Syz the moment

Amazon reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter, driven by growth in advertising and cloud computing. The stock was volatile in extended trading. Amazon expects a continued jump in profitability for the second quarter but at a more measured pace. The company said operating income will be $10 billion to $14 billion, up from $7.7 billion a year earlier. $AMZN Amazon Q1 FY24: • Revenue +13% Y/Y to $143B ($0.7B beat). • Operating margin 11% (+7pp Y/Y). • FCF $50B TTM. • Earnings per share: 98 cents vs. 83 cents expected by LSEG AWS: • Revenue +17% Y/Y to $25.0B. • Operating margin 38% (+14pp Y/Y). Q2 FY24 Guidance: • Revenue ~$144-$149B ($150B expected), representing growth of 7% to 11%. Source: App Economy Insights

As the tech giant builds a team to battle rivals in developing new AI models and products. According to a Financial Times analysis of hundreds of LinkedIn profiles as well as public job postings and research papers, the $2.7tn company has undertaken a hiring spree over recent years to expand its global AI and machine learning team. The iPhone maker has particularly targeted workers from Google, attracting at least 36 specialists from its rival since it poached John Giannandrea to be its top AI executive in 2018. While the majority of Apple’s AI team work from offices in California and Seattle, the tech group has also expanded a significant outpost in Zurich. Professor Luc Van Gool from Swiss university ETH Zurich said Apple’s acquisitions of two local AI start-ups — virtual reality group FaceShift and image recognition company Fashwell — led Apple to build a research laboratory, known as its “Vision Lab”, in the city. Source: FT

Source: Goldman

Former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison Tuesday, punished after pleading guilty to money laundering violations last year. Zhao founded Binance in 2017, and under his leadership, the company grew into crypto’s largest exchange by trading volume—cementing Zhao’s presence as a key business figure in the nascent crypto industry. But the former CEO was forced to step down from Binance last November as part of a $4.3 billion settlement between him, the exchange, and U.S. law officials. U.S. Justice Department officials said that Zhao created a company culture in which Binance’s growth was prioritized over compliance with U.S. financial rules. By serving American customers without the proper controls in place, funds linked to virtual theft and terrorism were able to flow through Binance undetected, officials said. Source: Decrypt

Source: Not Jerome Powell

DB notes $85B announced last week. Source: DB

Four intriguing facts: → In 1981, $IBM sparked the personal computing revolution with the release of its blockbuster IBM PC. → $MSFT was assigned to develop the operating system under a non-exclusive deal, instantly catapulting the company into a market-leading position in software. → In 1986, Microsoft went public with a market cap equaling 1% of IBM's, which at the time was the largest company in the world. → IBM's market cap now equals ~5% of Microsoft's, which now is the largest company in the world with a market cap exceeding $3 trillion.

Source: Visual Capitalist