Snap Q3 rose 57% to just under $1.07 billion, $3 million below the lower end of July 22 guidance, said CEO Evan Spiegel on a call. The stock plunged 26.7% Friday, closing at $55.14. Thursday, Spiegel blamed the revenue shortfall in the quarter mostly on “disruptions” in Snap’s advertising business from “changes to iOS ad tracking that were broadly rolled out by Apple in June and July.” Though Snap previously anticipated “some degree of business disruption,” the new “Apple-provided measurement solution,” called SKAdNetwork (SKAN), did not “scale as we had expected, making it more difficult for our advertising partners to measure and manage their ad campaign for iOS,” he said. The SKAN rollout was a “frustrating setback for us,” he said. Apple defines SKAN as an application programming interface that helps advertisers measure the success of app ad campaigns on the iOS platform. Snap saw “meaningful adoption” of SKAN in June and July, “when Apple pushed all of its users to update to the new version of iOS,” said Chief Business Officer Jeremi Gorman. Initial results “were generally aligned with prior industry-standard solutions, and we were among the first platforms to lean into this solution and push for widespread industry adoption,” she said. But as advertisers began testing SKAN, they unearthed “a variety of concerns about its limitations,” she said. “Every advertiser has their own unique, fine-tuned perspective on their optimal parameters to measure” return on investment “for their business, but SKAN requires them to use Apple's fixed definitions of advertiser success.” Advertisers that use SKAN can't measure impact of their “unique campaigns,” based on metrics like the time consumers take between “viewing an ad and taking an action, or the time spent viewing an ad,” Gorman said. “Real-time campaign and creative management is hindered by extended reporting delays, and advertisers are unable to target advertising based on whether or not people have already installed their app.” Snap is responding by speeding development of its own proprietary “first-party privacy-safe solutions,” called Advanced Conversions, to help advertisers “measure their campaigns effectively,” she said. Apple didn’t respond Friday to emailed requests for comment.

Universal Electronics Inc. vowed to cooperate with three Senate Foreign Relations Committee members who wrote CEO Paul Arling Oct. 19 for answers on who at the company authorized hiring transferred Uyghur laborers at its Chinese factories. Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J., ranking member Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., also asked Arling to produce documentation to support UEI assertions that none of its Chinese factories use forced labor. A UEI spokesperson said Thursday: "UEI made the decision last week to end its relationship with the staffing agency that hired these workers based on feedback on how to best secure its supply chain and in light of ongoing regulatory and legislative changes globally." Menendez, Merkley and Rubio accused UEI in the letter of “choosing to turn a blind eye” to forced labor in China. “If true,” they said, “this is a serious failure in your firm’s ethical and fiduciary responsibilities -- and, potentially, your duties under U.S. law."

Wedbush lowered projections for Logitech’s Q2 revenue to $1.27 billion, from $1.38 billion, due to supply chain issues “that likely dampened Logitech’s ability to fully meet current demand levels,” analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Friday. Demand “likely fell off for PC peripherals after lapping heightened sales last year,” Pachter said, though he expects demand to stay elevated for video collaboration products and PC webcams in the hybrid workplace environment. The analyst also expects lower gross margin for Q2 on higher shipping costs: “Logitech likely employed air freight for much of its supply ahead of the holiday season,” he said. Logitech reports earnings Monday after market close.

Nielsen is using this week’s Advertising Week New York hybrid in-person and digital conference to unveil a new “brand identity” campaign to trumpet its “digital-first” strategies in audience measurement and content services, said the company Monday. Nielsen’s business has “transformed dramatically” over the past few years, especially after selling its Advanced Video Advertising business to Roku earlier in 2021 (see 2103020047), said Jamie Moldafsky, chief marketing and communications officer. “It became clear that perceptions of the company have not evolved at the same pace."

IBM is committing to training 30 million people globally of all ages by 2030 “for the jobs of tomorrow,” it said Wednesday. “The effort will leverage IBM's existing programs and career building platforms to expand access to education and in-demand technical roles,” it said. “The difficulty employers worldwide face in finding skilled workers poses a significant hurdle to economic growth,” said IBM, citing World Economic Forum projections that closing the global skills gap could add $11.5 trillion to global gross domestic product by 2028.

Summit Wireless reaffirmed 2021 full-year revenue guidance of $1.8 million Tuesday. It attributed projected 180% revenue growth to direct-to-consumer efforts by the Wireless Audio and Speaker Association, increased marketing with retailers and virtual WiSA Association storefronts. The company is due to report Q3 results Nov. 10.

Vizio disclosed in an SEC filing after the markets closed for the week Friday that Chief Technology Officer Bill Baxter told the company four days earlier of his plans to resign, effective after an unspecified transition period. Vizio's 8-K said Baxter will continue indefinitely in his current role and will help the company search for a replacement. A Vizio spokesperson declined comment about the circumstances of Baxter's resignation but said the CTO was "instrumental in getting us to this point in our company’s evolution." Baxter has built "an exceptionally talented and committed team to take Vizio to the next level," said the spokesperson. Vizio was within bounds of SEC rules that give public companies up to four business days for filing an 8-K to report the departure of key officers or other major corporate events. Baxter was the former CTO of BuddyTV and joined Vizio in January 2015 after it bought the entertainment-based website, according to Vizio's March 1 registration statement.

Tesla’s decision moving its headquarters to Austin is “not a matter” of the automaker leaving California, CEO Elon Musk told his company’s annual meeting Thursday. “Ongoing public health requirements” and COVID-19 travel restrictions forced Tesla last month to convert the meeting to a “virtual-only format” originating from its Austin “gigafactory” from an in-person event at its Fremont, California, plant (see 2109260004). “We will be continuing to expand our activities in California,” Musk told shareholders. “Our intention is to actually increase output from Fremont” by 50%, he said. “If you go to our Fremont factory, it is jammed,” but there’s a “limit to how big you can scale in the Bay Area,” said the CEO. “Here in Austin, our factory’s like five minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from downtown. We’re going to create an ecological paradise here.” The move to Austin is effective immediately.

Kaleidescape bowed an 18TB server that can store up to 300 4K movies, it said Tuesday. The Terra 18TB ($9,995) can download feature-length 4K movies in 10 minutes on 1 Gbps broadband and supports up to five simultaneous 4K movie playbacks around a home, said the company. Accompanying Strato C players are $2,995.

Valens Semiconductor shares finished their first day trading on the New York Stock Exchange in the red. The stock fell 4.4% Thursday to close at $7.40, dropping to $7.16 in after-hours trading. HDBaseT originator Valens went public with Wednesday’s closing of its $1.16 billion “business combination” with special purpose acquisition company PTK (see 2109290047). The stock closed another 10.1% lower Friday at $6.59.