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A smartphone with a displayed NVIDIA logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. But the red-hot market for AI chips is playing out in the context of vastly expanded U.S. export controls on what Nvidia can sell to China. Jacob Bourne, analyst at Insider Intelligence, said that those China-focused chips could consume vital research resources at Nvidia for products that could end up banned just like its first round of China market chips. Rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) had earlier touted the quantity of high-bandwidth memory on one of its competing AI chips. Chinese tech company Huawei's (HWT.UL) AI chip is also gaining traction from local firms as U.S. pressure makes it hard to access Nvidia chips.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Nvidia, Jesse Cohen, Colette Kress, Jacob Bourne, Bourne, Chavi Mehta, Max A, Stephen Nellis, Arun Koyyur, Sayantani Ghosh, Matthew Lewis Organizations: NVIDIA, REUTERS, Wall, Nvidia, LSEG, Insider Intelligence, Devices, Google, Microsoft, San, Thomson Locations: China, Israel, Gaza, United States, Bengaluru, Max, San Francisco

It’s the first time Apple’s fiscal year revenue has dropped since 2019 when sales fell by 2%. Although Apple's revenue in the latest quarter deceased 1% from last year to $89.5 billion, its profit rose 11% to $22.96 billion, or $1.46 per share. To help juice its revenue, Apple has been raising some of its prices. In a bright spot, Apple's iPhone sales climbed 3% to $43.8 billion — a sign the company's latest models are being well received heading into the holiday shopping season. Apple’s service division also turned in a robust quarter with revenue of $22.31 billion, a 16% increase from last year.

Persons: Tim Cook, Cook, ”, Jesse Cohen, Max, Apple, “ Organizations: Apple, Research, U.S, Huawei, Google Locations: U.S, China, iPhones, Cupertino , California

Google Cloud generated third-quarter revenue of $8.41 billion, compared with $6.87 billion in the year-ago quarter. By contrast, 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. Azure revenue rose 29%, higher than a 26.2% growth estimate from market research firm Visible Alpha. Within the company's advertising segment, YouTube ads reported revenue of $7.95 billion compared with $7.07 billion last year. Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 stood at $76.69 billion, compared with estimates of $75.97 billion, according to LSEG data.

Persons: Paresh Dave, Jesse Cohen, Akash Sriram, Max A, Anil D'Silva, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, Google, Alpha, Microsoft, Revenue, Thomson Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, , California, Bengaluru, Max, San Francisco

☆ Alphabet Has Strong Ad Sales but Cloud Business Disappoints
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Nico Grant | More About Nico Grant | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A rebound in digital advertising led to an uptick in revenue and profit for Alphabet, Google’s parent company, but investors were underwhelmed by its cloud computing business, which badly trails those of rivals Microsoft and Amazon. Alphabet reported $76.7 billion in quarterly sales, up 11 percent from a year earlier, and roughly in line with analysts’ estimate of $76 billion, according to data compiled by FactSet. The internet giant said that its profit jumped 42 percent to $19.7 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $18.5 billion. “Investors were disappointed by the relatively weak performance at its Google Cloud Platform, which is at risk of falling further behind” Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services, Jesse Cohen, an analyst at investing.com, wrote in a note.

Persons: FactSet, Jesse Cohen Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Web Services, investing.com

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

"If interest rates remain high ... it's that much harder for people to buy the car. The price of the popular Model Y SUV was "almost unchanged" for consumers even after Tesla's price cuts, Musk said, accounting for higher financing costs. Reuters GraphicsPRICE CUTSTesla's aggressive price cuts this year have battered its gross margin even as it faces stiff competition in China from local automakers. Still, it stuck to its annual production target of 1.8 million cars, a sign that the price cuts were buoying demand to an extent. In the second quarter, Tesla had posted a gross margin of 18.2%.

Persons: Matthew Childs, Elon Musk, Musk, Tesla, Jesse Cohen, Akash Sriram, Hyunjoo Jin, Joe White, Abhirup Roy, Sayantani Ghosh, Sriraj Kaluvilla, Deepa Babington, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, General Motors, Chrysler, Reuters, Visible Alpha, Revenue, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Mexico, Nuevo Leon, China, Bengaluru, Hyunjoo, San Francisco, Detroit

☆ Disney hikes streaming prices, focuses on costs as Iger moves to reassure investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Disney also posted quarterly revenue below expectations and fell slightly behind analyst projections for U.S. subscribers of Disney+. A sign is shown at one of the entrances to Disney Studios in Burbank, California, U.S., July 25, 2023. It added 800,000 Disney+ subscribers, 100,000 subscribers shy of analyst estimates, and shed 12.5 million subscribers to the Disney Hotstar service in India, or nearly a quarter of its subscribers, as it gave up rights to Indian Premiere League cricket matches. Disney's direct-to-consumer business reported a 9% increase in revenue to $5.5 billion, as the average revenue per subscriber rose at Disney+ and Hulu. The unit had lower operating income at its domestic parks, due to decreases at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Persons: Walt Disney, Bob Iger, ’, “, I've, ” Iger, Wall, Iger, Mike Blake, Jesse Cohen, Dawn Chmielewski, Chavi Mehta, Aditya Soni, Peter Henderson, Sayantani Ghosh, Matthew Lewis Organizations: ESPN, Disney, Hulu, Netflix, Disney Studios, REUTERS, Indian Premiere League, Investing.com, Shanghai Disney Resort, Walt Disney World, Thomson Locations: Hollywood, Europe, Canada, Burbank , California, U.S, India, Disney's, Orlando , Florida, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

☆ Apple’s sales fall for the third consecutive quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The company said its services revenue reached a new all-time high of $21.2 billion. The services business — which includes Apple Music and Apple TV+ — is an increasingly important revenue driver for Apple. iPhone revenue came in at $39.7 billion for the quarter, marking an approximately 2% year-over-year decline. Mac revenue was $6.8 billion for the quarter, a 7% drop, and iPad revenue was down nearly 20%. Apple’s June quarter is typically the slowest of the year for the tech giant, which usually unveils new iPhone models in September.

Persons: CNN — Apple, Tim Cook, ” Cook, Cook, “, we’ll, Apple’s, ” Jesse Cohen, Luca Maestri Organizations: CNN, Apple Music, Apple, Air, Services, Global, Gartner, IDC

The company’s revenue was slightly better than what Wall Street had expected, but it nonetheless represented the second consecutive quarterly revenue decline for the iPhone maker. Despite the continued revenue decline, there were bright spots in the report. Apple also posted an all-time services sales record of $20.9 billion for the quarter. The services business — which includes Apple Music and Apple TV+ — is an increasingly important revenue driver for Apple that is less cyclical than hardware sales. Apple’s latest quarterly earnings report comes amid a sharp decline in PC and smartphone sales globally after a surge earlier in the pandemic.

☆ Uber’s revenue climbs 29% as it continues to defy tech slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Uber on Tuesday reported revenue of $8.8 billion for the quarter ending in March, a 29% increase from the same period last year and beating Wall Street’s estimates. The company’s continued strength comes despite lingering recession fears and stands in stark contrast to the slowing growth at other tech companies. It also sets Uber apart from its chief rival Lyft, which is undergoing significant layoffs and a shakeup in its C-Suite. Even with higher interest rates and tighter access to capital, Khosrowshahi said “we are well positioned to improve our competitive position across our key markets.”Shares for Uber surged more than 8% in pre-market trading Tuesday morning. Uber has largely avoided having to undergo the significant layoffs that have dominated headlines in Silicon Valley in recent months.

☆ Amazon earnings: Company posts $3.2 billion profit as it goes through multiple rounds of layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

The e-commerce giant on Thursday reported a profit of $3.2 billion for the first quarter, up from a loss of $3.8 billion in the year ago quarter and far exceeding analysts estimates. The swing to a profit comes as Amazon (AMZN) has ramped up its cost-cutting measures in recent months. It also comes as key areas of Amazon’s business continue to grow despite lingering recession fears possibly weighing on corporate and consumer spending. Amazon expects second-quarter net sales to grow between 5% and 10% from the same period the year before, or be between $127 billion and $133 billion. “The results indicate that ongoing cost-cutting measures are having a positive impact on Amazon’s business prospects,” said Jesse Cohen, senior analyst at Investing.com.

Across the company, Alphabet will "meaningfully" slow its pace of hiring this year, said Porat. Net income fell to $13.62 billion, or $1.05 per share, from $20.64 billion, or $1.53 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted profit of $1.05 per share fell short of an expected $1.18 per share, according to Refinitiv. Revenue from Google advertising, which includes Search and YouTube, fell 3.6% to $59.04 billion. Late last month, the Justice Department and eight states sued Google over what they said were anticompetitive practices in its digital ad sales.

Shares of Alphabet, were down about 4% in after-hours trading, after losing about 40% of their value in 2022. Revenue from Google advertising, which includes Search and YouTube, fell 3.6% to $59.04 billion. Alphabet's net income fell to $13.62 billion, or $1.05 per share, from $20.64 billion, or $1.53 per share, a year earlier. Adjusted profit of $1.05 per share fell short of an expected $1.18 per share, according to Refinitiv. Like rivals, Alphabet had bulked up during the pandemic and into last year, adding 12,700 new jobs in the third quarter alone.

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc's (META.O) stricter cost controls this year and a new $40 billion share buyback sent shares soaring on Wednesday, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg called 2023 the "Year of Efficiency." The parent of Instagram and Facebook cut its cost outlook for 2023 by $5 billion to a range of $89 billion-95 billion, and projected first-quarter sales that could beat Wall Street estimates. Shares of peer Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) were up 3.3% and Snap Inc (SNAP.N) stock rose 1% in after-hours trade on Wednesday. "Despite all the challenges Meta must deal with, there are signs the business is still doing well," Cohen said. The company forecast first-quarter revenue between $26 billion and $28.5 billion, compared with analysts' average estimates of $27.14 billion, according to Refinitiv.

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc's (META.O) stricter cost controls this year and a new $40 billion share buyback sent shares soaring on Wednesday, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg called 2023 the "Year of Efficiency." The parent of Instagram and Facebook cut its cost outlook for 2023 by $5 billion and projected first-quarter sales that could beat Wall Street estimates. The company forecast first-quarter revenue between $26 billion and $28.5 billion, compared with analysts' average estimates of $27.14 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Meta stock was up 18.3% in after-hours trade. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.76 per share, missing the average analysts' estimate of $2.22 per share.

☆ Meta shares surge nearly 20% as Zuckerberg pledges to make 2023 a ‘year of efficiency’
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —For years, Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg invested heavily in growth, including in areas like virtual reality with unproven potential. All of that helped send shares of Meta up nearly 20% in after hours trading Wednesday. Meta reported nearly $32.2 billion in revenue for the quarter, down 4% from the year prior but ahead of the $31.5 billion analysts had projected. The guidance is somewhat better than Snapchat-parent Snap’s from earlier in the week, which said it expects first quarter revenue to fall between 2% and 10% compared to the previous year. The company also lost a total of more than $13.7 billion in its “Reality Labs” unit which houses its metaverse efforts.

☆ IBM cuts 3,900 jobs, misses annual cash target
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Chavi Mehta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 25 (Reuters) - IBM Corp (IBM.N) on Wednesday announced 3,900 layoffs as part of some asset divestments and missed its annual cash target, dampening cheer around beating revenue expectations in the fourth quarter. Analysts said news of the job cuts and free cash flow miss was behind the drop. read moreIBM's 2022 cash flow was $9.3 billion, below its target of $10 billion, due to higher-than-expected working capital needs. In October, IBM flagged softness in new bookings in Western Europe while peer Accenture Plc noted weakness in its consulting business. For 2022, IBM recorded revenue growth of 5.5%, its highest in a decade.

Although iPhone sales were not as strong as some analysts had targeted, they were still a record for the September quarter. Minutes before Apple reported, Amazon.com AMZN.O added to tech sector misery, predicting a holiday profit slump that sent its shares down 20%. Apple's iPhone sales for the company's fiscal fourth quarter rose to $42.6 billion, when Wall Street expected sales of $43.21 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES. The company reported sales of iPads were $7.2 billion, compared with the average estimate of $7.94 billion. In China, which has experienced a sharp economic slowdown, Apple reported fourth-quarter sales of $15.5 billion.

[1/2] The logo of Apple company is seen outside an Apple store in Bordeaux, France, March 22, 2019. Although iPhone sales were not as strong as some analysts had targeted, they were still a record for the September quarter. Maestri said iPhone sales set a record for the September quarter, improving 10% over the prior year's quarter and exceeding the company's forecast. In China, which has experienced a sharp economic slowdown, Apple reported fourth-quarter sales of $15.5 billion. That is a gain from the prior quarter, when Apple logged sales of $14.6 billion.

☆ Amazon stock falls nearly 20% on light holiday quarter sales forecast
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Amazon (AMZN) stock fell nearly 20% in after-hours trading Thursday after the company forecast its holiday quarter sales would be lighter than analysts had expected. The weaker forecast comes as rising inflation and looming recession fears weigh on consumer purchasing decisions. Amazon reported revenue of $127.1 billion for its third-quarter, a 15% increase from the prior year but just missing Wall Street estimates. The company reported its Amazon Web Services segment sales increased 27% year-over-year to $20.5 billion – representing a slower pace of growth for a closely-watched business unit than Wall Street had expected. Amazon initially saw its business boom during the pandemic, as more consumers relied on online shopping.

[1/3] The logo for Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021. A strong dollar has hurt the overseas profits of large firms, while soaring inflation has prompted interest rate hikes and companies to raise product prices, even as consumers have been forced to cut spending. Google's results bode ill for Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META.O), which is especially reliant on advertising and reports results on Wednesday. Last week, its smaller rival Snap Inc (SNAP.N) forecast no revenue growth for the holiday quarter, setting off warning bells in the social media industry. Shares in Spotify (SPOT.N), which also warned on slow advertising growth, slid 4%.

[1/3] The logo for Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021. Google's results bode ill for Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META.O), which is especially reliant on advertising and reports results on Wednesday. Microsoft fell 2% and chipmaker Texas Instruments , which forecast quarterly revenue and profit below estimates, was down 5%. Shares in Spotify (SPOT.N), which also warned on slow advertising growth, slid 4%. "During the quarter we experienced expected weakness in personal electronics and expanding weakness across industrial," said TI boss Rich Templeton.

Last week, smaller rival Snap Inc's (SNAP.N) slowest-ever revenue growth rate sent inflation fears through tech sector and temporarily wiped out $40 billion in market capitalization. Google's advertising revenue was $54.48 billion in the third quarter, compared with $53.13 billion last year but came in below analysts' expectations. "Google’s earnings miss this quarter proves it’s not immune to the challenges facing the digital advertising industry at large," said Jesse Cohen, senior analyst at Investing.com. Alphabet's net income fell to $13.91 billion, or $1.06 per share, from $18.94 billion, or $1.40 per share, a year earlier. Revenue from Google Cloud rose to $6.9 billion during the quarter, from $5 billion a year earlier.

☆ Google’s core business is slowing down amid recession fears
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —Google may be the giant in the digital advertising world, but even it is not immune to the impact that the economic downturn and recession fears are having on the online ad market. It reported revenue of nearly $69.1 billion, up just 6% from the same period in the prior year. YouTube’s ad business, which competes with TikTok, was especially hard hit, with revenue declining nearly 2% from the year-ago quarter. High inflation, looming recession fears and the ongoing war in Ukraine have all continued to weigh on the industry. Growth in other areas of Google’s business also appear to be slowing.

☆ Elon Musk's lofty goals came back to bite him again — and it's only going to get harder from here
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some analysts question whether Tesla has enough demand to grow sales 50% each year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk remains optimistic about Tesla's plans and said it's on its way to an "epic end of year." Those bold targets came back to bite the Tesla CEO when the company reported lower-than-expected deliveries for the July-September period. Musk said "there weren't enough boats, there weren't enough trains, there weren't enough car carriers" to transport new Teslas from factories to customers. Even as it's accelerated its own sales, Tesla has been losing share of the electric market as EV sales ramp up globally.

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