Tag: Internet Media and Services

Booking Holdings Stock Rises on Strong Q4, Dividend Hike, $20B Buyback Plan

Shares of Booking Holdings (BKNG) rose in premarket trading on Friday after its fourth-quarter results topped expectations.

Airbnb shares jump on strong quarterly results, expansion plans

Airbnb shares rose as much as 13.3% in premarket trade on Friday after the vacation home rentals company beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter results, boosted by strong international travel demand.

Apptronik raises $350 million to scale production of humanoid robots

Apptronik said on Thursday it has raised $350 million in a funding round led by B Capital and Capital Factory, with participation from Alphabet’s Google to scale production of AI-powered humanoid robots.

Alphabet shares bear brunt of worries on massive AI spend, sluggish cloud growth

Alphabet shares dropped about 7% in premarket trading on Wednesday as investors were disappointed by the company’s slowing cloud growth and concerned about its hefty investment to build artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

Uber fourth-quarter profit misses estimates as costs surge

Uber Technologies on Wednesday reported a lower-than-expected profit in the October-December period on rising costs, and forecast first-quarter bookings short of estimates due to a strong dollar, sending its shares 6% down before the bell.

Spotify Reports First Full-Year Profit

Spotify reported its first ever full year of profitability, fueled by record user growth and austerity measures after years of heavy spending on growth initiatives such as podcasts.

China launches limited tariffs after Trump imposes sweeping new levies

China imposed targeted tariffs on American imports on Tuesday and put several U.S. companies, including Google, on notice for possible sanctions, in a measured response to the sweeping duties on Chinese imports imposed by President Donald Trump.

Meta Earnings Crushed Estimates. The Stock Isn’t Crushing It.

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms reported strong fourth-quarter earnings results Wednesday afternoon. Its post-release gain, however, looked tepid relative to the results.

Google invests further $1bn in OpenAI rival Anthropic

Google is making a fresh investment of more than $1bn into OpenAI rival Anthropic, boosting its position in the start-up as Silicon Valley titans rush to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems.

TikTok owner ByteDance plans to spend $12bn on AI chips in 2025

The Beijing-based company has budgeted Rmb40bn ($5.5bn) to acquire AI chips in China in 2025, according to two people familiar with the plans, which would double the amount it spent last year. The group also plans to invest about $6.8bn overseas to beef up its foundation model training capabilities using advanced Nvidia chips.

Oracle, OpenAI, SoftBank, Trump Announce $500 Billion AI Infrastructure Plan

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Oracle Chairman and CTO Larry Ellison joined President Trump to announce an investment of as much as $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the U.S.

Meta to Cut Roughly 5% of Staff, Targeting Lowest Performers

Meta Platforms Inc. is cutting roughly 5% of its staff through performance-based terminations and plans to hire new people to fill their roles this year, according to an internal memo sent to all employees.

Ocado Retail Revenue Rises Driven by Improved Sales Volume, Record Christmas

Ocado Group said revenue from Ocado Retail its joint venture co-owned with Marks & Spencer Group grew sharply, driven by improved volumes and a record Christmas performance.

China considers selling TikTok U.S. operations to Musk, Bloomberg reports

The Chinese government is considering a plan that would have Elon Musk acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations to keep the app from being effectively banned, Bloomberg News reported Monday.

Meta Floats EBay Ads Solution to Comply with EU Antitrust Order

Meta Platforms Inc. offered to publish listings from classified ads rival eBay Inc. on Facebook Marketplace in an effort to comply with a landmark European Union antitrust order that was accompanied by a €798 million ($822 million) fine.

Delta links its loyalty program to Uber, ending partnership with Lyft

Delta Air Lines will link its lucrative SkyMiles loyalty program to Uber this spring, the companies announced Tuesday, as the airline ends its eight-year partnership with smaller ride-hailing rival Lyft.

Getty Images Stock Rises 83% on Plans to Merge With Shutterstock

Getty Images stock skyrocketed in premarket trading Tuesday after the company said it plans to merge with rival stock photography service Shuttershock.

Taiwan Blocks Uber’s $950 Million Takeover of Local Foodpanda Business

Taiwan has blocked Uber Technologies’  planned $950 million takeover of Foodpanda’s local delivery business on anticompetition concerns, thwarting the U.S. company’s efforts to expand in Asia.

Prosus to buy Latin American online travel agency Despegar.com for $1.7 billion

Dutch technology investor Prosus NV said on Monday it would buy Latin America-focused online travel agency Despegar.com Corp for about $1.7 billion in cash, as it looks to expand its services across Latin America.

US Supreme Court will review TikTok divest-or-ban law

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will hear TikTok’s appeal against a divest-or-ban law that will determine the video app’s fate in the US.