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

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Why Apple Might Be Headed for Another Antennagate

By Martin Peers · Nov 26, 2024 5:00pm PST

It’s a bit early to be offering predictions for 2025, but here goes anyway. Chances are very good that sometime next year we’re going to hear a bunch of complaints about newly released Apple iPhones dropping calls more often than previous models did. In other words, we’re in for a repeat of the “Antennagate” brouhaha of 2010, when similar... It’s a bit early to be offering predictions for 2025, but here goes anyway. Chances are very good...

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Klarna’s AI Savings

By Theo Wayt · Nov 25, 2024 5:00pm PST · 7 comments

Klarna has been louder than most other companies about using artificial intelligence to cut jobs and save money—part of a broader AI rebrand as the installment lender polishes itself up for a potential IPO. A fresh batch of financial details the company released today, alongside an AI-generated avatar of CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski discussing... Klarna has been louder than most other companies about using artificial intelligence to cut jobs...

Former AWS CEO Adam Selipsky and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei during AWS re:Invent 2023 last November. Photo via Getty.

Anthropic Keeps Amazon in AI Contest

By Martin Peers · Nov 22, 2024 2:47pm PST

In Thursday’s Briefing newsletter, my colleague Cory Weinberg reported that bankers at Goldman Sachs’ private tech gathering this week had asked, “For big tech, is capex the new M&A?” as part of a slide presentation on the market. We got the answer today—yes, it is—when Amazon announced it was investing $4 billion more into Anthropic, the... In Thursday’s Briefing newsletter, my colleague Cory Weinberg reported that bankers at Goldman...

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Is Capex the New M&A for Big Tech?

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 21, 2024 5:00pm PST

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Is Capex the New M&A for Big Tech?

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 21, 2024 5:00pm PST

Goldman Sachs’ annual private tech conference this week was, from one angle, a study in East Coast realism versus West Coast optimism. Spreadsheets versus innovation. Bankers’ slacks versus Palmer Luckey’s shorts. One of the most high-profile founders on stage, Perplexity’s Aravind Srinivas, cited the satirical TV show “Silicon Valley” as... Goldman Sachs’ annual private tech conference this week was, from one angle, a study in East...

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Why Nvidia’s Investors Are So Hard to Please

By Martin Peers · Nov 20, 2024 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Nvidia investors are, let’s face it, a bit like spoiled children. Here’s a company that posts a 94% increase in revenue from a year ago, which is quite a bit better than it had projected, and the stock falls! Sure, Nvidia’s growth rate has come down from the blazing-fast 260% or so of a few quarters ago, but did anyone imagine the company could... Nvidia investors are, let’s face it, a bit like spoiled children. Here’s a company that posts a ...

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Amazon’s Walmart Problem

By Theo Wayt · Nov 19, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Walmart reported solid third-quarter numbers today, driving home what’s surely a sore point for Jeff Bezos: No matter how hard Amazon tries, it can’t conquer Walmart.The Arkansas retailer’s revenue grew 5.5% to $169.6 billion, and the company showed optimism about the holiday season by raising its full-year sales forecast. Investors are happy... Walmart reported solid third-quarter numbers today, driving home what’s surely a sore point for...

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Trump’s Tech Haves and Have-Nots

By Martin Peers · Nov 18, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

In tech, the story is going to be very much about the haves and have-nots over the next four years. Some tech firms will have juice with Donald Trump and some won’t. Trump’s Sunday night announcement that Brendan Carr will lead the Federal Communications Commission is more bad news for Meta Platforms, which increasingly looks to be one of the... In tech, the story is going to be very much about the haves and have-nots over the next four...

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul face off during weigh-ins before their upcoming fight. Photo via Getty.

Netflix’s Friday Night Fights

By Nick Wingfield · Nov 15, 2024 3:30pm PST · 1 comment

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul face off during weigh-ins before their upcoming fight. Photo via Getty.

Netflix’s Friday Night Fights

By Nick Wingfield · Nov 15, 2024 3:30pm PST · 1 comment

Any Friday night plans? A decent number of you will probably tune into tonight’s boxing match on Netflix between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul because you’re curious whether the great heavyweight of the 1980s can, at the age of 58, beat the 27-year-old influencer turned pugilist. Another group of you may watch more because you’re curious how Netflix... Any Friday night plans? A decent number of you will probably tune into tonight’s boxing match on...

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo via Getty.

Disney’s Streaming Profit Hopes Rest on More Price Increases

By Martin Peers · Nov 14, 2024 5:00pm PST

We got some good news from the poor old entertainment companies this earnings season. Video streaming is finally becoming a money-making business! Disney, for instance, reported today that its Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ streaming operations made a profit of $321 million in the September quarter, quite the turnaround from losing a slightly bigger... We got some good news from the poor old entertainment companies this earnings season. Video...

Matt Gaetz. Photo via Getty.

What Matt Gaetz’s Attorney General Nomination Means for Tech

By Martin Peers · Nov 13, 2024 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

All those techies and bankers hoping the new Trump administration will relax Joe Biden’s tough antitrust approach might want to think again. Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would nominate Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general, putting forward someone who has appeared supportive of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and has called... All those techies and bankers hoping the new Trump administration will relax Joe Biden’s tough...

Wonder CEO Marc Lore. Photo via Getty

What a Wonder-Grubhub Deal Would Mean

By Martin Peers · Nov 12, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Wonderful news! Deals are happening. Exhibit A: Marc Lore’s food startup Wonder is close to a deal to buy Grubhub, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday afternoon. That’s an intriguing acquisition for Lore, a veteran e-commerce entrepreneur, as it’s something of a change in direction.Those with long memories of Wonder will recall that the... Wonderful news! Deals are happening. Exhibit A: Marc Lore’s food startup Wonder is close to a...

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

Wall Street Finally Forgives Musk for Twitter

By Martin Peers · Nov 11, 2024 5:00pm PST

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

Wall Street Finally Forgives Musk for Twitter

By Martin Peers · Nov 11, 2024 5:00pm PST

This is telling: Tesla’s closing price today of $350 was the first time it has closed at that level since the first week of April 2022, when Elon Musk first revealed he was building a position in Twitter (now X). A two-and-a-half-year slump in Tesla’s stock price is over; it was sparked by his excursion into making over the social media app in... This is telling: Tesla’s closing price today of $350 was the first time it has closed at that...

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. Photo via Getty

Why TV Mergers Aren’t the Solution to Streaming’s Flaws

By Martin Peers · Nov 8, 2024 3:00pm PST

That didn’t take long. Within a day of Donald Trump’s election as president, TV executives were signaling optimism that the new administration would make life easier for them by allowing the industry to consolidate. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made the most articulate case on Thursday, presenting mergers as a way of helping out poor... That didn’t take long. Within a day of Donald Trump’s election as president, TV executives were...

San Francisco City Hall on Election Day. Photo via Getty.

Politics Won’t Fracture Startup Investing

By Nick Wingfield, Natasha Mascarenhas and Paris Martineau · Nov 7, 2024 5:00pm PST · 4 comments

Considering the political rifts in tech this presidential election exposed, you might think Silicon Valley is about to fracture into a scenario in which blue venture capitalists widely refuse to work with red investors and founders—and vice versa. But we’re not so sure.There’s no doubt that at times during the campaign, the rhetoric between... Considering the political rifts in tech this presidential election exposed, you might think...

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Techies Hope for Trump-Driven Deregulation

By Martin Peers · Nov 6, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

That’s what you call delight. Stocks rocketed—the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 3%—as Wall Street applauded Donald Trump’s victory in Tuesday’s election. Most tech stocks rose in tandem—Tesla stock jumped 15%, reflecting the benefits CEO Elon Musk is expected to earn from his vocal support for Trump. Notably, one of the few tech stocks to lose... That’s what you call delight. Stocks rocketed—the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 3%—as Wall Street...

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Reddit Passes Snap

By Martin Peers · Nov 5, 2024 5:00pm PST

Photos via Getty.

Reddit Passes Snap

By Martin Peers · Nov 5, 2024 5:00pm PST

You’re likely distracted right now by election results, which have surely started rolling in as you’re reading. Rather than add to all the premature speculation on the topic, we think creating an election-free zone would be more useful. Below we recommend some things you can do tonight other than watch the news channels.Before we get to that,... You’re likely distracted right now by election results, which have surely started rolling in as...

ByteDance's Singapore offices. Photo via Shutterstock.

Why ByteDance is a Bargain

By Martin Peers · Nov 4, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

What’s the cheapest stock around right now? That has to be ByteDance, the privately owned Chinese tech giant that owns TikTok. As we reported today, ByteDance lifted its first-half revenue about 35% to $73 billion, which means it is now about as big as Facebook owner Meta Platforms but growing faster. In the first half, Meta’s revenue increased... What’s the cheapest stock around right now? That has to be ByteDance, the privately owned Chinese...

Michael Saylor. Photo via Getty.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Bet

By Martin Peers · Nov 1, 2024 3:35pm PDT

You could be forgiven for missing, amid the onslaught of tech company earnings news lately, what may be the most startling business story of the week. That would be the plan by enterprise software and bitcoin investment firm MicroStrategy to raise a massive $42 billion over the next three years to buy more bitcoin, using equal parts debt and... You could be forgiven for missing, amid the onslaught of tech company earnings news lately, what...

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Apple’s Weak Forecast, AWS’ Profit Rockets

By Martin Peers · Oct 31, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Nothing particularly frightening emerged from the two big tech goliaths that reported September quarterly results tonight, Apple and Amazon. But they offered nothing particularly cheery, either.For both companies, the updates had a mix of good and bad news. Apple, for instance, reported 6% top-line growth for the September quarter, its best... Nothing particularly frightening emerged from the two big tech goliaths that reported September...

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Meta and Microsoft Disappoint Investors

By Martin Peers · Oct 30, 2024 5:00pm PDT

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Meta and Microsoft Disappoint Investors

By Martin Peers · Oct 30, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Danger, danger! That’s the message Wall Street sent Meta Platforms tonight, as investors sold off shares in the company in the wake of its predictably healthy third-quarter earnings result. They perhaps weren’t thrilled that Meta plans to lift capital expenditures significantly again next year, on top of a projected increase this year of as much... Danger, danger! That’s the message Wall Street sent Meta Platforms tonight, as investors sold off...