Retail landlord Simon Property Group took a $315 million hit to its Q2 operating profit from COVID-19 through “rent abatements” and a “higher provision for credit losses,” said CEO David Simon on a quarterly call Monday. The company runs about 200 malls and other retail properties in 37 states. “Given the lack of local, state and federal government support for our industry, we went out of our way to abate rent for thousands of local small businesses, entrepreneurs and restaurateurs and other retailers for the period they were closed,” said Simon. The company estimates 91% of its properties were “open and operating” through Aug. 9, he said. Reopened stores reported their June sales exceeded 80% of their 2019 volume, he said. Movie theaters, gyms and restaurants are the bulk of “remaining tenants” that are still closed due to “restrictive governmental orders limiting or prohibiting their operations,” he said. The Great Recession of 2008 “pales in comparison to what we're dealing with” in the pandemic, said Simon. The number of bankruptcies “in our sector” is “tremendous,” he said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved requests allowing reviews to proceed under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for various critical infrastructure projects by Windstream and Frontier Communications, during the pandemic, said orders in Monday’s Daily Digest.

COVID-19 is a “significant headwind” at ON Semiconductor, which reported a 10% revenue drop in Q2 to $1.2 billion, said Chief Financial Officer Bernard Gutmann in the quarterly statement Monday. ON had “moderate improvement in business conditions” on a pickup in global macroeconomic activity, Gutmann said. The company is having “strong momentum” in its power, analog and sensor products. Networking and wireless accounted for $255 million, 21% of Q2 revenue, up 3% on strength in 5G, but Q3 volume will be down due to “delayed launches of certain platforms and geopolitical issues related to a specific customer,” said CEO Keith Jackson on a call. Responding to a question on whether the semiconductor company is concerned about risks that the U.S. will expand targets in China beyond Huawei, Jackson said, “We are very concerned about some of the increasing tensions on global trade.” Much of global trade is “essential for technology and the growth of semiconductors,” he said, “so clearly, would not like to see further there.” The consumer end-market contributed $126 million in the quarter, 10% of revenue, dropping 22%, due to consumer tech market weakness. The company forecasts Q3 revenue of $1.2 billion-$1.3 billion compared with $1.38 billion in Q3 2019. The stock closed 5.2% higher at $21.92.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a request allowing reviews to proceed under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for various wireless facilities that FirstNet plans to build, during the pandemic.

K-12 educators bought nearly 600,000 more notebooks January through June than a year earlier, boosting spending 56% on notebooks and 30% on desktops, blogged NPD's Mike Crosby Thursday. The analyst cited fears of a novel coronavirus resurgence.

COVID-19 is affecting "near-term demand” in Universal Electronics Inc.'s traditional home entertainment and security businesses, said CEO Paul Arling on a quarterly call (See Q2 materials here). UEI's MVPD and security customers’ “ability or willingness to install hardware in consumers' homes” for new service or upgrades “has been disrupted," he said Thursday. Arling said a recent falloff in MPVD activations was driven by “operator policies that restrict new installations due to the risk of COVID-19 to their installers, while in other cases, consumers are reluctant to allow installers in their homes.” Declines in MVPD subscriber counts have been due to “a decrease in professional installations and hence new activations.” Lack of live sports contributed to new connections declines, he said. Generally, the executive noted, “lines defining content sources have blurred." Comcast generated 19.3% of sales. Revenue “continues to be challenged by headwinds related to customers relying on truck rolls for new installs,” Colliers analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Friday. Sales were $153.1 million vs. $193.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Frankel sees UEI’s shift to advanced voice remotes and software licensing as higher margin opportunities, but growth “is likely to remain challenging in the next several quarters.” Chief Financial Officer Bryan Hackworth said the company’s restructuring efforts allowed it to reallocate expenses to R&D. The Q3 guidance is for revenue of $150 million-$160 million vs. $200.7 million in Q3 2019. Shares closed down 5.89% Friday at $44.48.

The Competitive Carriers Association dropped plans for its in-person annual meeting and will instead hold a virtual conference Oct. 27, the group said Friday. “Due to current circumstances and concerns for the health and safety of our attendees and exhibitors, it is not possible to move forward with the in-person portion of CCA’s 2020 Annual Convention,” said President Steve Berry: “The day will be chock-full of keynotes and panels featuring industry thought-leaders and key government officials, and attendees can interact in panel discussions and network with exhibitors showcasing their latest innovations though the virtual exhibit hall.”

Sage Telecom asks the FCC to extend an order that waives dropping Lifeline subscribers based on recertification, reverification, usage and certain other enrollment requirements during the pandemic. That order expires Aug. 31. “Unfortunately, not much has changed with new US unemployment claims increasing again this week,” the company told an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, said a Friday posting in docket 17-287.

COVID-19 sent GoPro Q2 revenue tumbling 54% from the 2019 quarter, up 12% sequentially, said CEO Nicholas Woodman on a Thursday call. “Demand for GoPro cameras consistently improved throughout the second quarter, and we've seen a faster-than-expected rebound in sell-through at retail,” he said. “We remain on track with our product launches slated for the second half." The company's shift to a more direct-to-consumer business model with lower operating costs is working, said Woodman. “GoPro has adapted to the pandemic, and we believe our consumers are learning to live with the pandemic, too.” The stock closed 11% lower Friday at $4.94.

Q2 trial subscriptions at Dropbox were 20% higher than before COVID-19, said CEO Drew Houston on a quarterly call Thursday. Conversion rates stayed "consistent" with trends, he said. He thinks the shift to “distributed work will ultimately be as significant as the shift to mobile or the shift to cloud." Dropbox's recent deployment with the University of Michigan was “one of our largest educational deals to date, as institutions around the world look to accelerate their digital transformation efforts and shift to a remote-learning environment,” said Houston. “Companies are also increasing their reliance on Dropbox as they make the transition to distributed work.”