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Companies beat expectations, with some boosted by large cloud growth. AdvertisementThe tech giants Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft reported earnings this week, and investors were laser-focused on the results of AI investments. Cloud is kingMicrosoft, Alphabet, and Amazon saw significant growth in their cloud businesses, fueled by increased demand. Jeremy Goldman, EMARKETER's senior director of briefings, told BI that Microsoft's cloud business had decelerated from the "breakneck pace" of previous quarters. Related storiesWhile Google reported stronger cloud growth, Microsoft still leads it in cloud market share, and both are behind Amazon Web Services.

Persons: —, Kate Leaman, Jeremy Goldman, EMARKETER's, Amy Hood, Dan Romanoff, Andy Jassy, Tracy Woo, Forrester, AWS's, Jassy, Rufus, Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, Hood, Michael Field, Jaejune Kim, Lisa Su, we've Organizations: Apple, Companies, Service, Microsoft, Amazon, Morningstar, Google, Amazon Web, Amazon Web Services, Investment, Big Tech, Bank of America Securities, Meta, Nvidia, SK Hynix, Samsung, AMD, Services

☆ Microsoft is still spending massively on AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-30 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Investors have been focused on Big Tech AI spending and returns. That's a worry at Microsoft partly because feedback on the company's Copilot AI has been mixed. Others have been concerned that Big Tech spending on artificial intelligence is outpacing results. Goldman said Microsoft has been counting on its AI Copilot and other generative AI efforts at Windows, Edge, and Microsoft 365 to draw enterprise clients. AdvertisementMuch of Microsoft's spending has been going toward data centers, graphics processing units, and other AI projects.

Persons: —, Jeremy Goldman, Goldman, it's, Satya Nadella, Francine McKenna Organizations: Investors, Big Tech, Service, Microsoft, Apple, Windows, Bloomberg Locations: Redmond, Washington, OpenAI

☆ Why Roblox investors are shrugging off a blistering short-seller report
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Roblox stock closed at $41.60 on Friday, slightly above where it was earlier in the week when Hindenberg published its research. Related storiesIn the wake of the report, Wall Street and investors seemed to largely stick by the company. AdvertisementRoblox, which primarily makes its money from sales of online currency and items, has been working to grow its advertising business. The report could hinder Roblox's ad businessDespite Roblox's nearly immediate stock recovery and support from Wall Street, the report and related issues could have implications for Roblox's advertising business. Its ad business is barely a rounding error today, but Roblox is still not profitable, so it's trying hard to change that.

Persons: Hindenburg, —, Roblox, It's, Hindenberg, Piper Sandler, Ron Kerbs, Roblox's, Roblox isn't, Jeremy Goldman Organizations: SEC, Wall, Service, Hindenburg, Securities, Exchange, Wall Street, Wedbush Securities, WPP, New, Bloomberg Businessweek, Walmart, Warner Bros . Pictures, Facebook, YouTube Locations: Roblox

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday that its profit for the October-December quarter soared 33%, powered by its significant investments in artificial intelligence technology. The company said that increase largely reflected growth in its cloud-computing unit, where Microsoft focuses most of its AI investments. “Microsoft is firmly establishing itself as a frontrunner in the AI race,” said Jeremy Goldman, director of briefings at Insider Intelligence. In addition to other benefits, Goldman suggested that AI technology could help expand Microsoft’s share of digital advertising. That merger boosted Microsoft's revenue growth by four points, according to James Ambrose, the company's director of investor relations.

Persons: ”, Jeremy Goldman, Goldman, James Ambrose, Microsoft's Organizations: FRANCISCO, — Microsoft Corp, Microsoft, Intelligence, Google, FactSet Research, Activision, Revenue Locations: Redmond, Washington

Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday posted sharply higher earnings for the third quarter, boosted by an increase in advertising revenue and lower expenses after it laid off thousands of workers. Meta, based in Menlo Park, California, said that it earned $11.58 billion, or $4.39 per share, in the July-September quarter. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $3.64 per share on revenue of $33.58 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a conference call with analysts that Meta's Twitter-like Threads app, which launched in July, has 100 million monthly active users. For the current quarter, Meta is forecasting revenue of $36.5 billion to $40 billion.

Persons: FactSet, ”, Jeremy Goldman, ” Goldman, “, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Organizations: Meta, Revenue, of Columbia, Facebook, Twitter, Platforms Inc Locations: Menlo Park , California

The company's revenue rose 13% to $56.5 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with analysts' consensus estimate of $54.52 billion, according to LSEG data. Revenue from Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud unit, which houses the Azure cloud-computing platform, grew to $24.3 billion, compared with analysts' estimate of $23.49 billion, LSEG data showed. Microsoft said on Tuesday that its fiscal first-quarter profit was $2.99 per share, above analyst estimates of $2.65 per share, according to LSEG data. Sales of its Windows operating system and other products in the segment grew to $13.7 billion, compared with analysts' consensus estimate of $12.82 billion, according to data from LSEG. The segment containing the LinkedIn social network and its office productivity software grew to $18.6 billion, compared with analysts' consensus estimate of $18.20 billion, according to LSEG data.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jesse Cohen, Jeremy Goldman, Anna Tong, Stephen Nellis, Yuvraj Malik, Devika Syamnath, Peter Henderson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Microsoft, REUTERS, Investing.com, Alpha, Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Investing.com ., Redmond, Washington, San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ Apple sees sales slump continuing, shares drop 2% despite beating sales expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Executives said iPhone sales would improve in the fourth quarter, but did not say how much. Weaker iPhone sales were balanced by strong sales in the services segment that contains Apple TV+ and by sales in China that grew 8% year over year. That sales forecast is below analyst expectations of roughly flat fiscal fourth-quarter sales of $90.19 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Apple said iPhone sales were $39.67 billion, below analyst expectations of $39.91 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Mac and iPad sales were $6.84 billion and $5.79 billion, respectively, compared with analyst estimates of $6.62 billion and $6.41 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: Joshua Roberts, Luca Maestri, Daniel Newman, Maestri, Tim Cook, We've, We're, Cook, Apple, Jeremy Goldman, Stephen Nellis, Yuvraj Malik, Peter Henderson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Apple Inc, REUTERS, Wall, Apple, Android, Futurum, Reuters, Research, Major League Soccer, Apple Watch, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, China, CHINA, San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ The ad industry is prepping for a make-or-break holiday shopping season, with some advertisers pulling spend up to 25% even before Black Friday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales figures will determine whether ad spend budgets decline. Some advertisers are already pulling back spend up to 25%Last year, advertisers marched into the holiday shopping season with confidence. For retailers who are making the bulk of their money during that time, ad spend correlates to sales, Lardner said. Marketers feel less pressure to spend their fourth quarter ad budgets this yearSome advertisers are pulling back even before the holiday shopping season kicks off. Traditionally, marketers deploy most of their ad dollars during the fourth quarter — and not just because it's the holiday gifting season.

☆ How retail companies are reducing friction in online and offline transactions
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-26 | by ( Jeremy Goldman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

And consumers have been moving toward demanding more frictionless payment methods across online and offline channels. For some time now, consumers have been moving toward demanding more frictionless payment methods across online and offline channels. Ecommerce retailers, not to be outdone, are finding ways to improve their transactions as well. Data suggests adults plan to continue to use touchless payment methods after the pandemic is over. One of the ways brands and retailers are working to reduce ecommerce friction is providing more payment methods at checkout.

☆ Excellent CX requires proper organizational structure and team setup
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-23 | by ( Jeremy Goldman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sometimes companies can get in their own way of delivering great customer experience (CX). The following is a preview of one Media, Advertising, and Marketing report, Customer Experience 2021. Great customer experience (CX) leads customers to make more purchases from companies across all industries. Best-in-class customer experience (CX) requires proper team structure. More Marketing Industry Topics:

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