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☆ Peace, love, and Hitler: How Lex Fridman's podcast became a safe space for the anti-woke tech elite
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

Seemingly overnight, episodes of Fridman's podcast began racking up millions of views. YouTube/Lex FridmanIn his podcast, Fridman asks world-renowned scientists, historians, artists, and engineers a series of wide-eyed questions ("Who is God? But recently, "The Lex Fridman Podcast" has become a haven for a growing — and powerful — sector looking to dismantle years of "wokeness" and cancel culture. Twitter"The Lex Fridman Podcast" offered a rare opportunity to listen to four-hour conversations with luminaries of tech and science. Bhaskar Sunkara, the founder and publisher of the socialist magazine Jacobin who appeared on Fridman's podcast in December, praised Fridman's interviewing style.

[1/2] A screen displays the logo and trading information for GameStop on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidMarch 21 (Reuters) - GameStop Corp (GME.N) on Tuesday posted a surprise profit for the fourth quarter, its first since early 2021, as lower costs and job cuts padded the videogame retailer's bottom line, sending its shares nearly 50% higher in extended trading. The retailer posted an adjusted profit of 16 cents per share, compared with Wall Street expectations for a loss of 13 cents. The so-called "meme stock", which is the top trending ticker on retail trader forum Stocktwits, has declined 4% this year. Net profit for the quarter ended Jan. 29 was $48.2 million, compared with a loss of $147.50 million a year earlier.

☆ From Disney and Netflix to Warner Bros. Discovery, which entertainment giants would be the winners and losers of a Hollywood writers strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A possible Hollywood writers strike is looming at a risky time for the entertainment business. A Hollywood writers strike is looming at a precarious time for the media and entertainment industry. During that 100-day stoppage, more than 60 TV shows shut down and ratings and ad sales dropped. The landscape of entertainment options is "much more competitive than it was during the last writers strike," media consultant Peter Csathy told insider. Paramount also has an extensive live sports offering, which should offer some insulation if writers go on strike.

☆ How the end of Netflix password sharing will change the way families watch, especially the ones with college-age children
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Back in 2014, allowing people to share passwords was a "terrific marketing vehicle for the next generation of viewers," Plepler once told BuzzFeed. And yes, it looks like the crackdown may include families who share passwords with kids who are away at college. Even two analysts who follow Netflix acknowledged that their college-aged children are piggybacking on the family Netflix account for now. The company's terms of use require people to live at the same location to share a password. The company's terms of use already require customers to agree to Netflix tracking this information in order to deliver the service.

Amazon has long viewed grocery as a key to unlock more consumer spending. Despite Amazon's large business from packaged food and other goods, it has yet to win significant market share in perishables, Jassy said. Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said Amazon has itself to blame, having drawn consumers to online shopping decades ago. "They are flushing money down a toilet pursuing Amazon Fresh stores" and thinking "they can brand a new concept and capture share from retailers who have been successful for decades." The company has a few dozen Amazon Fresh stores so far, Jassy said.

☆ Your earnings investing playbook for the big Apple, Amazon and Alphabet results after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Thursday is a massive day for tech investors, as Amazon , Apple and Google-parent Alphabet are all set to report fourth-quarter earnings after the market close. Here are some key stats about Amazon's earnings report: Over the past three months, earnings estimates have fallen from nearly 22 cents per share to about 17, according to FactSet. Here are some key stats about Apple's earnings report: Over the past three months, earnings estimates have dropped from about $2 per share to roughly $1.94, according to FactSet. Alphabet Alphabet's earnings report could provide investors a clear window into the tech industry more broadly, given the company's reliance on search advertising and cloud computing. Here are some key stats about Alphabet's earnings report: Over the past three months, earnings estimates have declined by about 2 cents per share to roughly $1.18, according to FactSet.

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc (EA.O) lowered its annual bookings forecast on Tuesday, as the videogame publisher delayed the release of a title based on the "Star Wars" franchise and consumers dialed back spending in a sagging economy. EA on Tuesday pushed out the launch of "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor" by six weeks to April 28, which would fall into its next fiscal year. The game is a sequel to its 2019 "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" title that has drawn over 20 million players. It had forecast $7.65 billion to $7.85 billion previously. "Weak, but not a disaster," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said of the results, adding the "Star Wars" title delay led to a "huge shift of earnings" into next year.

☆ Quantifying Netflix's ad-tier subscription base with Ankler's Sean McNulty and Wedbush's Michael Pachter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | 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 EmailQuantifying Netflix's ad-tier subscription base with Ankler's Sean McNulty and Wedbush's Michael PachterSean McNulty, The Ankler correspondent, and Michael Pachter, Wedbush Securities, join 'Power Lunch' to talk Netflix earnings, ad-tier streaming profits, and subscription growth projections.

☆ Amazon halts charity program
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | 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 halts charity programCNBC's Annie Palmer and Wedbush's Michael Pachter join 'Power Lunch' to discuss why Amazon has decided to end its charity program, the effectiveness of the program and what the decision indicates about the health of Amazon's business.

☆ Ubisoft cancels three games and slashes targets, citing 'worsening macroeconomic conditions'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tencent has increased its stake in French games maker Ubisoft, the company behind popular franchises like Assassin's Creed. Ubisoft canceled three unannounced games and slashed its full-year financial targets Wednesday, blaming "worsening macroeconomic conditions" that have plagued the video game industry. The French game publisher said it expects 2022 net bookings to come in at 725 million euros ($779.4 million), lower than an earlier target of 830 million euros. For the full year, Ubisoft said it expects its 2022 net bookings to fall 10%. Tencent invested 300 million euros in Guillemot Brothers Limited, taking a 49.9% stake in the family investment firm that owns 15% of Ubisoft.

The perfect way to start an email, especially when writing to a stranger, is to keep it simple. Here's how to start an email the right way. She told Insider — by email, of course — that she usually writes an initial draft in a conversational tone and then self-edits. The process helps her write emails faster. Of course, the perfect way to start an email will depend on who you're writing to, but in general when you're writing a business email to someone you don't know well or at all, they said there's one safe choice — and a bunch you should usually avoid.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried had to be 'awakened' by a court official after closing his eyes during his extradition hearing, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Grace Dean | Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SBF had to be "awakened" by a court official after closing his eyes during a hearing, per Reuters. Bankman-Fried was in court in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, on Monday. Last week he had indicated to the court that he wasn't waiving his right to challenge his extradition to the US. The Journal reported that at the hearing, a court official told Bankman-Fried to stand up straight. When asked to stand in court, Bloomberg reported that Bankman-Fried had removed his blue suit jacket, untucked his shirt, and had his sleeves rolled up.

"The legal precedent is not on the side of the FTC," said Andre Barlow, an antitrust lawyer at Doyle, Barlow & Mazard PLLC. Barlow pointed to three recent mergers challenged by the FTC or Justice Department that were ultimately allowed to proceed. Those cases share something else in common with the proposed Microsoft deal: in each instance, a company would merge with a supplier in a so-called "vertical" merger. "Vertical merger challenges are really difficult to win so it will be an uphill battle for the FTC," said Roger Alford, who teaches law at the University of Notre Dame. Reuters reported last month that Microsoft was expected to offer remedies to EU antitrust regulators in the coming weeks to stave off formal objections to the deal.

☆ GameStop's third quarter disappoints on lack of hit titles, inflation pinch
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GameStop launched a digital wallet earlier this year to enable transactions in a marketplace it is building for gamers and others to buy, sell and trade non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. However, with crypto winter setting in and the value of cryptocurrencies plummeting, GameStop's digital wallet ambitions face a bleak future. GameStop posted revenue of $1.19 billion in the third quarter, missing estimates of $1.36 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data. On an adjusted basis, the company lost 31 cents per share, compared with analysts' estimates of a loss of 28 cents per share. GameStop's expenses as a percentage of revenue was 32.7% in the quarter, down from 34.1% in the second quarter, as the company has tried to cut costs by reducing its workforce and shutting down stores.

☆ Wedbush says sell GameStop shares before Wednesday's earnings, stock still very much irrational
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Retail investors have inflated GameStop 's price to a point that is "disconnected from the fundamentals of the business," according to Wedbush. Analyst Michael Pachter reiterated the stock at underperform with a price target of $6, which reflects a downside of 76.5% compared with where the stock closed Monday. Though trading feels disconnected from actual business trends, Pachter expects its challenges will be apparent in third-quarter earnings and beyond. "GameStop's transformation efforts have missed the mark so far, leaving it to rely on a challenged core business," Pachter said. Pachter expects inventory investments and the success of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II" will boost sales in the the third quarter, which will be announced after the bell Wednesday.

☆ 'Glass Onion' could have made $200 million, but Netflix only let it play in theaters for a week
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Netflix probably left hundreds of millions of dollars on the table by not keeping Rian Johnson's "Glass Onion" in theaters. "Glass Onion" leaves theaters Tuesday. The truncated run for "Glass Onion" also prompted industry insiders to again question the streamer's theatrical release strategy. The first film's performance at the box office has provoked questions about why Netflix has limited the release of "Glass Onion" to just one week in a limited number of theaters. "Glass Onion" earned a 93% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 238 reviews and an audience score of 92%, suggesting that it too could have generated the same kind of word of mouth.

☆ More than $3.2 trillion has been wiped off tech giants' value this year as inflation soars and a recession looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The biggest tech stocks have shed about $3.2 trillion in value this year. Major tech stocks battled against soaring inflation at the start of the year, which hurt investor confidence about their ability to pass on rising costs to customers. Apple managed to buck the trend and added $178 billion to its market value on Friday after better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits. It lost another $80 billion in value this week to $266 billion after posting its first quarterly revenue drop. Meta stock is down 70% since the start of this year.

☆ In Europe, consumer businesses like Amazon face holiday reckoning
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The extraordinary plummet put Europe in the spotlight for a company typically hurting from expansion in more emerging markets. Brian Olsavsky, Amazon's chief financial officer, told reporters: "Fuel cost and the impacts of the Ukraine war are hitting the economies in Europe even harder than the U.S., and that's showing up in consumer spend." "Consumer sentiment in Europe is at an all time low," Unilever PLC (ULVR.L) Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pitkethly told reporters, warning likewise of rising inflation and depleted household savings. Mastercard Inc's (MA.N) chief financial officer said Thursday that the credit card provider so far noticed little change in European consumer spending volumes. Still, a wide range of multinational companies have warned of weakness in European markets.

Oct 27 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) on Thursday forecast a slowdown in sales growth for the holiday season, disappointing Wall Street and warning that inflation-wary consumers and businesses had less money to spend. In a call with reporters, Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said the company was bracing for slower economic growth. Amazon forecast net sales of between $140 billion and $148 billion, or growth as little as 2% from a year earlier. The Amazon logo is seen at the company's logistics centre in Boves, France, October 6, 2021 REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File PhotoPrior holiday quarter sales growth was 9% in 2021 and 38% in 2020. Amazon's cloud sales growth has ticked down consistently in the past year.

☆ Movie theaters want more from Netflix, but the streaming giant isn't ready to budge on its release model
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Should theatrical releases be next? That could help bring in more box office revenue and attract filmmakers with the prestige that can come with theatrical releases. Netflix executives have stood firm by their decision to show "Glass Onion" in just 600 theaters for one week. "We're in the business of entertaining our members with Netflix movies on Netflix," Sarandos said during the call. He said that Netflix has brought films to festivals and gave them limited runs in theaters because filmmakers have demanded it.

Netflix added 2.4 million new subscribers in its most recent quarter, topping expectations that it would add 1 million. According to a Wedbush survey of Netflix users, he said, people most likely to opt into the ad-supported tier are those who would have otherwise quit the platform. Netflix has also foreshadowed a crackdown on password sharing, with plans to launch a paid family offering next year. Netflix estimates 100 million households worldwide are using shared passwords — 30 million of them in North America. On Monday, it introduced a “Profile Transfer” feature designed to let users who may be sharing a subscription opt into new a Netflix membership.

☆ More people are going to focus on Netflix's guidance, says Wedbush's Pachter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | 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 EmailMore people are going to focus on Netflix's guidance, says Wedbush's PachterMichael Pachter of Wedbush Securities and Mark Douglas of ad tech firm MNTN join 'The Exchange' to discuss Netflix ahead of this afternoon's earnings announcement. Can an ad-supported tier make a difference in the company's fortunes?

☆ After months of subscriber losses, Netflix is under pressure to prove its ad-supported tier can stop the bleeding. Here's why Wall Street is skeptical ahead of this week's earnings results.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Netflix will report third-quarter earnings Tuesday, and all eyes are on its new ad-supported tier. Wall Street hopes that the streamer's Basic with Ads plan will boost subscriptions and revenue — but some analysts are skeptical. Complicating matters further, analysts at Wedbush Securities warned that the streamer may report hundreds of thousands of additional subscriber losses this quarter. A recent survey conducted by Samba TV with Harris X found that nearly half of current Netflix subscribers said they'd consider simply trading down their existing membership to the forthcoming cheaper service. While the service still counts more than 220 million overall subscribers, Netflix has blamed the losses on increased competition and account sharing.

☆ Wedbush upgrades fuboTV to outperform citing 'compelling entry point' after stock pullback
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The firm upgraded shares of the streaming service to outperform from neutral and maintained its $6 price target. Shares of fuboTV have plunged nearly 75% year-to-date, which is part of the reason for Wedbush's upgrade. "We believe our $6 price target fully prices in that uncertainty, while shares have dropped well below this since our recent downgrade." Compelling entry He added that given the risk versus reward, the current share price offers a "compelling entry point," especially given fuboTV's business. "We now view this as a compelling entry point for those with an appetite for some downside risk," he said.

☆ 8 companies Amazon, Microsoft, or Google might buy as they shop for deals amid the market downturn, including Workday, Unity, and Roku
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

That means Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud could be poised for a merger-and-acquisition spree. As for cloud acquisitions, analysts said Amazon's cloud unit didn't often buy companies. Cybersecurity has been a greater focus for Microsoft, AWS, and Google Cloud after the hack of the IT-software company SolarWinds in 2020. In 2019, Google purchased the data-analytics company Looker for $2.6 billion in cash under Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. With Kurian at the helm, bringing with him the Oracle acquisition playbook, Google Cloud may now have a bigger M&A appetite.

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