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Nov 17 (Reuters) - The board of the company behind ChatGPT late on Friday fired OpenAI CEO Sam Altman - to many, the human face of generative AI - sending shock waves across the tech industry. Backed by billions of dollars from Microsoft (MSFT.O), OpenAI kicked off the generative AI craze last November by releasing its ChatGPT chatbot, which became one of the world's fastest-growing software applications. He was the face of OpenAI and the wildly popular generative AI technology as he toured the world this year. Altman posted on X shortly after OpenAI published its blog: "i loved my time at openai. "That said, we believe Microsoft and Nadella will exert more control at OpenAI going forward with Altman gone."

Persons: Sam Altman, Mira Murati, OpenAI, Altman, what’s, Murati, Tesla, Satya Nadella, Mira, Nadella, Eric Schmidt, Daniel Ives, Thomas Hayes, Davidson, Gil Luria, Samrhitha, Jeffrey Dastin, Anna Tong, Krystal Hu, Shounak Dasgupta, Kenneth Li, Richard Chang Organizations: Microsoft, Union, U.S, Reuters, OpenAI, Wedbush Securities, Economic Cooperation, Thomson Locations: openai, Asia, San Francisco, Oakland , California, Bengaluru, New York

☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

Persons: Eduardo Quintela Gonzáles, ” Quintela, JAN, “, ”, Quintela, Victor, Edith Turner, Chaucer, ferne, sondry londes, Vaishno Devi, Lyra Skinner, Lyra, Victoria Preston’s, —, Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary, Bath, Naipaul, Augustus, Ryan, garret, Virgin, Monica Machicao, Nicholas Casey, ” Monica, Casey, Evo Morales, sloughing, Columbus, Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Monica, glitzy cholets, Peru —, Viracocha, it’s, Pablo Quisbert, Leandro Chitarroni, Eichmann, Father Chitarroni, Father Chitarroni’s, Conquistadores ”, Fernando Cervantes, Bernabé Cobo, Quisbert, Edgar Quispe, Tatiana Huayhua, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, Mary, Yupanqui’s, su, Yupanqui, Chitarroni, she’s, Friar Abelino Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori’s, Irene, Juana, hajji, Waka, Aracely Alcón, Santiago, Alcón, ‘, don’t, ” Alcón, Tito Yupanqui, Uma Marka, Pachamama, haggard, Amaru Fiorilo Barrios, he’d, ” Fiorilo, Fiorilo, who’d, Valeria Alcón, Laureano Jose Quisbert, Elena Ticona Flores, Eduardo Quintela’s, Ensamble, pang, padre, consolations, Sincrético, El, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Axel, amauta, strode, La, Aatish Taseer, Saint Helena —, Constantine I, La Paz, Orgilbaatar Tsolmon, Orgil, Genghis Khan, Edward Gibbon, ” Orgil, Araniko’s, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s, Kubla Khan, Coleridge, Kublai, Stalin, sybarite, Khamar, Dalai Lama, Lama, Christopher Kaplonski, ger, I’d, banshtai tsai, Prim, Egi, Munkhdul, Gandantegchinlen, Haidav, herder, “ Um sain, boltugai, Danzanravjaa, Zanabazar’s, Erdene, Mandakhtsog Monkhbaatar, Monkhbaatar’s, Dalai Lamas, prostrated, He’d, Zuu, she’d, Santiago de, L.K, Advani, Emperor Babur, Ram, kar sevaks, Ayodhya, Narendra Modi, Munkhbaatar Batchuluun, Henry Wallace, Franklin D, Potemkin, Munkhbaatar, Gerelmaa, Giimaa, She’d, Eduardo Quintela, Aracely, Santiago’s, Joseph Brodsky’s, Muhammad’s, Hussein, William Keo, ” Khuder, pillion, Labaik, Hussein ”, O Hussein, hearkened, Prophet, Ali —, Ali, Yazid, Imam, crackling, chickpeas, Imam Ali, Imam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Tusi, Qasim, Imam Hussein’s, Khuder, “ Will, Najaf, prestes, — I, Yasir Yaseen, Ashura, Ali Akbar, Abbas, Ali Asghar, “ We’re, Francisco Goya’s, Hussein’s, Groom, Joseph, ” Wissam, Turfi, Saddam —, Arbaeen, Saddam, “ Imam Hussein, WE, Muhammad, Barnaby Rogerson, Prophet Muhammad ”, ” Ali, Muhammad — Muhammad, formlessness, Muqtada al, Abrams, chiding, Abu Musab Al, Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, William, “ They’re, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, flagellants, ruddy, stylishly, Hussein — shahid —, Farman Ahsan, Syed Salman Raza —, Saddam’s, ” Raza, William “, Ali Zayn al, Abidin, Labaik ya Hussein, thrall —, Lloyd, Susanne Rudolph — Organizations: CITY LA, LA, LA PAZ, Virgin, Crusaders, Dolorosa, Sun, The New York Times, Bolivian, Spain, La, Cordillera, Universidad Mayor de, Catholic, Good, La Paz, Dominican, Pakistan, Caesars, Nissan, Coke, Communists, Communism, ardor, Communist, Hyundai, flails, sacra, Apache, Mahdi Army, Al, ISIS, Karachi —, Princeton Locations: Bolivia, Mongolia, Iraq, Aatish Taseer Bolivia Mongolia Iraq, CITY LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, NAJAF, IRAQ, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, LA PAZ, La Paz, Bolivian, Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, New York, Christian, British, sondry, India, Delhi, Varanasi, Europe, American, Mecca, Arabia, Long, Vino Tinto, Chile, Peru, Monica, Plurinational State, Bolivia —, Americas, Spain, Columbian, Aztec Mexico, Inca Peru, Calvary Hill, Virgen del Cerro, South America, Puerto Rico, Huatajata, ”, Argentine, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Mexican, revelry, Spanish, “, morena, La, “ India, multilayered, Potosí, Argentina, Warisata, Scotch, Santiago de Compostela, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nations, El Alto, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Tibet, Bolivia’s, Yamuna Rivers, United States, Buddhist Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian, Istanbul, Asia, Islam, China, Beijing, Dadu, Erdene Zuu, Soviet, Gobi, Los Angeles, gers, Qing China, Karnataka, Töv Province, Karakorum, Khamar, Erdene, Ukraine, Korea, Golden, Bayankhongor, Lhasa, Dalai, Inner Mongolia, Mongol, Nalaikh, Santiago, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, Bulgan Province, Somnath, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, ger, East German, Uvs Province, Pakistani, Indian, Tennessee, Najaf, Baghdad, Khuder, —, abayas, KARBALA, Kufa, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, Imam Ali, Bab, Kuwaiti, Bohras, South Asia, Tajikistan, Zaydis, Yemen, Alawites, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Sadr, U.S, Jordanian, Al Qaeda, Mesopotamia, Al, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Karachi, Doha, Qatar

While enterprise demand stabilized for legacy products, that has not extended to cloud computing, the mainstay for Microsoft and Amazon. Alphabet and Meta are set to benefit from an uptick in digital ad sales ahead of the holiday-shopping season. Last month, media research and investment firm Magna raised its forecast for U.S. ad spending growth to 5.2%, from 4.2%, for calendar 2023. Reuters GraphicsAmazon, however, is expected to be shielded by strong retail sales, thanks to a strong labor market. Meta reports on Wednesday and Apple will round off Big Tech earnings with results next week, on Nov. 2.

Persons: Gil Luria, It's, Rishi Jaluria, Yuvraj Malik, Zaheer Kachwala, Sayantani Ghosh, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, D.A, RBC Capital, Nvidia, RBC, Google Services, Magna, Amazon Web Services, Reuters Graphics, Big Tech, Thomson Locations: Davidson, Bengaluru

Microsoft, which owns the Xbox gaming system, closed its $69 billion deal to buy game-maker Activision Blizzard on Friday after fending off global opposition from antitrust regulators and rivals. It marks a career-defining moment for Spencer, who first joined Microsoft as an intern in 1988 and has helmed Xbox since 2014. When the companies announced a planned merger in January 2022, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made clear it would be "critical for Activision Blizzard to drive forward” on its commitments to improve its workplace culture. As of late last year, Activision Blizzard had 13,000 employees, about 72% in North America, according to a regulatory filing. “It is a new day for workers at Activision Blizzard,” said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. in a statement Friday.

Persons: Phil Spencer, Spencer, “, ”, Gil Luria, Davidson, he’s, Bobby Kotick, who's, Kotick, Satya Nadella, Joe Biden's, ” Luria, George Jijiashvili, Elder, ” Jijiashvili, Claude Cummings Jr, ” Cummings Organizations: Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, Activision, PlayStation, Sony, U.S . Federal Trade, ZeniMax Media, Bethesda Softworks, Communications Workers of America Locations: Southern California, U.S, United Kingdom, San Francisco, Bethesda, North America, Canada

☆ Klaviyo shares rise following NYSE debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | 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 EmailKlaviyo shares rise following NYSE debutGil Luria, senior software analyst at D.A. Davidson, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss Klaviyo's IPO opening, manufacturing tools at scale for merchants to shop online, and the direct-to-consumer ecosystem.

Persons: Gil Luria, Davidson Organizations: NYSE, D.A

☆ Oracle tumbles as strong cloud competition, Cerner weakness dent forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the Oracle cloud service logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. The company was on track to lose about $30 billion in market value, based on its premarket share price of $115. "We continue to believe high single-digit growth might be unsustainable for Oracle given Cerner integration risks and formidable data center competition," D.A. Most analysts, however, were positive on the company and attributed the share price decline to Oracle's rally in the run-up to earnings. But they highlighted strong deferred revenue, AI backlog commentary and some positive signs in the cloud business as positives.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Safra Catz, D.A, Davidson, Gil Luria, Aditya Soni, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Oracle, REUTERS, Amazon Web Services, Google, Barclays, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ D.A. Davidson says this cloud data provider is set to benefit in a big way from AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Snowflake is an up-and-coming player in the artificial intelligence world that's here to win, according to D.A. The cloud data provider has gained nearly 11.4% year to date, but it's down 9.2% this quarter. "Even after cloud optimization efforts that plagued software companies this year, we view Snowflake in an advantageous position," Luria wrote in the Thursday note. "They maintain best-in-class growth rates and are positioned well as a cloud data company to benefit from increasing demand for artificial intelligence." Snowflake announced in late June that it is partnering with Nvidia to provide businesses with a path to create customized generative AI applications using their own proprietary data, using the Snowflake Data Cloud platform.

Persons: Davidson, Gil Luria, Luria, D.A, Snowflake, — Michael Bloom Organizations: Nvidia

☆ This software stock more than doubled on the back of A.I. mania. Here's why Wall Street expects the rally to fade
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Shares of Palantir have surged 181% this year as investors bet on its potential in the booming artificial intelligence race. The company, founded in 2003, is already making strides in AI, even lending its tools to hospitals . In its latest earnings release in early May, CEO Alex Karp called demand for Palantir's AI platform, which allows commercial and government sectors to use LLMs with their own private data, "without precedent." While some analysts see promise in Palantir's AI capabilities, many remain cautious on the immediate profit contribution of the technology and view the stock as ripe for a pullback. In a note to clients in May, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss noted that the rally in Palantir shares and premium valuation creates an unfavorable near-term risk-reward.

Persons: Palantir, Alex Karp, Malik Ahmed Khan, Davidson's Gil Luria, Raymond James, Brian Gesuale, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss, Karp, Morningstar's Khan, Mizuho's Matthew Broome, Davidson's Luria, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Wall, Nvidia, billings Locations: Denver

In their joint venture agreement, Baker Hughes says it uses C3.ai's solutions and also sells the product to companies in the oil and gas industry. CNBC's "Last Call" aired a report Thursday night on the investor lawsuit against C3.ai and the company's relationship with Baker Hughes. The lawsuit says the publicity about the massive Baker Hughes sales force "artificially inflated C3's stock" when the company first went public. Richard Drew | APIn an April 2023 filing, Baker Hughes announced it divested 1.7 million C3.ai shares, bringing its ownership to 6.9 million shares. Kerrisdale pointed to C3.ai's "highly conspicuous growth" in unbilled receivables, largely from Baker Hughes, and wrote that "accounting red flags abound with the Baker Hughes relationship."

Persons: Tom Siebel, Siebel, Thomas M, Chris J, Ratcliffe, it's, Baker Hughes, Logan Roy, Larry Ellison, Yasmin Khorram, Dan Brennan, We've, Brennan, he's, CNBC's, Reed Kathrein, Theranos, —, Kathrein, Richard Drew, they'd, unbilled, receivables, Siebel's, Ken Goldman, Goldman, Gil Luria, Davidson, Luria, Nick Wells, Scott Zamost, Sam Woodward, Tom Siebel's Organizations: Siebel Systems, Oracle, Bloomberg Tech Summit, Bloomberg, Getty, CNBC, Forbes, Siebel, C3, U.S . Department of Defense, Shell, Northern District of, SEC, Twitter, " Traders, New York Stock Exchange, AP, Point Capital Management, Spotify, C3 Energy, Revenue, Wall Locations: London, Redwood City , CA, Redwood City , California, Northern District, Northern District of California, unbilled receivables, Point

☆ Shares of data analytics firm Palantir surge 22% on profit forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The data analytics software maker, known for its work with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, late on Monday reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street's expectations, lifted by bigger projects from existing commercial and government clients. The platform uses the same technology behind ChatGPT, the popular chatbot from OpenAI. The surge on Tuesday drove Palantir's stock to its highest price since mid-February and brings its gain in 2023 to 49%. Palantir's plan to turn quarterly profits throughout 2023, helped by cost cuts, opens the potential for it to join the S&P 500 (.SPX) index, D.A. More than $1.5 billion worth of Palantir's stock had been exchanged as of midday on Tuesday, putting it among Wall Street's 12 most traded stocks by turnover.

The new generative AI platform was launched two weeks ago and works on the same technology that's behind ChatGPT. The first iteration of the AI platform will be made available to some customers this month, Palantir CEO Alexander Karp said, adding the new offering can assist militaries in targeting enemies. Palantir's first-quarter revenue rose 18% to $525.2 million and adjusted profit stood at 5 cents per share, both above estimates. Palantir continues to tighten its cloud spending and is investing in focus areas like AI, said finance chief David Glazer. The company forecast second-quarter revenue of $528 million and $532 million, below estimates of $536.2 million, per Refinitiv data.

May 8 (Reuters) - Data analytics software maker Palantir Technologies (PLTR.N) said on Monday it expects to turn a profit every quarter in 2023 weeks after launching its new artificial intelligence platform, sending its shares up about 28% in extended trading. Palantir's new generative AI platform works on the same technology that's behind ChatGPT. The interest in the new offering has been "unlike anything we have seen", CEO Alexander Karp said in a letter to shareholders, adding the AI platform can assist militaries in targeting enemies. The company forecast second-quarter revenue in the range of $528 million and $532 million, below estimates of $536.2 million, per Refinitiv data. Palantir continues to tighten its cloud spending and is investing in focus areas like AI, said Glazer.

May 4 (Reuters) - Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), posted a surprise first-quarter profit on Thursday and said it would lay off 20% of its workforce in a second round of mass job cuts, sending its U.S.-listed shares more than 18.7% higher in early trade. The layoffs announced on Thursday are expected to result in a severance charge of between $140 million and $150 million in the second quarter. "Combined with the reduction in force, management is showing its commitment to profitability which investors had been concerned about," Luria added. Adjusted profit was 1 cent per share, compared with expectations for a 4 cent loss. Reporting by Chavi Mehta and Akshita Toshniwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Shopify tried to challenge Amazon in logistics. It never came within 100 miles. Was it all a waste?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Shopify is selling most of its logistics business to freight unicorn Flexport in an all stock deal. Though Shopify's logistics journey began in 2019 as Shopify Fulfillment Network, the current iteration is less than a year old, and investors had become wary of the level of investment that getting the outfit into competitive shape would take. The acquisition was previously considered key to Shopify's fulfillment ambitions, and its team has been involved in the company's efforts to develop fulfillment software. Derek Lossing, an Amazon Logistics alum-turned investment advisor with Cirrus Global Advisors, said an acquisition-driven strategy may have been the right course — especially when the alternative involved contracting with legacy logistics players, which can take months. To some, the question of whether Shopify's layover into logistics was a waste of talent, time, and resources, can't be answered until Flexport takes hold and Clark flexes the muscles he gained building Amazon Logistics.

☆ DA Davidson says this software stock has 'Buffett-esque' qualities and can surge nearly 40%
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

ZoomInfo Technologies is a "Buffett-esque" stock with big upside ahead, according to DA Davidson. ZI 1D mountain ZoomInfo Technologies shares 1-day ZoomInfo made its public debut in June 2020, jumping more than 60% in its first day on the Nasdaq. Since then, trading has been volatile for the software stock. The provider of sales software should also get a boost from tech layoffs that's expected to reduce sales departments. "We see the long-term opportunity not only from the base data product, but mostly from continued expansion as the leading Sales Enablement provider," Luria wrote.

☆ 'AI All-Star' Microsoft's rosy earnings spark rally in tech stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Redmond, Washington-based tech giant was set to add nearly $160 billion to its market value and replace Saudi Aramco (2223.SE) as the world's second-most valuable company, if premarket gains hold. Microsoft's results bode well for an industry that has laid off tens of thousands of workers recently as demand fades in the face of a sagging economy. The Windows maker's earnings call on Wednesday underscored the growing importance of AI, with CEO Satya Nadella referring to 50 times in a 60-minute event. "Given the significant head start OpenAI has over other generative AI engines and Microsoft has over its hyperscaler (large-scale data center) competitors, we believe that Azure may gain share as generative AI continues to proliferate into many more corners of software and the economy," D A Davidson analyst Gil Luria said. Reporting by Nivedita Balu and Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu SahuOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Accusations against C3.ai: Baker Hughes pays it 'very large amounts' of money annually, says analyst
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | 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 EmailAccusations against C3.ai: Baker Hughes pays it 'very large amounts' of money annually, says analystGil Luria of D.A. Davidson discusses a short seller's allegations against C3.ai and says C3.ai has a "multi-hundred million dollar" relationship with Baker Hughes.

☆ Israel ratifies law limiting conditions for a Netanyahu ouster
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People demonstrate as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its contentious judicial overhaul, outside a museum in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 22, 2023. REUTERS/Nir EliasJERUSALEM, March 23 (Reuters) - Israel ratified a law on Thursday limiting the circumstances in which a prime minister can be removed, despite worries voiced by a government jurist that it may be meant to shield the incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu from any fallout from his corruption trials. The coalition says the overhaul is aimed at pushing back against Supreme Court over-reach and restoring balance among branches of government. Netanyahu denies all charges against him, and has cast the trials as a politicised bid to force him from office. "They have the potential to serve the personal interests of a man regarding the outcomes of legal proceedings he is facing."

[1/2] Microsoft Corp's Bing search engine is seen on a computer in this illustration picture taken January 24, 2019. While Bing AI has been available to most users around the world since February, Google began the public release of its chatbot Bard only on Tuesday. "Bing has less than a tenth of Google's market share, so even if it converts 1% or 2% of users it will be materially beneficial to Bing and Microsoft," Luria said. App downloads for Bing have also jumped eight times globally after AI integration, according to app research firm Data.ai. Downloads for the Google search app fell 2% in the same period, the data showed.

Meta's LLaMA, short for Large Language Model Meta AI, will be available under non-commercial license to researchers and entities affiliated with government, civil society, and academia, it said in a blog. Large language models mine vast amounts of text in order to summarize information and generate content. "Generative AI is a new application of AI that Meta has less experience with, but is clearly important for the future of their business." It described its 65-billion-parameter LLaMA model as "competitive" with Google's Chinchilla70B and PaLM-540B, which are even larger than the model that Google used to show off its Bard chat-powered search. Meta in May last year released large language model OPT-175B, also aimed at researchers, which formed the basis of a new iteration of its chatbot BlenderBot.

☆ Shopify is in talks to add Amazon's Buy with Prime service. Analysts say this is a 'Trojan horse' that could cut into Shopify's core revenue.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But many analysts don't think that Buy with Prime is a good thing for Shopify. Shopify executives continued to strike an optimistic tone about Amazon's Buy with Prime feature during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. Buy with Prime allows sellers to offer Prime benefits — like fast shipping, free delivery, and free returns — on websites outside of Amazon.com. Shopify merchants that try to install it get a pop-up informing them that the checkout feature violates the company's terms of service and could leave their store vulnerable to fraud. Many Shopify merchants choose not to sell their products on Amazon because they want to maintain control over their customer data.

☆ Shopify's revenue forecast fails to impress, shares fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) on Wednesday forecast slowing revenue growth for the current quarter despite price hikes and new product launches, signaling that macroeconomic challenges were weighing on its merchants' online businesses. U.S-listed shares of Shopify, which started 2022 as the most valuable Canadian company before losing three-quarters of its value, fell about 8% in extended trading. The technology company, which offers tools and services for businesses to set up their online stores, said it expects revenue growth in the "high-teen" percentages, while analysts had forecast a rise of nearly 20%, according to Refinitiv data. "For them to guide to high-teen growth after taking price increases that didn't factor into the last quarter, it seems very conservative," said Gil Luria, analyst at D.A. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 26% to $1.7 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $1.64 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Here's how tech giants Microsoft, Google, and Baidu are dealing with ChatGPT, and what that could mean for investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

ChatGPT's viral success has caught the eye of big tech companies and investors. Microsoft is working to integrate the bot into its search engine, while Google is scrambling for alternatives. Major tech names like Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, and Chinese tech giant Baidu have all taken steps in recent weeks to show they're trying to harness the technology underpinning OpenAI's ChatGPT. BaiduChinese search giant Baidu is also working on developing a rival to ChatGPT to use in its services. But analysts generally expect Baidu's bounce to prove short-lived – because so many of its competitors, including Microsoft and Google, are working on similar AI programs.

☆ Shopify's prices will go up by as much as 33% in some cases, but analyst say merchants aren't going anywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Analysts say Shopify's products offer a much better value than their competitors'. He added that many merchants pay more in fees for third-party apps and add-ons than they do for a Shopify subscription. With those fees in mind, an increase to the monthly subscription fee would seem relatively small, Pfau argued. Luria said that it's possible Shopify's price hikes could "upset smaller merchants for whom this is a big expenditure," particularly amid inflation and economic uncertainty. Shopify's price hikes come as the company makes changes to its leadership team.

☆ Latest Microsoft results show the tech giant is still a buy despite near-term pressures, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft may be facing some near-term pressures, but most analysts think the stock remains a buy at current levels. Radke has a buy rating on the stock, and raised his target price slightly to $282 from $280. His $300 price target represents more than 23% upside from Tuesday's closing price for the stock. Davidson's Gil Luria was especially bullish on Microsoft, saying that the tech giant "deserves a premium valuation relative to the market and its Pac4 comparables." He lowered his price target to $265 from $267.

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