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

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Discord's Jason Citron, Snap's Evan Spiegel, TikTok's Shou Chew and X's Linda Yaccarino at today's U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing. Photos via Getty Images.

Social Media Senate Hearing: Point Scoring and Talking Points

By Martin Peers · Jan 31, 2024 5:00pm PST

It’s doubtful much of substance was achieved from today’s Senate hearing into “big tech and the online child sexual exploitation crisis,” starring a lineup of social media CEOs. As is typical, the CEOs recited jargonistic talking points and floundered when a cavalcade of senators demanded yes-or-no answers to a variety of questions. The senators... It’s doubtful much of substance was achieved from today’s Senate hearing into “big tech and the...

Photo via AP

Delaware Tells Musk ‘No’; Alphabet and Microsoft’s AI-Driven Earnings

By Martin Peers · Jan 30, 2024 5:00pm PST · 9 comments

Tuesday’s biggest tech news has to be the Delaware Court of Chancery’s stunning decision rescinding Elon Musk’s $56 billion Tesla pay package from 2018. The ruling, a big victory for the Tesla shareholder who sued to block the pay deal, should be a warning to all company boards that are dominated by a high-profile CEO: Make sure you’ve got some... Tuesday’s biggest tech news has to be the Delaware Court of Chancery’s stunning decision...

Photo via Shutterstock

The Market-Based Case for Covering Startups’ Financial Data

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 29, 2024 5:00pm PST · 5 comments

One of the foundational academic works business students read and discuss is George Akerlof’s 1970 paper, “The Market for ‘Lemons.’” Akerlof, a Nobel Prize winner, described a problem in the used car market: Buyers have less information about the quality of the car than sellers do. They can’t see the defects in low-quality used cars, or “lemons.... One of the foundational academic works business students read and discuss is George Akerlof’s...

Reed Hastings, co-founder and former CEO of Netflix. Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

How Netflix Missed Out on Succession Drama

By Martin Peers · Jan 26, 2024 3:00pm PST · 2 comments

Reed Hastings, co-founder and former CEO of Netflix. Photo by Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

How Netflix Missed Out on Succession Drama

By Martin Peers · Jan 26, 2024 3:00pm PST · 2 comments

When it comes to drama, Netflix has turned out to be a disappointment, at least for reporters. In the annals of tech CEO successions, Reed Hastings’ handoff of the reins to the duo of Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters seems to have gone about as smoothly as possible. In the year since Hastings kicked himself upstairs, Netflix stock has soared 67%.... When it comes to drama, Netflix has turned out to be a disappointment, at least for reporters. In...

Apple's Fifth Avenue store entrance in New York City. Photo via Adobe Stock.

Reading Apple’s Fine Print on Europe Changes

By Nick Wingfield · Jan 25, 2024 5:00pm PST

In the classic Akira Kurosawa movie “Rashomon,” four witnesses to a murder describe the event in four conflicting ways. Watching that movie would have been good preparation for the contradictory narratives that greeted Apple’s seemingly momentous news today about changes to its app policies in Europe. Apple outlined those... In the classic Akira Kurosawa movie “Rashomon,” four witnesses to a murder describe the event in...

The Magnificent Seven Steve McQueen riding shotgun as Yul Brynner takes the reigns in a scene from the 1960 western. Photo by Screen Archives/Getty Images.

Tesla’s Slowdown Disqualifies It From ‘Magnificent Seven’ Group

By Martin Peers · Jan 24, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Stock market pundits may want to come up with a new name for the big tech stocks driving the overall market. The “magnificent seven” descriptor—referring to Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Nvidia and Tesla—no longer seems to make much sense. I’d like to suggest that’s because none of the company CEOs look like cowboy... Stock market pundits may want to come up with a new name for the big tech stocks driving the...

A WWE Raw event in London. Photo via Shutterstock.

Why Netflix’s Raw Deal Will Strengthen Its Streaming Lead

By Martin Peers · Jan 23, 2024 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Netflix has put media companies in a chokehold. The streaming giant’s $5 billion deal to assume the rights to World Wrestling Entertainment’s Raw from NBCUniversal’s USA network—and other WWE programming overseas—demonstrates its growing competitive advantage over older TV companies. USA has aired Raw since 1993—with a five-year break in the... Netflix has put media companies in a chokehold. The streaming giant’s $5 billion deal to assume...

Photo via Adobe Stock

Chips Are Hot, and That Won’t Stop

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 22, 2024 5:00pm PST

Photo via Adobe Stock

Chips Are Hot, and That Won’t Stop

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 22, 2024 5:00pm PST

Whenever I fly to or from San Francisco, I like to snoop on people in first class as I shuffle back to my coach seat. What gadgets are they using? What are they reading? (And, maybe, are there any confidential documents on their laptop screens? Shh.) On Sunday, as I flew back to New York from a West Coast visit, one gentleman was about halfway... Whenever I fly to or from San Francisco, I like to snoop on people in first class as I shuffle...

Photo via Shutterstock

What to Expect From Tech Earnings Season

By Martin Peers · Jan 19, 2024 3:05pm PST

Earnings season is back! Netflix kicks off the tech sector’s round of December-quarter reports on Tuesday, followed the week after by Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple, Meta Platforms and others. This promises to be an unremarkable quarter, with big companies’ growth rates largely unchanged from the third quarter. That’s not as true for Netflix, which... Earnings season is back! Netflix kicks off the tech sector’s round of December-quarter reports on...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images.

Why Tech’s Latest Job Cut Wave Feels Different

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 18, 2024 5:00pm PST · 3 comments

When a year or so ago tech companies including Amazon, Meta Platforms and Google announced broad layoffs—in some cases for the first time in their history—tech workers were on edge.But as 2023 wore on, there was a little sense of relief. It started to feel like the post-pandemic themes of “rightsizing” and “removing layers of management” that... When a year or so ago tech companies including Amazon, Meta Platforms and Google announced broad...

Photo via Adobe Stock.

So Far 2024 Isn’t Apple’s Year—Will That Change?

By Martin Peers · Jan 17, 2024 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

The year is still young, but so far it hasn’t been auspicious for Apple. A federal court today ruled against the iPhone maker on its latest appeal regarding a blood oxygen monitoring feature in the Apple Watch, almost certainly meaning Apple will disable the feature on the device while it pursues further appeals. Meanwhile, on Tuesday the U.S.... The year is still young, but so far it hasn’t been auspicious for Apple. A federal court today...

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images.

Why Musk Doesn’t Need More Tesla Stock

By Martin Peers · Jan 16, 2024 5:06pm PST · 2 comments

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images.

Why Musk Doesn’t Need More Tesla Stock

By Martin Peers · Jan 16, 2024 5:06pm PST · 2 comments

You have to hand it to Elon Musk. While most CEOs would scheme behind closed doors to get awarded billions more in stock from their boards, Musk lays it all out there. In a post extraordinary for its bluntness, Musk on Monday said on X he was “uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having [about] 25% voting... You have to hand it to Elon Musk. While most CEOs would scheme behind closed doors to get awarded...

Bill Ackman. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

What Netflix’s Stock Recovery—and Ackman’s Mistake—Tells Us

By Martin Peers · Jan 12, 2024 3:00pm PST

If you want to get under Bill Ackman’s skin right now—without mentioning Harvard University or Business Insider—ask him about his Netflix bet of 2022. The hedge fund manager’s decision in late January of that year to jump into Netflix’s stock, just as it was getting pummeled by investors unhappy with its growth slowdown, would prove to be a... If you want to get under Bill Ackman’s skin right now—without mentioning Harvard University or...

Photo via Adobe Stock.

Don’t Count Google Out

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 11, 2024 5:00pm PST

Is 2024 going to be the year investors change their minds about Google?For the last 12 months, most of them have preferred Meta Platforms, Amazon and Microsoft—although Google’s stock growth did outpace the market.Part of what drove that preference was the view among leading Silicon Valley investors, notably Altimeter Capital’s Brad Gerstner, ... Is 2024 going to be the year investors change their minds about Google?For the last 12 months,...

SEC Chair, Gary Gensler. Photo by Drew Angerer via Getty Images.

Bitcoin ETFs Approved After Six-Year Wait

By Martin Peers · Jan 10, 2024 5:00pm PST

This time it’s for real! After at least a six-year wait—and a hoax post on X Tuesday—the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday granted approval for companies to issue spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The approval will make it easier for individuals and institutional investors to invest in bitcoin without holding it directly on a... This time it’s for real! After at least a six-year wait—and a hoax post on X Tuesday—the...

Carta CEO, Henry Ward. Photo via Carta.

Will Investor Patience for Bad Founder Behavior Finally Wear Thin?

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 9, 2024 5:00pm PST

Carta CEO, Henry Ward. Photo via Carta.

Will Investor Patience for Bad Founder Behavior Finally Wear Thin?

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 9, 2024 5:00pm PST

Marc Andreessen oversees 10 tech CEOs on the corporate boards he sits on. Andreessen, a self-proclaimed techno-optimist who often likes to stick it to the tech press when he finds its coverage unfair, probably doesn’t mind that several of those CEOS are lightning rods for controversy. There’s Mark Zuckerberg at Meta Platforms, Brian... Marc Andreessen oversees 10 tech CEOs on the corporate boards he sits on. Andreessen, a...

Twilio CEO, Jeff Lawson, who left the company on Sunday. Photo via Getty Images.

Why Twilio’s Lawson Didn’t Have to Cave to Activists

By Martin Peers · Jan 8, 2024 5:00pm PST

Well, that didn’t turn out to be too much of a fight. Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson on Sunday exited the company he founded, the enterprise software company said today, surrendering to activist Anson Funds with barely a shot fired. It didn’t take much to scare Twilio. Anson had hinted it could mount a proxy fight to win board seats if Twilio didn’t... Well, that didn’t turn out to be too much of a fight. Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson on Sunday exited the...

Photo via Getty

Apple, iMessage and Antitrust; Instacart’s Uber-Like Wall Street Life

By Martin Peers · Jan 5, 2024 3:30pm PST · 1 comment

Here’s a question: How much would Apple suffer if it opened up iMessage to Android? The widespread assumption—including within Apple itself—is that by removing a major impediment to people using Android, such a move would boost sales of the devices based on the Google operating system, at the expense of the iPhone. But that may not be as true as... Here’s a question: How much would Apple suffer if it opened up iMessage to Android? The...

Why Peloton’s TikTok Rally Doesn’t Fit

Why Peloton’s TikTok Rally Doesn’t Fit

By Martin Peers · Jan 4, 2024 5:00pm PST · 3 comments

Wall Street traders need to exercise their brains a bit more. Peloton shares jumped 14% on Thursday after the struggling fitness firm struck a deal to put its workout videos on TikTok. Sure, associating with TikTok can help almost anything and anyone seem cool with the kids. But investors seem to be misreading this situation. The “exclusive... Wall Street traders need to exercise their brains a bit more. Peloton shares jumped 14% on...

Disney CEO Bob Iger at Shanghai Disney Resort in Shanghai, China on Dec. 19. Photo by VCG via Getty Images.

What Disney Can Learn From ValueAct’s Microsoft Experience

By Martin Peers · Jan 3, 2024 5:00pm PST

Disney CEO Bob Iger at Shanghai Disney Resort in Shanghai, China on Dec. 19. Photo by VCG via Getty Images.

What Disney Can Learn From ValueAct’s Microsoft Experience

By Martin Peers · Jan 3, 2024 5:00pm PST

What’s past is prologue, as the saying goes. That’s one way to think about what’s likely to emerge from the scrum of activists surrounding Walt Disney, agitating both for and against CEO Bob Iger. Today’s news that Disney has struck an “information-sharing” agreement with ValueAct Capital, seen by many as the most sensible activist out there, is... What’s past is prologue, as the saying goes. That’s one way to think about what’s likely to...