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

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Recent Editions

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo by Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.

Disney Turns a Corner in Streaming, but Market Is Unimpressed

By Martin Peers · May 7, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

You can just imagine what Disney CEO Bob Iger was thinking today: If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Disney surprised the market by reporting that its streaming services all but broke even in the March quarter, a notable achievement given that it was wallowing in red ink just a few quarters ago. But the pesky worrywarts of the stock market... You can just imagine what Disney CEO Bob Iger was thinking today: If it’s not one thing, it’s...

The trailer for Netflix's "The Roast of Tom Brady." Photo via YouTube/Netflix.

The Briefing: Netflix’s Tom Brady Roast Is a Hit

By Martin Peers · May 6, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Ted Sarandos should be pleased. Sunday night’s roast of retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady, aired live on Netflix, was a cultural hit, judging from the flood of praise on X (see here, here and here) and news media coverage like this. If nothing else, this symbolizes what old-TV giants have lost to Netflix. People of a certain age may remember... Ted Sarandos should be pleased. Sunday night’s roast of retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady, aired...

Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images.

The Big Threat Hanging Over Google

By Martin Peers · May 3, 2024 3:27pm PDT

If you’re lying awake at 3 a.m. one night, try reading the Justice Department’s 509-page “proposed finding of fact” in its antitrust lawsuit against Google’s search business, a revised version of which was filed with the court on Tuesday. You likely won’t make it past the extensive table of contents before you fall asleep. Even so, getting... If you’re lying awake at 3 a.m. one night, try reading the Justice Department’s 509-page “...

An Apple Store in Shanghai. Photo by Wang Gang/VCG via Getty Images.

Apple’s Downbeat Quarter

By Martin Peers · May 2, 2024 5:00pm PDT

An Apple Store in Shanghai. Photo by Wang Gang/VCG via Getty Images.

Apple’s Downbeat Quarter

By Martin Peers · May 2, 2024 5:00pm PDT

After a streak of healthy big tech earnings over the past week, we got a decidedly more downbeat report from Apple tonight. The iPhone maker reported a 4% drop in sales and slightly lower profits. Revenues from its engine, the iPhone, fell 10% on a year earlier, and the company’s June-quarter outlook implied continued weak iPhone sales. All that... After a streak of healthy big tech earnings over the past week, we got a decidedly more downbeat...

Palmer Luckey, Parker Conrad and Jony Ive. Photos via Getty Images.

The Era of Spite Startups

By Cory Weinberg · May 1, 2024 5:00pm PDT

The same old adjectives come up again and again in conversations with investors about top tech founders: gritty, visionary, creative. I’m hearing a new one lately that speaks to this moment in tech: vengeful. A number of the founders attracting the most investor enthusiasm right now have something in common: They’ve all made messy exits from... The same old adjectives come up again and again in conversations with investors about top tech...

Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy. Photo by Thos Robinson/Getty Images.

Amazon’s Profit Surge Will Pay for AI-Driven Capex Push

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

Take a bow, Andy Jassy! The spate of healthy big tech earnings continued on Tuesday, as Amazon reported what have to be described as robust first-quarter results. Its e-commerce business made money both in North America and overseas—that hasn’t been true since 2021—while cloud giant Amazon Web Services posted accelerating sales growth and much... Take a bow, Andy Jassy! The spate of healthy big tech earnings continued on Tuesday, as Amazon...

A Tesla showroom in Shanghai ahead of Elon Musk's visit to China. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Musk’s China Visit Cheers Tesla Investors, Wrongly

By Martin Peers · Apr 29, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Maybe Elon Musk should visit China more often. Today’s 15% rally in Tesla stock follows his quick visit there on Sunday (which incidentally also confirmed his statement last week that his seven-day-a-week work schedule means he rarely takes even Sunday afternoons off). The big news that came out of the visit, according to Bloomberg, was that... Maybe Elon Musk should visit China more often. Today’s 15% rally in Tesla stock follows his quick...

Photo by Brandon Sloter via Getty Images.

What We Heard From Tech CEO Calls This Week

By Martin Peers · Apr 26, 2024 2:30pm PDT

Photo by Brandon Sloter via Getty Images.

What We Heard From Tech CEO Calls This Week

By Martin Peers · Apr 26, 2024 2:30pm PDT

Phew, what a week! We got a blizzard of quarterly earnings updates from tech firms, most of them followed by investor calls that were full of artificial intelligence talk. Much of that was corporate blather, of course, but there were a few moments when actual information was transmitted. Not all of that was relevant to the subject at hand, to be... Phew, what a week! We got a blizzard of quarterly earnings updates from tech firms, most of them...

Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella. Photo by AP.

Alphabet and Microsoft Show Secret to AI Investments: Rich Profits

By Martin Peers · Apr 25, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Artificial intelligence development may be sucking up vast amounts of money from big tech—but hey, at least business is good! That’s the picture painted by earnings updates from both Alphabet and Microsoft on Thursday—echoing a similar state of play reported by Meta Platforms on Wednesday. All three companies reported strong operating profit... Artificial intelligence development may be sucking up vast amounts of money from big tech—but...

Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images.

Meta’s Big AI Spending Turns Off Investors

By Martin Peers · Apr 24, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Meta Platforms may have just got kicked off Wall Street’s favorites list. Stock of the Facebook owner dropped 16% after CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned the company was entering a new investment cycle, this time in artificial intelligence, that would take a while to flow through to create “profitable services.” Zuckerberg’s comments hit a nerve:... Meta Platforms may have just got kicked off Wall Street’s favorites list. Stock of the Facebook...

Demonstrators hold signs in support of TikTok in front of the U.S. Capitol Building earlier today. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.

The TikTok Political Debate Is Over, Bar the Shouting

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

The political debate about TikTok is all but over, with the sell-or-ban bill now virtually assured of becoming law, judging by its progress in the Senate today. Once the formalities are over, we’ll see TikTok or its users file a legal challenge, which could delay implementation. Even so, the final passage of this legislation is momentous. The... The political debate about TikTok is all but over, with the sell-or-ban bill now virtually...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Tesla Investors Brace for Impact

By Nick Wingfield · Apr 22, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Tesla Investors Brace for Impact

By Nick Wingfield · Apr 22, 2024 5:00pm PDT

Tesla reports its earnings on Tuesday, and it’s likely to be a doozy. Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker has already told analysts the number of Teslas it sold in the first three months of the year was about 9% lower than for the same period a year earlier. Wall Street analysts are currently expecting a 4% dip in revenue compared to the... Tesla reports its earnings on Tuesday, and it’s likely to be a doozy. Elon Musk’s electric...

San Francisco from Twin Peaks. Photo by Anadolu via Getty Images.

Big Tech Earnings and TikTok Ban Bill Coming Next Week

By Martin Peers · Apr 19, 2024 2:35pm PDT

Get ready. The tech news cycle is about to go into overdrive. Next week we’ve got March-quarter earnings from Google, Microsoft and Meta Platforms. The first two will be closely watched for what we can glean about how artificial intelligence–powered services are lifting revenues, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is sure to wax eloquent about his... Get ready. The tech news cycle is about to go into overdrive. Next week we’ve got March-quarter...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Why Google’s Android-Pixel Reorg Is a Big Deal

By Amir Efrati · Apr 18, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has been criticized for avoiding tough decisions, but on Thursday he may have resolved one of the biggest questions hanging over the company: what to do about Android, the main rival to Apple as a smartphone operating system. Android has long played second fiddle to the iPhone in the U.S. while dominating globally. But... Google CEO Sundar Pichai has been criticized for avoiding tough decisions, but on Thursday he may...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Photo by Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images.

Tesla’s Board Sweats the Small Stuff

By Martin Peers · Apr 17, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

It’s good to see that Tesla’s board is focusing on what’s important. The electric car maker revealed today that it will put Elon Musk’s contentious 2018 pay package to a shareholder vote again in mid-June, along with a proposal to move the company’s corporate domicile to Texas from Delaware. The pay vote makes sense: Musk created value and... It’s good to see that Tesla’s board is focusing on what’s important. The electric car maker...

David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs. Photo by Vernon Yuen/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Goldman Sachs Sees Gold Mine in Financing AI

By Martin Peers · Apr 16, 2024 5:00pm PDT

David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs. Photo by Vernon Yuen/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Goldman Sachs Sees Gold Mine in Financing AI

By Martin Peers · Apr 16, 2024 5:00pm PDT

It’s not only tech companies that see artificial intelligence as a big new moneymaking opportunity. It’s a potential gold mine for investment banks, according to Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. Using a newer piece of corporate lingo, Solomon “double-clicked”—elaborated, in plain English—on the potential of AI while he was speaking on Monday’s... It’s not only tech companies that see artificial intelligence as a big new moneymaking...

Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Tesla Needs a Full-Time CEO

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

We all know this hasn’t been Apple’s year, between the so-so reaction to its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, the cancellation of its car project, an antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. government, worries about its lagging status in artificial intelligence and, of course, the reality that iPhone sales are no longer growing. Apple stock is down... We all know this hasn’t been Apple’s year, between the so-so reaction to its Vision Pro...

Photo via Shutterstock.

Why StubHub Likely Won’t Buy a Ticket to the IPO Ride

By Martin Peers · Apr 12, 2024 3:30pm PDT

Greetings!Some people really can’t get past the idea that it’s no longer 2021. After a lot of resistance among private companies to raising money in the past year or two because of concerns about the valuation haircuts that would result, we’ve seen a lot more private funding down rounds and even IPOs at well below peak 2021 valuations (such as ... Greetings!Some people really can’t get past the idea that it’s no longer 2021. After a lot of...

The Amazon Spheres in Seattle. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images.

What Amazon’s Shareholder Letter Didn’t Say

By Martin Peers · Apr 11, 2024 5:00pm PDT

We’re approaching that time of the year when most public companies hold their annual shareholder meetings, theoretically giving investors both large and small a chance to question management and vote on board members and other matters. That all still happens, but the drama has faded from these events. What used to be in-person gatherings are... We’re approaching that time of the year when most public companies hold their annual shareholder...

Photo by Valeriya Zankovych/Adobe Stock.

Meta’s New Chip Underlines Questions About AI Spending

By Martin Peers · Apr 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Photo by Valeriya Zankovych/Adobe Stock.

Meta’s New Chip Underlines Questions About AI Spending

By Martin Peers · Apr 10, 2024 5:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Mark Zuckerberg seems to enjoy stealing Sundar Pichai’s thunder. Close observers of the cloud sector will know that Google Cloud has one of its big annual events in Las Vegas this week, and it’s rolling out lots of announcements, including a new custom-designed chip for cloud computing. It seems Meta Platforms couldn’t resist getting in on the... Mark Zuckerberg seems to enjoy stealing Sundar Pichai’s thunder. Close observers of the cloud...