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

Ben Horowitz. Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty.

Horowitz Promotes San Francisco Standard

By Martin Peers · Aug 16, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Michael Moritz, you owe Ben Horowitz a drink. The Andreessen Horowitz partner did a masterful job of promoting an article The San Francisco Standard, a news publication owned by Moritz, published today—so much so that you might imagine Horowitz, too, has an investment in the publication!I’m kidding. In a tweet, Horowitz accused Moritz (who is of... Michael Moritz, you owe Ben Horowitz a drink. The Andreessen Horowitz partner did a masterful job...

Photo via Getty.

Calculating Cable TV’s Future

By Martin Peers · Aug 15, 2024 5:00pm PDT

These are dark days for big TV companies. Paramount Global, owner of CBS, began laying off 15% of its staff this week. The share price of Warner Bros. Discovery has fallen so far down the toilet that a plumber would have trouble spotting it. Disney stock has lost most of the ground it gained during an activist fight for board seats this past... These are dark days for big TV companies. Paramount Global, owner of CBS, began laying off 15% of...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty

The Contradictions in the DOJ’s Google Breakup Idea

By Martin Peers · Aug 14, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Who says investors don’t care about Google’s antitrust woes? The stock dropped as much as 3.9% on Wednesday in the wake of reports that the government might seek “a breakup” of the company as the penalty for last week’s antitrust verdict, most likely through the forced divestiture of Android or Chrome.Those reports shouldn’t have been... Who says investors don’t care about Google’s antitrust woes? The stock dropped as much as 3.9% on...

Rick Osterloh, Google's SVP of Devices & Services, speaking at today's event. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty.

Google Says ‘Add Me’ to AI-Focused Phone Buyers

By Martin Peers · Aug 13, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Rick Osterloh, Google's SVP of Devices & Services, speaking at today's event. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty.

Google Says ‘Add Me’ to AI-Focused Phone Buyers

By Martin Peers · Aug 13, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Google executive Rick Osterloh promised today to demonstrate to consumers exactly what artificial intelligence can do for them. But the array of impressive AI-powered features he displayed for Google’s newest Pixel line of phones may not be quite what consumers are looking for.While some features, such as Google’s new virtual assistant (for all... Google executive Rick Osterloh promised today to demonstrate to consumers exactly what artificial...

Elon Musk and Thierry Breton. Photos via Getty.

Musk’s European Cage Match

By Martin Peers · Aug 12, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 4 comments

It looks like Elon Musk is preparing for a cage match with Thierry Breton, a European commissioner who has been on the X owner’s case over his lack of compliance with European regulations. Today, for instance, Musk re-tweeted the latest missive from Breton—as verbose a letter as any bureaucrat could produce—with an image from the movie “Tropic... It looks like Elon Musk is preparing for a cage match with Thierry Breton, a European...

Photos via Adobe Stock

Paramount and Warner Discover Reality

By Martin Peers · Aug 9, 2024 3:30pm PDT

It’s Friday and lots of people are on vacation. That makes this an ideal time to dive into a really wonky subject—accounting. Fun! Don’t click away just yet. This is actually interesting. Two aging entertainment companies, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global, both chose this week to reveal multibillion-dollar write-downs of their... It’s Friday and lots of people are on vacation. That makes this an ideal time to dive into a...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. Photo by Getty

Airbnb’s Paradox: Profits v. Growth

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 8, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

One of the internet’s corporate success stories of the past decade, Airbnb, is suddenly in need of an overhaul. Its stock plunged 11% this week—dragging it down 15% for the year—after executives acknowledged a slowdown among U.S. consumers had hurt its growth. The slowdown crystallizes a paradox about Airbnb’s performance. Its 11% expected... One of the internet’s corporate success stories of the past decade, Airbnb, is suddenly in need...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

What Quarterly Updates Reveal About Consumer Spending

By Martin Peers · Aug 7, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

What Quarterly Updates Reveal About Consumer Spending

By Martin Peers · Aug 7, 2024 5:00pm PDT

We’re in unstable times. Today’s stock market action, where a morning rally gave way to an afternoon sell-off, was the latest evidence. There’s surely lots of reasons for this volatility, but uncertainty about the economy has to be top of the list.Some quarterly earnings reports in the past couple of days demonstrated why investors might be... We’re in unstable times. Today’s stock market action, where a morning rally gave way to an...

Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses on display. Photo by NurPhoto via Getty.

Meta’s Ray-Ban Glasses Deserve More Attention

By Martin Peers · Aug 6, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

You might not know it from the news of the past few days, but weather-wise we’re in the dog days of August. And that’s an ideal time to try Meta Platforms’ Ray-Ban smart glasses (no one wants to walk around wearing sunglasses in the winter gloom). Based on my personal experience, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg is onto something when he... You might not know it from the news of the past few days, but weather-wise we’re in the dog days...

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai. Photo by Jeff Chiu/AP.

Wall Street Unperturbed by Google Ruling

By Martin Peers · Aug 5, 2024 5:09pm PDT

Antitrust regulators don’t scare big tech investors. Stock of Google’s parent Alphabet fell by only a couple of percentage points after a judge found Google had broken antitrust laws in its efforts to protect its monopoly in search. Shares of Apple, which arguably stands to lose as much from the ruling as Google, fell even less. (Both stocks... Antitrust regulators don’t scare big tech investors. Stock of Google’s parent Alphabet fell by...

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty.

AI Investors Are Soul-Searching

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 2, 2024 4:40pm PDT · 1 comment

Anyone involved in artificial intelligence right now has to be entering the weekend deeply introspective about when this technology will actually start making businesses money. One by one, big tech companies have spent most of the past two weeks telling shareholders about their mammoth investments in AI that sent capital expenditures... Anyone involved in artificial intelligence right now has to be entering the weekend deeply...

An Amazon distribution center in Richmond, Calif on July 16 during "Amazon Prime Day." Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty.

Prime Video Ads Have Yet to Pay Off

By Theo Wayt · Aug 1, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

An Amazon distribution center in Richmond, Calif on July 16 during "Amazon Prime Day." Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty.

Prime Video Ads Have Yet to Pay Off

By Theo Wayt · Aug 1, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

We want to start this evening’s Briefing by congratulating and thanking all the people who were involved in securing the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and other prisoners from Russia, in a major victory for press freedom. Make sure to read The Journal’s story about the remarkable effort to rescue him here.Now on to the... We want to start this evening’s Briefing by congratulating and thanking all the people who were...

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Getty

Meta Flexes Financial Muscle in Costly AI Showdown With Microsoft and Google

By Amir Efrati · Jul 31, 2024 5:13pm PDT

Meta Platforms shareholders have had a singular concern lately: how the company can go toe-to-toe with Google and Microsoft (and Microsoft partner OpenAI) in developing cutting-edge artificial intelligence while expanding data centers and filling them with costly AI chips to enable future breakthroughs that result in profits.On Wednesday, Meta... Meta Platforms shareholders have had a singular concern lately: how the company can go toe-to-toe...

Amy Hood. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

Microsoft Tests Investors’ Patience

By Anita Ramaswamy · Jul 30, 2024 6:03pm PDT · 4 comments

Patience may be a virtue, but Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood is asking investors to take it to extremes. Twice during the Tuesday conference call to discuss the company’s June-quarter results, Hood said Microsoft’s extraordinary investment in building and leasing data centers to support artificial intelligence would pay off over... Patience may be a virtue, but Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood is asking investors to...

Long waits at Madrid-Barajas International Airport on July 19 due to the global communications outage caused by CrowdStrike. Photo by Diego Radames/Anadolu via Getty.

CrowdStrike’s Comeback Hits an Air Pocket

By Laura Mandaro · Jul 29, 2024 5:00pm PDT

I just spent a relaxing week at the beach that started in turmoil: Mine was one of more than 3,500 Delta flights canceled as a result of a CrowdStrike-sparked outage that also shut down hospital, bank and courthouse systems. While Delta’s still on the hot seat with transportation regulators, Wall Street seems to have largely forgiven... I just spent a relaxing week at the beach that started in turmoil: Mine was one of more than...

John McEnroe, David Zaslav and Dustin Hoffman at a Los Angeles Lakers game in March. Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty.

Why Warner’s NBA Suit Is Pointless

By Martin Peers · Jul 26, 2024 3:00pm PDT

John McEnroe, David Zaslav and Dustin Hoffman at a Los Angeles Lakers game in March. Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty.

Why Warner’s NBA Suit Is Pointless

By Martin Peers · Jul 26, 2024 3:00pm PDT

David Zaslav may be persona non grata the next time he shows up to an NBA game. Warner Bros. Discovery, which Zaslav runs, filed suit Friday against the league over its rejection of WBD’s offer to renew its longstanding deal to air NBA games. Whatever the merits of WBD’s argument, this doesn’t seem likely to end well for Zaslav.The fundamental... David Zaslav may be persona non grata the next time he shows up to an NBA game. Warner Bros....

Photo by View Press via Getty.

Google’s Shrinking Ad-Tech Business

By Martin Peers · Jul 25, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Quick quiz: Which part of Google’s business has declined for eight straight quarters? If you guessed the Google network business—which sells advertising on other companies’ websites—you deserve an A in Google-nomics.In the second quarter, reported on Tuesday, Google reported that revenue from the network operation shrank 5% even as ad sales on... Quick quiz: Which part of Google’s business has declined for eight straight quarters? If you...

Tech investors have recently paid more attention to glitzy generative AI startups than more traditional machine learning companies.

Stock Sell-Off, OneStream and AI

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 24, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Tech investors often embody the distracted boyfriend meme—the stock image where a man looks back admiringly at another woman, to the horror of his girlfriend. In that same vein, investors are always looking for the next hot thing. Companies working on earlier iterations of artificial intelligence technology, like machine learning, must have felt... Tech investors often embody the distracted boyfriend meme—the stock image where a man looks back...

Photo by Anadolu via Getty.

Is Amazon to Blame for YouTube’s Ad Slowdown?

By Martin Peers · Jul 23, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Google kicked off big tech’s portion of the summer earnings season with what seemed a middle-of-the-road report. Artificial intelligence appeared to give Google Cloud a bit of a lift, while search delivered another decent quarter. The outlier, surprisingly, was YouTube, for which ad growth slowed meaningfully.That raises the question of whether... Google kicked off big tech’s portion of the summer earnings season with what seemed a...

Photo via Getty.

What Verizon’s Numbers Mean for Apple

By Martin Peers · Jul 22, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Photo via Getty.

What Verizon’s Numbers Mean for Apple

By Martin Peers · Jul 22, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

After the weekend excitement over presidential politics, we’re getting back to business. And here’s a notable nugget from Verizon’s quarterly earnings today that should be of interest to Apple shareholders and other iPhone watchers: The number of Verizon subscribers upgrading their phones fell 13% in the quarter compared to a year earlier.That... After the weekend excitement over presidential politics, we’re getting back to business. And here...