Meta shares soared 12% in after-hours trading following a strong fourth quarter earnings report released the day after CEO Mark Zuckerberg took a beating in a contentious Congressional hearing.The company also announced it will pay a 50 cent-per-share dividend to investors for the first time, and has authorized a $50bn share buyback program.Overall, Meta reported fourth-quarter revenue of $40.1bn, beating the predicted $39.18bn and up 25% year-over-year. The report comes as Meta, like many of its big tech p ...

A former Boeing manager says he would “absolutely not” fly on one of its 737 Max planes as the aircraft maker faces heightened scrutiny after a cabin panel blowout.The company has been fighting to reassure regulators, airlines and passengers since a brand-new 737 Max 9 jet was forced into an emergency landing last month.The dramatic incident during an Alaska Airlines flight – which prompted 171 Max 9 jets to be grounded for several weeks – has sparked the biggest safety crisis for Boeing since the crashes o ...

A group of 25 California counties have sued Elon Musk’s Tesla, claiming the electric vehicle maker mishandled hazardous waste at its facilities across the state.The lawsuit from Los Angeles, Alameda, San Joaquin, San Francisco and other counties was filed on Tuesday in California state court. It seeks civil penalties and an injunction that would require the company to properly handle its waste in the future.Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The counties accused Tesla of violating st ...

Boeing faces a “serious challenge” to win back the confidence of regulators and airlines, its CEO has said, as the planemaker faces intense scrutiny after a cabin panel blowout.Dave Calhoun acknowledged the business has “much to prove” since a brand-new 737 Max 9 jet was forced into an emergency landing earlier this month.The dramatic incident during an Alaska Airlines flight – which prompted some 171 Max 9 jets to be grounded for several weeks – has sparked the biggest safety crisis for Boeing since the cr ...

A Delaware judge on Tuesday ruled in favor of the investors who challenged billionaire Elon Musk’s $56bn Tesla pay package as excessive, a court filing showed. The judge found that Musk’s compensation was inappropriately set by the electric-vehicle maker’s board and struck down the package. If the decision survives any potential appeal, the Tesla board will have to come up with a new compensation package for Musk.“Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware,” Musk responded on X, formerly Twitte ...

Microsoft beat analyst expectations Tuesday as its heavy bets on artificial intelligence bore fruit, particularly for its Azure cloud computing unit.The software giant reported revenue of $62bn, up 18% year-over-year, surpassing anticipated earnings of $61.1bn.CEO Satya Nadella said: “We’ve moved from talking about AI to applying AI at scale. By infusing AI across every layer of our tech stack, we’re winning new customers and helping drive new benefits and productivity gains across every sector.”Microsoft C ...

Paypal is planning to cut about 2,500 jobs, or 9% of its global workforce, this year, according to its CEO, Alex Chriss.In a letter to staff sent on Tuesday, the newly appointed CEO said the decision was made to “right-size” the company through both direct cuts and the elimination of open roles throughout the year. The staff that will be affected are expected to be notified by the end of the week.“We are doing this to right-size our business, allowing us to move with the speed needed to deliver for our cust ...

GM’s Cruise self-driving car unit on Thursday revealed US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission probes stemming from an October collision in which one of its autonomous vehicles dragged a pedestrian who had been struck by another vehicle.Cruise reported the government investigations in a blog post in which the company also vowed to reform its culture stemming from a “failure of leadership” around the incident. The blog post did not disclose the status of the victim, who was dragged 20 ...

The United States trade regulator launched an inquiry on Thursday into generative artificial intelligence investments and partnerships.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in a statement that it issued orders to five companies requiring them to provide information on the matter. The companies were Google’s parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft, and ChatGPT maker OpenAI, the agency’s statement said. The inquiry will focus on what authority and rights the tech giants’ investments in the fle ...

The chief executive of Boeing insisted on Wednesday that the planemaker only allows jets to fly when “100%” confident of their safety, as it faces intense scrutiny – and anger – following a cabin panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight.Boeing fully understands “the gravity of the situation”, Dave Calhoun said in Washington, as he prepared to meet a string of US senators.His company has been trying to reassure airlines, regulators and passengers after a cabin panel blew off a brand-new 737 Max 9 jet durin ...