The Daily Chase: Apple set to refresh iPads, while Disney numbers show streaming no panacea

Here are five things you need to know this morning.

Apple set to unveil new gadgets: Apple hasn’t refreshed its line of iPad tablets in a year and a half, the longest such stretch since Steve Jobs unveiled the devices for the first time back in 2010. But that’s all going to change today, as the company is slated to show off their latest models at an event at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. The event is aimed at boosting demand for the devices as sales have declined for the past two years. Among the new bells and whistles are some artificial intelligence functions that will reportedly roll out next month. While any Apple event is always worth watching given the company’s influence, this one is especially noteworthy since it comes at a time of uncharacteristic weakness at the company. The company’s shares have declined this year based in large part in a dramatic slowdown in its Chinese business. Boosting demand for its pricey gadgets amid consumers all over the world is going to be key to regaining and maintaining the favour of investors.

Disney shares slump on weak earnings: Disney shares are poised to open lower today after the entertainment giant posted quarterly results that could fairly be described as mixed. First, the good news: the company boosted its profit and revenue, and raised its earnings guidance for the full year to 25 per cent. The bad news? All those metrics didn’t go up by as much as analysts were hoping to see. And the worst news, investors seem to be saying, is that the streaming service Disney+ isn’t living up to expectations just yet.  The company says it has just over 153 million subscribers of the service, just shy of the more than 155 million that analysts were hoping for. It’s growing but it is still losing money as it does, even as the streaming unit’s loss shrank to US$18 million from $659 million previously. Like many media companies, streaming is perceived to be the future of the company so it’s worrisome that Disney continues to lose money on streaming despite adding new customers, and raising prices as they have. The company expects the unit to flip into profitability next quarter, but until it does, investors seem to be in “show me” mode: the stock is down about six per cent in premarket trading.

Boeing delays Starliner launch: Boeing was dealt another setback this week as the aerospace giant has had to delay the launch of its Starliner space capsule because of a last-minute technical issue. The United Launch Alliance — a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin to build a craft designed to travel to the International Space Station and back — was in its launch countdown on Monday when officials noticed unexpected behavior with a valve on the upper portion of the craft. The launch was cancelled as a precaution and is tentatively rescheduled for Friday. It’s all working toward the first manned mission for the project, and no doubt the company was hoping for a big win to take focus off some of the problems it has experienced with its Max jets on the plane side of its business.