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☆ Futures dip as Amazon warns of slowdown in cloud segment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) shares slipped 1.1% in premarket trading as the company signaled its cloud growth would slow further, overshadowing its better-than-expected quarterly results. The weak updates followed stronger-than-expected earnings from big technology and growth companies this week including Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) which led analysts to improve first-quarter profit estimates for S&P 500 companies. The main U.S. indexes ended up sharply on Thursday, with the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) logging its biggest one-day percentage gain since early January. Analysts expect first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies to fall 2.4% year-over-year compared with a forecast for a 5.1% fall at the start of April. ET, Dow e-minis were down 105 points, or 0.31%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 16 points, or 0.39%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 48.75 points, or 0.37%.

☆ Investors pile into cash, but snap up Chinese stocks in tricky markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - Uncertainty over the economic outlook and the banking sector prompted investors to move money back into cash and gold in the week to Wednesday, according to BofA Global Research. But the current environment is tricky to trade, as evidenced by a push into perceived risky assets such as tech stocks and the largest inflows into Chinese equities in well over a year, BofA's note, which cited data from EPFR, said on Friday. There were $52.3 billion of inflows to cash funds in the week, a resumption of inflows after one-off outflows a week earlier, and also $200 million of inflows to gold. There have been $634 billion of inflows into cash in the year to date compared to $11 billion for the whole of 2022. Meanwhile, in the week to Wedensday there were $6.1 billion of inflows to Chinese equity funds, the most since January 2022, and $1.2 billion of inflows to tech funds, the most since November 2022.

☆ Microsoft signs 10-year deal with Spain's Nware after UK blocks Activision bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The agreement marks the latest effort by Microsoft to ease fears its purchase of Activision would hinder competition in cloud gaming, which was the reason cited by the Competition and Markets Authority to veto the biggest deal in gaming. In its decision on Wednesday, the CMA said Microsoft had an estimated 60%-70% of global cloud gaming services as well as competitive advantages including owning Xbox, PC operating system Windows and cloud provider Azure. The Activision deal is the biggest involving technology companies the regulator has blocked. Microsoft shares were slightly lower in U.S. premarket trading, while those of Activision ticked up 0.2%. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra ELuriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ State Attorneys General Lose Bid to Revive Facebook Antitrust Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jan Wolfe | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Meta Platforms praised the ruling and said it would fight the Federal Trade Commission’s pending litigation. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg NewsWASHINGTON—An appeals court said it wouldn’t revive a major antitrust case against Meta Platforms Inc., handing a defeat to dozens of state attorneys general who sought to undo the Facebook parent’s acquisition of messaging platform WhatsApp and photo-sharing app Instagram. In a 3-0 decision on Thursday, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a June 2021 ruling that dismissed the case.

☆ Facebook-parent Meta soars as AI powers return to growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Aditya Soni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company is set to add nearly $60 billion to its market valuation, if premarket gains hold. The rally also lifted other tech companies from Snap Inc (SNAP.N) and Pinterest Inc (PINS.N) to Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) by as much as 3.3%. "If you want to be treated and valued like a growth stock, you need growth! And this is precisely what Meta delivered returning to growth... just as questions around a potential recession get louder," Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik said in a note. "Year of efficiency (now) paves the way to AI offense," Roth MKM's Rohit Kulkarni said.

☆ Dropbox to cut workforce by 16%, hire new talent for AI-powered products
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 27 (Reuters) - Cloud storage provider Dropbox Inc (DBX.O) said on Thursday it would reduce its global workforce by 16% to cut costs amid slowing cloud growth, and instead hire new talent to build its AI offerings. San Francisco, California-based Dropbox is the latest tech company to tap AI as Big Tech players from Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) to Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) battle for a slice of the fast-growing market with new products and offerings. At the end of 2022, the company had 3,118 full-time employees, of which 2,583 were located in the United States. "We've been bringing in great talent in these areas over the last couple years and we'll need even more," Houston said in a memo to staff. Houston is also on the board of Meta Platforms, which said on Wednesday AI was helping it boost traffic to Facebook and Instagram and earn more in ad sales.

Companies Meta Platforms Inc FollowWASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Thursday refused to revive a lawsuit filed by states against Meta's (META.O) Facebook that alleged the company had broken antitrust law. Dozens of states led by New York asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last year to reinstate the lawsuit, which U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of the District of Columbia rejected, saying they had waited too long to file. The three-judge unanimous appeals court panel said it agreed that "the states unduly delayed in bringing suit." Both were publicized," Circuit Judge A. Raymond Randolph wrote, noting that the FTC had investigated both transactions. Neither the New York attorney general's office nor Facebook immediately responded to a request for comment.

☆ Gap to lay off about 1,800 employees in second round of job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 27 (Reuters) - Gap Inc (GPS.N) said on Thursday it would cut about 1,800 jobs in a second round of layoffs, joining a set of big U.S. companies that are downsizing in earnest as high inflation eats into consumer wallets. In September, Gap eliminated about 500 corporate workers across a range of departments as it struggled to protect margins and battled weak sales. As of Jan. 28, the apparel chain had about 95,000 employees, according to a regulatory filing. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the new round of job cuts earlier this week. Reporting by Anne Florentyna Gnanaraja Sekar and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Futures rise on Meta forecast ahead of key earnings, economic data
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Futures up: Dow 0.26%, S&P 0.42%, Nasdaq 0.70%April 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday as an upbeat forecast from Meta Platforms lifted social media stocks, with investors looking forward to big-ticket earnings and key economic data. Shares of social media platforms Snap Inc (SNAP.N) and Pinterest Inc (PINS.N) rose 3.4% and 2.8%, respectively. Meta is the second best performer among the S&P 500 stocks with a 74% gain so far this year, next only to Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O). Analysts expect first-quarter earnings to have fallen 3.2% year-over-year for S&P 500 (.SPX) companies versus a 5.1% decline forecast earlier, according to Refinitiv data on Wednesday. ET, Dow e-minis were up 88 points, or 0.26%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 17.25 points, or 0.42%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 90.25 points, or 0.7%.

"At this point, we are no longer behind in building out our AI infrastructure," Zuckerberg said on a conference call. AI recommendations increased time spent on Instagram by 24% in the January-March quarter, Meta said. Reuters GraphicsCOST CONTROLSpending on the AI retooling has spiked the company's capital expenditures, which came in slightly under expectations at $7.1 billion for the quarter. "We've been focusing on both AI and the metaverse for years now, and we will continue to focus on both." Revenue for the first quarter rose 3% to $28.65 billion, beating an average estimate of $27.66 billion.

Microsoft shares rallied 7.2% following upbeat quarterly earnings and sales, including of robust artificial intelligence products. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 228.96 points, or 0.68%, to 33,301.87; and the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 15.64 points, or 0.38%, at 4,055.99. The S&P 500 technology index (.SPLRCT) was the sole gainer among the benchmark's 11 major industry sectors, adding 1.7%. Of the 163 S&P 500 companies that reported first-quarter profit through Wednesday morning, 79.8% topped analysts' expectations, as per Refinitiv IBES data. It helped push the S&P 500 bank index (.SPXBK) down 1.4% on the day.

The company said its expenses for the year may be lower than it had forecast in March. Spending on the AI retooling has spiked the company's capital expenditures, which came in slightly under expectations at $7.1 billion for the quarter. Analysts had forecast $7.2 billion in capital expenditures in the quarter, based on the company's annual forecast of $30 billion to $33 billion, which it kept unchanged. Net profit for the first three months of the year fell to $2.20 per share from $2.72 a year earlier, but beat expectations of $2.03 a share. Revenue for the first quarter rose 3% to $28.65 billion, beating an average estimate of $27.66 billion.

☆ UK blocks Microsoft's $69 bln Activision deal over cloud gaming concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The country's antitrust regulator said on Wednesday that Microsoft's commitment to offer access to Activision's multi-billion dollar "Call of Duty" franchise to leading cloud gaming platforms would not effectively remedy its concerns. The gaming company also reported quarterly results on Wednesday, a day earlier than scheduled, beating quarterly bookings estimates although that seemed to do little to allay investor concerns about Britain's move. Europe will decide on the Activision deal by May 22. The CMA said the cloud gaming market was forecast to be worth 11 billion pounds ($13.7 billion) globally by 2026. The CMA said Microsoft had an estimated 60%-70% of global cloud gaming services as well as competitive advantages including owning Xbox, PC operating system Windows and cloud provider Azure.

SummarySummary Companies Microsoft up as quarterly results top estimatesAlphabet gains on buyback plans, ad sales beatActivision Blizzard down as UK blocks Microsoft dealIndexes: Dow slips 0.01%, S&P up 0.30%, Nasdaq climbs 1.23%April 26 (Reuters) - The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced on Wednesday as strong results from Microsoft and Alphabet offset concerns over rising interest rates and their effect on the U.S. economy. Earnings forecasts have improved, with analysts expecting a 3.2% contraction in first-quarter profit for S&P 500 companies compared with a 5.2% decline estimated at the start of the earnings season. Of the 163 S&P 500 companies that reported first-quarter profit through Wednesday, 79.8% topped analysts' expectations, as per Refinitiv IBES data. PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) gained 14.2% as the regional lender beat estimates for first-quarter profit and managed to stabilize deposit outflows. The S&P index recorded five new 52-week highs and seven new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 42 new highs and 300 new lows.

☆ Facebook Parent Expected to Report Fourth Straight Quarter of Falling Sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Salvador Rodriguez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The unit that makes Meta’s virtual-reality headsets has been posting operating losses. Photo: Jeff Chiu/Associated PressFacebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is expected to post its fourth straight quarter of declining sales as it struggles with weak advertiser demand and increasing privacy headwinds. Meta is expected to report first-quarter revenue of nearly $27.7 billion, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet. That would be down 0.7% compared with a year earlier. Meta has never reported four consecutive quarters of declining sales since going public in 2012.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) climbed 8.2% in premarket trading after it beat estimates for quarterly results, and said that artificial intelligence products were stimulating sales. Earnings forecasts have improved, with analysts expecting a 3.9% contraction in first-quarter profit for S&P 500 companies compared with a 5.2% decline estimated at the beginning of the earnings season. Of the 124 S&P 500 companies that reported first-quarter profit through Tuesday, 79% topped analysts' expectations, as per Refinitiv IBES data. Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is scheduled to report results after market close on Wednesday. ET, Dow e-minis were up 62 points, or 0.18%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 11.5 points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 139.75 points, or 1.09%.

☆ UK blocks Microsoft $69 bln Activision deal over cloud gaming concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The country's antitrust regulator said on Wednesday that Microsoft's commitment to offer access to Activision's multi-billion dollar "Call of Duty" franchise to leading cloud gaming platforms would not effectively remedy its concerns. Microsoft announced its Activision bid in January 2022 to boost its firepower in a video gaming market led by Tencent (0700.HK) and Sony (6758.T). Europe will decide on the Activision deal by May 22. The CMA said the cloud gaming market was forecast to be worth 11 billion pounds ($13.7 billion) globally by 2026. The CMA said Microsoft had an estimated 60%-70% of global cloud gaming services as well as competitive advantages including owning Xbox, PC operating system Windows and cloud provider Azure.

☆ Facebook Parent Meta Platforms Sees First Sales Increase in Nearly a Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Salvador Rodriguez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Adele MorganFacebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. on Wednesday reported its first increase in sales in nearly a year due to continued improvements in its advertising business, as the company continues to pare back spending in what Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has called a “year of efficiency.”The company reported revenue of $28.6 billion, up 3% from a year prior and ahead of expectations of nearly $27.7 billion, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet. That snapped a streak of three quarters in which Meta’s revenue had retreated from the year prior, the only time that has occurred since the company went public in 2012. Shares surged by more than 10% in off-hours trading, as the company also forecast that second-quarter revenue could reach as high as $32 billion.

Google used the term 52 times on its first-quarter call on Tuesday, up from 45 in the fourth quarter. Both companies said AI was already juicing sales, but neither said when or if they would start breaking out any sales, costs, or profits from the technology. Bing has lagged Google search for decades but Nadella said that Bing downloads had jumped since the addition of AI features and now had 100 million daily users. Toyama said Google already used AI to monetize their search algorithms and he did not expect AI advances from its rivals to be as much of a threat as some thought. Meta, which has admitted it is playing catch-up in AI, has published an AI model that can pick out individual objects from within an image.

☆ 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.

☆ Meta's Reality Labs records $3.99 billion quarterly loss as Zuckerberg pumps more cash into metaverse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg keeps racking up losses from his metaverse investments while downsizing his social media company through cost cuts. In its first-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, Meta said its Reality Labs unit, which is tasked with building the virtual reality and augmented reality technologies for the futuristic metaverse, recorded a $3.99 billion operating loss. The numbers show a slowdown from last quarter, when Reality Labs lost $4.28 billion on $727 million of revenue. For all of last year, Reality Labs recorded an operating loss of $13.72 billion on $2.16 billion in sales, underscoring how VR and AR technologies have yet to reach the mainstream. In March, Meta cut the price of its Quest 2 VR headset as well as the high-end Quest Pro.

☆ '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.

☆ Meta just suffered a major Facebook ad glitch that has advertisers asking about refunds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesOver the weekend, Alex Gorlick experienced what he called the worst Facebook glitch he's seen in the decade he's worked in digital advertising. A spokesperson for Facebook parent Meta acknowledged there was an ad glitch but declined to provide details or an explanation as to why it happened. Additionally, the Facebook ad bug impacted companies running ads tied to Earth Day. Hott noted that Facebook experienced a major ad glitch a day before Black Friday in 2020 as well as another similar bug earlier that summer. The main issue for advertisers will be whether they get refunds from Meta because of the glitch, industry experts said.

☆ Nasdaq futures rally over 1% after upbeat Microsoft, Alphabet results
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Futures up: Dow 0.10%, S&P 0.43%, Nasdaq 1.25%April 26 (Reuters) - Nasdaq futures rallied more than 1% on Wednesday after upbeat results from Microsoft and Alphabet dwarfed worries about the impact of rising interest rates on the U.S. economy. Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) climbed 7.5% after it beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly results, and said that artificial intelligence products were stimulating sales. Of the 124 S&P 500 companies that reported first-quarter profit through Tuesday, 79% topped analysts' expectations, as per Refinitiv IBES data. ET, Dow e-minis were up 33 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 17.5 points, or 0.43%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 160.75 points, or 1.25%. PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) rallied 17.4% as the regional lender beat estimates for first-quarter profit as it managed to stabilize deposit outflows.

SummarySummary Companies Microsoft up as quarterly results top forecastsCloud firms gain on Microsoft earnings cheerActivision Blizzard down as UK blocks Microsoft dealIndexes: Dow off 0.02%, S&P up 0.16%, Nasdaq climbs 1%April 26 (Reuters) - The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced on Wednesday as strong Microsoft results offset concerns over rising interest rates and their effect on the U.S. economy, while an upbeat forecast from Boeing further boosted sentiment. Earnings forecasts have improved, with analysts expecting a 3.9% contraction in first-quarter profit for S&P 500 companies compared with a 5.2% decline estimated at the beginning of the earnings season. Of the 124 S&P 500 companies that reported first-quarter profit through Tuesday, 79% topped analysts' expectations, as per Refinitiv IBES data. Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) is scheduled to report results after market close on Wednesday. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.09-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while advancers outnumbered decliners by a 1.04-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

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