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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The IPO Window Is Open. But Are Founders Ready?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 24, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Bankers are busy. IPO lawyers are hard to reach. It’s go time again for Silicon Valley IPOs. Arm, Instacart and Klaviyo are preparing their offerings, with filings from the last two expected tomorrow. Beauty company Oddity and restaurant brand Cava have gone out and are trading above their IPO prices. Companies are hiring chief financial... Bankers are busy. IPO lawyers are hard to reach. It’s go time again for Silicon Valley...

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Nvidia’s Rocket-Ship Year

By Martin Peers · Aug 23, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang should be taking notes about his daily life. This is sure to be a year he’ll want to remember in detail. Nvidia’s dominance of chips that are vital for generative AI is translating into growth that is extraordinary for a 30-year-old company. Not only did it report better-than-projected second-quarter revenue growth of... Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang should be taking notes about his daily life. This is sure to be a year he...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Photo via Shutterstock.

Nvidia’s Hot Streak May Not Last Forever

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 22, 2023 5:00pm PDT

There’s a tendency in reporting—and in life—to assume that the status quo will remain the status quo. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a tech reporter—one who was covering BlackBerry when the iPhone came out—it’s that the world and business are in constant flux. What’s dominant today won’t be forever. And even the tech behemoths that... There’s a tendency in reporting—and in life—to assume that the status quo will remain the status...

Microchips designed by Arm. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

SoftBank’s Arm IPO Win Won’t Make Up for What It Missed Out On

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 21, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Microchips designed by Arm. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

SoftBank’s Arm IPO Win Won’t Make Up for What It Missed Out On

By Cory Weinberg · Aug 21, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Here’s a declaration the tech press doesn’t get to make very often: It’s a good day to be SoftBank. Arm, a chip designer the SoftBank Group has owned since 2016, finally released its investor prospectus this afternoon, a key step before the initial public offering expected next month. If investors bite—no sure thing, as I explain below—Arm’s... Here’s a declaration the tech press doesn’t get to make very often: It’s a good day to be...

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Why Next Week Will Be Action-Packed for Tech News Junkies

By Martin Peers · Aug 18, 2023 3:01pm PDT

Next week is promising to be action-packed for tech news, with earnings coming from some notable enterprise software names—Nvidia, Snowflake and Zoom Video. There will also likely be IPO filings from Instacart, according to Bloomberg, and Arm, according to various outlets. The IPO market seems to be awaking from its slumber. The IPO filings... Next week is promising to be action-packed for tech news, with earnings coming from some notable...

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Founders Should Know When to Quit

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 17, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

I’ve got a book that all founders—and probably most everyone else—should read. It’s called “Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away” by Annie Duke. And it’s suited to this moment. The news of later-stage companies fundraising at dramatically lower valuations continues with The Information’s scoop today about Ramp. I’ve got a book that all founders—and probably most everyone else—should read. It’s called “Quit:...

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Intel’s Scrapped Deal Shows Power of China Antitrust Regulators

By Martin Peers · Aug 16, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Believe it or not, U.S. companies’ biggest antitrust irritant may not be Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission. International regulators—mainly in China and Britain—are increasingly elbowing their way into foreign deals that don’t obviously require their attention. The latest example is Intel’s decision on Wednesday to walk away from its $5.4... Believe it or not, U.S. companies’ biggest antitrust irritant may not be Lina Khan’s Federal...

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Don’t Fall for the Musk Distraction Machine

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 15, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 14 comments

Photo via Shutterstock.

Don’t Fall for the Musk Distraction Machine

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 15, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 14 comments

For years, politicians and the public have attacked the leaders of companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google, arguing they had their “thumbs on the scales” of political discourse. Critics worried these companies had too much power over how content was amplified on their sites, were picking winners and losers in elections, and on and on.And so... For years, politicians and the public have attacked the leaders of companies like Facebook,...

Carl Icahn. Photo by Getty.

PayPal and the Activist Campaigns That Didn’t Work

By Martin Peers · Aug 14, 2023 5:05pm PDT

One of the more fun business stories of recent weeks was the pressure campaign waged by an activist investor against—wait for it—Carl Icahn, an activism icon for decades! Few other activists run public companies, as Icahn does, so we’re unlikely to see something like this repeated. But it is a good reminder that activists, who like to point out... One of the more fun business stories of recent weeks was the pressure campaign waged by an...

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Why Apple Remains on Top

By Martin Peers · Aug 11, 2023 4:30pm PDT

These must be lonely times for iPhone haters. Apple’s share of the mobile market has been growing, according to IDC, which has insulated the company a little from the shrinkage in the smartphone market. (Those damn iPhones are just so easy to use!) As the 2.4% iPhone sales decline in its recently reported June-quarter results showed, though,... These must be lonely times for iPhone haters. Apple’s share of the mobile market has been...

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What ByteDance’s Financial Picture Tells Us

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 10, 2023 5:00pm PDT

There is something to the phrase “Follow the money.” Looking at the finances of a company can go a long way toward clearing up certain unanswered questions. And this is especially important for private enterprises, who don’t regularly disclose such information.And so, when Jing and Juro today reported extensive details about ByteDance’s... There is something to the phrase “Follow the money.” Looking at the finances of a company can go...

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo by Getty.

Iger’s More Sober Tone Reflects Entertainment’s Existential Crisis

By Martin Peers · Aug 9, 2023 5:02pm PDT · 1 comment

Disney CEO Bob Iger. Photo by Getty.

Iger’s More Sober Tone Reflects Entertainment’s Existential Crisis

By Martin Peers · Aug 9, 2023 5:02pm PDT · 1 comment

Disney CEO Bob Iger must be wishing he was at Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park (“a land where fantasy reigns”) in Florida right now. His tone on Wednesday afternoon’s June-quarter earnings conference call was noticeably more sober than in the past, perhaps reflecting the existential crisis facing the entertainment industry. Not only are the... Disney CEO Bob Iger must be wishing he was at Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park (“a land where...

Sandie Hawkins, former TikTok U.S. E-Commerce General Manager (right), with The Information's Kaya Yurieff at our Creator Economy Summit in April. Photo by Erin Beach.

TikTok Is Amid an Overhaul

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 8, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Part of the fun of business reporting is reading between the lines. When you follow a company or industry closely, eventually you pick up on very subtle shifts. And often those lead to even bigger ones. That’s happening at TikTok right now. The company has swung hard from being a little languid and consumed by political pressures to... Part of the fun of business reporting is reading between the lines. When you follow a company or...

Bob Bakish, CEO and President of Paramount Global. Photo by Getty.

Paramount Global’s Q2 Results Show It’s Going Nowhere Fast

By Martin Peers · Aug 7, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Talk about a missed opportunity. Paramount Global said today it would sell its Simon & Schuster book business, which publishes author Stephen King, among others, to private equity firm KKR for $1.6 billion. Paramount CEO Bob Bakish should have thrown a few other assets into the deal, like some of its once-valuable cable channels (MTV, VH1,... Talk about a missed opportunity. Paramount Global said today it would sell its Simon &...

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A Week of Trouble in the Valley

By Jessica E. Lessin · Aug 4, 2023 2:00pm PDT

M&A has finally picked up—only it’s not the kind of dealmaking investors want. The Information was the first to report on two deals this week—the fire sale of storage company Clutter and the impending sale of troubled internet underwear company Parade. You know who gets screwed the most on these kinds of deals? It’s not the... M&A has finally picked up—only it’s not the kind of dealmaking investors want. The...

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Apple Services Salvage a Blah Quarter

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 3, 2023 5:11pm PDT

Photo by Getty

Apple Services Salvage a Blah Quarter

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 3, 2023 5:11pm PDT

Apple services to the rescue! The part of Apple’s business that includes the App Store and various subscription services was the star of the show in the company’s fiscal third quarter, which ended July 1. It’s a star the company badly needed, too. Total revenue at Apple dropped for the third consecutive quarter, shrinking 1% year over year. At... Apple services to the rescue! The part of Apple’s business that includes the App Store and...

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DoorDash and Shopify Offer E-commerce Bright Spots

By Nick Wingfield · Aug 2, 2023 5:00pm PDT

Anybody hunting for dark signs about consumer spending will have to look somewhere other than a couple of earnings reports from e-commerce companies today. DoorDash, for example, said its food-delivery business hit all-time highs in terms of revenue, gross value of orders on its marketplace and total orders. The company said revenue jumped 33%... Anybody hunting for dark signs about consumer spending will have to look somewhere other than a...

Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Getty.

Uber Investors Ought to Look at the Big Picture

By Akash Pasricha · Aug 1, 2023 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Uber shareholders kicked the ride-hailing giant in the shins today for what some may have considered lackluster revenue growth. They ought to be celebrating! Finally, at long last, Uber’s operations are profitable.The company this morning said it generated $9.23 billion in revenue in the second quarter, a little more than $100 million less than... Uber shareholders kicked the ride-hailing giant in the shins today for what some may have...

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Iger Produces His Own Disney Drama

By Nick Wingfield · Jul 31, 2023 5:00pm PDT

For those of you still mourning the end of “Succession,” you’re in luck—a new season just unexpectedly dropped. This time, though, it will be presented by Walt Disney, not HBO, in the form of an arrangement in which two onetime Disney heir apparents, Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, have returned as advisers to CEO Bob Iger. Officially, Iger—who... For those of you still mourning the end of “Succession,” you’re in luck—a new season just...

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Tech Companies Can’t Ignore Broadband Prices

By Martin Peers · Jul 28, 2023 3:00pm PDT

Photo via Shutterstock.

Tech Companies Can’t Ignore Broadband Prices

By Martin Peers · Jul 28, 2023 3:00pm PDT

Enough with the chatter about Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Let’s talk about ordinary people for a second. If you’re in that group (and let’s face it, we can’t all be billionaires), then you may be aware that nowadays you’re spending more on broadband than you might have a few years ago. In fact, we may all find we’re spending more and more... Enough with the chatter about Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Let’s talk about ordinary people for...