Starbucks reported first-quarter earnings late Tuesday.The results beat expectations, although comparable sales still fell.New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has been making changes at the chain.Starbucks has turned to a new CEO and a new strategy to stop sales tumbling. Although it's early days, it looks like the first steps have added a small caffeine boost to the company. Comparable sales fell 4% for the quarter ended December 29. While still a decline, analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting a drop of ...

Performance and Growth - Reality Labs achieved a 40% year-over-year sales growth in 2024, surpassing nearly all its aggressive sales and user targets [1][2] - The division's revenue for Q3 2024 increased by 29% year-on-year to $270 million [4] - The Horizon app, required for Meta's Quest VR headsets, was the top free app in Apple's App Store in the US and the UK on Christmas Day, indicating strong holiday demand [2] Strategic Importance and Future Outlook - Meta's CTO Andrew Bosworth described 2024 as a "pivotal year" for Reality Labs, positioning the division for future success [1][6] - The Reality Labs Business Group (RLBG) played a significant role in setting the company up for the future [3] - Meta's CFO Susan Li emphasized that Reality Labs remains a "strategic long-term priority," with plans for continued significant investment [4] Challenges and Investments - Reality Labs has incurred substantial losses, with over $50 billion recorded since 2020 due to heavy investments in augmented reality technology [3] - In Q3 2024, the division reported operating losses of $4.4 billion [4] Product and Brand Strength - Meta is experiencing "massive sales growth in wearables," with the Quest brand described as stronger than ever [2][6]

Meta is reorganizing Reality Labs to make it a business priority, a leaked memo shows.The reorganization follows major changes at the company including coming performance-based cuts.Reality Labs faces scrutiny for racking up losses; Meta sees it as a strategic long-term priority.Meta is shaking up Reality Labs and integrating it more closely with its core business. Chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth announced a series of reorgs in a post on Meta's internal forum Workplace, which Business Insider viewe ...

General Motors passed a major milestone in its efforts to make electric vehicles profitable.The Detroit automaker said EVs were "variable profit positive" in 2024.GM built 189,000 EVs last year and aims to build 300,000 this year.General Motors is finally making some money in the electric vehicle business. The automaker reported its EVs were "variable profit positive" in 2024, meaning that they earned more money than GM spent on manufacturing costs like labor and parts.GM doesn't break out its EV earnings l ...

Core View - President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Taiwan-made semiconductors could significantly impact Nvidia and other US tech companies reliant on TSMC for chip manufacturing [1][2][9] - The tariffs, potentially ranging from 25% to 100%, aim to bring chip production back to the US but may lead to increased costs for companies like Nvidia, Apple, and AMD [2][7][9] - Nvidia faces a double blow as its shares dropped 17% following DeepSeek's AI model release, which caused a $589 billion loss in market value [1][3] Industry Impact - The US semiconductor industry is less developed and more expensive compared to Taiwan, making a rapid shift in production challenging [2][7] - TSMC has already begun moving some operations to the US, including a $65 billion initiative to build chip manufacturing plants in Arizona [6][8] - The US and China are intensifying their competition for global technological dominance, particularly in AI, with Trump announcing a $500 billion initiative to boost US AI infrastructure [11] Company Impact - Nvidia, one of TSMC's largest customers, is particularly vulnerable to the proposed tariffs due to its heavy reliance on TSMC for AI chip manufacturing [1][3][9] - DeepSeek's new AI model, which claims similar performance to OpenAI's frontier model with fewer and less advanced chips, has raised concerns about declining demand for Nvidia's chips [4] - Apple and AMD, also significant TSMC customers, could face increased costs if tariffs are imposed, potentially affecting hardware prices [2][7] Geopolitical Context - Taiwan emphasizes the "complementary" relationship between its semiconductor industry and the US, highlighting the US-designed, Taiwan-foundry model as a win-win for both economies [10] - The potential for conflict between China and Taiwan poses a significant risk to the US tech sector, as a war could disrupt the supply of vital chips [5] - The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains, further complicating the US's reliance on Taiwan for semiconductors [5]

Whole Foods workers in a Pennsylvania store voted to unionize on Monday.They will join a local chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers union.This is the first successful unionization push since Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017.Workers at a Pennsylvania Whole Foods store voted to unionize on Monday, forming the first union at the grocery chain since Amazon acquired it in 2017. Employees voted to join the local chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents more than 80 ...

Chinese startup DeepSeek triggered panic among investors in top AI companies like Nvidia.DeepSeek claims to have built AI that rivals OpenAI's o1 but with less compute.That could mean lower demand for AI chips, but some analysts and AI leaders don't agree.A week after DeepSeek launched an industry-shaking AI model on Inauguration Day, investors have decided what it all means: a market-moving reassessment of AI's multi-trillion dollar run. DeepSeek, a spinout from a Chinese hedge fund, appears to have rivale ...

Big Tech and AI Market Dynamics - DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, released its AI model R1 on January 20, causing significant market reactions and threatening major US AI players like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI [1] - DeepSeek's models are similarly effective to those of US companies but are offered at a much lower price and require fewer chips, undercutting the premium pricing strategies of Google, OpenAI, and others [2] - Major chipmakers like ASML and Nvidia experienced significant stock price declines, with ASML falling 7% in Amsterdam and Nvidia dropping over 17% in New York [2] Apple's Position in the AI Market - Apple's stock rose on Monday while competitors Alphabet and Microsoft traded down, positioning the company favorably amidst the AI market disruption [3] - Apple's strategy focuses on integrating AI into its products rather than developing cutting-edge models, which could allow it to benefit from lower AI training costs [4] - Analysts suggest that Apple could integrate large language models (LLMs) and improve its AI capabilities at a cheaper rate than competitors, ultimately keeping costs down for consumers [4] - If DeepSeek's success demonstrates that powerful AI capabilities can be achieved at a fraction of current costs, Apple could accelerate its AI integration plans without excessive capital expenditures [5] Apple's AI Spending and Strategy - Apple has been criticized for being slow to release its AI offerings, with Apple Intelligence software launched months after competitors and years after OpenAI's ChatGPT [6] - Apple's lower spending on AI infrastructure provides some insulation from the challenges faced by its US competitors [6] - Apple's reported $45 6 billion in payments for property, plant, and equipment in fiscal 2024, up from $43 7 billion in 2023, includes potential AI spending but is not exclusively allocated to AI [8] Industry Leaders' AI Investments - Tech leaders like Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg emphasize the importance of heavy AI investments, with Meta expected to invest over $60 billion in AI infrastructure by 2025 [7]

Meta's Advertising Strategy on Threads - Meta is beginning to test ads on Threads, marking its first attempt to generate revenue from the platform since its launch in 2023 [1] - The initial test will roll out to a small group of users in the US and Japan, with ads appearing as image posts within users' feeds [1] - Advertisers can extend their existing Meta campaigns to Threads by simply checking a box [1] User Base and Advertiser Engagement - Threads has 300 million active users each month, with three out of four users following at least one business account [2] - Meta aims to make ads on Threads as interesting as organic content, closely monitoring the initial test before scaling it more broadly [2] Strategic Timing and Industry Context - The ad rollout on Threads is strategically timed amid upheaval in the social media landscape, including potential US restrictions on TikTok and advertiser wariness around X under Elon Musk's ownership [3] - Meta executives have reassured advertisers about the company's decision to relax content moderation policies and end its third-party fact-checking program [3] Brand Safety and Advertiser Tools - Meta is implementing brand safety measures, including AI-powered tools that allow advertisers to control what content their ads appear next to [5] - The company plans to expand third-party advertising verification tools and language support in the coming months [5] Revenue Expectations and Competitive Differentiation - Meta's CFO, Susan Li, stated that Threads is not expected to be a meaningful driver of 2025 revenue, despite being pleased with its growth [7] - Making great ads is seen as a key differentiator for Threads to compete with X, especially given the user base growth from those fleeing X after the Musk takeover [7][8] Meta's Ecosystem Advantage - Meta's ecosystem allows advertisers to programmatically place ads across its platforms based on real-time efficiency, a significant advantage over standalone platforms [6] - This approach was previously used when Meta rolled out Reels, helping advertisers ease into ad placements [6]

Core Insights - Shopify has recently laid off employees in its Support division, with estimates suggesting at least a dozen job losses [1][2][5] - The layoffs are part of ongoing changes within the Support division, which has faced challenges in customer service quality and management turnover [3][4][7] Group 1: Layoff Details - The layoffs occurred during or immediately after a brief meeting with HR, complicating the ability of affected employees to determine the total number of job losses [2] - Shopify has conducted multiple rounds of layoffs since 2022, including a significant reduction of 10% of its workforce in July 2022 and an additional 20% in May 2023 [5] Group 2: Support Division Changes - The Support division has been undergoing a project called "Code Yellow" aimed at improving customer service levels, which had reportedly deteriorated [3] - The company has started using generative AI to enhance efficiency and improve the merchant experience, indicating a shift in operational strategy [3] - Shopify has also been hiring third-party vendors for customer support, which has led to concerns about the overall quality of service [4] Group 3: Management Turnover - The Support division has experienced significant turnover in its management, with notable departures in 2024 [4]