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☆ Roblox lifts annual bookings forecast as in-game spending booms; shares jump
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Roblox gift cards are seen at a store in Krakow, Poland on July 5, 2023. Videogame platform Roblox raised its forecast for full-year 2024 bookings on Thursday, as it continues to benefit from robust spending within its virtual worlds, sending its shares up over 17%. Roblox's free-to-play model has been attracting significant consumer spending on its platform despite a wider slowdown in gaming activity. The company reported third-quarter bookings, which represents the sale of virtual currency, of $1.13 billion, beating the average analysts' estimate of $1.02 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. It raised its forecast for full-year 2024 bookings to between $4.34 billion and $4.37 billion from its earlier projection of between $4.18 billion and $4.23 billion.

Persons: Michael Guthrie, That's, Guthrie, Roblox Organizations: Reuters, Hindenburg Research, LSEG Locations: Krakow, Poland, DAUs

Given this outlook, the firm lifted its price target to $70 from $65, reflecting 24% upside from Thursday's close. — Samantha Subin 6:20 a.m.: Citi trims price target on Roblox, cites slower bookings growth Citi cut its price target on Roblox to $40 from $52 a share as the gaming platform grapples with a deceleration in bookings growth. "We are updating our model to account for 1Q24 results and our latest outlook," wrote analyst Jason Bazinet. For 2025, Citi now expects bookings growth of 14% versus 21%, or 4% below consensus. The firm expects bookings growth of 10% in 2026, which is 11% below consensus.

Persons: Macquarie, Jefferies, Reddit, Ronald Josey, OpenAI, Josey, – Samantha Subin, Mark McLaughlin, McLaughlin, — Samantha Subin, Jason Bazinet, DAUs, Bazinet, Craig Siegenthaler, Siegenthaler, Robinhood, — Fred Imbert, Morgan Stanley downgrades Baidu, Morgan Stanley, Gary Yu, Yu, Ellie Jiang, JD, Jiang, Laurence Alexander, Alexander Organizations: CNBC, DuPont, OpenAI, Bank of America, Citi, Baidu, Macquarie, Jefferies, DuPont de Nemours Locations: China, 3Q24, Robinhood, Underperform, Thursday's, JD.com

☆ Cohen had 39,745 contacts stored in his iPhone, analyst tells Trump's hush-money trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Michael Cohen was found to have 39,745 contacts stored in his cellphone, said a data analyst. Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, is set to testify against the former president's New York trial. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementProsecutors at Donald Trump's hush money trial wrapped up Thursday's proceedings with testimony from a digital data analyst who works for the Manhattan District Attorney. Douglas Daus, testified he had extracted data from two iPhones belonging to Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, and so-called "fixer"One device had 39,745 contacts, which Daus described as "unusual."

Persons: Michael Cohen, Karen McDougal, Cohen, Trump's, —, Donald Trump's, Douglas Daus, Daus, I've, Hope Hicks, Trump, Allen Weisselberg, Lady Melania Trump, Jane Rosenberg, David, David Pecker, Todd Blanche, Donald, Von ShitzInPantz Organizations: Service, Manhattan, New, Attorney's, Associated Press, Trump Organization, Reuters, Trump, Playboy, American Media, fixer Locations: York, New York County

☆ Trump trial resumes after infamous Cohen phone call tape is played for jury
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends the first day of his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 15, 2024 in New York City. The lawyer, Keith Davidson, negotiated six-figure hush money deals for porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal ahead of the 2016 presidential election. On the night Trump won that election, Davidson texted the Enquirer's then-editor in chief, "What have we done?" But he added that he and the top editor, Dylan Howard, understood at the time that "our activities may have in some way assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump." Jurors heard a recording of Trump saying asking Cohen, "So what do we got to pay for this — 150?"

Persons: Donald Trump, Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels, Karen McDougal, Trump, Daniels, Attorney Alvin Bragg, Judge Juan Merchan, Merchan, Davidson, Trump's, Michael Cohen, David Pecker, Dylan Howard, Douglas Daus, Cohen, McDougal Organizations: U.S, Manhattan Criminal, Prosecutors, New, Trump, Manhattan, Attorney, National Enquirer, American Media Locations: New York City, New York

☆ Trump Trial Live Updates: Witness Who Extracted Secret Recordings to Return to the Stand
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Matthew Haag | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Before the tape was revealed, Mr. Trump’s legal team aggressively attacked the credibility of Mr. Davidson during a cross-examination that quickly turned hostile. Frequently, Mr. Davidson would respond, “I don’t recall.”Mr. Bove confronted Mr. Davidson about his “fuzzy” memory and Mr. Davidson responded forcefully that his answers had been truthful. Image The jury heard a recording, made by Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s longtime fixer, during the 2016 campaign. That included one in which Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen discussed a hush-money deal for Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who was trying to sell a story about an affair with Mr. Trump. The potential witness list has several major names, including Ms. Daniels, Mr. Cohen and Hope Hicks, who is Mr. Trump’s former spokeswoman.

Persons: Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels, Donald J, Juan M, Trump, Merchan, Daniels, Davidson, Michael D, Cohen, Mr, Emil Bove, ” Mr, Bove, ”, “, Trump’s, Maansi Srivastava, Davidson’s, Justice Merchan, Alvin L, Bragg, Todd Blanche, ” Trump, Blanche, Doug Mills, Biden’s, Biden, We’re, Douglas Daus, Karen McDougal, Hope Hicks Organizations: Trump, Prosecutors, Trump White House, New York, ., White, Playboy Locations: Manhattan, Michigan, Wisconsin

Much of Hicks’ testimony focused on her role on the Trump campaign in October 2016, just before Election Day. When cross-examining Hicks, Trump attorney Emil Bove elicited testimony that Trump was also concerned about what his wife would think. Video Ad Feedback Trump closed his eyes during Hope Hicks' testimony. There was a lot at play.”Hicks forwarded the email that included a transcript of the audio to several Trump campaign staffers including Kellyanne Conway. With Hicks’ testimony, prosecutors nudged closer to the repayment and the alleged charges.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Hope Hicks, Hicks, Daniels, Michael Cohen, “, ”, Trump, Matthew Colangelo, ” Hicks, Karen McDougal’s, Emil Bove, Kellyanne Conway, chuckling, Steve Bannon, Conway, Jared Kushner, Jason Miller, McDougal, Cohen, nudged, –, Honig, CNN Hicks, Colangelo, Michael, ‘ Mr, ’ Michael Cohen Trump’s, Douglas Daus, Trump’s, Daus, DANY, Cohen ”, ” Daus, Prosecutors, Chris Conroy, Judge Juan Merchan, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, Daniel Dale, He’s, ” Merchan, ” Trump, Merchan Organizations: CNN, White House, Trump, Manhattan, Attorney’s Office, Trump White House, Trump Organization, Prosecutors, Wall Street, American Media, Inc, Wall, Washington Post, ” Prosecutors, House, New York Times, Trump “, Manhattan DA Locations: Washington, Manhattan, New York, Michigan

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

☆ Snap shares soar 25% as company beats on earnings, shows strong revenue growth
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Snap reported first-quarter results on Thursday that beat analysts' estimates and showed a return to double-digit revenue growth. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $46 million, far surpassing the $68 million loss expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount. For its 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. Snap said adjusted EBITDA will fall between $15 million and $45 million, compared to Wall Street's expectations of $15.5 million. The company expects to report around 431 million DAUs in its second quarter, up from the 430 million expected by StreetAccount.

Persons: Snap's, Snap Organizations: LSEG Revenue, LSEG, LSEG Global, Revenue, Snapchat, Meta, StreetAccount

☆ Meta to report first-quarter results after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Meta will report first-quarter results after the bell Wednesday. Revenue: $36.16 billion, according to LSEG. $36.16 billion, according to LSEG. Analysts expect Meta to report a 26% increase in revenue from $28.65 billion a year earlier. Analysts at Baird said in a Monday note that slower spending from China-based advertisers could be a source of concern in the first-quarter results.

Persons: Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Susan Li, Baird Organizations: StreetAccount, Meta, Facebook Locations: LSEG, China

☆ Meta's Threads now has more daily users in the US than Elon Musk's X
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now, Threads has more daily users in the US than X, a trend that's been ongoing since December, when Threads became Apple's most downloaded app. "Threads DAUs in the US passed X in December 2023 and it has not looked back," Thomas Grant, Apptopia's VP of research, said. That's a roughly 55% increase in DAUs from December when Threads averaged an estimated 18 million users each day. According to Sensor Tower estimates, daily users of the X app worldwide are down 19% compared to October 2022, the month that Musk took over Twitter. An estimate of daily users from Apptopia for the week also shows no gain in Threads users.

Persons: Elon Musk, Thomas Grant, Apptopia's, It's, Musk, X, Mark Zuckerberg's, Taylor Swift, Swift, MAUs, Zuckerberg, X MAUs, Kali Hays Organizations: Service, Elon, Business, Apple, Google, Twitter, US Locations: That's, DAUs, khays@businessinsider.com

☆ BeReal weighs an uncertain Series C or acquisition as growth stalls and funding is set to run out later this year, insiders say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Kali Hays | Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company is considering raising a Series C before what's left of its $90 million in funding runs out. BeReal closed a $60 million Series B funding round at an around $600 million valuation in late 2022, following a $30 million Series A earlier the same year. Sooner than later, BeReal leadership will be forced to choose between raising another round and maintaining its independence or selling itself outright, running the risk of disappearing. Company leadership holds an all-hands every quarter after they meet with the company's board, which includes investors. As for the possibility of an acquisition, BeReal leadership has told employees there are "offers" that have been made, without giving any specifics.

Persons: Alexis Barreyat, what's, BeReal, Yuri Milner's, Andreessen Horowitz, Barreyat, Romain Salzman, Kali Hays, Callum Burroughs cburroughs@businessinsider.com Organizations: Business, Gas, Yuri Milner's DST, Accel Locations: Paris, Japan, Asia, Pacific, khays@businessinsider.com

☆ TikTok's growth rate has collapsed. 'Life' may be getting in the way for its younger users.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This is especially true for young users who are now entering a new busy time of life known as adulthood. AdvertisementAfter demolishing the competition from 2020 through the first half of 2022, TikTok's DAU growth rate has collapsed. One interesting theory is that TikTok users are growing up and taking on new responsibilities that leave less time to watch videos. If some of TikTok's core users can no longer afford to spend an hour a day on the app, that's not good for business. This is not just meThe Wall Street Journal recently interviewed a few TikTok users in their 20s.

Persons: —, TikTok, it's, Brielle, There's, I'd, she'll, Keilah Bruce Organizations: Service, Evercore, YouTube, Facebook, Street Journal, Intelligence, Street Locations: TikTok

☆ Roblox shares rise 13% after company beats estimates and issues strong guidance
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Roblox reported results for the fiscal fourth quarter on Wednesday that beat consensus estimates on the top and bottom lines. Here's how the company did:Losses per share: 52 cents vs. 55 cents expected by analysts, according to LSEG, formerly Refinitiv. Revenue (bookings): $1.13 billion vs. $1.08 billion expected, according to LSEG. The revenue figure is what Roblox calls bookings, a category that includes sales recognized during the quarter and deferred revenue. The company provided guidance for 2024 and the first fiscal quarter.

Persons: Roblox, David Baszucki, Baszucki, CNBC's Steve Kovach Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Revenue, & Locations: & Canada

☆ Roblox shares rise 10% after company beats estimates and issues strong guidance
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Roblox reported results for the fiscal fourth quarter Wednesday that beat consensus estimates on the top and bottom lines. Here's how the company did:Losses per share: 52 cents vs. 55 cents expected by analysts, according to LSEG, formerly Refinitiv. Revenue (bookings): $1.13 billion vs. $1.08 billion expected, according to LSEG. The revenue figure is what Roblox calls bookings, a category that includes sales recognized during the quarter and deferred revenue. The company provided guidance for 2024 and the first fiscal quarter.

Persons: Roblox, David Baszucki, Baszucki, CNBC's Steve Kovach Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, Revenue, &, CNBC PRO Locations: & Canada

☆ Meta to report fourth-quarter earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Meta will report fourth-quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday. In Alphabet 's earnings report on Tuesday, the company said Google ad revenue increased 11% from a year earlier, slower expansion than analysts were expecting. Meta finance chief Susan Li most recently highlighted the significance of business from China in the company's third-quarter earnings report in October. Analysts expect Reality Labs to show revenue of $762.8 million for the quarter and an operating loss of $4.26 billion, according to StreetAccount. Apple and Amazon are also slated to report fourth-quarter results on Thursday, wrapping up earnings season for tech's mega-cap companies.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Susan Li, Li, Zuckerberg Organizations: U.S, Capitol, LSEG, StreetAccount, Google, Facebook, Meta, Wednesday, Labs, Apple Locations: Washington , U.S, China

☆ Meta to report third-quarter earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, attends a U.S. Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Insight Forum at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2023. Meta is set to report third-quarter earnings after the bell Wednesday. The company is expected to show growth of 21% in the third quarter after sales increased 11% in the prior period. Meta appears to be the furthest along in terms of improving the effectiveness of its online ad platform following Apple's changes. Meta, X and others must adhere to the DSA by removing illegal content and detailing how they're doing it.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, that's, Susan Li, Snap Organizations: Meta, U.S, Senate, Intelligence, Capitol, Washington , D.C, StreetAccount, EU, Digital Services, European Commission, Russia, Reality Labs Locations: Washington ,, U.S, Israel, Ukraine

☆ Snap stock rises as sales grow 5% from last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Revenue : $1.19 billion vs. $1.11 billion expected, according to LSEG. : $1.19 billion vs. $1.11 billion expected, according to LSEG. Global Daily Active Users (DAUs) : 406 million vs. 405.7 million expected, according to StreetAccount. : 406 million vs. 405.7 million expected, according to StreetAccount. Average revenue per user: $2.93 vs. $2.74 expected, according to StreetAccount.

Persons: Evan Spiegel, Snap, Spiegel, Jerry Hunter Organizations: Inc, New Locations: , California, U.S

☆ Snap shares jump as leaked 2024 user target exceed Wall St expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A woman stands in front of the logo of Snap Inc. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) while waiting for Snap Inc. to post their IPO, in New York City, New York, U.S. on March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 16 (Reuters) - Snap (SNAP.N) shares jumped 11% on Monday after a media report said the social media company is expected to have more than 475 million daily active users (DAUs) in 2024, above Wall Street expectations. Snap also expects advertising revenue to grow more than 20% in 2024 as part of its "stretch goals", the report said, putting it above Wall Street estimates of 14% growth. Snap was the first ad-reliant social media firm to flag a demand downturn last year as brands cut budgets amid red-hot inflation and high interest rates. Macroeconomic woes coupled with rising competition from social media platforms like Tiktok, saw Snap lose 80% of its valuation last year.

Persons: Lucas Jackson, Evan Speigel, Bernstein, Mark Schilsky, Chavi Mehta, Tasim Zahid Organizations: Inc, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: New York City , New York, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Meta to report second-quarter earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Meta will report second-quarter earnings after market close on Wednesday. Here are the key numbers to watch:Earnings: $2.91 per share expected, according to Refinitiv$2.91 per share expected, according to Refinitiv Revenue: $31.12 billion expected, according to Refinitiv$31.12 billion expected, according to Refinitiv Daily Active Users (DAUs): 2.04 billion expected, according to StreetAccount. 2.04 billion expected, according to StreetAccount. Monthly Active Users (MAUs): 3 billion expected, according to StreetAccount. 3 billion expected, according to StreetAccount.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Mark, Meta's, William Blair, Brad Erickson Organizations: Meta, Inc, Refinitiv Revenue, RBC Capital Markets, CNBC, Company Locations: San Jose , California, Ukraine

☆ Snap shares plunge more than 16% on weak forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Here's how the company did:Loss per share : 2 cent loss vs. 4 cent loss expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. : $1.07 billion vs. $1.05 billion expected, according to Refinitiv. Global Daily Active Users (DAUs) : 397 million vs. 394.9 million expected, according to StreetAccount. : 397 million vs. 394.9 million expected, according to StreetAccount. Last quarter, Snap did not provide official guidance for the second quarter, instead disclosing an "internal forecast" for revenue estimates in the time period.

Persons: Evan Spiegel, Porte, William Blair, Susan Li Organizations: Snap Inc, Viva Technology, Porte de, Analysts, Meta Locations: Paris, France, Refinitiv

☆ Roblox reports wider-than-expected loss but active users up 22%
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Here's how the company did:Loss per share: 44 cent loss vs. 40 cent loss per share expected, according to a Refinitiv survey of analysts. 44 cent loss vs. 40 cent loss per share expected, according to a Refinitiv survey of analysts. Revenue (bookings): $774 million vs. $766 million expected, according to Refinitiv. Average daily active users, or DAUs, reached 66 million, up 22% year-over-year. On an analyst call following the earnings report, CEO and founder David Baszucki attributed the bookings growth to "eight quarters of innovation and awesome engineering."

☆ Meta set to report first-quarter earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Facebook parent Meta is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings after the close of regular trading Wednesday. $27.65 billion, according to Refinitiv. Daily active users (DAUs): 2.01 billion, according to StreetAccount. 2.01 billion, according to StreetAccount. Monthly active users (MAUs): 2.99 billion, according to StreetAccount.

☆ In the Microsoft vs. Google battle for AI search, we opt to own both stocks — here's why
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

This access, however, allows Google to stay ahead of competition like Microsoft, while generating heaps of search traffic that Alphabet then monetizes with advertising. Alphabet vs. Microsoft Since Bing was first introduced in 2009, Microsoft has been trying to dethrone Google in search. About a month after unveiling the new Bing, Microsoft said in a blog post that the search engine topped 100 million daily active users (DAUs). By comparison, Google search gets more than 1 billion DAUs. Morgan Stanley said Alphabet's full integration of Bard into search is an important next step to showcase the company's "leading multiyear AI search and development."

☆ Roblox dazzles Wall St with bookings beat on holiday boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermidFeb 15 (Reuters) - Roblox Corp (RBLX.N) on Wednesday reported better-than-expected bookings for the fourth quarter as users spent more money on the online gaming platform during the holiday season, sending its shares up about 16% in premarket trading. Average daily active users (DAUs) were 58.8 million at the end of December, up 19% year-over-year, but flat compared with the third quarter. For January, estimated bookings came in at $267 million to $271 million, up between 19% and 21% year-on-year. Roblox booked a loss of 48 cents per share in the fourth quarter, smaller than the 52 cents loss that Wall Street expected. Shares were trading at $41.37 before the bell on Wednesday, adding to the 25% climb marked so far this year.

☆ Meta set to report fourth-quarter earnings after the bell
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., left, arrives at federal court in San Jose, California, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. Meta reports fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday as the company tries to reverse a slide that pushed the stock down by 64% last year. The company also said its "internal forecast" assumes a revenue drop in the first quarter of between 2% and 10%. Alphabet and Amazon will wrap up earnings reports from the major online ad platforms on Thursday, followed by Pinterest next week. Meta said last quarter that "Reality Labs operating losses in 2023 will grow significantly year-over-year."

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