Company news in brief

Dropbox results top estimates

Dropbox Inc’s forecast for the current-quarter and results for the second quarter beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, with the online storage firm earning more from a higher number of paying subscribers.

Shares of Dropbox, however, came under pressure and slipped nearly 10% in extended trading after the company decided to advance its lock-up expiration date by several trading days.

The lock-up period, which is now set to expire on August 23, will unlock an additional 356.4 million shares for trading.

-Nampa/Reuters

Maersk, IBM say 94 organisations have joined blockchain

Shipping group Maersk said on Thursday 94 companies and organisations have so far joined a blockchain platform developed with IBM aimed at boosting efficiency and limiting the enormous paper trail of global container shipping.

The industry has seen little innovation since the container was invented in the 1950s, and cross-border trade still leaves an enormous trail of paperwork and bureaucracy.

-Nampa/Reuters

L'Oreal adds to Facebook sales push

Maybelline parent L’Oreal is pairing up with Facebook to roll out virtual tests for shoppers to see how they might look with different lipsticks or eye shadows, adding to its push to drive more sales online and through social media networks.

Cosmetics firms including L’Oreal rival Estee Lauder and retailers like LVMH’s Sephora are investing heavily in technology, in an age of selfies and beauty bloggers that has helped shift the industry onto the web.

France’s L’Oreal, the world’s biggest cosmetics group, bought Canadian augmented reality and artificial intelligence specialist ModiFace in March.

-Nampa/Reuters

Tesla engineering chief returns to Apple

Doug Field, who stepped down as the senior vice president of engineering at Telsa Inclast month, is returning to Apple Inc Apple told Reuters on Thursday.

Field will be working with Apple executive Bob Mansfield, who has been heading up Apple’s self-driving car program, Project Titan. Field and Mansfield previously worked together on engineering Apple’s line of Mac computers.

-Nampa/Reuters

Samsung eyes young buyers

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd unveiled the Galaxy Note 9 “phablet” in New York on Thursday in a key product launch that it hopes will attract younger customers with stepped-up features and services for gamers and music-lovers.

Launching the Note 9 at 11am in New York, or Friday midnight in Seoul, Samsung also announced partnerships with global hit game Fortnite and music-streaming service Spotify Technology SA in a stepped-up challenge to Apple Inc in the premium-phone race.

Samsung’s new focus marks a shift away from its previous positioning of the Note as a multi-tasking device popular with graphic designers and artists.

-Nampa/Reuters