Platform Executive

The full version of the article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Microsoft sees cloud business growth, but supply woes continue for Xbox Microsoft has forecast a strong end to the calendar year thanks to its booming cloud business but said supply chain woes will continue to dog key units such as those producing its Surface laptops and Xbox gaming consoles. The company beat Wall Street expectations for its fist quarter ended Sept. 30, with pandemic-induced demand for the software giant's cloud-based services driving sales. Contracts for cloud services provided by Microsoft, Amazon.com Inc's AWS and Google Cloud have surged since last year when the COVID-19 pandemic shut offices and schools, pushing more activity online. First-quarter revenue growth for Azure, the company's flagship cloud-computing business, came in at 48% in constant currency to beat analysts' estimates of 47.5%, according to consensus data from Visible Alpha. Amy Hood, executive v...

The full version of the article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Twitter avoids revenue hit from Apple privacy changes Twitter Inc has reported its quarterly revenue grew 37% and avoided the brunt of Apple Inc privacy changes on advertising that hobbled its rivals, sending its shares up 3%. The social networking site has been working to add new features such as audio chat rooms to attract users, and also rolled out improvements to its advertising capabilities to reach its goal of doubling annual revenue by 2023. Advertising revenue was $1.14 billion during the quarter ended Sept. 30, in line with consensus estimates. The company said it saw a "modest" impact to ad revenue due to privacy changes Apple rolled out, which prevent advertisers from tracking users on their devices without their consent. Investors had expected Twitter would be relatively shielded from being hurt by the changes, because most of its advertisers do not rely on highly targeted ads...

The full version of the article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Robinhood shares drop below IPO price in after-market trading on crypto slowdown Robinhood Markets Inc's shares fell below their initial public offering price in after-hours trading after the retail broker reported softer revenue than expected for the third quarter as trading levels declined for cryptocurrencies like dogecoin. Shares of Robinhood were down 8.77% at $36.10 following the release of the results, below the $38 they were priced at in the Menlo Park, California-based company's July IPO and well below the $85 they hit in August. Robinhood, which owns the app that was at the center of January's trading mania for so-called meme stocks, said in August it expected retail investors to take a breather in the third quarter. The slowdown in retail trading, one of the standout market trends of the COVID-19 era, comes as vaccine rollouts in the US have helped allow the country to ease pa...

The full version of the article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: TikTok tells US lawmakers it does not give information to China’s government An executive at TikTok faced tough questions during the video-sharing app's first appearance at a US congressional hearing, saying it does not give information to the Chinese government and has sought to safeguard US data. Senators at the hearing also voiced concerns that TikTok, owned by Beijing-based internet technology company ByteDance, and rivals YouTube and Snapchat have algorithms that can be harmful to young people. Michael Beckerman, TikTok's head of public policy for the Americas, became the company's first executive to appear before Congress, testifying to a subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. Republicans in particular pressed Beckerman on worries regarding TikTok's stewardship of data on the app's users. Senator Marsha Blackburn, the panel's top Republican, said she is concern...

The full version of the article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Trump tightens grip on social media company after SPAC deal success Former US President Donald J Trump will be able to retain the ownership of his newly launched social media venture even if he chooses to make another White House run or is convicted by prosecutors who are looking into his business dealings. Trump said last week that TRUTH Social would be created through a new company formed by a merger of the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) and blank-check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp. According to regulatory filings issued late on Tuesday, Trump was referred to as the "company principal," even though the exact size of his stake in the company was not disclosed. However, the former president is set to keep his ownership in TMTG, even if the company faces a "material disruptive event" - the latest filings include a clause that is designed to shield his stake. ...

The full version of the article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Alphabet earns record profit on Google ad surge Alphabet has reported higher than expected third-quarter ad sales, a sign that the business is overcoming new limits on tracking mobile users and that online shopping is as popular as ever heading into the holiday season. Through its search engine, YouTube video service and partnerships across the Web, Google sells more internet ads than any other company. Demand for its services surged in the past year as the pandemic forced people to spend more time online, and their new habits have persisted. Google advertising revenue rose 41% to $53.1 billion during the third quarter. Alphabet's overall sales jumped to $65.1 billion, above the average estimate of $63.3 billion among analysts tracked by Refinitiv. "The consumer shift to digital is real and will continue even as we start seeing people return to stores," said Philipp Schindler, Google...

The full version of the article, along with thousands like it, can be found here: Facebook invests billions in metaverse efforts as ad business slows Facebook said it will start publishing the financial results of its augmented and virtual reality labs as a separate unit, where it is investing billions in its ambitions to build the "metaverse" and as it reported that its main advertising business faces "significant uncertainty." Facebook, which reported third-quarter profit up 17%, warned that Apple Inc's new privacy changes would weigh on its digital business in the current quarter. The social media company reported quarterly revenue below market expectations, which COO Sheryl Sandberg told analysts was due to the iOS changes. David Wehner, Facebook's CFO, said the company expected its investment in its hardware division, Facebook Reality Labs, to reduce overall operating profit in 2021 by approximately $10 billion. The financial commitment to this h...