal leaders and others gathered. "In the most humble manner, I look in your eyes today, and I say please forgive me and my soldiers." Another military official kissed a Quran and presented it as "a humble gift" to the tribal leaders. Hammond also read from the shooter's letter: "I sincerely hope that my actions have not diminished the partnership that our two nations have developed together. ... My actions were shortsighted, very reckless and irresponsible, but in my heart [the actions] were not malicious." Hammond said, "The actions of one soldier were nothing more than criminal behavior. I've come to this land to protect you, to support you -- not to harm you -- and the behavior of this soldier was nothing short of wrong and unacceptable." The soldier reportedly claimed he wasn't aware the book was the Quran, but U.S. officials rejected his assertion. Tribal leaders, dignitaries and local security officials attended the ceremony, while residents carried banners and chanted slogans, including, "Yes, yes to the Quran" and "America out, out." Watch as villagers protest the Quran incident » Sheikh Hamadi al-Qirtani, in a speech on behalf of all tribal sheikhs of Radhwaniya, called the shooting "aggression against the entire Islamic world." The Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq also condemned the shooter's actions and the U.S. military's belated acknowledgment of what happened. "As the Association of Muslim Scholars condemns this heinous crime against God's holy book, the constitution of this nation, a source of pride and dignity," the group's statement said, "they condemned the silence by all those who are part of the occupation's agenda and holds the occupation and the current government fully responsible for this violation and reminds everyone | [
"Iraq's most powerful Sunni Arab political party on Monday said a U.S. soldier's desecration of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, requires the \"severest of punishments,\" not just an apology and a military reassignment. Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond apologizes after a U.S. soldier admitted using the Quran for target practice. The Iraqi Islamic Party, the movement of Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, condemned what it said was a \"blatant assault on the sanctities of Muslims all over the world.\" An American staff sergeant who was a sniper section leader used a Quran for target practice on May 9. The U.S. commander in Baghdad on Saturday issued a formal apology and read a letter of apology from the shooter. The sergeant has been relieved of duty as a section leader \"with prejudice,\" officially reprimanded by his commanding general, dismissed from his regiment and redeployed -- reassigned to the United States. But the Iraqi Islamic Party -- which said it reacted to the news \"with deep resentment and indignation\" -- wants the \"severest of punishments\" for the action. \"What truly concerns us is the repetition of these crimes that have happened in the past when mosques were destroyed and pages of the Holy Quran were torn and used for disgraceful acts by U.S. soldiers,\" al-Hashimi said. \"I have asked that first this apology be officially documented; second a guarantee from the U.S. military to inflict the maximum possible punishment on this soldier so it would be a deterrent for the rest of the soldiers in the future.\" A tribal leader said \"the criminal act by U.S. forces\" took place at a shooting range at the Radhwaniya police station on Baghdad's western outskirts. After the shooters left, an Iraqi policeman found a target marked in the middle of the bullet-riddled Quran. Read how the soldier could have provoked a crisis Copies of the pictures of the Quran obtained by CNN show multiple bullet holes and an expletive scrawled on one of its pages. On Saturday, Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, appeared at an apology ceremony flanked by leaders from Radhwaniya. Watch as the U.S. formally apologizes » \"I come before you here seeking your forgiveness,\" Hammond said to tribal leaders and others gathered. \"In the most humble manner, I look in your eyes today, and I say please forgive me and my soldiers.\" ",
"Another military official kissed a Quran and presented it as \"a humble gift\" to the tribal leaders. Hammond also read from the shooter's letter: \"I sincerely hope that my actions have not diminished the partnership that our two nations have developed together. ... My actions were shortsighted, very reckless and irresponsible, but in my heart [the actions] were not malicious.\" Hammond said, \"The actions of one soldier were nothing more than criminal behavior. I've come to this land to protect you, to support you -- not to harm you -- and the behavior of this soldier was nothing short of wrong and unacceptable.\" The soldier reportedly claimed he wasn't aware the book was the Quran, but U.S. officials rejected his assertion. Tribal leaders, dignitaries and local security officials attended the ceremony, while residents carried banners and chanted slogans, including, \"Yes, yes to the Quran\" and \"America out, out.\" Watch as villagers protest the Quran incident » Sheikh Hamadi al-Qirtani, in a speech on behalf of all tribal sheikhs of Radhwaniya, called the shooting \"aggression against the entire Islamic world.\" The Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq also condemned the shooter's actions and the U.S. military's belated acknowledgment of what happened. \"As the Association of Muslim Scholars condemns this heinous crime against God's holy book, the constitution of this nation, a source of pride and dignity,\" the group's statement said, \"they condemned the silence by all those who are part of the occupation's agenda and holds the occupation and the current government fully responsible for this violation and reminds everyone"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the company's current market share in the cloud computing market? | y limited to the very large cloud titans in the United States or some in Asia, and it really hasn't changed beyond that. You may want to go back to all of the supply chain discussions we had. And just as an FYI, it applies equally to the white boxes as well.
And in fact, many of the cloud companies are struggling through that because not every ODM and inventory is going to carry so much inventory and have large commitments. So there's actually some shifting there. But leaving that aside, on our previous discussion on some of the larger cloud companies looking at going branded, we are doing well in our engineering projects in those opportunities. But as I've mentioned before, these things take a couple of years to materialize.
So please be patient. We feel very good about our execution and about the opportunity. But you have -- give it time, let it bake in the labs, let it go to success and pilots. And when it's ready and getting deployed, we will happily share the news with you as well.
Jayshree Ullal -- President and Chief Executive Officer
So no change in white box?
Anshul Sadana -- Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President
No change, status quo.
Tim Long -- Barclays -- Analyst
OK. Thank you.
Operator
Your next question comes from George Kurosawa with KeyBanc. Your line is open.
George Kurosawa -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst
Hey, thanks for taking my question. I'm dialing in for Steve. I just want to touch on the 400-g opportunity. What are your expectations in timing differences? I know you talked about the second half of this year or 2022.
Do you expect that timing to differ between your major verticals?
Jayshree Ullal -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Yeah. No, it's -- I think the early adoption of 400-gig will definitely be in our cloud titans and our specialty cloud providers and some of our high end enterprises. But I would say the first place you'd see them is the cloud titans.
George Kurosawa -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst
And just a quick follow-up, your expectations on maybe like a lag for the adoption of enterprise? Do you think it will be either 2022 and beyond?
Jayshree Ullal -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Yes. I think the enterprises will take longer. Many of the enterprises are still adopting 100-gig. So I think you'll see a combination of 100 and 400-gig start in 2022, but it could go well into 2023, '24 and '25 as well.
Curtis McKee -- Assistant Vice President, Corporate and Investor Development
All right. Thanks, George.
Operator
Your next question comes from Erik Suppiger with JMP Securities. Your line is open.
Erik Suppiger -- JMP Securities -- Analyst
Yeah. Thanks for taking the question. First off, Jayshree, you said you are on target for your -- you're on track to hit targets for campus. Can you remind us, does that mean that you're on track for $200 million in 2021?
Jayshree Ullal -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Yes.
Erik Suppiger -- JMP Securities -- Analyst
And then secondly, on that is -- OK.
Jayshree Ullal -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Yes, sir, the answer is yes.
Erik Suppiger -- JMP Securities -- Analyst
Very good. And then on the 400-gig, can you remind us, are you still anticipating that you'll be the market share leader in 400-gig as that starts to ramp-up or can you talk a little bit about some of the competitive dynamics, if anything, has changed on that front?
Anshul Sadana -- Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President
Sure. Erik, this is Anshul. From a competitive standpoint, not much has changed, and our execution is still very, very good. Customers are very happy, and the feedback for our products is good.
Look, market share is the result of customers buying our products, not our forecast. So let the results speak for themselves. We feel good about our position.
Curtis McKee -- Assistant Vice President, Corporate and Investor Development
All right, Erik, thanks.
Operator
Your next question comes from Jon Lopez with Vertical Group. Your line is open.
Jon Lopez -- Vertical Group -- Analyst
Thanks so much. I had two so | [
"y limited to the very large cloud titans in the United States or some in Asia, and it really hasn't changed beyond that. You may want to go back to all of the supply chain discussions we had. And just as an FYI, it applies equally to the white boxes as well.\nAnd in fact, many of the cloud companies are struggling through that because not every ODM and inventory is going to carry so much inventory and have large commitments. So there's actually some shifting there. But leaving that aside, on our previous discussion on some of the larger cloud companies looking at going branded, we are doing well in our engineering projects in those opportunities. But as I've mentioned before, these things take a couple of years to materialize.\nSo please be patient. We feel very good about our execution and about the opportunity. But you have -- give it time, let it bake in the labs, let it go to success and pilots. And when it's ready and getting deployed, we will happily share the news with you as well.\nJayshree Ullal -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nSo no change in white box?\nAnshul Sadana -- Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President\nNo change, status quo.\nTim Long -- Barclays -- Analyst\nOK. Thank you.\nOperator\nYour next question comes from George Kurosawa with KeyBanc. Your line is open.\nGeorge Kurosawa -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst\nHey, thanks for taking my question. I'm dialing in for Steve. I just want to touch on the 400-g opportunity. What are your expectations in timing differences? I know you talked about the second half of this year or 2022.\nDo you expect that timing to differ between your major verticals?\nJayshree Ullal -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nYeah. No, it's -- I think the early adoption of 400-gig will definitely be in our cloud titans and our specialty cloud providers and some of our high end enterprises. But I would say the first place you'd see them is the cloud titans.\nGeorge Kurosawa -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst\nAnd just a quick follow-up, your expectations on maybe like a lag for the adoption of enterprise? Do you think it will be either 2022 and beyond?\nJayshree Ullal -- President and Chief Executive Officer\n",
"Yes. I think the enterprises will take longer. Many of the enterprises are still adopting 100-gig. So I think you'll see a combination of 100 and 400-gig start in 2022, but it could go well into 2023, '24 and '25 as well.\nCurtis McKee -- Assistant Vice President, Corporate and Investor Development\nAll right. Thanks, George.\nOperator\nYour next question comes from Erik Suppiger with JMP Securities. Your line is open.\nErik Suppiger -- JMP Securities -- Analyst\nYeah. Thanks for taking the question. First off, Jayshree, you said you are on target for your -- you're on track to hit targets for campus. Can you remind us, does that mean that you're on track for $200 million in 2021?\nJayshree Ullal -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nYes.\nErik Suppiger -- JMP Securities -- Analyst\nAnd then secondly, on that is -- OK.\nJayshree Ullal -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nYes, sir, the answer is yes.\nErik Suppiger -- JMP Securities -- Analyst\nVery good. And then on the 400-gig, can you remind us, are you still anticipating that you'll be the market share leader in 400-gig as that starts to ramp-up or can you talk a little bit about some of the competitive dynamics, if anything, has changed on that front?\nAnshul Sadana -- Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President\nSure. Erik, this is Anshul. From a competitive standpoint, not much has changed, and our execution is still very, very good. Customers are very happy, and the feedback for our products is good.\nLook, market share is the result of customers buying our products, not our forecast. So let the results speak for themselves. We feel good about our position.\nCurtis McKee -- Assistant Vice President, Corporate and Investor Development\nAll right, Erik, thanks.\nOperator\nYour next question comes from Jon Lopez with Vertical Group. Your line is open.\nJon Lopez -- Vertical Group -- Analyst\nThanks so much. I had two so"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the company's net income for the quarter? | r example, a lot of conversations about how the supply chain visibility and predictability should be there? What are the supply chain dependencies that the organization has and how would they want to go forward and address those supply chain dependencies?
There are questions about how much of process automation should be done, how much of the current work that is being done through our digital operations and platforms organization, how much more automation can be done in those areas, right? There are lot of questions around -- there are lot of conversations around, what kind of new digital migrations can happen, right?
Obviously, all organizations have understood right now that migrating to cloud is one of the best things that has happened for them. Those organizations that have moved to cloud, they have been able to respond to this very well. And so, those conversations about hey, how do I go long term into, what should my architectures look like, right? So we are looking at all the three sets of opportunities right now. Obviously, opportunity sizes do vary depending upon the depth of the organization and how widespread or how geographically spread that organization is.
Operator
Ms. Nagarajan, do you have any further questions?
Diviya Nagarajan -- UBS Securities (Asia) Ltd -- Analyst
Yeah. Just a follow-up on that. Would you -- would it be fair to characterize the first two opportunity sets as being typically smaller-sized projects because you did talk about them being more short term and the third set of projects being much more longer term?
Bhanumurthy B. M. -- President and Chief Operating Officer
Yeah. So the time line wise, that is correct. But the first opportunity itself for example making organizations to enable to go them work from home, there could be some of the larger opportunities as well in that depending upon the size of the organization and how ready they are right now.
Diviya Nagarajan -- UBS Securities (Asia) Ltd -- Analyst
Fair enough. And I think one follow-up if I may that NASSCOM seems to have started lobbying for the government to allow furloughs in the IT services industry. Is that something that you would consider if it comes to -- I think you've talked about tremendous need to control costs, but would that be on the cards as one of the cost control opportunities?
Saurabh Govil -- President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Saurabh here, absolutely. I think we are right now all options on the card and furloughs is very much on the card. It is a flexible option and it helps us to come back quickly. So very much, we will explore across all the countries possible.
Diviya Nagarajan -- UBS Securities (Asia) Ltd -- Analyst
Thanks. And all the very best for the year.
Saurabh Govil -- President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Thanks, Diviya.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pankaj Kapoor from JM Financial. Please go ahead.
Pankaj Kapoor -- JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd -- Analyst
Yeah, hi. Thanks for the opportunity. So my first question is on the guidance suspension. I was just wondering is it more because of relatively speaking uncertainty on the volume side or you're unable to look at the kind of a pricing pressure that can come in, which is leading to this decision?
Abidali Z. Neemuchwala -- Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Jatin?
Jatin Dalal -- Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Yeah. No. I think the -- we articulated the key reason behind guidance is the fluidity of the situation. I wouldn't characterize it any other way. If we could size any angle of it and we were still -- would be able to provide, then we would have provided the guidance.
Pankaj Kapoor -- JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd -- Analyst
I understand Jatin. I'm just trying to figure out whether there is lack of visibility in terms of customer demand for pricing only. So, I'm just trying to understand that whether the volume can continue. It is just that the clients are coming to ask for pricing cuts and which we are unable to predict, or is it that the people | [
"r example, a lot of conversations about how the supply chain visibility and predictability should be there? What are the supply chain dependencies that the organization has and how would they want to go forward and address those supply chain dependencies?\nThere are questions about how much of process automation should be done, how much of the current work that is being done through our digital operations and platforms organization, how much more automation can be done in those areas, right? There are lot of questions around -- there are lot of conversations around, what kind of new digital migrations can happen, right?\nObviously, all organizations have understood right now that migrating to cloud is one of the best things that has happened for them. Those organizations that have moved to cloud, they have been able to respond to this very well. And so, those conversations about hey, how do I go long term into, what should my architectures look like, right? So we are looking at all the three sets of opportunities right now. Obviously, opportunity sizes do vary depending upon the depth of the organization and how widespread or how geographically spread that organization is.\nOperator\nMs. Nagarajan, do you have any further questions?\nDiviya Nagarajan -- UBS Securities (Asia) Ltd -- Analyst\nYeah. Just a follow-up on that. Would you -- would it be fair to characterize the first two opportunity sets as being typically smaller-sized projects because you did talk about them being more short term and the third set of projects being much more longer term?\nBhanumurthy B. M. -- President and Chief Operating Officer\nYeah. So the time line wise, that is correct. But the first opportunity itself for example making organizations to enable to go them work from home, there could be some of the larger opportunities as well in that depending upon the size of the organization and how ready they are right now.\nDiviya Nagarajan -- UBS Securities (Asia) Ltd -- Analyst\nFair enough. And I think one follow-up if I may that NASSCOM seems to have started lobbying for the government to allow furloughs in the IT services industry. Is that something that you would consider if it comes to -- I think you've talked about tremendous need to control costs, but would that be on the cards as one of the cost control opportunities?\nSaurabh Govil -- President and Chief Human Resources Officer\n",
"Saurabh here, absolutely. I think we are right now all options on the card and furloughs is very much on the card. It is a flexible option and it helps us to come back quickly. So very much, we will explore across all the countries possible.\nDiviya Nagarajan -- UBS Securities (Asia) Ltd -- Analyst\nThanks. And all the very best for the year.\nSaurabh Govil -- President and Chief Human Resources Officer\nThanks, Diviya.\nOperator\nThank you. The next question is from the line of Pankaj Kapoor from JM Financial. Please go ahead.\nPankaj Kapoor -- JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd -- Analyst\nYeah, hi. Thanks for the opportunity. So my first question is on the guidance suspension. I was just wondering is it more because of relatively speaking uncertainty on the volume side or you're unable to look at the kind of a pricing pressure that can come in, which is leading to this decision?\nAbidali Z. Neemuchwala -- Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director\nJatin?\nJatin Dalal -- Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nYeah. No. I think the -- we articulated the key reason behind guidance is the fluidity of the situation. I wouldn't characterize it any other way. If we could size any angle of it and we were still -- would be able to provide, then we would have provided the guidance.\nPankaj Kapoor -- JM Financial Institutional Securities Ltd -- Analyst\nI understand Jatin. I'm just trying to figure out whether there is lack of visibility in terms of customer demand for pricing only. So, I'm just trying to understand that whether the volume can continue. It is just that the clients are coming to ask for pricing cuts and which we are unable to predict, or is it that the people"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What was the total revenue for VMware in Q3 2021 | to deliver a single platform to automate and orchestrate all workloads running on its core networks across Europe, starting with 5G stand-alone. This recent work builds on Vodafone's previous selection of VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructure as its network functions virtualization platform.
In the third quarter, VMware received additional recognition from leading industry analyst firms, once again being named as a leader in the August 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Endpoint Management Tools. Additionally, VMware was once again named a leader in the September 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure. Our innovation engine is thriving as we bought many of these new offerings, features, beta programs and partnerships to the forefront during VMworld 2021, which attracted approximately 116,000 registrants. We look forward to hosting VMworld China and VMworld Japan in the coming weeks.
Our environmental, social and governance agenda continues to be very important to us and core to our culture. VMware received recognition for our ESG leadership by being included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, one of the world's leading ESG benchmarks for the second consecutive year.
In summary, we strive to serve our customers in three unique ways: by being the trusted foundation for their most critical business operations; by offering a best-of-breed, innovative portfolio of best-in-class solutions to fulfill their multi-cloud vision; and by having a broad set of strategic partnerships required to unlock the full potential of multi-cloud.
I'll now turn it over to Zane for more detail on our business performance, as well as our forecast.
Zane Rowe -- Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President
Thank you, Raghu. We are pleased with our Q3 financial performance, which exceeded our initial expectations and is a continuation of the good performance we've seen all year. We saw solid demand in the quarter and continued to execute on our multi-cloud strategy.
Total revenue for Q3 was $3.2 billion. Combined subscription and SaaS and license revenue grew 16% year-over-year totaling $1.5 billion, ahead of our guidance. Subscription and SaaS revenue of $820 million was up 21% year-over-year, in line with our expectations, representing 26% of total revenue for the quarter. Subscription and SaaS ARR was $3.3 billion, up 25% year-over-year in Q3. Our largest contributors to subscription and SaaS were VCPP, Tanzu, EUC, Carbon Black and VMware Cloud on AWS, which saw strong double-digit year-over-year growth in revenue and ARR. License revenue in Q3 grew 11% year-over-year to $710 million. The strength we saw was due to good execution in the quarter and our broad installed base of customers that see us as the trusted ally for their mission-critical workloads. Our strategy is resonating with our customers who are confident that their investments can be leveraged over the longer-term in multi-cloud environments.
Our non-GAAP operating income for the quarter of $935 million was driven by our revenue performance and lower-than-expected growth in expenses. Non-GAAP operating margin for the quarter was 29.3% with non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.72 on a share count of 422 million diluted shares.
We ended the quarter with $10.2 billion in unearned revenue and $12.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, which includes proceeds from our $6 billion bond issuance. The bond issuance proceeds together with $4 billion of additional borrowings from term loan commitments, as well as other available cash on hand was used to fund a special dividend of $11.5 billion. The special dividend was paid on November 1 to all stockholders of record on October 29 in conjunction with our spin-off from Dell Technologies.
Q3 cash flow from operations was $1,090 million and free cash flow was $984 million. RPO was $11.1 billion, up 9% year-over-year, and current RPO was $6.2 billion, up 11% year-over-year. Total backlog was $124 million, substantially all of which consisted of orders received on the last three days of the quart | [
" to deliver a single platform to automate and orchestrate all workloads running on its core networks across Europe, starting with 5G stand-alone. This recent work builds on Vodafone's previous selection of VMware Telco Cloud Infrastructure as its network functions virtualization platform.\nIn the third quarter, VMware received additional recognition from leading industry analyst firms, once again being named as a leader in the August 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Endpoint Management Tools. Additionally, VMware was once again named a leader in the September 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure. Our innovation engine is thriving as we bought many of these new offerings, features, beta programs and partnerships to the forefront during VMworld 2021, which attracted approximately 116,000 registrants. We look forward to hosting VMworld China and VMworld Japan in the coming weeks.\nOur environmental, social and governance agenda continues to be very important to us and core to our culture. VMware received recognition for our ESG leadership by being included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, one of the world's leading ESG benchmarks for the second consecutive year.\nIn summary, we strive to serve our customers in three unique ways: by being the trusted foundation for their most critical business operations; by offering a best-of-breed, innovative portfolio of best-in-class solutions to fulfill their multi-cloud vision; and by having a broad set of strategic partnerships required to unlock the full potential of multi-cloud.\nI'll now turn it over to Zane for more detail on our business performance, as well as our forecast.\nZane Rowe -- Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President\nThank you, Raghu. We are pleased with our Q3 financial performance, which exceeded our initial expectations and is a continuation of the good performance we've seen all year. We saw solid demand in the quarter and continued to execute on our multi-cloud strategy.\n",
"Total revenue for Q3 was $3.2 billion. Combined subscription and SaaS and license revenue grew 16% year-over-year totaling $1.5 billion, ahead of our guidance. Subscription and SaaS revenue of $820 million was up 21% year-over-year, in line with our expectations, representing 26% of total revenue for the quarter. Subscription and SaaS ARR was $3.3 billion, up 25% year-over-year in Q3. Our largest contributors to subscription and SaaS were VCPP, Tanzu, EUC, Carbon Black and VMware Cloud on AWS, which saw strong double-digit year-over-year growth in revenue and ARR. License revenue in Q3 grew 11% year-over-year to $710 million. The strength we saw was due to good execution in the quarter and our broad installed base of customers that see us as the trusted ally for their mission-critical workloads. Our strategy is resonating with our customers who are confident that their investments can be leveraged over the longer-term in multi-cloud environments.\nOur non-GAAP operating income for the quarter of $935 million was driven by our revenue performance and lower-than-expected growth in expenses. Non-GAAP operating margin for the quarter was 29.3% with non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.72 on a share count of 422 million diluted shares.\nWe ended the quarter with $10.2 billion in unearned revenue and $12.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, which includes proceeds from our $6 billion bond issuance. The bond issuance proceeds together with $4 billion of additional borrowings from term loan commitments, as well as other available cash on hand was used to fund a special dividend of $11.5 billion. The special dividend was paid on November 1 to all stockholders of record on October 29 in conjunction with our spin-off from Dell Technologies.\nQ3 cash flow from operations was $1,090 million and free cash flow was $984 million. RPO was $11.1 billion, up 9% year-over-year, and current RPO was $6.2 billion, up 11% year-over-year. Total backlog was $124 million, substantially all of which consisted of orders received on the last three days of the quart"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected increase in tower core leasing activity in 2022 compared to 2021 levels | ifying where wireless networks are going and investing early to position the company to capitalize on future opportunities, as we have done with small cells, edge computing and CBRS.
One of the core principles underpinning our strategy is to focus on the U.S. market, because we believe that represents the best market in the world for wireless infrastructure ownership, since it has the most attractive growth profile and the lowest risk. And we believe this dynamic of higher growth and lower risk will continue into the future, which is why we expect our U.S. based strategy will drive significant returns for shareholders.
With that in mind, we have invested nearly $40 billion in towers, small cells and fiber assets in the top market that are all foundational for the development of future 5G network. We believe our unique strategy, portfolio of the infrastructure assets and proactive identification of future opportunities provide a platform for sustained long-term dividend growth as wireless network architecture evolves and our customers' priorities shift over time.
Today, our customers are primarily focusing their investment on macro sites as towers remain the most cost-effective way to deploy spectrum at scale and established broad network coverage. With our high quality towers concentrated in the top markets, we are clearly benefiting from this focus with an expected 6% organic growth for our Tower segment in 2021 and an expected 20% increase in tower core leasing activity next year when compared to these 2021 levels. With history as a guide, we believe the deployment of additional spectrum on existing cell sites will not be enough to keep pace with the persistent 30% plus annual growth in mobile data traffic.
As a result, we expect cell site densification to remain a critical tool for carriers to respond to the continued growth in mobile data demand as it enables our customers to get the most out of their spectrum assets by reusing the spectrum over shorter and shorter distances. When the current cell site upgrade phase shift to densification phase, we believe the comprehensive offering of towers, small cells and fiber will be critical for our customers and provide us with an opportunity to further extend the runway of growth in our business.
While we expect the densification phase of build out will drive additional leasing on our tower assets for years to come, we believe small cells will play an even greater role as the coverage area of cell sites will continue to shrink due to the density of people and therefore the density of wireless data demand. With more than 80,000 small cells on air or committed in our backlog, high capacity fiber assets and the vast majority of the top 30 markets in the U.S. and industry-leading capabilities, we believe we are well positioned to deliver value to our customers as their priorities evolve, driving meaningful growth in our small cell business.
Bigger picture, when I consider the durability of the underlying demand trends we see in the U.S., how well we are positioned to consistently deliver growth through all phases of the 5G build out with significant potential upside in our comprehensive asset base as wireless networks continue to evolve. Our proven ability to proactively identify where wireless network architecture is heading and to be an early investor in solutions to help future networks, the deliberate decisions we have made to reduce risks associated with our strategy and our history of steady execution.
I believe that Crown Castle stands out as a unique investment, that will generate compelling returns over time. In the near term, as I mentioned before, we expect to deliver outsized AFFO per share growth of 12% in 2021. We expect to generate 8% growth in AFFO per share in 2022 at the high end of our long-term growth target and supported by an expected 20% increase in tower core leasing activity and we increased our common stock dividend by 11% for the second consecutive year.
Longer term, we believe Crown Castle provides an exciting opportunity for shareholders to invest in | [
"ifying where wireless networks are going and investing early to position the company to capitalize on future opportunities, as we have done with small cells, edge computing and CBRS.\nOne of the core principles underpinning our strategy is to focus on the U.S. market, because we believe that represents the best market in the world for wireless infrastructure ownership, since it has the most attractive growth profile and the lowest risk. And we believe this dynamic of higher growth and lower risk will continue into the future, which is why we expect our U.S. based strategy will drive significant returns for shareholders.\nWith that in mind, we have invested nearly $40 billion in towers, small cells and fiber assets in the top market that are all foundational for the development of future 5G network. We believe our unique strategy, portfolio of the infrastructure assets and proactive identification of future opportunities provide a platform for sustained long-term dividend growth as wireless network architecture evolves and our customers' priorities shift over time.\nToday, our customers are primarily focusing their investment on macro sites as towers remain the most cost-effective way to deploy spectrum at scale and established broad network coverage. With our high quality towers concentrated in the top markets, we are clearly benefiting from this focus with an expected 6% organic growth for our Tower segment in 2021 and an expected 20% increase in tower core leasing activity next year when compared to these 2021 levels. With history as a guide, we believe the deployment of additional spectrum on existing cell sites will not be enough to keep pace with the persistent 30% plus annual growth in mobile data traffic.\nAs a result, we expect cell site densification to remain a critical tool for carriers to respond to the continued growth in mobile data demand as it enables our customers to get the most out of their spectrum assets by reusing the spectrum over shorter and shorter distances. When the current cell site upgrade phase shift to densification phase, we believe the comprehensive offering of towers, small cells and fiber will be critical for our customers and provide us with an opportunity to further extend the runway of growth in our business.\n",
"While we expect the densification phase of build out will drive additional leasing on our tower assets for years to come, we believe small cells will play an even greater role as the coverage area of cell sites will continue to shrink due to the density of people and therefore the density of wireless data demand. With more than 80,000 small cells on air or committed in our backlog, high capacity fiber assets and the vast majority of the top 30 markets in the U.S. and industry-leading capabilities, we believe we are well positioned to deliver value to our customers as their priorities evolve, driving meaningful growth in our small cell business.\nBigger picture, when I consider the durability of the underlying demand trends we see in the U.S., how well we are positioned to consistently deliver growth through all phases of the 5G build out with significant potential upside in our comprehensive asset base as wireless networks continue to evolve. Our proven ability to proactively identify where wireless network architecture is heading and to be an early investor in solutions to help future networks, the deliberate decisions we have made to reduce risks associated with our strategy and our history of steady execution.\nI believe that Crown Castle stands out as a unique investment, that will generate compelling returns over time. In the near term, as I mentioned before, we expect to deliver outsized AFFO per share growth of 12% in 2021. We expect to generate 8% growth in AFFO per share in 2022 at the high end of our long-term growth target and supported by an expected 20% increase in tower core leasing activity and we increased our common stock dividend by 11% for the second consecutive year.\nLonger term, we believe Crown Castle provides an exciting opportunity for shareholders to invest in"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected growth rate of SG&A expenses for Zoetis in the next year | re of a medium-term growth driver. But I think there is a number of spaces where you're going to see innovation at the livestock spot. So across vectors, immunotherapies and precision livestock farming.
I'll let Glenn take the second question on long-term margin expansion.
Glenn David -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Yeah, so in terms of the long-term margin expansion, I think there are a couple of factors to consider. So for 2021, we mentioned that the gross margin is relatively flat and talked about some of the drivers of that with some of the investments we're making in reference labs. Also the impact of the DRAXXIN LOE this year on gross margin. So as we move into 2022 and beyond, some of those impacts will be a little less and we would expect to see continued expansion in gross margin.
In terms of the overall operating expenses, beyond 2021, obviously there will be one year where T&E normalizes when things get back to normal from COVID. But beyond that impact, we would expect that we would continue to be able to grow our expenses at a pace below that of revenue.
So we'll probably continue to grow R&D in line with revenue, that may vary any given year based on the opportunities, but SG&A based on the infrastructure that we have globally established, we should be able to grow that somewhere between inflation and revenue. So we would expect to continue to see expansion there on an overall operating margin perspective.
Operator
Our next question will come from David Risinger with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
David Risinger -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst
Yes, thanks very much and let me add my congrats on another phenomenal year as well. So I have two questions. First, with respect to the monoclonal antibody approval delays, so it's for both cats and dogs, but it wasn't quite clear to me whether the FDA wants more clinical data or whether there are manufacturing issues because of manufacturing questions because I think Kristin you had mentioned manufacturing. So if you could just clarify on both of them what the FDA issues are whether they are clinical or manufacturing?
And then second, Zoetis' R&D has obviously been amazingly differentiated from competitors. Competitors struggle to bring blockbuster companion animal products to market, even including follow-ons to Zoetis' top growth drivers over several years. And so considering that, can you just help us understand the unique aspects of Zoetis' R&D and its ability to maintain separation from the competition? Thank you.
Kristin Peck -- Chief Executive Officer
Sure. Thanks, Dave. With regards to the monoclonal antibodies, Librela and Solensia, it really is just working through the regulatory process and the questions that they are asking and they're requiring inspection of sites. So at this point we have not been asked for any clinical data, but we're still in the regulatory process is what I would say. It is the first time doing this with the FDA, so it's just honestly a new process for both and understandably it's the first time they're looking at some of these types of products, so they have a number of questions.
So it really is just going through the regulatory review process and trying to manage new manufacturing inspections, which I do know that probably COVID is definitely affecting that a little bit, but we're just working through that. So at this point we have not been asked for any additional clinical data and we don't think there's any manufacturing issues at this point, we're just still working through the review process and what their expectations are.
With regard to Zoetis R&D, what I would say is I think it's a partnership between R&D, manufacturing and our commercial organization. It's taking those insight the commercial has of customer needs and partnering early on with R&D to develop products. I think the other thing we've done really well is partner with manufacturing to be able to scale those products, and be able to bring them to market.
We manufacture our own monoclonal antibodies as you know, we've got very strong manufact | [
"re of a medium-term growth driver. But I think there is a number of spaces where you're going to see innovation at the livestock spot. So across vectors, immunotherapies and precision livestock farming.\nI'll let Glenn take the second question on long-term margin expansion.\nGlenn David -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nYeah, so in terms of the long-term margin expansion, I think there are a couple of factors to consider. So for 2021, we mentioned that the gross margin is relatively flat and talked about some of the drivers of that with some of the investments we're making in reference labs. Also the impact of the DRAXXIN LOE this year on gross margin. So as we move into 2022 and beyond, some of those impacts will be a little less and we would expect to see continued expansion in gross margin.\nIn terms of the overall operating expenses, beyond 2021, obviously there will be one year where T&E normalizes when things get back to normal from COVID. But beyond that impact, we would expect that we would continue to be able to grow our expenses at a pace below that of revenue.\nSo we'll probably continue to grow R&D in line with revenue, that may vary any given year based on the opportunities, but SG&A based on the infrastructure that we have globally established, we should be able to grow that somewhere between inflation and revenue. So we would expect to continue to see expansion there on an overall operating margin perspective.\nOperator\nOur next question will come from David Risinger with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.\nDavid Risinger -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst\nYes, thanks very much and let me add my congrats on another phenomenal year as well. So I have two questions. First, with respect to the monoclonal antibody approval delays, so it's for both cats and dogs, but it wasn't quite clear to me whether the FDA wants more clinical data or whether there are manufacturing issues because of manufacturing questions because I think Kristin you had mentioned manufacturing. So if you could just clarify on both of them what the FDA issues are whether they are clinical or manufacturing?\n",
"And then second, Zoetis' R&D has obviously been amazingly differentiated from competitors. Competitors struggle to bring blockbuster companion animal products to market, even including follow-ons to Zoetis' top growth drivers over several years. And so considering that, can you just help us understand the unique aspects of Zoetis' R&D and its ability to maintain separation from the competition? Thank you.\nKristin Peck -- Chief Executive Officer\nSure. Thanks, Dave. With regards to the monoclonal antibodies, Librela and Solensia, it really is just working through the regulatory process and the questions that they are asking and they're requiring inspection of sites. So at this point we have not been asked for any clinical data, but we're still in the regulatory process is what I would say. It is the first time doing this with the FDA, so it's just honestly a new process for both and understandably it's the first time they're looking at some of these types of products, so they have a number of questions.\nSo it really is just going through the regulatory review process and trying to manage new manufacturing inspections, which I do know that probably COVID is definitely affecting that a little bit, but we're just working through that. So at this point we have not been asked for any additional clinical data and we don't think there's any manufacturing issues at this point, we're just still working through the review process and what their expectations are.\nWith regard to Zoetis R&D, what I would say is I think it's a partnership between R&D, manufacturing and our commercial organization. It's taking those insight the commercial has of customer needs and partnering early on with R&D to develop products. I think the other thing we've done really well is partner with manufacturing to be able to scale those products, and be able to bring them to market.\nWe manufacture our own monoclonal antibodies as you know, we've got very strong manufact"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the overall gross margin for the first quarter | h 4G. The time latency is very important that enables 5G to apply to the cloud and AR/VR. You can imagine when you use the 5G, you know, roaming outside your country and then return to your country then go to the internet, the latency will become longer, and your AR/VR will become a problem again. So in this case, we are, you know, at the one page to have 5G not only in domestic but also for international application, especially for a time latency, we are a unique solution.
So fundamentally, we believe that we are the accelerator of the 5G era. That comes early, at least, one year with our technology in the industry. So that's the product and we are really launching our 5G MiFi embed the handset with our hyper-connectivity solution and we will announce our hyper-connectivity solution in a 5G MiFi in the next month. And we have this solution around that we should announce.
Bob Shen -- Deputy Investor Relations Director
Hi, Vivian. This is Bob Shen. I think -- let me add some color to your second question because as we mentioned we continue to keep investing in our R&D, especially like 5G-related products. As our CEO just mentioned, like a 5G mobile Wi-Fi or like a 5G customer-premises equipment, CPE, and also together with our technology such as 5G millisecond multi-network reselection technology.
And I think, we believe, that all these devices and all these innovative technologies will facilitate us to establish our leading technological position of our PaaS and SaaS platform in the early stage of 5G. Thank you.
Vivian Zhang -- Diamond Equity Research -- Analyst
And that makes sense. Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Chen.
Operator
Thank you. And the next question comes from Lisa Thompson of Zacks Investment.
Lisa Thompson -- Zacks Investment Research -- Analyst
Good evening. So I have a number of questions about the quarter. First off, I see that you had a very good improvement in product sales and the gross margin looks like it might have been a record high. What is causing that? Is that the first time you're shipping 5G devices? What happened in the quarter?
Yimeng Shi -- Chief Financial Officer
The gross margins in the first quarter -- as we -- the overall gross margin we disclosed is stable the past three months. And during the sale of products, we sell these to Japanese market. So that's the pricing and the product sales to Japanese markets are good. And so we have a good, a stable gross margins related to the product selling to Japan.
For service gross margin, it's plus 80 with the mixtures of the service category and depending on the proportions and how much sales and service came from the local community service, how much is the service came from the PaaS and SaaS, and etc. The PaaS and SaaS service is higher gross margins turned in seconds. So when the more PaaS and SaaS service looking into an account then this will give us improvements to our gross margins in the future as we expect. And so when this -- when we -- the national service is recovered, when the vaccination progressed across countries, and the national roaming service is the highest gross margin as well.
So our service gross margin will be improved when we have more service came from PaaS and Saas or came from investment roaming service. Hello?
Lisa Thompson -- Zacks Investment Research -- Analyst
OK. Yes. And with that --
Yimeng Shi -- Chief Financial Officer
Yeah, I think, Lisa --
Lisa Thompson -- Zacks Investment Research -- Analyst
Go ahead.
Yimeng Shi -- Chief Financial Officer
Apart from the Japanese market, as our CFO mentioned, we are also enhancing our e-commerce efforts in other strategic key markets with high growth potential such as the United States and Europe. And one example, our CEO just mentioned that we recorded a high sale in the United States and we also optimizing and improving our website, streamlining our sales function in the local markets to improve -- to continuously improve the user experience and overall satisfaction. That's basically what we do.
Lisa Thompson -- Zacks Investment Research -- Analyst
So the 1.3 million incremen | [
"h 4G. The time latency is very important that enables 5G to apply to the cloud and AR/VR. You can imagine when you use the 5G, you know, roaming outside your country and then return to your country then go to the internet, the latency will become longer, and your AR/VR will become a problem again. So in this case, we are, you know, at the one page to have 5G not only in domestic but also for international application, especially for a time latency, we are a unique solution.\nSo fundamentally, we believe that we are the accelerator of the 5G era. That comes early, at least, one year with our technology in the industry. So that's the product and we are really launching our 5G MiFi embed the handset with our hyper-connectivity solution and we will announce our hyper-connectivity solution in a 5G MiFi in the next month. And we have this solution around that we should announce.\nBob Shen -- Deputy Investor Relations Director\nHi, Vivian. This is Bob Shen. I think -- let me add some color to your second question because as we mentioned we continue to keep investing in our R&D, especially like 5G-related products. As our CEO just mentioned, like a 5G mobile Wi-Fi or like a 5G customer-premises equipment, CPE, and also together with our technology such as 5G millisecond multi-network reselection technology.\nAnd I think, we believe, that all these devices and all these innovative technologies will facilitate us to establish our leading technological position of our PaaS and SaaS platform in the early stage of 5G. Thank you.\nVivian Zhang -- Diamond Equity Research -- Analyst\nAnd that makes sense. Thank you, Bob. Thank you, Chen.\nOperator\nThank you. And the next question comes from Lisa Thompson of Zacks Investment.\nLisa Thompson -- Zacks Investment Research -- Analyst\nGood evening. So I have a number of questions about the quarter. First off, I see that you had a very good improvement in product sales and the gross margin looks like it might have been a record high. What is causing that? Is that the first time you're shipping 5G devices? What happened in the quarter?\nYimeng Shi -- Chief Financial Officer\n",
"The gross margins in the first quarter -- as we -- the overall gross margin we disclosed is stable the past three months. And during the sale of products, we sell these to Japanese market. So that's the pricing and the product sales to Japanese markets are good. And so we have a good, a stable gross margins related to the product selling to Japan.\nFor service gross margin, it's plus 80 with the mixtures of the service category and depending on the proportions and how much sales and service came from the local community service, how much is the service came from the PaaS and SaaS, and etc. The PaaS and SaaS service is higher gross margins turned in seconds. So when the more PaaS and SaaS service looking into an account then this will give us improvements to our gross margins in the future as we expect. And so when this -- when we -- the national service is recovered, when the vaccination progressed across countries, and the national roaming service is the highest gross margin as well.\nSo our service gross margin will be improved when we have more service came from PaaS and Saas or came from investment roaming service. Hello?\nLisa Thompson -- Zacks Investment Research -- Analyst\nOK. Yes. And with that --\nYimeng Shi -- Chief Financial Officer\nYeah, I think, Lisa --\nLisa Thompson -- Zacks Investment Research -- Analyst\nGo ahead.\nYimeng Shi -- Chief Financial Officer\nApart from the Japanese market, as our CFO mentioned, we are also enhancing our e-commerce efforts in other strategic key markets with high growth potential such as the United States and Europe. And one example, our CEO just mentioned that we recorded a high sale in the United States and we also optimizing and improving our website, streamlining our sales function in the local markets to improve -- to continuously improve the user experience and overall satisfaction. That's basically what we do.\nLisa Thompson -- Zacks Investment Research -- Analyst\nSo the 1.3 million incremen"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the projected revenue growth for the automotive and industrial end market in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 | ng forward, we expect enterprises will continue to modernize their networks. And as a result, we project ongoing growth to continue from this end market.
Let me now discuss a new source of growth for Marvell in this end market, custom silicon. We have a very successful custom business in the carrier end market and are also building a large revenue stream from hyperscalers with our cloud optimized products. We are now enabling the enterprise networking market to take advantage of our advanced technology platform. I would like to point out that these designs frequently pull through additional Marvell content across a number of our product lines.
Our pipeline of opportunities is growing, and we see custom silicon becoming another leg to the enterprise networking stool, adding to the ongoing growth from our merchant products. We expect revenue from custom products and enterprise networking to grow sharply to well over $100 million in fiscal 2023. In aggregate, we expect a very durable period of high growth from enterprise networking to strongly complement our cloud, 5G and auto pillars. Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, we expect growth to accelerate in our enterprise networking end market.
We are projecting revenue to be up sequentially in the mid-teens on a percentage basis and year over year to grow over 70%. This growth outlook reflects our expectations of higher supply to support our product ramps and the ongoing enterprise infrastructure refresh cycle. Turning to our automotive and industrial end market, revenue for the fourth quarter was $79 million, growing 19% sequentially and 134% year over year. Strong revenue growth in this end market is being driven by higher adoption of our Brightlane Ethernet solutions in a growing number of vehicles from multiple OEMs.
Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, we are expecting strong sequential growth to continue from auto and a flattish outlook for our industrial business. As a result, for the auto and industrial end market, we are projecting sequential revenue growth in the high single digits on a percentage basis, while year-over-year growth is expected above 80%. Moving on to our consumer end market. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $185 million, growing 2% sequentially and 11% year over year.
Growth in this end market is being driven by our SSD controllers, shipping into consumer-oriented platforms such as game consoles. Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, we expect revenue to be flattish on a sequential basis and continue to grow year over year, approximately in the double digits on a percentage basis. In closing, we delivered record results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022, growing revenue well above our long-term target model. We expect this momentum to continue.
Marvell is uniquely positioned to benefit from the three most important growth opportunities in semiconductors: cloud, 5G and automotive. The transformation in the enterprise end market is also becoming another continuing growth driver for Marvell. We expect secular growth to continue from all our end markets, further supported by our large and growing pipeline of secured design wins, which will drive incremental revenue. We are also working to make sure that we grow in a responsible and sustainable manner.
Over the past year, Marvell has taken meaningful action on evolving our environmental, social and governance strategy, setting new goals and increasing transparency. We've committed to achieving net zero emissions as a company and are setting a science-based target to put us on track to reach this goal. Building a more inclusive and diverse workforce is another important area of focus, and we have increased our outreach to traditionally underrepresented talent. I would encourage investors to visit our new ESG website to review the goals we've outlined and our progress to date.
On behalf of Marvell's board and leadership team, I thank our valued employees for the outstanding results they've helped deliver in the fourth quarter and throughout fiscal year | [
"ng forward, we expect enterprises will continue to modernize their networks. And as a result, we project ongoing growth to continue from this end market.\nLet me now discuss a new source of growth for Marvell in this end market, custom silicon. We have a very successful custom business in the carrier end market and are also building a large revenue stream from hyperscalers with our cloud optimized products. We are now enabling the enterprise networking market to take advantage of our advanced technology platform. I would like to point out that these designs frequently pull through additional Marvell content across a number of our product lines.\nOur pipeline of opportunities is growing, and we see custom silicon becoming another leg to the enterprise networking stool, adding to the ongoing growth from our merchant products. We expect revenue from custom products and enterprise networking to grow sharply to well over $100 million in fiscal 2023. In aggregate, we expect a very durable period of high growth from enterprise networking to strongly complement our cloud, 5G and auto pillars. Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, we expect growth to accelerate in our enterprise networking end market.\nWe are projecting revenue to be up sequentially in the mid-teens on a percentage basis and year over year to grow over 70%. This growth outlook reflects our expectations of higher supply to support our product ramps and the ongoing enterprise infrastructure refresh cycle. Turning to our automotive and industrial end market, revenue for the fourth quarter was $79 million, growing 19% sequentially and 134% year over year. Strong revenue growth in this end market is being driven by higher adoption of our Brightlane Ethernet solutions in a growing number of vehicles from multiple OEMs.\nLooking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, we are expecting strong sequential growth to continue from auto and a flattish outlook for our industrial business. As a result, for the auto and industrial end market, we are projecting sequential revenue growth in the high single digits on a percentage basis, while year-over-year growth is expected above 80%. Moving on to our consumer end market. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $185 million, growing 2% sequentially and 11% year over year.\n",
"Growth in this end market is being driven by our SSD controllers, shipping into consumer-oriented platforms such as game consoles. Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, we expect revenue to be flattish on a sequential basis and continue to grow year over year, approximately in the double digits on a percentage basis. In closing, we delivered record results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022, growing revenue well above our long-term target model. We expect this momentum to continue.\nMarvell is uniquely positioned to benefit from the three most important growth opportunities in semiconductors: cloud, 5G and automotive. The transformation in the enterprise end market is also becoming another continuing growth driver for Marvell. We expect secular growth to continue from all our end markets, further supported by our large and growing pipeline of secured design wins, which will drive incremental revenue. We are also working to make sure that we grow in a responsible and sustainable manner.\nOver the past year, Marvell has taken meaningful action on evolving our environmental, social and governance strategy, setting new goals and increasing transparency. We've committed to achieving net zero emissions as a company and are setting a science-based target to put us on track to reach this goal. Building a more inclusive and diverse workforce is another important area of focus, and we have increased our outreach to traditionally underrepresented talent. I would encourage investors to visit our new ESG website to review the goals we've outlined and our progress to date.\nOn behalf of Marvell's board and leadership team, I thank our valued employees for the outstanding results they've helped deliver in the fourth quarter and throughout fiscal year "
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the company's market share of the compact, all-outdoor solutions segment as measured by Skylight research firm | hical coverage. The transition from 4G to 5G is creating a huge change in the way networks are designed and architected. That's why often, we help operators achieve an evolutionary approach.
We provide a wireless-based backhaul network that is supporting 4G networks and that can be upgraded cost-effectively to 5G at any point, its capacity by tenfold. We help them optimize their network performance and network resources including reuse of equipment where needed. This total-support approach is how we have built our extensive customer base worldwide, some of whom are recently acquired. This include major Tier 1 operators in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 operators across the globe, plus smaller ISPs and regional players.
It's what we believe makes us an essential partner for operators as they evolve to 5G. So, what makes us the technology leader of wireless hauling and even more so when it comes to wireless hauling for 5G? The answer is the combination of four elements. First of all, we are the only player that builds our own purpose-driven chipsets, giving us the tightest integration in the market, functionality, and cost-wise. Second, total vertical integration.
We are the only player that does everything in-house from chipset development for microwave and millimeter-wave to complete radio and networking system. Third, we are the only player with leadership in all three domains of the disaggregated wireless hauling network, networking software, networking hardware, and radios. And finally, we believe we are the kings of compact, all-outdoor solutions with nearly 40% market share of the segment as measured by Skylight research firm. Putting all these together, you'll see the full extent of our capabilities, solutions, and roadmap.
Two gigabits per second to 100 gigabits per second over a wide range of spectrum going well above 100 gigahertz. This is what is needed to support the capacities and capabilities for any and every possible 5G scenario. Now that we believe we are perfectly positioned to leverage the 5G evolution, the open question is the timing. We see signs that this evolution will start building at a larger scale through the end of 2021 and then go through 2022 and 2023.
The exact timetable might be impacted by COVID but we believe this is the general direction. The U.S. has been deploying 5G since late 2019 and shares leadership of the transition today with China. Network build-outs using wireless hauling for transport across networks have recently begun.
We've increased our 5G design wins to nine this quarter and we are participating in numerous 5G proofs of concepts and initial rollouts in the U.S., Europe, and the Pacific Rim. And plans are being finalized for mass rollouts. We anticipate that the first large-scale networks to make use of wireless hauling en masse are likely to pick off toward the end of 2021 and then to pick up speed at first gradually through 2022 and 2023. We expect to benefit from the growth of this market and also to take market share.
After Japan and Western Europe, we expect to see 5G momentum build in the rest of Europe, APAC, and Lat-Am, followed by Africa three years down the road. In the meantime, we continue to benefit from large expedited 4G projects to increase network reach and capacity. In some of these projects, the operators are already fitting in the wireless hauling infrastructure required for 5G. To conclude, we are moving into a new kind of future, building on a growing collective online mobile presence and global hyper-connectivity with full ramification and potential we wait to witness.
In this new context, we believe there are and will be an increasing number of business opportunities for us across the globe starting already this year. We are working hard to leverage these opportunities and to continue to be a key enabler of the multi-year 5G evolution. I would now like to turn the call over to Ran to discuss our financials in more detail. Ran?
Ran Vered -- Chief Financial Officer
Thank you, Ira, and good morning, everyone. T | [
"hical coverage. The transition from 4G to 5G is creating a huge change in the way networks are designed and architected. That's why often, we help operators achieve an evolutionary approach.\nWe provide a wireless-based backhaul network that is supporting 4G networks and that can be upgraded cost-effectively to 5G at any point, its capacity by tenfold. We help them optimize their network performance and network resources including reuse of equipment where needed. This total-support approach is how we have built our extensive customer base worldwide, some of whom are recently acquired. This include major Tier 1 operators in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 operators across the globe, plus smaller ISPs and regional players.\nIt's what we believe makes us an essential partner for operators as they evolve to 5G. So, what makes us the technology leader of wireless hauling and even more so when it comes to wireless hauling for 5G? The answer is the combination of four elements. First of all, we are the only player that builds our own purpose-driven chipsets, giving us the tightest integration in the market, functionality, and cost-wise. Second, total vertical integration.\nWe are the only player that does everything in-house from chipset development for microwave and millimeter-wave to complete radio and networking system. Third, we are the only player with leadership in all three domains of the disaggregated wireless hauling network, networking software, networking hardware, and radios. And finally, we believe we are the kings of compact, all-outdoor solutions with nearly 40% market share of the segment as measured by Skylight research firm. Putting all these together, you'll see the full extent of our capabilities, solutions, and roadmap.\nTwo gigabits per second to 100 gigabits per second over a wide range of spectrum going well above 100 gigahertz. This is what is needed to support the capacities and capabilities for any and every possible 5G scenario. Now that we believe we are perfectly positioned to leverage the 5G evolution, the open question is the timing. We see signs that this evolution will start building at a larger scale through the end of 2021 and then go through 2022 and 2023.\n",
"The exact timetable might be impacted by COVID but we believe this is the general direction. The U.S. has been deploying 5G since late 2019 and shares leadership of the transition today with China. Network build-outs using wireless hauling for transport across networks have recently begun.\nWe've increased our 5G design wins to nine this quarter and we are participating in numerous 5G proofs of concepts and initial rollouts in the U.S., Europe, and the Pacific Rim. And plans are being finalized for mass rollouts. We anticipate that the first large-scale networks to make use of wireless hauling en masse are likely to pick off toward the end of 2021 and then to pick up speed at first gradually through 2022 and 2023. We expect to benefit from the growth of this market and also to take market share.\nAfter Japan and Western Europe, we expect to see 5G momentum build in the rest of Europe, APAC, and Lat-Am, followed by Africa three years down the road. In the meantime, we continue to benefit from large expedited 4G projects to increase network reach and capacity. In some of these projects, the operators are already fitting in the wireless hauling infrastructure required for 5G. To conclude, we are moving into a new kind of future, building on a growing collective online mobile presence and global hyper-connectivity with full ramification and potential we wait to witness.\nIn this new context, we believe there are and will be an increasing number of business opportunities for us across the globe starting already this year. We are working hard to leverage these opportunities and to continue to be a key enabler of the multi-year 5G evolution. I would now like to turn the call over to Ran to discuss our financials in more detail. Ran?\nRan Vered -- Chief Financial Officer\nThank you, Ira, and good morning, everyone. T"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What was the growth rate of service revenue in 4Q '20 | mall premium to organic build cost. We have a variety of M&A opportunities on our radar screen, some of which are sizable.
Turning to slide 15. A foundation of our strategy is to be a total solution provider to the leading Chinese customers, wherever they have critical mass of demand. Our customers see a lot of value in working with partner who understands their ecosystem. The same logic which takes us to new markets in China, leads us to look at expanding overseas.
Hong Kong is a start point outside mainland China. We currently have two major projects, the first of which is expected to come into service in 2022. We have recently secured anchor orders for Hong Kong 1 which we will announce in the next few months.
The China cloud and internet giants have big ambitions in South East Asia, both directly through their core platforms and indirectly through their strategic investments. Take AliCloud as an example, they already have three AZs in Singapore, two in Malaysia, and two in Indonesia. Singapore is a well-established hub for South East Asia and a Global Tier 1 data center market. In recent years, we believe that a large part of incremental demand in Singapore has come from our home market customers. For the time being, the Singapore government has suspended data center project approvals, while new policies are developed around land and power allocation. It is uncertain whether Singapore, given its resource constraints will choose to open the door wide for extensive hyperscale development.
The adjacent markets in Malaysia and Indonesia are less developed than Singapore but have high growth potential. We believe that Chinese customer demand will be a critical success factor in these countries as well. We have established a picture of demand from our home market customers. They have repeatedly requested us to establish a presence. We are actively pursuing opportunities with existing assets in Singapore, as well as getting positioned for when approvals restart. We have also entered into discussions with a number of potential local partners who have projects at various stages of development in Malaysia and Indonesia.
We believe that expansion into South East Asia is strategically important and that we can capture several hundred megawatts of new business over the next five years. We are moving ahead in a very careful and deliberate way. We aim to announce several new commitments in South East Asia over the course of this year.
To conclude my section, GDS is head and shoulders above everyone else in the China market. This is a matter of fact. With what I told you today about the market opportunity in front of us, our strategic positioning and our competitive advantages, we believe that the gap is only going to get bigger.
Now, I will hand over to Dan for the financial and operating review.
Dan Newman -- Chief Financial Officer
Thank you, William. Starting on slide 18 where we strip out the contribution from equipment sales and the effect of FX changes. In 4Q '20, our service revenue grew by 6.9%. Underlying adjusted gross profit grew by 7.5%. And underlying adjusted EBITDA grew by 6.2% quarter-on-quarter. Our underlying adjusted EBITDA margin was 46.8%.
Turning to slide 19. Service revenue growth is driven mainly by delivery of the committed backlog and closing of acquisitions. Net additional area utilized during 4Q '20 was 16,461 square meters, consistent with the previous two quarters.
The first quarter of each year is usually slower due to Chinese New Year. Nonetheless, we expect move-in in 1Q '21 to be only a couple of thousand square meters down on the prior quarters level. Given the timing of capacity increases, as shown on slide 23, we are forecasting move-in over the course of 2021 will be heavily weighted to the second half. Monthly service revenue, MSR declined 1.2% quarter-on-quarter in 4Q '20 to RMB2,489 per square meters per month.
As shown on the next slide, MSR for the whole of FY '20 was down 3.4% compared with FY '19. In FY '21, we expect a further low single digit decline. To some extent MSR is a reflection | [
"mall premium to organic build cost. We have a variety of M&A opportunities on our radar screen, some of which are sizable.\nTurning to slide 15. A foundation of our strategy is to be a total solution provider to the leading Chinese customers, wherever they have critical mass of demand. Our customers see a lot of value in working with partner who understands their ecosystem. The same logic which takes us to new markets in China, leads us to look at expanding overseas.\nHong Kong is a start point outside mainland China. We currently have two major projects, the first of which is expected to come into service in 2022. We have recently secured anchor orders for Hong Kong 1 which we will announce in the next few months.\nThe China cloud and internet giants have big ambitions in South East Asia, both directly through their core platforms and indirectly through their strategic investments. Take AliCloud as an example, they already have three AZs in Singapore, two in Malaysia, and two in Indonesia. Singapore is a well-established hub for South East Asia and a Global Tier 1 data center market. In recent years, we believe that a large part of incremental demand in Singapore has come from our home market customers. For the time being, the Singapore government has suspended data center project approvals, while new policies are developed around land and power allocation. It is uncertain whether Singapore, given its resource constraints will choose to open the door wide for extensive hyperscale development.\nThe adjacent markets in Malaysia and Indonesia are less developed than Singapore but have high growth potential. We believe that Chinese customer demand will be a critical success factor in these countries as well. We have established a picture of demand from our home market customers. They have repeatedly requested us to establish a presence. We are actively pursuing opportunities with existing assets in Singapore, as well as getting positioned for when approvals restart. We have also entered into discussions with a number of potential local partners who have projects at various stages of development in Malaysia and Indonesia.\nWe believe that expansion into South East Asia is strategically important and that we can capture several hundred megawatts of new business over the next five years. We are moving ahead in a very careful and deliberate way. We aim to announce several new commitments in South East Asia over the course of this year.\n",
"To conclude my section, GDS is head and shoulders above everyone else in the China market. This is a matter of fact. With what I told you today about the market opportunity in front of us, our strategic positioning and our competitive advantages, we believe that the gap is only going to get bigger.\nNow, I will hand over to Dan for the financial and operating review.\nDan Newman -- Chief Financial Officer\nThank you, William. Starting on slide 18 where we strip out the contribution from equipment sales and the effect of FX changes. In 4Q '20, our service revenue grew by 6.9%. Underlying adjusted gross profit grew by 7.5%. And underlying adjusted EBITDA grew by 6.2% quarter-on-quarter. Our underlying adjusted EBITDA margin was 46.8%.\nTurning to slide 19. Service revenue growth is driven mainly by delivery of the committed backlog and closing of acquisitions. Net additional area utilized during 4Q '20 was 16,461 square meters, consistent with the previous two quarters.\nThe first quarter of each year is usually slower due to Chinese New Year. Nonetheless, we expect move-in in 1Q '21 to be only a couple of thousand square meters down on the prior quarters level. Given the timing of capacity increases, as shown on slide 23, we are forecasting move-in over the course of 2021 will be heavily weighted to the second half. Monthly service revenue, MSR declined 1.2% quarter-on-quarter in 4Q '20 to RMB2,489 per square meters per month.\nAs shown on the next slide, MSR for the whole of FY '20 was down 3.4% compared with FY '19. In FY '21, we expect a further low single digit decline. To some extent MSR is a reflection"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the current status of the power supply activation for the projects that experienced delays in the second quarter | or even 10 years will be the key demand -- a key driver to drive the demand. So, that's why we bring such a big money and we try to catch up -- echo this wave, right?
Frank Louthan -- Raymond James -- Analyst
Okay. Great.
William Wei Huang -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
But I will add a little more. As Dan mentioned, 5G is just implemented right now. But we believe after two years, 5G will trigger more IoT stuff, will trigger more a new application and also, will be another potential key driver to drive the data center demand.
Frank Louthan -- Raymond James -- Analyst
I mean, what are some of the key applications you think that come out of 5G? What are you seeing right now?
William Wei Huang -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Yeah. I think there's a lot of the -- so far, I think it's too early to talk about it. But you will see a lot of the IoT stuff. We talk to a lot of the traditional industry, they all talk about the IoT stuff. And I think the very clear 5G will drive there -- the new application to implement to the all the supply -- all the value chain [Phonetic] -- business value chain, including the manufacturing -- traditional manufacturing and the traditional retail -- traditional industry. So, I think the -- this is not very clear now, but the market is talking about a lot of the development right now.
Frank Louthan -- Raymond James -- Analyst
All right. Great. Thank you very much.
Operator
Your next question comes from the line of James Wang from UBS. James, your line is now open.
James Wang -- UBS -- Analyst
Good morning, management. Congratulations on a good result. So first question from me is, I remember in the second quarter result, Dan mentioned there were a few locations that experienced some delays in activation of power supply. So I'm just wondering whether these are resolved now. And maybe a broader question on this is, as the number of projects and construction grows, is it getting more difficult to execute with the same level precision as the past and then there may be more slippage in capacity delivery over time?
And then, my second question is about the Huidong project. Just wondering whether -- how supply has already been secured for that project. And also, what sort of customers you have in mind for that location? And also, we hearing, for example, there's potential other building parts of Guangdong, so perhaps a bit more color on the demand and supply situation in that particular region as well? Thank you.
Daniel Newman -- Chief Financial Officer
Okay. Thanks, James. Yeah. The reference I made was actually just to a couple of sites. We can control to a large degree the construction, but the provision of the power infrastructure and the activation of power, depend on supplier and sometimes there's some small delay, but that was fixed, I think, by the end of September. It may happen from time-to-time, but it has actually a few months. A few months matters, particularly when we have delivery schedules for customers. But life can't be perfect, right? So, the degree to which this affects us is pretty small.
Your second comment, though, is very opposite. I think we have the largest data center construction program in the world. I tried to benchmark it against some other very well-known large cap global players. It looks like we have almost double the amount of capacity on under construction. And operationally execution is difficult, there are lots of challenges, lots of complicating factors. I'd like to stress this as you brought it up, because I mean, generally maybe analysts and investors underestimate this when they talk about competition, and people's plans and it's easy to say it, it's not easy to do it. But we've been scaling up for 10 years. We started with three data center projects and we went through 10 years of increments and now we have around 20 projects, more or less permanently under construction. So, I think we've shown that we can handle this efficiently and keep execution issues down to a minimum.
The last question about Huidong, yeah, we bought the | [
" or even 10 years will be the key demand -- a key driver to drive the demand. So, that's why we bring such a big money and we try to catch up -- echo this wave, right?\nFrank Louthan -- Raymond James -- Analyst\nOkay. Great.\nWilliam Wei Huang -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer\nBut I will add a little more. As Dan mentioned, 5G is just implemented right now. But we believe after two years, 5G will trigger more IoT stuff, will trigger more a new application and also, will be another potential key driver to drive the data center demand.\nFrank Louthan -- Raymond James -- Analyst\nI mean, what are some of the key applications you think that come out of 5G? What are you seeing right now?\nWilliam Wei Huang -- Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer\nYeah. I think there's a lot of the -- so far, I think it's too early to talk about it. But you will see a lot of the IoT stuff. We talk to a lot of the traditional industry, they all talk about the IoT stuff. And I think the very clear 5G will drive there -- the new application to implement to the all the supply -- all the value chain [Phonetic] -- business value chain, including the manufacturing -- traditional manufacturing and the traditional retail -- traditional industry. So, I think the -- this is not very clear now, but the market is talking about a lot of the development right now.\nFrank Louthan -- Raymond James -- Analyst\nAll right. Great. Thank you very much.\nOperator\nYour next question comes from the line of James Wang from UBS. James, your line is now open.\nJames Wang -- UBS -- Analyst\nGood morning, management. Congratulations on a good result. So first question from me is, I remember in the second quarter result, Dan mentioned there were a few locations that experienced some delays in activation of power supply. So I'm just wondering whether these are resolved now. And maybe a broader question on this is, as the number of projects and construction grows, is it getting more difficult to execute with the same level precision as the past and then there may be more slippage in capacity delivery over time?\n",
"And then, my second question is about the Huidong project. Just wondering whether -- how supply has already been secured for that project. And also, what sort of customers you have in mind for that location? And also, we hearing, for example, there's potential other building parts of Guangdong, so perhaps a bit more color on the demand and supply situation in that particular region as well? Thank you.\nDaniel Newman -- Chief Financial Officer\nOkay. Thanks, James. Yeah. The reference I made was actually just to a couple of sites. We can control to a large degree the construction, but the provision of the power infrastructure and the activation of power, depend on supplier and sometimes there's some small delay, but that was fixed, I think, by the end of September. It may happen from time-to-time, but it has actually a few months. A few months matters, particularly when we have delivery schedules for customers. But life can't be perfect, right? So, the degree to which this affects us is pretty small.\nYour second comment, though, is very opposite. I think we have the largest data center construction program in the world. I tried to benchmark it against some other very well-known large cap global players. It looks like we have almost double the amount of capacity on under construction. And operationally execution is difficult, there are lots of challenges, lots of complicating factors. I'd like to stress this as you brought it up, because I mean, generally maybe analysts and investors underestimate this when they talk about competition, and people's plans and it's easy to say it, it's not easy to do it. But we've been scaling up for 10 years. We started with three data center projects and we went through 10 years of increments and now we have around 20 projects, more or less permanently under construction. So, I think we've shown that we can handle this efficiently and keep execution issues down to a minimum.\nThe last question about Huidong, yeah, we bought the "
] | 2 | [
0,
1
] | 0.63093 |
What is the company's current replacement cycle length and what is the expected replacement cycle length for the next quarter | unit growth going forward. We did see replacement cycles kind of moving out, that was part of a bit of a drag over the last year. They've stabilized now for the time being at least. We are modeling them necessarily kicking back.
If units go up, it means replacement cycles have to get -- have got to be shortening, and we're not modeling that over all.
Raji Gill -- Needham and Company -- Analyst
So this is just primarily going to be driven by purely RF content gains to support 4G, but also the new bands?
Eric Creviston -- President, Mobile Products Group
Yes. That's right, exactly. So total number of handsets more than being 5G versus 4G without more units and then 5G having higher content.
Raji Gill -- Needham and Company -- Analyst
Higher content. Got it. OK. And then, for my follow-up question, I guess, it is to the earlier question about the risk of Huawei and other Chinese handset OEMs using non-U.S.
filter companies. You had mentioned that there's some experiments out there, but the results are that there's a push back to an integrated solution. Knowing the fact that these RF designs are pretty much have already been locked in for the funds next year, if we look at 2021, is there potential risk that these OEMs will move to more of a FEM architecture ID without integrated power amplifier versus the FEM ID architecture?
Bob Bruggeworth -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Number one, I want to make sure we understand that in China, let's understand the export phones as well. So for anything they're exporting, they're going to compete with, obviously, Samsung and others, so they're going to make sure they buy the best RF. And as you all know, the RF does influence dropped calls, battery life things that we as consumers recognize and judge phones by. So that's important distinction.
Second, even in China, they're building their brands and want to make sure that they can compete with Huawei, and so far, we have not seen anyone that is willing to sacrifice -- if they have the ability to buy from U.S. suppliers, to sacrifice performance and tarnish their brand. The other thing I just want to caution you on is that there are many phone designs that are still left to be done in the second half of this year and their direction at least in the architectures we're seeing are still with the integrated products that we've been talking about.
Operator
We've reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the call over to management for any further or closing comments.
Bob Bruggeworth -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you. We want to thank everyone for joining us on tonight's call. We hope to see you at upcoming investor meetings, and we look forward to speaking with you again when we report our third-quarter results. Thanks again and hope you have a good night.
Operator
[Operator signoff]
Duration: 56 minutes
Call participants:
Douglas DeLieto -- Vice President of Investor Relations
Bob Bruggeworth -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Mark Murphy -- Chief Financial Officer
Karl Ackerman -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst
Eric Creviston -- President, Mobile Products Group
Harsh Kumar -- Piper Jaffray -- Analyst
Ambrish Srivastava -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst
Toshiya Hari -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst
Bill Peterson -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst
James Klein -- President, Infrastructure and Defense Products Group
Chris Caso -- Raymond James -- Analyst
Craig Hettenbach -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst
Edward Snyder -- Charter Equity Research -- Analyst
Timothy Arcuri -- UBS -- Analyst
Raji Gill -- Needham and Company -- Analyst
More QRVO analysis
All earnings call transcripts | [
"unit growth going forward. We did see replacement cycles kind of moving out, that was part of a bit of a drag over the last year. They've stabilized now for the time being at least. We are modeling them necessarily kicking back.\nIf units go up, it means replacement cycles have to get -- have got to be shortening, and we're not modeling that over all.\nRaji Gill -- Needham and Company -- Analyst\nSo this is just primarily going to be driven by purely RF content gains to support 4G, but also the new bands?\nEric Creviston -- President, Mobile Products Group\nYes. That's right, exactly. So total number of handsets more than being 5G versus 4G without more units and then 5G having higher content.\nRaji Gill -- Needham and Company -- Analyst\nHigher content. Got it. OK. And then, for my follow-up question, I guess, it is to the earlier question about the risk of Huawei and other Chinese handset OEMs using non-U.S.\nfilter companies. You had mentioned that there's some experiments out there, but the results are that there's a push back to an integrated solution. Knowing the fact that these RF designs are pretty much have already been locked in for the funds next year, if we look at 2021, is there potential risk that these OEMs will move to more of a FEM architecture ID without integrated power amplifier versus the FEM ID architecture?\nBob Bruggeworth -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nNumber one, I want to make sure we understand that in China, let's understand the export phones as well. So for anything they're exporting, they're going to compete with, obviously, Samsung and others, so they're going to make sure they buy the best RF. And as you all know, the RF does influence dropped calls, battery life things that we as consumers recognize and judge phones by. So that's important distinction.\n",
"Second, even in China, they're building their brands and want to make sure that they can compete with Huawei, and so far, we have not seen anyone that is willing to sacrifice -- if they have the ability to buy from U.S. suppliers, to sacrifice performance and tarnish their brand. The other thing I just want to caution you on is that there are many phone designs that are still left to be done in the second half of this year and their direction at least in the architectures we're seeing are still with the integrated products that we've been talking about.\nOperator\nWe've reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the call over to management for any further or closing comments.\nBob Bruggeworth -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nThank you. We want to thank everyone for joining us on tonight's call. We hope to see you at upcoming investor meetings, and we look forward to speaking with you again when we report our third-quarter results. Thanks again and hope you have a good night.\nOperator\n[Operator signoff]\nDuration: 56 minutes\nCall participants:\nDouglas DeLieto -- Vice President of Investor Relations\nBob Bruggeworth -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nMark Murphy -- Chief Financial Officer\nKarl Ackerman -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst\nEric Creviston -- President, Mobile Products Group\nHarsh Kumar -- Piper Jaffray -- Analyst\nAmbrish Srivastava -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst\nToshiya Hari -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst\nBill Peterson -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst\nJames Klein -- President, Infrastructure and Defense Products Group\nChris Caso -- Raymond James -- Analyst\nCraig Hettenbach -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst\nEdward Snyder -- Charter Equity Research -- Analyst\nTimothy Arcuri -- UBS -- Analyst\nRaji Gill -- Needham and Company -- Analyst\nMore QRVO analysis\nAll earnings call transcripts"
] | 2 | [
0,
1
] | 0.63093 |
What is the expected timeline for the transition to electric trucks on the TL side, and what are the expected applications and market segments for electric trucks? | o me talk. You've probably heard enough, but I believe it's going to market segment driven as to what technologies went up. Obviously in Class 6, 7, we get to the end of this decade, but I'm sure we will be 50% or more.
Electric, it's not going to be that way on heavy. We're going see that on the TL side. You'll get it in certain applications and certain market segments, but that's not going to, I believe, work for just pure TL over the road, at least not now. It could be in 20 years or so, but I don't think we're there with that, but you've got folks that -- I know hydrogen is something we will go "Oh yeah" There's a lot of things going on, and that's what going to create some confusion as things transition over the next decade, driven by -- we all have to deal with ESG and it's real, the environmental piece, but I think as I said, technologies will be driven just by market segments, we'll adapt to whatever makes sense.
Diesel was not -- diesel will be phased out over time, it needs to be, but it's not going away right now, OK? We're going to be multi-pronged and working with whatever technologies out there, but always trying to be on the leading, not bleeding edge.
Joel Tiss -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst
Okay. That's awesome. Thank you so much.
W.M. Rusty Rush -- Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Office and President
Thank you, Joel. See you soon.
Operator
And thank you. And I'm showing no further questions. I would now like to turn the call back to Mr. Rusty Rush, Chairman, CEO and President, for closing remarks.
W.M. Rusty Rush -- Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Office and President
Thank you. Well, I appreciate everybody's time. Obviously, it will be a long time period till we talk in February. So I want to wish everyone happy holidays to you. Enjoy your families, and enjoy the time that you get to spend with them. And we will talk to you in February. Thank you very much.
Operator
[Operator Closing Remarks]
Duration: 43 minutes
Call participants:
W.M. Rusty Rush -- Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Office and President
Steven L. Keller -- Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Jamie Cook -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst
Justin Long -- Stephens, Inc. -- Analyst
Andrew Obin -- Bank of America -- Analyst
Joel Tiss -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst
More RUSHA analysis
All earnings call transcripts
| [
"o me talk. You've probably heard enough, but I believe it's going to market segment driven as to what technologies went up. Obviously in Class 6, 7, we get to the end of this decade, but I'm sure we will be 50% or more.\nElectric, it's not going to be that way on heavy. We're going see that on the TL side. You'll get it in certain applications and certain market segments, but that's not going to, I believe, work for just pure TL over the road, at least not now. It could be in 20 years or so, but I don't think we're there with that, but you've got folks that -- I know hydrogen is something we will go \"Oh yeah\" There's a lot of things going on, and that's what going to create some confusion as things transition over the next decade, driven by -- we all have to deal with ESG and it's real, the environmental piece, but I think as I said, technologies will be driven just by market segments, we'll adapt to whatever makes sense.\nDiesel was not -- diesel will be phased out over time, it needs to be, but it's not going away right now, OK? We're going to be multi-pronged and working with whatever technologies out there, but always trying to be on the leading, not bleeding edge.\nJoel Tiss -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst\nOkay. That's awesome. Thank you so much.\nW.M. Rusty Rush -- Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Office and President\nThank you, Joel. See you soon.\nOperator\nAnd thank you. And I'm showing no further questions. I would now like to turn the call back to Mr. Rusty Rush, Chairman, CEO and President, for closing remarks.\nW.M. Rusty Rush -- Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Office and President\nThank you. Well, I appreciate everybody's time. Obviously, it will be a long time period till we talk in February. So I want to wish everyone happy holidays to you. Enjoy your families, and enjoy the time that you get to spend with them. And we will talk to you in February. Thank you very much.\nOperator\n[Operator Closing Remarks]\nDuration: 43 minutes\nCall participants:\nW.M. Rusty Rush -- Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Office and President\nSteven L. Keller -- Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer\n",
"Jamie Cook -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst\nJustin Long -- Stephens, Inc. -- Analyst\nAndrew Obin -- Bank of America -- Analyst\nJoel Tiss -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst\nMore RUSHA analysis\nAll earnings call transcripts\n\n\n\n\n"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the current number of buses and trucks from Ballard in the Chinese market | er
Yeah. I think that's a fair comment. The policy delays have frankly been unexpected. But on the policy front, we've actually had a pretty important, I would say, start to the year in China on the policy front, right? So you've had -- the 14th 5-year plan was approved in March.
And in that plan, the environment has a very significant focus. And the shift really is going from cleanup to decarbonization. They call it Green Ecology. And now we've got these important milestones or goals for Carbon Peak 2030 and Carbon Neutrality 2060.
And then, since that time, you've had two important announcements. I'm not sure if you're fully aware of these. One of them is the Ministry of Science and Technology announced a Hydrogen Society program in Shandong Province. We think this will be a major boom for Shandong province fuel cell opportunities and which will, of course, help the Weichai-Ballard joint venture, which is located in Shandong.
And also, the National Fuel Cell Technology Innovation Center was awarded to Weichai on April 18. So this is a very -- another important development in that market. On the deployment front in China, you're also seeing about 3,400 buses and trucks from Ballard in that market right now with over 70 million kilometers. So that's a more recent number than the number we provided on our overall global install base of 75.
I just want to highlight, just on the joint venture, I'd say there are three key things that have been going on there. One is really kind of optimizing and improving yield improvements as we're waiting for the market to get uncoiled there. And then, the second is module development activity. So making sure we have the portfolio of modules to satisfy the different market requirements for bus and commercial truck, including different market segments.
But a lot of work being done on balance of plant components by the Weichai-Ballard joint venture, including significant work on cost reduction. And then, the last one is just the market and customer engagement side. So notwithstanding a stalled market kind of awaiting the announcement of the hydrogen-cluster program, we are seeing significant customer activity and engagement from the vehicle OEMs, getting new platforms certified, testing and engagement with end users. So there's a lot of work going on in the background that I think is going to be very helpful as the policy kind of gets announced and clarified here over the coming months.
So I think your assessment of a move out with the delayed policy landscape is a fair one.
Greg Wasikowski -- Webber Research -- Analyst
Thanks, Randy.
Randy MacEwen -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Thanks, Greg.
Operator
The next question comes from Rupert Merer with National Bank. Please go ahead. Rupert Merer with National Bank, your line is live.
Rupert Merer -- National Bank -- Analyst
Sorry about that. Good morning, everyone, You mentioned potential for clarification in the coming months on the hydrogen subsidy in China. So do you have specific visibility on when could get more detail on the program? And to your knowledge, have any of the demonstration regions in China been announced yet or indicated for the cluster program?
Randy MacEwen -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Yeah, Rupert, great question. So what's happened is there's been another iteration of the process, if you will, where it looks like there are five clusters that will be awarded: The Shanghai cluster, the Beijing cluster, the Guangdong cluster, the Hubei cluster and the Hunan cluster. So those five clusters were required to resubmit some paperwork as of April 30. So that's just occurred.
And I think there's additional progress that will be made over the next 60, 90 days with the national government and each of these five clusters working through it. So this hasn't been announced publicly yet, but that's our understanding of what's going on in the China market for those clusters.
Rupert Merer -- National Bank -- Analyst
And in which regions in China can you participate? You mentioned, of course, that Weichai is based in Sha | [
"er\nYeah. I think that's a fair comment. The policy delays have frankly been unexpected. But on the policy front, we've actually had a pretty important, I would say, start to the year in China on the policy front, right? So you've had -- the 14th 5-year plan was approved in March.\nAnd in that plan, the environment has a very significant focus. And the shift really is going from cleanup to decarbonization. They call it Green Ecology. And now we've got these important milestones or goals for Carbon Peak 2030 and Carbon Neutrality 2060.\nAnd then, since that time, you've had two important announcements. I'm not sure if you're fully aware of these. One of them is the Ministry of Science and Technology announced a Hydrogen Society program in Shandong Province. We think this will be a major boom for Shandong province fuel cell opportunities and which will, of course, help the Weichai-Ballard joint venture, which is located in Shandong.\nAnd also, the National Fuel Cell Technology Innovation Center was awarded to Weichai on April 18. So this is a very -- another important development in that market. On the deployment front in China, you're also seeing about 3,400 buses and trucks from Ballard in that market right now with over 70 million kilometers. So that's a more recent number than the number we provided on our overall global install base of 75.\nI just want to highlight, just on the joint venture, I'd say there are three key things that have been going on there. One is really kind of optimizing and improving yield improvements as we're waiting for the market to get uncoiled there. And then, the second is module development activity. So making sure we have the portfolio of modules to satisfy the different market requirements for bus and commercial truck, including different market segments.\n",
"But a lot of work being done on balance of plant components by the Weichai-Ballard joint venture, including significant work on cost reduction. And then, the last one is just the market and customer engagement side. So notwithstanding a stalled market kind of awaiting the announcement of the hydrogen-cluster program, we are seeing significant customer activity and engagement from the vehicle OEMs, getting new platforms certified, testing and engagement with end users. So there's a lot of work going on in the background that I think is going to be very helpful as the policy kind of gets announced and clarified here over the coming months.\nSo I think your assessment of a move out with the delayed policy landscape is a fair one.\nGreg Wasikowski -- Webber Research -- Analyst\nThanks, Randy.\nRandy MacEwen -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nThanks, Greg.\nOperator\nThe next question comes from Rupert Merer with National Bank. Please go ahead. Rupert Merer with National Bank, your line is live.\nRupert Merer -- National Bank -- Analyst\nSorry about that. Good morning, everyone, You mentioned potential for clarification in the coming months on the hydrogen subsidy in China. So do you have specific visibility on when could get more detail on the program? And to your knowledge, have any of the demonstration regions in China been announced yet or indicated for the cluster program?\nRandy MacEwen -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nYeah, Rupert, great question. So what's happened is there's been another iteration of the process, if you will, where it looks like there are five clusters that will be awarded: The Shanghai cluster, the Beijing cluster, the Guangdong cluster, the Hubei cluster and the Hunan cluster. So those five clusters were required to resubmit some paperwork as of April 30. So that's just occurred.\nAnd I think there's additional progress that will be made over the next 60, 90 days with the national government and each of these five clusters working through it. So this hasn't been announced publicly yet, but that's our understanding of what's going on in the China market for those clusters.\nRupert Merer -- National Bank -- Analyst\nAnd in which regions in China can you participate? You mentioned, of course, that Weichai is based in Sha"
] | 2 | [
1,
1
] | 1 |
What is electrical conduction? | The movement of electric charge is known as an electric current, the intensity of which is usually measured in amperes. Current can consist of any moving charged particles; most commonly these are electrons, but any charge in motion constitutes a current. Electric current can flow through some things, electrical conductors, but will not flow through an electrical insulator.
By historical convention, a positive current is defined as having the same direction of flow as any positive charge it contains, or to flow from the most positive part of a circuit to the most negative part. Current defined in this manner is called conventional current. The motion of negatively charged electrons around an electric circuit, one of the most familiar forms of current, is thus deemed positive in the opposite direction to that of the electrons. However, depending on the conditions, an electric current can consist of a flow of charged particles in either direction, or even in both directions at once. The positive-to-negative convention is widely used to simplify this situation.
The process by which electric current passes through a material is termed electrical conduction, and its nature varies with that of the charged particles and the material through which they are travelling. Examples of electric currents include metallic conduction, where electrons flow through a conductor such as metal, and electrolysis, where ions (charged atoms) flow through liquids, or through plasmas such as electrical sparks. While the particles themselves can move quite slowly, sometimes with an average drift velocity only fractions of a millimetre per second, the electric field that drives them itself propagates at close to the speed of light, enabling electrical signals to pass rapidly along wires.
In engineering or household applications, current is often described as being either direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC). These terms refer to how the current varies in time. Direct current, as produced by example from a battery and required by most electronic devices, is a unidirectional flow from the positive part of a circuit to the negative. If, as is most common, this flow is carried by electrons, they will be travelling in the opposite direction. Alternating current is any current that reverses direction repeatedly; almost always this takes the form of a sine wave. Alternating current thus pulses back and forth within a conductor without the charge moving any net distance over time. The time-averaged value of an alternating current is zero, but it delivers energy in first one direction, and then the reverse. Alternating current is affected by electrical properties that are not observed under steady state direct current, such as inductance and capacitance. These properties however can become important when circuitry is subjected to transients, such as when first energised. | [
"The movement of electric charge is known as an electric current, the intensity of which is usually measured in amperes. Current can consist of any moving charged particles; most commonly these are electrons, but any charge in motion constitutes a current. Electric current can flow through some things, electrical conductors, but will not flow through an electrical insulator.\nBy historical convention, a positive current is defined as having the same direction of flow as any positive charge it contains, or to flow from the most positive part of a circuit to the most negative part. Current defined in this manner is called conventional current. The motion of negatively charged electrons around an electric circuit, one of the most familiar forms of current, is thus deemed positive in the opposite direction to that of the electrons. However, depending on the conditions, an electric current can consist of a flow of charged particles in either direction, or even in both directions at once. The positive-to-negative convention is widely used to simplify this situation.\nThe process by which electric current passes through a material is termed electrical conduction, and its nature varies with that of the charged particles and the material through which they are travelling. Examples of electric currents include metallic conduction, where electrons flow through a conductor such as metal, and electrolysis, where ions (charged atoms) flow through liquids, or through plasmas such as electrical sparks. While the particles themselves can move quite slowly, sometimes with an average drift velocity only fractions of a millimetre per second, the electric field that drives them itself propagates at close to the speed of light, enabling electrical signals to pass rapidly along wires.\n",
"In engineering or household applications, current is often described as being either direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC). These terms refer to how the current varies in time. Direct current, as produced by example from a battery and required by most electronic devices, is a unidirectional flow from the positive part of a circuit to the negative. If, as is most common, this flow is carried by electrons, they will be travelling in the opposite direction. Alternating current is any current that reverses direction repeatedly; almost always this takes the form of a sine wave. Alternating current thus pulses back and forth within a conductor without the charge moving any net distance over time. The time-averaged value of an alternating current is zero, but it delivers energy in first one direction, and then the reverse. Alternating current is affected by electrical properties that are not observed under steady state direct current, such as inductance and capacitance. These properties however can become important when circuitry is subjected to transients, such as when first energised."
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected technical infrastructure investment in 2020 compared with 2019, and what is the breakdown of spend on servers versus data center construction? | hich we are well positioned. So we will continue to invest in these areas including Search, machine learning, and Google Cloud. Finally, with respect to capex, on the fourth quarter call, we shared our expectation that investments in both technical infrastructure and office facilities would increase compared to 2019. We now anticipate a modest decrease in the level of total capex in 2020 compared with last year. The biggest change in our outlook is a reduction in global office facility investments due to both the need to pause most of our ground-up construction and fit-outs in response to COVID-19 and our decision to slow down the pace at which we acquire office buildings. In terms of technical infrastructure, we expect a moderate reduction to our forecast relative to the beginning of the year given the impact of COVID-19 on data center construction delays as well as the benefit of our ongoing focus on server efficiency. Overall, we anticipate technical infrastructure investment to remain at roughly the same level as in 2019 with relatively more spend on servers than on data center construction. Thank you and Sundar and I will now take your questions.
Questions and Answers:
Operator
Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Eric Sheridan from UBS. Your line is now open.
Eric Sheridan -- UBS -- Analyst
Thanks for taking the question and hope all is safe and well with everyone on the team there at Alphabet. Two questions if I can. One, on the comment with respect to direct response advertising on YouTube, would love to get a little more color on how direct response advertising as ad units continue to evolve and perform and how advertisers are using those ad units as part of their broader advertising goals. And then maybe, Ruth, for you, on the comment on expenses, just want to understand a little bit of how much of what your messaging on expenses is efficiency gains that you were aiming for in 2020 before we got to COVID-19 versus elements of the cost structure that you're reexamining as a result of the pandemic. Thanks so much.
Sundar Pichai -- Chief Executive Officer
Eric, Thanks for the wishes. On YouTube direct response, we definitely are seeing traction there. I think an area where it really works well for example is app installs. That's a great example of it. Gaming is another good example of it and we are working on iterating and making the formats work better so that it applies to more context as well, but in general, I think businesses are learning to adapt. Obviously, we've had great success with Search and so we are bringing a lot of those learnings and we're sharing it with our customers and so we expect to see more traction there over time.
Ruth Porat -- Chief Financial Officer
And on your second question, I like the way you framed it. Yes, we do have efficiency efforts that we started that we had going as we entered this year, but as a result of what we're seeing in the environment, our view was that we should really double down on those. And so when we go through the various areas that I mentioned, we had started the year with an expectation about really optimizing headcount around the various areas. What we've determined is we're going to, at this point, slow the pace of hiring. To be very clear, we are continuing to hire, but we are slowing the pace of hiring and that's helping as we're driving a deeper look into how do you optimize within each area. The same is true for example in some of the comments on marketing. We are continuing to invest in marketing. As you know well, sales and marketing line, the majority of it is headcount related and we do continue to invest here in ads and in particular in Cloud.
As it relates to the marketing component, namely ads and promo spend, we did reduce it relative to our plans in the beginning of the year and we continue to have a healthy budget for ads and promo particularly in digital to support many business areas, but as with the other areas of investment, we're really focused on optimizing across products and services and with physical event | [
"hich we are well positioned. So we will continue to invest in these areas including Search, machine learning, and Google Cloud. Finally, with respect to capex, on the fourth quarter call, we shared our expectation that investments in both technical infrastructure and office facilities would increase compared to 2019. We now anticipate a modest decrease in the level of total capex in 2020 compared with last year. The biggest change in our outlook is a reduction in global office facility investments due to both the need to pause most of our ground-up construction and fit-outs in response to COVID-19 and our decision to slow down the pace at which we acquire office buildings. In terms of technical infrastructure, we expect a moderate reduction to our forecast relative to the beginning of the year given the impact of COVID-19 on data center construction delays as well as the benefit of our ongoing focus on server efficiency. Overall, we anticipate technical infrastructure investment to remain at roughly the same level as in 2019 with relatively more spend on servers than on data center construction. Thank you and Sundar and I will now take your questions.\nQuestions and Answers:\nOperator\nThank you. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Eric Sheridan from UBS. Your line is now open.\nEric Sheridan -- UBS -- Analyst\nThanks for taking the question and hope all is safe and well with everyone on the team there at Alphabet. Two questions if I can. One, on the comment with respect to direct response advertising on YouTube, would love to get a little more color on how direct response advertising as ad units continue to evolve and perform and how advertisers are using those ad units as part of their broader advertising goals. And then maybe, Ruth, for you, on the comment on expenses, just want to understand a little bit of how much of what your messaging on expenses is efficiency gains that you were aiming for in 2020 before we got to COVID-19 versus elements of the cost structure that you're reexamining as a result of the pandemic. Thanks so much.\nSundar Pichai -- Chief Executive Officer\n",
"Eric, Thanks for the wishes. On YouTube direct response, we definitely are seeing traction there. I think an area where it really works well for example is app installs. That's a great example of it. Gaming is another good example of it and we are working on iterating and making the formats work better so that it applies to more context as well, but in general, I think businesses are learning to adapt. Obviously, we've had great success with Search and so we are bringing a lot of those learnings and we're sharing it with our customers and so we expect to see more traction there over time.\nRuth Porat -- Chief Financial Officer\nAnd on your second question, I like the way you framed it. Yes, we do have efficiency efforts that we started that we had going as we entered this year, but as a result of what we're seeing in the environment, our view was that we should really double down on those. And so when we go through the various areas that I mentioned, we had started the year with an expectation about really optimizing headcount around the various areas. What we've determined is we're going to, at this point, slow the pace of hiring. To be very clear, we are continuing to hire, but we are slowing the pace of hiring and that's helping as we're driving a deeper look into how do you optimize within each area. The same is true for example in some of the comments on marketing. We are continuing to invest in marketing. As you know well, sales and marketing line, the majority of it is headcount related and we do continue to invest here in ads and in particular in Cloud.\nAs it relates to the marketing component, namely ads and promo spend, we did reduce it relative to our plans in the beginning of the year and we continue to have a healthy budget for ads and promo particularly in digital to support many business areas, but as with the other areas of investment, we're really focused on optimizing across products and services and with physical event"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected total shipments for the second quarter of 2022 | . We continue to lead the industry in both areas of technical development and mass production volumes. Currently, over 16 gigawatts of N-type TOPCon cell capacity in Hefei and the hedging that ramping up smoothly with mass produced cell conversion efficiency exceeding 24.6%. We are consistently investing in technology for new cell structure upgrades and new metallization methods to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Recently, we set a new world record for our N-type TOPCon cell with maximum conversion efficiency, reaching 25.7%. At the same time, we are also performing iterations on the N-type cell technology platform to optimize and apply the latest technologies for mass production and achieve technical leadership among other peers.
Li Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited
[Foreign language]
Stella Wang -- Investor Relations
As the prominence and benefits of the N-type module growth, we have been seeing wider acceptance and increasing demand from global customers for other N-type products. We are confident about ramping up to full capacity and increase the sales for the Tiger Neo modules, giving us the advantage of growing our classic shares and increase in profit. In addition, we are optimistic on China's demand and are expanding our resources and local deployment to grow in the domestic market for our DG business in China. At present, all our efforts on building different channels are already seeing results.
In future, we will further coordinate our market strategy, pricing systems, and brand development. We believe this will give us technical advantages in the distributed generation sector and bring low-carbon, reliable, and highly economical products and solutions to our customers.
Li Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited
[Foreign Language]
Stella Wang -- Investor Relations
We have successfully ramped up the 16 gigawatts of N-type cell's production capacity. Taking into account our advantages in N-type cells and strong market demand, we plan to invest in the second phase of N-type cells with a total production capacity of approximately 16 gigawatts. The increase in N-type cell production capacity will further optimize our production infrastructure and to reduce integration costs. As a result, we are increasing our full year guidance.
At this time, we are expecting the annual -- we are expecting the annual production capacity of mono wafer, solar cells, and modules to reach 55 gigawatts -- 55 gigawatts and 60 gigawatts, respectively, by the end of 2022.
Li Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited
[Foreign Language]
Stella Wang -- Investor Relations
Before turning over to Gener, I would like to go over our guidance for the second quarter of 2022. We expect the total shipments to be in the range of 8.5 to 9.5 gigawatts for the second quarter of 2022.
Gener Miao -- Chief Marketing Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited
Thank you, Ms. Li. Module shipments in the fourth quarter were approximately eight gigawatt and less than 400 megawatt of wafers and cells are sold in China additionally. By the first quarter, our accumulated global module shipment has surpassed 100 gigawatts, and thus, becoming the first company in the industry to achieve this historic milestone.
Regarding regional landscape, Europe, Asia Pacific, and emerging markets were the regions with the most of shipments. In terms of absolute numbers, our shipments to Europe increased by more than 30% quarter over quarter, and our shipments in China nearly tripled year over year. In Europe, the Russia Ukraine war boosted solar demand, and it is expected to grow steadily in the future. The high demand of distributed generation combined with successful for large-scale projects continue to demonstrate strong growth momentum in the Chinese market.
Although deliveries for some domestic projects, has been delayed due to logistic restrictions caused by the resurgence of COVID-19 and the supply chain disruptions, we are still bullish on China's market demand and are moving | [
". We continue to lead the industry in both areas of technical development and mass production volumes. Currently, over 16 gigawatts of N-type TOPCon cell capacity in Hefei and the hedging that ramping up smoothly with mass produced cell conversion efficiency exceeding 24.6%. We are consistently investing in technology for new cell structure upgrades and new metallization methods to increase efficiency and reduce costs.\nRecently, we set a new world record for our N-type TOPCon cell with maximum conversion efficiency, reaching 25.7%. At the same time, we are also performing iterations on the N-type cell technology platform to optimize and apply the latest technologies for mass production and achieve technical leadership among other peers.\nLi Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited\n[Foreign language]\nStella Wang -- Investor Relations\nAs the prominence and benefits of the N-type module growth, we have been seeing wider acceptance and increasing demand from global customers for other N-type products. We are confident about ramping up to full capacity and increase the sales for the Tiger Neo modules, giving us the advantage of growing our classic shares and increase in profit. In addition, we are optimistic on China's demand and are expanding our resources and local deployment to grow in the domestic market for our DG business in China. At present, all our efforts on building different channels are already seeing results.\nIn future, we will further coordinate our market strategy, pricing systems, and brand development. We believe this will give us technical advantages in the distributed generation sector and bring low-carbon, reliable, and highly economical products and solutions to our customers.\nLi Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited\n[Foreign Language]\nStella Wang -- Investor Relations\nWe have successfully ramped up the 16 gigawatts of N-type cell's production capacity. Taking into account our advantages in N-type cells and strong market demand, we plan to invest in the second phase of N-type cells with a total production capacity of approximately 16 gigawatts. The increase in N-type cell production capacity will further optimize our production infrastructure and to reduce integration costs. As a result, we are increasing our full year guidance.\nAt this time, we are expecting the annual -- we are expecting the annual production capacity of mono wafer, solar cells, and modules to reach 55 gigawatts -- 55 gigawatts and 60 gigawatts, respectively, by the end of 2022.\n",
"Li Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited\n[Foreign Language]\nStella Wang -- Investor Relations\nBefore turning over to Gener, I would like to go over our guidance for the second quarter of 2022. We expect the total shipments to be in the range of 8.5 to 9.5 gigawatts for the second quarter of 2022.\nGener Miao -- Chief Marketing Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited\nThank you, Ms. Li. Module shipments in the fourth quarter were approximately eight gigawatt and less than 400 megawatt of wafers and cells are sold in China additionally. By the first quarter, our accumulated global module shipment has surpassed 100 gigawatts, and thus, becoming the first company in the industry to achieve this historic milestone.\nRegarding regional landscape, Europe, Asia Pacific, and emerging markets were the regions with the most of shipments. In terms of absolute numbers, our shipments to Europe increased by more than 30% quarter over quarter, and our shipments in China nearly tripled year over year. In Europe, the Russia Ukraine war boosted solar demand, and it is expected to grow steadily in the future. The high demand of distributed generation combined with successful for large-scale projects continue to demonstrate strong growth momentum in the Chinese market.\nAlthough deliveries for some domestic projects, has been delayed due to logistic restrictions caused by the resurgence of COVID-19 and the supply chain disruptions, we are still bullish on China's market demand and are moving"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected growth rate for TSMC's 28-nanometer manufacturing capacity in 2022 | customer demand, we are confident that our N3E family will be another large and long-last node for TSMC. Finally, let me talk about our mature node capacity strategy. TSMC's strategy at a mature node is to work closely with our customers to develop a specialty technology solutions to meet customers' requirement and create differentiated and long-lasting value to customers.
We expect the multiyear industry makeup trend of 5G and HPC and the higher silicon content in many end devices, to drive increasing demand and mature node for certain specialty technologies. We forecast 28-nanometer will be the sweet spot for our embedded memory applications and our long-term structural demand at 28-nanometer to be supported by multiple specialty technologies. In support of our specialty technology strategies, we are expanding our 28-nanometer manufacturing capacity and size in China, Japan, and Taiwan. Our capacity expansion is based on customers' need, business opportunities, operating efficiency, and cost economic considerations.
We believe the expansion of our mature node capacity will enable us to better serve our customers' needs and reach global talents, and our differentiated specialty technology will enable us to capture the demand generated from the industry mega trend and deliver long-term profitable growth for our shareholders. This concluding our key message. Thank you for your attention.
Jeff Su
Thank you, C.C. This concludes our prepared remarks. [Operator instructions] Should you wish to raise your question in Chinese, I will translate it to English before our management answers your question. [Operator instructions] Now we will proceed to the Q&A session.
Our chairman, Dr. Mark Liu, will be the host.
Mark Liu -- Chairman
Hello, everyone. This is Mark Liu. I want to send my regards to every one of you during this pandemic and wish we have a happy and a successful 2022. Thank you.
Jeff Su
Thank you, Chairman. Let's begin the Q&A session now. Operator, can we please proceed with the first caller on the line?
Questions & Answers:
Operator
The first to ask questions, Randy Abrams from Credit Suisse.
Randy Abrams -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst
OK. Yes. Thank you. Congratulations on the results and the outlook and margins.
First question on the growth outlook. When we compare the growth expectation mid- to high 20% versus if I roll up the fabless and IDM customers, they're about mid-teens growth. So your outgrowth looks much wider than most peers. Could you break it down a bit more, the factors between share gain, pricing moves? And also if there's any component of inventory build in there?
Jeff Su
OK. Randy, let me summarize your first question. I believe your question is referring to the 2022 growth outlook. And Randy --
Randy Abrams -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst
That's right.
Jeff Su
Right. And so Randy is saying, TSMC's guidance of mid- to high 20s percentage, his calculation show that the fabless industry is growing maybe around mid-teens. So we will outgrow the foundry -- sorry, the fabless. And so he is wondering what is driving this outgrowth.
Is it share gain? Pricing? Are there other factors, such as inventory build, into this? And if we can share.
C.C. Wei -- Chief Executive Officer
OK. Let me answer the question. This is C.C. Wei.
Actually, the growth in 2022 is all the above you just mentioned. It's a share gain, it's the pricing and also its a unit growth. Did I answer your question?
Randy Abrams -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst
Yes, mostly. And maybe just a quick -- two quick follow-ups to that. If you could break the growth by platform and if you could indicate just how much -- like how much do you think your customers want to put in place for inventory? Like how big a component do you think that factor is?
Jeff Su
OK. So Randy's follow-up is, can we give our 2022 growth by platform outlook? And then how much of a role is inventory build plan in this growth?
Wendell Huang -- Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Randy, this is Wendell. Let me answer the platform question. In 2022, we expect the HPC and automotive | [
" customer demand, we are confident that our N3E family will be another large and long-last node for TSMC. Finally, let me talk about our mature node capacity strategy. TSMC's strategy at a mature node is to work closely with our customers to develop a specialty technology solutions to meet customers' requirement and create differentiated and long-lasting value to customers.\nWe expect the multiyear industry makeup trend of 5G and HPC and the higher silicon content in many end devices, to drive increasing demand and mature node for certain specialty technologies. We forecast 28-nanometer will be the sweet spot for our embedded memory applications and our long-term structural demand at 28-nanometer to be supported by multiple specialty technologies. In support of our specialty technology strategies, we are expanding our 28-nanometer manufacturing capacity and size in China, Japan, and Taiwan. Our capacity expansion is based on customers' need, business opportunities, operating efficiency, and cost economic considerations.\nWe believe the expansion of our mature node capacity will enable us to better serve our customers' needs and reach global talents, and our differentiated specialty technology will enable us to capture the demand generated from the industry mega trend and deliver long-term profitable growth for our shareholders. This concluding our key message. Thank you for your attention.\nJeff Su\nThank you, C.C. This concludes our prepared remarks. [Operator instructions] Should you wish to raise your question in Chinese, I will translate it to English before our management answers your question. [Operator instructions] Now we will proceed to the Q&A session.\nOur chairman, Dr. Mark Liu, will be the host.\nMark Liu -- Chairman\nHello, everyone. This is Mark Liu. I want to send my regards to every one of you during this pandemic and wish we have a happy and a successful 2022. Thank you.\nJeff Su\nThank you, Chairman. Let's begin the Q&A session now. Operator, can we please proceed with the first caller on the line?\nQuestions & Answers:\nOperator\nThe first to ask questions, Randy Abrams from Credit Suisse.\nRandy Abrams -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst\nOK. Yes. Thank you. Congratulations on the results and the outlook and margins.\n",
"First question on the growth outlook. When we compare the growth expectation mid- to high 20% versus if I roll up the fabless and IDM customers, they're about mid-teens growth. So your outgrowth looks much wider than most peers. Could you break it down a bit more, the factors between share gain, pricing moves? And also if there's any component of inventory build in there?\nJeff Su\nOK. Randy, let me summarize your first question. I believe your question is referring to the 2022 growth outlook. And Randy --\nRandy Abrams -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst\nThat's right.\nJeff Su\nRight. And so Randy is saying, TSMC's guidance of mid- to high 20s percentage, his calculation show that the fabless industry is growing maybe around mid-teens. So we will outgrow the foundry -- sorry, the fabless. And so he is wondering what is driving this outgrowth.\nIs it share gain? Pricing? Are there other factors, such as inventory build, into this? And if we can share.\nC.C. Wei -- Chief Executive Officer\nOK. Let me answer the question. This is C.C. Wei.\nActually, the growth in 2022 is all the above you just mentioned. It's a share gain, it's the pricing and also its a unit growth. Did I answer your question?\nRandy Abrams -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst\nYes, mostly. And maybe just a quick -- two quick follow-ups to that. If you could break the growth by platform and if you could indicate just how much -- like how much do you think your customers want to put in place for inventory? Like how big a component do you think that factor is?\nJeff Su\nOK. So Randy's follow-up is, can we give our 2022 growth by platform outlook? And then how much of a role is inventory build plan in this growth?\nWendell Huang -- Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nRandy, this is Wendell. Let me answer the platform question. In 2022, we expect the HPC and automotive "
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected growth rate for Colony Capital's digital line business by the end of 2020 | networks are operated, and most importantly, what our customers are asking networks to do. Next page. At Colony, our perspective is that networks of tomorrow are converged networks. And this is really our vision for 5G. We believe our value-add and differentiation is delivering for customers, next generation mobile and internet connectivity solutions.
As we think about historically, how the sector has ultimately presented itself and most importantly, you as an institutional investor have invested is in traditional silos, and by the way, very successful companies. Traditional macro sites with American Tower and Crown, Data Centers with Digital Realty and Equinix, Small Cells with Crown Castle, Fiber Optic Cabling with CenturyLink, and previously, Zayo is a publicly traded company. But the key there is each of those businesses were in their silos, building out 3G and 4G coverage, and densification. We believe that networks are changing. And we believe that you can no longer be specifically siloed in just one of those verticals. We believe our customers today require significant amount of Capex spend across all of these verticals, to deliver the customer experience that most of all you the consumer want. We're building our business around these next generation networks. It's a differentiated vision. It's not the vision of the past, but based on our 25 years of experience, working with customers, building infrastructure, and being at the forefront of mobile and network connectivity.
We believe Colony Capital is the right place to be for digital infrastructure investors. Next Page please. Look, that's my quick tour of the digital landscape today. And we'll be having this dialogue in the coming quarters as I continue to share my views around network topology, our customers, and where digital infrastructure is going. Next, I want to talk a little bit about Colony today. And most importantly, talk about the tangible results that you're seeing in our business transformation. As you get to know me, you'll realize execution and delivery are two of my favorite words. We are focused on delivering for our customers, and most importantly for your shareholders. It's been a busy quarter and I want to walk you through some of our accomplishments. Next page, please on page 12. Simply put, as I've talked to some of our investors over the last couple of quarters, promises made promises kept. Let me walk you through some of our accomplishments.
First and foremost, as I told most of you, when I first came to the company last December in the fourth quarter, my highest priority was going to be putting our liquidity to bed. And we did that. We amended our revolver, we priced a brand new convert offering, and we've dealt with our corporate liabilities. Second, I told you that we would deploy capital into high quality digital infrastructure. And we've done that. We've closed seven transactions in the first half of this year, deploying $20 billion of capital, and recently announced a deal with Wafra that gives us more firepower to continue to bring digital assets onto our balance sheet. Third, we talked about our sharp focus on cost cuts in the fourth quarter last year. We remain committed to that. We delivered $35 million in cost cuts last year. We signed up for another $40 million this year. And we've achieved $38 million in cost cuts through the first half of this year. To be clear, we will beat our targets for 2020.
Fourth, building a best-in-class management team is mission number one. We've continued to add to the growth segments of our businesses, most notably on the digital credit side, and we're very excited about the opportunities that exists in that space, and other tangential digital investment spaces. Finally, number five, super important. We're continuing to grow our digital line business rapidly. We committed a 15% annual growth and we're already at 22% year to-date. And we're not stopping there. My expectation is will be over 30% growth by the end of the year. This is a target that I want and expect and continue to be. Next page ple | [
" networks are operated, and most importantly, what our customers are asking networks to do. Next page. At Colony, our perspective is that networks of tomorrow are converged networks. And this is really our vision for 5G. We believe our value-add and differentiation is delivering for customers, next generation mobile and internet connectivity solutions.\nAs we think about historically, how the sector has ultimately presented itself and most importantly, you as an institutional investor have invested is in traditional silos, and by the way, very successful companies. Traditional macro sites with American Tower and Crown, Data Centers with Digital Realty and Equinix, Small Cells with Crown Castle, Fiber Optic Cabling with CenturyLink, and previously, Zayo is a publicly traded company. But the key there is each of those businesses were in their silos, building out 3G and 4G coverage, and densification. We believe that networks are changing. And we believe that you can no longer be specifically siloed in just one of those verticals. We believe our customers today require significant amount of Capex spend across all of these verticals, to deliver the customer experience that most of all you the consumer want. We're building our business around these next generation networks. It's a differentiated vision. It's not the vision of the past, but based on our 25 years of experience, working with customers, building infrastructure, and being at the forefront of mobile and network connectivity.\nWe believe Colony Capital is the right place to be for digital infrastructure investors. Next Page please. Look, that's my quick tour of the digital landscape today. And we'll be having this dialogue in the coming quarters as I continue to share my views around network topology, our customers, and where digital infrastructure is going. Next, I want to talk a little bit about Colony today. And most importantly, talk about the tangible results that you're seeing in our business transformation. As you get to know me, you'll realize execution and delivery are two of my favorite words. We are focused on delivering for our customers, and most importantly for your shareholders. It's been a busy quarter and I want to walk you through some of our accomplishments. Next page, please on page 12. Simply put, as I've talked to some of our investors over the last couple of quarters, promises made promises kept. Let me walk you through some of our accomplishments.\n",
"First and foremost, as I told most of you, when I first came to the company last December in the fourth quarter, my highest priority was going to be putting our liquidity to bed. And we did that. We amended our revolver, we priced a brand new convert offering, and we've dealt with our corporate liabilities. Second, I told you that we would deploy capital into high quality digital infrastructure. And we've done that. We've closed seven transactions in the first half of this year, deploying $20 billion of capital, and recently announced a deal with Wafra that gives us more firepower to continue to bring digital assets onto our balance sheet. Third, we talked about our sharp focus on cost cuts in the fourth quarter last year. We remain committed to that. We delivered $35 million in cost cuts last year. We signed up for another $40 million this year. And we've achieved $38 million in cost cuts through the first half of this year. To be clear, we will beat our targets for 2020.\nFourth, building a best-in-class management team is mission number one. We've continued to add to the growth segments of our businesses, most notably on the digital credit side, and we're very excited about the opportunities that exists in that space, and other tangential digital investment spaces. Finally, number five, super important. We're continuing to grow our digital line business rapidly. We committed a 15% annual growth and we're already at 22% year to-date. And we're not stopping there. My expectation is will be over 30% growth by the end of the year. This is a target that I want and expect and continue to be. Next page ple"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected revenue for Q1 2022 | ximately 350,000 shares valued at $20.53 per share. Turning to financial guidance for Q1 and full-year 2022. 2022 will be a significant growth year for Veritone. To support this growth and achieve our near and long-term objectives, we expect to continue making responsible investments.
These include forecasted increases in headcount by over 50%, which today includes just over 500 full-time employees. Our growth is largely dependent on these hires, the majority of which will be engineers, operational support, and sales. In addition, we have an active pipeline of strategic acquisitions to accelerate our planned organic growth and scale. In order to manage future growth and scale, we also need to invest in our infrastructure, including planned deployments of global systems, such as Oracle and Workday, in the first half of 2022.
Lastly, as Chad mentioned at the outset, where the world sees the great resignation, we see the great opportunity. We no longer have border restrictions on hiring. However, we also need to retain our current employees. And with higher inflation and wage increases globally, we will need to reinvest back into our current employees with newer retention rewards, higher annual raises, and richer benefits versus historical.
In total, we expect these one-time system and retention-related investments to be approximately $5 million of incremental costs to Veritone in 2022 versus 2021. With that backdrop and a reminder that PandoLogic has significant revenue seasonality with the lowest hiring in Q1 and accelerating quarterly throughout the year, we expect Q1 2022 revenue to be between $32.5 million and $33.5 million, representing an 80% increase year over year at the midpoint versus Q1 2021 GAAP and an increase of 39% versus Q1 2021 pro forma. Software products and services revenue is projected to increase over 80% as compared to Q1 2021 pro forma revenue, reflecting customer growth while maintaining consistent AAR and gross and net retention rates. Managed services revenue is expected to grow in the mid to high single digits.
We expect Q1 2022 non-GAAP net loss to be between $3.5 million and $4.5 million, which is relatively flat versus Q1 2021 on both a GAAP and pro forma basis. As a reminder, the majority of our operating costs are fixed and payroll-driven when comparing Q1 2022 to Q4 2021, the seasonal decline in revenue results, and a decrease of over $20 million in gross profit. Even with this, we are still forecasting our core operations to be profitable in Q1 2022 and our corporate overhead non-GAAP net loss to be relatively consistent with Q4 2021. For full-year 2022, we expect revenue to be between $180 million and $190 million, representing a year over year increase of over 60% at the midpoint on a GAAP basis and near 30% increase on a pro forma basis for 2022.
We expect our combined software products and services revenue growth to be over 100% year over year on a GAAP basis. We expect full year non-GAAP net income to be between $10 million and $20 million. At the midpoint, this represents an over 100% improvement when compared to 2021 non-GAAP net income. If you exclude the previously discussed one-time expenses associated with retention and system upgrades, non-GAAP net income would be projected to be slightly up when compared to 2021 pro forma.
It should be noted that in 2022, we expect our fully diluted share count to be between 45.2 million and 47.2 million shares, largely due to the as if converted accounting associated with our convertible debt offering and, to a lesser extent, the outstanding options, warrants, and RSUs held primarily by our employees. Before I close, we will be speaking at the following investor conferences this month: the JMP Securities Technology Conference, March 7 and 8; and the 34th Annual ROTH Conference, March 13 through the 15th. Operator, now we would like to open up the call for questions.
Questions & Answers:
Operator
Certainly. [Operator instructions] The first question comes from the line of Darren Aftahi with ROTH Capital Partners. Please go ahead.
Darren Aftah | [
"ximately 350,000 shares valued at $20.53 per share. Turning to financial guidance for Q1 and full-year 2022. 2022 will be a significant growth year for Veritone. To support this growth and achieve our near and long-term objectives, we expect to continue making responsible investments.\nThese include forecasted increases in headcount by over 50%, which today includes just over 500 full-time employees. Our growth is largely dependent on these hires, the majority of which will be engineers, operational support, and sales. In addition, we have an active pipeline of strategic acquisitions to accelerate our planned organic growth and scale. In order to manage future growth and scale, we also need to invest in our infrastructure, including planned deployments of global systems, such as Oracle and Workday, in the first half of 2022.\nLastly, as Chad mentioned at the outset, where the world sees the great resignation, we see the great opportunity. We no longer have border restrictions on hiring. However, we also need to retain our current employees. And with higher inflation and wage increases globally, we will need to reinvest back into our current employees with newer retention rewards, higher annual raises, and richer benefits versus historical.\nIn total, we expect these one-time system and retention-related investments to be approximately $5 million of incremental costs to Veritone in 2022 versus 2021. With that backdrop and a reminder that PandoLogic has significant revenue seasonality with the lowest hiring in Q1 and accelerating quarterly throughout the year, we expect Q1 2022 revenue to be between $32.5 million and $33.5 million, representing an 80% increase year over year at the midpoint versus Q1 2021 GAAP and an increase of 39% versus Q1 2021 pro forma. Software products and services revenue is projected to increase over 80% as compared to Q1 2021 pro forma revenue, reflecting customer growth while maintaining consistent AAR and gross and net retention rates. Managed services revenue is expected to grow in the mid to high single digits.\n",
"We expect Q1 2022 non-GAAP net loss to be between $3.5 million and $4.5 million, which is relatively flat versus Q1 2021 on both a GAAP and pro forma basis. As a reminder, the majority of our operating costs are fixed and payroll-driven when comparing Q1 2022 to Q4 2021, the seasonal decline in revenue results, and a decrease of over $20 million in gross profit. Even with this, we are still forecasting our core operations to be profitable in Q1 2022 and our corporate overhead non-GAAP net loss to be relatively consistent with Q4 2021. For full-year 2022, we expect revenue to be between $180 million and $190 million, representing a year over year increase of over 60% at the midpoint on a GAAP basis and near 30% increase on a pro forma basis for 2022.\nWe expect our combined software products and services revenue growth to be over 100% year over year on a GAAP basis. We expect full year non-GAAP net income to be between $10 million and $20 million. At the midpoint, this represents an over 100% improvement when compared to 2021 non-GAAP net income. If you exclude the previously discussed one-time expenses associated with retention and system upgrades, non-GAAP net income would be projected to be slightly up when compared to 2021 pro forma.\nIt should be noted that in 2022, we expect our fully diluted share count to be between 45.2 million and 47.2 million shares, largely due to the as if converted accounting associated with our convertible debt offering and, to a lesser extent, the outstanding options, warrants, and RSUs held primarily by our employees. Before I close, we will be speaking at the following investor conferences this month: the JMP Securities Technology Conference, March 7 and 8; and the 34th Annual ROTH Conference, March 13 through the 15th. Operator, now we would like to open up the call for questions.\nQuestions & Answers:\nOperator\nCertainly. [Operator instructions] The first question comes from the line of Darren Aftahi with ROTH Capital Partners. Please go ahead.\nDarren Aftah"
] | 2 | [
1,
1
] | 1 |
What is the estimated revenue contribution from the paid subscribers to the Apple TV+ service in the Services revenue for the 2020-Q1 quarter | u view 5G capability in a handset? And what's your view as to what the killer app will be from a consumer perspective?
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
We don't comment on future products. And so, I'll try to sidestep a bit. With respect to 5G, I think it's -- we're in the early innings of its deployment on a global basis. We obviously couldn't be prouder of our lineup and is -- and are very excited about our pipeline as well and wouldn't trade our position for anybody.
Tejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations
Thanks, Katy. Can we have the next question please?
Operator
We'll hear from Kyle McNealy with Jefferies.
Kyle McNealy -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Hi, thanks a lot. So we're seeing some signs of new spectrum being deployed for 5G deployments and even additional 4G capacity, and it's already having a positive impact for handset upgrades to use that new capacity. Do you get the sense that wireless carriers are getting more incentivized to upgrade handsets to get leverage out of these new network investments? How much might this be helping and do you think it will continue to accelerate?
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
I think that we've had some great partners, not only in the US, but also around the world that was really helpful this quarter as partners. And so, I think probably a part of that is the level of investments they have and then a part of it is probably making sure that those customers stick with them in an environment where there's a lot of trading back and forth. So I'm optimistic that it will continue.
Kyle McNealy -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Okay, great. And then the comment that you made about capacity in your Wearables division with AirPods Pro and Apple Watch 3, what should we think about the timeline of when there is capacity constraints might be alleviated and will they come from capacity additions or the natural work out of kind of unit shipments and something on the demand side?
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
I'm hopeful that the Series 3 will come into balance during this quarter on AirPods Pro. I don't have an estimate for that for you. I just can't predict when at this point. We seem to be fairly substantially off there, and we're working very hard to put in additional capacity.
Tejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations
Thanks, Kyle. Can we have the next question please?
Operator
Yes, Wamsi Mohan, Bank of America.
Wamsi Mohan -- Bank of America -- Analyst
Yes. Thank you. Tim, Apple has a very valuable installed base of users. Can you see a future where Apple can become larger in the advertising market as you build out TV+ given you could have the unique position and ability to drive targeted ads to users without compromising on privacy?
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
I think it's -- I think it is possible to have advertising in a straightforward manner that doesn't encroach on people's privacy. I wouldn't want to conjecture about us in that business. I think for the TV+ business, we feel strongly that what that customer wants is an ad free product. And so, that's not our aversion to ads. It's what we believe that the customer wants.
Wamsi Mohan -- Bank of America -- Analyst
Okay, thank you. And Luca, can you just clarify if the Services revenue this quarter had any impact of deferrals associated with TV+ at all and how can you help us maybe size the impact of the amortization of the content cost associated with TV+ as we think about the next couple of years? Thank you.
Luca Maestri -- Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Yeah. So yes, of course, we launched the service. And so, there was a very small contribution to revenue from the deferral, and there was also contribution to revenue from the people, the subscribers that are actually paying for the service. When you think about what goes into the Apple TV+ revenue at this point, there are two components, the paid subscribers. These are customers that pay for the service. And we recognize revenue over the subscription period. And then, we've got the, what we call, | [
"u view 5G capability in a handset? And what's your view as to what the killer app will be from a consumer perspective?\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nWe don't comment on future products. And so, I'll try to sidestep a bit. With respect to 5G, I think it's -- we're in the early innings of its deployment on a global basis. We obviously couldn't be prouder of our lineup and is -- and are very excited about our pipeline as well and wouldn't trade our position for anybody.\nTejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations\nThanks, Katy. Can we have the next question please?\nOperator\nWe'll hear from Kyle McNealy with Jefferies.\nKyle McNealy -- Jefferies -- Analyst\nHi, thanks a lot. So we're seeing some signs of new spectrum being deployed for 5G deployments and even additional 4G capacity, and it's already having a positive impact for handset upgrades to use that new capacity. Do you get the sense that wireless carriers are getting more incentivized to upgrade handsets to get leverage out of these new network investments? How much might this be helping and do you think it will continue to accelerate?\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nI think that we've had some great partners, not only in the US, but also around the world that was really helpful this quarter as partners. And so, I think probably a part of that is the level of investments they have and then a part of it is probably making sure that those customers stick with them in an environment where there's a lot of trading back and forth. So I'm optimistic that it will continue.\nKyle McNealy -- Jefferies -- Analyst\nOkay, great. And then the comment that you made about capacity in your Wearables division with AirPods Pro and Apple Watch 3, what should we think about the timeline of when there is capacity constraints might be alleviated and will they come from capacity additions or the natural work out of kind of unit shipments and something on the demand side?\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nI'm hopeful that the Series 3 will come into balance during this quarter on AirPods Pro. I don't have an estimate for that for you. I just can't predict when at this point. We seem to be fairly substantially off there, and we're working very hard to put in additional capacity.\nTejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations\n",
"Thanks, Kyle. Can we have the next question please?\nOperator\nYes, Wamsi Mohan, Bank of America.\nWamsi Mohan -- Bank of America -- Analyst\nYes. Thank you. Tim, Apple has a very valuable installed base of users. Can you see a future where Apple can become larger in the advertising market as you build out TV+ given you could have the unique position and ability to drive targeted ads to users without compromising on privacy?\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nI think it's -- I think it is possible to have advertising in a straightforward manner that doesn't encroach on people's privacy. I wouldn't want to conjecture about us in that business. I think for the TV+ business, we feel strongly that what that customer wants is an ad free product. And so, that's not our aversion to ads. It's what we believe that the customer wants.\nWamsi Mohan -- Bank of America -- Analyst\nOkay, thank you. And Luca, can you just clarify if the Services revenue this quarter had any impact of deferrals associated with TV+ at all and how can you help us maybe size the impact of the amortization of the content cost associated with TV+ as we think about the next couple of years? Thank you.\nLuca Maestri -- Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer\nYeah. So yes, of course, we launched the service. And so, there was a very small contribution to revenue from the deferral, and there was also contribution to revenue from the people, the subscribers that are actually paying for the service. When you think about what goes into the Apple TV+ revenue at this point, there are two components, the paid subscribers. These are customers that pay for the service. And we recognize revenue over the subscription period. And then, we've got the, what we call,"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 for the company FORM in terms of foundry and logic business | And then I've got a follow-up question for Shai.
Mike Slessor -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Quinn, it's Michael. I'll handle that one. The foundry and logic strength is quite broad-based as it was in the third quarter as well. If you take a look at our 10% customer list, you can see some nice strength across multiple leaders in the foundry and logic space there. We're seeing the same thing continue here in the fourth quarter, so it is reasonably diversified, nicely broad-based. A lot of the drivers we talked about before, certainly, 5G -- major 5G handset launches are behind that. Infrastructure data spending -- data center spending, some really nice robust trends continuing here through the back part of the year. On the China situation, we tried to give you a little more detail in the prepared remarks.
The domestic China business for us has been sort of a mid-single-digit percent of revenue for the past several quarters. Majority of our China business is serving the multinationals in the region. And as a consequence, you can imagine the major domestic foundry is not a really big business for us. Having said that, for sure, as a U.S. company, there have been some headwinds associated with serving them and other domestic China customers. And I think, like everybody else, we're working our way through investigating the different ways we can mitigate that, whether they be through licenses or other compliance activities.
Quinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst
Great. And then the other question for Shai, just you talked about a less favorable mix in the quarter. I guess I just look at foundry and logic strength with lower NAND and about flat DRAM, I would think that, that mix would generally be positive for you. So can you sort of walk us through within foundry and logic and perhaps the memory business. What in-segment mix shift maybe going on that would sort of offset what I would have thought to be a tailwind with the mix shifting toward foundry and logic?
Shai Shahar -- Chief Financial Officer
Sure, Quinn. That's a good observation. We did say in the past that if you look at the different markets we serve, historically or maybe on average, Systems has the highest gross margin followed by foundry and logic, then DRAM and then Flash. But a few things. First of all, there is some overlap there. There are cases that you can have the DRAM card with a higher gross margin than a foundry and logic card. And also the mix within these markets -- the product mix within these markets even within the same customer can change. So it's true that if you look at the trend for Q4, foundry and logic is expected to be higher, and Flash is expected to be down. But the mix within these markets also has an impact and that's why at the midpoint of the outlook range, we expect to have gross margin lower than Q3 even though revenue is a little higher.
Quinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst
Got it. And then, Shai, I may have missed it, but did you give a quarter-to-quarter sort of guidance for what the Systems business would do in the fourth quarter?
Shai Shahar -- Chief Financial Officer
We did not when we spoke about the 3, maybe the market.
Quinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst
Okay. Great. Thank you all. I'll be back in the queue.
Operator
[Operator Instructions] Our next question will come from the line of Carlin Lynch from B. Riley. Your line is now open.
Carlin Lynch -- B. Riley -- Analyst
Hey guys, this is Carlin on for Craig. Two quick questions. One, starting with you, Mike, you had talked, I think, previously about the Livermore plant asset purchase. If you could just give us an update on how that ramp is coming and what we can expect in terms of timing and production facility conversion, that would be great. And then I have a follow-up.
Mike Slessor -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Yes. I think we're still in the fairly early stages of that. To remind everyone, we bought close to 100,000 square foot building, which is going to be utilized entirely for manufacturing capacity adjacent to our existing footprint in Livermore, Califor | [
"And then I've got a follow-up question for Shai.\nMike Slessor -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nQuinn, it's Michael. I'll handle that one. The foundry and logic strength is quite broad-based as it was in the third quarter as well. If you take a look at our 10% customer list, you can see some nice strength across multiple leaders in the foundry and logic space there. We're seeing the same thing continue here in the fourth quarter, so it is reasonably diversified, nicely broad-based. A lot of the drivers we talked about before, certainly, 5G -- major 5G handset launches are behind that. Infrastructure data spending -- data center spending, some really nice robust trends continuing here through the back part of the year. On the China situation, we tried to give you a little more detail in the prepared remarks.\nThe domestic China business for us has been sort of a mid-single-digit percent of revenue for the past several quarters. Majority of our China business is serving the multinationals in the region. And as a consequence, you can imagine the major domestic foundry is not a really big business for us. Having said that, for sure, as a U.S. company, there have been some headwinds associated with serving them and other domestic China customers. And I think, like everybody else, we're working our way through investigating the different ways we can mitigate that, whether they be through licenses or other compliance activities.\nQuinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst\nGreat. And then the other question for Shai, just you talked about a less favorable mix in the quarter. I guess I just look at foundry and logic strength with lower NAND and about flat DRAM, I would think that, that mix would generally be positive for you. So can you sort of walk us through within foundry and logic and perhaps the memory business. What in-segment mix shift maybe going on that would sort of offset what I would have thought to be a tailwind with the mix shifting toward foundry and logic?\nShai Shahar -- Chief Financial Officer\n",
"Sure, Quinn. That's a good observation. We did say in the past that if you look at the different markets we serve, historically or maybe on average, Systems has the highest gross margin followed by foundry and logic, then DRAM and then Flash. But a few things. First of all, there is some overlap there. There are cases that you can have the DRAM card with a higher gross margin than a foundry and logic card. And also the mix within these markets -- the product mix within these markets even within the same customer can change. So it's true that if you look at the trend for Q4, foundry and logic is expected to be higher, and Flash is expected to be down. But the mix within these markets also has an impact and that's why at the midpoint of the outlook range, we expect to have gross margin lower than Q3 even though revenue is a little higher.\nQuinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst\nGot it. And then, Shai, I may have missed it, but did you give a quarter-to-quarter sort of guidance for what the Systems business would do in the fourth quarter?\nShai Shahar -- Chief Financial Officer\nWe did not when we spoke about the 3, maybe the market.\nQuinn Bolton -- Needham -- Analyst\nOkay. Great. Thank you all. I'll be back in the queue.\nOperator\n[Operator Instructions] Our next question will come from the line of Carlin Lynch from B. Riley. Your line is now open.\nCarlin Lynch -- B. Riley -- Analyst\nHey guys, this is Carlin on for Craig. Two quick questions. One, starting with you, Mike, you had talked, I think, previously about the Livermore plant asset purchase. If you could just give us an update on how that ramp is coming and what we can expect in terms of timing and production facility conversion, that would be great. And then I have a follow-up.\nMike Slessor -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nYes. I think we're still in the fairly early stages of that. To remind everyone, we bought close to 100,000 square foot building, which is going to be utilized entirely for manufacturing capacity adjacent to our existing footprint in Livermore, Califor"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the expected growth rate of overall operating expenses for Zoetis in the next year | re of a medium-term growth driver. But I think there is a number of spaces where you're going to see innovation at the livestock spot. So across vectors, immunotherapies and precision livestock farming.
I'll let Glenn take the second question on long-term margin expansion.
Glenn David -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Yeah, so in terms of the long-term margin expansion, I think there are a couple of factors to consider. So for 2021, we mentioned that the gross margin is relatively flat and talked about some of the drivers of that with some of the investments we're making in reference labs. Also the impact of the DRAXXIN LOE this year on gross margin. So as we move into 2022 and beyond, some of those impacts will be a little less and we would expect to see continued expansion in gross margin.
In terms of the overall operating expenses, beyond 2021, obviously there will be one year where T&E normalizes when things get back to normal from COVID. But beyond that impact, we would expect that we would continue to be able to grow our expenses at a pace below that of revenue.
So we'll probably continue to grow R&D in line with revenue, that may vary any given year based on the opportunities, but SG&A based on the infrastructure that we have globally established, we should be able to grow that somewhere between inflation and revenue. So we would expect to continue to see expansion there on an overall operating margin perspective.
Operator
Our next question will come from David Risinger with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
David Risinger -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst
Yes, thanks very much and let me add my congrats on another phenomenal year as well. So I have two questions. First, with respect to the monoclonal antibody approval delays, so it's for both cats and dogs, but it wasn't quite clear to me whether the FDA wants more clinical data or whether there are manufacturing issues because of manufacturing questions because I think Kristin you had mentioned manufacturing. So if you could just clarify on both of them what the FDA issues are whether they are clinical or manufacturing?
And then second, Zoetis' R&D has obviously been amazingly differentiated from competitors. Competitors struggle to bring blockbuster companion animal products to market, even including follow-ons to Zoetis' top growth drivers over several years. And so considering that, can you just help us understand the unique aspects of Zoetis' R&D and its ability to maintain separation from the competition? Thank you.
Kristin Peck -- Chief Executive Officer
Sure. Thanks, Dave. With regards to the monoclonal antibodies, Librela and Solensia, it really is just working through the regulatory process and the questions that they are asking and they're requiring inspection of sites. So at this point we have not been asked for any clinical data, but we're still in the regulatory process is what I would say. It is the first time doing this with the FDA, so it's just honestly a new process for both and understandably it's the first time they're looking at some of these types of products, so they have a number of questions.
So it really is just going through the regulatory review process and trying to manage new manufacturing inspections, which I do know that probably COVID is definitely affecting that a little bit, but we're just working through that. So at this point we have not been asked for any additional clinical data and we don't think there's any manufacturing issues at this point, we're just still working through the review process and what their expectations are.
With regard to Zoetis R&D, what I would say is I think it's a partnership between R&D, manufacturing and our commercial organization. It's taking those insight the commercial has of customer needs and partnering early on with R&D to develop products. I think the other thing we've done really well is partner with manufacturing to be able to scale those products, and be able to bring them to market.
We manufacture our own monoclonal antibodies as you know, we've got very strong manufact | [
"re of a medium-term growth driver. But I think there is a number of spaces where you're going to see innovation at the livestock spot. So across vectors, immunotherapies and precision livestock farming.\nI'll let Glenn take the second question on long-term margin expansion.\nGlenn David -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nYeah, so in terms of the long-term margin expansion, I think there are a couple of factors to consider. So for 2021, we mentioned that the gross margin is relatively flat and talked about some of the drivers of that with some of the investments we're making in reference labs. Also the impact of the DRAXXIN LOE this year on gross margin. So as we move into 2022 and beyond, some of those impacts will be a little less and we would expect to see continued expansion in gross margin.\nIn terms of the overall operating expenses, beyond 2021, obviously there will be one year where T&E normalizes when things get back to normal from COVID. But beyond that impact, we would expect that we would continue to be able to grow our expenses at a pace below that of revenue.\nSo we'll probably continue to grow R&D in line with revenue, that may vary any given year based on the opportunities, but SG&A based on the infrastructure that we have globally established, we should be able to grow that somewhere between inflation and revenue. So we would expect to continue to see expansion there on an overall operating margin perspective.\nOperator\nOur next question will come from David Risinger with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.\nDavid Risinger -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst\nYes, thanks very much and let me add my congrats on another phenomenal year as well. So I have two questions. First, with respect to the monoclonal antibody approval delays, so it's for both cats and dogs, but it wasn't quite clear to me whether the FDA wants more clinical data or whether there are manufacturing issues because of manufacturing questions because I think Kristin you had mentioned manufacturing. So if you could just clarify on both of them what the FDA issues are whether they are clinical or manufacturing?\n",
"And then second, Zoetis' R&D has obviously been amazingly differentiated from competitors. Competitors struggle to bring blockbuster companion animal products to market, even including follow-ons to Zoetis' top growth drivers over several years. And so considering that, can you just help us understand the unique aspects of Zoetis' R&D and its ability to maintain separation from the competition? Thank you.\nKristin Peck -- Chief Executive Officer\nSure. Thanks, Dave. With regards to the monoclonal antibodies, Librela and Solensia, it really is just working through the regulatory process and the questions that they are asking and they're requiring inspection of sites. So at this point we have not been asked for any clinical data, but we're still in the regulatory process is what I would say. It is the first time doing this with the FDA, so it's just honestly a new process for both and understandably it's the first time they're looking at some of these types of products, so they have a number of questions.\nSo it really is just going through the regulatory review process and trying to manage new manufacturing inspections, which I do know that probably COVID is definitely affecting that a little bit, but we're just working through that. So at this point we have not been asked for any additional clinical data and we don't think there's any manufacturing issues at this point, we're just still working through the review process and what their expectations are.\nWith regard to Zoetis R&D, what I would say is I think it's a partnership between R&D, manufacturing and our commercial organization. It's taking those insight the commercial has of customer needs and partnering early on with R&D to develop products. I think the other thing we've done really well is partner with manufacturing to be able to scale those products, and be able to bring them to market.\nWe manufacture our own monoclonal antibodies as you know, we've got very strong manufact"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the nickname of the rocket powered vehicle? | Joe Wilkins knew there was only one way to give his supercharged, alcohol-injected Hemi-engined hot rod more power: Put a jet engine in the trunk. "It started as a hobby and turned into a monster," said Joe Wilkins, the motor madman behind what might be the wildest 1939 Ford ever built. He's an inventor and defense department contractor, and the idea of goosing the Ford's ability to turn heads and shred tires came when he bought a used gas turbine engine. "I got hooked on the simplicity and power that this thing produced, and I decided one day I want to put it in a car." Luckily for us, he did. The Hemi Jet -- Wilkins has copyrighted the name -- fires up this weekend at the Houston AutoRama, and Wilkins plans to attempt a land speed record in the near future. In the meantime, he's tooling around Navasota, Texas, in what he says is the ultimate sleeper when the jet engine's tucked away in the trunk. Most people say "Nice car" and assume he's got the obligatory small-block Chevrolet engine under the hood. Little do they know. "I can drive it up to the store and get a gallon of milk if I want to," he told Autopia. The car is an amalgamation of the Big Three, with a Chrysler engine, Chevrolet drivetrain and Ford body. Wilkins says the jet engine was probably used as an APU and weighs 110 pounds. He claims the car is street legal so long as the jet stays stowed. He fires it up from time to time to show off, and he plans to run it flat-out at the Bonneville Salt Flats. "We want to be the fastest street legal car in the world," he said. He's got some intense competition. The Bugatti Veyron tops out at 253 mph and the Shelby Supercars Ultimate Aero TT does 255. And then there's Red Vector One, that crazy Vauxhall that does zero to 60 in under a second. Record, schmecord -- we just want to see the video. "I'm more than certain the car will go over 300," Wilkins said. "We've still got a ways to go [before Bonneville], but not a long way. We'll have to experiment in some wind tunnels and end up with a spoiler on the back to keep the front end on the ground." Sadly, Wilkins won't be behind the wheel during the car's test run. "I turned 61 last Sunday. I just don't think I'm going to be able to handle it [without] the reflexes I had 20 or 30 years ago," he said. "I know several people who would be more than interested." So do we, and we even suggested Wilkins give the job to fellow jet-junkie Bob Maddox. After jumping from a plane with a pulse jet strapped to his chest, we suspect Maddox would welcome the opportunity to stay on the ground. Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here! | [
"Joe Wilkins knew there was only one way to give his supercharged, alcohol-injected Hemi-engined hot rod more power: Put a jet engine in the trunk. \"It started as a hobby and turned into a monster,\" said Joe Wilkins, the motor madman behind what might be the wildest 1939 Ford ever built. He's an inventor and defense department contractor, and the idea of goosing the Ford's ability to turn heads and shred tires came when he bought a used gas turbine engine. \"I got hooked on the simplicity and power that this thing produced, and I decided one day I want to put it in a car.\" Luckily for us, he did. The Hemi Jet -- Wilkins has copyrighted the name -- fires up this weekend at the Houston AutoRama, and Wilkins plans to attempt a land speed record in the near future. In the meantime, he's tooling around Navasota, Texas, in what he says is the ultimate sleeper when the jet engine's tucked away in the trunk. Most people say \"Nice car\" and assume he's got the obligatory small-block Chevrolet engine under the hood. Little do they know. \"I can drive it up to the store and get a gallon of milk if I want to,\" he told Autopia. The car is an amalgamation of the Big Three, with a Chrysler engine, Chevrolet drivetrain and Ford body. Wilkins says the jet engine was probably used as an APU and weighs 110 pounds. He claims the car is street legal so long as the jet stays stowed. He fires it up from time to time to show off, and he plans to run it flat-out at the Bonneville Salt Flats. \"We want to be the fastest street legal car in the world,\" he said. He's got some intense competition. The Bugatti Veyron tops out at 253 mph and the Shelby Supercars Ultimate Aero TT does 255. And then there's Red Vector One, that crazy Vauxhall that does zero to 60 in under a second. Record, schmecord -- we just want to see the video. \"I'm more than certain the car will go over 300,\" Wilkins said. \"We've still got a ways to go [before Bonneville], but not a long way. We'll have to experiment in some wind tunnels and end up with a spoiler on the back to keep the front end on the ground.\" ",
"Sadly, Wilkins won't be behind the wheel during the car's test run. \"I turned 61 last Sunday. I just don't think I'm going to be able to handle it [without] the reflexes I had 20 or 30 years ago,\" he said. \"I know several people who would be more than interested.\" So do we, and we even suggested Wilkins give the job to fellow jet-junkie Bob Maddox. After jumping from a plane with a pulse jet strapped to his chest, we suspect Maddox would welcome the opportunity to stay on the ground. Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here!"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected annual production capacity of mono wafer, solar cells, and modules by the end of 2022? | . We continue to lead the industry in both areas of technical development and mass production volumes. Currently, over 16 gigawatts of N-type TOPCon cell capacity in Hefei and the hedging that ramping up smoothly with mass produced cell conversion efficiency exceeding 24.6%. We are consistently investing in technology for new cell structure upgrades and new metallization methods to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Recently, we set a new world record for our N-type TOPCon cell with maximum conversion efficiency, reaching 25.7%. At the same time, we are also performing iterations on the N-type cell technology platform to optimize and apply the latest technologies for mass production and achieve technical leadership among other peers.
Li Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited
[Foreign language]
Stella Wang -- Investor Relations
As the prominence and benefits of the N-type module growth, we have been seeing wider acceptance and increasing demand from global customers for other N-type products. We are confident about ramping up to full capacity and increase the sales for the Tiger Neo modules, giving us the advantage of growing our classic shares and increase in profit. In addition, we are optimistic on China's demand and are expanding our resources and local deployment to grow in the domestic market for our DG business in China. At present, all our efforts on building different channels are already seeing results.
In future, we will further coordinate our market strategy, pricing systems, and brand development. We believe this will give us technical advantages in the distributed generation sector and bring low-carbon, reliable, and highly economical products and solutions to our customers.
Li Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited
[Foreign Language]
Stella Wang -- Investor Relations
We have successfully ramped up the 16 gigawatts of N-type cell's production capacity. Taking into account our advantages in N-type cells and strong market demand, we plan to invest in the second phase of N-type cells with a total production capacity of approximately 16 gigawatts. The increase in N-type cell production capacity will further optimize our production infrastructure and to reduce integration costs. As a result, we are increasing our full year guidance.
At this time, we are expecting the annual -- we are expecting the annual production capacity of mono wafer, solar cells, and modules to reach 55 gigawatts -- 55 gigawatts and 60 gigawatts, respectively, by the end of 2022.
Li Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited
[Foreign Language]
Stella Wang -- Investor Relations
Before turning over to Gener, I would like to go over our guidance for the second quarter of 2022. We expect the total shipments to be in the range of 8.5 to 9.5 gigawatts for the second quarter of 2022.
Gener Miao -- Chief Marketing Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited
Thank you, Ms. Li. Module shipments in the fourth quarter were approximately eight gigawatt and less than 400 megawatt of wafers and cells are sold in China additionally. By the first quarter, our accumulated global module shipment has surpassed 100 gigawatts, and thus, becoming the first company in the industry to achieve this historic milestone.
Regarding regional landscape, Europe, Asia Pacific, and emerging markets were the regions with the most of shipments. In terms of absolute numbers, our shipments to Europe increased by more than 30% quarter over quarter, and our shipments in China nearly tripled year over year. In Europe, the Russia Ukraine war boosted solar demand, and it is expected to grow steadily in the future. The high demand of distributed generation combined with successful for large-scale projects continue to demonstrate strong growth momentum in the Chinese market.
Although deliveries for some domestic projects, has been delayed due to logistic restrictions caused by the resurgence of COVID-19 and the supply chain disruptions, we are still bullish on China's market demand and are moving | [
". We continue to lead the industry in both areas of technical development and mass production volumes. Currently, over 16 gigawatts of N-type TOPCon cell capacity in Hefei and the hedging that ramping up smoothly with mass produced cell conversion efficiency exceeding 24.6%. We are consistently investing in technology for new cell structure upgrades and new metallization methods to increase efficiency and reduce costs.\nRecently, we set a new world record for our N-type TOPCon cell with maximum conversion efficiency, reaching 25.7%. At the same time, we are also performing iterations on the N-type cell technology platform to optimize and apply the latest technologies for mass production and achieve technical leadership among other peers.\nLi Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited\n[Foreign language]\nStella Wang -- Investor Relations\nAs the prominence and benefits of the N-type module growth, we have been seeing wider acceptance and increasing demand from global customers for other N-type products. We are confident about ramping up to full capacity and increase the sales for the Tiger Neo modules, giving us the advantage of growing our classic shares and increase in profit. In addition, we are optimistic on China's demand and are expanding our resources and local deployment to grow in the domestic market for our DG business in China. At present, all our efforts on building different channels are already seeing results.\nIn future, we will further coordinate our market strategy, pricing systems, and brand development. We believe this will give us technical advantages in the distributed generation sector and bring low-carbon, reliable, and highly economical products and solutions to our customers.\nLi Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited\n[Foreign Language]\nStella Wang -- Investor Relations\nWe have successfully ramped up the 16 gigawatts of N-type cell's production capacity. Taking into account our advantages in N-type cells and strong market demand, we plan to invest in the second phase of N-type cells with a total production capacity of approximately 16 gigawatts. The increase in N-type cell production capacity will further optimize our production infrastructure and to reduce integration costs. As a result, we are increasing our full year guidance.\nAt this time, we are expecting the annual -- we are expecting the annual production capacity of mono wafer, solar cells, and modules to reach 55 gigawatts -- 55 gigawatts and 60 gigawatts, respectively, by the end of 2022.\n",
"Li Xiande -- Chief Executive Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited\n[Foreign Language]\nStella Wang -- Investor Relations\nBefore turning over to Gener, I would like to go over our guidance for the second quarter of 2022. We expect the total shipments to be in the range of 8.5 to 9.5 gigawatts for the second quarter of 2022.\nGener Miao -- Chief Marketing Officer, JinkoSolar Holding Company Limited\nThank you, Ms. Li. Module shipments in the fourth quarter were approximately eight gigawatt and less than 400 megawatt of wafers and cells are sold in China additionally. By the first quarter, our accumulated global module shipment has surpassed 100 gigawatts, and thus, becoming the first company in the industry to achieve this historic milestone.\nRegarding regional landscape, Europe, Asia Pacific, and emerging markets were the regions with the most of shipments. In terms of absolute numbers, our shipments to Europe increased by more than 30% quarter over quarter, and our shipments in China nearly tripled year over year. In Europe, the Russia Ukraine war boosted solar demand, and it is expected to grow steadily in the future. The high demand of distributed generation combined with successful for large-scale projects continue to demonstrate strong growth momentum in the Chinese market.\nAlthough deliveries for some domestic projects, has been delayed due to logistic restrictions caused by the resurgence of COVID-19 and the supply chain disruptions, we are still bullish on China's market demand and are moving"
] | 2 | [
0,
1
] | 0.63093 |
What is the percentage increase in opex as a percentage of sales for March compared to the prior quarters, and how much of it is driven by the acquisition of the Intel modem asset purchases or TV+ in the opex? | ey're going to be more expensive due to higher component costs. But at the same time, it looks like you guys have proven that there is a market for low- cost geographies with phones like iPhone SE. So how do you see these two different segments within the smartphone market evolving over the next one to three years? And then I had a follow-up for Luca.
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
Again, I want to stay away from commenting about future products. But generally, I think it's important when you think about 5G is to look around the world at the different deployment schedules. And some of those look very different perhaps than what you might be seeing here. And so, that's very important. In terms of the price, I wouldn't want to comment on the price of handsets that aren't announced.
Krish Sankar -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst
Got it. No worries, Tim. And then I have a follow-up to Luca. Opex as a percentage of sales for March looks like about 15% higher than in your prior quarters. Kind of curious how much of that is part of it is driven by some of your Intel modem asset purchases or TV+ in the opex or how do we think about it on a go-forward basis?
Luca Maestri -- Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Yeah, I think we felt good about our opex results because they were at the low end of our guidance range, but clearly, we want to make all the necessary investments in the business and from -- in terms of the new services, not only for TV+, but all the new services that we launched during 2019, this is a period where we're making the necessary investments in advertising and marketing and that level of investment is reflected in our opex results. And also as you correctly stated, we completed the acquisition of the Intel baseband business during the December quarter. And so, we had -- we reflected the run rate of the expenses related to that business partially during the quarter after the completion of the transaction. And we -- that is a very important core technology for the Company. So we will continue to make all the necessary investments also there. There is a third category of expenses that affected the December quarter and is the fact that our revenue was very strong. And we have certain variable expenses, for example, credit card fees that are associated with the higher volume and of course, impacted our opex results.
Tejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations
Thanks, Krish. Can we have the next question please?
Operator
That will be from Mike Olson with Piper Sandler.
Mike Olson -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst
Afternoon. Thanks for taking the questions. So slightly different take on an earlier question on Wearables and that is -- what impact do you think Wearables is having on driving people into the Apple ecosystem? You mentioned 75% of watch buyers are new to the Apple Watch, but many of them new to Apple overall. I'm sure a lot of existing iPhone, iPads or Mac users are going to be Wearables customers, but do you think Wearables bring people into the ecosystem to buy other devices in a material way?
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
I think that -- Michael, it's Tim. With each Apple product that a customer buys, I think they get tighter into the ecosystem, because they like -- that's the reason that they're buying into it is they like the experience -- the customer experience. And so, from that point of view, I think each of our products can drive another product. I would think in that case, it's more likely that the iPhone comes first. But there is no doubt in my mind that there is some people that came into the ecosystem for the Watch.
Mike Olson -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst
Okay. And then I think you recently mentioned that augmented reality will pervade our entire lives. And I'm wondering if you could share your thoughts about how you think it starts to impact our lives more significantly? For example, will the inflection point in AR come from gaming or industrial usage or some other category. In other words, where will the average person, kind of, first feel the impact | [
"ey're going to be more expensive due to higher component costs. But at the same time, it looks like you guys have proven that there is a market for low- cost geographies with phones like iPhone SE. So how do you see these two different segments within the smartphone market evolving over the next one to three years? And then I had a follow-up for Luca.\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nAgain, I want to stay away from commenting about future products. But generally, I think it's important when you think about 5G is to look around the world at the different deployment schedules. And some of those look very different perhaps than what you might be seeing here. And so, that's very important. In terms of the price, I wouldn't want to comment on the price of handsets that aren't announced.\nKrish Sankar -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst\nGot it. No worries, Tim. And then I have a follow-up to Luca. Opex as a percentage of sales for March looks like about 15% higher than in your prior quarters. Kind of curious how much of that is part of it is driven by some of your Intel modem asset purchases or TV+ in the opex or how do we think about it on a go-forward basis?\nLuca Maestri -- Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer\nYeah, I think we felt good about our opex results because they were at the low end of our guidance range, but clearly, we want to make all the necessary investments in the business and from -- in terms of the new services, not only for TV+, but all the new services that we launched during 2019, this is a period where we're making the necessary investments in advertising and marketing and that level of investment is reflected in our opex results. And also as you correctly stated, we completed the acquisition of the Intel baseband business during the December quarter. And so, we had -- we reflected the run rate of the expenses related to that business partially during the quarter after the completion of the transaction. And we -- that is a very important core technology for the Company. So we will continue to make all the necessary investments also there. There is a third category of expenses that affected the December quarter and is the fact that our revenue was very strong. And we have certain variable expenses, for example, credit card fees that are associated with the higher volume and of course, impacted our opex results.\n",
"Tejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations\nThanks, Krish. Can we have the next question please?\nOperator\nThat will be from Mike Olson with Piper Sandler.\nMike Olson -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst\nAfternoon. Thanks for taking the questions. So slightly different take on an earlier question on Wearables and that is -- what impact do you think Wearables is having on driving people into the Apple ecosystem? You mentioned 75% of watch buyers are new to the Apple Watch, but many of them new to Apple overall. I'm sure a lot of existing iPhone, iPads or Mac users are going to be Wearables customers, but do you think Wearables bring people into the ecosystem to buy other devices in a material way?\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nI think that -- Michael, it's Tim. With each Apple product that a customer buys, I think they get tighter into the ecosystem, because they like -- that's the reason that they're buying into it is they like the experience -- the customer experience. And so, from that point of view, I think each of our products can drive another product. I would think in that case, it's more likely that the iPhone comes first. But there is no doubt in my mind that there is some people that came into the ecosystem for the Watch.\nMike Olson -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst\nOkay. And then I think you recently mentioned that augmented reality will pervade our entire lives. And I'm wondering if you could share your thoughts about how you think it starts to impact our lives more significantly? For example, will the inflection point in AR come from gaming or industrial usage or some other category. In other words, where will the average person, kind of, first feel the impact "
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
what does nielsen mobile say | Are you looking for an easy way to reduce your monthly budget? Look no further than your cell phone bill. Clark Howard says consider switching to a less known cell provider to save money and avoid signing contracts If you're with one of the four big providers -- AT&T, Sprint, Verizon or T-Mobile -- you're almost certainly overpaying for service. In addition, all four have a business model that's based on cowardice. They've developed lousy, stinking, rotten two-year contracts because they're afraid to compete in the marketplace. Thankfully, there are a variety of smaller players in the market who offer nationwide coverage for less money with no contracts. Before considering any adjustment to your cell phone plan, you'll need to start by assessing how much you talk, text and surf the Web on your phone. Watch Clark discuss the pros and cons of bundling services If you use less than 300 minutes per month, you'd probably do much better with a prepaid plan where you buy minutes as you need them. Net10.com is one service I usually recommend -- no roaming charges, no long distance charges, no monthly fees and a flat 10 cents per minute for calls. If you use more than 300 minutes per month and you travel from time to time, you might want to consider either Metro PCS or Cricket. Both have plans ranging from $25 to $50 and offer unlimited calling. The difference in price points is based on how many other features you want -- texting, Web surfing and so on. But there are never any contracts or overages. For heavy cell phone users, there are Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Both are engaged in an all-out price war that can directly benefit you. Virgin Mobile is offering $49.99 per month unlimited calling -- no roaming charges and no contract. If you want texting, you'll pay an additional $10 per month for unlimited service. If you want high-speed Internet, you'll pay another $10 per month on top of that for a 50MB plan. Boost Mobile's $50 per month plan already includes unlimited calling, texting and Web access. And that $50 even includes junk fees! One caveat here: Remember, my definition of "cheap" means that I'm willing to accept lower quality for a lower price. So consider this caveat carefully and do your own research before making any final decisions about your cell provider. Speaking of cheap, a new competitor in the marketplace may have both Boost and Virgin beat. Straight Talk offers a cellular plan for $30 per month. You get 1,000 minutes, 1,000 text messages and 30MB of data for that price. It's important to remember that very few people use more than 1,000 minutes per month. The typical person clocks in at 790 minutes and pays an average monthly contract bill of $67, according to Nielsen Mobile studies of U.S. adults on individual cell phone contract plans. So, what are you waiting for? Consider firing your "Big 4" cell provider and going with one of the smaller guys. The savings are there for the taking. Finally, CellTradeUSA.com can help you get out of your existing contract by trading it away to someone else. This tends to work particularly well if you have a hot phone that everybody wants. | [
"Are you looking for an easy way to reduce your monthly budget? Look no further than your cell phone bill. Clark Howard says consider switching to a less known cell provider to save money and avoid signing contracts If you're with one of the four big providers -- AT&T, Sprint, Verizon or T-Mobile -- you're almost certainly overpaying for service. In addition, all four have a business model that's based on cowardice. They've developed lousy, stinking, rotten two-year contracts because they're afraid to compete in the marketplace. Thankfully, there are a variety of smaller players in the market who offer nationwide coverage for less money with no contracts. Before considering any adjustment to your cell phone plan, you'll need to start by assessing how much you talk, text and surf the Web on your phone. Watch Clark discuss the pros and cons of bundling services If you use less than 300 minutes per month, you'd probably do much better with a prepaid plan where you buy minutes as you need them. Net10.com is one service I usually recommend -- no roaming charges, no long distance charges, no monthly fees and a flat 10 cents per minute for calls. If you use more than 300 minutes per month and you travel from time to time, you might want to consider either Metro PCS or Cricket. Both have plans ranging from $25 to $50 and offer unlimited calling. The difference in price points is based on how many other features you want -- texting, Web surfing and so on. But there are never any contracts or overages. For heavy cell phone users, there are Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. Both are engaged in an all-out price war that can directly benefit you. Virgin Mobile is offering $49.99 per month unlimited calling -- no roaming charges and no contract. If you want texting, you'll pay an additional $10 per month for unlimited service. If you want high-speed Internet, you'll pay another $10 per month on top of that for a 50MB plan. Boost Mobile's $50 per month plan already includes unlimited calling, texting and Web access. And that $50 even includes junk fees! One caveat here: Remember, my definition of \"cheap\" means that I'm willing to accept lower quality for a lower price. So consider this caveat carefully and do your own research before making any final decisions about your cell provider. Speaking of cheap, a new competitor in the marketplace may have both Boost and Virgin beat. Straight Talk offers a cellular plan for $30 per month. ",
"You get 1,000 minutes, 1,000 text messages and 30MB of data for that price. It's important to remember that very few people use more than 1,000 minutes per month. The typical person clocks in at 790 minutes and pays an average monthly contract bill of $67, according to Nielsen Mobile studies of U.S. adults on individual cell phone contract plans. So, what are you waiting for? Consider firing your \"Big 4\" cell provider and going with one of the smaller guys. The savings are there for the taking. Finally, CellTradeUSA.com can help you get out of your existing contract by trading it away to someone else. This tends to work particularly well if you have a hot phone that everybody wants."
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What is the company's gross profit margin for the 2021-Q2 quarter | and Chief Executive Officer
Okay, great. Absolutely, you were breaking up a little bit. I think Lloyd is feeling a little lonely here in the Q&A section, but I'll get started. I think the answer is absolutely. I think 5G is emerging as an important set of technology. It's really a family of technology. It's not one thing. It's not just millimeter wave and that family of technologies is of increased importance, not just in the commercial market, but across the government, including DoD.
There's cyber implications of 5G. There's operational implications of 5G. There's the ability to move both processing and information to the edge in a way that it would advantage many missions. And I am proud of the fact that much like everything else in our innovation agenda, we saw this relatively early, we began to position for it and we have some really interesting work going on across the government that, in my mind, begins to define us as a thought leader in this area, much like we are a thought leader in AI.
And by the way, these two technologies ultimately do travel together. So, more to think about that, more to say about that. If you ask me, is that a big part of the portfolio? Though we're not scaling there like we have scaled in AI already, but I think the future is bright. And I think we're well positioned.
Matthew Sharpe -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst
Great, thank you.
Horacio Rozanski -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Sure.
Operator
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Gavin Parsons from Goldman Sachs.
Gavin Parsons -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst
Hey, good morning.
Horacio Rozanski -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Good morning.
Lloyd Howell Jr. -- Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Good morning.
Gavin Parsons -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst
Horacio, maybe a higher-level question. In the past, you said your growth is not constrained by demand, but kind of more so by your ability to hire and then ramp up the work. So, I'm just curious, when you think about growth pacing or maybe planning for growth, do you say we want to grow 6% to 10% this year and then we'll hire to make that happen? Or is it -- we think we can hire and integrate enough people to grow 6% to 10%, so that's our target?
Horacio Rozanski -- President and Chief Executive Officer
That's a really good question. And I think the answer is yes. We've narrowed to 7% to 9%. We're proud of the fact that we're going to have a strong growth here in the middle of a pandemic with very strong profitability. But I think that sort of the broader answer to the question is, we still see very strong demand signals for the type of work that we're doing for the type of capability that we bring to our clients. We are being choosy, if you will, in terms of both the work that we choose to pursue and the people that we're hiring to make sure that they are consistent with this intersection of core mission issues and next generation technology because we believe that is both the most promising and the most resilient part of the market as the market experiences some turbulence.
And so, the numbers that we're putting out are not the very most we could possibly go if we were more sort of -- if we were less discriminant about the work that we're doing. These are the numbers that gave us both excellent financial performance in the near term, but we believe sustainability into the medium and long term.
Gavin Parsons -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst
Okay. And then maybe, following on that and just looking at backlog growth over the last few years and just a lot of that being driven by priced options, did those price options have a finite life that you need to execute on within a certain time frame or funding expires? And I'm just kind of thinking about that in the context of maybe a more challenged budget environment ahead where the contracting officers might have to make more difficult decisions on what to fund.
Lloyd Howell Jr. -- Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
I'll jump in here. We see priced options as a leading indicator in a couple different ways. One, our client | [
" and Chief Executive Officer\nOkay, great. Absolutely, you were breaking up a little bit. I think Lloyd is feeling a little lonely here in the Q&A section, but I'll get started. I think the answer is absolutely. I think 5G is emerging as an important set of technology. It's really a family of technology. It's not one thing. It's not just millimeter wave and that family of technologies is of increased importance, not just in the commercial market, but across the government, including DoD.\nThere's cyber implications of 5G. There's operational implications of 5G. There's the ability to move both processing and information to the edge in a way that it would advantage many missions. And I am proud of the fact that much like everything else in our innovation agenda, we saw this relatively early, we began to position for it and we have some really interesting work going on across the government that, in my mind, begins to define us as a thought leader in this area, much like we are a thought leader in AI.\nAnd by the way, these two technologies ultimately do travel together. So, more to think about that, more to say about that. If you ask me, is that a big part of the portfolio? Though we're not scaling there like we have scaled in AI already, but I think the future is bright. And I think we're well positioned.\nMatthew Sharpe -- Morgan Stanley -- Analyst\nGreat, thank you.\nHoracio Rozanski -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nSure.\nOperator\nThank you. Our next question comes from the line of Gavin Parsons from Goldman Sachs.\nGavin Parsons -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst\nHey, good morning.\nHoracio Rozanski -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nGood morning.\nLloyd Howell Jr. -- Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer\nGood morning.\nGavin Parsons -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst\nHoracio, maybe a higher-level question. In the past, you said your growth is not constrained by demand, but kind of more so by your ability to hire and then ramp up the work. So, I'm just curious, when you think about growth pacing or maybe planning for growth, do you say we want to grow 6% to 10% this year and then we'll hire to make that happen? Or is it -- we think we can hire and integrate enough people to grow 6% to 10%, so that's our target?\n",
"Horacio Rozanski -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nThat's a really good question. And I think the answer is yes. We've narrowed to 7% to 9%. We're proud of the fact that we're going to have a strong growth here in the middle of a pandemic with very strong profitability. But I think that sort of the broader answer to the question is, we still see very strong demand signals for the type of work that we're doing for the type of capability that we bring to our clients. We are being choosy, if you will, in terms of both the work that we choose to pursue and the people that we're hiring to make sure that they are consistent with this intersection of core mission issues and next generation technology because we believe that is both the most promising and the most resilient part of the market as the market experiences some turbulence.\nAnd so, the numbers that we're putting out are not the very most we could possibly go if we were more sort of -- if we were less discriminant about the work that we're doing. These are the numbers that gave us both excellent financial performance in the near term, but we believe sustainability into the medium and long term.\nGavin Parsons -- Goldman Sachs -- Analyst\nOkay. And then maybe, following on that and just looking at backlog growth over the last few years and just a lot of that being driven by priced options, did those price options have a finite life that you need to execute on within a certain time frame or funding expires? And I'm just kind of thinking about that in the context of maybe a more challenged budget environment ahead where the contracting officers might have to make more difficult decisions on what to fund.\nLloyd Howell Jr. -- Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer\nI'll jump in here. We see priced options as a leading indicator in a couple different ways. One, our client"
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What was the revenue growth rate for RF front-end in Q4 2020 compared to Q3 2020 | infrastructure and will accelerate the cellular ecosystem transition toward virtualized and interoperable radio access networks, a trend driven by 5G. Our expanded portfolio, which is scalable from macro to micro sites, will include integrated support for 5G millimeter-wave and sub-6 gigahertz spectrum across all key global bands. Together with our partners, we are helping to drive the vRAN transition with commercial products expected by calendar year 2023.
In summary, with leading technology and intellectual property, a differentiated product road map and 5G, we are well positioned for a multiyear growth opportunity. I would now like to turn the call over to Akash.
Akash Palkhiwala -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Thank you, Steve, and good afternoon, everyone. We're extremely pleased to report another strong quarter to conclude a challenging year in which we remain resilient and achieved several key business milestones. Our fourth fiscal quarter non-GAAP results came in above the high end of our guidance range for revenue and EPS, driven by strong performance in both QTL and QCT. We delivered non-GAAP revenues of $6.5 billion and record EPS of $1.45, with year-over-year increases of 35% and 86%, respectively.
We delivered GAAP revenues of $8.3 billion and EPS of $2.58. As a reminder, these results include the benefit related to prior periods from our recent licensing and settlement agreements with Huawei. In the fourth quarter, we saw a year-over-year reduction of approximately 5% in global 3G, 4G, 5G handset shipments relative to our prior planning assumption of a 15% reduction. The upside was driven by a strong rebound in emerging markets following the impact of COVID-19 on handset demand in previous quarters.
In QTL, we delivered revenues of $1.5 billion, and EBT margin of 73%, both above the high end of our guidance range. This upside was driven by higher global handset shipments and a favorable OEM mix. In QCT, we delivered strong results with MSM shipments of 162 million units, revenues of $5 billion, which was above the high end of our guidance range. We are pleased to report EBT margins of 20%, achieving the long-term target we had provided at our 2019 Analyst Day.
QCT revenues and EBT increased 38% and 103%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis, driven by strength in handsets, RF front-end, automotive and IoT. RF front-end revenues of $852 million were higher than our prior guidance of $750 million, reflecting design traction across major handset OEMs. In automotive, we saw a sequential revenue growth of 36% to $188 million as our telematics, connectivity and digital cockpit products benefited from the industry rebound. In IoT, increased demand for connected devices due to the work-from-home environment drove 21% sequential revenue growth to $926 million.
We're excited about our opportunities in this growing industry segment. I will now summarize results for fiscal 2020. Despite the challenging economic environment due to COVID-19, we achieved non-GAAP revenues of $21.7 billion and EPS of $4.19, up 12% and 18%, respectively versus fiscal 2019. In addition, we executed on several key milestones, including the completion of long-term license agreements, acceleration of 5G and RF front-end design traction and building a platform for long-term growth in automotive and IoT.
Turning to 5G handsets. We are pleased to see that all major handset OEMs have now commercialized 5G smartphones, many of which are using our modem-to-antenna system solution, including millimeter-wave for select regions. In total, we now have over 700 5G designs announced or in development. We are maintaining our bias toward the high end of our previous forecast of 175 million to 225 million units for calendar 2020 5G handsets.
In calendar 2021, we are forecasting 450 to 550 5G handsets, a year-over-year growth of 150% at the midpoint. For our global 3G, 4G, 5G handset forecast, we are using a planning assumption of approximately 5% decline versus calendar 2019 for the December quarter and for calendar 2021. This esti | [
" infrastructure and will accelerate the cellular ecosystem transition toward virtualized and interoperable radio access networks, a trend driven by 5G. Our expanded portfolio, which is scalable from macro to micro sites, will include integrated support for 5G millimeter-wave and sub-6 gigahertz spectrum across all key global bands. Together with our partners, we are helping to drive the vRAN transition with commercial products expected by calendar year 2023.\nIn summary, with leading technology and intellectual property, a differentiated product road map and 5G, we are well positioned for a multiyear growth opportunity. I would now like to turn the call over to Akash.\nAkash Palkhiwala -- Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer\nThank you, Steve, and good afternoon, everyone. We're extremely pleased to report another strong quarter to conclude a challenging year in which we remain resilient and achieved several key business milestones. Our fourth fiscal quarter non-GAAP results came in above the high end of our guidance range for revenue and EPS, driven by strong performance in both QTL and QCT. We delivered non-GAAP revenues of $6.5 billion and record EPS of $1.45, with year-over-year increases of 35% and 86%, respectively.\nWe delivered GAAP revenues of $8.3 billion and EPS of $2.58. As a reminder, these results include the benefit related to prior periods from our recent licensing and settlement agreements with Huawei. In the fourth quarter, we saw a year-over-year reduction of approximately 5% in global 3G, 4G, 5G handset shipments relative to our prior planning assumption of a 15% reduction. The upside was driven by a strong rebound in emerging markets following the impact of COVID-19 on handset demand in previous quarters.\nIn QTL, we delivered revenues of $1.5 billion, and EBT margin of 73%, both above the high end of our guidance range. This upside was driven by higher global handset shipments and a favorable OEM mix. In QCT, we delivered strong results with MSM shipments of 162 million units, revenues of $5 billion, which was above the high end of our guidance range. We are pleased to report EBT margins of 20%, achieving the long-term target we had provided at our 2019 Analyst Day.\n",
"QCT revenues and EBT increased 38% and 103%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis, driven by strength in handsets, RF front-end, automotive and IoT. RF front-end revenues of $852 million were higher than our prior guidance of $750 million, reflecting design traction across major handset OEMs. In automotive, we saw a sequential revenue growth of 36% to $188 million as our telematics, connectivity and digital cockpit products benefited from the industry rebound. In IoT, increased demand for connected devices due to the work-from-home environment drove 21% sequential revenue growth to $926 million.\nWe're excited about our opportunities in this growing industry segment. I will now summarize results for fiscal 2020. Despite the challenging economic environment due to COVID-19, we achieved non-GAAP revenues of $21.7 billion and EPS of $4.19, up 12% and 18%, respectively versus fiscal 2019. In addition, we executed on several key milestones, including the completion of long-term license agreements, acceleration of 5G and RF front-end design traction and building a platform for long-term growth in automotive and IoT.\nTurning to 5G handsets. We are pleased to see that all major handset OEMs have now commercialized 5G smartphones, many of which are using our modem-to-antenna system solution, including millimeter-wave for select regions. In total, we now have over 700 5G designs announced or in development. We are maintaining our bias toward the high end of our previous forecast of 175 million to 225 million units for calendar 2020 5G handsets.\nIn calendar 2021, we are forecasting 450 to 550 5G handsets, a year-over-year growth of 150% at the midpoint. For our global 3G, 4G, 5G handset forecast, we are using a planning assumption of approximately 5% decline versus calendar 2019 for the December quarter and for calendar 2021. This esti"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the percentage increase in opex as a percentage of sales for March compared to the prior quarters, and how much of it is driven by the acquisition of the Intel modem asset purchases or TV+ in the opex? | ey're going to be more expensive due to higher component costs. But at the same time, it looks like you guys have proven that there is a market for low- cost geographies with phones like iPhone SE. So how do you see these two different segments within the smartphone market evolving over the next one to three years? And then I had a follow-up for Luca.
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
Again, I want to stay away from commenting about future products. But generally, I think it's important when you think about 5G is to look around the world at the different deployment schedules. And some of those look very different perhaps than what you might be seeing here. And so, that's very important. In terms of the price, I wouldn't want to comment on the price of handsets that aren't announced.
Krish Sankar -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst
Got it. No worries, Tim. And then I have a follow-up to Luca. Opex as a percentage of sales for March looks like about 15% higher than in your prior quarters. Kind of curious how much of that is part of it is driven by some of your Intel modem asset purchases or TV+ in the opex or how do we think about it on a go-forward basis?
Luca Maestri -- Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Yeah, I think we felt good about our opex results because they were at the low end of our guidance range, but clearly, we want to make all the necessary investments in the business and from -- in terms of the new services, not only for TV+, but all the new services that we launched during 2019, this is a period where we're making the necessary investments in advertising and marketing and that level of investment is reflected in our opex results. And also as you correctly stated, we completed the acquisition of the Intel baseband business during the December quarter. And so, we had -- we reflected the run rate of the expenses related to that business partially during the quarter after the completion of the transaction. And we -- that is a very important core technology for the Company. So we will continue to make all the necessary investments also there. There is a third category of expenses that affected the December quarter and is the fact that our revenue was very strong. And we have certain variable expenses, for example, credit card fees that are associated with the higher volume and of course, impacted our opex results.
Tejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations
Thanks, Krish. Can we have the next question please?
Operator
That will be from Mike Olson with Piper Sandler.
Mike Olson -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst
Afternoon. Thanks for taking the questions. So slightly different take on an earlier question on Wearables and that is -- what impact do you think Wearables is having on driving people into the Apple ecosystem? You mentioned 75% of watch buyers are new to the Apple Watch, but many of them new to Apple overall. I'm sure a lot of existing iPhone, iPads or Mac users are going to be Wearables customers, but do you think Wearables bring people into the ecosystem to buy other devices in a material way?
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
I think that -- Michael, it's Tim. With each Apple product that a customer buys, I think they get tighter into the ecosystem, because they like -- that's the reason that they're buying into it is they like the experience -- the customer experience. And so, from that point of view, I think each of our products can drive another product. I would think in that case, it's more likely that the iPhone comes first. But there is no doubt in my mind that there is some people that came into the ecosystem for the Watch.
Mike Olson -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst
Okay. And then I think you recently mentioned that augmented reality will pervade our entire lives. And I'm wondering if you could share your thoughts about how you think it starts to impact our lives more significantly? For example, will the inflection point in AR come from gaming or industrial usage or some other category. In other words, where will the average person, kind of, first feel the impact | [
"ey're going to be more expensive due to higher component costs. But at the same time, it looks like you guys have proven that there is a market for low- cost geographies with phones like iPhone SE. So how do you see these two different segments within the smartphone market evolving over the next one to three years? And then I had a follow-up for Luca.\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nAgain, I want to stay away from commenting about future products. But generally, I think it's important when you think about 5G is to look around the world at the different deployment schedules. And some of those look very different perhaps than what you might be seeing here. And so, that's very important. In terms of the price, I wouldn't want to comment on the price of handsets that aren't announced.\nKrish Sankar -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst\nGot it. No worries, Tim. And then I have a follow-up to Luca. Opex as a percentage of sales for March looks like about 15% higher than in your prior quarters. Kind of curious how much of that is part of it is driven by some of your Intel modem asset purchases or TV+ in the opex or how do we think about it on a go-forward basis?\nLuca Maestri -- Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer\nYeah, I think we felt good about our opex results because they were at the low end of our guidance range, but clearly, we want to make all the necessary investments in the business and from -- in terms of the new services, not only for TV+, but all the new services that we launched during 2019, this is a period where we're making the necessary investments in advertising and marketing and that level of investment is reflected in our opex results. And also as you correctly stated, we completed the acquisition of the Intel baseband business during the December quarter. And so, we had -- we reflected the run rate of the expenses related to that business partially during the quarter after the completion of the transaction. And we -- that is a very important core technology for the Company. So we will continue to make all the necessary investments also there. There is a third category of expenses that affected the December quarter and is the fact that our revenue was very strong. And we have certain variable expenses, for example, credit card fees that are associated with the higher volume and of course, impacted our opex results.\n",
"Tejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations\nThanks, Krish. Can we have the next question please?\nOperator\nThat will be from Mike Olson with Piper Sandler.\nMike Olson -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst\nAfternoon. Thanks for taking the questions. So slightly different take on an earlier question on Wearables and that is -- what impact do you think Wearables is having on driving people into the Apple ecosystem? You mentioned 75% of watch buyers are new to the Apple Watch, but many of them new to Apple overall. I'm sure a lot of existing iPhone, iPads or Mac users are going to be Wearables customers, but do you think Wearables bring people into the ecosystem to buy other devices in a material way?\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nI think that -- Michael, it's Tim. With each Apple product that a customer buys, I think they get tighter into the ecosystem, because they like -- that's the reason that they're buying into it is they like the experience -- the customer experience. And so, from that point of view, I think each of our products can drive another product. I would think in that case, it's more likely that the iPhone comes first. But there is no doubt in my mind that there is some people that came into the ecosystem for the Watch.\nMike Olson -- Piper Sandler -- Analyst\nOkay. And then I think you recently mentioned that augmented reality will pervade our entire lives. And I'm wondering if you could share your thoughts about how you think it starts to impact our lives more significantly? For example, will the inflection point in AR come from gaming or industrial usage or some other category. In other words, where will the average person, kind of, first feel the impact "
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
Without quoting directly from the text, provide me with a summary of the James Webb Space Telescope? | The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope currently conducting infrared astronomy. As the largest optical telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope. This enables investigations across many fields of astronomy and cosmology, such as observation of the first stars, the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets.
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) led JWST's design and development and partnered with two main agencies: the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland managed telescope development, while the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore on the Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University currently operates JWST. The primary contractor for the project was Northrop Grumman. The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.
The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on 25 December 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, and arrived at the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point in January 2022. The first JWST image was released to the public via a press conference on 11 July 2022.
JWST's primary mirror consists of 18 hexagonal mirror segments made of gold-plated beryllium, which combined create a 6.5-meter-diameter (21 ft) mirror, compared with Hubble's 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in). This gives JWST a light-collecting area of about 25 square meters, about six times that of Hubble. Unlike Hubble, which observes in the near ultraviolet and visible (0.1 to 0.8 μm), and near infrared (0.8–2.5 μm) spectra, JWST observes a lower frequency range, from long-wavelength visible light (red) through mid-infrared (0.6–28.3 μm). The telescope must be kept extremely cold, below 50 K (−223 °C; −370 °F), such that the infrared light emitted by the telescope itself does not interfere with the collected light. It is deployed in a solar orbit near the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 mi) from Earth, where its five-layer sunshield protects it from warming by the Sun, Earth, and Moon.
Initial designs for the telescope, then named the Next Generation Space Telescope, began in 1996. Two concept studies were commissioned in 1999, for a potential launch in 2007 and a US$1 billion budget. The program was plagued with enormous cost overruns and delays; a major redesign in 2005 led to the current approach, with construction completed in 2016 at a total cost of US$10 billion. The high-stakes nature of the launch and the telescope's complexity were remarked upon by the media, scientists, and engineers. | [
"The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope currently conducting infrared astronomy. As the largest optical telescope in space, it is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope. This enables investigations across many fields of astronomy and cosmology, such as observation of the first stars, the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets.\n\nThe U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) led JWST's design and development and partnered with two main agencies: the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Maryland managed telescope development, while the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore on the Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University currently operates JWST. The primary contractor for the project was Northrop Grumman. The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 during the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.\n\nThe James Webb Space Telescope was launched on 25 December 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, and arrived at the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point in January 2022. The first JWST image was released to the public via a press conference on 11 July 2022.\n\n",
"JWST's primary mirror consists of 18 hexagonal mirror segments made of gold-plated beryllium, which combined create a 6.5-meter-diameter (21 ft) mirror, compared with Hubble's 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in). This gives JWST a light-collecting area of about 25 square meters, about six times that of Hubble. Unlike Hubble, which observes in the near ultraviolet and visible (0.1 to 0.8 μm), and near infrared (0.8–2.5 μm) spectra, JWST observes a lower frequency range, from long-wavelength visible light (red) through mid-infrared (0.6–28.3 μm). The telescope must be kept extremely cold, below 50 K (−223 °C; −370 °F), such that the infrared light emitted by the telescope itself does not interfere with the collected light. It is deployed in a solar orbit near the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 mi) from Earth, where its five-layer sunshield protects it from warming by the Sun, Earth, and Moon.\n\nInitial designs for the telescope, then named the Next Generation Space Telescope, began in 1996. Two concept studies were commissioned in 1999, for a potential launch in 2007 and a US$1 billion budget. The program was plagued with enormous cost overruns and delays; a major redesign in 2005 led to the current approach, with construction completed in 2016 at a total cost of US$10 billion. The high-stakes nature of the launch and the telescope's complexity were remarked upon by the media, scientists, and engineers."
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What would the deadline be for withdrawal? | Iraq's main political parties Sunday reached a deal designed to allow non-U.S. foreign troops to stay in the country past the end of the year, when a United Nations resolution authorizing their presence expires. Iraqi and British soldiers during an Iraqi army training session in Basra last week. The deal would set a deadline of July 31, 2009, for all non-U.S. foreign troops to withdraw, according to Abdul Hadi al-Hassani, a lawmaker with the main Shiite parliamentary bloc, who spoke to Iraqi state television on Sunday. The agreement awaits approval by Iraq's Parliament, which is expected to vote on the measure on Monday, several Iraqi lawmakers said. The emergency negotiations came after lawmakers Saturday rejected a similar proposal that would have been law. Sunday's proposal, by contrast, was drafted as a resolution that would empower the Cabinet to authorize international troop presence without requiring Parliament to pass a law. Washington and Baghdad have already worked out a separate agreement that will keep U.S. troops in Iraq but tighten restrictions on them. Countries other than the United States that have troops in Iraq could be left with no legal cover for their presence there if Baghdad does not act swiftly. Iraq's Cabinet had approved a draft law authorizing non-U.S. foreign troops Tuesday, the first step in passing legislation, but it fell at the next hurdle -- Parliament. That left lawmakers scrambling Sunday for a way to give foreign troops legal cover quickly. Lawmakers expect Sunday's agreement to cut through the problem, because a resolution can be passed in a single day, while it takes at least a week to pass a law. British government lawyers, meanwhile, are studying "all possible options" to legally extend the presence of British troops in Iraq beyond New Year's Day in case Iraq's Parliament rejects the new compromise. Britain has the second-largest contingent of foreign troops in Iraq -- about 4,100 -- after the United States, which has about 142,500. All other countries combined have only several hundred troops in the country. Britain and Iraq announced last week that British troops would begin leaving Iraq in May 2009, while a "handful" of British military personnel would remain after that date to continue naval training for Iraqi sailors, primarily to protect oil platforms. The United States reached a security agreement with Iraq in November. That deal, which was ratified by the Iraqi Parliament, calls for American troops to leave Iraqi cities by June 2009, and to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011. Beginning New Year's Day, U.S. commanders will have to get prior Iraqi government approval for any operations. American military personnel who commit crimes while not on duty or who commit grave crimes while on duty would be subject to Iraqi legal jurisdiction under the new agreement. The U.S. security agreement does not govern the presence of troops from other coalition countries. The Parliament's rejection of the Cabinet's proposed law allowing foreign forces to remain in Iraq after January 1 came after heated arguments that lasted for days. The session became so contentious that Parliament's speaker threatened to resign, lawmakers said. Some political blocs, notably the Sadrists, oppose any extension of the presence of foreign troops in Iraq. That group, headed by Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr -- an anti-Western cleric -- is demanding an immediate withdrawal of foreign forces. CNN's Jill Dougherty and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report. | [
"Iraq's main political parties Sunday reached a deal designed to allow non-U.S. foreign troops to stay in the country past the end of the year, when a United Nations resolution authorizing their presence expires. Iraqi and British soldiers during an Iraqi army training session in Basra last week. The deal would set a deadline of July 31, 2009, for all non-U.S. foreign troops to withdraw, according to Abdul Hadi al-Hassani, a lawmaker with the main Shiite parliamentary bloc, who spoke to Iraqi state television on Sunday. The agreement awaits approval by Iraq's Parliament, which is expected to vote on the measure on Monday, several Iraqi lawmakers said. The emergency negotiations came after lawmakers Saturday rejected a similar proposal that would have been law. Sunday's proposal, by contrast, was drafted as a resolution that would empower the Cabinet to authorize international troop presence without requiring Parliament to pass a law. Washington and Baghdad have already worked out a separate agreement that will keep U.S. troops in Iraq but tighten restrictions on them. Countries other than the United States that have troops in Iraq could be left with no legal cover for their presence there if Baghdad does not act swiftly. Iraq's Cabinet had approved a draft law authorizing non-U.S. foreign troops Tuesday, the first step in passing legislation, but it fell at the next hurdle -- Parliament. That left lawmakers scrambling Sunday for a way to give foreign troops legal cover quickly. Lawmakers expect Sunday's agreement to cut through the problem, because a resolution can be passed in a single day, while it takes at least a week to pass a law. British government lawyers, meanwhile, are studying \"all possible options\" to legally extend the presence of British troops in Iraq beyond New Year's Day in case Iraq's Parliament rejects the new compromise. Britain has the second-largest contingent of foreign troops in Iraq -- about 4,100 -- after the United States, which has about 142,500. All other countries combined have only several hundred troops in the country. Britain and Iraq announced last week that British troops would begin leaving Iraq in May 2009, while a \"handful\" of British military personnel would remain after that date to continue naval training for Iraqi sailors, primarily to protect oil platforms. The United States reached a security agreement with Iraq in November. That deal, which was ratified by the Iraqi Parliament, calls for American troops to leave Iraqi cities by June 2009, and to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011. ",
"Beginning New Year's Day, U.S. commanders will have to get prior Iraqi government approval for any operations. American military personnel who commit crimes while not on duty or who commit grave crimes while on duty would be subject to Iraqi legal jurisdiction under the new agreement. The U.S. security agreement does not govern the presence of troops from other coalition countries. The Parliament's rejection of the Cabinet's proposed law allowing foreign forces to remain in Iraq after January 1 came after heated arguments that lasted for days. The session became so contentious that Parliament's speaker threatened to resign, lawmakers said. Some political blocs, notably the Sadrists, oppose any extension of the presence of foreign troops in Iraq. That group, headed by Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr -- an anti-Western cleric -- is demanding an immediate withdrawal of foreign forces. CNN's Jill Dougherty and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report."
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What did they plead? | Iraq will not grant an operating license to security firm Blackwater Worldwide, an Interior Ministry official said Thursday. Heavily armed Blackwater guards scan downtown Baghdad, Iraq, from a helicopter in 2003. Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf said the ministry denied the request mainly because of a September 2007 shooting incident in which security guards employed by Blackwater fired on a crowd and killed 17 Iraqis, according to the government. A U.S. Embassy official in Baghdad, who asked not to be named, confirmed the report. "We have been informed that Blackwater's ... operating license will not be granted," the official said. "We don't have specifics about dates. We are working with the government of Iraq and our contractors to address the implications of this decision." Blackwater has one of the biggest security contracts in Iraq. The U.S. State Department, which contracted the company to protect American diplomats and other employees, is also "looking at the implications" of the decision, said Robert Wood, the department's acting spokesman. Wood didn't say what specific plans the State Department has to protect its employees, but he told reporters that State will encourage contractors to abide by Iraqi law, as required under the recently approved U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, and will make sure its personnel are protected. "We're formulating how to go forward," he said. Watch report on Iraq's refusal to grant license to Blackwater » Wood refused to say whether two other security companies working in Iraq, Triple Canopy and Dyncorp, would take over security operations, but did say those options were being considered. Earlier this month, five former Blackwater security guards pleaded not guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and other serious crimes stemming from their involvement in the September 16, 2007, shootings in a Baghdad square. A sixth former security guard has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. Blackwater says its employees were returning fire after they were attacked by armed insurgents, but an Iraqi investigation concluded that the guards randomly fired at civilians without provocation. The company does not face any charges. But the Baghdad incident exacerbated the feelings of many Iraqis that private American security contractors have operated since 2003 with little regard for Iraqi law or life. The indictment of the five men represents the first prosecution of non-Defense Department contractors under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA). The act was amended in 2004 to allow the Justice Department to prosecute such personnel providing services "in support of the mission of the Department of Defense overseas." A security agreement approved in December 2008 specifies U.S. civilian contractors will no longer be immune from Iraqi prosecution for crimes committed in Iraq. Iraq has required the licensing of private security companies since 2004, but the provision was not strictly enforced. Last year, the State Department renewed Blackwater's contract over strong objections from the Iraqi government. Starting January 1, the Iraqi government has mandated that all contractors obtain licenses to operate. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report. | [
"Iraq will not grant an operating license to security firm Blackwater Worldwide, an Interior Ministry official said Thursday. Heavily armed Blackwater guards scan downtown Baghdad, Iraq, from a helicopter in 2003. Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf said the ministry denied the request mainly because of a September 2007 shooting incident in which security guards employed by Blackwater fired on a crowd and killed 17 Iraqis, according to the government. A U.S. Embassy official in Baghdad, who asked not to be named, confirmed the report. \"We have been informed that Blackwater's ... operating license will not be granted,\" the official said. \"We don't have specifics about dates. We are working with the government of Iraq and our contractors to address the implications of this decision.\" Blackwater has one of the biggest security contracts in Iraq. The U.S. State Department, which contracted the company to protect American diplomats and other employees, is also \"looking at the implications\" of the decision, said Robert Wood, the department's acting spokesman. Wood didn't say what specific plans the State Department has to protect its employees, but he told reporters that State will encourage contractors to abide by Iraqi law, as required under the recently approved U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, and will make sure its personnel are protected. \"We're formulating how to go forward,\" he said. Watch report on Iraq's refusal to grant license to Blackwater » Wood refused to say whether two other security companies working in Iraq, Triple Canopy and Dyncorp, would take over security operations, but did say those options were being considered. Earlier this month, five former Blackwater security guards pleaded not guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter and other serious crimes stemming from their involvement in the September 16, 2007, shootings in a Baghdad square. A sixth former security guard has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. Blackwater says its employees were returning fire after they were attacked by armed insurgents, but an Iraqi investigation concluded that the guards randomly fired at civilians without provocation. The company does not face any charges. But the Baghdad incident exacerbated the feelings of many Iraqis that private American security contractors have operated since 2003 with little regard for Iraqi law or life. The indictment of the five men represents the first prosecution of non-Defense Department contractors under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA). ",
"The act was amended in 2004 to allow the Justice Department to prosecute such personnel providing services \"in support of the mission of the Department of Defense overseas.\" A security agreement approved in December 2008 specifies U.S. civilian contractors will no longer be immune from Iraqi prosecution for crimes committed in Iraq. Iraq has required the licensing of private security companies since 2004, but the provision was not strictly enforced. Last year, the State Department renewed Blackwater's contract over strong objections from the Iraqi government. Starting January 1, the Iraqi government has mandated that all contractors obtain licenses to operate. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report."
] | 2 | [
0,
0
] | 0 |
What was the revenue growth rate for JNPR's automated WAN solution in Q1 2021 compared to the same period in the previous year | n significant sustainable advantages over all competitive platforms.
Second is the Cloud and Service Provider transition to 400-gig systems, where we're continuing to see success, both in wide area as well as data center use cases. Our 400-gig solutions are highly competitive, and we remain optimistic in our ability to not only protect our footprint, but also to capture net new opportunities in hyperscale, cloud major and Service Provider accounts.
Last but not least, the Service Provider 5G and metro markets, which we view as a large opportunity, that is likely to see healthy growth over the next several years. We are playing to win in the Service Provider vertical and believe our investments in automation technologies, such as Netrounds and the introduction of new metro-oriented solution such as the award winning ACX7100 family should position us to gain share in this attractive portion of the market, where historically we've had limited presence.
I firmly believe we're taking share and that the investments we're making will position us to not only capitalize on the big market opportunities that will unfold over the next few years, but also to see broader market success that decreases our sensitivity to macro trends. We believe our plans will enable us to emerge from the pandemic stronger than we entered, and deliver sustainable top and bottom line growth over the next several years.
Now I'd like to provide some additional insight into the quarter and address some of the key developments we're seeing from a customer solutions perspective. Starting with our automated WAN solution, which saw strong double-digit revenue growth year-over-year, and exceeded our own expectations in Q1. We experienced strength with both our Service Provider and Cloud customers, each of which delivered double-digit sales growth year-over-year. We grew in all geographies year-over-year, and momentum is healthy entering the June period.
In the Service Provider vertical, our diversification strategy is continuing to yield positive results, and we remain optimistic regarding the outlook for our cloud network offering which combined our new ACX product with our Paragon Automation portfolio. We believe these solutions are highly competitive and well positioned to win in one of the fastest growing portion of the Service Provider routing market. As I mentioned previously, we are playing to win in the Service Provider market, and I remain optimistic regarding the outlook for our automated WAN solutions in this important vertical.
I'd also like to highlight that our automated WAN portfolio had particularly strong orders from our cloud customers in Q1. While our strength was across multiple hyperscale accounts, we also saw improved activity with our largest cloud customer following several quarters of softer demand. Our cloud pipeline remains strong, but we are optimistic regarding the outlook for our wide area solutions, particularly in areas where we maintain incumbency, and are well positioned to benefit from forming a big tailwind, that are likely to start ramping later this year. And for the year, we are confident in our outlook for our automated WAN solution and we expect 2021 results to be slightly above the high-end of the long-term forecast range we provided at our February Investor Day, calling for a 1% decline to 3% growth.
While our cloud-ready data center solutions declined 10% year-over-year during Q1, orders grew nearly 30% year-over-year due to broad based strength across our Cloud, Enterprise and Service Provider customers. Win rate improved and we saw a material increase in average deal size in the quarter. Apstra exceeded our expectation, and is already enabling us to win data center opportunity we likely wouldn't have been able to secure if we hadn't completed the deal in January. Customer interest in our cloud-ready data center portfolio is high, and we remain optimistic regarding the outlook for this business.
While the Q1 revenue decline in our cloud-ready data center business was almost entirely due to expected weakness at a singl | [
"n significant sustainable advantages over all competitive platforms.\nSecond is the Cloud and Service Provider transition to 400-gig systems, where we're continuing to see success, both in wide area as well as data center use cases. Our 400-gig solutions are highly competitive, and we remain optimistic in our ability to not only protect our footprint, but also to capture net new opportunities in hyperscale, cloud major and Service Provider accounts.\nLast but not least, the Service Provider 5G and metro markets, which we view as a large opportunity, that is likely to see healthy growth over the next several years. We are playing to win in the Service Provider vertical and believe our investments in automation technologies, such as Netrounds and the introduction of new metro-oriented solution such as the award winning ACX7100 family should position us to gain share in this attractive portion of the market, where historically we've had limited presence.\nI firmly believe we're taking share and that the investments we're making will position us to not only capitalize on the big market opportunities that will unfold over the next few years, but also to see broader market success that decreases our sensitivity to macro trends. We believe our plans will enable us to emerge from the pandemic stronger than we entered, and deliver sustainable top and bottom line growth over the next several years.\nNow I'd like to provide some additional insight into the quarter and address some of the key developments we're seeing from a customer solutions perspective. Starting with our automated WAN solution, which saw strong double-digit revenue growth year-over-year, and exceeded our own expectations in Q1. We experienced strength with both our Service Provider and Cloud customers, each of which delivered double-digit sales growth year-over-year. We grew in all geographies year-over-year, and momentum is healthy entering the June period.\nIn the Service Provider vertical, our diversification strategy is continuing to yield positive results, and we remain optimistic regarding the outlook for our cloud network offering which combined our new ACX product with our Paragon Automation portfolio. We believe these solutions are highly competitive and well positioned to win in one of the fastest growing portion of the Service Provider routing market. As I mentioned previously, we are playing to win in the Service Provider market, and I remain optimistic regarding the outlook for our automated WAN solutions in this important vertical.\n",
"I'd also like to highlight that our automated WAN portfolio had particularly strong orders from our cloud customers in Q1. While our strength was across multiple hyperscale accounts, we also saw improved activity with our largest cloud customer following several quarters of softer demand. Our cloud pipeline remains strong, but we are optimistic regarding the outlook for our wide area solutions, particularly in areas where we maintain incumbency, and are well positioned to benefit from forming a big tailwind, that are likely to start ramping later this year. And for the year, we are confident in our outlook for our automated WAN solution and we expect 2021 results to be slightly above the high-end of the long-term forecast range we provided at our February Investor Day, calling for a 1% decline to 3% growth.\nWhile our cloud-ready data center solutions declined 10% year-over-year during Q1, orders grew nearly 30% year-over-year due to broad based strength across our Cloud, Enterprise and Service Provider customers. Win rate improved and we saw a material increase in average deal size in the quarter. Apstra exceeded our expectation, and is already enabling us to win data center opportunity we likely wouldn't have been able to secure if we hadn't completed the deal in January. Customer interest in our cloud-ready data center portfolio is high, and we remain optimistic regarding the outlook for this business.\nWhile the Q1 revenue decline in our cloud-ready data center business was almost entirely due to expected weakness at a singl"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected revenue ramp for the automotive design pipeline in calendar 2023 and beyond? |
Thank you.
Operator
We have the next question from Quinn Bolton. Please go ahead.
Nathaniel Quinn Bolton -- Needham & Company, LLC, Research Division -- Analyst
Hey, I just wanted to ask, I think it was on the last call, you talked about your engagements with new and existing customers on their next-generation architectures. I'm wondering if you could comment whether those next-generation designs are still on track. Or have some of the component shortages and manufacturing capacity constraints affected the time lines of some of those next-gen products? And then I've got a follow-up on automotive.
Philip D. Davies -- Corporate Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing
This is Phil, hi. So no, the -- we're still very actively engaged on the next-gen GPU and ASIC, on high-performance CPU projects with a number of the hyperscalers and chip manufacturers globally, actually, not just in North America. So no, that's been going really well. And we've got a next-generation product technology that they're really interested in because of the current density that we offer. And the currents are just continuing to go up. And actually, this quarter, I would say that we've seen an uptick in the 48-volt interest from some of the companies that hyperscalers that have been lagging behind, if you like, in converting data centers to 48 volts. We've got a couple of really great conversations going on right now. They're early, but I'm confident that they will turn into opportunities for Vicor. And it's really nice to see that the 48-volt prediction of -- is finally coming to bear in the marketplace. So it's been an exciting quarter.
Nathaniel Quinn Bolton -- Needham & Company, LLC, Research Division -- Analyst
Great. And Phil, I wanted to follow up. You had made some comments on the automotive design pipeline. It seems like you continue to expand your engagement. Should we still be thinking about calendar 2023 as when you start to see some of the initial revenue ramp? I know you're probably shipping some sample revenue today. But in terms of the meaningful ramp, that's still a calendar 2023 program? Or could there be opportunities, say, in things like charging stations that might even ramp before then?
Philip D. Davies -- Corporate Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing
Yes, the charging station -- or the charging opportunity for us is really on vehicle. I mean, that's what we're really focused on. So yes, you're right. It's really toward, I would say, middle to end of 2023 in terms of the early ramps with some of the early customers that we have. And then picking up through 2024 and 20'25, and the opportunities that the team is developing for the company are very exciting. And I mentioned in some of my remarks, the market is changing, too. I mean, the electrification challenge has always been there, and it's picking up. But the OEMs are really looking at supply chains very hard. And looking to the companies that can bring the next-generation technology to them, but at the right value. And that's changing the supply chain, too. So I think as we go through this year, we'll probably be announcing some engagements with partners that will help us bring the automotive opportunity, I think, even bigger than the one from just supplying modules.
Nathaniel Quinn Bolton -- Needham & Company, LLC, Research Division -- Analyst
Great, thank you.
Operator
The next one is coming from Jon Tanwanteng. Please go ahead.
Jonathan E. Tanwanteng -- CJS Securities, Inc. -- MD
Hi, guys. Nice quarter and thank you for taking my question.. I just wanted to address the new facility and how you've been limited -- or will be limited this year to that 7% sequentially. Do you immediately break through that limitation as you get the new facility online in Q1? Or is there some other constraints that we should be thinking about that maybe you're not going to deal if you go past that?
Patrizio Vinciarelli -- Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
No, with the turn on capacity after completion of validation, after all the equipment is installed, the s | [
"\nThank you.\nOperator\nWe have the next question from Quinn Bolton. Please go ahead.\nNathaniel Quinn Bolton -- Needham & Company, LLC, Research Division -- Analyst\nHey, I just wanted to ask, I think it was on the last call, you talked about your engagements with new and existing customers on their next-generation architectures. I'm wondering if you could comment whether those next-generation designs are still on track. Or have some of the component shortages and manufacturing capacity constraints affected the time lines of some of those next-gen products? And then I've got a follow-up on automotive.\nPhilip D. Davies -- Corporate Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing\nThis is Phil, hi. So no, the -- we're still very actively engaged on the next-gen GPU and ASIC, on high-performance CPU projects with a number of the hyperscalers and chip manufacturers globally, actually, not just in North America. So no, that's been going really well. And we've got a next-generation product technology that they're really interested in because of the current density that we offer. And the currents are just continuing to go up. And actually, this quarter, I would say that we've seen an uptick in the 48-volt interest from some of the companies that hyperscalers that have been lagging behind, if you like, in converting data centers to 48 volts. We've got a couple of really great conversations going on right now. They're early, but I'm confident that they will turn into opportunities for Vicor. And it's really nice to see that the 48-volt prediction of -- is finally coming to bear in the marketplace. So it's been an exciting quarter.\nNathaniel Quinn Bolton -- Needham & Company, LLC, Research Division -- Analyst\nGreat. And Phil, I wanted to follow up. You had made some comments on the automotive design pipeline. It seems like you continue to expand your engagement. Should we still be thinking about calendar 2023 as when you start to see some of the initial revenue ramp? I know you're probably shipping some sample revenue today. But in terms of the meaningful ramp, that's still a calendar 2023 program? Or could there be opportunities, say, in things like charging stations that might even ramp before then?\nPhilip D. Davies -- Corporate Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing\n",
"Yes, the charging station -- or the charging opportunity for us is really on vehicle. I mean, that's what we're really focused on. So yes, you're right. It's really toward, I would say, middle to end of 2023 in terms of the early ramps with some of the early customers that we have. And then picking up through 2024 and 20'25, and the opportunities that the team is developing for the company are very exciting. And I mentioned in some of my remarks, the market is changing, too. I mean, the electrification challenge has always been there, and it's picking up. But the OEMs are really looking at supply chains very hard. And looking to the companies that can bring the next-generation technology to them, but at the right value. And that's changing the supply chain, too. So I think as we go through this year, we'll probably be announcing some engagements with partners that will help us bring the automotive opportunity, I think, even bigger than the one from just supplying modules.\nNathaniel Quinn Bolton -- Needham & Company, LLC, Research Division -- Analyst\nGreat, thank you.\nOperator\nThe next one is coming from Jon Tanwanteng. Please go ahead.\nJonathan E. Tanwanteng -- CJS Securities, Inc. -- MD\nHi, guys. Nice quarter and thank you for taking my question.. I just wanted to address the new facility and how you've been limited -- or will be limited this year to that 7% sequentially. Do you immediately break through that limitation as you get the new facility online in Q1? Or is there some other constraints that we should be thinking about that maybe you're not going to deal if you go past that?\nPatrizio Vinciarelli -- Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer\nNo, with the turn on capacity after completion of validation, after all the equipment is installed, the s"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the expected investment in capex for Tenaris in 2021 and the following years to achieve the target of a 30% reduction in CO2 intensity | nd gas, maybe by different players, in the U.S. and outside, will be continuing. Maybe the more complex products will be proceeding at a more careful pace.
Frank McGann -- Bank of America -- Analyst
Okay. Does that -- it sounds like you believe then that, that can lead to at least over a period of time or a number of years, a pretty substantial recovery in activity.
Paolo Rocca -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
I think that any transition associated with expansion of the world economy will require, let's say, substantial investments in the fossil, oil and gas, especially in the coming years. So this is not a transition that could be done without substantial investment. There are companies that bet on this. There are companies that bet on reducing their exposure. We have to follow this. But in the end, in an aggregate view, I think that there will be recovery in 2022 and beyond. And if the growth in the emerging markets continues, this will need to be substantial.
Frank McGann -- Bank of America -- Analyst
Okay. Thank you very much.
Operator
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Alan Spence from Jefferies. Your line is now open.
Alan Spence -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Thanks and good afternoon. I've got two questions, and I'll take them one at a time. The first one is around working capital. You released about $1.6 billion combined in the last two years. Is there any component of this that we should think is structural? Or is it going to be predominantly technical and ultimately, in the next few years come back in?
Paolo Rocca -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
If I understand the first question is concerning our working capital. There will be a recovery of working capital because when -- especially in the first quarter and probably because the volume is increasing, and we have to activate some of the longer lead time road will be recovering the working capital need. And then there is, I would say, a second issue that is when we activate Koppel steelmaking in the United States, finishing in United States, these new mills may require and will require some working capital.
On the other side, the introduction of much higher level of digitalization, programming and, let's say, designing of production into the system, there is something that is part of our digital transformation will contribute to a strict discipline in the existing facility. So the combination of these two, in my view, will not bring back Tenaris to the same level of inventory that we had in the past, but we will increase our inventory requirements in the first quarter and to some extent, also in the second quarter, while we are comparing the start-up of the plant.
Alan Spence -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Okay. Thank you. And the second one, on this 30% reduction in CO2 intensity. If I understood correctly from an earlier question, I think you said that could be achieved with your current portfolio of assets. Does that mean that you don't foresee any material increase in capex related to achieving that -- those targets medium term?
Paolo Rocca -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Well, we will have to invest. We are -- as you see, our investment has been reduced in 2020 to around $200 million. Now in 2021, we plan to remain in the range of $200 million of capex, including some of the first in the line investments in energy savings, but including also, let's say, the start-up investment in the translation of the plant of Prudential to Sault Ste. Marie in Canada, the venture in Emirates in each line. So this will be the range of investment for 2021.
Then I think that the decision of capex for the following year will very much depend on the evolution of the market in the second part of 2022. The investment to reach a reduction in our carbon of 30% are let's say, in a period of 3, four years, not, let's say, of an order of magnitude that is strong. We think that we will require in the range of $150 million in the coming four years to reach the target of 30% reduction.
Alan Spence -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Very clear and very helpful. Thank you.
O | [
"nd gas, maybe by different players, in the U.S. and outside, will be continuing. Maybe the more complex products will be proceeding at a more careful pace.\nFrank McGann -- Bank of America -- Analyst\nOkay. Does that -- it sounds like you believe then that, that can lead to at least over a period of time or a number of years, a pretty substantial recovery in activity.\nPaolo Rocca -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer\nI think that any transition associated with expansion of the world economy will require, let's say, substantial investments in the fossil, oil and gas, especially in the coming years. So this is not a transition that could be done without substantial investment. There are companies that bet on this. There are companies that bet on reducing their exposure. We have to follow this. But in the end, in an aggregate view, I think that there will be recovery in 2022 and beyond. And if the growth in the emerging markets continues, this will need to be substantial.\nFrank McGann -- Bank of America -- Analyst\nOkay. Thank you very much.\nOperator\nThank you. Our next question comes from the line of Alan Spence from Jefferies. Your line is now open.\nAlan Spence -- Jefferies -- Analyst\nThanks and good afternoon. I've got two questions, and I'll take them one at a time. The first one is around working capital. You released about $1.6 billion combined in the last two years. Is there any component of this that we should think is structural? Or is it going to be predominantly technical and ultimately, in the next few years come back in?\nPaolo Rocca -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer\nIf I understand the first question is concerning our working capital. There will be a recovery of working capital because when -- especially in the first quarter and probably because the volume is increasing, and we have to activate some of the longer lead time road will be recovering the working capital need. And then there is, I would say, a second issue that is when we activate Koppel steelmaking in the United States, finishing in United States, these new mills may require and will require some working capital.\n",
"On the other side, the introduction of much higher level of digitalization, programming and, let's say, designing of production into the system, there is something that is part of our digital transformation will contribute to a strict discipline in the existing facility. So the combination of these two, in my view, will not bring back Tenaris to the same level of inventory that we had in the past, but we will increase our inventory requirements in the first quarter and to some extent, also in the second quarter, while we are comparing the start-up of the plant.\nAlan Spence -- Jefferies -- Analyst\nOkay. Thank you. And the second one, on this 30% reduction in CO2 intensity. If I understood correctly from an earlier question, I think you said that could be achieved with your current portfolio of assets. Does that mean that you don't foresee any material increase in capex related to achieving that -- those targets medium term?\nPaolo Rocca -- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer\nWell, we will have to invest. We are -- as you see, our investment has been reduced in 2020 to around $200 million. Now in 2021, we plan to remain in the range of $200 million of capex, including some of the first in the line investments in energy savings, but including also, let's say, the start-up investment in the translation of the plant of Prudential to Sault Ste. Marie in Canada, the venture in Emirates in each line. So this will be the range of investment for 2021.\nThen I think that the decision of capex for the following year will very much depend on the evolution of the market in the second part of 2022. The investment to reach a reduction in our carbon of 30% are let's say, in a period of 3, four years, not, let's say, of an order of magnitude that is strong. We think that we will require in the range of $150 million in the coming four years to reach the target of 30% reduction.\nAlan Spence -- Jefferies -- Analyst\nVery clear and very helpful. Thank you.\nO"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the estimated percentage of small customers versus larger customers in Enphase's distribution | rmation technology to look at building out an end-to-end software platform that can significantly improve the customer experience. Everything from generation, from the sales lead all the way through procurement, through installation, commissioning, operations and maintenance, and I think we're going to grow that business both organically and look at growing it inorganically as well.
And yes, absolutely, we are looking at a bunch of different software companies out there that can help us in that endeavor. I think in the long run as well, we have talked about, given as Ensemble transitions into a more sophisticated energy management system, there's a tremendous opportunity to look at companies that are doing some interesting work in forecasting engines and machine learning and AI-type work, managing big data, etc. So all of those are areas that we are exploring the tremendous opportunity as we start bringing all of our new products into the marketplace.
Mark Strouse -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst
That's it for us. Thanks very much.
Operator
And our next question comes from the line of Jeff Osborne with Cowen and Company. Your line is now open.
Jeff Osborne -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst
Just a couple of questions in response to Colin's question. Could you break out, roughly speaking, the mix of small customers versus larger? I would assume it's 70%, 80% smaller through distribution, but I didn't know if you could...
Badri Kothandaraman -- President and Chief Executive Officer
That's close enough. Yes, that's close enough.
Jeff Osborne -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst
OK. And then in terms of the â I know I've asked you this before in past earnings calls, Badri, but the battery piece, a lot of discussion of costs, and certainly, LFP prices have come down. I assume it's still an LFP-based battery. But is that still anticipated to be in line with the corporate average now that you're approaching 40%? Or should we be modeling something less than that as the storage piece ramps up?
Badri Kothandaraman -- President and Chief Executive Officer
Yes. Yes. LFP, yes, in line with 40%.
Jeff Osborne -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst
OK. Good to hear. And then just given the uncertainty in the market, how should we think about share shifts between you and other competitors? Are we at a point in time where people are transitioning from door to door and sitting down at the kitchen table to digital sales where people would want to learn new technologies and potentially replace a different inverter company with yourselves? Or are people still hunkering down with the status quo? I just didn't know if you're seeing over the past, call it, six to eight weeks any inbounds as it relates to people wanting to get trained that maybe you hadn't heard of in the past or were aligned with the competitor.
Badri Kothandaraman -- President and Chief Executive Officer
It's still early days. But the nice things we have seen are our traffic; the leads have increased a lot. We don't do too much of business digitally today, but that is increasing. Our traffic to the online store is increasing.
So that's why I talked about the digital platform. And the digital platform it's not something that we are taking it lightly yet another effort. This is going to be a really powerful platform if we do it right. What does that mean? If you got a homeowner who is coming to you, and you got a lead that is coming to you, and how effectively you transfer that lead to your installer network? Enphase has got an installer network of 500 loyal installers.
They are amazing partners for us. They are why we exist. So imagine, if we generate thousands of leads, maybe it will become tens of thousands of leads, and maybe it will become hundreds of thousands of leads soon, but let's start with thousands of leads. We pass it to our Enphase loyal installer network.
We help the homeowner make a decision there. And then we then create a platform for the homeowner and the installer and Enphase to interact on one platform seamlessly. Then we start to take care of things like all the way from ap | [
"rmation technology to look at building out an end-to-end software platform that can significantly improve the customer experience. Everything from generation, from the sales lead all the way through procurement, through installation, commissioning, operations and maintenance, and I think we're going to grow that business both organically and look at growing it inorganically as well.\nAnd yes, absolutely, we are looking at a bunch of different software companies out there that can help us in that endeavor. I think in the long run as well, we have talked about, given as Ensemble transitions into a more sophisticated energy management system, there's a tremendous opportunity to look at companies that are doing some interesting work in forecasting engines and machine learning and AI-type work, managing big data, etc. So all of those are areas that we are exploring the tremendous opportunity as we start bringing all of our new products into the marketplace.\nMark Strouse -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst\nThat's it for us. Thanks very much. \nOperator\nAnd our next question comes from the line of Jeff Osborne with Cowen and Company. Your line is now open. \nJeff Osborne -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst\nJust a couple of questions in response to Colin's question. Could you break out, roughly speaking, the mix of small customers versus larger? I would assume it's 70%, 80% smaller through distribution, but I didn't know if you could...\nBadri Kothandaraman -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nThat's close enough. Yes, that's close enough.\nJeff Osborne -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst\nOK. And then in terms of the â I know I've asked you this before in past earnings calls, Badri, but the battery piece, a lot of discussion of costs, and certainly, LFP prices have come down. I assume it's still an LFP-based battery. But is that still anticipated to be in line with the corporate average now that you're approaching 40%? Or should we be modeling something less than that as the storage piece ramps up?\nBadri Kothandaraman -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nYes. Yes. LFP, yes, in line with 40%.\nJeff Osborne -- Cowen and Company -- Analyst\n",
"OK. Good to hear. And then just given the uncertainty in the market, how should we think about share shifts between you and other competitors? Are we at a point in time where people are transitioning from door to door and sitting down at the kitchen table to digital sales where people would want to learn new technologies and potentially replace a different inverter company with yourselves? Or are people still hunkering down with the status quo? I just didn't know if you're seeing over the past, call it, six to eight weeks any inbounds as it relates to people wanting to get trained that maybe you hadn't heard of in the past or were aligned with the competitor.\nBadri Kothandaraman -- President and Chief Executive Officer\nIt's still early days. But the nice things we have seen are our traffic; the leads have increased a lot. We don't do too much of business digitally today, but that is increasing. Our traffic to the online store is increasing.\nSo that's why I talked about the digital platform. And the digital platform it's not something that we are taking it lightly yet another effort. This is going to be a really powerful platform if we do it right. What does that mean? If you got a homeowner who is coming to you, and you got a lead that is coming to you, and how effectively you transfer that lead to your installer network? Enphase has got an installer network of 500 loyal installers.\nThey are amazing partners for us. They are why we exist. So imagine, if we generate thousands of leads, maybe it will become tens of thousands of leads, and maybe it will become hundreds of thousands of leads soon, but let's start with thousands of leads. We pass it to our Enphase loyal installer network.\nWe help the homeowner make a decision there. And then we then create a platform for the homeowner and the installer and Enphase to interact on one platform seamlessly. Then we start to take care of things like all the way from ap"
] | 2 | [
1,
1
] | 1 |
What is the expected total return for Crown Castle shareholders over a long period of time | ll discuss the expected financial impact of this agreement later in the call.
Turning back to our focus on generating superior long-term returns, one of our core principles of our strategy is to remain U.S. only because we believe it represents the best market for wireless infrastructure ownership since it has the most attractive growth profile and the lowest risk. And we believe this dynamic of higher growth and lower risk will continue into the future, which is why we expect our U.S-based strategy to drive significant returns for our shareholders.
Starting with the higher growth we see in the U.S., the demand for our shared infrastructure offering across towers, small cells and fiber is tied to the robust demand for mobile data in the U.S., which continues to increase by more than 30% annually. Because the outlook is so compelling, the U.S. wireless market continues to attract a disproportionate amount of global capital investment. This is likely due in part to the fact that the durability and scale of wireless data growth in the U.S. has repeatedly outperformed expectations. I remember fielding questions from investors and analysts nearly a decade ago, trying to understand why we were not expanding our tower business and the less established international markets that offer the promise of outsized growth to compensate for the outsize risk.
The core set of assumptions underpinning that line of questioning included a view by many that it was inevitable that U.S. growth rates would flow. Leading to a desire to augment that growth by investing in international wireless markets, that hopefully would develop the same key set of fundamentals over time, that has made the U.S. market so successful for decades. We didn't buy into that argument at the time and sitting here today on the doorstep to 5G, we reach a similar conclusion that the U.S. is still among the highest growth markets for wireless infrastructure.
Importantly, in a shared infrastructure business with long-term investment horizon, we have benefited from these superior growth rates while avoiding the risks associated with investment opportunities in less established international wireless market. These risks can have a meaningful impact on long-term returns and many have materialized in recent years, including the outsized churn due to less favorable industry dynamics relative to the U.S., sustained foreign currency devaluation that results in revenue churn, and disruptive social or governmental environments in less developed countries. Because we believe the U.S. has both greater potential for growth and lower risk, we are focused on growing cash flows on our 40,000 towers by providing access to existing and new customers that are building 5G wireless network.
We are investing in new small cell and fiber assets that our customers need for their wireless networks, which we believe increases our ability to capitalize on the 5G growth trends in the U.S., and we are developing new capabilities and offerings that will leverage our existing assets to drive innovation. And we believe we'll further extend our growth opportunity, such as CBRS and edge computing. I believe that Crown Castle offer shareholders an unmatched opportunity to benefit from the launch of 5G wireless networks in the U.S.
In the near to medium term, we expect to deliver outsized AFFO per share growth of 11% this year, as we translate this increasing 5G activity in the very attractive bottom-line growth. We expect to once again deliver the highest tower revenue growth rate in the U.S. among our public tower peers in 2021. And our customers are affirming the value we bring with our comprehensive portfolio of shared wireless infrastructure assets by entering into long-term agreements to access those assets. Longer term, we believe Crown Castle provides an exciting opportunity for shareholders to potentially compound double-digit total returns over a long period of time with a high-quality dividend that currently yields 3% and that we expect to be able to grow 7% to 8% annually.
When I consider the dura | [
"ll discuss the expected financial impact of this agreement later in the call.\nTurning back to our focus on generating superior long-term returns, one of our core principles of our strategy is to remain U.S. only because we believe it represents the best market for wireless infrastructure ownership since it has the most attractive growth profile and the lowest risk. And we believe this dynamic of higher growth and lower risk will continue into the future, which is why we expect our U.S-based strategy to drive significant returns for our shareholders.\nStarting with the higher growth we see in the U.S., the demand for our shared infrastructure offering across towers, small cells and fiber is tied to the robust demand for mobile data in the U.S., which continues to increase by more than 30% annually. Because the outlook is so compelling, the U.S. wireless market continues to attract a disproportionate amount of global capital investment. This is likely due in part to the fact that the durability and scale of wireless data growth in the U.S. has repeatedly outperformed expectations. I remember fielding questions from investors and analysts nearly a decade ago, trying to understand why we were not expanding our tower business and the less established international markets that offer the promise of outsized growth to compensate for the outsize risk.\nThe core set of assumptions underpinning that line of questioning included a view by many that it was inevitable that U.S. growth rates would flow. Leading to a desire to augment that growth by investing in international wireless markets, that hopefully would develop the same key set of fundamentals over time, that has made the U.S. market so successful for decades. We didn't buy into that argument at the time and sitting here today on the doorstep to 5G, we reach a similar conclusion that the U.S. is still among the highest growth markets for wireless infrastructure.\nImportantly, in a shared infrastructure business with long-term investment horizon, we have benefited from these superior growth rates while avoiding the risks associated with investment opportunities in less established international wireless market. These risks can have a meaningful impact on long-term returns and many have materialized in recent years, including the outsized churn due to less favorable industry dynamics relative to the U.S., sustained foreign currency devaluation that results in revenue churn, and disruptive social or governmental environments in less developed countries. Because we believe the U.S. has both greater potential for growth and lower risk, we are focused on growing cash flows on our 40,000 towers by providing access to existing and new customers that are building 5G wireless network.\n",
"We are investing in new small cell and fiber assets that our customers need for their wireless networks, which we believe increases our ability to capitalize on the 5G growth trends in the U.S., and we are developing new capabilities and offerings that will leverage our existing assets to drive innovation. And we believe we'll further extend our growth opportunity, such as CBRS and edge computing. I believe that Crown Castle offer shareholders an unmatched opportunity to benefit from the launch of 5G wireless networks in the U.S.\nIn the near to medium term, we expect to deliver outsized AFFO per share growth of 11% this year, as we translate this increasing 5G activity in the very attractive bottom-line growth. We expect to once again deliver the highest tower revenue growth rate in the U.S. among our public tower peers in 2021. And our customers are affirming the value we bring with our comprehensive portfolio of shared wireless infrastructure assets by entering into long-term agreements to access those assets. Longer term, we believe Crown Castle provides an exciting opportunity for shareholders to potentially compound double-digit total returns over a long period of time with a high-quality dividend that currently yields 3% and that we expect to be able to grow 7% to 8% annually.\nWhen I consider the dura"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
Where did the kidnapper live? | Customers of the printing company knew her as "Allissa." Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped at 11 and kept hidden for 18 years in a backyard compound, authorities say. They spoke to her about graphic design, business cards and fliers, and describe her as professional, polite and responsive. "She was always good at getting us what we wanted," said Ben Daughdrill, who used to own a junk hauling business. "You got the feeling she was doing all the work." But "Allissa," authorities say, was really Jaycee Dugard, kidnapped 18 years ago from her home in South Lake Tahoe, California. Her identity was discovered earlier this week and her alleged kidnappers -- 58-year-old Phillip Garrido, a registered sex offender, and his 55-year-old wife Nancy -- were arrested. Watch police officers talk about Garrido » They face 29 felony charges, including rape and kidnapping, and both have pleaded not guilty. Authorities said the Garridos held Dugard -- and the two daughters she had by Phillip Garrido -- in sheds in their backyard. Watch aerial view of backyard compound » Garrido's business, "Printing for Less," catered to small businesses. He ran it out of his home in Antioch, east of San Francisco. His customers say he did good work and had much lower prices than competition. CNN obtained e-mails written by "Allissa" to Daughdrill. The e-mails came from a Yahoo account set up by Phillip Garrido and in his name, but Daughdrill said they came from "Allissa" because the two were either on the phone or had just finished a conversation when they arrived. In them, Dugard uses short, compact answers and lowercase letters. The e-mails also have a typo or two. Hear interview with Garrido » "i will take a look at the price sheet and send you over a copy of the revised brochure tomorrow," she wrote in an e-mail written on May 7, 2007. "as to the pictures sorry ... but we don't have a digital camera ... hopefully you can find a way to get me those pictures you want so i can add them to them brochure. i can get the brochures to you pretty fast within the week of final approval of the brochures. How many are you going to order and do you want them on glossy or matte paper, thick or thin?" In another e-mail, this one from January 21, 2008, Dugard wrote, "heres the business cards in jpeg format let me know if you need anything else thank you." While authorities say they are still trying to sort out the conditions in which Dugard was held captive, it's clear she was an integral part of Garrido's business. Watch about recovering from captivity » Daughdrill told CNN he met Dugard in person on two occasions. "Nothing stood out," he said when "Allissa" emerged from the house and gave him his print orders. "Obviously there was some brainwashing going on. That's all I can think," he said. " She had access to a phone and a computer, so obviously something went on that no one knows about." See photos of Dugard's living conditions » Three northern California law enforcement agencies have joined the investigation of Phillip Garrido, saying he may be responsible for other crimes. | [
"Customers of the printing company knew her as \"Allissa.\" Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped at 11 and kept hidden for 18 years in a backyard compound, authorities say. They spoke to her about graphic design, business cards and fliers, and describe her as professional, polite and responsive. \"She was always good at getting us what we wanted,\" said Ben Daughdrill, who used to own a junk hauling business. \"You got the feeling she was doing all the work.\" But \"Allissa,\" authorities say, was really Jaycee Dugard, kidnapped 18 years ago from her home in South Lake Tahoe, California. Her identity was discovered earlier this week and her alleged kidnappers -- 58-year-old Phillip Garrido, a registered sex offender, and his 55-year-old wife Nancy -- were arrested. Watch police officers talk about Garrido » They face 29 felony charges, including rape and kidnapping, and both have pleaded not guilty. Authorities said the Garridos held Dugard -- and the two daughters she had by Phillip Garrido -- in sheds in their backyard. Watch aerial view of backyard compound » Garrido's business, \"Printing for Less,\" catered to small businesses. He ran it out of his home in Antioch, east of San Francisco. His customers say he did good work and had much lower prices than competition. CNN obtained e-mails written by \"Allissa\" to Daughdrill. The e-mails came from a Yahoo account set up by Phillip Garrido and in his name, but Daughdrill said they came from \"Allissa\" because the two were either on the phone or had just finished a conversation when they arrived. In them, Dugard uses short, compact answers and lowercase letters. The e-mails also have a typo or two. Hear interview with Garrido » \"i will take a look at the price sheet and send you over a copy of the revised brochure tomorrow,\" she wrote in an e-mail written on May 7, 2007. \"as to the pictures sorry ... but we don't have a digital camera ... hopefully you can find a way to get me those pictures you want so i can add them to them brochure. i can get the brochures to you pretty fast within the week of final approval of the brochures. How many are you going to order and do you want them on glossy or matte paper, thick or thin?\" ",
"In another e-mail, this one from January 21, 2008, Dugard wrote, \"heres the business cards in jpeg format let me know if you need anything else thank you.\" While authorities say they are still trying to sort out the conditions in which Dugard was held captive, it's clear she was an integral part of Garrido's business. Watch about recovering from captivity » Daughdrill told CNN he met Dugard in person on two occasions. \"Nothing stood out,\" he said when \"Allissa\" emerged from the house and gave him his print orders. \"Obviously there was some brainwashing going on. That's all I can think,\" he said. \" She had access to a phone and a computer, so obviously something went on that no one knows about.\" See photos of Dugard's living conditions » Three northern California law enforcement agencies have joined the investigation of Phillip Garrido, saying he may be responsible for other crimes."
] | 2 | [
0,
1
] | 0.63093 |
Extract the names of the ramen. separate them with comma. | Shio (塩, 'salt') ramen is the oldest of the four types. It has a pale, clear, yellowish broth made with plenty of salt and any combination of chicken, vegetables, fish, and seaweed. Occasionally pork bones are also used, but they are not boiled as long as they are for tonkotsu ramen, so the soup remains light and clear. Chāshū is sometimes swapped for lean chicken meatballs, and pickled plums and kamaboko (a slice of processed fish roll sometimes served as a frilly white circle with a pink or red spiral called narutomaki) are popular toppings as well. Noodle texture and thickness varies among shio ramen, but they are usually straight rather than curly. Hakodate ramen is a well-known version of shio ramen in Japan.
Shōyu (醤油, 'soy sauce') ramen has a clear brown broth, based on a chicken and vegetable (or sometimes fish or beef) stock with plenty of soy sauce added resulting in a soup that is tangy, salty, and savory yet still fairly light on the palate. Shōyu ramen usually has curly noodles rather than straight ones, although this is not always the case. It is often adorned with marinated bamboo shoots or menma, scallions, ninjin ('carrot'), kamaboko ('fish cakes'), nori ('seaweed'), boiled eggs, bean sprouts or black pepper; occasionally the soup will also contain chili oil or Chinese spices, and some shops serve sliced beef instead of the usual chāshū.
Miso (味噌) ramen reached national prominence around 1965. This uniquely Japanese ramen, which was developed in Sapporo Hokkaido, features a broth that combines copious miso and is blended with oily chicken or fish broth – and sometimes with tonkotsu or lard – to create a thick, nutty, slightly sweet and very hearty soup. Miso ramen broth tends to have a robust, tangy flavor, so it stands up to a variety of flavorful toppings: spicy bean paste or tōbanjan (豆瓣醤), butter and corn, leeks, onions, bean sprouts, ground pork, cabbage, sesame seeds, white pepper, chilli and chopped garlic are common. The noodles are typically thick, curly, and slightly chewy.
Karē (カレー, 'curry') ramen is a relative newcomer, cooked with curry soup. In Japan, several cities claim to be its place of origin. The city of Muroran claims it originated there in 1965 (see also Muroran curry ramen), while the city of Sanjō claims to have had karē ramen for over 80 years, and the city of Katori also claims to have been the site of its origin. Curry soup is mainly made with pork bones and vegetables and is seasoned with curry. The noodles are thick and curly. Toppings include chāshū, wakame, and bean sprouts. | [
"Shio (塩, 'salt') ramen is the oldest of the four types. It has a pale, clear, yellowish broth made with plenty of salt and any combination of chicken, vegetables, fish, and seaweed. Occasionally pork bones are also used, but they are not boiled as long as they are for tonkotsu ramen, so the soup remains light and clear. Chāshū is sometimes swapped for lean chicken meatballs, and pickled plums and kamaboko (a slice of processed fish roll sometimes served as a frilly white circle with a pink or red spiral called narutomaki) are popular toppings as well. Noodle texture and thickness varies among shio ramen, but they are usually straight rather than curly. Hakodate ramen is a well-known version of shio ramen in Japan.\nShōyu (醤油, 'soy sauce') ramen has a clear brown broth, based on a chicken and vegetable (or sometimes fish or beef) stock with plenty of soy sauce added resulting in a soup that is tangy, salty, and savory yet still fairly light on the palate. Shōyu ramen usually has curly noodles rather than straight ones, although this is not always the case. It is often adorned with marinated bamboo shoots or menma, scallions, ninjin ('carrot'), kamaboko ('fish cakes'), nori ('seaweed'), boiled eggs, bean sprouts or black pepper; occasionally the soup will also contain chili oil or Chinese spices, and some shops serve sliced beef instead of the usual chāshū.\nMiso (味噌) ramen reached national prominence around 1965. This uniquely Japanese ramen, which was developed in Sapporo Hokkaido, features a broth that combines copious miso and is blended with oily chicken or fish broth – and sometimes with tonkotsu or lard – to create a thick, nutty, slightly sweet and very hearty soup. Miso ramen broth tends to have a robust, tangy flavor, so it stands up to a variety of flavorful toppings: spicy bean paste or tōbanjan (豆瓣醤), butter and corn, leeks, onions, bean sprouts, ground pork, cabbage, sesame seeds, white pepper, chilli and chopped garlic are common. The noodles are typically thick, curly, and slightly chewy.\n",
"Karē (カレー, 'curry') ramen is a relative newcomer, cooked with curry soup. In Japan, several cities claim to be its place of origin. The city of Muroran claims it originated there in 1965 (see also Muroran curry ramen), while the city of Sanjō claims to have had karē ramen for over 80 years, and the city of Katori also claims to have been the site of its origin. Curry soup is mainly made with pork bones and vegetables and is seasoned with curry. The noodles are thick and curly. Toppings include chāshū, wakame, and bean sprouts."
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What was suspended in May? | A few months ago, it seemed liked nothing could stop Iraqi sprinter Dana Hussain from representing her country in the upcoming Summer Olympics. Iraqi sprinter Dana Hussain was devastated to learn she could not participate in the Beijing Summer Olympics. Then, the International Olympic Committee banned Iraq from competing because of what it says is the government's political interference in sports. Hussain cried for hours after hearing the news, which arrived in the form of a letter to Iraqi officials. "She hasn't stopped. It's like finding out that a close relative has died," said her coach, Yousif Abdul Rahman. Abdul Rahman attempted to console Hussain by assuring her that she could compete in the 2012 Olympics. Watch Hussain react to the news » "In this horrible situation," she said, "who can say I'll even be alive in 2012?" CNN received a copy of the letter sent to Jassim Mohammed Jaffer, Iraqi minister of youth and sports, and Ali Mohsen Ismail, acting secretary general of the Iraqi general secretariat of the Council of Ministers. "We deeply regret this outcome, which severely harms the Iraqi Olympic and Sports Movement and the Iraqi athletes, but which is unfortunately imposed by the circumstances," said the letter, signed by two IOC officials. Watch an official explain the decision » The move stems from an Iraqi government decision in May to suspend the nation's Olympic Committee and form a temporary committee to handle its duties. The Iraqi government thought the committee had not been operating properly and as a result undermined the sporting movement there. The government said the original committee held meetings without quorums and had officials serving in one-year posts for more than five years. Many of the officials also lived outside Iraq, the government said. iReport.com: See a cartoonist's take on the decision Emmanuelle Moreau, a spokeswoman for the International Olympic Committee, said it suspended Iraq's national Olympic Committee in June after the government removed elected officials and put in people the IOC didn't recognize. She said the IOC proposed to the Iraqi government that officials come to the organization's headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, "to discuss possible solutions." But she said they didn't respond. "We're extremely disappointed with the situation. The athletes have been ill-served by the government in Iraq," she said. Moreau said Iraq missed a Wednesday deadline for the entry of athletes to compete in archery, judo, rowing and weightlifting. Watch a historian discuss the Olympics in Iraq under Saddam Hussein » She said there is a chance that track and field athletes could compete if the original committee is reinstated. The deadline for the track team to register is at the end of the month. The Games begin August 8. A former official from the disbanded Iraq Olympic Committee said the IOC's decision was justified because the government interfered with the national committee by suspending it. The former official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. He said he believed that the government suspended the committee out of "jealousy." The national committee was making great strides, and the government, namely the Ministry of Youth and Sports, wanted control of it, he said. The seven Iraqi athletes who were to travel to China for the Games' start in August are disappointed by the decision, officials said. They include an archer, a weightlifter, a judoka, two rowers and two sprinters, one of whom is Dana Hussain. Her coach called the decision unfair and said he blames "everyone": the Iraqi government and the Iraqi and International Olympic committees. In the end, Abdul Rahman said, the athletes are paying the price. "It's a shame after all the efforts, ambitions, risks and dangers," he said. "I wish from the bottom of my heart they would reconsider this unjust decision for the sake of the athletes." CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report. | [
"A few months ago, it seemed liked nothing could stop Iraqi sprinter Dana Hussain from representing her country in the upcoming Summer Olympics. Iraqi sprinter Dana Hussain was devastated to learn she could not participate in the Beijing Summer Olympics. Then, the International Olympic Committee banned Iraq from competing because of what it says is the government's political interference in sports. Hussain cried for hours after hearing the news, which arrived in the form of a letter to Iraqi officials. \"She hasn't stopped. It's like finding out that a close relative has died,\" said her coach, Yousif Abdul Rahman. Abdul Rahman attempted to console Hussain by assuring her that she could compete in the 2012 Olympics. Watch Hussain react to the news » \"In this horrible situation,\" she said, \"who can say I'll even be alive in 2012?\" CNN received a copy of the letter sent to Jassim Mohammed Jaffer, Iraqi minister of youth and sports, and Ali Mohsen Ismail, acting secretary general of the Iraqi general secretariat of the Council of Ministers. \"We deeply regret this outcome, which severely harms the Iraqi Olympic and Sports Movement and the Iraqi athletes, but which is unfortunately imposed by the circumstances,\" said the letter, signed by two IOC officials. Watch an official explain the decision » The move stems from an Iraqi government decision in May to suspend the nation's Olympic Committee and form a temporary committee to handle its duties. The Iraqi government thought the committee had not been operating properly and as a result undermined the sporting movement there. The government said the original committee held meetings without quorums and had officials serving in one-year posts for more than five years. Many of the officials also lived outside Iraq, the government said. iReport.com: See a cartoonist's take on the decision Emmanuelle Moreau, a spokeswoman for the International Olympic Committee, said it suspended Iraq's national Olympic Committee in June after the government removed elected officials and put in people the IOC didn't recognize. She said the IOC proposed to the Iraqi government that officials come to the organization's headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, \"to discuss possible solutions.\" But she said they didn't respond. \"We're extremely disappointed with the situation. The athletes have been ill-served by the government in Iraq,\" she said. Moreau said Iraq missed a Wednesday deadline for the entry of athletes to compete in archery, judo, rowing and weightlifting. ",
"Watch a historian discuss the Olympics in Iraq under Saddam Hussein » She said there is a chance that track and field athletes could compete if the original committee is reinstated. The deadline for the track team to register is at the end of the month. The Games begin August 8. A former official from the disbanded Iraq Olympic Committee said the IOC's decision was justified because the government interfered with the national committee by suspending it. The former official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. He said he believed that the government suspended the committee out of \"jealousy.\" The national committee was making great strides, and the government, namely the Ministry of Youth and Sports, wanted control of it, he said. The seven Iraqi athletes who were to travel to China for the Games' start in August are disappointed by the decision, officials said. They include an archer, a weightlifter, a judoka, two rowers and two sprinters, one of whom is Dana Hussain. Her coach called the decision unfair and said he blames \"everyone\": the Iraqi government and the Iraqi and International Olympic committees. In the end, Abdul Rahman said, the athletes are paying the price. \"It's a shame after all the efforts, ambitions, risks and dangers,\" he said. \"I wish from the bottom of my heart they would reconsider this unjust decision for the sake of the athletes.\" CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report."
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is TSMC's expected growth in HPC to be in the next several years in terms of incremental revenue growth | se areas.
Despite the ongoing inventory correction, our customers' demand continue to exceed our ability to supply. We expect our capacity to remain tight throughout 2022 and our full-year growth to be mid-30% in U.S. dollar terms. Three key factor in supporting TSMC's strong structural demand are our technology leadership and differentiation, our strong portfolio in high-performance computing and our strategic relationship with customers.
All of these factors are TSMC's strength in the foundry industry. First, on technology leadership and differentiation, TSMC's technology position is much stronger today as compared to previous years. Looking ahead to 2023, we are working diligently to provide the industry most advanced technologies and making it available to all the product innovators with the successful ramp of N5, N4P, N4X, and the upcoming ramp up of N3, we will expand our customer product portfolio and increase our addressable market. The macroeconomic uncertainty may persist into 2023.
Our technology leadership will continue to advance and support our growth. Secondly, the massive structural increase in the demand of computation, underpinned by the industry megatrend, continues to fill greater need for performance and energy-efficient computing, which require use of leading-edge technologies. Through our comprehensive IP ecosystem and optimized process technology, we are able to address and capture the structural demand and build a strong portfolio in high-performance computing. We expect HPC to be the main engine of TSMC's long-term growth and the largest contributor in terms of our incremental revenue growth in the next several years.
Third, our strategic relationship with our customers are long term in nature, developed and built through many years of collaboration and investment to enable customers' success in the high-end market. We continue to work closely with our customer and technology development, capacity planning and pricing to support their long-term demand and growth. With all these three differentiating factors, we expect our capacity utilization to remain healthy in 2023. And our business to be less volatile, they're more resilient, supported by the strong demand for our differentiated and leading advanced and specialty technologies.
Now let me talk about TSMC's long-term growth outlook. While macroeconomic headwinds bring near-term uncertainties that may persist, we believe the fundamental structural growth trajectory in the long-term semiconductor demand remains firmly in place. We continue to observe silicon content increase across many end devices, fueled by process technology migration and increased functionality. For example, the number of CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators in the data center are increasing.
5G smartphone carries substantially higher silicon content as compared to 4G smartphone. The amount of silicon content in today's car continue to rise. While the device unit growth of many electronics device may be flattish to low single-digit percentage range, in the next several years, the silicon content growth will be higher, in the mid- to high single-digit percentage range and support the long-term structural semiconductor demand and increase our addressable wafer demand. TSMC's capex and capacity planning are always based on the long-term structural market demand profile, not near-term factors.
We are working closely with our customer to plan our long-term capacity and investing in leading edge and specialty technology to support their growth. We will manage our business prudently through the near-term uncertainties, and we remain highly confident in our long-term growth outlook. With our technology leadership, manufacturing and capacity support and customers trust, TSMC is well positioned to capture the strong multiyear growth from the favorable structural megatrend of 5G and HPC-related applications and deliver profitable growth for our shareholders. We reiterate our long-term revenue to be between 15 and 20 CAGR over the next several years in U.S.
dollar terms. Next, let me talk ab | [
"se areas.\nDespite the ongoing inventory correction, our customers' demand continue to exceed our ability to supply. We expect our capacity to remain tight throughout 2022 and our full-year growth to be mid-30% in U.S. dollar terms. Three key factor in supporting TSMC's strong structural demand are our technology leadership and differentiation, our strong portfolio in high-performance computing and our strategic relationship with customers.\nAll of these factors are TSMC's strength in the foundry industry. First, on technology leadership and differentiation, TSMC's technology position is much stronger today as compared to previous years. Looking ahead to 2023, we are working diligently to provide the industry most advanced technologies and making it available to all the product innovators with the successful ramp of N5, N4P, N4X, and the upcoming ramp up of N3, we will expand our customer product portfolio and increase our addressable market. The macroeconomic uncertainty may persist into 2023.\nOur technology leadership will continue to advance and support our growth. Secondly, the massive structural increase in the demand of computation, underpinned by the industry megatrend, continues to fill greater need for performance and energy-efficient computing, which require use of leading-edge technologies. Through our comprehensive IP ecosystem and optimized process technology, we are able to address and capture the structural demand and build a strong portfolio in high-performance computing. We expect HPC to be the main engine of TSMC's long-term growth and the largest contributor in terms of our incremental revenue growth in the next several years.\nThird, our strategic relationship with our customers are long term in nature, developed and built through many years of collaboration and investment to enable customers' success in the high-end market. We continue to work closely with our customer and technology development, capacity planning and pricing to support their long-term demand and growth. With all these three differentiating factors, we expect our capacity utilization to remain healthy in 2023. And our business to be less volatile, they're more resilient, supported by the strong demand for our differentiated and leading advanced and specialty technologies.\n",
"Now let me talk about TSMC's long-term growth outlook. While macroeconomic headwinds bring near-term uncertainties that may persist, we believe the fundamental structural growth trajectory in the long-term semiconductor demand remains firmly in place. We continue to observe silicon content increase across many end devices, fueled by process technology migration and increased functionality. For example, the number of CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators in the data center are increasing.\n5G smartphone carries substantially higher silicon content as compared to 4G smartphone. The amount of silicon content in today's car continue to rise. While the device unit growth of many electronics device may be flattish to low single-digit percentage range, in the next several years, the silicon content growth will be higher, in the mid- to high single-digit percentage range and support the long-term structural semiconductor demand and increase our addressable wafer demand. TSMC's capex and capacity planning are always based on the long-term structural market demand profile, not near-term factors.\nWe are working closely with our customer to plan our long-term capacity and investing in leading edge and specialty technology to support their growth. We will manage our business prudently through the near-term uncertainties, and we remain highly confident in our long-term growth outlook. With our technology leadership, manufacturing and capacity support and customers trust, TSMC is well positioned to capture the strong multiyear growth from the favorable structural megatrend of 5G and HPC-related applications and deliver profitable growth for our shareholders. We reiterate our long-term revenue to be between 15 and 20 CAGR over the next several years in U.S.\ndollar terms. Next, let me talk ab"
] | 2 | [
0,
1
] | 0.63093 |
What was the increase in customer engagements for Inseego's 5G FWA products in the second half of the year | le with lower speeds and higher latency of legacy technologies. Next, let's talk about fixed wireless access. In the first half of the year, we released a series of 5G FWA products including two indoor products and two rugged outdoor products, which were certified for use in many markets globally. We also just released a new industrial 5G gateway purpose-built for vertical markets. Response has been extremely positive, and we believe 5G FWA will be a major revenue driver for us moving forward. In addition to anchor channel partners who've been quick to adopt our portfolio, we secured four product awards with operators in the U.S., Australia and the Middle East. Also note that we now have five 5G products certified by both T-Mobile and Verizon including hotspots and FWA. These new products are the primary drivers of the dramatic increase in customer engagements, and they will be instrumental in driving revenue growth in the coming quarters. Let me highlight three factors that are driving the adoption of these 5G products. First, the 5G networks continue to be rolled out at an aggressive pace, and operators are looking to quickly capitalize on this newly added network capacity. This is reinforced by the work-from-anywhere paradigm and a growing enterprise customer pool. Second, the breadth and depth of our 5G portfolio is resonating with customers. Our partners and customers tell us that Inseego products bring out the best in their networks. No other vendor has the performance of our 4G and 5G solutions. Not only are Inseego solutions fast, but they are extremely reliable and proven to deliver consistent throughput for long periods of time. And our new fixed wireless outdoor products can also sustain better connection at exceptionally long distances. In addition, our products are built with a security-first mindset with multiple layers of security built in our proprietary hard and operating system software, which is at the core of all of our devices. In this environment with ransomware and security breaches dramatically rising, everyone is coming to the realization that security is one of the killer apps for 5G. The combination of performance and security is unique to Inseego and creates a highly differentiated, competitive advantage. To put it simply, no other company empowers users to connect wirelessly with confidence like Inseego.
Third, our strategic decision last year to increase our investments in go-to-market is yielding fantastic results. I'm very pleased with our performance and momentum across all geographies, all market segments and all products. We're building a strong pipeline of 5G customer opportunities across many enterprise segments and our global markets. Allow me to now go over some of the use cases that are driving this incredible growth in user engagement for our FWA products. The work-from-anywhere shift across the board has increased the demand. When the pandemic began, business continuity or connect first was paramount and often meant that security considerations took a backseat. This created significant vulnerabilities to an enterprise's overall network security posture. Now as we come out of the pandemic, we're seeing demand extend beyond work-from-home as enterprises look to create more flexible work environments for their workforces. Our FWA portfolio is a natural choice as it improves on the already impressive capabilities of our mobile hotspots with stronger antennas, better heat dissipation that allows for 24/7 use and centralized cloud management. Another growing use case is the branch office or remote location connectivity. Whereas in the past wireless was used as a backup, the capabilities of our 5G products allow enterprises to make wireless their primary source of broadband. For example, we are working with household name retail outlets but deep inside shopping malls, a heavy equipment manufacturer wanting to implement digital PIN application at a remote location and a global airline to light up secure wireless connectivity at all their gates, just to name a few. With our record-breakin | [
"le with lower speeds and higher latency of legacy technologies. Next, let's talk about fixed wireless access. In the first half of the year, we released a series of 5G FWA products including two indoor products and two rugged outdoor products, which were certified for use in many markets globally. We also just released a new industrial 5G gateway purpose-built for vertical markets. Response has been extremely positive, and we believe 5G FWA will be a major revenue driver for us moving forward. In addition to anchor channel partners who've been quick to adopt our portfolio, we secured four product awards with operators in the U.S., Australia and the Middle East. Also note that we now have five 5G products certified by both T-Mobile and Verizon including hotspots and FWA. These new products are the primary drivers of the dramatic increase in customer engagements, and they will be instrumental in driving revenue growth in the coming quarters. Let me highlight three factors that are driving the adoption of these 5G products. First, the 5G networks continue to be rolled out at an aggressive pace, and operators are looking to quickly capitalize on this newly added network capacity. This is reinforced by the work-from-anywhere paradigm and a growing enterprise customer pool. Second, the breadth and depth of our 5G portfolio is resonating with customers. Our partners and customers tell us that Inseego products bring out the best in their networks. No other vendor has the performance of our 4G and 5G solutions. Not only are Inseego solutions fast, but they are extremely reliable and proven to deliver consistent throughput for long periods of time. And our new fixed wireless outdoor products can also sustain better connection at exceptionally long distances. In addition, our products are built with a security-first mindset with multiple layers of security built in our proprietary hard and operating system software, which is at the core of all of our devices. In this environment with ransomware and security breaches dramatically rising, everyone is coming to the realization that security is one of the killer apps for 5G. The combination of performance and security is unique to Inseego and creates a highly differentiated, competitive advantage. To put it simply, no other company empowers users to connect wirelessly with confidence like Inseego.\n",
"Third, our strategic decision last year to increase our investments in go-to-market is yielding fantastic results. I'm very pleased with our performance and momentum across all geographies, all market segments and all products. We're building a strong pipeline of 5G customer opportunities across many enterprise segments and our global markets. Allow me to now go over some of the use cases that are driving this incredible growth in user engagement for our FWA products. The work-from-anywhere shift across the board has increased the demand. When the pandemic began, business continuity or connect first was paramount and often meant that security considerations took a backseat. This created significant vulnerabilities to an enterprise's overall network security posture. Now as we come out of the pandemic, we're seeing demand extend beyond work-from-home as enterprises look to create more flexible work environments for their workforces. Our FWA portfolio is a natural choice as it improves on the already impressive capabilities of our mobile hotspots with stronger antennas, better heat dissipation that allows for 24/7 use and centralized cloud management. Another growing use case is the branch office or remote location connectivity. Whereas in the past wireless was used as a backup, the capabilities of our 5G products allow enterprises to make wireless their primary source of broadband. For example, we are working with household name retail outlets but deep inside shopping malls, a heavy equipment manufacturer wanting to implement digital PIN application at a remote location and a global airline to light up secure wireless connectivity at all their gates, just to name a few. With our record-breakin"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What can cause cervical cancer | I'm the mother of two daughters, a teen and a tween. So every day, I tiptoe through hormonally laced minefields hoping to avoid emotional carnage in response to any of my random comments or actions. The cervical cancer vaccine, approved in 2006, is recommended for girls around 11 or 12. As I tiptoe, I sometimes stumble, as any mother of girls that age knows. No adult woman in her right mind would knowingly, willingly utter comments that result in young people hissing, hurling verbal grenades such as, "Thanks, Mom, for calling me fat, AGAIN." Or "Are you EVEN listening to me?" Or any version of the very popular, "I hate YOU," "I hate you SO much," "I hate this family," or just plain "AAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!" followed by stomping feet and slamming doors. So given this background, you might understand why, when I chose to broach the subject of the latest vaccine for young girls, I was braced for a fight. Oddly enough, for once, the battle didn't come. I told my teenage daughter I wanted her to get the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine the next time she went to see her doctor. "I don't want to." "Well, sorry. You have to." "I heard it hurts." "Well, that's too bad. But it might prevent you from getting cancer later in life." "Oh. (pause) OK." If you were keeping score, you might chalk that one up as a Mom win. The only problem with that is after winning over my daughter, I now had to convince myself. This drug has its own emotional battlefields. The HPV vaccine has been available to the public for almost two years. When Merck launched it in 2006 under the name Gardasil, many people enthusiastically embraced it as a wonder drug. Dr. Kevin Ault, associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University's School of Medicine, says the vaccine helps women avoid an assortment of ailments, some not too serious, but others that are potentially deadly. "There are about 100 different types of human papillomavirus," he said. "Some of them are pretty common and not dangerous, like plantar warts or warts on your hand. About 30 of them infect the genital tract, and about a dozen of them are associated with cancer." Health for Her: Watch more the HPV vaccine and girls » In this case, the cancer Ault is talking about is cervical cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2008, there will be over 11,000 new cases of cervical cancer diagnosed and almost 4,000 women will die from it in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that at least 50 percent of people who have had sex will have one type of HPV at some time in their lives. Given those stats, this vaccine would seem like a pretty good thing, right? The hitch is that the vaccine is suggested for adolescent girls, but the viruses in question are sexually transmitted. And that is one of the big reasons the HPV vaccine has divided parents in the question of "to give or not to give." Let's face it. Parents don't like thinking about their daughters having sex at all. Ever. Now a new drug comes along, and not only are parents told they should embrace this new vaccine for their young daughters, but it's also part of the set of routine vaccines that doctors are strongly encouraged to give their patients. Merck says the drug has been safely tested for girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that girls get the vaccine at age 11 or 12. Ault explains why youth is key. Human papillomavirus is sexually transmitted, "so one of the advantages of giving it to adolescents is that they are unlikely to have been sexually active, so they will not have been exposed | [
"I'm the mother of two daughters, a teen and a tween. So every day, I tiptoe through hormonally laced minefields hoping to avoid emotional carnage in response to any of my random comments or actions. The cervical cancer vaccine, approved in 2006, is recommended for girls around 11 or 12. As I tiptoe, I sometimes stumble, as any mother of girls that age knows. No adult woman in her right mind would knowingly, willingly utter comments that result in young people hissing, hurling verbal grenades such as, \"Thanks, Mom, for calling me fat, AGAIN.\" Or \"Are you EVEN listening to me?\" Or any version of the very popular, \"I hate YOU,\" \"I hate you SO much,\" \"I hate this family,\" or just plain \"AAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!\" followed by stomping feet and slamming doors. So given this background, you might understand why, when I chose to broach the subject of the latest vaccine for young girls, I was braced for a fight. Oddly enough, for once, the battle didn't come. I told my teenage daughter I wanted her to get the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine the next time she went to see her doctor. \"I don't want to.\" \"Well, sorry. You have to.\" \"I heard it hurts.\" \"Well, that's too bad. But it might prevent you from getting cancer later in life.\" \"Oh. (pause) OK.\" If you were keeping score, you might chalk that one up as a Mom win. The only problem with that is after winning over my daughter, I now had to convince myself. This drug has its own emotional battlefields. The HPV vaccine has been available to the public for almost two years. When Merck launched it in 2006 under the name Gardasil, many people enthusiastically embraced it as a wonder drug. Dr. Kevin Ault, associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Emory University's School of Medicine, says the vaccine helps women avoid an assortment of ailments, some not too serious, but others that are potentially deadly. \"There are about 100 different types of human papillomavirus,\" he said. \"Some of them are pretty common and not dangerous, like plantar warts or warts on your hand. About 30 of them infect the genital tract, and about a dozen of them are associated with cancer.\" ",
"Health for Her: Watch more the HPV vaccine and girls » In this case, the cancer Ault is talking about is cervical cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2008, there will be over 11,000 new cases of cervical cancer diagnosed and almost 4,000 women will die from it in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that at least 50 percent of people who have had sex will have one type of HPV at some time in their lives. Given those stats, this vaccine would seem like a pretty good thing, right? The hitch is that the vaccine is suggested for adolescent girls, but the viruses in question are sexually transmitted. And that is one of the big reasons the HPV vaccine has divided parents in the question of \"to give or not to give.\" Let's face it. Parents don't like thinking about their daughters having sex at all. Ever. Now a new drug comes along, and not only are parents told they should embrace this new vaccine for their young daughters, but it's also part of the set of routine vaccines that doctors are strongly encouraged to give their patients. Merck says the drug has been safely tested for girls and women between the ages of 9 and 26. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that girls get the vaccine at age 11 or 12. Ault explains why youth is key. Human papillomavirus is sexually transmitted, \"so one of the advantages of giving it to adolescents is that they are unlikely to have been sexually active, so they will not have been exposed"
] | 2 | [
0,
1
] | 0.63093 |
What is TSMC's forecast for foundry industry growth in 2021 in U.S. dollar terms | . For the full year of 2021, we now forecast the overall semiconductor market excluding memory, to grow about 12%, while foundry industry growth is forecast to be about 16%. For TSMC, we are confident we can outperform the foundry revenue growth and grow by around 20% in 2021 in U.S. dollar terms.
Next, let me talk about our capital budget for this year. Every year, our capex is spent in anticipation of the growth that will follow in future years. As we enter a period of higher growth, underpinned by the multi-year structural megatrends of 5G related and HPC applications, we believe a higher level of capital investment is necessary to capture the future growth opportunities. In order to meet the increasing demand for our advanced and specialty technologies in the next several years, we have decided to raise our full-year 2021 capex to be around $30 billion. About 80% of the 2021 capital budget will be allocated for advanced process technologies, including 3-nanometer 5-nanometer and 7-nanometer about 10% will be spent for advanced packaging and mask making, and about 10% will be spent for specialty technologies.
Now, let me turn the microphone over to C. C.
C.C. Wei -- Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Wendall. We hope everybody is staying safe and healthy during this time. First let me talk about the capacity shortage and demand outlook. Our customers are currently facing challenges from the industry wide semiconductor capacity shortage, which is driven by both structural increase in long-term demand, as well as short-term imbalance in the supply chain. We are witnessing a structural increase in underlying semiconductor demand, as a multi-year megatrend of 5G and HPC related applications are expected to fuel strong demand for our revised technologies in the next several years. COVID-19 has also fundamentally accelerated the digital transformation, making semiconductors more pervasive than essential in people's life. In addition, the need to ensure supply security is creating short-term imbalance in the supply chain, driven by supply chain disruption, due to COVID-19 and uncertainties brought about by geopolitical tensions.
Now let me talk about TSMC's investment plan and disciplines. TSMC's submission is to be the trusted technology and capacity provider for the global logica IC industry for years to come. In order to support our customers of course, TSMC is taking several actions to help adjust the capacity shortage for our customers. We are working hard to increase our productivity, to drive more output, to help support our customers for the near term.
To address the structural increase in the long-term demand profile. We are working closely with our customers, and investing to support the demand. We have acquired land and component, and started the construction of new facilities. We are hiring thousands of employees and expanding our capacity at multiple sites. TSMC expects to invest about $100 billion over the next three years to increase capacity, to support the manufacturing in R&D of leading edge and specialty technologies. Increase capacity expected to improve supply certainty for our customers and have strengthened confidence in global supply chains that rely on semiconductors.
Our capital investment decision based on four disciplines; technology leadership, flexible and responsive manufacturing, retaining customers' trust and earning the proper return. At the same time, we faced manufacturing cost challenges due to increasing process complexity at leading node. New investment in mature nodes, and rising material costs. Therefore, we are continuing to work closely with customers, to see our value. Our value improves the value of our technology, the value of our service and the value of our capacity support to customers.
We are looking to firm up our wafer pricing to a reasonable level. We will continue to work diligently with our suppliers to deliver on cost improvement. By taking such actions, we believe we can continue to earn a proper return that enable us to invest, to support our customers, of course, and | [
". For the full year of 2021, we now forecast the overall semiconductor market excluding memory, to grow about 12%, while foundry industry growth is forecast to be about 16%. For TSMC, we are confident we can outperform the foundry revenue growth and grow by around 20% in 2021 in U.S. dollar terms.\nNext, let me talk about our capital budget for this year. Every year, our capex is spent in anticipation of the growth that will follow in future years. As we enter a period of higher growth, underpinned by the multi-year structural megatrends of 5G related and HPC applications, we believe a higher level of capital investment is necessary to capture the future growth opportunities. In order to meet the increasing demand for our advanced and specialty technologies in the next several years, we have decided to raise our full-year 2021 capex to be around $30 billion. About 80% of the 2021 capital budget will be allocated for advanced process technologies, including 3-nanometer 5-nanometer and 7-nanometer about 10% will be spent for advanced packaging and mask making, and about 10% will be spent for specialty technologies.\nNow, let me turn the microphone over to C. C.\nC.C. Wei -- Chief Executive Officer\nThank you, Wendall. We hope everybody is staying safe and healthy during this time. First let me talk about the capacity shortage and demand outlook. Our customers are currently facing challenges from the industry wide semiconductor capacity shortage, which is driven by both structural increase in long-term demand, as well as short-term imbalance in the supply chain. We are witnessing a structural increase in underlying semiconductor demand, as a multi-year megatrend of 5G and HPC related applications are expected to fuel strong demand for our revised technologies in the next several years. COVID-19 has also fundamentally accelerated the digital transformation, making semiconductors more pervasive than essential in people's life. In addition, the need to ensure supply security is creating short-term imbalance in the supply chain, driven by supply chain disruption, due to COVID-19 and uncertainties brought about by geopolitical tensions.\n",
"Now let me talk about TSMC's investment plan and disciplines. TSMC's submission is to be the trusted technology and capacity provider for the global logica IC industry for years to come. In order to support our customers of course, TSMC is taking several actions to help adjust the capacity shortage for our customers. We are working hard to increase our productivity, to drive more output, to help support our customers for the near term.\nTo address the structural increase in the long-term demand profile. We are working closely with our customers, and investing to support the demand. We have acquired land and component, and started the construction of new facilities. We are hiring thousands of employees and expanding our capacity at multiple sites. TSMC expects to invest about $100 billion over the next three years to increase capacity, to support the manufacturing in R&D of leading edge and specialty technologies. Increase capacity expected to improve supply certainty for our customers and have strengthened confidence in global supply chains that rely on semiconductors.\nOur capital investment decision based on four disciplines; technology leadership, flexible and responsive manufacturing, retaining customers' trust and earning the proper return. At the same time, we faced manufacturing cost challenges due to increasing process complexity at leading node. New investment in mature nodes, and rising material costs. Therefore, we are continuing to work closely with customers, to see our value. Our value improves the value of our technology, the value of our service and the value of our capacity support to customers.\nWe are looking to firm up our wafer pricing to a reasonable level. We will continue to work diligently with our suppliers to deliver on cost improvement. By taking such actions, we believe we can continue to earn a proper return that enable us to invest, to support our customers, of course, and"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What is the estimated revenue contribution from the amortization of the content cost associated with TV+ in the Services revenue for the 2020-Q1 quarter | u view 5G capability in a handset? And what's your view as to what the killer app will be from a consumer perspective?
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
We don't comment on future products. And so, I'll try to sidestep a bit. With respect to 5G, I think it's -- we're in the early innings of its deployment on a global basis. We obviously couldn't be prouder of our lineup and is -- and are very excited about our pipeline as well and wouldn't trade our position for anybody.
Tejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations
Thanks, Katy. Can we have the next question please?
Operator
We'll hear from Kyle McNealy with Jefferies.
Kyle McNealy -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Hi, thanks a lot. So we're seeing some signs of new spectrum being deployed for 5G deployments and even additional 4G capacity, and it's already having a positive impact for handset upgrades to use that new capacity. Do you get the sense that wireless carriers are getting more incentivized to upgrade handsets to get leverage out of these new network investments? How much might this be helping and do you think it will continue to accelerate?
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
I think that we've had some great partners, not only in the US, but also around the world that was really helpful this quarter as partners. And so, I think probably a part of that is the level of investments they have and then a part of it is probably making sure that those customers stick with them in an environment where there's a lot of trading back and forth. So I'm optimistic that it will continue.
Kyle McNealy -- Jefferies -- Analyst
Okay, great. And then the comment that you made about capacity in your Wearables division with AirPods Pro and Apple Watch 3, what should we think about the timeline of when there is capacity constraints might be alleviated and will they come from capacity additions or the natural work out of kind of unit shipments and something on the demand side?
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
I'm hopeful that the Series 3 will come into balance during this quarter on AirPods Pro. I don't have an estimate for that for you. I just can't predict when at this point. We seem to be fairly substantially off there, and we're working very hard to put in additional capacity.
Tejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations
Thanks, Kyle. Can we have the next question please?
Operator
Yes, Wamsi Mohan, Bank of America.
Wamsi Mohan -- Bank of America -- Analyst
Yes. Thank you. Tim, Apple has a very valuable installed base of users. Can you see a future where Apple can become larger in the advertising market as you build out TV+ given you could have the unique position and ability to drive targeted ads to users without compromising on privacy?
Tim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer
I think it's -- I think it is possible to have advertising in a straightforward manner that doesn't encroach on people's privacy. I wouldn't want to conjecture about us in that business. I think for the TV+ business, we feel strongly that what that customer wants is an ad free product. And so, that's not our aversion to ads. It's what we believe that the customer wants.
Wamsi Mohan -- Bank of America -- Analyst
Okay, thank you. And Luca, can you just clarify if the Services revenue this quarter had any impact of deferrals associated with TV+ at all and how can you help us maybe size the impact of the amortization of the content cost associated with TV+ as we think about the next couple of years? Thank you.
Luca Maestri -- Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Yeah. So yes, of course, we launched the service. And so, there was a very small contribution to revenue from the deferral, and there was also contribution to revenue from the people, the subscribers that are actually paying for the service. When you think about what goes into the Apple TV+ revenue at this point, there are two components, the paid subscribers. These are customers that pay for the service. And we recognize revenue over the subscription period. And then, we've got the, what we call, | [
"u view 5G capability in a handset? And what's your view as to what the killer app will be from a consumer perspective?\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nWe don't comment on future products. And so, I'll try to sidestep a bit. With respect to 5G, I think it's -- we're in the early innings of its deployment on a global basis. We obviously couldn't be prouder of our lineup and is -- and are very excited about our pipeline as well and wouldn't trade our position for anybody.\nTejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations\nThanks, Katy. Can we have the next question please?\nOperator\nWe'll hear from Kyle McNealy with Jefferies.\nKyle McNealy -- Jefferies -- Analyst\nHi, thanks a lot. So we're seeing some signs of new spectrum being deployed for 5G deployments and even additional 4G capacity, and it's already having a positive impact for handset upgrades to use that new capacity. Do you get the sense that wireless carriers are getting more incentivized to upgrade handsets to get leverage out of these new network investments? How much might this be helping and do you think it will continue to accelerate?\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nI think that we've had some great partners, not only in the US, but also around the world that was really helpful this quarter as partners. And so, I think probably a part of that is the level of investments they have and then a part of it is probably making sure that those customers stick with them in an environment where there's a lot of trading back and forth. So I'm optimistic that it will continue.\nKyle McNealy -- Jefferies -- Analyst\nOkay, great. And then the comment that you made about capacity in your Wearables division with AirPods Pro and Apple Watch 3, what should we think about the timeline of when there is capacity constraints might be alleviated and will they come from capacity additions or the natural work out of kind of unit shipments and something on the demand side?\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nI'm hopeful that the Series 3 will come into balance during this quarter on AirPods Pro. I don't have an estimate for that for you. I just can't predict when at this point. We seem to be fairly substantially off there, and we're working very hard to put in additional capacity.\nTejas Gala -- Senior Analyst, Corporate Finance and Investor Relations\n",
"Thanks, Kyle. Can we have the next question please?\nOperator\nYes, Wamsi Mohan, Bank of America.\nWamsi Mohan -- Bank of America -- Analyst\nYes. Thank you. Tim, Apple has a very valuable installed base of users. Can you see a future where Apple can become larger in the advertising market as you build out TV+ given you could have the unique position and ability to drive targeted ads to users without compromising on privacy?\nTim Cook -- Chief Executive Officer\nI think it's -- I think it is possible to have advertising in a straightforward manner that doesn't encroach on people's privacy. I wouldn't want to conjecture about us in that business. I think for the TV+ business, we feel strongly that what that customer wants is an ad free product. And so, that's not our aversion to ads. It's what we believe that the customer wants.\nWamsi Mohan -- Bank of America -- Analyst\nOkay, thank you. And Luca, can you just clarify if the Services revenue this quarter had any impact of deferrals associated with TV+ at all and how can you help us maybe size the impact of the amortization of the content cost associated with TV+ as we think about the next couple of years? Thank you.\nLuca Maestri -- Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer\nYeah. So yes, of course, we launched the service. And so, there was a very small contribution to revenue from the deferral, and there was also contribution to revenue from the people, the subscribers that are actually paying for the service. When you think about what goes into the Apple TV+ revenue at this point, there are two components, the paid subscribers. These are customers that pay for the service. And we recognize revenue over the subscription period. And then, we've got the, what we call,"
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |
What was the organic revenue growth rate for Crown Castle in the first quarter of 2022 | to increase that return over time as we add customers on our tower and fiber assets and grow our cash flow. To that point, we are seeing significant demand for our infrastructure solutions with our customers upgrading thousands of tower sites for 5G while also preparing for the next phase of network densification that will require tens of thousands of small cells as reflected in our record backlog of 60,000 small cell nodes. Importantly, we benefit from these superior growth trends while being leveraged solely for the favorable dynamics in the U.S. wireless market.
As compared to international markets, we believe the U.S. not only has the best growth profile as I just discussed, but it also has the lowest risk, resulting from a supportive market structure that incentivizes carriers to spend on improving their networks as they compete on network quality, resulting in less churn on our assets, no exposure to loss of value from foreign currencies and social and governmental policies that are stable and supportive of improving connectivity and expanding broadband access. Because we believe the U.S. has both greater growth potential and lower risk, we are focusing our investments solely in the U.S.
We have an unmatched portfolio of assets that is producing growing cash flows by providing access to existing and new customers that are building 5G networks, and we are investing in new small cell and fiber assets that our customers need for their wireless networks, which we believe increases our ability to capitalize on 5G growth trends. As a result of these actions, I believe Crown Castle offers shareholders a unique opportunity to benefit from the deployment and development of wireless networks in the U.S. In the near to medium term, we expect to, once again, deliver the highest tower revenue growth rate in the U.S. with 6% organic growth, and we are preparing for an acceleration in small cell deployments beginning in 2023 following the recent inflection in demand from our customers.
Longer term, we believe we are the only communications infrastructure company positioned for the future of 5G networks that will require network densification with small cells at scale. By continuing to invest in small cell and fiber assets, we believe we will be able to extend the runway of 7% to 8% annual growth in dividends per share. When I consider the durability of the underlying demand trends we see in the U.S. that provides significant visibility into the anticipated future growth for our business, the deliberate decisions we have made to reduce the risks associated with our strategy, and our history of steady execution, I believe Crown Castle stands out as an excellent investment that will generate compelling returns over time.
And with that, I'll turn the call over to Dan before we take some questions.
Dan Schlanger -- Chief Financial Officer
Thanks, Jay, and good morning, everyone. As Jay mentioned, we are encouraged by the continued high activity levels we are experiencing, which are driven by our customers' 5G upgrade and densification initiatives. Starting with our first-quarter results on Page 5, we began the year on a very positive note, with AFFO per share growth of 9% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 22% that were driven by strong demand from our customers. As I mentioned last quarter, we are now reporting organic revenue growth exclusive of the impact of prepaid rent amortization or what we refer to as organic contribution to site rental billings.
In the first quarter, we generated 6% core organic revenue growth, driven by more than 9% from core leasing activity and contracted escalators, net of approximately 3% from nonrenewals. Revenues were also positively impacted by approximately $15 million from items not expected to recur in 2022, with approximately $10 million in fiber solutions and the balance in towers. Turning to Page 6. I want to briefly walk through the increase to our full year 2022 outlook.
As a result of higher tower activity levels, we are experiencing -- we are increasing our expectations for site rental revenues | [
" to increase that return over time as we add customers on our tower and fiber assets and grow our cash flow. To that point, we are seeing significant demand for our infrastructure solutions with our customers upgrading thousands of tower sites for 5G while also preparing for the next phase of network densification that will require tens of thousands of small cells as reflected in our record backlog of 60,000 small cell nodes. Importantly, we benefit from these superior growth trends while being leveraged solely for the favorable dynamics in the U.S. wireless market.\nAs compared to international markets, we believe the U.S. not only has the best growth profile as I just discussed, but it also has the lowest risk, resulting from a supportive market structure that incentivizes carriers to spend on improving their networks as they compete on network quality, resulting in less churn on our assets, no exposure to loss of value from foreign currencies and social and governmental policies that are stable and supportive of improving connectivity and expanding broadband access. Because we believe the U.S. has both greater growth potential and lower risk, we are focusing our investments solely in the U.S.\nWe have an unmatched portfolio of assets that is producing growing cash flows by providing access to existing and new customers that are building 5G networks, and we are investing in new small cell and fiber assets that our customers need for their wireless networks, which we believe increases our ability to capitalize on 5G growth trends. As a result of these actions, I believe Crown Castle offers shareholders a unique opportunity to benefit from the deployment and development of wireless networks in the U.S. In the near to medium term, we expect to, once again, deliver the highest tower revenue growth rate in the U.S. with 6% organic growth, and we are preparing for an acceleration in small cell deployments beginning in 2023 following the recent inflection in demand from our customers.\n",
"Longer term, we believe we are the only communications infrastructure company positioned for the future of 5G networks that will require network densification with small cells at scale. By continuing to invest in small cell and fiber assets, we believe we will be able to extend the runway of 7% to 8% annual growth in dividends per share. When I consider the durability of the underlying demand trends we see in the U.S. that provides significant visibility into the anticipated future growth for our business, the deliberate decisions we have made to reduce the risks associated with our strategy, and our history of steady execution, I believe Crown Castle stands out as an excellent investment that will generate compelling returns over time.\nAnd with that, I'll turn the call over to Dan before we take some questions.\nDan Schlanger -- Chief Financial Officer\nThanks, Jay, and good morning, everyone. As Jay mentioned, we are encouraged by the continued high activity levels we are experiencing, which are driven by our customers' 5G upgrade and densification initiatives. Starting with our first-quarter results on Page 5, we began the year on a very positive note, with AFFO per share growth of 9% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 22% that were driven by strong demand from our customers. As I mentioned last quarter, we are now reporting organic revenue growth exclusive of the impact of prepaid rent amortization or what we refer to as organic contribution to site rental billings.\nIn the first quarter, we generated 6% core organic revenue growth, driven by more than 9% from core leasing activity and contracted escalators, net of approximately 3% from nonrenewals. Revenues were also positively impacted by approximately $15 million from items not expected to recur in 2022, with approximately $10 million in fiber solutions and the balance in towers. Turning to Page 6. I want to briefly walk through the increase to our full year 2022 outlook.\nAs a result of higher tower activity levels, we are experiencing -- we are increasing our expectations for site rental revenues "
] | 2 | [
1,
0
] | 1 |