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For most of its 27 years as a public company, Amazon investors have been asked to sacrifice profit for growth. In its first-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, Amazon's operating margin reached double digits for the first time on record. Operating income more than tripled in the quarter to $15.3 billion, while net income also jumped more than 200% to $10.4 billion. Almost two-thirds of operating income for all of Amazon came from AWS, which is now generating over $100 billion in annualized revenue. Operating income will be $10 billion to $14 billion, up from $7.7 billion a year earlier.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Andy, Andy Jassy's, Tom Forte, CNBC's, Brian Olsavsky, Olsavsky, That's, Jassy, he's Organizations: Amazon, Seattle, Maxim Group, Revenue, Amazon Web Services, AWS, Technology, Microsoft, Google Locations: Seattle

Snap shares surged 28% on Friday after the company surprised Wall Street by showing a profit and reported sales and user numbers that exceeded analysts' estimates. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 3 cents, while analysts were expecting a 5-cent loss. Snap said adjusted EBITDA "exceeded our expectations" and was primarily driven by operating expense discipline, as well as accelerating revenue growth. Snap reported more than 9 million Snapchat+ subscribers for the period. For the second quarter, Snap expects to report revenue between $1.23 billion and $1.26 billion, up from the $1.22 billion expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount.

Persons: Derek Andersen, Evan Spiegel Organizations: Barker, Revenue, Snapchat, Meta Locations: Santa Monica , California

☆ Bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor has made $370 million from MicroStrategy stock sales this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Michael Saylor, chairman and chief executive officer at MicroStrategy, during an interview at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami Beach, Florida, US, on Thursday, May 18, 2023. MicroStrategy founder and bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor entered into a stock-sale plan with his company last summer that allowed him to unload up to 400,000 shares in the first four months of 2024. With the plan more than 90% of the way to completion, Saylor has netted about $370 million from this year's stock sales, thanks to the stratospheric rise in value of MicroStrategy, which is effectively a bitcoin holding company. Saylor is the largest MicroStrategy shareholder, with Class B holdings worth about $2.3 billion. At the end of 2023, Saylor owned another 400,000 Class A shares due to an option he received in 2014.

Persons: Michael Saylor, Saylor, MicroStrategy, unexercised Organizations: CNBC Locations: Miami Beach , Florida

While occupying very different corners of the technology market, Reddit and Astera were the first notable venture-backed tech companies to go public in the U.S. since Instacart and Klaviyo in September. Morgan Stanley was the big winner among banks, having captured the coveted lead left spot on both IPOs. Goldman Sachs led last year's only two big venture-backed offerings, meaning it had been a long dry spell for Morgan Stanley. In the past two years, there have only been 15 tech IPOs total, according to research provided by University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter. That came after a booming market in 2021, when 121 tech companies went public, the most since the dot-com bubble in 2000.

Persons: hadn't, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Jay Ritter, Eric Juergens, Debevoise, Plimpton, Lynn Martin Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Inc, Astera Labs, University of Florida, Investment, . New York Stock Exchange, CNBC Locations: U.S, Klaviyo, IPOs, .

☆ MicroStrategy shares up 180% this year after debt sale to buy more bitcoin spurs latest rally
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Michael Saylor, chairman and CEO of MicroStrategy, speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami on April 7, 2022. Saylor told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday that bitcoin is going to "eat gold." "The price of bitcoin is going to have to adjust up in order to meet that investor demand," Saylor said. MicroStrategy said in the release that it "used the net proceeds from the sale of the notes to acquire additional bitcoin." As of Monday, Canaccord's analysis showed that MicroStrategy's equity value premium over its bitcoin holdings was 86%.

Persons: Michael Saylor, Saylor, CNBC's, bitcoin, MicroStrategy, Canaccord, MicroStategy Organizations: MicroStrategy, BTC, CNBC Locations: Miami, bitcoin

☆ Larry Ellison is $15 billion richer after Oracle's best day on stock market since 2021
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oracle founder Larry Ellison notched a $15 billion gain on Tuesday after shares of his software company had their best day in over two years and closed at a record. Oracle shares soared 12% to close at $127.54, after the software vendor reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations. "We are building large numbers of data centers and some of those data centers are smallish, but some of those data centers are the largest AI data centers in the world." Over the past year, Oracle shares have now spiked 52%, lifting Ellison's worth by about $50 billion. Unlike Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison has been hanging onto all his stock rather than selling off chunks.

Persons: Larry Ellison, Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, FactSet, hasn't, Bezos Organizations: Oracle Inc, Oracle, Forbes, Boeing Locations: Hamilton , Bermuda, United States

Michael Saylor, chairman and CEO of MicroStrategy, speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami on April 7, 2022. While the long-term safety of bitcoin may still be up for debate, Saylor's strategy has been a hugely lucrative one, particularly this week. Add it up and Saylor is about $700 million richer than he was on Sunday. Between Saylor's MicroStrategy control and his bitcoin, his holdings climbed to $2.96 billion in value on Wednesday from $2.27 billion at the start of the week. The company said on Monday that it acquired an additional 3,000 bitcoins for a total of $155 million between Feb. 15 and Feb. 25.

Persons: Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor, Saylor, MicroStrategy, Andrew Kang, bitcoin Organizations: MicroStrategy Locations: Miami, bitcoin

☆ Bitcoin firm MicroStrategy pops 27% in two days as company's crypto stake hits $11 billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In this article MSTR Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTMicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor speaks at the Bitcoin 2021 Convention, a crypto-currency conference held at the Mana Convention Center in Wynwood on June 04, 2021 in Miami, Florida. MicroStrategy, along with its subsidiaries, now owns about 193,000 bitcoins worth $11 billion. watch nowInvestors have been increasingly bullish on the bitcoin trade following the SEC's approval of multiple spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds last month. "Institutional capital is still getting up to speed with bitcoin ETFs. For example, MicroStrategy has the ability to acquire bitcoin using proceeds from debt and equity issuances, the firm said.

Persons: Michael Saylor, Joe Raedle, MicroStategy, Andrew King, bitcoin, Bitcoin, Ryan Rasmussen, —, MicroStrategy, Cowen, CNBC's Dylan Butts, Ari Levy Organizations: Mana Convention, Getty, Bitwise Asset Management, Research, Benchmark Locations: Wynwood, Miami , Florida, bitcoin, Bitcoin

☆ Lyft CEO takes blame for 'extra zero that slipped' into earnings release
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Lyft CEO David Risher took responsibility for the major error that appeared in the company's fourth-quarter earnings release late Tuesday, telling CNBC's "Squawk Box" that it's "super frustrating" for everyone on the team. It is an extra zero that slipped into a press release." Lyft reported $1.22 billion in revenue for the quarter, an increase of 4% from $1.175 billion a year earlier. In a note titled, "Lyft: We all make mistakes," analysts at MoffettNathanson raised their rating on the shares to neutral from sell. "Typos aside, we too are guilty of a mistake," the analysts wrote, citing their downgrade on the stock in October.

Persons: David Risher, CNBC's, Lyft, Erin Brewer, Risher, we've, Gross, MoffettNathanson, — CNBC's Ari Levy

☆ Cisco says it's cutting 5% of global workforce, amounting to over 4,000 jobs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Cisco announced plans to cut 5% of its workforce on Wednesday, a decision that will result in the elimination of about 4,250 jobs. Net income declined to $2.63 billion, or 65 cents per share, from $2.77 billion, or 67 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. With respect to guidance, Cisco called for 84 to 86 cents per share on $12.1 billion to $12.3 billion. For the full year, Cisco sees $3.68 to $3.74 in adjusted earnings per share and $51.5 billion to $52.5 billion in revenue. Cisco said it was increasing its dividend by a penny to 40 cents per share.

Persons: Chuck Robbins, LSEG, Robbins, it's, — CNBC's Ari Levy Organizations: Cisco, Microsoft, SAP, eBay, StreetAccount

☆ Lyft shares jump on earnings beat, guidance
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Lyft shares rose in extended trading on Tuesday after the ride-hailing company reported better-than-expected earnings and gave guidance that topped estimates. Revenue: $1.22 billion, vs. $1.22 billion expected by analysts, according to LSEG. Gross bookings for the first quarter will be $3.5 billion to $3.6 billion, topping analyst estimates of $3.46 billion, according to StreetAccount. Gross bookings for the year increased 14% to $13.8 billion, while bookings for the quarter rose 17% to $3.7 billion. Prior to Tuesday's report, Lyft shares were down 19% to start 2024.

Persons: Lyft, Gross, Uber, David Risher Organizations: Los Angeles International Airport, Revenue, Tuesday's Locations: Los Angeles, LSEG

☆ Tech's longtime highfliers are growing up by getting smaller
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

They're still out hunting for the best technical talent, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence, but headcount growth is measured. Last year, tech companies were responding to dramatically changing market conditions — soaring inflation, rising interest rates, rotation out of risk — after an extended bull market. Meta slashed over 20,000 jobs in 2023, Amazon laid off more than 27,000 people, And Alphabet cut over 12,000 positions. Other than Nvidia , which had a banner 2023 due to soaring demand for its AI chips, none of the other mega-cap tech companies have been growing at their historic averages. By late this year, analysts are projecting growth at Meta will be back down to the low teens at best.

Persons: Tayfun, There's, Daniel Flax, Neuberger Berman, CNBC's, Morgan Stanley, Brian Nowak, Brian Olsavsky, They're, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Olsavsky, Phil Spencer, Justin Sullivan, Okta, Zuora, Evan Sohn, Recruiter.com, " Sohn, Susan Li, Ben Barringer, Cheviot, Barringer, —, Annie Palmer Organizations: Anadolu Agency, Getty Images Technology, Amazon, Meta, hasn't, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, SAN FRANCISCO, Activision, FTC, Getty, Federal, Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, Tech, Nvidia, Finance, CNBC Locations: Menlo Park , California, Silicon Valley, CALIFORNIA, San Francisco , California

☆ Alphabet set to report fourth-quarter earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Alphabet is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday after the market closes. Revenue: $85.33 billion, according to LSEG. $85.33 billion, according to LSEG. $8.94 billion, according to StreetAccount. Between 2015 and the end of 2021, revenue growth reached at least 15% in all but three quarters.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Pichai, — CNBC's Jennifer Elias Organizations: Allen, Co . Media, Technology Conference, Google, Microsoft, Meta, YouTube, Amazon Web Services, KeyBanc, Markets, Tech, Apple Locations: Sun Valley , Idaho

That's Wall Street's reaction to quarterly results on Tuesday from Alphabet and Microsoft . Both companies reported revenue and earnings that exceeded estimates, yet the stocks sold off in extended trading. Alphabet on Tuesday reported 13% revenue growth, the fastest rate of expansion since early 2022. Revenue at Microsoft increased 18% to $62.02 billion, topping the $61.12 billion average analyst estimate. Both companies also beat expectations in their cloud businesses, with Google Cloud reporting 25% growth and Microsoft's larger Azure and other cloud services expanding by 30%.

Persons: Sundar Pichai Organizations: Americas, U.S . Chamber, Commerce, Microsoft, Apple, Google Locations: Los Angeles , California

Uber shares rose 5% in extended trading on Friday after the ride-hailing company was added to the S&P 500 Index, replacing Sealed Air Corp. A company's stock price often rises on news that it's joining the S&P 500 because fund managers who track the benchmark, which gets updated each quarter, have to acquire the shares. Uber shares debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019, but the company was burning cash as it had to pay drivers enough money to stay competitive in a low-margin business. Uber has a market cap of about $118 billion, while the median market cap of companies in the S&P 500 is just over $31 billion. WATCH: Uber into the S&P 500

Persons: Dara Khosrowshahi, it's, Nelson, Chai, Uber, Lloyd Walmsley, You've Organizations: Uber, Sealed Air Corp, Companies, New York Stock Exchange, UBS Locations: Davos, Switzerland

OpenAI's tender offer, which would allow employees to sell shares in the start-up to outside investors, remains on track despite the leadership tumult and board shuffle, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC. The round and previously reported valuation were jeopardized by Sam Altman's temporary ouster earlier in November, but his return cleared the way for the tender offer to proceed. The extension of the tender offer comes after a rollercoaster couple of weeks for the company. OpenAI's other major backers include Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital and, following the completion of the tender offer, Thrive Capital. Founders Fund will not participate in the tender offer either, a person familiar with the firm said.

Persons: Sam Altman, Josh Kushner's, Sam Altman's, Altman, Satya Nadella, Greg Brockman, OpenAI, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Adam D'Angelo, Nadella, — CNBC's Ari Levy, Jordan Novet, Elon Musk Organizations: Economic Cooperation, APEC, CNBC, Microsoft, Employees, Brockman's, Tiger Global, Fund, Sequoia Capital, Bloomberg Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California, OpenAI

Coinbase has the added benefit of having survived the so-called crypto winter, while so many of its rivals disappeared or downsized. Combination showing Former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (L) and Zhao Changpeng (R), founder and chief executive officer of Binance. With assets of more than $65 billion on the platform, Binance remains the world's largest crypto exchange globally. watch nowBoth Coinbase and Binance still face legal battles with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was noticeably absent from the Binance settlement. Regulatory approval would open up many more avenues for people to buy bitcoin.

Persons: Brian Armstrong, Carlos Jasso, Coinbase, Sam Bankman, FTX, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao Changpeng, Binance, Zhao, CoinGecko, Mizuho, it's, CNBC's Joumanna, Armstrong, Bittrex, JPMorgan Chase, Franklin Templeton Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Bloomberg, Getty, Tech, Reuters, Justice Department, CNBC, Mizuho, Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S, SEC, JPMorgan, WisdomTree Locations: U.S, Binance, Needham, BlackRock, WisdomTree

☆ Salesforce shares jump on better-than-expected earnings report
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Salesforce shares rose more than 8% in extended trading on Wednesday after the cloud software vendor reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that topped analysts' estimates. Here's how the company did:Earnings: $2.11 per share, adjusted, versus the $2.06 per share expected by LSEG$2.11 per share, adjusted, versus the $2.06 per share expected by LSEG Revenue: $8.72 billion versus the $8.72 billion expected by LSEGRevenue increased 11% from $7.84 billion a year ago. In its biggest unit, which provides customer support, Salesforce saw revenue jump 12% to $2.07 billion. Salesforce shares rose to $250 after the earnings report. WATCH: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff: When I talk to CEOs they are all Slack-first

Persons: Marc Benioff, Salesforce Organizations: Economic Cooperation, APEC, LSEG, LSEG Revenue, Nasdaq, Revenue Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California

Sam Altman will return as CEO of OpenAI, the startup said early Wednesday morning on X, formerly known as Twitter. The move follows immense pressure from employees and investors on the board that ousted him less than a week ago. Former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will join OpenAI's board, the Microsoft-backed startup said, with Taylor holding the chair position. Adam D'Angelo, co-founder and CEO of question-and-answer startup Quora, will remain on the board. That followed an announcement late Sunday that OpenAI had hired ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear as Altman's interim replacement.

Persons: Sam Altman, Salesforce, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Taylor, Adam D'Angelo, OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, Altman, Satya Nadella, Greg Brockman, Emmett Shear, Mira Murati, msft, Nadella, Sam, Greg, OAI Organizations: OpenAI, Twitter, Microsoft, Tiger, Sequoia Capital Locations: openai

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told CNBC's Jon Fortt on Monday that the governance structure of OpenAI needs to change, three days after the sudden firing CEO Sam Altman. Early Monday morning Nadella said that Altman, Brockman and their colleagues would join Microsoft as part of a new AI research group. That post followed news that ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear had been named OpenAI interim head as Altman looked to depart. Nadella told Fortt that Microsoft respects OpenAI's nonprofit roots and shares its belief that AI needs to be developed and rolled out in a safe manner. WATCH: A timeline of the drama between Sam Altman, OpenAI and Microsoft

Persons: Satya Nadella, CNBC's Jon Fortt, Sam Altman, Nadella, Altman, OpenAI, Greg Brockman, Brockman, Emmett Shear, Fortt Organizations: Microsoft, Tiger, Sequoia Capital

☆ Nvidia earnings will give Wall Street a peek into AI demand heading into 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Jensen Huang, president of Nvidia, holding the Grace hopper superchip CPU used for generative AI at the Supermicro keynote presentation during Computex 2023. When Nvidia reports fiscal third-quarter results Tuesday, analysts are expecting to see revenue growth of over 170%. Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, Wall Street will be closely scrutinizing the company that's been at the heart of this year's artificial intelligence boom. In particular, the emergence of AMD in the generative AI market presents a new dynamic for Nvidia, which has mostly had the AI graphics processing unit (GPU) market to itself. "NVDA needs to forcefully counter the narrative its products are too expensive for generative AI inference," the Bank of America analysts wrote.

Persons: Jensen Huang, that's, Lisa Su, Raymond James, OpenAI's, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Emmett Shear, Satya Nadella, Altman, Greg Brockman, Jensen, Eric Jackson Organizations: Nvidia, " Bank of America, AMD, Bank of America, FactSet, LSEG, Microsoft, Cailian Press Locations: China, OpenAI

☆ OpenAI is hiring former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to run company two days after ousting Sam Altman
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Emmett Shear, former CEO of Twitch, in a Bloomberg Television interview in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. OpenAI is bringing in former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to run the artificial intelligence company, two days after the sudden ouster of Sam Altman, CNBC has confirmed. Unlike most Silicon Valley startups, OpenAI wasn't structured like a typical corporation with large chunks of equity controlled by the founders. Shear stepped down as CEO of Twitch, the livestreaming service now owned by Amazon , in March. — CNBC's Ari Levy contributed to this reportWATCH: Madrona's Matt McIlwain talks Sam Altman's departure as OpenAI CEO

Persons: Emmett Shear, Twitch, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Shear, Altman, Mira Murati, didn't, Murati, — CNBC's Ari Levy, Matt McIlwain, Sam Altman's Organizations: Bloomberg Television, CNBC, Bloomberg, Microsoft, Tiger, Sequoia Capital, Amazon, OpenAI Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S

☆ Tech stocks wrap up strongest three-week rally since early days of Covid in April 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tech investors are marching towards Thanksgiving with plenty of holiday cheer. It's the strongest rally over that amount of time since April 2020, when early Covid stay-at-home requirements led to a surge in e-commerce and cloud software stocks. Intel was the biggest winner among large-cap tech stops this week, climbing 13%. Semiconductors will be the primary area of focus next week for tech investors, as Nvidia is scheduled to report results on Tuesday. WATCH: EMJ's Erick Jackson expects good earnings report from Nvidia

Persons: they're, Eric Jackson, Jackson, Dow Jones, Tesla, Elon Musk, Andrew Bates, EMJ's Erick Jackson Organizations: Nasdaq, Intel, Mizuho Securities, Nvidia, EMJ Capital, Federal, Index

☆ Salesforce appoints longtime executive Denise Dresser as Slack CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Longtime Salesforce executive Denise Dresser has been appointed CEO of Slack, Salesforce co-founder and chief executive Marc Benioff announced Monday. Dresser becomes the third CEO of the Salesforce unit since it was acquired by Salesforce in 2020. She has been a Salesforce executive for more than 12 years, according to her company biography and LinkedIn profile, most recently as president of accelerated industries. Dresser will take the top job at Slack after its most recent CEO, Lidiane Jones, accepted the chief executive role at dating app Bumble earlier this month. Most notably, Slack founder Stewart Butterfield and Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor departed in the span of two weeks in December 2022.

Persons: Technology Denise Holland Dresser, Casey Hurbis, Shilpa Sharma, Denise Dresser, Slack, Salesforce, Marc Benioff, Dresser, Lidiane Jones, Jones, Bumble, Whitney Wolfe, Benioff, Denise, Arthur Andersen, Stewart Butterfield, Bret Taylor, Butterfield, — CNBC's Ari Levy, Jordan Novet Organizations: Communications, Media, Technology, Rocket, Boston Consulting, Salesforce, CNBC, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Oracle, Big Locations: Beverly Hills , California, Salesforce

☆ WeWork, once valued at $47 billion, files for bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The WeWork logo is displayed outside of a shared commercial office space building in Los Angeles, California on August 8, 2023. The bankruptcy filing is limited to WeWork's locations in the U.S. and Canada, the company said in a press release. The company reported liabilities ranging from $10 billion to $50 billion, according to a bankruptcy filing. Valued in 2019 at $47 billion in a round led by Masayoshi Son's SoftBank, the company tried and failed to go public five years ago. The company leases millions of square feet of office space in 777 locations around the world, according to its regulatory filings.

Persons: WeWork, Patrick T, Fallon, PATRICK T, FALLON, David Tolley, Masayoshi Son's SoftBank, Adam Neumann, Neumann, Kirkland, Ellis, Cole Schotz, PJT, CNBC's Ari Levy Organizations: Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Getty, New York Stock Exchange, CNBC, PJT Partners, C Street Advisory Group, Alvarez, Marsal Locations: Los Angeles , California, AFP, New Jersey, U.S, Canada

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