The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

The New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap’s Revenue Growth Hiccup

By Tom Dotan · Feb 3, 2017 7:01am PST · 3 comments

The message from Snap’s executives in the company’s IPO filing is clear: Don’t buy the stock based on Snapchat’s audience size. Focus on the quality of its audience and the revenue it can make from it. But the quarterly revenue growth Snap disclosed Thursday could make it tougher to convince investors its opening share... The message from Snap’s executives in the company’s IPO filing is clear: Don’t...

A Snap "Ghostface Chillah" figure. Photo by Jessica Stark.

The Hidden Costs of Snap’s Employee Shares

By Alfred Lee · Feb 2, 2017 6:05pm PST · 3 comments

Snap could be the biggest tech IPO in years but its employees don’t yet have many shares to sell off, according to the company’s filing for an initial public offering on Thursday. That’s partly because of a policy that requires them to wait longer than usual for their stock awards to vest. It could also hurt Snap’s share... Snap could be the biggest tech IPO in years but its employees don’t yet have many shares to...

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Facebook’s Fearless Spending

By Cory Weinberg · Feb 2, 2017 7:00am PST · 2 comments

Facebook’s announcement on Wednesday that it would hike capital expenses to as much as $7.5 billion this year was more audacious than many analysts expected. But it’s savvy for Facebook to use its profit cushion from a recent hot streak to execute an expensive video-centric strategy. The capital expenses projected for the coming... Facebook’s announcement on Wednesday that it would hike capital expenses to as much as $7.5...

Snap's chief strategy officer, Imran Khan, in September. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Matters and What Doesn’t in Snap’s S-1

By Tom Dotan and Amir Efrati · Feb 1, 2017 7:53pm PST · 2 comments

Snap's chief strategy officer, Imran Khan, in September. Photo by Bloomberg.

What Matters and What Doesn’t in Snap’s S-1

By Tom Dotan and Amir Efrati · Feb 1, 2017 7:53pm PST · 2 comments

The first stage of Snap’s roadshow for investors is set to begin after the public release of its S-1, detailing its IPO offering, which could happen by the end of this week. The subsequent pitch to investors will rely both on the user growth, engagement, and financial figures (some of which The Information has learned, including last... The first stage of Snap’s roadshow for investors is set to begin after the public release...

Google Vice President Carl Schachter in 2013. Photo by Denisse Springer, Lotus Eyes Photogrphay

Senior Google Cloud Exec Departs After Reorg

By Kevin McLaughlin · Feb 1, 2017 4:02pm PST · 1 comment

Carl Schachter, a Google vice president who was one of the public faces of its cloud computing business under Diane Greene, is leaving the company, The Information has learned. The move came as a surprise to many at the fast-growing Google unit, as Mr. Schachter had been promoted in 2015 and received additional responsibilities late last year.... Carl Schachter, a Google vice president who was one of the public faces of its cloud computing...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Snap Is Working on Smarter Lenses

By Tom Dotan · Feb 1, 2017 7:01am PST · 2 comments

Snap is working on a new version of its Lenses product that lets people overlay images onto landscapes in the real world, not just faces. The new technology is a notable expansion of the object recognition within Snapchat’s Lenses, one that could lead to more ad-friendly products.The new Lenses are currently being tested on Snap’s... Snap is working on a new version of its Lenses product that lets people overlay images onto...

Source: The Information

Subscriber Survey

The Information’s Private Company Index

By The Information Staff · Jan 31, 2017 6:31pm PST · 1 comment

Subscriber sentiment towards Uber continues to be overwhelmingly negative, improving only slightly in our latest monthly survey. In contrast, attitudes to Lyft are much more positive.Uber’s sentiment score was negative 75.5% for the April survey, compared with negative 79% a month earlier. It had plunged 59 percentage points in the March... Subscriber sentiment towards Uber continues to be overwhelmingly negative, improving only...

Source: The Information

The Information’s Public Company Index

By The Information Staff · Jan 31, 2017 6:30pm PST

Source: The Information

Subscriber Survey

The Information’s Public Company Index

By The Information Staff · Jan 31, 2017 6:30pm PST

Subscribers got a little more positive about Twitter in the latest subscriber survey. Attitudes towards the company have been the most negative of any company in recent months, with the sentiment score getting as low as minus 72% in October. But in January, the sentiment score rose 16 percentage points to minus 42%, its best score since last... Subscribers got a little more positive about Twitter in the latest subscriber survey. Attitudes...

*LinkedIn's last trading day was Dec. 7, 2016; **As of end of day Jan. 30, 2017; Source: Yahoo Finance

Tech IPOs’ First Year Can Be Tough

By Mike Sullivan and Alfred Lee · Jan 31, 2017 10:58am PST · 1 comment

When Snap goes public in the next few weeks, it will hope to buck a troubling recent trend for ad-supported tech companies. Several, including social media and messaging rivals Facebook, Twitter and Weibo, had disappointing IPOs. After a first-day pop, their stocks traded down by the end of their first year of public trading.But the thing to... When Snap goes public in the next few weeks, it will hope to buck a troubling recent trend for...

Source: The Information

Subscriber Survey

Subscribers See Trump as Bad for Business

By Reed Albergotti and Mike Sullivan · Jan 31, 2017 7:01am PST · 1 comment

Subscribers to The Information are mostly pessimistic about the impact of the Trump administration on their business—despite being hopeful about the prospects for tax reform.Roughly two-thirds of the people responding to our latest subscriber survey said they had a negative view of how their business would be affected by the new... Subscribers to The Information are mostly pessimistic about the impact of the Trump...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

How Snap Is Guarding Against IPO Lawsuits

By Alfred Lee · Jan 30, 2017 7:01am PST

In the world of corporate law, Snap will set a precedent with its expected IPO. It will likely be the first company to go public with a novel legal defense against an increasingly common kind of IPO-related lawsuit, one sparked when a company’s stock price falls after the public offering. Snap added a provision to its charter last October... In the world of corporate law, Snap will set a precedent with its expected IPO. It will likely be...

Fitbit products on display. Photo by Flickr/Mike Mozart.

Fitbit To Cut Jobs After Weak Q4

By Reed Albergotti · Jan 29, 2017 5:16pm PST · 12 comments

Fitbit products on display. Photo by Flickr/Mike Mozart.

Fitbit To Cut Jobs After Weak Q4

By Reed Albergotti · Jan 29, 2017 5:16pm PST · 12 comments

Fitbit is to cut between 5% and 10% of its employees, the company will announce on Monday, while disclosing that its fourth-quarter results were below expectations. The disclosures are the latest sign of a slowdown in the wearables market, according to two people briefed on the news. About 1,600 people work at Fitbit so the job cuts affect... Fitbit is to cut between 5% and 10% of its employees, the company will announce on Monday, while...

The Weekly Digest

The Information You Missed This Week

By The Information Staff · Jan 28, 2017 8:01am PST

Good Morning!From where we’re standing, it looks like the number of people reading this Digest would reach all the way to the Washington Monument. Good Morning!From where we’re standing, it looks like the number of people reading this...

Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman. Photo by Bloomberg.

Jawbone Was Late Paying Employees

By Reed Albergotti · Jan 27, 2017 2:25pm PST · 4 comments

Jawbone was about a week late paying employees this month, according to people familiar with the matter, news that is sure to feed uncertainty about the company’s future.At least some employees didn’t get paid at the company’s last scheduled pay date in the middle of the month, the people said. The payment was eventually made... Jawbone was about a week late paying employees this month, according to people familiar with the...

The Information’s 411 — Outsider Boards

By Tom Dotan · Jan 27, 2017 10:34am PST

Reed and Tom discuss what Dropcam co-founder Greg Duffy could be doing at Apple. And they explain why it's significant that Snap's board is dominated by people outside tech. Reed and Tom discuss what Dropcam co-founder Greg Duffy could be doing at Apple. And they explain...

Source: Tubular Labs

Facebook’s Most Popular Videos: Gone in 90 Seconds

By Cory Weinberg and Mike Sullivan · Jan 27, 2017 7:01am PST · 10 comments

Source: Tubular Labs

Facebook’s Most Popular Videos: Gone in 90 Seconds

By Cory Weinberg and Mike Sullivan · Jan 27, 2017 7:01am PST · 10 comments

Facebook said on Thursday it had tweaked News Feed’s video rankings to emphasize longer videos. There’s a reason why. Two-thirds of the 200 most viewed videos on Facebook over the last three months were less than 90 seconds in length, new data show. That is much shorter than the most popular videos on YouTube in the same time... Facebook said on Thursday it had tweaked News Feed’s video rankings to emphasize longer...

Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Big Interview

Stitch Fix Wants to Go for Retail’s Jugular

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 26, 2017 11:59am PST · 3 comments

Katrina Lake, CEO of online retailer Stitch Fix, for years has expected a reckoning in retail—and it’s starting to play out. Brick-and-mortar retailers like Sears and Macy’s have lately been closing stores as they grapple with declining store traffic. It presents a potential opening for Stitch Fix to prove out its unusual... Katrina Lake, CEO of online retailer Stitch Fix, for years has expected a reckoning in...

Stan Meresman and his wife, Sharon, at a Meals on Wheels gala in 2015. Photo by Drew Altizer Photography.

Snap’s IPO Whisperer

By Tom Dotan · Jan 26, 2017 7:00am PST

Six months before LinkedIn went public in 2011, the company tapped a longtime Silicon Valley financial executive, Stanley Meresman, to join its board. As head of the audit committee, Mr. Meresman played a key role in preparing the company for the rigors of being publicly traded, said one former LinkedIn board member.Nearly six years later, Mr.... Six months before LinkedIn went public in 2011, the company tapped a longtime Silicon Valley...

Greg Duffy. Photo by Flickr/TechCrunch.

Dropcam’s Greg Duffy Joins Apple

By Reed Albergotti · Jan 25, 2017 11:30am PST · 2 comments

Greg Duffy, a former Nest manager who famously called Nest co-founder Tony Fadell a “tyrant bureaucrat,” has joined Apple—the company where Mr. Fadell made his name. Mr. Duffy’s hiring was confirmed by an Apple spokeswoman. His role couldn’t be learned. But given his background, starting security camera firm... Greg Duffy, a former Nest manager who famously called Nest co-founder Tony Fadell a “tyrant...

Westlake CEO Yi Zhao. Photo by Westlake.

Chinese Government’s Path into Silicon Valley

By Yunan Zhang · Jan 25, 2017 7:02am PST · 1 comment

Westlake CEO Yi Zhao. Photo by Westlake.

Chinese Government’s Path into Silicon Valley

By Yunan Zhang · Jan 25, 2017 7:02am PST · 1 comment

This article is part of a series about the new cross-border investors wielding influence in Silicon Valley and China.On the surface, Westlake Ventures looks like any other Silicon Valley venture capital fund. It’s housed inside a typically bland suburban office park in Redwood City, California, shared with a startup accelerator. Chirpy... This article is part of a series about the new cross-border investors wielding influence in...