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☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Snap, Intel, First Solar, Exxon Mobil & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

That overshadowed a revenue beat for the first quarter. The company beat on adjusted earnings per share with $1.58 against a StreetAccount estimated $1.52. Exxon Mobil's adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.83, topping analysts' estimates of $2.59, per Refinitiv. The oil major's adjusted earnings per share was $3.55 versus the $3.41 expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. The company reported 40 cents per share adjusted on $548.29 million in revenue, while a StreetAccount estimate called for 99 cents per share.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: First Republic, Snap, Amazon, Intel and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Snap — The Snapchat parent company cratered about 18% after missing revenue expectations for the recent quarter. Intel — Intel shares rose more than 4% even after the company reported its largest quarterly loss on record and a 133% reduction year over year. Colgate-Palmolive — The consumer giant saw its stock rally 4% after the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped expectations. The company reported 98 cents in earnings per share, above the 89 cents expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Newell Brands — Shares gained 2% even after the consumer goods company reported a wider-than-expected loss.

☆ Snap misses revenue expectations, warns on second quarter outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While Snap said it was not providing formal financial guidance, its internal revenue forecast for the second quarter is $1.04 billion, which would be a 6% decline year-over-year. The internal forecast is below analyst expectations of $1.13 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. "Snapchat users primarily use the app for messaging, and messaging apps are notoriously difficult to monetize," she said. Along with AR, Snap has deepened its investment in artificial intelligence and recently expanded its chatbot called My AI to all Snapchat users globally. Snap said it expects between 394 million and 395 million daily active users in the second quarter.

☆ Bipartisan bill would require parental consent for minors to use social media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A new bipartisan bill unveiled Wednesday would require parental consent for anyone under 18 to use social media. It would also create a pilot program for a new age verification credential that could be used to enroll on social media platforms. In addition to parental consent to use social media, the bill requires such companies to "take reasonable steps beyond merely requiring attestation" to verify users' ages. The bill says that "existing age verification technologies" should be taken into account and that information collected for age verification purposes shouldn't be used for anything else. WATCH: Tiktok hearing was an 'unmitigated disaster' for social media app, says Stanford's Jacob Helberg

☆ Snap says Snapchat+ has 3 million paid subscribers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 19 (Reuters) - Snap Inc (SNAP.N) on Wednesday said its subscription service Snapchat+ now has 3 million users, as the tech company aims to diversify its business. The number of subscribers for Snapchat+ indicates the company is seeing success at a time when social media platforms are increasingly seeking to charge users for certain features. Snap's subscription service allows users to gain early access to new features. In February, Snap introduced a generative artificial intelligence chatbot called My AI, which can produce written responses to queries, rolling it out first to Snapchat+ subscribers. Last month, Snap launched an enterprise division to help other companies build AR experiences for their own apps and websites.

☆ Snap expands AI chatbot with ability to create images
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Snap's chatbot, called My AI, which can help users with everything from writing poems to searching for information, was built using startup OpenAI's ChatGPT technology. My AI is now available free to all Snapchat users and can be invoked to respond to questions in conversations between friends on Snapchat, Snap said on Wednesday. My AI's ability to respond to users with its own AI-generated images will be available first on Snapchat+, which has reached 3 million subscribers, Snap said. Snap analyzes conversations with My AI and has found that 99.5% of the chatbot's responses adhere to Snapchat's community guidelines, Spiegel said. The venture could also help Snap diversify beyond digital advertising, which currently makes up the majority of its revenue.

☆ Snapchat breaks down how creators can qualify to make money from ad-revenue sharing, as it expands access to the program
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Dan Whateley | Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Snapchat is widening its stories ad-revenue sharing program to more creators. The expansion comes as competitors YouTube and TikTok also test ad-revenue sharing with users. Snapchat is opening up ad-revenue sharing to more creators, the company announced during its partner summit on Wednesday. TikTok began testing an ad-revenue sharing program called Pulse for creators with at least 100,000 followers last year. Outside of its stories ad program, Snap pays creators via other initiatives like content challenges and a fund for its short-video feature Spotlight.

☆ Big Tech employees are getting culled. Their European colleagues get stronger labor laws and softer landings.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

European Big Tech employees have better labor protections"There are regulations in Europe that apply to collective situations, based on European law: the so-called Mass Dismissal Directive," said Dr. Jordan. But in January, Twitter employees were reported to have been paid just one month's severance, according to CNN. Twitter employees in other European hubs such as Germany, Spain, Ireland, and the UK are also pushing back, with the help of the countries' labor laws and unions. Twitter employees in Germany have also worked with the Verdi union to push Twitter into making a better severance offer, Fortune reported. The process could take months instead of weeks, Brittin added — another testament to Europe's stronger labor protections for its employees.

☆ Leaked documents show how Snapchat's lucrative Snap Stars program pays influencers and best practices the company shares with creators
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Creators who are part of the Snap Stars program are eligible for the ad-revenue-share beta. When asked about the ad program's eligibility criteria by Insider, Snap declined to comment. Meanwhile, Snap Stars who aren't in the beta program are posting more on the platform in the hopes they'll be selected for this financially lucrative opportunity. "I was really excited because being a Snap Star really helps with your growth," he said. A document for creators shows Snap's best practices for postingSnap has sent some Snap Stars guidelines with best practices for posting.

☆ TikTok CEO set for grilling in House hearing. But U.S. lawmakers also face questions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

U.S. tech platforms including Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Google's YouTube , Twitter and Snap's Snapchat have raised similar fears for lawmakers and users. Evaluating a potential banThere's little appetite in Washington to accept the potential risks that TikTok's ownership by Chinese company ByteDance poses to U.S. national security. The interagency panel tasked with reviewing national security risks stemming from ByteDance's ownership has threatened a ban if the company won't sell its stake in the app. Trahan said members should ask about national security risks of the app, but those questions should be substantive. Bowman noted lawmakers haven't received a bipartisan congressional briefing from the administration on national security risks stemming from TikTok.

☆ Snap launches enterprise division to help businesses build AR features
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 23 (Reuters) - Snap Inc (SNAP.N), owner of photo messaging app Snapchat, launched a new division on Thursday that will help other companies build augmented reality features for their websites or apps. The division called AR Enterprise Services (ARES) marks the first time Snap will sell to business customers its AR technology, which can enhance photos and videos of the real world with computerized images, said Jill Popelka, head of ARES, in an interview. Certain arrangements with clients could allow Snap to earn a cut of product sales driven by Snap's AR tools, she added. Artificial intelligence is also helping advance Snap's AR capabilities. The company is using AI to take a two-dimensional image and make it appear 3D without the need to first build a 3D model.

☆ Artists and labels are sliding songs into augmented-reality filters on TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram to promote music
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AR effects are on the rise on Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram, appearing across billions of videos. Artists, labels, and music marketers are finding new ways to promote tracks via these AR filters. "If you do come up with a cool AR filter, it's easier for the regular user to create a TikTok with than to create a dance." "Artists will hire AR creators to make effects for specific pieces of music," Chris Barbour, Meta's AR partnerships director, told Insider. As with any trend on social media, originality is important for helping an AR effect spread, Yoder said.

☆ 'Huge hunger cliff' looms, warns expert: Average recipient to get $90 less in food stamps as Covid aid ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

watch now"That's a really tight budget if you're talking about low-income families," said Ellen Vollinger, SNAP director at the Food Research and Action Center. The Food Research and Action Center has advocated for congressional legislation to address the problem. Food bank braces for increased demandLos Angeles County Regional Food Bank workers help with food distribution in Willowbrook, California, on April 29, 2021. The food bank has been increasing its food purchases in recent weeks to anticipate increased demand for food assistance, Flood said. In the aftermath of the pandemic's onset in 2020, the food bank was serving 1 million county residents, Flood said.

☆ Snap releases a new A.I. chatbot as part of a Snapchat+ subscription service
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSnap releases a new A.I. chatbot as part of a Snapchat+ subscription serviceCNBC's Deirdre Bosa joins 'The Exchange' to discuss the latest race to adopt AI, Meta's new AI product announcement and Snap's latest AI chatbot.

☆ Snap launches A.I. chatbot powered by OpenAI's GPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Snap announced Monday it's rolling out an OpenAI-powered chatbot named My AI to its Snapchat+ subscribers. It can recommend gift ideas, weekend plans, or recipes, Snap said in a press release. In a nod to well-documented incidents with Bing's OpenAI-based chatbot, Snap warned in a press release that its My AI chatbot "can be tricked into saying just about anything." Snap founder and CEO Evan Spiegel discussed the transformative potential of AI technology on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call. Snap's new AI chatbot product comes weeks after AI-backed releases from Microsoft and Google , the latter of which unveiled an internally-developed conversational AI product called Bard.

☆ Snap launches A.I. chatbot powered by ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Melissa Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailSnap launches A.I. chatbot powered by ChatGPTCNBC's Julia Boorstin on Snap's decision to launch an AI chatbot using ChatGPT. With CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders, Tim Seymour, Bonawyn Eison, Guy Adami and Mike Khouw.

☆ ChatGPT is coming to Snapchat
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Snapchat is launching its own ChatGPT-powered chatbot called My AI starting this week. A spokesperson said that its AI launch is part of an effort to attract users to the social media app. Starting this week, Snapchat users will have access to its new conversational chatbot, which can write haikus, plan a hiking trip, and recommend birthday gifts, according to a Snap blog post. "My AI was trained to have a unique tone and personality that plays into Snapchat's core values around friendship, learning, and fun," a Snapchat spokesperson told Insider. "Incorporating this technology into Snapchat's messaging platform has the potential to make these interactions with AI part of what draws our community to Snapchat," a spokesperson said.

☆ Snap is cutting back spending on Google and Amazon for cloud services, a huge expense for tech companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Other companies like Twitter are also moving to cut back on cloud costs. The Snapchat owner uses both Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services to operate. When Snap went public in 2017, it disclosed Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services as cloud providers. It said it had agreed to pay Google $2 billion for cloud services over the next five years, purchasing at least $400 million per year in services. Cloud services have for the last several years become a major source of revenue for companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft.

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with SNAP's Evan Spiegel
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | 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 EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with SNAP's Evan SpiegelCNBC's Julia Boorstin sits down with SNAP CEO Evan Siegel to discuss the increase in active users and the company's roadmap for how it will exceed 1 billion users.

☆ Snap cuts more costs by replacing employee performance bonuses, long a cornerstone of tech pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Snap is moving to replace its cash performance bonuses with a more limited potential pay increase. Snap will change its employee performance bonus system as the company continues to reduce costs amid struggles with profitability. For many years, Snap employees could receive an annual cash bonus equal to 10% of their base salary after performance reviews. Moving away from a cash performance bonus, however, is rare, even as guaranteed grants of stock in compensation packages become more costly for companies. A performance bonus can range from 5% to 20% of a person's base salary at major tech firms, according to data from tech compensation database Levels.fyi.

☆ Big Tech got crushed by falling ad prices, and the damage could last well into 2023. Here's exactly how much ads cost on Google, Meta, Amazon, YouTube, TikTok and Snap.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Meta, Google, and Snap reported declines in ad sales, or flat ad revenue, during the fourth quarter. Out of the four big ad-supported tech companies — Google, Meta, Amazon, and Snap — only Amazon reported that its ad business grew year-over-year in the fourth quarter. Meta's ad prices have declined as the company rebuilds its ad business with artificial intelligence after getting hit by Apple's app-tracking privacy crackdown. While CPMs fell year-over-year during the fourth quarter, ad prices were 7.2% higher in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter, according to Northbeam. The average return on Meta ad spend during the fourth quarter was $1.96, up from $1.30 in the first quarter of 2022.

☆ 4 reasons why Amazon's advertising business is still surging while Meta, Google, and Snap are all wrestling with declines
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon's ad business grew 19% over the past year, while rivals like Meta were managing a decline. Amazon's ad business seems to be the only major ad business that's on the upswing. Part of the reason is that Amazon's ad business is newer than Google's and Meta's so a higher growth rate should be expected. Insider spoke with several ad buyers and industry experts to reveal why Amazon's ad business is growing compared to competitors like Google, Meta, and Snap. Both McKenna and Kern Schireson, CEO of the ad agency Known, believe this is the biggest reason why Amazon's ad business is thriving compared to its competitors.

This is Matt Weinberger, deputy editor of Insider's tech analysis team and your host for today. The one port in this particular storm is Apple, which is still the only major tech company not to do layoffs in recent weeks. Mark Zuckerberg just ushered in a new era of tech. In recent months, layoffs have swept just about every major tech company (except, notably, Apple). Enter Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook's parent company Meta, who officially rang in the new era on Wednesday when he declared that 2023 would be the "year of efficiency" at the social network.

☆ TikTok's opposite approach to Instagram is winning the social media race.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This is pretty bleak for tech workers who were living large this time last year. TikTok's algorithm takes an opposite approach with spontaneous discovery, keeping users engaged for longer — and less likely to check Instagram. This creates a Catch-22 for the company, Chris adds. Its original model successfully captured a loyal and engaged audience, but is now an outdated approach for a social media platform. The chicken spot's snaking drive-thru made it a hazard to pedestrians, so a local North Carolina city ordered its demolition.

☆ Fanatics to start livestreamed shopping of trading cards, collectibles
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The Washington Post | Getty ImagesFanatics is moving into livestreamed shopping around collectibles and trading cards, hiring a former Snap and Alphabet executive to launch its new business later this year. Fanatics Live, which will have a standalone app and a coinciding website, plans to launch in the second half of 2023. Only 31% of U.S. adults have even heard of live shopping, with just 22% saying they've participated in a live shopping event, according to a December poll by Morning Consult. Ebay, which said it saw trading card sales increase 142% in 2020, acquired trading card marketplace TCGPlayer for $295 million in August. While Fanatics Live could move into other forms of entertainment and collectibles over time, it will solely focus on trading cards initially.

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