Reddit is gearing up for more M&A, the company told analysts on its fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday. Reddit CFO Andrew Vollero said the online forum site is looking for businesses that can either leverage Reddit’s scale — meaning their products become more impactful when deployed across Reddit’s massive user base — or help grow the company’s user base.“[We’re] looking to buy capabilities, technologies, and companies,” he said during the introductory remarks. Investors, obviously, wanted to know m ...

Core Insights - Reddit's AI-powered search engine is viewed as a significant business opportunity, with potential to impact revenue despite not being monetized yet [1] - The company believes generative AI search will outperform traditional search for many queries, particularly those requiring multiple perspectives [1][2] - Weekly active users for search increased by 30% over the past year, from 60 million to 80 million, while AI-powered Reddit Answers grew from 1 million to 15 million users [2] Product Development - Reddit is modernizing its AI answers interface to include more media-rich responses, with pilot programs already in progress [3] - The company plans to merge its AI search feature with traditional search to enhance user experience, having made significant progress in this unification [5] User Engagement and Personalization - Starting in Q3 2026, Reddit will eliminate the distinction between logged-in and logged-out users to personalize the site using AI and machine learning [4] - The content licensing business, which allows other companies to train their AI models on Reddit's data, is also growing, contributing to non-ad revenue [5] Financial Performance - Reddit's "other" revenue, which includes content licensing, increased by 8% year-over-year to $36 million in Q4 and rose 22% to $140 million for the year 2025 [5]

Core Insights - Amazon Web Services (AWS) achieved its strongest quarterly growth rate in over three years, with a revenue of $35.6 billion in Q4 2025, representing a 24% year-on-year increase and the largest growth rate in 13 quarters [2][3] Revenue and Financial Performance - AWS's annual revenue run rate is $142 billion, with operating income rising to $12.5 billion in Q4 2025 from $10.6 billion in Q4 2024 [2] - AWS contributed 16.6% to Amazon's overall revenue of $213.4 billion in Q4 [7] Competitive Positioning - CEO Andy Jassy highlighted that AWS's 24% growth on a $142 billion run rate is more significant than competitors' higher percentage growth on smaller bases, emphasizing AWS's leadership in incremental revenue and capacity [3] - AWS has secured new agreements with major companies and government entities, including Salesforce, BlackRock, Perplexity, and the U.S. Air Force, which fueled the fourth-quarter growth [3] Market Trends and Customer Demand - A significant portion of AWS's business comes from enterprises transitioning from on-premise infrastructure to the cloud, alongside a boost from the AI sector due to AWS's comprehensive AI stack functionality [5][7] - AWS is seeing increased demand as customers run large AI workloads, which contributes to expanding their core AWS footprint [7] Infrastructure Expansion - In Q4, AWS added over a gigawatt of power to its data center network, indicating ongoing infrastructure growth [4]

Core Insights - The AI industry is heavily investing in data centers, with the belief that the company with the most compute power will dominate the market in the future [1][6] Company Projections - Amazon projects $200 billion in capital expenditures through 2026, a significant increase from $131.8 billion in 2025, with investments in AI, chips, robotics, and satellites [3] - Google anticipates capital expenditures between $175 billion and $185 billion for 2026, up from $91.4 billion the previous year, indicating a substantial increase in fixed asset spending [4] - Meta forecasts $115 to $135 billion in capex for 2026, while Oracle projects $50 billion, and Microsoft’s recent quarterly figure suggests a potential $150 billion if trends continue [5] Investor Sentiment - Despite the high capital expenditures, investor confidence is wavering, with stock prices of these companies dropping as they commit hundreds of billions to AI [6][10] - The pressure is not only on companies like Meta, which are still developing their AI strategies, but also on established players like Microsoft and Amazon, as the overall spending levels are causing investor discomfort [7] Industry Dynamics - The tech industry views high-end compute as a critical resource for future survival, leading to aggressive spending strategies among major companies [6] - There is a growing concern that big tech firms will need to manage perceptions of their AI investments to maintain investor confidence, despite the belief in AI's transformative potential [10]

Group 1: Revenue and User Growth - YouTube's subscription and ad revenue is on the rise, with 325 million paying users across Google One and YouTube Premium, an increase from 300 million three months prior [1] - YouTube's ad revenue grew by 9% to $11.38 billion in Q4, although it fell short of analysts' expectations of $11.84 billion [2] - Overall revenue for YouTube, including ads and subscriptions, reached $60 billion for the full financial year, marking a 17% increase year-over-year [2] Group 2: Subscription Services and Offerings - The $8 per month ad-free YouTube Premium tier is experiencing strong traction, although specific user numbers were not disclosed [2] - The company plans to expand its subscription offerings, particularly for YouTube TV, with new plans that will provide over 10 genre-specific packages [3] Group 3: Content Engagement and AI Features - YouTube Shorts achieved 200 billion average daily views, consistent with the previous year, and in some regions, ads on short-form videos generate higher revenue per hour than in-stream ads [4] - The podcast format is gaining popularity, with viewers watching 700 million hours of podcasts from their TVs in October [4] - More than 1 million channels are utilizing YouTube's AI creation tools, and 20 million consumers engaged with its Gemini-powered content discovery tool in December [5]

While Spotify users face yet another price hike, book lovers have some exciting developments to look forward to that could help cushion the blow.Spotify announced several updates for its audiobook business on Thursday, notably its expansion into physical books. Users in the U.S. and the UK will soon be able to purchase physical copies of their favorite audiobooks directly through the app, marking a significant pivot for the once digital-only platform.  The company also introduced two features designed to m ...

Snap is on a mission to diversify its revenue sources—moving from a business model in which it largely chases ad revenue to one where it can also make money through subscriptions and, eventually, hardware. The company’s latest quarterly earnings report shows that, so far, the firm is having moderate success with that strategy.In Q4, Snap’s revenue was $1.7 billion, which is up 10% year-over-year. Its average revenue per user was also up, slightly (to $3.62 from $3.44). The company’s net income was $45 milli ...

Core Insights - Alphabet is currently not ready to discuss the implications of its AI partnership with Apple, indicating a cautious approach towards its core business focused on AI [1] Group 1: Google-Apple Relationship - The partnership between Google and Apple has been beneficial, with Google paying Apple $20 billion to be the default search engine on Apple devices, providing Google access to Apple's 2.5 billion active devices [2] - The latest AI deal with Apple is rumored to cost Apple approximately $1 billion per year, but the immediate benefits for Google are less clear compared to its search business [3] Group 2: AI Advertising and Business Model - Google has announced plans to introduce ads in AI Mode for Google Search, with tests placing ads below or integrated into chatbot responses, aiming for a seamless shopping experience [4] - Competitor Anthropic is challenging the ad-supported AI model with a forthcoming Super Bowl ad, raising questions about the long-term viability of Google's and OpenAI's business models [5] Group 3: Earnings Call Insights - During Alphabet's earnings call, the Apple Siri deal received minimal attention, with CEO Sundar Pichai mentioning that Google would be Apple's "preferred cloud provider" and assist in developing next-generation foundation models based on Gemini technology [6]

Core Insights - Amazon MGM Studios has launched a dedicated AI Studio to develop proprietary AI tools aimed at streamlining TV and film production, focusing on character consistency and supporting pre- and post-production processes [1] - The AI tools are moving beyond internal testing, with a closed beta program set to begin in March, inviting industry partners to participate [1][2] - Initial outcomes from the beta program are expected to be shared by May [2] Group 1: AI Studio Collaboration - The AI Studio is collaborating with notable industry figures, including Robert Stromberg, Kunal Nayyar, and Colin Brady, to effectively implement these AI tools [3] - Amazon is leveraging Amazon Web Services and plans to work with several large language model (LLM) providers for support [3] Group 2: Goals and Industry Impact - The initiative aims to support creative teams rather than replace them, focusing on improving efficiency and reducing costs while protecting intellectual property [4] - The use of AI in projects, such as the "House of David" series featuring 350 AI-generated shots, exemplifies the application of these tools [4] - The rise of AI adoption in Hollywood has sparked debates regarding its implications for jobs, creativity, and the future of filmmaking, with other companies like Netflix also exploring generative AI [5] Group 3: Employment Context - Amazon has cited its success with AI as a contributing factor to recent layoffs, including the elimination of 16,000 jobs in January and 14,000 in October [6]

Core Insights - Uber is promoting Balaji Krishnamurthy to CFO, replacing Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah, indicating a strategic shift in financial leadership [1][7] Group 1: Leadership Changes - Balaji Krishnamurthy has been with Uber for over six years, primarily in investor relations, suggesting continuity in financial strategy [2] - Mahendra-Rajah is leaving after three years, marking a significant leadership transition [7] Group 2: Autonomous Vehicle Strategy - Krishnamurthy emphasized investment in autonomous vehicle (AV) software partners and infrastructure, indicating a focus on expanding Uber's AV operations [3] - CEO Dara Khosrowshahi highlighted the potential of AVs to unlock a multi-trillion dollar opportunity, with plans to facilitate AV trips in 15 cities by 2026 and become the largest AV trip facilitator by 2029 [4] Group 3: Financial Performance - Uber's revenue for Q4 reached $14.37 billion, a 20% increase year-over-year, driven by strong demand for food delivery services [5]