Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky brushed aside worries about out-of-stock items at Whole Foods and misfires in the company's Fresh grocery delivery product.
Why it matters: Amazon's further push into the perishable groceries business after the purchase of Whole Foods is being closely watched.
Tech giants delivered strong fourth-quarter earnings reports with each company hitting a notable milestone, but had a few misses.
Apple reported record quarterly revenue and per-share earnings thanks to the iPhone X, but disappointed on its outlook for the current quarter. iPhone unit sales also fell short.
Amazon beat estimates for the fourth quarter, which was the first where the company drew a profit of more than $1 billion.
Google missed estimates on earnings per share, but beat revenue estimates thanks to strong advertising growth. Its cloud business brought in more than $1 billion in revenue, a notable milestone. It also announced former Stanford University president John Hennessy is its new board chairman, replacing Eric Schmidt.
We have a more accurate map of the surface of Mars than we do for Earth’s ocean floor. Right now, researchers have a blurry, indirect picture of the seabed from satellite imaging, some sonar data and samples collected from ships.
Yes, but: There's an avalanche of data about the chemical, physical and biological properties of the ocean, and scientists are beginning to use machine learning to tie that data to limited scientific records in hopes of piecing together a better picture.
Why it matters: The ocean is the planet's largest carbon sink thanks to processes that critically depend on the seafloor, and sediment layers hold a record of the ocean's chemical and climatic history. Understanding the ocean floor is key for climate forecasts and predicting geohazards like tsunamis as well as for efforts to mine the seas for methane and minerals.
Intel is seeking investors for a majority stake in its consumer-facing augmented reality business, which plans to start selling Bluetooth-connected "smart glasses" as soon as this year, reports Bloomberg.
Why it matters: Intel reportedly values its AR business at as much as $350 million, while Goldman Sachs estimates the overall market for AR and VR hardware could reach a high of $110 billion by 2025. Having struggled to find success in the consumer products space, the chipmaker is said to be prioritizing investors with industry expertise over those with significant financial resources.
Google's stock was down 5% in after-hours trading Thursday after the company reported that it missed on earnings per share. Google says revenues were negatively impacted by tax regulation that went into affect last month.
Why it matters: Google's core business is still healthy, despite content concerns on its media platforms, increased scrutiny from European regulators, and commerce threats from Amazon. Its advertising business grew and drove revenues to beat expectations.
Buoyed by the release of the iPhone X, Apple reported record quarterly revenue and per-share earnings, but its outlook for the current quarter was less than some analysts had been forecasting. Plus, iPhone unit sales fell short of expectations, dropping slightly from a year ago.
Why it matters: Apple watchers have been looking for signs on whether the iPhone X would lead to a typical upgrade cycle or to a greater-than-usual "super cycle."
Amazon's earnings for the 2017 holiday season beat estimates as it continues to dominate the online retail market.
The bigger picture: The Wall Street Journal notes that the fourth quarter of 2017 was the first where the company — which has notoriously tight margins — drew a profit of more than $1 billion, which the company says included a "provisional" tax benefit of $789 million linked to the recently-passed tax reform bill.
Alphabet is broadening the reach of its YouTube Go video app to more than 115 countries, Reuters reports. The "Go" app's expansion to countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and Iraq doubles its accessibility to roughly 60 percent of the world's population.
Why it matters: The app is designed for emerging markets where consumers may have cheaper phones and limited Internet access. Users are able to preview and download videos for offline viewing and sharing, and receive more prompts regarding their mobile data usage.
Top Senate Intelligence Committee Democrat Mark Warner said Thursday he had “some concern” that Twitter had more than doubled the number of users it's notified about being exposed to the Russian election meddling campaign in 2016.
The other coast: Twitter said Wednesday that it notified 1.4 million people via email that they'd been exposed to Russian-linked election-related tweets. It had initially notified 677,775 people that they'd engaged with such content.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan Thursday calling for the removal of Devin Nunes as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer later sent a letter echoing Pelosi's statement and demanding answers from Ryan, according to NBC News.
Why it matters: Nunes has come under fire for not only authoring a controversial memo alleging FISA abuse by the FBI, but also for having reportedly made material changes to the version of the document he sent to the White House — changes not approved by his Committee. President Trump is expected to approve the release of the memo today, with some redactions requested by the bureau.
Investors will look to Apple's earnings call this afternoon for insight into iPhone X demand and how much overseas cash it may bring back to the states.
Here are the 3 big things we'll be paying attention to.
Spotify and Discord are teaming up to let users share music through the latter's chat app, the companies said Thursday.
Branching out: Discord's app was designed for video gamers to chat while playing, though people have been using it to discuss other interests as well. The partnership with Spotify will formalize the music-based usage that's organically been happening through the app, the company said.
Apple will hold its earning report later today, when analysts expect the company to report per-share earnings of $3.82 on revenue of $86.3 billion, per Zacks.
What we'll be watching: Here are the 3 big things we'll be paying attention to during the call.
Wednesday evening, Rep. Adam Schiff released a statement claiming the classified memo written by Rep. Devin Nunes and sent to the White House to be approved for public release included "material changes" from the version the House Intelligence Committee had approved.
Why it matters: As Axios' Jonathan Swan points out, "Trump's plan had been to release the memo tomorrow. This, if true, could delay the release."
