Core Viewpoint - Microsoft is set to report its second-quarter earnings for fiscal year 2025, with expectations of $3.11 in earnings per share and revenue of $68.9 billion, reflecting significant growth compared to the previous year [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - Wall Street anticipates earnings per share of $3.11 and revenue of $68.9 billion for Microsoft, compared to $2.93 per share and $62 billion in revenue for the same period last year [1] - The company's shares are valued at a total of $3.28 trillion, having increased approximately 8% over the past 12 months [2] Group 2: AI Investment and Competition - Microsoft plans to invest $80 billion in AI this year, continuing its trend of significant capital investment in AI technologies [2] - The company aims to build AI-enabled datacenters to train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based applications globally [2] Group 3: Market Context and Challenges - The earnings report comes amid a sell-off in AI-exposed companies, triggered by DeepSeek's claims of achieving similar AI results at a lower cost, which impacted Nvidia's market capitalization by approximately $600 billion [3] - DeepSeek's cost-effective AI model raises concerns about the $5 trillion increase in market value of major tech companies over the past year, which has contributed to a 70% advance in the S&P 500 [4] Group 4: Intellectual Property Concerns - Microsoft and OpenAI are investigating potential unauthorized access to OpenAI's data by a group associated with DeepSeek [5] - There are allegations that DeepSeek may have stolen intellectual property from the U.S., with evidence suggesting they distilled knowledge from OpenAI's models [6] Group 5: Partnership Dynamics - Despite recent challenges, the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI appears strong, with both parties expressing optimism about future developments [7]

Tesla will report earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024 on Wednesday after US stock markets close, capping a bruising year for the company’s sales but a stellar one for its stock price.Wall Street analysts predict the company’s earnings-per-share will come in at $0.62 and revenue will be $27.22bn.Elon Musk’s electric carmaker has struggled in recent years to compete with cheaper alternatives to its electric vehicles from competitors such as China’s BYD, which overtook Tesla in the last quarter of 2023 to ...

Starbucks reassured Wall Street with a smaller-than-expected drop in comparable sales, an early sign that its efforts to revive sluggish demand could be bearing fruit.The world’s largest coffee chain, which earlier this month announced that people using its cafes cross North America need to buy something, is in the midst of a turnaround bid to win back customers.Brian Niccol, who joined the firm as chief executive in September, has said Starbucks needs to “fundamentally change” its strategy. Changes have in ...

Core Insights - Boeing reported an annual loss of $11.83 billion, the largest since 2020, due to challenges in its commercial and defense units and the impact of a strike by US west coast factory workers [1] - The company is facing increased competition from Airbus and scrutiny from regulators and customers following a series of operational missteps [1] - Boeing's shares rose 0.5% in pre-market trading despite the reported losses [1] Financial Performance - The company experienced a quarterly cash burn of $4.1 billion, which was slightly better than analysts' expectations of $4.26 billion [2] - In the fourth quarter, Boeing reported a loss of $3.86 billion, attributed to disappointing charges in fixed-price defense programs, with revenue falling 31% to $15.24 billion, missing expectations of $16.21 billion [3] - The quarterly adjusted loss per share was $5.90, significantly higher than the expected loss of $3 per share [4] - Cash burn for 2024 was reported at $14.3 billion, compared to a cash flow of $4.43 billion in 2023 [4] Operational Challenges - Boeing has incurred over $30 billion in losses since 2019, primarily due to two fatal crashes of the 737 Max, which raised production quality and safety concerns [5] - The defense, space & security business reported a loss of $5.41 billion in 2024, impacted by overruns on fixed-price programs [6] - The company is working on improving its supply chain and has returned to an output rate of five 787 jets per month by the end of 2024, despite facing delays in certain areas [6] Strategic Initiatives - CEO Kelly Ortberg emphasized a four-part plan to turn the business around, which includes a multi-year effort to address Boeing's corporate culture [4] - Ortberg stated that the company is now more proactive in identifying risks associated with its defense programs [3]

Donald Trump has suggested that Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok and that he would like to see a bidding war over the app.When asked if Microsoft was in talks to buy the app, the US president said “I would say yes”, adding “A lot of interest in TikTok. There’s great interest in TikTok.”Microsoft, TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for a comment outside regular business hours, after the US president’s comments to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday.The reported ...

Tesla has filed a complaint against the European Commission after the imposition of tariffs by the bloc on its Chinese-made electric vehicles.The EU announced its decision to impose tariffs on all imports of Chinese electric cars in June, alleging that the Chinese government had provided unfair state subsidies to manufacturers in order to win a dominant position in the emerging industry. EU leaders approved the tariffs in October.Records at the website of the European court of justice showed that Tesla (Sha ...

Core Viewpoint - The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has initiated investigations into the influence of Apple and Google’s mobile platforms on consumers and businesses, following criticism of the government's appointment of a former tech executive as the CMA chair [1][2]. Group 1: Investigation Details - The CMA will assess the impact of Apple and Google's mobile operating systems, app stores, and browsers on consumers and businesses, including app developers [2][3]. - The investigation aims to determine if Apple and Google should be classified as having "strategic market status" under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC), which would allow the CMA to impose conduct requirements [4][5]. - The CMA plans to complete its investigation by October 22, and it has already opened a separate investigation into Google’s search and advertising practices [5]. Group 2: Government and Regulatory Context - The investigation follows the government's denial of being influenced by big tech after appointing Doug Gurr, a former Amazon UK manager, as CMA chair [2][6]. - The business minister emphasized the importance of competition for investment and growth, asserting the CMA's operational independence [7]. Group 3: Industry Reactions - The GMB union criticized the appointment of Gurr, while Ethical Consumer expressed concerns about the implications of the hire [9]. - Google defended Android as a successful open-source mobile operating system, advocating for a balanced approach that does not hinder consumer choice or growth [9][10]. - Apple stated that its app store supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in the UK and expressed willingness to engage constructively with the CMA [10].

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 ...