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The Briefing

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

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Recent Editions

A sign at Google's Mountain View campus. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

Google’s Privacy PR Move: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 3, 2021 5:31pm PST
Google made headlines with its announcement today that it is doubling down on its commitment to stop tracking people as they browse across the web, a step “towards a more privacy-first” web, as Google calls it. In many ways, though, this seems more of a PR move than anything substantive. It certainly won’t do much to guarantee... Google made headlines with its announcement today that it is doubling down on its commitment to...
Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

Instacart’s Latest Funding Hints at High-Priced Public Debut: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 2, 2021 5:30pm PST
Price expectations for Instacart’s public debut just went up, by a lot. The grocery delivery firm raised a fresh round of funding—its third since last June—at a valuation of $39 billion. That’s $9 billion above the IPO valuation some reports last November said Instacart’s bankers were planning. And of course,... Price expectations for Instacart’s public debut just went up, by a lot. The grocery...
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan in front of the Nasdaq the day Zoom went public in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

Zoom Now Printing Money: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Mar 1, 2021 5:30pm PST
Zoom Video Communications provided another reminder of why it’s been such a hot stock during the pandemic. The company, whose brand name is now synonymous with video calls, revealed it has become a cash machine over the past 12 months. Zoom generated $1.4 billion from its videoconferencing service in fiscal 2021. The fascinating question... Zoom Video Communications provided another reminder of why it’s been such a hot stock...
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire during the Super Bowl earlier this month. Photo by AP.
Why NFL Deals Call Out for TV Network Mergers: The Information’s Tech Briefing
By Martin Peers · Feb 26, 2021 5:31pm PST
Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire during the Super Bowl earlier this month. Photo by AP.
The Briefing

Why NFL Deals Call Out for TV Network Mergers: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 26, 2021 5:31pm PST
Nothing sums up the creative bankruptcy of the television industry better than today’s news—which broke in Sports Business Journal—that Disney, ViacomCBS, NBCUniversal and Fox are close to wrapping up renewals of their deals to carry National Football League games on their broadcast TV networks. Disney, owner of ESPN and ABC,... Nothing sums up the creative bankruptcy of the television industry better than today’s...
Jack Dorsey. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Dorsey Makes His Case to Wall Street: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 25, 2021 5:32pm PST
It’s a good thing Jack Dorsey isn’t running for public office. Promising big changes when you’ve been in the job for more than five years tends to prompt skeptical questions. But in this case, investors seem to be willing to give Dorsey the benefit of the doubt. In what was a bit of a bloodbath on Wall Street today, Twitter was... It’s a good thing Jack Dorsey isn’t running for public office. Promising big changes...
Kevin Hartz, backer of the SPAC called One, which announced a merger today. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

Watching for Peak SPAC: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 24, 2021 5:01pm PST
Have we hit peak SPAC yet? You could have asked that question any day over the past few weeks, or months. But lately things truly seem to be hitting a new level. Four new SPAC mergers were unveiled today alone, according to SPACInsider. Adult entertainment service Stripchat said it was planning a SPAC. We reported that a Chinese private... Have we hit peak SPAC yet? You could have asked that question any day over the past few weeks, or...
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Spiegel’s Long View Pays Off For Snap: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 23, 2021 5:31pm PST
You have to hand it to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel: He took the long view and turned out to be right. A little over two years ago, Snap stock was trading as low as $4.99 and user growth was flatlining. In a memorable story in The Information, we described tensions on the board over the company’s failure to meet Wall Street’s expectations... You have to hand it to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel: He took the long view and turned out to be right. A...
The Discovery+ home screen on a smartphone. Photo by Bloomberg
Streaming’s Fuzzy Picture: The Information’s Tech Briefing
By Martin Peers · Feb 22, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment
The Discovery+ home screen on a smartphone. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Streaming’s Fuzzy Picture: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 22, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment
All those worries about the impact of cord-cutting seem to be in the rear-view mirror. The latest group of stocks to take flight are the traditional entertainment companies, proving that for media investors, it doesn’t matter how troubled your business is as long as you have a streaming story to tell. Take TV firm Discovery, whose stock... All those worries about the impact of cord-cutting seem to be in the rear-view mirror. The latest...
Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Microsoft’s LinkedIn Puzzle: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 19, 2021 5:31pm PST
You might think our scoop today that Microsoft’s LinkedIn plans to enter the gig economy market of connecting businesses with white-collar freelancers would have unnerved investors in Fiverr and Upwork, the two public companies now in that market. Apparently not: Stocks of both rose about 5% on Friday. Perhaps investors see... You might think our scoop today that Microsoft’s LinkedIn plans to enter the gig economy...
News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

Australia Kerfuffle Wins Facebook Friends: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 18, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment
The Australian government has managed the seemingly impossible, turning Facebook into a sympathetic creature for many tech pundits who have relentlessly pilloried the social network over the past few years. Commentary today and yesterday supported Facebook’s decision to block news content in Australia rather than give in to the proposed... The Australian government has managed the seemingly impossible, turning Facebook into a...
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Facebook’s Australian High Noon: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 17, 2021 5:32pm PST · 1 comment
We’re about to find out just how important news is to Facebook’s audience and, by extension, to the social network itself. Facebook is restricting the posting or sharing of news content in Australia in response to the Australian government’s proposed news media code governing how internet companies pay for news content. At the... We’re about to find out just how important news is to Facebook’s audience and, by...
ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg
ByteDance Goes From Strength to Strength: The Information’s Tech Briefing
By Martin Peers · Feb 16, 2021 5:31pm PST
ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

ByteDance Goes From Strength to Strength: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 16, 2021 5:31pm PST
For sheer corporate drama, few episodes in recent U.S. business history can match last summer’s Trump-TikTok saga, with elements of geopolitical intrigue spliced with Trump’s unique governing style. And as is clear now, it all culminated in…absolutely nothing. The Biden administration isn’t pursuing the ban. Meanwhile,... For sheer corporate drama, few episodes in recent U.S. business history can match last...
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Why Comcast Should Sell NBCU: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 12, 2021 5:46pm PST · 1 comment
Walt Disney’s December quarter results on Thursday, showing how well the company is doing in streaming, provided a fascinating contrast with NBCUniversal’s more risk-averse approach to the new industry, which we wrote about this week. And it is a reminder that when your corporate parent is focused on another business—NBCU is... Walt Disney’s December quarter results on Thursday, showing how well the company is doing...
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

What’s Nadella Up To? The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 11, 2021 5:00pm PST · 1 comment
Is Satya Nadella getting bored? The Microsoft CEO has done an amazing job since taking the helm of the aging software giant almost exactly seven years ago. By focusing on building up Microsoft’s enterprise cloud business, he has accelerated the company’s growth rate and lifted its stock more than 500%. Now, though, he appears to be... Is Satya Nadella getting bored? The Microsoft CEO has done an amazing job since taking the helm...
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Why Uber’s Stock Rally Calls for Fundraising: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 10, 2021 5:31pm PST · 1 comment
My, how time flies. Less than two years ago, Uber’s disastrous IPO seemed to demonstrate that investors had lost their taste for cash-hungry companies with no clear path to profitability. Today, Uber capped a months-long rally to hit a high of $63, 40% higher than its IPO price—despite reporting that it burned through $3.3 billion in... My, how time flies. Less than two years ago, Uber’s disastrous IPO seemed to demonstrate...
Twitter's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg
Twitter’s Capex Splurge: The Information’s Tech Briefing
By Martin Peers · Feb 9, 2021 5:34pm PST
Twitter's San Francisco headquarters. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Twitter’s Capex Splurge: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 9, 2021 5:34pm PST
Twitter’s fourth-quarter results today were impressive, and not just because they showed the same surging revenue growth as other internet-based ad companies Google, Facebook, Snap and Pinterest. Twitter’s ad sales business had been hit harder than most by the pandemic crunch earlier in the year and hadn’t recovered as much in... Twitter’s fourth-quarter results today were impressive, and not just because they showed...
Elon Musk. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Tesla’s Risky Bitcoin Bet: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 8, 2021 5:32pm PST · 6 comments
No one could ever accuse Elon Musk of taking the conservative path. The minute he puts Tesla on a financially sound footing, he decides to invest $1.5 billion of the company’s cash reserves in Bitcoin, one of the most volatile assets around. Just imagine what he’d do if Tesla had the cash stockpile of an Apple, Microsoft or an... No one could ever accuse Elon Musk of taking the conservative path. The minute he puts Tesla on a...
Kuaishou's headquarters in Beijing. Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Kuaishou’s IPO and Stock Price Inflation: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 5, 2021 5:32pm PST
No one talks about inflation much anymore, although the $1.9 trillion stimulus plan now working its way through Congress has sparked a little chatter of its revival. But judging by some recent stock valuations, we’ve already got inflation—in asset prices on the stock market. The latest example is Kuaishou, the Chinese company that,... No one talks about inflation much anymore, although the $1.9 trillion stimulus plan now working...
Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Briefing

What Pinterest, Snap Results Show About Ad Market’s Shift: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 4, 2021 5:31pm PST
Stellar fourth-quarter advertising revenues reported today by both Snap and Pinterest made it official. A fourth-quarter acceleration in ad growth occurred across the board for big digital firms—Facebook, Google, Amazon—and the two smaller social media firms. It’s a sign of just how much 2020 shifted the ad market away from... Stellar fourth-quarter advertising revenues reported today by both Snap and Pinterest made it...
Photo by Bloomberg
Understanding Google Cloud’s Red Ink: The Information’s Tech Briefing
By Martin Peers · Feb 3, 2021 5:02pm PST
Photo by Bloomberg
The Briefing

Understanding Google Cloud’s Red Ink: The Information’s Tech Briefing

By Martin Peers · Feb 3, 2021 5:02pm PST
Amazon really cut Google a break on Tuesday. If it wasn’t for Jeff Bezos’ big news, the tech media and investors would likely have focused a lot more on the fact that Google Cloud, now 9 years old, lost $5.6 billion last year. When Amazon Web Services was that age, it was comfortably profitable. AWS may be unusually... Amazon really cut Google a break on Tuesday. If it wasn’t for Jeff Bezos’ big news,...