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

Alicia Boler-Davis, in 2012. Photo by Bloomberg.

Reading Between the Lines of Amazon’s Big Shakeup

By Nick Wingfield · Jun 21, 2022 5:00pm PDT

We learned a few things from an Amazon executive reshuffling Tuesday, which was set in motion by the recent departure of Dave Clark, the company’s former CEO for worldwide consumer. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy promoted Doug Herrington to be the chief of what the company is now calling Worldwide Amazon Stores, and consolidated all of its operations... We learned a few things from an Amazon executive reshuffling Tuesday, which was set in motion by...

TikTok CEO Shouzi Chew. Photo by Bloomberg.

TikTok’s Oracle News Recalls Trump’s War on the App

By Martin Peers · Jun 17, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Talk about déjà vu! TikTok’s blog post today declaring that all of its U.S. user data is now on Oracle cloud servers in the U.S. took us back in time, to the summer of 2020, when the big story in tech business was Trump’s war on TikTok. Trump’s threats to ban TikTok—over concerns about the security of U.S. user data—didn’t pan out, of course.... Talk about déjà vu! TikTok’s blog post today declaring that all of its U.S. user data is now on...

Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg.

Musk’s Q&A Glossed Over the Key Question About Twitter Buyout

By Martin Peers · Jun 16, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Elon Musk’s question-and-answer session with Twitter employees today should have been good news for shareholders. After all his bluster about spambots, the fact that Musk was willing to spend an hour or so answering questions from employees suggests that he intends to go through with the acquisition. And yet afterward, Twitter shares remained... Elon Musk’s question-and-answer session with Twitter employees today should have been good news...

Fed chairman Jerome Powell.

As Era of Cheap Money Ends, Fast Deliveries Dry Up

By Martin Peers · Jun 15, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Fed chairman Jerome Powell.

As Era of Cheap Money Ends, Fast Deliveries Dry Up

By Martin Peers · Jun 15, 2022 5:00pm PDT

As the era of cheap money comes to a close, tech’s couch potato era also appears to be ending. It seems fitting that on the day the Fed unveiled another hike in interest rates, fast-delivery startup Jokr said it was ending its operations in the U.S. If ever there was a business that relied on easy availability of money, it would be the crop... As the era of cheap money comes to a close, tech’s couch potato era also appears to be ending. It...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Photo by Bloomberg.

The Questions Raised by Coinbase's Job Cuts

By Martin Peers · Jun 14, 2022 5:00pm PDT

How quickly we’ve switched from companies “slowing hiring” to mass layoffs. Coinbase wasn’t the only company from the broadly defined tech sector to institute job cuts today (see below). But the crypto exchange’s decision on Tuesday to slash its workforce by 18% was the most clearly symbolic of how fast the environment has changed, in crypto and... How quickly we’ve switched from companies “slowing hiring” to mass layoffs. Coinbase wasn’t the...

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor. Photo by Bloomberg.

Market’s Bad Day: Crypto and Equities Sell Off

By Martin Peers · Jun 13, 2022 5:00pm PDT

What a day. Today’s sell-off in crypto prices, triggered by crypto lender Celsius’ suspension of withdrawals, seems likely to have repercussions far and wide. And while the stock market didn’t fall as much as crypto prices did today—the Nasdaq dropped 4.7%, compared to bitcoin’s 15.9%—that will be cold comfort to equity investors. After all, the... What a day. Today’s sell-off in crypto prices, triggered by crypto lender Celsius’ suspension of...

Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Photo by Bloomberg.

Brits Target Apple’s and Google’s Mobile Power

By Martin Peers · Jun 10, 2022 5:00pm PDT

For all the talk of coming regulations squeezing big tech—and Britain’s antitrust regulator has a new study out today targeting Apple and Google—Wall Street doesn’t seem too bothered. Shares of the iPhone maker and Google’s parent, Alphabet, for instance, have performed better than most tech stocks so far this year, each having fallen around... For all the talk of coming regulations squeezing big tech—and Britain’s antitrust regulator has a...

Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Photo by Bloomberg.

Disney Backs Chapek; Meta’s Slight Pullback

By Martin Peers · Jun 9, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Disney CEO Bob Chapek. Photo by Bloomberg.

Disney Backs Chapek; Meta’s Slight Pullback

By Martin Peers · Jun 9, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Looks like Disney CEO Bob Chapek can relax, as much as any CEO ever can. A statement from Disney’s board today, coinciding with Chapek’s firing of a high-profile but combative TV executive, made clear the board stands behind Chapek. That TV executive, Peter Rice, had been seen in Hollywood as a potential successor to Chapek. The board’s... Looks like Disney CEO Bob Chapek can relax, as much as any CEO ever can. A statement from Disney’...

Meta's Sheryl Sandberg. Photo by Bloomberg.

Clark’s Flexport Move Signals Executive Reshuffle Underway

By Martin Peers · Jun 8, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Are we in for a spate of executive departures? News today that Dave Clark, who quit last Friday as Amazon’s consumer chief, was jumping to logistics software firm Flexport is the latest sign that top executives are choosing this early-summer moment to change jobs. Given how painful business conditions are right now, it’s probably not a bad time... Are we in for a spate of executive departures? News today that Dave Clark, who quit last Friday...

The RealReal's Julie Wainwright.

The RealReal, Target Show Struggles in Retailing

By Martin Peers · Jun 7, 2022 5:00pm PDT

It’s no fun being a shopkeeper nowadays. Today, a few days after Amazon’s consumer chief Dave Clark left the building, The RealReal said its CEO and founder, Julie Wainwright, was walking away from the retailer of used luxury goods. Wainwright, who launched the company 11 years ago after stints running several other companies including dot-com–... It’s no fun being a shopkeeper nowadays. Today, a few days after Amazon’s consumer chief Dave...

Apple CEO Tim Cook. Photo by Bloomberg.

Apple’s Buy Now, Pay Later Move May Be a Little Late

By Martin Peers · Jun 6, 2022 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Never underestimate the value of small steps in technological progress. Of all the software and hardware developments Apple unveiled today, the ability to edit iMessages after sending them will probably get the most plaudits from regular people. Yes, we can finally fix a message screw-up caused by Apple’s autocorrect! Hooray!Antitrust regulators... Never underestimate the value of small steps in technological progress. Of all the software and...

Elon Musk at a SpaceX launch last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Musk’s Super-Bad Feeling; an Amazon Exec Ships Out

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 3, 2022 5:32pm PDT

Elon Musk at a SpaceX launch last year. Photo by Bloomberg

Musk’s Super-Bad Feeling; an Amazon Exec Ships Out

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 3, 2022 5:32pm PDT

Elon Musk says Tesla will lay off 10% of its salaried employees. Where have we heard that before? Sure, these cuts—and Musk’s “super bad feeling” about the economy, as was reported by Reuters—might be another proof point for a market downturn. But at Tesla, layoffs have also become an annual tradition of sorts.Recall that in 2018 Musk cut 9% of... Elon Musk says Tesla will lay off 10% of its salaried employees. Where have we heard that before?...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong in April in India. Photo by Bloomberg

Coinbase’s Deep Freeze; Microsoft Subtweets Big Tech

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 2, 2022 5:35pm PDT

What a difference a few months makes. In February, as storm clouds were beginning to form over the economy, Coinbase announced a plan to hire 6,000 new employees, which would have more than doubled its head count. That ambitious plan came to a screeching halt on Thursday, when the cryptocurrency exchange announced it would freeze hiring “for the... What a difference a few months makes. In February, as storm clouds were beginning to form over...

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. Photo by Bloomberg

Sheryl Sandberg’s Long Goodbye; Back to the Office, or Else

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 1, 2022 6:51pm PDT

Publicly traded companies typically disclose big personnel announcements outside of normal trading hours, with the hope that investors will think twice before they trade. But not Meta Platforms. It rolled out a series of coordinated announcements on its top executives’ Facebook pages, alongside an interview with Bloomberg, about 30 minutes... Publicly traded companies typically disclose big personnel announcements outside of normal...

A Cameo NFT event in Beverly Hills in February. Photo courtesy of Cameo

Startup Parties Are Warning Signs; Salesforce Stays Bullish

By Nick Wingfield · May 31, 2022 5:35pm PDT

We’re starting to sense a pattern. More evidence is piling up that throwing a lavish party or corporate offsite is one of the leading indicators that a tech startup is on the verge of a reckoning. The latest example: our story today about the recent struggles of Amazon aggregators, which opens with this detail about a retreat in Mexico that the... We’re starting to sense a pattern. More evidence is piling up that throwing a lavish party or...

Golden State Warriors' Andrew Wiggins (22) and Miami Heat's P.J. Tucker (17) in a game in March. Photo by AP

An NBA Battle Could Fuel SF-Miami Feud

By Nick Wingfield · May 27, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Golden State Warriors' Andrew Wiggins (22) and Miami Heat's P.J. Tucker (17) in a game in March. Photo by AP

An NBA Battle Could Fuel SF-Miami Feud

By Nick Wingfield · May 27, 2022 5:00pm PDT

It has been a rough week for national news, so please excuse us for a little diversionary counterprogramming on this Friday before the long Memorial Day weekend. Several of tech’s most important cities have a great showdown looming! On Thursday, San Francisco’s Golden State Warriors clinched their first NBA finals berth in three years after... It has been a rough week for national news, so please excuse us for a little diversionary...

Photo: Bloomberg

VMware Should Not Expect a White Knight; Wish Sidelined as Dollar Stores Rally

By Scott Thurm · May 26, 2022 6:08pm PDT · 4 comments

Broadcom made official its plan to acquire VMware in a cash-and-stock deal worth around $61 billion. The deal underscores the degree to which CEO Hock Tan has transformed Broadcom from a maker of networking chips into a formidable player in enterprise software. The agreement includes a “go-shop” provision allowing VMware to solicit bids... Broadcom made official its plan to acquire VMware in a cash-and-stock deal worth around $61...

Photo by Bloomberg

Startups in Sequoia’s ‘Crucible Moment’; Musk Pledges More Funding for Twitter

By Laura Mandaro · May 25, 2022 5:34pm PDT

As we reported last night, Sequoia Capital has once again taken on the role of Silicon Valley soothsayer, releasing a 52-slide presentation on advice to startups, which it says face a “crucible moment” as the economy slows and central banks retract the monetary stimulus that kicked off the boom two years ago. In particular, the partners at... As we reported last night, Sequoia Capital has once again taken on the role of Silicon Valley...

A stock exchange monitor with Snap's share price in March. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap Learns Not to Guesstimate Revenue Growth

By Martin Peers · May 24, 2022 5:30pm PDT

Evan Spiegel certainly can’t complain that the market doesn’t listen to what he says. The Snap CEO’s warning on Monday about a worse-than-expected deterioration in second-quarter conditions brought down tech stocks across the board today, led by a 43% drop in Snap’s price. Is it heretical to suggest the market might be overreacting just a bit?... Evan Spiegel certainly can’t complain that the market doesn’t listen to what he says. The Snap...

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap Sends Shiver Through Ad Stocks

By Martin Peers · May 23, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg.

Snap Sends Shiver Through Ad Stocks

By Martin Peers · May 23, 2022 5:00pm PDT

Uh oh. Snap’s warning this afternoon that its second-quarter revenue and profits will be below what it projected just a few weeks ago, thanks to a faster than expected deterioration in macroeconomic conditions, is an ominous signal for the ad market. Snap had outperformed many of its digital ad peers, most obviously Meta Platform, Twitter and... Uh oh. Snap’s warning this afternoon that its second-quarter revenue and profits will be below...