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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Big Tech's Big Lie

By Martin Peers · Dec 1, 2022 5:00pm PST

Is big tech killing itself? Recent mass layoffs at tech companies—which continued this week with cuts at DoorDash—have destroyed the image of big tech firms as lean and efficient machines. On the contrary: As investors such as Altimeter Capital and TCI have pointed out, firms like Google and Meta Platforms (not to mention Amazon) are overstaffed... Is big tech killing itself? Recent mass layoffs at tech companies—which continued this week with...

Photo via Bloomberg

Bret Taylor’s Year in Review

By Martin Peers · Nov 30, 2022 5:12pm PST

That was quick. A year to the day from Bret Taylor’s appointment as co-CEO of Salesforce alongside Marc Benioff—the two would “lead Salesforce through our next chapter,” as Benioff put it—Taylor is departing. Benioff will once again be sole CEO. Taylor follows in the footsteps of Keith Block, who lasted 18 months as co-CEO with Benioff, from... That was quick. A year to the day from Bret Taylor’s appointment as co-CEO of Salesforce...

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Apple’s Supply Constraints Could Set Off a Stock Correction

By Akash Pasricha · Nov 29, 2022 5:00pm PST

The bluest of the blue chip tech stocks, Apple, is having a rough month. The company said earlier in November its main iPhone 14 manufacturing facility in China was facing supply restrictions thanks to Covid-19 lockdowns. One measure of how bad things are: A new report published on Tuesday from an Asia-based Apple analyst estimated iPhone... The bluest of the blue chip tech stocks, Apple, is having a rough month. The company said earlier...

Photo courtesy of Getty

Musk Is Biting Off More Than He Can Chew By Picking a Fight With Apple

By Martin Peers · Nov 28, 2022 5:00pm PST · 3 comments

Photo courtesy of Getty

Musk Is Biting Off More Than He Can Chew By Picking a Fight With Apple

By Martin Peers · Nov 28, 2022 5:00pm PST · 3 comments

Elon Musk appears to be taking a page out of Donald Trump’s presidential playbook: If in doubt, pick a fight—with everyone. Having alienated a large group of Twitter’s advertisers, while risking Twitter's relations with regulators and simultaneously mocking the news media, Musk today started a public brawl with Apple, even threatening... Elon Musk appears to be taking a page out of Donald Trump’s presidential playbook: If in doubt,...

Erin Yuan of Zoom. Photo by Bloomberg.

Zoom Could Draw Suitors Even Though Customers Are Balking at Software Bundles

By Martin Peers · Nov 23, 2022 5:00pm PST · 5 comments

Spare a thought for Covid-19 sufferers this Thanksgiving who have to spend the holiday connecting with friends and family on Zoom. Spare another thought for Zoom Video Communications shareholders, who’ve watched while the stock has plummeted 87% from its pandemic highs as the company’s revenue growth has decelerated like a car hitting a sudden... Spare a thought for Covid-19 sufferers this Thanksgiving who have to spend the holiday connecting...

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Why an Activist Investor Might Show Up at Amazon

By Martin Peers · Nov 22, 2022 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Sandwiched between the rapid-fire series of news reports last week about the FTX collapse and Elon Musk’s Twitter immolation were the layoffs at Amazon, which these days might seem par for the tech industry course. But what was significant about the Amazon cuts wasn’t just the fact that they happened. It was the incidental revelations from... Sandwiched between the rapid-fire series of news reports last week about the FTX collapse and...

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Bob Iger Won’t Be Able to Solve Disney’s Biggest Problem

By Martin Peers · Nov 21, 2022 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Here’s a question: If newly restored Disney CEO Bob Iger was such a brilliant executive, how is it possible that in 15 years in the top job he wasn’t able to groom a number two who could last? For all the hero worship that greeted Iger’s sudden return on Sunday night, particularly from investors, let’s not forget that Iger bears as much... Here’s a question: If newly restored Disney CEO Bob Iger was such a brilliant executive, how is...

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The 3 Possible Reasons Silicon Valley Enabled SBF

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 17, 2022 5:00pm PST · 5 comments

Photo by Bloomberg

The 3 Possible Reasons Silicon Valley Enabled SBF

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 17, 2022 5:00pm PST · 5 comments

Minutes after I last published a column questioning the role of FTX’s equity investors in the massive collapse and unwinding of the firm, my phone started ringing. “What were you thinking—listing us as an investor?” one caller said to me. The implication was that the investor had only a small stake—and shouldn’t be subject to scrutiny for their... Minutes after I last published a column questioning the role of FTX’s equity investors in the...

Art by Shane Burke

Musk’s Part-Time Tesla CEO Status in the Spotlight

By Martin Peers · Nov 16, 2022 5:00pm PST

Whatever verdict emerges from this week’s Delaware court case over Elon Musk’s compensation as Tesla CEO, you can argue he has already lost. Tesla stock has dropped 51% since April 4, when Musk revealed he had bought a stake in Twitter. That’s more than twice as much as the Nasdaq has fallen in that period. Such a decline is a very clear signal... Whatever verdict emerges from this week’s Delaware court case over Elon Musk’s compensation as...

Photo by Shane Burke

Why 2023 Is Shaping Up to Be a Year of Restructurings, Sales in Tech

By Martin Peers · Nov 15, 2022 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

This has been a brutal year of fast-rising interest rates and fast-declining tech valuations, contributing to the recent cascade of mass layoffs and crypto bankruptcies. Next year, though, could be even more brutal. Money-losing companies that need to raise capital may find themselves running out of options: The pressure to sell may get more... This has been a brutal year of fast-rising interest rates and fast-declining tech valuations,...

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The Moment Tech’s D.C. Opponents Have Been Waiting For

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 14, 2022 5:00pm PST

Talk about blood in the water. Washington, D.C., regulators and lawmakers have been chomping at the bit to put Silicon Valley in its place for years—and the moment they’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are tripping over themselves to investigate FTX CEO Sam... Talk about blood in the water. Washington, D.C., regulators and lawmakers have been chomping at...

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Musk’s Cure Is Making Twitter Sicker

By Martin Peers · Nov 10, 2022 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Photo by Bloomberg

Musk’s Cure Is Making Twitter Sicker

By Martin Peers · Nov 10, 2022 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Elon Musk certainly dodged a bullet when it comes to Sam Bankman-Fried. Those paying attention might remember that text messages unearthed in the Twitter litigation showed Bankman-Fried’s adviser suggesting to Musk in March that the FTX founder could easily invest up to $8 billion—and up to $15 billion “with financing”—in a joint Twitter... Elon Musk certainly dodged a bullet when it comes to Sam Bankman-Fried. Those paying attention...

Photo by Bloomberg.

What Tech People Should Learn From This Era of Excess

By Martin Peers · Nov 9, 2022 5:00pm PST

Tech people love to talk about their “learnings” (presumably because they think that term sounds more innovative than “lessons.”) And tech folks sure have learned a lot of learnings this past week, particularly about assessing future growth and being more careful with how they spend money. That applies both to venture investors, a few of whom... Tech people love to talk about their “learnings” (presumably because they think that term sounds...

Sam Bankman-Fried. Photo by Bloomberg.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Late-Night Move and How the FTX House Crumbled

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 8, 2022 5:02pm PST · 4 comments

Late last night, Sam Bankman-Fried sent a message he never thought he would send. He reached out to rival Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, CEO of crypto trading platform Binance and asked him if he would buy—and save—FTX, a person close to the deal told me. By early in the morning Pacific time, he had his answer. He would be selling his startup,... Late last night, Sam Bankman-Fried sent a message he never thought he would send. He reached out...

Photo by Bloomberg.

Meta Could Be Taking a Page From Microsoft’s Age-Old Playbook

By Martin Peers · Nov 7, 2022 5:00pm PST

Investors like pink slips. Meta Platforms’ stock price bounced 6.5% today on news of impending mass layoffs at the social media giant. The rally likely reflects how cheap Meta stock has gotten—the low it hit last Thursday of $88.91 was 74% below where it started the year. Investors may also think layoffs mean Meta is listening to their concerns... Investors like pink slips. Meta Platforms’ stock price bounced 6.5% today on news of impending...

Patrick Collision. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Truth About Tech Layoffs

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 3, 2022 5:34pm PDT · 5 comments

Patrick Collision. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Truth About Tech Layoffs

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 3, 2022 5:34pm PDT · 5 comments

Today, tech layoffs accelerated as Stripe slashed 1,000 jobs, or 14% of its workforce, and Lyft and Affirm joined the fray. The flood will continue tomorrow if Elon Musk slashes Twitter’s employee count in half, as he is expected to do. The first big takeaway from the massive recalibrations going on is that leaders dramatically... Today, tech layoffs accelerated as Stripe slashed 1,000 jobs, or 14% of its workforce, and Lyft...

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Ripple Effects of Tech Layoffs Will Sink In Soon

By Martin Peers · Nov 2, 2022 5:05pm PDT

Be happy if you’re a tech worker with a job. More and more people in the industry are losing theirs. Today alone, The Information reported that online banking startup Chime was cutting 12% of its workforce and Bloomberg reported that Opendoor slashed 18% of its headcount. Those cuts follow other layoffs in recent days instituted by recruiting... Be happy if you’re a tech worker with a job. More and more people in the industry are losing...

The Wrong Way to Look at Twitter’s Subscription Business

The Wrong Way to Look at Twitter’s Subscription Business

By Jessica E. Lessin · Nov 1, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 6 comments

Hell hath frozen over. Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk said publicly today that the company cannot be supported solely by advertising, and he tweeted new details about its subscription plans. What to me seems like a fairly run-of-the-mill business question—how to get more money from users who might be willing to pay you more—is apparently a... Hell hath frozen over. Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk said publicly today that the company cannot...

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Musk’s Management of Twitter May Catch Meta’s and Alphabet’s Attention

By Martin Peers · Oct 31, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Elon Musk is certainly giving big tech a lesson in how to manage decisively. It’s only been four days since he took control of Twitter, but he is reportedly poised to instigate mass layoffs while he simultaneously orders the pursuit of all manner of new business ideas, such as charging users for the privilege of having “verified” status, as The... Elon Musk is certainly giving big tech a lesson in how to manage decisively. It’s only been four...

Photo by Bloomberg

Google’s Pain Is Amazon’s Gain

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 27, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Photo by Bloomberg

Google’s Pain Is Amazon’s Gain

By Jessica E. Lessin · Oct 27, 2022 5:00pm PDT

They say downturns provide opportunities for those ready to seize them. And to see how, look no further than Amazon’s very healthy ads business. In the most recent quarter, when marketers pulled back from Google, Meta and just about everywhere else, Amazon grew its advertising business 25%. It’s now at an annualized run rate of almost $40... They say downturns provide opportunities for those ready to seize them. And to see how, look no...