Renewable Energy at Elf

We are excited to see how renewable energy sources are becoming more mainstream in some states and also abroad in several countries. There have been some great examples of companies taking the initiative to power their activities with renewable energy such as Apple.

At Elf, we value the environment and our impact upon it. Stewardship of natural resources is very important to us. We have taken some initiatives over the last few years to reduce our impact and to move towards a net zero carbon footprint.

Currently, we rent our offices and studios worldwide. Some of our working spaces have a combination of both renewable and fossil fuel energy. We are purchasing carbon offsets to counteract this. However, this is a temporary measure. Our goal is to be 100 percent powered by renewable energy. That is in perfect alignment with our ethics and vision for our agency as we grow. This is a goal we are working towards in the near future. We will post updates as we get closer to achieving our goal.

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Apple Q2 Results In: Services Expand to $11.5 Billion

Apple’s announcement on April 30th of its fiscal results show strong service revenue income

Image via Apple

While the company’s quarterly revenue at $58 billion was down by 5 percent from a year ago, service income is up significantly and growing. 61 percent of Apple’s Q2 earnings came from international sales. The full investor call is available for listening at  www.apple.com/investor/earnings-call/ for up to two weeks. Apple has an installed base of over 1.4 billion active devices. View consolidated statements on Apple.com.

“We generated operating cash flow of $11.2 billion in the March quarter and continued to make significant investments in all areas of our business. We also returned over $27 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. Given our confidence in Apple’s future and the value we see in our stock, our Board has authorized an additional $75 billion for share repurchases. We are also raising our quarterly dividend for the seventh time in less than seven years.”

— Luca Maestri, CFO, Apple

Apple’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.77 per share of the Company’s common stock, up by five percent, payable on May 16, 2019 to shareholders by the close of business on May 13, 2019.

Apple offers the following information about its fiscal 2019 third quarter:

• revenue between $52.5 billion and $54.5 billion

• gross margin between 37 percent and 38 percent

• operating expenses between $8.7 billion and $8.8 billion

• other income/(expense) of $250 million

• tax rate of approximately 16.5 percent

More information is available on Apple’s website.

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Avengers: Endgame Ushers in New Era of Storytelling: Shared Viewing Experience and Global Box Office Records

Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame raked in $1.2 Billion in its opening weekend, the biggest opening of any film ever.

“Avengers: Endgame” brought in $1.2 billion its opening weekend at the worldwide box office, breaking prior Marvel Studio records set by “Avengers: Infinity War” at $640 million last year. “Avengers: Endgame” has become the only film in history to debut at the $1 billion mark, achieving this milestone in just five days as the film rolled out last week on Wednesday.

Domestically too, the film shattered records, besting the prior $258 million mark reached by “Avengers: Infinity War” with an estimated $350 million this past weekend, even surpassing analyst estimates. The film opened astronomically with $60 million on its first night domestically, besting “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at $57 million in 2015.

Fans arrive for a costume contest before the first screening of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Photo by Frederic J. Brown, Agence France-Press/Getty Images

The film’s global earnings also exceeded by large measure, the prior record held by "The Fate of the Furious” in 2017. Of the $859 million earned globally, the last film in the Avengers series was very popular in China where the film made $330.5 million, becoming the most popular debut in China’s history.

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Photo by Chris Pizzello, AP

A New Era in Storytelling: Worldwide Platform and Shared Viewing Experience

“Avengers: Endgame” has become a worldwide cinematic event where movie theaters are rushing to add showtimes to keep up with audience demand as seats quickly sell out, with some theaters showing the film round the clock 24 hours a day. With a run time of more than three hours, “Endgame,” is showing nationwide at all hours to meet demand. Moviegoers are eager for the full cinematic experience, which includes premium 3-D IMAX tickets and AMX food and beverage, leading to the highest sales in history. “Endgame,” is playing in more than 4,600 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, which is the widest release of any film, according to box-office data firm Comscore.

“We’re watching a monumental moment in the history of cinema unfold - one that the entire world is experiencing together.”

— Shawn Robbins, Chief analyst at Boxoffice.com

Today moviegoers worldwide can enjoy almost simultaneous film releases, creating a global storytelling phenomenon. “Avengers: Endgame” is the last film in a series of popular films that are intricately woven with individual films throughout the Marvel universe, amounting to a total of 22 interconnected films.

“The pent-up factor, off the ending of ‘Infinity War’ and on the heels of ‘Captain Marvel,’ drove people to show up.”

— Cathleen Taff, Disney’s head of distribution

Over the last 11 years, Marvel has reigned at the box office, beginning with “Iron Man” in 2008. With so many interconnected story lines and characters appearing across films, Marvel has become a household name, along with its line up of eclectic superheroes ranging from Thor to Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel. Marvel’s remarkable continued success has also triggered competing studios to look for their own franchise wonders. Marvel’s slew of comic book heroes has also revitalized the exhibition industry and made American comic books a worldwide global export.

Image via WSJ and data from Boxoffice Mojo

“Though ‘Endgame’ is far from an end for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these first 22 films constitute a sprawling achievement, and this weekend’s monumental success is a testament to the world they’ve envisioned.”

— Alan Horn, Walt Disney Studios' chairman

Creating films based on its founder Stan Lee’s comics, Marvel Studios has made almost $20 billion at the worldwide box office over the last 10 years. Few movies are so popular with moviegoers and also with critics. “Endgame” has a 96% score on review site, Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ CinemaScore.

Marvel’s excellent marketing of the most recent Avengers movie builds upon its prior successes. The launch of Disney’s new online video streaming platform, Disney+ could not be more fortuitous or well planned. Moviegoers can enjoy watching blockbuster hits from Marvel, along with its other popular franchises such as Star Wars, Pixars and its own range of Disney popular favorites and classics on both the small screen now, as well as large IMAX screens.

“This will extend to the small screen as well with Disney + on the horizon. We will likely see a lot of synergy between the big and small screen.”

— Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore

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