Technology

Everyone is trying to steal Amazon’s cloud thunder

3 Aug 2023

Growth at the $1.3 trln company’s AWS cash engine leaped a low bar, beating expectations but lagging peers. With rivals increasingly leaning on cloud and AI hype, boss Andy Jassy’s task of keeping enough share to buoy improving but less-profitable operations gets ever tougher.

Hey Siri: Screen iPhone calls on Apple’s valuation

3 Aug 2023

The handset that anchors the $3 trln company is due an update soon. Loyal fans will buy it, but most customers are upgrading more slowly. The trend makes it hard to justify paying twice the multiple of earnings as five years ago, despite the record quarterly services revenue.

PayPal pays price for prolonged CEO hunt

3 Aug 2023

Despite 7% quarterly revenue growth under retiring boss Dan Schulman, the company’s adjusted operating margin fell short of its 22% projection. Bad small-business loans also contributed to another 11% drop in the share price. Vital strategic plans are in a costly holding pattern.

Superconductivity is wild card for stock market

2 Aug 2023

The possible discovery of material that efficiently carries electricity is a fresh disruption for investors grappling with artificial intelligence. They must decide if it’s real, if it’s viable; how it affects existing markets; if it creates new ones; and when change will happen.

France wins more than Kretinsky in Atos breakup

1 Aug 2023

Billionaire Daniel Kretinsky will buy the IT group’s older assets for 2 bln euros including debt. Paris will be pleased that the other, sexier cybersecurity division stays French. Meanwhile the Czech tycoon gets the ailing unit with little relevance to his other recent purchases.

Big Tech super-regulator would be a super-dud

27 Jul 2023

Two big-name senators – a Democrat and a Republican – want a new agency to police tech firms. The highly polarizing consumer watchdog shows why that's a bad idea. A better one: pass laws to update regulators that exist already. Big Tech remains Congress’s responsibility to shirk.

For Meta, what’s old is finally new again

26 Jul 2023

Facebook’s owner is rebounding from the ad slump, evidenced by an 11% quarterly revenue jump. It’s a good sign for boss Mark Zuckerberg as he tries to boost the business with AI. Virtual reality will be a money pit, but at least some investment is paying faster dividends.

Snap’s boss destroys $43 bln in a snap

26 Jul 2023

Despite a bad quarter, revenue has grown faster than rival Meta's since the messaging-app’s 2017 IPO. If boss Evan Spiegel had met minimum return expectations, shares would be worth 4 times more. Now is the time to rethink Snap’s future. Too bad shareholders have no control.

Alphabet pins growth hopes to a cloud

25 Jul 2023

The $1.5 trln Google parent’s results beat expectations, led by gangbusters expansion at its cloud business. Though still in third place to Amazon and Microsoft, investing in that unit could be a way to offset risks looming over the company’s core advertising operation.

Microsoft’s AI hype arrives faster than revenue

25 Jul 2023

The tech giant’s stock is up nearly 50% this year, as investors slap a higher, artificial intelligence-inspired multiple on earnings. But quarterly results show AI only just starting to edge up cloud revenue. Boosters are taking the easy path of penciling in extraordinary growth.

Verizon’s frequency ducks rivals’ interference

25 Jul 2023

The $144 bln telecom giant unexpectedly added a lucrative set of subscribers this quarter. Focus on areas less pressured by rising cable rivals shines through fierce competitive intensity. That makes its coveted dividend safer than competitor AT&T's.

Capital Calls: Biotech alarm, Spotify’s tightrope

25 Jul 2023

Concise views on global finance: Pharma supplier Danaher’s reduced forecast contrasts biotech doldrums against broader market exuberance, in a warning sign for investors; the Swedish music streamer is caught between margin-hungry investors and music labels.

Capital Calls: European steel

21 Jul 2023

Concise views on global finance: Sweden’s $6 bln group SSAB misses profit forecasts as Europe’s demand tanks and steel prices shrink.

Amazon-EU web content spat is all about grey areas

20 Jul 2023

The $1.4 trln e-commerce giant is fighting Brussels’ decision to class it as a large online platform and hence face extra scrutiny. Given its size, Amazon’s challenge at first looks like a long shot. Yet the legislation’s vague language creates scope for disputes.

AT&T is another corporate elder aging ungracefully

19 Jul 2023

The telecom’s stock hit 30-year lows over liability fears from decades-old lead-lined cables. As with J&J now or oil giants tomorrow, over-the-hill corporate titans have the time to accumulate opaque environmental and legal liabilities that are often ignored, until they can’t be.

Capital Calls: Cathay, Telecoms kit makers, Byju’s

14 Jul 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Hong Kong carrier expects to turn a profit; a push into 5G has caught European telecoms gear makers like Nokia and Ericsson short; India’s troubled ed-tech giant appoints a top former banker to a newly formed advisory council.

Winklevoss twins take strike two with crypto hype

11 Jul 2023

The founding brothers of crypto investment firm Gemini are suing the parent of bankrupt crypto lender Genesis over a soured deal that led to almost $1 bln in losses. The twins, known for their spat with Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, are a bellwether of another messy tech hype cycle.

Capital Calls: Uber’s new task

11 Jul 2023

Concise views on global finance: Under boss Dara Khosrowshahi, the company’s departing finance chief helped deliver Uber’s original vision of dominating ride-hailing. His replacement can finish the job by dialing back spending and opening a spigot of cash flow.

3D-printing takeover battle misses third dimension

10 Jul 2023

Nano Dimension raised its unsolicited bid to buy control of $1.3 bln Stratasys, making the choice for shareholders tougher. The target’s preferred deal with Desktop Metal partly hinges on elusive revenue synergies. A snubbed offer from 3D Systems may ultimately be the best option.

Higher rates encourage more picking at carcasses

10 Jul 2023

SVB Financial is suing regulators to recoup $1.9 bln in cash. The sum would generate $100 mln in interest, four times what it would have earned a year ago. Without that, SVB may need pricier rescue funds. Higher rates make cash worth a fight, especially at failed companies.