Core Insights - Netflix added nearly 19 million subscribers during the holiday season quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating the success of its expansion into live programming [1][3] - The company ended the year with over 300 million subscribers, an increase of 41 million from 2023, and reported earnings of $1.9 billion, or $4.27 per share, nearly doubling from the same period in 2023 [3][4] - Netflix plans to raise prices in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina, typically by $1 or $2 per month, while slightly increasing its revenue outlook for the year to a mid-range of $44 billion, reflecting a 13% increase from last year [5][6] Subscriber and Revenue Growth - The October-December period included significant events such as a widely watched fight and NFL games, contributing to subscriber growth [2] - Netflix's revenue climbed 16% year-over-year to $10.2 billion, showcasing robust financial performance [4] Advertising Strategy - The company is focusing on selling more advertising, initiated in late 2022 with a low-priced service that includes commercials, particularly during live programming [8] - Despite the push for advertising revenue, Netflix's primary appeal remains its scripted TV series and movies, with upcoming seasons of popular shows like Stranger Things and Squid Game [10] Market Reaction - Following the earnings report, Netflix's shares surged by 3% in extended trading, with a potential new high if similar performance continues in regular trading [7]

Meta, the owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, is to cut about 5% of its global workforce, with its poorest-performing employees most likely to leave.In a memo to staff, the chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, said he had decided to “move out low-performers faster”, ahead of what he said would be an “intense year”, and would be accelerating the company’s usual performance management system.Meta employed 72,000 people globally at the end of September, according to its latest financial report, meaning tha ...

Amazon is to deploy nearly 150 electric heavy goods vehicles as well as piling packages on to trains and post-style trolleys in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of delivering goods in the UK.The tech company said it had bought more than 140 electric Mercedes-Benz heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and eight Volvo lorries – which it says is the UK’s biggest order of electric trucks – that can take loads of up to 40 tonnes.The vehicles will hit the road over the next 18 months, increasing the online retailer ...

Apple has asked shareholders to vote against a proposal to scrap its diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, as tech rivals scale back similar schemes before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.The National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative thinktank, wants the iPhone maker to end its DEI efforts because they expose companies to “litigation, reputational and financial risks”. The proposal will be voted on at Apple’s annual general meeting on 25 February.In a notice to shareholders, ...

Mark Zuckerberg craves one metric more than any other: engagement, the statistic that tracks how long social media users spend scrolling, clicking, commenting, and viewing ads. More engagement, more profit. The Meta CEO will do almost anything to keep users online for an extra two minutes – even, it seems, surrender his websites to a flood of fake news.On Tuesday, Zuckerberg announced that his company plans to fire its US factcheckers and weaken its ability to moderate disinformation on Facebook, Instagram, ...

Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end factchecking on Facebook and Instagram in the US already has factchecking journalists bracing for cuts at their at organizations, given the size of Meta’s funding.The social media giant has provided more than $100m for outside organizations certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to conduct factchecks on its social networks since 2016, which would result in posts receiving accuracy ratings and having their reach reduced if false. Major outlets like USA T ...

The decision by the social media giant Meta to end factchecking in the United States is “bad for democracy”, Brazil’s newly appointed communication minister, Sidonio Palmeira, said on Wednesday.Meta’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, stunned many with his announcement on Tuesday that he was pulling the plug on factchecking at Facebook and Instagram in the US, citing concerns about political bias.Palmeira said Meta’s decision was “bad for democracy because [without factchecking] you don’t control the spread ...

Lawsuit Allegations - PayPal is being sued by Nisha Desai, an Asian American businesswoman, for racial bias in restricting part of a $535 million investment program to Black and Hispanic applicants, costing her millions of dollars [1] - Desai claims PayPal told multiple other Asian American businesswomen they were ineligible for funding due to their Asian descent [3] - The lawsuit accuses PayPal of violating multiple civil rights laws, including section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [4] PayPal's Investment Program - PayPal announced a $535 million investment program in June 2020 to support Black and minority-owned businesses and address economic inequality [2] - The company invested $100 million in 19 venture capital firms led by Black and Hispanic people [2] Legal Context - The lawsuit follows a federal appeals court ruling in March that the advocacy group Do No Harm lacked standing to pursue a similar case against Pfizer [5] - Desai is represented by Consovoy McCarthy, a law firm that often advocates for conservative causes and previously represented Do No Harm [5]

Meta is deleting Facebook and Instagram profiles of AI characters the company created over a year ago after users rediscovered some of the profiles and engaged them in conversations, screenshots of which went viral.The company had first introduced these AI-powered profiles in September 2023 but killed off most of them by summer 2024. However, a few characters remained and garnered new interest after the Meta executive Connor Hayes told the Financial Times late last week that the company had plans to roll ou ...

Apple has agreed to pay $95m in cash to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit claiming that its voice-activated assistant Siri violated users’ privacy, listening to them without their consent.iPhone owners complained that Apple routinely recorded their private conversations after they activated Siri unintentionally, and disclosed these conversations to third parties such as advertisers. A preliminary settlement was filed on Tuesday night in the Oakland, California, federal court, and requires approval by U ...