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☆ Amazon cloud revenue rise 12%, topping analysts' estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon said Thursday that revenue from its cloud unit increased 12% year over year in the second quarter, a speedier pace than analysts had predicted. Revenue for the quarter came to $22.1 billion, beating the $21.79 billon consensus among analysts surveyed by StreetAccount. AWS operating income has now declined for three consecutive quarters. Google and Microsoft are also moving quickly to make money as companies look to take advantage of generative AI following the rise of startup OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot. AWS CEO Adam Selipsky told CNBC in June that the generative AI "race" has just started.

Persons: Gartner, Adam Selipsky Organizations: Amazon, Revenue, StreetAccount, StreetAccount . Revenue, Amazon Web Services, AWS, Microsoft, Center, Google, OpenAI Service, CNBC Locations: StreetAccount .

☆ Amazon's knock-out quarter delivers on what Wall Street wanted, and we changed our price target
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Wall Street was happy to see stabilizing growth at the company's cloud unit Amazon Web Services and an uptick in operating margins. With Amazon turning a corner on profitability and AWS revenue growth stable, we think the stock still has more room to run. There's been plenty of debate surrounding AWS lately, with analysts and investors questioning whether revenue growth would decelerate to the high single digits. In North America, second-quarter operating margins improved to 3.9%, compared with 1.2% in the first quarter and a loss of 0.8%) a year ago. Third quarter outlook Amazon followed up the strong second quarter with a very bullish view of the third.

Persons: There's, Andy Jassy, Amazon, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Sheldon Cooper Organizations: Club, Web Services, Revenue, Refinitiv, Rivian Automotive, Amazon Web Services, North, CNBC, Lightrocket, Getty Locations: North America

☆ Morning Bid: Time for tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The American flag flies over the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2023. U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar are clinging to nine-month peaks, while the VIX is headed for its biggest week-on-week gain since March. This will shift investors' focus to the use of artificial intelligence to augment Apple's growth. Policy makers are attempting a balancing act; trying to fight inflation without fanning recession risk. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Jim Bourg, Karin Strohecker, BoE, Thomas Barkin, Christina Fincher Organizations: U.S . Treasury, REUTERS, Apple, U.S, Treasury, Nasdaq, Services, Bank of England, Moderna, Hasbro, Labor Department, Commerce Department, PMI, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Europe

☆ 'The stabilization could be ephemeral,' Cramer warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. Stocks mixed Wait for Dreamforce Watch Amazon 1. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Stocks, it's, Dreamforce, Salesforce, Jim, he'll, Jim Cramer's Organizations: CNBC, Qualcomm, PayPal, Nasdaq, Club, Nvidia, Devices, Amazon Web Services, AMD

☆ Amazon CEO Jassy's cost cuts deliver investors biggest profit beat since 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon delighted investors on Thursday, posting earnings of 65 cents a share, blowing past estimates of 35 cents a share. In Jassy's prepared remarks at the start of Thursday's earnings call, cost cuts were one of his central themes. The broad-based changes under Jassy have left the company less dependent on its cloud business, Amazon Web Services, for profits. In the second quarter, Amazon was able to expand its overall margin while AWS's profit margin declined to 24.2% from 29% a year earlier. But at only 12% year-over-year growth, the cloud business is seeing its slowest expansion since Amazon began breaking out its revenue in 2015.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos, he's, Bezos, Jassy, Jassy's, Amazon Organizations: New York Times, Amazon, North America, Amazon Web, AWS Locations: New York City, riskier, North, America

☆ Amazon is planning to invest $7.2 billion in Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAmazon is planning to invest $7.2 billion in IsraelThe tech giant has also launched its Amazon Web Services data centers in the country. CNBC's Dan Murphy reports.

Persons: CNBC's Dan Murphy Locations: Israel

☆ Amazon to invest $7.2 bln in Israel, launches AWS cloud region
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) said on Tuesday it is planning to invest about $7.2 billion through 2037 in Israel, and launched its Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the country. Amazon's cloud services in the region will allow the country's government to run applications and store data in data centers located in Israel. AWS is Amazon's cloud computing platform, used by companies such as Netflix (NFLX.O), General Electric (GE.N) and Sony (6758.T), enabling storage, networking and remote security. With the expansion, AWS will be available in 32 geographic regions, the company said, adding that its investment in Israel will contribute about $13.9 billion to Israel's gross domestic product. Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yali Rothenberg, Zaheer Kachwala, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Web Services, Netflix, General Electric, Sony, Thomson Locations: Israel, Bengaluru

☆ Billionaire investor Loeb cuts bearish bets to avoid short squeezes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Nell Mackenzie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SALT brings together public policy officials, capital allocators, and hedge fund managers to discuss financial markets. REUTERS/Steve MarcusLONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb has reduced the size of short bets on single named companies to limit the vulnerability of his hedge fund, Third Point, to short squeezes, he said in a letter on Tuesday. "The short-selling environment is much more challenging than it has been historically," said Loeb in the letter. Almost half of Loeb's net long exposure includes companies that will benefit from developments in artificial intelligence, the letter said. Elsewhere at Third Point, Loeb's corporate credit team returned a net 8.7% for the quarter after market instability in the March banking crisis created opportunities for the fund, Loeb said.

Persons: Daniel S, Loeb, Steve Marcus LONDON, Daniel Loeb, Ferguson, Nell Mackenzie, Amanda Cooper Organizations: Third, REUTERS, Pacific Gas and, Microsoft, HK, Offshore Fund, Web Services, Google, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, allocators

☆ Tech investor Paul Meeks says Apple is getting 'really expensive' and needs to 'get aggressive' on A.I.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple will need to "get aggressive" communicating its artificial intelligence strategy to justify its valuation, tech investor Paul Meeks said. "At some point, they're going to have to join the rest of the FAANGs and be much more aggressive about articulating their AI strategy." During May's Apple earnings call CEO Tim Cook mentioned AI just twice, in part because the company generates the bulk of its sales from iPhones. "I think what they'll do is they'll talk about the efficiencies internally that AI brings," Meeks said. If they don't do it soon, they'll have an upcoming analyst meeting and I bet that will be a focus."

Persons: Paul Meeks, Meeks, CNBC's, Tim Cook, Kif Leswing Organizations: Apple, Independent Solutions Wealth Management, Microsoft, CNBC, iPhones, Web Services

Amazon previously said it is seeing a decrease in growth in AWS as business clients reallocated their spending to reduce costs. Investors are also looking to see how Amazon's advertising business intersects with more language models and generative AI. The company's advertising business was seeing "robust growth" due to its machine learning investment, Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in the first-quarter earnings call. Net sales of Amazon's advertising business in the first quarter were $9.51 billion. Amazon's first-quarter operating income was $4.77 billion a 74.4%% increase from $2.74 billion in the fourth-quarter and a 30.1% increase from last year.

Persons: Tom Forte, Forte, Brian Olsavsky, Andy Jassy, Arun Sundaram, China's Temu, Sundaram, Amazon's, Arriana McLymore, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Investors, Web Services, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Davidson Companies, YouTube, Thomson Locations: NY, Refinitiv, Singapore, United States, New York City

☆ Earnings playbook: How to trade some of the biggest reports this week, including Apple
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

This quarter: Analysts polled by FactSet expect Merck to post a loss for the first quarter. Starbucks is set to report earnings after the bell, with management slated to hold a call at 5 p.m. This quarter: Analysts polled by FactSet expect double-digit earnings growth quarter over quarter. What history shows: Bespoke data shows Amazon earnings exceed earnings expectations 62% of the time. Apple is set to report earnings after the close, followed by a call at 5 p.m.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Annika Kim Constantino, Merck, Merck's, Joe Biden's, SBUX, Bank of America's Sara Senatore, Senatore, Albert Bourla, —, They're, AMZN, FactSet, Annie Palmer, Morgan Stanley, Erik Woodring, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Netflix, Merck, Apple, FactSet, CNBC, Prometheus Biosciences, Investment, Bank of America's, Pfizer, Management, Amazon Web Services, IDC Locations: China, 2Q23, New York, Carolina, Friday's

☆ Meta's Llama 2 AI model is about to get a whole lot of use from Chinese companies, thanks to Alibaba
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Chinese businesses are about to get their hands on Meta's Llama 2 AI model. The free AI model will enter China at a time when US-China tensions over AI are rising. Meta's Llama 2 has a major new backer that is about to make its new and improved AI model available to a whole lot of Chinese companies: Alibaba. It's a move that is set to give Chinese businesses first-hand access to Meta's free AI model, Reuters reported. "Today, Alibaba Cloud has launched the first training and deployment solution for the entire Llama 2 series in China, welcoming all developers to create customized large models on Alibaba Cloud," Alibaba Cloud said in a statement on super app WeChat.

Persons: Meta, Marc Andreessen, Alibaba Organizations: Meta's, Reuters, China, Morning, Meta, Microsoft, Web Services, Silicon Locations: China, Silicon Valley, Washington, Beijing

☆ Meta, Microsoft and Amazon team up on maps project to crack Apple-Google duopoly
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Overture is aiming to establish a baseline for maps data so that companies can use it to build and operate their own maps. For many companies, Google 's and Apple 's maps aren't ideal, because they don't provide access to the underlying data. For example, app makers pay per thousand Google Maps lookups through an application programming interface (API). Apple allows access to Apple Maps for free for native app developers, but web app developers need to pay. Overture is only offering the underlying map data, leaving it up to companies to build their own software on top of it.

Persons: Marc Prioleau, Prioleau Organizations: Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, CNBC

☆ Alphabet shares jump on beat and strong cloud growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer at Google LLC, speaks during the Google Cloud Next '19 event in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. Shares of Alphabet rose nearly 5.5% at the start of trading Wednesday, driven by stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and marked year-over-year growth in cloud computing revenue. But it was strong growth in cloud computing that stood out the most, with the company reporting $8.03 billion in Google Cloud sales, compared to a StreetAccount consensus of $7.87 billion. Google Cloud competes with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. The company also announced Wednesday that chief financial officer Ruth Porat would assume a newly created president and chief investment officer position.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Goldman Sachs, Eric Sheridan, Ruth Porat, Porat, — CNBC's Jennifer Elias Organizations: Google LLC, Google, Revenue, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Wall Street Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S

☆ AWS announces generative A.I. tool to save doctors time on paperwork
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Attendees walk through an expo hall during Amazon Web Services' Reinvent conference at the Venetian in Las Vegas on Nov. 29, 2022. Amazon Web Services on Wednesday announced a new service for health care software providers called AWS HealthScribe, which uses generative artificial intelligence and speech recognition to automatically draft clinical documentation. The service aims to save health care workers time using AI-generated transcripts and summaries of patient visits, which can then be entered into the electronic health record system. As a result, several companies like Microsoft's Nuance Communications, and now, AWS, have been working to build solutions to reduce this administrative burden. "It is clear that generative AI has the power to transform the health care and life sciences industry in many ways," Swami Sivasubramanian, AWS' vice president of database, analytics and machine learning services said at during a keynote speech at AWS Summit New York Wednesday.

Persons: Swami Organizations: Web Services, Amazon, Services, Wednesday, American Medical Association, Summit, York Locations: Las Vegas

☆ Don’t buy this major ‘myth’ about job-hopping, says career coach: ‘It is an archaic belief’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

But career coach Sarah Doody says the one-year mark is arbitrary. Here are their tips on how to execute a successful job-hop:Make a 'career values criteria list'Most people have a sense of what they want in a job. Doody wants you to write it down in what she calls a "career values criteria list." When constructing this list, Doody urges job seekers to include items beyond just salary, benefits and other "life-sustaining criteria." If you end up in the latter situation, Doody says it's not too late for a job criteria list to be helpful.

Persons: Sarah Doody, it's, Doody, Nancy Wang, That's, Wang, they've Organizations: Amazon Web Services

☆ Microsoft set to report earnings after the close
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft will report results for its fiscal fourth quarter after market close on Tuesday. Based on analysts' projections, Microsoft will close fiscal 2023 with revenue growth below 10% for the first time since 2017. Microsoft doesn't report Azure revenue in dollars. During the quarter, Microsoft built on its broad alliance with OpenAI to capitalize on fresh interest in artificial intelligence, following the November launch of the startup's ChatGPT chatbot. Activision shares have climbed past $92.50, close to the $95 that Microsoft agreed to pay, reflecting optimism that the deal is on track to close.

Persons: Satya Nadella, OpenAI, they'll, Bing, Griffin Organizations: White, Microsoft, CNBC, StreetAccount, Amazon Web Services, Google, Activision Blizzard, Federal, Activision, Data, LinkedIn Locations: Washington, Refinitiv, ChatGPT

☆ Google points to many ways it can win in A.I. even as online ad market shows cracks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Google's revenue rose 7% to $74.6 billion from $69.7 billion in the year-earlier period, topping analysts' estimates. Google's ad revenue only increased 3.3% from a year earlier, but that's an improvement from the first quarter, when ad revenue fell. Search revenue, which makes up the majority of Google's ad business, also saw steady growth. AI companies are flocking to Google's cloud technology so they can run the compute-heavy projects that are only available in a few places. Google's cloud business, which turned profitable in the first quarter, saw revenue increase 28% in the second quarter to $8 billion, topping analysts' estimates.

Persons: Snap's, Michael Nathanson, Moffett Nathanson, Bing, Sundar Pichai, Pichai, we'd, Dan Ives Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services Locations: OpenAI

☆ Citi stays positive on A.I. theme and lays out the key to finding winning stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"In sum, our message is not to be overly deterred by the significant year-to-date move in profitable AI stocks," the bank said in a Friday note to clients. Citi expects many names to meet accelerated growth expectations and views free cash flows as "increasingly compelling." Given this setup, Citi screened for AI-related stocks expected to outpace market growth expectations and experience an uptick in free cash flow margins. Consensus estimates peg long-term growth at more than 17%, with a near-term free cash flow margin of nearly 24%. Mastercard offers the greatest near-term free cash flow yield of the group, at 48.4%.

Persons: Andy Jassy soothed, Bard, ServiceNow, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Citigroup, Nvidia, Citi, CNBC, Amazon, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Mastercard, Ford

☆ White House secures voluntary pledges from Microsoft, Google to ensure A.I. tools are secure
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden speaks as he meets with AI experts and researchers at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, June 20, 2023. The seven companies each agreed Friday to a set of voluntary commitments in developing AI technology. Top tech companies and investors are pumping billions of dollars into the large language models behind so-called generative AI. The latest commitments are part of an effort by President Biden to ensure AI is developed with appropriate safeguards, while not hindering innovation. Vice President Kamala Harris previously hosted AI CEOs and labor and civil liberties experts to weigh in on the challenges that come with AI.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Adam Selipsky, Dario Amodei, Kent Walker, Mustafa Suleyman, Nick Clegg, Brad Smith, Greg Brockman, it's, Kamala Harris Organizations: Google, Microsoft, White, Web, CNBC, YouTube Locations: San Francisco, coders, India

☆ Inside the Morgan Stanley team on the hunt for more partners like OpenAI that can grow into crucial tech buildouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Morgan Stanley wants more partnerships with tech vendors focused on cloud, data, and AI. Two years before OpenAI ballooned into the artificial intelligence juggernaut it is today, Sean Manahan's team at Morgan Stanley met with what was then an up-and-coming research nonprofit. For its part, Morgan Stanley is capitalizing on its ties with OpenAI to supercharge the bank's lucrative wealth-management business. Morgan Stanley's tech strategy is about 80% buy to 20% building tech inhouse and the pipeline of tech vendors has exploded. Morgan Stanley, like every other finance firm on the Street, has also moved to the cloud.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Sean Manahan, OpenAI, Sean Manahan's, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Manahan, he's, Morgan Stanley's, it's, fintechs, They're, VCs, Morgan Organizations: Stanford, Microsoft, Investors, Amazon Web Services, Google, Apple

☆ Amazon to launch pay-by-palm technology at all Whole Foods stores by year-end
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon is bringing its palm-scanning payment system to a Whole Foods store in Seattle, the first of many planned future locations to roll out the technology. Amazon will let shoppers pay with their palms at all Whole Foods stores by the end of the year, the company announced Thursday. Amazon One is a biometric technology that lets users enter and pay for items at stores by placing a palm over a scanning device. The company first introduced the technology in its Go cashierless stores, but later began adding it to Whole Foods supermarkets. Amazon said Thursday it's seeing "growing demand" for the technology, with it recording 3 million uses of Amazon One.

Persons: Amazon Organizations: Foods, Amazon, Services, Coors Field Locations: Seattle, Denver

☆ Amazon will let you pay with a wave of your hand at all Whole Foods stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN —Amazon will let customers at all of its Whole Foods stores pay with a simple wave of their hand. The company announced Thursday that it is bringing its Amazon One palm recognition system to all of its more than 500 Whole Foods stores by the end of the year. Amazon rolled out the technology in 2020, and it’s currently available at more than 200 Whole Foods stores. Whole Foods customers who choose to use Amazon One will no longer need their wallet or a phone to pay — they can simply hover their palm over an Amazon One device. Amazon says customer palm data is safeguarded in its Amazon Web Services cloud and it does not share palm data with third parties.

Organizations: New, New York CNN, Foods, Coors, Amazon, Services Locations: New York, Hudson, Colorado

☆ Amazon is reorganizing some cloud-computing services, like EC2 and Lambda, into a new team, leaked email shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon Web Services created an "AWS Compute Services" team, an email viewed by Insider shows. It combined services such as EC2 and serverless products like Lambda into a single organization. Amazon Web Services created a new "AWS Compute Services" team, according to an internal email viewed by Insider, combining services such as its Elastic Compute Cloud and container and serverless products including Lambda into a single organization. Deepak Singh, the vice president who previously ran AWS containers and serverless products, is leading the new AI organization. Barry Cooks, the vice president who runs the Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service, now reports to Brown.

Persons: Deepak Singh, David Brown, EC2, Holly Mesrobian, Brown, Nick Coult, Ajay Nair, Spencer Dillard, Ahmed Usman Khalid, Barry Cooks, Jody Gibney, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Amazon Web Services, Insider, Lambda, AWS, Web Services, Compute Services, Service, Registry

☆ Microsoft goes beyond OpenAI, makes Meta's new A.I. model available to Azure customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

But Microsoft is making clear that it's not strictly an OpenAI shop when it comes to generative AI. On Tuesday at its Inspire conference, the company said it's making Meta's new AI large language model, dubbed Llama 2, available on its Azure cloud computing service. Meta said in a blog post that Microsoft is its "preferred partner" for its Llama 2 software, which is available for free for companies and researchers. "Meta and Microsoft share a commitment to democratizing AI and its benefits and we are excited that Meta is taking an open approach with Llama 2," Microsoft said. Llama 2 will also be available through Amazon Web Services and Hugging Face, a popular service used by AI researchers.

Persons: Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Reid Hoffman Organizations: Microsoft, Inspire, Companies, Meta, Amazon Web Services, OpenAI Locations: OpenAI

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