By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ:ZM)rose 5% amid news that it will start selling its technology for other companies to embed in their products.
Video conferences would be operated by Zoom, but not branded as such, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Chief Technology Officer Brendan Ittelson. The move will pit Zoom against Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), RingCentral (NYSE:RNG) and others who already offer non-branded tools that can be embedded in other companies' software.
Zoom has been a pandemic darling, hitting a record late last year after about doubling from March 2020. Shares have since given up some of the gains as vaccines abound and employees gradually return to the office. The new service will create an alternative revenue stream, which may help the company stay afloat as we shut down our computers to meet face-to-face.
Zoom will charge for calls on a per-minute basis, with the first 10,000 minutes each month free, the Journal reported. Revenue jumped more than 360% from the quarter ended January 2020 to a year later, with profit soaring over 700% in that time.
In a more negative development, Citigroup (NYSE:C) is banning video calls on Fridays in a bid to set boundaries and create a healthier work-life balance, CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with a memo that was sent by new CEO Jane Fraser on Monday.