The Information

With Low Salaries, Amazon Executives Rely on Stock

By Martin Peers and Priya Anand · Sep 6, 2018 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

Amazon has a reputation for paying its warehouse workers poorly. It turns out even its top executives aren’t well paid, at least by the lavish standards of tech leaders in corporate America.Senior executives at the tech giant earn relatively low salaries—up to $175,000 in 2017, well below the $650,000 or more earned by their... Amazon has a reputation for paying its warehouse workers poorly. It turns out even its top...

Airbnb’s Big Growth Driver: Full-Time Rentals

Airbnb’s Big Growth Driver: Full-Time Rentals

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 23, 2018 7:01am PDT · 2 comments

A growing share of new homes on Airbnb are year-round rentals owned by hosts who never live in them. These rentals now surpass private rooms inside a house occupied by the host, one of Airbnb’s traditional offerings, according to company data for a week’s worth of listings from June obtained by The Information.This shift towards... A growing share of new homes on Airbnb are year-round rentals owned by hosts who never live in...

How Snap Is Becoming Twitter

By Tom Dotan · Aug 16, 2018 10:01am PDT · 3 comments

A few years ago, when Snap was a fast-growing, hot commodity venerated by venture capitalists, some would occasionally ask whether it would end up like Twitter—a niche platform with dedicated users but without the broad scale of, say, Facebook. It’s now becoming clear the answer is yes. A few years ago, when Snap was a fast-growing, hot commodity venerated by venture capitalists,...

Netflix’s Spending Growth Slows

By Martin Peers · Jun 26, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Netflix’s Spending Growth Slows

By Martin Peers · Jun 26, 2018 7:01am PDT · 3 comments

Netflix might finally be striking the right balance between what it spends on TV programs like “The Crown” and “Stranger Things” and what it makes from subscribers. That’s the first step to generating cash.Last year was the first time since 2014 that Netflix’s cash outlays on shows and movies grew more slowly... Netflix might finally be striking the right balance between what it spends on TV programs like...

A Walmart store in New Jersey. Photo by Bloomberg

How Walmart Stacks Up Against Amazon

By Priya Anand · May 24, 2018 10:23am PDT · 5 comments

Walmart’s recent acquisition of a majority stake in Flipkart made one thing clear: The retail giant is serious about taking on Amazon worldwide.So how well matched are the two companies? On sheer scale of retail sales, Walmart is a much bigger company—$496 billion compared to Amazon’s $160 billion (excluding Amazon Web... Walmart’s recent acquisition of a majority stake in Flipkart made one thing clear: The...

Source: BoxOfficeMojo

How Fate of Fox Affects Future of Hollywood

By Matt Pressberg · May 15, 2018 7:01am PDT · 1 comment

Disney and Comcast are in a high-stakes showdown for control of Fox. Beyond Fox’s cable channels and its vast film and TV library of old movies and TV shows, the winner gets control of Fox’s valuable movie franchises, such as X-Men. And that could help determine whether Comcast’s Universal can catch up to Disney’s share... Disney and Comcast are in a high-stakes showdown for control of Fox. Beyond Fox’s cable...

How Media Startups Stack Up on Revenue Per Employee

By Tom Dotan and Mike Sullivan · May 8, 2018 11:32am PDT · 2 comments

If there’s one constant among the most prominent digital media startups, it’s that they all generate about the same amount of revenue on a per-employee basis—regardless of how big they are.That’s what emerged from a study The Information did of eight firms, ranging from BuzzFeed to Vox Media, Axios and Refinery29. The... If there’s one constant among the most prominent digital media startups, it’s that...

Amazon Employees Forfeit Stock Awards at Higher Rates

By Priya Anand and Mike Sullivan · May 1, 2018 7:00am PDT

Amazon Employees Forfeit Stock Awards at Higher Rates

By Priya Anand and Mike Sullivan · May 1, 2018 7:00am PDT

Amazon.com’s stock hit a record of $1,638 last week after the company reported that it doubled its profit in the first quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations. But some employees who were granted stock awards as part of their compensation packages might not fully benefit from the run-up in value. The rate at which employees... Amazon.com’s stock hit a record of $1,638 last week after the company reported that it...

What’s the IPO Price? Check With the Mutual Funds

By Alfred Lee and Mike Sullivan · Apr 24, 2018 7:02am PDT · 3 comments

Mutual funds that invest in private tech companies are surprisingly good at predicting what a tech company will be worth when it goes public, an analysis of recent IPOs shows. The finding undercuts criticism leveled at mutual funds by tech executives, who have said the estimates bear little relation to the value of their companies.A review of 18... Mutual funds that invest in private tech companies are surprisingly good at predicting what a...

Red-Hot Crypto Market Fuels Coinbase Growth

By Sarah Kuranda and Mike Sullivan · Mar 6, 2018 7:01am PST · 1 comment

When a surge in bitcoin trading overwhelmed the servers at Coinbase in December, it was clear that rocketing interest in cryptocurrency was driving a flood of business to the exchange. Now, data from analytics firm Second Measure reveal just how sudden and steep the growth at Coinbase has been.Coinbase, one of the biggest exchanges for trading... When a surge in bitcoin trading overwhelmed the servers at Coinbase in December, it was clear...

*Numbers are estimates; Sources: SportsBusiness Journal, FanGraphs, Press releases

Why 2021-2022 Could Be a Watershed for TV Sports

By Matt Pressberg and Mike Sullivan · Feb 6, 2018 1:15pm PST · 2 comments

America’s major sports leagues will be living large for the next three or four years, reaping the benefits of TV and radio deals that pay them more than $18 billion a year combined. But that may change in 2021 and 2022, when several of the biggest deals come up for renewal, including Major League Baseball’s TV contract and... America’s major sports leagues will be living large for the next three or four years,...

Sources: Newmark Cornish & Carey, Buildzoom, Hello Office, CBRE, other real estate sources, city records

Led by Alphabet, Apple, Tech Firms Could Double Footprint in Bay Area

By Cory Weinberg and Mike Sullivan · Jan 30, 2018 7:00am PST · 5 comments

Sources: Newmark Cornish & Carey, Buildzoom, Hello Office, CBRE, other real estate sources, city records

Led by Alphabet, Apple, Tech Firms Could Double Footprint in Bay Area

By Cory Weinberg and Mike Sullivan · Jan 30, 2018 7:00am PST · 5 comments

Many of the world’s fastest-growing tech companies call the San Francisco Bay Area home. They have expanded over the past decade by turning old industrial land into sprawled-out offices and filling new skyscrapers. But the next phase of real estate growth is likely to be even more transformative, as the companies lay plans to double the... Many of the world’s fastest-growing tech companies call the San Francisco Bay Area home....

Source: CB Insights

VCs Step Up Investing in Mental Health Startups

By Serena Saitto · Jan 25, 2018 7:00am PST · 3 comments

Venture capitalists are paying more attention to mental health.Venture investment in mental health startups has nearly quadrupled since 2014, thanks in part to a 2008 federal law that required health insurers to treat mental health equally to other kinds of health care.In 2017, VCs invested $191.3 million across 33 deals in the sector, up from... Venture capitalists are paying more attention to mental health.Venture investment in mental...

Data as of Dec. 11; Source: Yahoo Finance

Move Over, Amazon. Smaller Tech Stocks Surge

By Alfred Lee and Mike Sullivan · Dec 12, 2017 7:02am PST · 2 comments

The run-up of so-called FAANG stocks—Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet—has grabbed headlines this year. But at least 10 high-profile consumer tech companies, including Paypal, Grubhub and Match Group, have outperformed the five tech superpowers. Some of the biggest consumer gainers are Square, which has rebounded from its... The run-up of so-called FAANG stocks—Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and...

See full table below

Rules for Tech Likely Won’t Close Regulatory Gap With Media

By Cory Weinberg and Tom Dotan · Nov 8, 2017 1:27pm PST

Media giant Comcast’s annual report lists 10 pages of regulations that the company operates under, running to 6,200 words. Alphabet, in contrast, summarizes all the regulations that could apply to it in just 682 words. U.S. lawmakers are grappling with how to write new rules for internet-based giants like Facebook and Google, amid a... Media giant Comcast’s annual report lists 10 pages of regulations that the company operates...

Source: Company Filings

Amazon’s Properties Tripled

By Priya Anand · Oct 31, 2017 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

Source: Company Filings

Amazon’s Properties Tripled

By Priya Anand · Oct 31, 2017 7:02am PDT · 2 comments

Amazon.com’s purchase of Whole Foods prompted lots of talk that it has become a brick and mortar retailer. But Amazon already had a huge amount of property in North America, thanks to its expansion in e-commerce and cloud computing. And its properties are increasingly crowded with workers.Amazon’s North American properties more than... Amazon.com’s purchase of Whole Foods prompted lots of talk that it has become a brick and...

Source: Paysa

Where Amazon Finds, and Loses, AI Talent

By Priya Anand and Mike Sullivan · Oct 10, 2017 11:05am PDT · 3 comments

In the hunt for artificial intelligence talent, Amazon swaps employees with its Seattle neighbor Microsoft on a roughly one-for-one ratio. But it loses far more AI-oriented talent to Google than it gains from that firm, new data show.Amazon poached about a dozen AI-related people from Google in the five years ending April 2017. But Google lured... In the hunt for artificial intelligence talent, Amazon swaps employees with its Seattle neighbor...

Source: company filings

Amazon Supremacy? Think Again

By Priya Anand · Sep 27, 2017 7:02am PDT · 7 comments

With Amazon.com’s acquisition of Whole Foods, it might seem like there are few segments of the consumer economy that the e-commerce giant hasn’t conquered. But a look at sales data shows just how small Amazon is compared with the true retail giant, Walmart.Walmart’s annual net sales are more than triple those of Amazon,... With Amazon.com’s acquisition of Whole Foods, it might seem like there are few segments of...

Source: Dealogic

Tech IPO Hopes Turn to 2018

By Serena Saitto · Sep 12, 2017 7:02am PDT

This hasn’t turned out to be the boom year for tech IPOs that some expected, so bankers and investors are turning their attention to 2018. At least a couple of high profile U.S. unicorns are expected to go public next year, including Dropbox and Peloton and maybe Airbnb. Less likely is Lyft, which now isn’t expected to go public... This hasn’t turned out to be the boom year for tech IPOs that some expected, so bankers and...

Source: Company Filings. Chart by Mike Sullivan.

Why Apple and Facebook Should Spend More on Video

By Martin Peers · Aug 30, 2017 10:34am PDT · 6 comments

Source: Company Filings. Chart by Mike Sullivan.

Why Apple and Facebook Should Spend More on Video

By Martin Peers · Aug 30, 2017 10:34am PDT · 6 comments

Apple and Facebook’s tentative steps into video programming has fuelled a debate about so-called “peak TV”—the idea that there’s a bubble underway in the amount of new TV shows being made. But a look at how much more established media firms are spending on TV suggests these newer entrants will have to be much more... Apple and Facebook’s tentative steps into video programming has fuelled a debate about...