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

Bob Iger and Josh D'Amaro. Getty Images. Disney/Getty Images.

Disney’s CEO Choice Reflects Entertainment’s Decline

By Martin Peers · Feb 3, 2026 5:00pm PST

It’s CEO replacement time. Both Walt Disney Co. and PayPal named new chief executives on Tuesday, with each appointment symbolizing major business shifts. Disney named parks chief Josh D’Amaro to succeed longtime CEO Bob Iger, who turns 75 next week (D’Amaro is Iger’s second successor, after the first one flopped so badly Iger had to return to... It’s CEO replacement time. Both Walt Disney Co. and PayPal named new chief executives on Tuesday,...

Elon Musk. Getty Images.

What’s Really Driving Musk’s SpaceX-xAI Merger

By Martin Peers · Feb 2, 2026 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Talk about pie in the sky. On Monday, Elon Musk announced that his SpaceX had acquired his cash-eating xAI, at a price we reported to be $250 billion. SpaceX was already planning to go public, but now xAI will be able to get some of the cash the newly enlarged company will raise. Of course, that’s not how Musk explained the combination. Instead,... Talk about pie in the sky. On Monday, Elon Musk announced that his SpaceX had acquired his...

Palantir CEO Alex Karp. Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images

What to Expect From Palantir, Google and Amazon Earnings This Week

By Martin Peers · Feb 1, 2026 3:00pm PST · 2 comments

If you like poring over earnings reports (and who doesn’t!), then you’ll be in your happy place this coming week. We’ve got so many tech earnings announcements that we can barely keep track. I’m not kidding—couldn’t these tech executives space things out a little bit? The biggest reports will be on Wednesday, when Google parent Alphabet reports... If you like poring over earnings reports (and who doesn’t!), then you’ll be in your happy place...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Todd Owyoung/NBC/Getty Images.

AI’s Dealmaking Frenzy

By Martin Peers · Jan 29, 2026 5:00pm PST

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Todd Owyoung/NBC/Getty Images.

AI’s Dealmaking Frenzy

By Martin Peers · Jan 29, 2026 5:00pm PST

AI’s insatiable need for cash is proving to be a dream for dealmakers. Our scoop from Wednesday night that OpenAI was in talks to raise as much as $60 billion from Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon was followed by a Wall Street Journal report today that Amazon alone might put in $50 billion. Meanwhile, Reuters reported on Thursday that Elon Musk was... AI’s insatiable need for cash is proving to be a dream for dealmakers. Our scoop from Wednesday...

Satya Nadella and Mark Zuckerberg. Getty Images

What We Learned From Meta, Microsoft and Tesla

By Martin Peers · Jan 28, 2026 5:00pm PST

If quarterly earnings announcements were a contest, Mark Zuckerberg would have won Wednesday. You might even say investors are coming to terms with Meta Platforms’ you-only-live-once approach to spending on AI. The owner of Facebook and Instagram reported stronger than projected fourth-quarter growth of 24% and projected that revenue growth... If quarterly earnings announcements were a contest, Mark Zuckerberg would have won Wednesday. You...

Shutterstock.

Amazon’s Fresh Dream Expires

By Martin Peers · Jan 27, 2026 5:00pm PST

It’s a good thing Jeff Bezos started Amazon as an internet-based retailer. He might never have made it as a traditional shopkeeper! Amazon on Tuesday said it would shutter its chain of Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go grocery stores, closing a chapter in its fitful efforts to expand in physical stores. Amazon still owns the Whole Foods chain it bought... It’s a good thing Jeff Bezos started Amazon as an internet-based retailer. He might never have...

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri. Kyle Grillot/Getty Images.

Social Media’s Reckoning

By Erin Woo · Jan 26, 2026 5:00pm PST

Jury selection kicks off in Los Angeles tomorrow for a trial that both friends and foes of social media are saying could be existential for the social media industry—broadly defined to include Google’s YouTube as well as Meta Platforms and TikTok. The trial centers on a 20-year-old girl from Chico, Calif. who says her social media addiction led... Jury selection kicks off in Los Angeles tomorrow for a trial that both friends and foes of social...

Mark Zuckerberg. Getty Images

This Week’s Tech Earnings: Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla

By Martin Peers · Jan 25, 2026 3:00pm PST

Mark Zuckerberg. Getty Images

This Week’s Tech Earnings: Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla

By Martin Peers · Jan 25, 2026 3:00pm PST

Clear your schedule on Wednesday afternoon. Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla are each reporting their December-quarter earnings after the market closes that day. Tesla is its own thing—we have a sense of what’s coming because it already released vehicle delivery numbers, signaling that revenue will drop. But Microsoft and Meta will be... Clear your schedule on Wednesday afternoon. Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla are each...

Getty Images

Brexit in Fintech

By Martin Peers · Jan 22, 2026 5:00pm PST

That’s what you call going out with a whimper. Capital One’s agreement on Thursday to buy Brex, a corporate credit card startup, for $5.15 billion is an uninspiring end to Brex’s life as an independent company. Those with long memories will remember that the nine-year-old Brex’s ambitions were once so grand it claimed to be disrupting American... That’s what you call going out with a whimper. Capital One’s agreement on Thursday to buy Brex, a...

Larry Ellison. Craig Hudson/The Washington Post via Getty Images.

Oracle Should (but Likely Won’t) Cut Its Dividend

By Martin Peers · Jan 21, 2026 5:00pm PST

Here’s a question: How much are big tech companies cutting back on sending money to shareholders as they ramp up their AI development spending? It’s a good time to ask: On Friday, Oracle is due to pay out its latest quarterly dividend of 50 cents a share. That will amount to $1.4 billion going out the door, which Oracle can ill afford. After... Here’s a question: How much are big tech companies cutting back on sending money to shareholders...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on TITV at Davos today. Photo via TITV

Andy Jassy in Davos; Netflix’s Q4

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 20, 2026 5:00pm PST

My second day in Davos began way too early—in a sit-down with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy for The Information’s TITV. It has been two years and three months since I last sat down with Jassy in Seattle. While he’s always calm and measured—and, for what it is worth, he’s one of the nicest people to interview—one could sense a little defensiveness... My second day in Davos began way too early—in a sit-down with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy for The...

Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Tech at Davos; Netflix and Intel Earnings on Deck This Week

By Martin Peers · Jan 19, 2026 3:00pm PST

Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Tech at Davos; Netflix and Intel Earnings on Deck This Week

By Martin Peers · Jan 19, 2026 3:00pm PST

We have a change of pace this week after the AI dramas of the past few days. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff assault on Europe, related to his aspirations for owning Greenland, will have markets jumpy—as we saw on Monday. Maybe a deal can be worked out at the annual World Economic Forum confab at Davos, which started today. Expect to see... We have a change of pace this week after the AI dramas of the past few days. President Donald...

Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of Applications. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP.

OpenAI Changes Narrative With Ads Push

By Martin Peers · Jan 16, 2026 2:00pm PST · 1 comment

Talk about taking control of the narrative. OpenAI’s announcements today that it would start testing ads in ChatGPT, and that it would also introduce an $8 a month tier of service called ChatGPT Go in the U.S., gives the AI company something positive to talk to investors about as it tries to raise a gargantuan amount of money (up to $100 billion... Talk about taking control of the narrative. OpenAI’s announcements today that it would start ...

MrBeast. Victoria Sirakova/Getty Images.

Bitmine’s Switch From Ether to MrBeast

By Yueqi Yang · Jan 15, 2026 5:00pm PST · 1 comment

Investors who own shares of Bitmine, which last year turned itself into a holding company for ether tokens, woke up to some surprising news today. Bitmine is investing $200 million in Beast Industries, the company of MrBeast, the No.1 YouTuber. He’s known for making viral videos, not for his interest in ether. The investment is what you... Investors who own shares of Bitmine, which last year turned itself into a holding company for...

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Tech Stocks’ Bleak Day; Cerebras Gets Good News

By Martin Peers · Jan 14, 2026 5:00pm PST

Wow. Wednesday was not a fun day, particularly if you’re a Verizon customer (guilty!), thanks to a widespread cellular phone outage that hit many of its subscribers for much of the day. It also wasn’t fun for tech investors as stocks sold off across the board. What wasn’t uniform, though, was the severity of the selling. Microsoft, Amazon and... Wow. Wednesday was not a fun day, particularly if you’re a Verizon customer (guilty!), thanks to...

Microsoft's Brad Smith. Paul Devlin/Sportsfile via Getty Images.

Microsoft’s Proactive Data Center Promises

By Martin Peers · Jan 13, 2026 5:00pm PST

Microsoft's Brad Smith. Paul Devlin/Sportsfile via Getty Images.

Microsoft’s Proactive Data Center Promises

By Martin Peers · Jan 13, 2026 5:00pm PST

Maybe Brad Smith should run for office. The Microsoft vice chair and president put his name to a lengthy, detailed document released on Tuesday that demonstrates the tech giant is trying to get ahead of growing grass-roots complaints about the impact of data centers on local communities. Among other things, Microsoft promised to pay enough for... Maybe Brad Smith should run for office. The Microsoft vice chair and president put his name to a...

Dina Powell McCormick. Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images.

Why Google Should Take Note of Meta’s Savvy Hire

By Martin Peers · Jan 12, 2026 5:00pm PST

Google might be running away with the AI market right now—as demonstrated by today’s Apple deal—but Meta Platforms can’t be counted out. Meta’s hiring today of former Trump administration official and longtime Goldman Sachs partner Dina Powell McCormick as president and vice chair was a savvy move by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It strengthens the... Google might be running away with the AI market right now—as demonstrated by today’s Apple deal—...

Getty Images

Google Matches OpenAI on Shopping

By Martin Peers · Jan 11, 2026 3:00pm PST · 1 comment

Sam Altman, look behind you. Sundar Pichai is catching up. Google on Sunday announced it was adding the ability to buy stuff within its Gemini AI chatbot, using Google Pay to complete the transaction, essentially matching OpenAI’s Instant Checkout feature. This is a big deal, according to my colleague Ann Gehan, who was at the NRF retail... Sam Altman, look behind you. Sundar Pichai is catching up. Google on Sunday announced it was...

David Ellison. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images.

Ellison Should Abandon WBD Battle

By Martin Peers · Jan 8, 2026 5:05pm PST

David Ellison just can’t get any respect. The son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison and CEO of Paramount Skydance is going nowhere in his efforts to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of HBO Max, Warner Bros. Studio and a bunch of cable channels including CNN. Ellison has a very persuasive argument that his $30 a share offer—$108 billion in total—... David Ellison just can’t get any respect. The son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison and CEO of...

Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad. XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty.

Nvidia’s China Business Still Hostage to Geopolitics

By Martin Peers · Jan 7, 2026 5:00pm PST

Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad. XNY/Star Max/GC Images via Getty.

Nvidia’s China Business Still Hostage to Geopolitics

By Martin Peers · Jan 7, 2026 5:00pm PST

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang must feel like a child whose parents are perpetually at war. Weeks after he glimpsed a chance to resume sales of AI chips to China—thanks to approval from President Donald Trump—China has said, “Not so fast.” As our Hong Kong reporter Qianer Liu scooped today, the Chinese government has asked local tech companies to... Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang must feel like a child whose parents are perpetually at war. Weeks after...