The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica Lessin and the team at The Information

Five times/week

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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Photo via Getty

Microsoft’s Big Week

By Martin Peers · May 2, 2025 2:59pm PDT · 3 comments

Satya Nadella, take a bow! Microsoft finished the week as the most valuable company in the world, worth $3.235 trillion, above Apple, long the market leader, which closed Friday with a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion. It’s no mystery why: Microsoft shares have outperformed all year, and this week they rallied strongly following the... Satya Nadella, take a bow! Microsoft finished the week as the most valuable company in the world,...

Photo via Getty

How Apple Is Dealing With Tariffs, So Far

By Martin Peers · May 1, 2025 5:00pm PDT

What a buzzkill. After Wednesday’s robust results from Meta Platforms and Microsoft, sparking Thursday’s tech stock rally, we came down to earth with results from Apple and Amazon Thursday evening. The numbers were pretty much par for the course for two companies whose high-growth days are in the past—5% top-line growth for Apple and 9%... What a buzzkill. After Wednesday’s robust results from Meta Platforms and Microsoft, sparking...

Photos via Getty

Meta Ramps Up AI Spending—Again

By Martin Peers · Apr 30, 2025 5:00pm PDT

When it comes to artificial intelligence, Mark Zuckerberg is not holding back. Meta Platforms revealed Wednesday it was raising its projected capital spending for this year to as high as $72 billion, from a previous high of $65 billion outlined in January. If Meta spent at the upper level of its new projection, its capital outlays this year... When it comes to artificial intelligence, Mark Zuckerberg is not holding back. Meta Platforms...

Photo via Getty

What Temu’s and Shein’s Travails Mean for Snap, Google and Meta

By Martin Peers · Apr 29, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Photo via Getty

What Temu’s and Shein’s Travails Mean for Snap, Google and Meta

By Martin Peers · Apr 29, 2025 5:00pm PDT

The end of the Temu-Shein era of cheap prices may be hurting digital ad firms just as much as bargain shoppers. Snap on Tuesday said the Trump administration’s closure of the duty-free import loophole—which allowed Temu and Shein to ship cheap stuff from China without paying duties—was affecting its ad business. Google forecast a similar impact... The end of the Temu-Shein era of cheap prices may be hurting digital ad firms just as much as...

Art by Clark Miller

Elite Group Chats Are Only Part of the Story

By Nick Wingfield · Apr 28, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Group chats are definitely having a moment. First, there were the headlines about how Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, had participated in private Signal discussion groups with Trump administration officials and family members in which he reportedly discussed upcoming U.S. military operations. Then, on Sunday, Ben Smith at Semafor ... Group chats are definitely having a moment. First, there were the headlines about how Pete...

Photo via Getty

DoorDash and Deliveroo on Brink of Marriage

By Martin Peers · Apr 25, 2025 3:45pm PDT

We could have a big deal coming soon. DoorDash looks likely to buy UK-based meal and grocery delivery firm Deliveroo for about $3.6 billion in cash, judging by a statement from Deliveroo on Friday that was also posted by DoorDash on its website. The U.S. delivery firm made an offer at that price earlier this month and Deliveroo said Friday it “... We could have a big deal coming soon. DoorDash looks likely to buy UK-based meal and grocery...

Photo by Getty

What Google’s First-Quarter Numbers Revealed

By Martin Peers · Apr 24, 2025 5:00pm PDT

In earnings season, which we’re in the midst of right now, no (bad) news is good news. Google delivered middling growth for the first quarter, with revenue rising 12%, in line with the fourth quarter, despite a noticeable slowdown in its cash machine of search and in YouTube ads. But despite the ever-present worries about President Donald Trump’... In earnings season, which we’re in the midst of right now, no (bad) news is good news. Google...

Left to right: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and President Donald Trump. Photos via Getty.

Walmart Helps Bail Out Amazon

By Theo Wayt · Apr 23, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Left to right: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and President Donald Trump. Photos via Getty.

Walmart Helps Bail Out Amazon

By Theo Wayt · Apr 23, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy needs to send a thank-you card to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon—because it looks like Walmart just helped bail out Amazon. President Donald Trump’s signal on Tuesday that he might reduce tariffs on Chinese imports from the current level of 145% followed a meeting the president held with McMillon and the CEOs of Target and Home... Amazon CEO Andy Jassy needs to send a thank-you card to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon—because it...

Elon Musk. Photo via Getty

Tesla’s First Quarter Signals Bleak Year

By Martin Peers · Apr 22, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

When Elon Musk said in January that 2025 would be “a pivotal year for Tesla,” he surely wasn’t thinking of what has come to pass. The electric vehicle giant reported Tuesday that its auto revenues plunged 20% in the first quarter to their lowest level since 2021, dragging down Tesla’s overall revenue 9% and operating profit 66%. Tesla, which had... When Elon Musk said in January that 2025 would be “a pivotal year for Tesla,” he surely wasn’t...

Gail Slater (center), US assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division, and Todd Blanche (right), US deputy attorney general, today outside federal court. Photo via Getty.

DOJ Questions Google’s AI Tactics

By Martin Peers · Apr 21, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Is Google up to its old tricks in the new world of artificial intelligence? That’s what the government alleges. The Justice Department made a big deal in court today—as it argued how Google should be overhauled to remedy its search monopoly—with the charge that the tech giant was repeating its past sins in search in an effort to become dominant... Is Google up to its old tricks in the new world of artificial intelligence? That’s what the...

Photo via Getty

The AI Hole in Big Tech’s Pockets

By Martin Peers · Apr 18, 2025 1:30pm PDT

There were plenty of surprising revelations about Meta Platforms this week, thanks to its antitrust trial, most obviously that CEO Mark Zuckerberg mused in 2018 whether to spin off Instagram. But even more striking was The Information’s report on Thursday night that Meta for much of the past year was trying to get other big tech companies to... There were plenty of surprising revelations about Meta Platforms this week, thanks to its...

Photo via Getty

Google’s Antitrust Dilemma

By Martin Peers · Apr 17, 2025 5:15pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Google’s Antitrust Dilemma

By Martin Peers · Apr 17, 2025 5:15pm PDT

Before we get to today’s big tech developments, be sure to check out the scoop we just published about Meta Platforms asking companies like Microsoft and Amazon to help fund its Llama AI development. It’s a sign that the enormous costs of AI are straining even the coffers of one of the richest companies in tech… Right now, it’s all tech... Before we get to today’s big tech developments, be sure to check out the scoop we just published...

David Risher, CEO of Lyft. Photo via Getty

Does Lyft Need a New Engine?

By Martin Peers · Apr 16, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 3 comments

Does Lyft need a new engine to jump-start its performance? We’re thinking of activist investor Engine Capital, which has taken a stake in the ride-hailing firm and today said it would mount a proxy contest to win seats on Lyft’s board. Lyft’s stock price has been stalled (sorry) for years, trading at roughly 80% below its 2019 IPO price. It’s in... Does Lyft need a new engine to jump-start its performance? We’re thinking of activist investor...

Daniel Matheson, lead attorney for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, exits court today. Photo via Getty.

Could Meta Have Made Snap a Success?

By Martin Peers · Apr 15, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Mark Zuckerberg is very confident in his own abilities. His testimony in the government’s antitrust trial today—as reported by my colleague Kalley Huang—made clear his belief that both Twitter and Snap would have been better off if they had accepted the buyout bids he made early in their lives. By the same token, he believes Instagram today is... Mark Zuckerberg is very confident in his own abilities. His testimony in the government’s...

Meta's Chief Legal Officer, Jennifer Newstead, arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Court House this morning. Photo via Getty.

Tech and Antitrust Trials Don’t Mix

By Martin Peers · Apr 14, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Antitrust trials and tech businesses don’t mix well. As was the case with the government’s ad tech case against Google last year, as well as its case against Meta Platforms, which went to trial in a Washington courtroom today, the lawsuits typically rest on years-old snapshots of an industry that are about as current as a picture you took of... Antitrust trials and tech businesses don’t mix well. As was the case with the government’s ad...

Photo via Getty

Google’s Continuous Cost-Cutting

By Martin Peers · Apr 11, 2025 3:27pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Google’s Continuous Cost-Cutting

By Martin Peers · Apr 11, 2025 3:27pm PDT

Google appears to have learned a lesson from 2023, when its layoffs of 12,000 people, or 6.4% of its workforce, became big news and sparked anger among employees used to its cushy culture. In the past 18 months or so, Google has made a series of smaller cuts, mostly at the scale of “hundreds of people” each time, according to news reports in The... Google appears to have learned a lesson from 2023, when its layoffs of 12,000 people, or 6.4% of...

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today. Photo via Getty

Europe’s Tax Threat Looms Over Google and Meta

By Martin Peers · Apr 10, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 4 comments

A global trade war could get very ugly for big tech—and not just for importers of physical products, like Apple. A Financial Times report on Thursday quoted the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, as suggesting that Europe could retaliate against U.S. tariffs by imposing a levy on digital ad revenues generated by companies like... A global trade war could get very ugly for big tech—and not just for importers of physical...

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. Photo via YouTube

Google Cloud’s Thomas Kurian Keeps Focus on AI

By Martin Peers · Apr 9, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Shoutout to Thomas Kurian, chief of Google Cloud, who delivered a roughly 90-minute-long keynote address at the cloud unit’s developer conference in Las Vegas today. Even as chaos reigned in the markets and talk of a looming recession circulated, Kurian stood onstage wearing a suit, calmly talking up Google Cloud’s new artificial intelligence... Shoutout to Thomas Kurian, chief of Google Cloud, who delivered a roughly 90-minute-long keynote...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photo via Getty

What Amazon’s Not-So-Secret Agent Could Do to Shopping

By Martin Peers · Apr 8, 2025 5:00pm PDT · 1 comment

Forget tariffs and the stock market roller coaster just for a moment. As much as Trump’s tariffs pose a worry to tech (as we discussed here and here), a much bigger existential threat is lurking in the background for many app-based companies. And that is artificial intelligence agents, software that enables a chatbot to order a pizza, book a... Forget tariffs and the stock market roller coaster just for a moment. As much as Trump’s tariffs...

Photo via Getty

Microsoft and Netflix Are Safe Tech Names in Storm

By Martin Peers · Apr 7, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Photo via Getty

Microsoft and Netflix Are Safe Tech Names in Storm

By Martin Peers · Apr 7, 2025 5:00pm PDT

Is your seatbelt still holding? Monday’s ups and downs in the stock market would be enough to give anyone whiplash. The good news, for tech investors at least, is that things weren’t all bad. Quite a few stocks went up, including Nvidia, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Broadcom. The biggest losers included Apple, down 3.7%, and Tesla, down 2.6%,... Is your seatbelt still holding? Monday’s ups and downs in the stock market would be enough to...