- These Companies—Roku, Roblox, Circle And More—Held Major Funds In Silicon Valley Bank When It Crashed Forbes
- These companies held money at Silicon Valley Bank and aren’t sure if they’ll recover the funds CNN
- Roku Among Most-Exposed Firms With Assets Caught in SVB Failure Yahoo Finance
- Roku Has 26% Of Cash With SVB Financial, Deposit Recovery Uncertain — 27 Other Companies With Ties To Col Benzinga
- These Companies—Roku, Circle, Roblox And More—Held Major Funds In Silicon Valley Bank When It Crashed Forbes
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: Roblox
Facebook’s Metaverse Is An Empty, Sad And Unpopular Flop
Meta’s Facebook is (was?) one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with billions of users. However, its failing virtual reality metaverse project, Horizon Worlds, isn’t doing nearly as well. In fact, a new report shows that barely anyone is spending much time in Horizon Worlds at all, with most user-created worlds going completely unvisited. Meanwhile, Second Life and VRChat have more concurrent users, according to folks at Meta.
According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, internal documents and employees at Meta paint a picture that nobody is really playing Horizon Worlds, its free-to-play virtual reality metaverse that lets users create and visit “worlds” with friends or strangers. Think Roblox, but more cold and heartless. The company initially hoped to have 500,000 monthly active users visiting these various virtual worlds. Now that number has been revised to around 200,000.
Internal stats show that most players don’t stick around after their first month in Horizon Worlds and Meta has seen a steady decline in active users since spring. WSJ reports that of all the user-created worlds in the game, only about nine percent are visited by more than 50 players. The majority of the rest are never visited by anyone besides the initial creator. The end result is a lot of empty, barren digital lands. Even Questy’s—-a world created by Meta as part of a larger Super Bowl marketing push—-is a giant flop, with very few users visiting.
“An empty world is a sad world,” said one document seen by the WSJ.
And while the Quest 2 headset has sold very well, a lot of the customers aren’t returning to play anything. It’s reported that more than half of all Quest headsets stop being used by players after only six months.
Read More: The Metaverse Is Already Here For Cows And Its Very Sad
As for why people aren’t flocking to the expensive metaverse that Facebook has created, a survey run by Meta researchers found users mostly complained about being unable to find worlds they liked and rarely found others to interact with. Other complaints included in-game people not looking “real” enough. Some even had issues with the lack of Horizon World avatar legs. I guess that explains all the fanfare around legs being added to the game earlier this month, even if the announcement was a lie.
The WSJ notes that the researchers at Meta only spoke to 514 people because of how few folks are playing, calling the current active playerbase “small and precious.” It’s not surprising to hear that, according to those familiar with Horizon Worlds, the app has fewer concurrent users than VRChat and 2003’s Second Life.
The rest of the report isn’t much better and is further evidence that the VR metaverse future that so many companies and tech bros are trying to peddle is likely not going to stick with folks. Hell, the people who work at Meta don’t want to use Horizon Worlds. And Meta seems to get how unpopular all this shit is with your average consumer, as it’s now begun to pivot its new VR headsets toward big companies that can be tricked into making their employees wear a VR headset for eight hours a day at work. But at least folks will always have the Walmart Metaverse to hang out in between breaks, right?
Mark Zuckerberg Responds To Bad Metaverse Graphics Backlash
Earlier this week was supposed to be a celebratory time for the folks at Meta, as its reality-devouring project Horizon Worlds was now available in more countries. The occasion was marked by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself posting a “selfie” of his in-game avatar in front of a digital Eiffel tower. Sounds cute, right? Problem was, the graphics were comparable to what you’d expect from a children’s game like Roblox, not from a multi-billion dollar company’s efforts to shape our collective virtual future. The internet immediately roasted Mark Zuckerberg’s selfie to hell and back. And now, Zuck is here to do some damage control.
Posting over on Instagram, for those of you who scrolled through enough recommended posts to see it, is an entirely new virtual rendition of Zuckerberg. This one, I’m happy to report, does appear to contain more life essence than the last one, though it’s unclear how many souls had to be sacrificed in order to give Mark a small glint in his eye. For those keeping count, this is the fourth or fifth VR version of Zucc we’ve gotten so far. However, the shitty one we just saw came after he showed us a really nice one a few years back. Which is to say, don’t assume what you’re seeing above will be permanent. He suggests as much in the post accompanying the new “selfie” when he says that the VR service is always evolving.
Major updates to Horizon and avatar graphics coming soon. I’ll share more at Connect. Also, I know the photo I posted earlier this week was pretty basic — it was taken very quickly to celebrate a launch. The graphics in Horizon are capable of much more — even on headsets — and Horizon is improving very quickly.
It’s true, screenshots of Horizon Worlds don’t always look as bad as what Zuckerberg shared earlier this week. But that’s also part of what made it so baffling; why is that what the company leader is showing off? At the same time, Horizon Worlds still doesn’t look nearly as good as what you can find in other VR offerings.
Many will say it’s about making sure Meta’s Quest hardware, which is priced for the average consumer, can handle tons of people at once. But there’s performance, and then there’s artistry. The thing everyone was responding to was what appeared to be a bleak lack of soul. We all know it doesn’t take a huge polygon count to make something look good, otherwise we wouldn’t remember retro games nearly as fondly as we do. The Eiffel Tower is supposed to be a significant cultural artifact, but you wouldn’t glean that from the VR version at all. The digital version isn’t inspirational, unless we’re trying to evoke a burp. It’s not even particularly pretty. What is the point?
Meta as a company leaves a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths already, so seeing them strong-arm their way into VR dominance with endless oodles of cash while appearing to have little care for the spirit of this thing that’s supposed to be our exciting technological future? That is what makes people jump when pastel Zucc doesn’t blink.
Anyway, better graphics! Woo.
Coinbase, Roblox, Wendy’s and more
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Coinbase reported a 27% decline in revenues in the first quarter as usage of the platform dipped.
Chesnot | Getty Images
Coinbase – Shares of the crypto services operator jumped about 6% despite the company reporting a wider-than-expected loss late Tuesday and a decline in volumes in the most recent quarter. The rally coincided with a move higher in bitcoin after a key inflation reading showed a better-than-expected slowdown in rising prices.
Wendy’s – The restaurant chain saw its shares fall more than 2% after reporting a revenue miss. U.S. same-restaurant sales rose 2.3% — less than analysts had estimated — as consumers spent more cautiously. Wendy’s earnings in the latest quarter topped estimates, however.
Roblox – Shares of the video game platform were down 5% in midday trading after postmarket earnings Tuesday missed analyst expectations. Roblox’s quarterly loss was wider than expected, and its bookings, which include sales recognized during the quarter and deferred revenue, declined by 4% year over year.
Twitter – The social media company climbed more than 3% after Elon Musk disclosed the sale of nearly $7 billion in Tesla shares in the past few days. Investors are uncertain whether a Delaware Chancery court will force Musk to follow through on his deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. Shares of Tesla gained more than 2.5%.
Sweetgreen — Shares dropped 5% after the salad chain lowered its full-year forecast, and second quarter revenue missed analyst estimates. Sweetgreen also said it laid off 5% of support center employees.
Trade Desk — Shares of the digital advertising firm soared 35% after it gave an upbeat forecast for the current quarter and revenue beat estimates in the quarter just ended.
Fox — The media company rose 4% even after Fox missed estimates on the top and bottom lines in the latest quarter. Earnings per share came in 1 cent below estimates.
Unity Software — The software company jumped more than 7% after Unity reported an adjusted loss of 18 cents per share, three cents better than estimates, according to Refinitiv. Unity’s revenue and guidance were lower than expected. The stock is now trading within 10% of $58.85 per share, which is the price offered by AppLovin in a nonbinding merger proposal earlier this week.
H&R Block — The tax preparation services company jumped more than 12% after it raised its dividend and authorized a new $1.25 billion buyback. H&R Block also beat top and bottom line estimates in the most recent quarter.
BuzzFeed — BuzzFeed slumped 4.3% after posting earnings. The company reported a bigger-than-expected loss per share, noting that it faces rising costs and a troublesome advertising market.
— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Sarah Min, Carmen Reinicke, Jesse Pound, Michelle Fox and Yun Li contributed reporting.
Stocks making biggest after hour moves: Coinbase, Roblox and more
In this photo illustration, the Coinbase logo is displayed on a smartphone screen.
Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines in after hours trading.
Coinbase – Coinbase fell more than 3.5% in afterhours trading after reporting quarterly earnings. The company missed analyst expectations on both revenue and earnings, partially due to the “crypto winter” seen in the second quarter.
Roblox – Roblox shed nearly 14% postmarket Tuesday after the company’s quarterly earnings came in below Wall Street expectations. Roblox reported a loss of 30 cents per share and $639.9 million in revenue, versus analysts’ estimate of a loss of 21 cents on $644.4 million in revenue. In addition, Roblox reported 52.2 million daily active users in the quarter, less than expected by Wall Street and down from the first quarter.
Wynn Resorts – Shares of Wynn Resorts slipped more than 2.5% late Tuesday after the gaming company missed Wall Street’s estimates for revenue. Wynn reported a loss of 82 cents per share and revenue of $908.83 million, against analysts’ estimates of a loss of $1.11 and revenue $980.85 million.
Unity Software – Unity Software shed nearly 3% after the closing bell after disappointing quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street expectations. Unity reported $297 million in revenue and a 69-cent loss per share, versus expectations of $299 million in revenue and a 21-cent loss.
Sweetgreen – Shares of the salad company lost more than 20% in afterhours trading Tuesday after it lowered its full-year outlook, said it would layoff 5% of its workforce and downgrade its office space. The company met earnings expectations, reporting 36 cents per share, but fell short on revenue, reporting $124.9 million versus $130.2 million expected.
Roblox CEO David Baszucki says bookings are turning around
Roblox CEO David Baszucki told CNBC on Wednesday that the company is seeing its bookings recover in April after the company said earlier this week that they declined 3% in the March quarter.
Bookings are how the company describes sales of its virtual currency, Robux, which players use to buy digital items such as avatars and other premium features.
Roblox is a virtual world game particularly popular with children that’s played on phones, PCs and game consoles. Players can inhabit virtual worlds, play games and even sell their creations to other players.
Baszucki told Jim Cramer in a “Mad Money” interview that bookings fell partially because the company saw boosted user engagement last year during the Covid pandemic, which has subsided.
“March was a very difficult compare. We were all locked down a year ago,” Baszucki said. “We’re happy that in April, we’ve seen that start to turn around. We think longer term, we’ll see booking start to catch up with user growth.”
After the closing bell Tuesday, Roblox reported disappointing first-quarter results, which prompted investors to sell the stock. It plunged 10% in after-hours trading Tuesday. However, it closed Wednesday up nearly 3.4% in a major turnaround. While it’s unclear what drove the surge, the company appeared bullish about the current quarter’s growth rates.
Roblox recorded a per-share loss of 27 cents in the first quarter, which was wider than expectations. Revenue and active daily users also came in light. The company said it was optimistic about growth rates in the current quarter and that the summer could represent a growth opportunity.
Roblox is also starting to more seriously develop alternative sources of sales and new users for the virtual world, Baszucki said. As economies emerge from the pandemic, Roblox will push for new search features and easier partnerships with brands and to expand the amount of user-generated content (UGC) sold on the platform.
“I think this quarter is the first time we’ve come out and said look, we’re going to nudge a bit towards the efficient frontier on our economy, both around how we do search and discovery, the amazing possibilities for how brands can bring traffic, and also our UGC catalog, which has an enormous amount of economic activity,” he said.
One possibility in the future is that Roblox could be used to connect co-workers in an enterprise setting, the Roblox CEO told Cramer. “Someday we’ll use Roblox in our own office to stay connected as some of our people work remotely,” he envisioned.
Zuck Bucks Could Be Part Of Facebook’s Metaverse Future
Facebook parent company Meta reportedly has plans to launch a new digital currency for the metaverse. Internally, employees at Meta are calling the unannounced currency “Zuck Bucks.” These new digital dollars won’t likely be connected to any kind of blockchain, but don’t worry; Meta, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has plans to integrate NFTs into its social apps too, because we live in 2022 aka Hell.
According to a new report from the Financial Times, Meta has a number of virtual coin- and currency-related projects and plans in various stages of development, as the company looks for more ways to make cash as it loses users to rival social media apps like TikTok and suffers huge losses on Wall Street. This is how we arrive at Zuck Bucks. And no, that’s not the name of a forgotten Star Wars Expanded Universe character, but instead, the silly name that some employees internally are using for a still-unannounced, centrally controlled digital in-app token/currency Meta is developing.
As mentioned in the report, the idea is that this one currency, controlled, sold, and backed by Meta, could be used across various apps and services within its own (terrible) metaverse project. The concept is not entirely unlike the proprietary currencies that already exist in many online games, though perhaps with broader reach. Financial Times directly names Roblox’s Robux as being akin to what Meta and Facebook are trying to pull off.
Another plan: things called “social tokens” or “reputation tokens,” which would be offered to users as a reward for providing “meaningful contributions” in Facebook groups. A similar idea is to offer “creator coins” that would potentially be tied to specific influencers on Meta’s photograph sharing app, Instagram. There are also, apparently, plans for Meta to offer small business loans with “attractive rates,” though the report does explain that any and all of these projects could be shelved.
Read More: The NFT Market Has Collapsed, Oh No
Facebook is also looking to integrate NFTs and blockchain technology into its apps and services. It’s said these plans are “more developed” and unlikely to be dropped. One memo from last week even revealed a rough schedule, with Meta looking to launch a pilot program for NFTs on Facebook in May of this year.
After this program goes live, it will be “quickly followed” by a feature that will let Facebook groups limit memberships to users who own specific NFTs, and another project for minting NFTs via Facebook. NFTs might be monetized via “fees” or “ads” at a later date, according to a memo obtained by FT.
If this all sounds a little familiar, it’s because Facebook has been trying to create blockchain-powered shit for some time now. An earlier effort, the failed “Diem,” got tied up in regulatory problems over questions about the proposed currency’s stability.
According to comments attributed to two people working in Meta’s financial division by FT’s report, the company’s current efforts are trying to avoid that fate by designing “the least regulated way to offer a digital currency.”
Thank goodness the folks at Meta are looking to create something that can avoid all those pesky regulations intended to protect consumers from scams and rug pulls.
Roblox stock dives 24% after earnings miss
Nike is teaming up with roblox to launch a virtual world called Niketown.
Source: Nike
Roblox shares are down more than 24% after reporting earnings that missed expectations.
The gaming company reported earnings on Tuesday after the bell that missed Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom line. It noted $770 million in revenue (bookings) compared to the $772 million expected, per Refinitiv consensus estimates, for the fourth quarter. It also reported a 25 cent loss per share, worse than the 13 cents loss per share expected. Roblox said it had 49.5 million daily active users during the quarter, up 33% year-over-year.
Roblox is an open gaming platform that lets players create their own interactive “worlds.” It was the first major company working on the metaverse to go public. The company sells virtual currency to players, which is used to purchase digital items in the game. The company recently partnered with companies like Nike and the NFL.
Analysts were concerned about the slowdown in bookings and outlook.
“Our key takeaway from Roblox’s 4Q update… January 22′ bookings experienced a deceleration relative to past months, up just 2%-3%, y/y as compared to October/November/December ’21 at +15%/+23%/+21%, respectively, for example,” Stifel analysts said in a note on Tuesday evening.
“Furthermore, the company indicated y/y bookings comps, “should improve starting in the May-June timeframe,” leaving us to ponder what this suggests for February-April. Why the anticipated slowdown?”
Airbnb, Roblox, Wynn Resorts & more
The Airbnb logo is seen on a little mini pyramid under the glass Pyramid of the Louvre museum in Paris, France, March 12, 2019.
Charles Platiau | Reuters
Check out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading:
Airbnb — Shares of the property rental company advanced 5% during extended trading Tuesday following the company’s fourth-quarter results. Airbnb earned 8 cents during the period on $1.53 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting the company to earn 3 cents on $1.46 billion in sales. The company also gave strong guidance.
Wynn Resorts — The hotel company’s stock slid more than 2% after Wynn missed earnings estimates for the fourth quarter. Wynn lost $1.37 per share excluding items, which was a wider loss than analysts had been expecting. Revenue, however, topped expectations. The company reported sales of $1.05 billion, compared to the $994 million analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting.
Roblox — Shares of the gaming company dropped more than 12% after Roblox’s fourth-quarter results missed expectations on the top and bottom line. The company lost 25 cents per share during the period and reported sales of $770 million. Wall Street was expecting the company to lose 13 cents per share on $772 million in revenue, according to estimates from Refintiv.
Denny’s — Shares of Denny’s dropped 10% after the company’s fourth-quarter results disappointed Wall Street. Denny’s earned 16 cents per share on $107.6 million in revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting the company to earn 17 cents on $111.8 million in revenue.
Dow Jones Turns Higher After Fed Statement; Cisco Systems Makes Bullish Move; Roblox Stock Plunges
Technology stocks turned higher in afternoon trading Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s policy statement penciled in three interest hikes in 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%, with Cisco Systems (CSCO) leading the way, nearly 3%. Amid a lot of selling in the technology sector, Cisco stock is acting well as it holds above key support levels. It’s also trading near a 58.73 buy point.
X
As expected, the Fed quickened the pace of its tapering. Asset purchases will now decrease by $30 billion per month and likely come to an end in March.
The Dow Jones is currently testing support at its 50-day moving average, while the S&P 500 holds above its 50-day line. The S&P 500 was up 0.5%, but Eli Lilly (LLY), Fortinet (FTNT) and Pfizer (PFE) outperformed in the benchmark index. Eli Lilly stock jumped 9% and cleared a 271.21 entry, helped by bullish earnings guidance.
Procter & Gamble (PG) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) also outperformed in the Dow Jones today, but both stocks are too far extended to consider buying. P&G stock is in a large group of consumer staple stocks outperforming in the current market as growth stocks sell off sharply.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 35691.90 | +147.72 | +0.42 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4656.40 | +22.31 | +0.48 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 15281.83 | +44.19 | +0.29 |
| Russell 2000 | (IWM) | 215.24 | +1.06 | +0.49 |
| IBD 50 | (FFTY) | 43.13 | -0.18 | -0.42 |
Last Update: 2:16 PM ET 12/15/2021 |
||||
The 10-year Treasury yield rose 3 basis points early to 1.47% but backed off highs to 1.45%.
Outside the Dow Jones
After gapping below its 50-day line Tuesday, the Nasdaq composite was up 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 made a nice stand at its 50-day line Tuesday. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) added 0.3%, led by a strong showing from Leaderboard stock Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), which rallied 2.5%
Nasdaq 100 component Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) rebounded after finding support at its 50-day line Tuesday. Shares were up 1.5%.
Top performing ETFs Tuesday included the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV), up 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively. Real estate and consumer staples stocks also outperformed.
Inside the MarketSmith Growth 250, contract research organization Icon (ICLR) broke out over a trend line, rising around 3%. The stock remains in a 12-week consolidation.
Energy Stocks Hit
Top-rated oil and gas producers fell hard, with names like Denbury (DEN), Magnolia Oil & Gas (MGY) and Devon Energy (DVN) down at least 4%. Benchmark WTI crude oil futures edged higher to $70.90 a barrel.
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) turned slightly higher after falling nearly 2% intraday. Arista Networks (ANET) scored a new high in the IBD 50, but Roblox (RBLX) plunged nearly 12% after the company issued average bookings per daily active user guidance, which is expected to be down 8%-9% year over year.
IBD put the stock market in a correction on Dec. 3, due to bearish price action in leading growth stocks. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq’s advance-decline line has been trending lower since early November.
Today is the eighth day of a rally attempt for the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500. A follow-through day, or a big percentage gain in higher volume by the indexes, would confirm a new uptrend and give the green light to start buying stocks again. But it could take a while longer for new setups to emerge. The recent selling in the stock market has resulted in a lot of damaged stock charts.
Read The Big Picture every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.
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