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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

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Recent Editions

Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Netflix’s Growth Hits a Wall

By Martin Peers · Apr 20, 2021 5:31pm PDT
Netflix has lost its luster with investors, no doubt about that. Shares of the video-streaming giant dropped 10% in after-hours trading after the company reported a sharp slowdown in subscriber growth in the first quarter, and projected negligible growth for the second quarter. The news likely confirmed investor worries about increased... Netflix has lost its luster with investors, no doubt about that. Shares of the video-streaming...
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Facebook Goes All In on Audio

By Martin Peers · Apr 19, 2021 5:32pm PDT · 1 comment
It’s doubtful there has been this much excitement about audio since the first radio broadcast. On Sunday Clubhouse confirmed our scoop from Friday about its latest $4 billion valuation fundraising. And today Facebook unveiled its new line of audio products, some of which offer Clubhouse-like features while others allow people to record... It’s doubtful there has been this much excitement about audio since the first radio...
An Uber and Lyft driver. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Airbnb Follows Uber in Posting ‘Help Wanted’ Sign

By Martin Peers · Apr 16, 2021 5:31pm PDT
The gig economy has a labor shortage. That’s the takeaway from Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s statement on CNBC today that Airbnb will need “millions more hosts” to meet demand once travel picks up after the pandemic. Just last week, Uber said it didn’t have enough drivers to meet demand. Both are suffering from the... The gig economy has a labor shortage. That’s the takeaway from Airbnb CEO Brian...
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing: Jeff Bezos Calculates Value Creation Wrong
By Martin Peers · Apr 15, 2021 5:30pm PDT · 7 comments
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

The Briefing: Jeff Bezos Calculates Value Creation Wrong

By Martin Peers · Apr 15, 2021 5:30pm PDT · 7 comments
You might not think Amazon founder Jeff Bezos would feel the need to prove the value he’s created in the e-commerce giant, given its market capitalization of $1.7 trillion. But you’d be wrong. Stung perhaps by the constant criticism of Amazon’s working conditions and allegedly rapacious attitudes toward merchants on its... You might not think Amazon founder Jeff Bezos would feel the need to prove the value he’s...
Coinbase's signage for its direct listing on the Nasdaq today. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Coinbase’s Mixed Debut

By Martin Peers · Apr 14, 2021 5:01pm PDT
Coinbase executives are surely thrilled with the crypto firm’s public debut, which valued the company at the close at nearly $84 billion, making it one of the biggest new public listings in tech in a while. Yet the opening day didn’t quite turn out the way some had expected, showing how hard it is to gauge where a stock that lists... Coinbase executives are surely thrilled with the crypto firm’s public debut, which valued...
Stitch Fix founder Katrina Lake. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Coinbase’s Wall Street Test, Stitch Fix’s CEO Change

By Martin Peers · Apr 13, 2021 5:01pm PDT
We’re stockpiling superlatives ahead of tomorrow’s public debut of Coinbase, the crypto firm that seems likely to start trading at a valuation well above $100 billion, making it one of the biggest new tech listings of the year. Just as a comparison, when Airbnb went public in December in what was one of last year’s hottest... We’re stockpiling superlatives ahead of tomorrow’s public debut of Coinbase, the...
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Microsoft Takes a More Nuanced Approach to Deals

By Martin Peers · Apr 12, 2021 5:02pm PDT · 3 comments
Phew! For a few months we’ve been worried that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had lost his bearings, as he reportedly looked at buying TikTok (can you imagine the cultural combination?), Pinterest (a little better) or Discord (a fit with Xbox at least). Instead, Microsoft is plunking down nearly $20 billion to buy Nuance Communications, a... Phew! For a few months we’ve been worried that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had lost his...
A union official involved in the Amazon campaign in Alabama. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing: Amazon Wins Round One of Union Battle
By Martin Peers · Apr 9, 2021 5:32pm PDT · 1 comment
A union official involved in the Amazon campaign in Alabama. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Amazon Wins Round One of Union Battle

By Martin Peers · Apr 9, 2021 5:32pm PDT · 1 comment
Amazon’s victory in the Alabama unionization vote will be a relief to the e-commerce giant in the short term, but it’s hardly the end of the matter. Leaving aside the legal appeals over the outcome of the Alabama vote, the labor movement is sure to try again elsewhere. Widespread reports of onerous working conditions for Amazon... Amazon’s victory in the Alabama unionization vote will be a relief to the e-commerce giant...
Box CEO Aaron Levie. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Box Tries, Again, to Appease Activist Shareholder

By Martin Peers · Apr 8, 2021 5:01pm PDT · 2 comments
Activist investors generally get favorable treatment from the business media, which likes to portray them as saviors riding in on a horse to rescue shareholders from poor management. While there are clearly situations where activists force much-needed changes that benefit all shareholders—eBay’s makeover under activist pressure comes... Activist investors generally get favorable treatment from the business media, which likes to...
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: YouTube Dominates in Audience but Not Ads

By Martin Peers · Apr 7, 2021 5:02pm PDT
A Pew Research Center study out today reported that 81% of Americans surveyed said they watched YouTube, making it not only the most popular video service of any kind but the most widely used digital service, well ahead even of Facebook. YouTube was also one of only two services—the other being Reddit—to become more popular since... A Pew Research Center study out today reported that 81% of Americans surveyed said they watched...
Inside Coinbase's San Francisco office. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

The Briefing: Coinbase’s First Quarter Sets Stage for Big Debut

By Martin Peers · Apr 6, 2021 5:01pm PDT · 1 comment
Next week’s public market debut of cryptocurrency firm Coinbase is shaping up to be a true blockbuster. Coinbase’s first-quarter results today showed numbers any company would dream to use in their going-public pitch deck. For instance, Coinbase produced net profit of between $730 million and $800 million, up from $32 million a... Next week’s public market debut of cryptocurrency firm Coinbase is shaping up to be a...
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing: The Supreme Court’s Good and Bad News for Tech
By Martin Peers · Apr 5, 2021 5:02pm PDT · 1 comment
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: The Supreme Court’s Good and Bad News for Tech

By Martin Peers · Apr 5, 2021 5:02pm PDT · 1 comment
The tech industry got some good news and bad news from the Supreme Court today. The good news was a ruling in favor of Google in its decade-long copyright battle with Oracle. Companies ranging from Microsoft to Etsy had warned that an Oracle victory would make life much harder for the entire industry, particularly software developers and... The tech industry got some good news and bad news from the Supreme Court today. The good news was...
Waymo CEO John Krafcik. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: What Waymo CEO’s Exit Means

By Martin Peers · Apr 2, 2021 5:01pm PDT · 1 comment
We got big news in the self-driving car industry today when John Krafcik, CEO of Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle unit Waymo, said he was stepping down. Krafcik says he is looking forward to new adventures after a “refresh” period. If he wants to stay in the industry, Krafcik would be an ideal candidate to hook up with one of the... We got big news in the self-driving car industry today when John Krafcik, CEO of Alphabet’s...
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: What the Compass IPO Tells Us

By Martin Peers · Apr 1, 2021 5:00pm PDT
Compass seems to have found its bearings. The SoftBank-backed real estate brokerage avoided the embarrassment of what Wall Streeters call a “broken IPO”—where the stock price falls below the IPO price on the first day of trading—thanks to its savvy decision to slash the size of the offering yesterday. As a result, Compass... Compass seems to have found its bearings. The SoftBank-backed real estate brokerage avoided the...
Compass CEO and founder Robert Reffkin. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Compass, Deliveroo Show Fundamentals Still Count

By Martin Peers · Mar 31, 2021 5:02pm PDT · 1 comment
When you’re hot, you’re hot, like an electric vehicle startup on Wall Street today. And when you’re not, you’re...Compass or Deliveroo. That’s the takeaway from a day of extremes on the stock market. In London, Deliveroo, the U.K. restaurant meal delivery service, tanked on its public debut, falling 26% below its... When you’re hot, you’re hot, like an electric vehicle startup on Wall Street today....
Broadcom's Silicon Valley headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing: Amazon Is Turning Its Back on Broadcom
By Martin Peers · Mar 30, 2021 5:01pm PDT
Broadcom's Silicon Valley headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

The Briefing: Amazon Is Turning Its Back on Broadcom

By Martin Peers · Mar 30, 2021 5:01pm PDT
You know you’re playing an extreme version of hardball when you’ve scared off Amazon. As we reported today, Broadcom has so alienated Amazon with its unfriendly tactics that the cloud computing giant is working on its own networking switch chip. Amazon’s plan is to no longer do business with Broadcom. If this isn’t a sign... You know you’re playing an extreme version of hardball when you’ve scared off Amazon....
A Deliveroo courier in London last year. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

The Briefing: Deliveroo Lowers IPO Expectations, Amazon’s Union Vote

By Martin Peers · Mar 29, 2021 5:02pm PDT
Amazon-backed restaurant-meal delivery service Deliveroo on Monday downgraded the pricing expectations for its London IPO, showing just how much market conditions have changed. Just a few months ago, investors were tripping over themselves in their rush to buy into IPOs. In December, the offering of DoorDash, the U.S. equivalent of Deliveroo,... Amazon-backed restaurant-meal delivery service Deliveroo on Monday downgraded the pricing...
A WeWork office in San Diego. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Blizzard of Deals, Despite a Choppy Market

By Martin Peers · Mar 26, 2021 5:31pm PDT
Deal activity is as intense as ever, despite some volatility in the market. Today we got the details of WeWork’s planned SPAC merger, which will bring the co-working firm to the public market 18 months after its aborted IPO. Used-clothing e-commerce site ThredUp went public with a big pop. We also learned that news outlets Axios and The... Deal activity is as intense as ever, despite some volatility in the market. Today we got the...
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey appearing at Thursday's virtual congressional hearing, as seen on a computer screen. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: Tech Executives Turn Feisty

By Martin Peers · Mar 25, 2021 5:01pm PDT
Tech executives appear to be tiring of being treated as political punching bags and are pushing back, at least a little. Leading that charge was Amazon retail chief Dave Clark, who in a series of tweets yesterday attacked Sen. Bernie Sanders for Vermont’s lower-than-Amazon’s minimum wage. “The [senator] should save his finger... Tech executives appear to be tiring of being treated as political punching bags and are pushing...
Attendees at a Japanese anime convention in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing: How the DOJ Might Strengthen Netflix at Sony’s Expense
By Martin Peers · Mar 24, 2021 5:00pm PDT
Attendees at a Japanese anime convention in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

The Briefing: How the DOJ Might Strengthen Netflix at Sony’s Expense

By Martin Peers · Mar 24, 2021 5:00pm PDT
You might think antitrust lawyers at the Justice Department would be crazy busy, what with the lawsuit they have going against Google, as well as an investigation underway into Apple, as well as deals outside of tech. And yet, as we reported today, the DOJ has decided to undertake a close review of...wait for it… Sony’s $1.2 billion... You might think antitrust lawyers at the Justice Department would be crazy busy, what with the...