Tag Archives: profit

Tesla Reports Significant Profit Decline Despite Surge in U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales

Posted on by
Reply

Even with record-breaking car sales, Tesla’s profits have taken a significant hit in the latest quarter.

A surge in demand for electric vehicles ahead of the expiration of U.S. tax credits has revitalized Tesla’s declining sales figures, enabling the firm to exceed some Wall Street forecasts during its latest fiscal quarter. Nonetheless, it fell short of profit expectations, resulting in a decline in its stock price during after-hours trading.

Tesla’s third-quarter earnings were reported at $0.50 per share, just below the anticipated $0.54 from analysts. The company’s sales, however, surpassed Wall Street’s expectations of $26.457 billion. Operating income stood at $1.62 billion, slightly under the forecast of $1.65 billion, with net income down 37% from $2.2 billion to $1.4 billion.


Deliveries for Tesla in the third quarter saw a notable increase since the beginning of the year. Analysts attribute this rise to consumers rushing to secure electric vehicle tax credits that lapsed at the end of the previous month. The discontinuation of these EV credits, as a result of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, fueled a public rift between Musk and the president and continues to influence the company’s sales forecasts.

In its earnings releases, the company repeatedly highlights its optimistic strides in enhancing AI software and self-driving technology while also mentioning “changes in trade, tariffs, and fiscal policy” as obstacles it is facing.

“No one can replicate what real-world AI can achieve,” Musk stated during a conference call with investors. He also claimed that Tesla’s Optimus robot, which received minimal mention during the earnings call, could potentially be “the largest product ever created.”

“With Optimus and autonomous driving, we believe we can truly create a world without poverty,” Musk asserted. He further introduced a proposed $1 trillion pay package designed to safeguard Tesla from being “isolated” if it develops an “army of robots.”

This earnings report emerges at a critical juncture for both Tesla and Musk, as the CEO seeks investor endorsement for an extraordinary $1 trillion pay package in a forthcoming vote next month. This package depends on Tesla achieving several ambitious milestones, including attaining an $8.5 trillion market cap over the next decade.

So far, two proxy advisory firms have suggested rejecting the extravagant pay package, despite Musk’s substantial support base among Tesla fans and investors eager to please him. Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) provide guidance on how shareholders should cast their votes. As reported recently, they have recommended against the proposed multi-trillion dollar compensation package.

During the investor call this Wednesday, Musk made various claims regarding the future of Tesla’s robotaxi ride-sharing service. He informed investors that the robotaxi initiative—which includes a safety driver in the self-driving vehicle for emergencies—will soon launch in Austin, with plans to remove the driver entirely. Recent weeks have seen major U.S. transportation safety regulators announce: an investigation into traffic safety violations and crashes related to Tesla’s fully autonomous driving technology.

This week, Musk insulted U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy through a series of posts, including labeling him “Sean Dummy” and sharing calls for his dismissal. Duffy, who also serves as NASA’s acting administrator, indicated Monday that he would resume bidding on contracts for the space agency’s Artemis moon program due to Musk’s SpaceX falling behind schedule.

Skip past newsletter promotions

Shareholders are set to vote on Musk’s $1 trillion compensation proposal during the company’s annual meeting on November 6. Both Tesla and Musk have pushed back against criticisms of the proposal, with the company labeling ISS’s recommendation against the pay package as “baseless and meaningless” in an extensive post on X. Musk hinted in a post on X that he might consider departing from the company if his pay package doesn’t secure approval and accused ISS and Glass Lewis of engaging in “corporate terrorism” during a conference call with investors.

Tesla has experienced a rocky year, marked by heightened competition, the loss of key tax credits, and Musk’s tumultuous leadership. The company reported declines in profits and revenue in the previous quarter. Musk’s political actions, including his prominent role in the Trump administration and promotion of far-right movements, have sparked widespread backlash and fostered anti-Tesla sentiments following a drop in the company’s stock price earlier this year.


While Tesla’s stock has seen significant growth over the past six months, Musk has actively been promoting self-driving taxis and robotics as future income streams. Just last month, he claimed that Tesla’s Optimus robot, a humanoid machine still in development and unavailable for purchase, could eventually represent 80% of the company’s revenue. Musk has made similarly grand declarations about robotaxis populating cities globally, continually extending the timeline for their anticipated rollout.

Recently, Tesla introduced a long-anticipated, more affordable sedan, the Model Y, aimed at improving tepid sales. This new sedan line has faced criticism from some analysts due to its starting prices of $39,990 and $36,990, which are significantly higher than those of lower-priced rivals in China. Consequently, Tesla’s stock price fell shortly after the launch. Additionally, the Cybertruck, which debuted in 2024, has not made a substantial impact on overall sales.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Dyson Reports Nearly 50% Profit Decline During “Challenging” Years | Dyson Ltd

Posted on by
Reply

Dyson’s profits have been nearly halfway through a challenging year, during which the home appliance company, established by billionaire Sir James Dyson, reduced over a quarter of its UK workforce.

Since relocating to Singapore in 2019, Dyson has reported selling over 20 million products, emphasizing its shift towards being “proof of the future.”

Nonetheless, filings in Singapore reveal a revenue drop of more than £500 million, bringing it down to £6.5 billion.

The slowing economic growth and reduced consumer confidence have been intensified by one-off challenges, including the pound’s strength against the Asian currencies where many of its products are sold.

The bagless vacuum cleaner and hand dryer segments also faced one-off expenses related to global restructuring, leading to about 1,000 job cuts in the UK.

Consequently, pre-tax profits dipped 47% to £561 million in 2024.

Hanno Kirner, the company’s CEO, described 2024 as a “tough but essential year” for Dyson. The annual dividends paid to the family holding entity have seen significant reductions.

Distributions to Weybourne Holdings, which includes the Dyson family’s rapidly expanding investment in farmland and agriculture, fell from £700 million to £200 million in 2024.

A memo attached to the accounts indicated that Dyson finalized payments with a dividend of £225 million in January and February this year.

Founded in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, in 1991, most Dyson products are manufactured abroad; however, the majority of research, development, and design occur at the UK facility.

Despite criticism over moving the company to Singapore, particularly given his support for Brexit, Dyson stated that the UK would remain the primary hub for research and development.

The 78-year-old entrepreneur is among the largest landowners in the UK, having heavily invested in agriculture and advanced food production; two of his children, Jacob and Sam, are executives at Dyson Holdings. All three are categorized as “permanent residents” of Singapore in corporate filings.

Skip past newsletter promotions

The entrepreneur and his family ranked fourth on the 2025 Sunday Times Rich List, with a wealth estimated at £20.8 billion.

In the results statement, Dyson highlighted a new product launched in 2024, featuring a “complete reinvention of hair dryers” along with hair care products using chitosan, a plant-derived polymer from oyster mushrooms.

He remarked: “We are incredibly excited for the launch after 2025. This will introduce significant innovation into homes, including a total redesign of hair dryers and vacuum cleaner models, with new wet and dry cleaning technologies, robotics, and purification systems.”

This year saw the release of the “world’s slimmest vacuum,” boasting a diameter of 38mm.

In 2019, the company abandoned its plans to create an electric vehicle.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Apple Beats Wall Street Projections with $24.78 Billion Profit

Posted on by
Reply

Apple has built its reputation on innovation, but recently, it has leaned more towards diplomatic solutions.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, recently secured a tariff exemption for exporting iPhones manufactured in China. This strategic move allowed Apple to focus on business and maintain a strong position.

It facilitated the company’s launch of new budget-friendly iPhones in February, alongside boosting app and service sales. Apple stated that quarterly profits increased by 4.8% from last year, totaling $24.78 billion. Meanwhile, company sales rose 5% to $953.6 billion.

These results surpassed Wall Street Analysts’ expectations of $24.37 billion in profits and $943.5 billion in sales. However, stocks fell by more than 2% in after-hours trading.

Apple’s consistent performance emerged amidst various challenges. Within months, the company faced both internal and external struggles, including setbacks with its highly anticipated artificial intelligence system and the tough tariff policies enforced by the Trump administration on overseas products.

Last month, Apple’s stock took a dive following President Trump’s announcement of a 145% tariff on exports from China, where 80% of iPhones are produced. This measure also affected other countries that manufacture iPads and Macs, such as Vietnam, resulting in a loss of approximately $770 billion in market value over four days.

Wall Street analysts anticipate that Apple may need to raise the iPhone price from $1,000 to $1,600. In response, some customers rushed to purchase iPhones before the potential price hike, leading to a temporary sales boost.

However, three months after donating $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, Tim Cook sought to persuade the White House to ease the tariff restrictions.

Last Thursday, Apple reported that iPhone sales, its primary revenue source, increased by 2% to $46.84 1 billion compared to the previous quarter. There was over a 10% rise in iPhone sales in Japan, India, and the Middle East, leading Apple to secure the largest share of smartphone sales globally in three months, according to Counterpoint Research.

Nevertheless, the company continues to struggle in China, posting a sales decline for the sixth consecutive quarter, with total revenue from the region at $16 billion, down 2% year-over-year.

“We are eager to see the developments at the company’s high-tech research firm,” said Ben Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative Strategies. “The question remains, what if additional tariffs are implemented?”

The company’s services division, which includes app sales, Apple Music, and Apple Pay, has outperformed device sales, generating $26.65 billion in revenue, reflecting an 11.6% increase from the previous year.

However, the future stability of Apple’s services division is in question. Recently, a federal judge criticized the company’s business practices under antitrust laws, ruling that Apple could not impose a 27% fee on selling apps outside its app store, undermining a key revenue stream.

In another antitrust matter, Apple risks losing the $2 billion in service revenue derived from Google’s payment for being the default search engine on iPhone web browsers. A federal ruling last year determined that Google maintained an illegal search monopoly, with hearings planned to address these activities.

The device division also faces uncertainties. Last year, Apple unveiled a generational AI system aimed at enhancing email, summarizing notifications, and upgrading Siri, its virtual assistant. This system was marketed as a primary reason to purchase a new iPhone. However, in March, the company announced it would be delayed until this fall.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Microsoft Sees 18% Profit Surge Despite Reduced AI Spending

Posted on by
Reply

Following the launch of the ChatGpt Chatbot in 2022, Microsoft has been pouring substantial funds into developing a data center, as highlighted by one industry analyst. Dubbed “Constructing the largest infrastructure ever created by humanity.”

Nevertheless, the company has put the brakes on spending after 10 consecutive quarters marked by increased investment in artificial intelligence, as indicated in the financial results released Wednesday.

In the first quarter of 2025, Microsoft allocated $21.4 billion toward capital expenses, which is over $1 billion less than the previous quarter.

The organization intends to invest more than $80 billion in capital expenditures for the current fiscal year, which concludes in June. However, these pullbacks suggest that, even if marginally, the tech sector’s enthusiasm for AI spending might not be limitless.

Overall, Microsoft’s results showcased unexpected strength in its operations. Revenue surpassed $70 billion, marking a 13% increase from the same period last year. Profits rose by 18% to reach $25.8 billion. These results significantly exceeded Wall Street’s forecasts.

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, stated, “The cloud and AI are fundamental components for every business aiming to enhance efficiency, lower expenses, and boost growth.”

Following the announcement, Microsoft’s stock surged by over 5% in after-hours trading.

The company is aggressively expanding, and in the last quarter, Microsoft noted that sales would have been even greater if additional data centers were operational to meet the demand for cloud computing and AI services from its clients.

Sales for Azure, Microsoft’s premier cloud service, increased by 33% during the quarter, greatly surpassing Wall Street’s expectations, with nearly half of that growth attributed to AI services.

Investors have experienced fluctuations in infrastructure spending following reports from analysts at TD Securities in late February that Microsoft had exited several data center contracts. Analysts suggested that Microsoft is linked to a project intended to develop advanced AI systems, in collaboration with partner OpenAI. OpenAI is currently planning to partner with Oracle under the Stargate Project.

Microsoft has acknowledged a slowdown in projects in Ohio and Wisconsin, mentioning the suspension of “early stage projects” as part of its Refinement Process.

(The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement related to AI system-generated news content. Both companies have denied the allegations.)

Analysts at Raymond James reported last week that they have not yet noticed significant reductions in spending from Microsoft’s Enterprise Cloud customers. However, they expressed concerns that tariffs and economic uncertainty could prompt customers to cut back on growth initiatives and focus more on maintaining operations.

Microsoft’s personal computing segment grew by 6%, reaching $13.4 billion, while commercial sales of productivity tools for businesses, including Excel, Teams, and Word, increased by 15%.

Microsoft’s results would have shown even greater performance if revenues exceeded $1 billion and profits had not been impacted by over $400 million due to the depreciation of the US dollar.

Source: www.nytimes.com

GM Revokes Profit Forecasts as Trump’s Tariffs Decrease

Posted on by
Reply

On Tuesday, the automaker announced that General Motors has revised its profit growth forecasts for the year, citing uncertainties stemming from President Trump’s trade policies.

This month, the Trump administration declared a 25% tariff on imported vehicles and plans to impose the same duty on imported parts starting Saturday. Typically, about half of GM’s sales in the U.S. come from vehicles manufactured overseas, primarily in Canada and Mexico.

During a conference call with reporters, Paul Jacobson, the company’s CFO, stated, “We prefer not to discuss figures that are mere speculation regarding the administration’s actions.”

He further emphasized that GM perceives the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs as “material,” indicating a significant influence on the company’s revenue this year.

GM reported a profit of $2.8 billion for the first quarter on Tuesday, reflecting a 7% decrease compared to the prior year. The profits were primarily driven by a 14% drop in earnings before North American interest and taxes, while the international business reported modest gains.

Previously, the company had forecasted net profits of $11.2 billion to $12.5 billion for 2025, which would effectively double last year’s net profit of $6 billion.

“We cannot rely on earlier projections,” Jacobson remarked.

Along with the 25% tariff on imported cars, the Trump administration has elevated tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, raising the costs of metals crucial for car manufacturing. Additionally, tariffs on China have increased significantly, with several other countries also facing higher duties, which have temporarily decreased to 10% for a 90-day period.

Jacobson described GM’s discussions with the Trump administration regarding tariffs as “productive,” though he declined to provide further details, stating, “I don’t want to appear as negotiating in public.” He expressed hope for greater clarity on the tariff situation within the automotive sector.

Jacobson noted that the tariffs only became effective on April 3, thus having a negligible effect on the company’s financial results for the first quarter. “We have a solid foundation for our operations,” he reported.

GM has previously stated plans to ramp up production of pickup trucks at its facility located near Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Apple exceeds profit expectations despite declining iPhone sales.

Posted on by
Reply

Apple’s profits for the third quarter of 2024 surpassed expectations, driven by new AI capabilities that helped offset declines in the Chinese market.

Although iPhone sales dropped compared to the previous year, revenue exceeded analyst predictions, reaching $85.78 billion for the quarter ending June 29, beating the expected $84.53 billion. The company maintained its cash dividend at 25 cents per share.

The positive report contrasted with disappointing earnings from tech giants like Amazon, Snap, and Intel. Intel, in particular, revealed plans to cut over 15,000 jobs to reduce costs and Amazon’s shares dropped after forecasting lower sales for the current and upcoming quarters.


Investors were keen on Apple’s performance in China, where market share has been dwindling. Sales in China dropped by 6.5% to $14.73 billion, a steeper decline than anticipated.

Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, addressed the concerns during an investor call, attributing some of the decline to currency fluctuations and noting that iPad sales had returned to growth.

Despite challenges in China, iPhone sales exceeded expectations with a slight decrease of 0.9% to $39.3 billion, less than analysts had predicted. This improvement was partly due to heightened demand before the release of new iPhones that featured enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities.

Apple’s artificial intelligence initiatives, including generative AI tools and a partnership with OpenAI for Siri enhancements, are seen as a strong move towards the AI consumer market.

The company’s solid performance was lauded by analysts, with expectations high for future sales impacted by the AI upgrades.

Skip Newsletter Promotions

iPad sales experienced robust growth, increasing by 23.7% to $7.16 billion, surpassing analysts’ expectations. Meanwhile, revenue from wearables, which include Apple Watch and AirPods, decreased by 2.3% to $8.1 billion.

Courtesy of Reuters report

Source: www.theguardian.com

International Monetary Fund (IMF) calls for consideration of balancing the effects of AI with profit and environmental taxes

Posted on by
Reply

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests that governments dealing with economic challenges brought about by artificial intelligence (AI) should look into implementing fiscal policies such as taxes on excessive profits or environmental taxes to offset the carbon emissions linked to AI.

The IMF highlights generative AI, which enables computer systems like ChatGPT to create human-like text, voice, and images from basic prompts, as a technology advancing rapidly and spreading at a swift pace compared to past innovations like the steam engine.

To address the impact on jobs due to AI, the IMF proposes policies like a carbon tax considering the environmental effects of operating AI servers. The IMF emphasizes the importance of taxing carbon emissions from AI servers to incorporate environmental costs into the technology’s price.


The IMF report released on Monday highlights the significance of taxing carbon emissions associated with AI servers due to their high energy consumption and the potential to impact data centers’ electricity use. Data centers, servers, and networks currently contribute up to 1.5% of global emissions, according to a recent report.

In addition, the report cautions that introducing AI could reduce wages, widen inequality, and empower tech giants to strengthen their market dominance and financial gains. It recommends higher taxes on capital income, including corporate taxes and personal income on dividends, interest, and capital gains, to address these challenges.

Furthermore, the report stresses the need for governments to prepare for the impact of AI on various job sectors, both white-collar and blue-collar, and suggests measures like extending unemployment insurance, targeted Social Security payments, and tailored education and training to equip workers with necessary skills.

To overhaul the tax system and introduce new taxes reflecting real-time market values, the IMF recommends leveraging AI’s analytical capabilities. While cautioning against universal basic income due to its high cost, the IMF suggests considering it if AI disrupts jobs significantly in the future.

Ella Dabra Norris, deputy director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department and co-author of the report, encourages countries to explore the design and implementation of systems like UBI if AI disruption intensifies.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Elon Musk criticizes OpenAI for prioritizing profit over humanity

Posted on by
Reply

Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman for prioritizing profit over humanity’s interests, contrary to its core mission.

As the wealthiest individual globally and a founding director of the AI company behind ChatGPT, Musk alleges that Altman violated OpenAI’s founding covenant by striking an investment deal with Microsoft.

The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco, accuses OpenAI of prioritizing profit over human well-being by shifting its focus to developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) for commercial gain rather than humanitarian purposes.

Musk claims that OpenAI has essentially become a subsidiary of Microsoft, the world’s largest tech company, under new leadership, diverting from its original principles outlined in the founding agreement.

The lawsuit raises concerns about AGI posing a significant threat to humanity, particularly if it falls into profit-driven companies’ hands, like Google.

Originally founded to be a nonprofit, open-source organization working for the greater good, OpenAI’s alleged transition to a profit-centric entity under Microsoft’s influence has prompted Musk to take legal action.

The lawsuit contends that the development of OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, shrouded in secrecy, deviates from their initial mission and breaches contractual obligations.

Musk, who played a significant role in establishing OpenAI but exited in 2018, claims that the company’s recent actions concerning AGI technology are in direct conflict with its intended purpose.

The lawsuit aims to compel OpenAI to adhere to its original mission of developing AGI for humanity’s benefit, not for personal gain or for tech giants like Microsoft.

The deal between OpenAI and Microsoft is now facing scrutiny from competition authorities in various regions, including the US, EU, and UK.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Delta Airlines offers eclipse viewing flight as airlines seek to profit from solar phenomenon

Posted on by
Reply

Passengers who book special Delta flights will have the opportunity to witness the total solar eclipse in April from a unique perspective at 30,000 feet.

The airline revealed on Monday that it will be offering flights from Dallas-Fort Worth to Detroit on April 8, allowing passengers to maximize their time within the eclipse’s “total path.”

The eclipse is anticipated to be a significant event as it travels through various populated areas of North America, including parts of Mexico, the continental United States, and eastern Canada. In the U.S. alone, millions of sky gazers from Texas to Maine will have the chance to witness this rare astronomical occurrence.

A solar eclipse happens when the moon moves between the Earth and the sun, temporarily blocking the sun’s light. Within the approximately 100-mile-wide strip known as the Path of Totality, observers will witness the moon completely obscuring the sun, creating a darkened afternoon sky.

Delta Airlines is providing eclipse enthusiasts with another option to experience the April event. The flight announced on Monday will be the airline’s second full charter scheduled for April 8. The initial flight from Austin, Texas to Detroit was announced on February 19 and sold out within 24 hours, according to the company.

The Austin to Detroit flight (Delta Flight 1218) is on an A220-300 aircraft, departing from Texas at 12:15pm Central Time and arriving in Detroit at 4:20pm Eastern Time.

The flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Detroit (Delta Flight 1010) is operated on a large A321neo plane, departing Texas at 12:30 PM (Central Time) and landing in Detroit at 4:20 PM (Eastern Time).

While the flights are designed to maximize time within the total path, they are subject to potential changes due to factors like weather conditions and air traffic control.

For detailed booking information, visit the following website: Delta.com.

The upcoming solar eclipse is poised to be a major draw for travel and tourism, with many businesses already capitalizing on it. Hotels are offering special solar eclipse packages, while state tourism departments are organizing various events tied to the cosmic phenomenon.

During the April eclipse, the total path will traverse through states like Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. In certain areas of Michigan and Tennessee, totality may be visible if weather conditions are clear.

In other parts of the continental U.S., observers will witness a partial solar eclipse, where the moon appears to “take a bite” out of the sun and only partially obscures it in the sky.

To safely observe the eclipse, use eclipse glasses or a pinhole projector to avoid eye damage. Never look directly at the sun during a solar eclipse, even when it is partially or mostly covered by the moon.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Uber achieves landmark moment with its first annual profit as a limited liability company

Posted on by
Reply

Uber reported annual operating profit for the first time as a limited liability company. It was a landmark moment for the company, which has spent billions of investors' money on an aggressive and often controversial expansion around the world.

The US taxi app company announced a profit of $1.1bn (£870m) in 2023, compared to a loss of $1.8bn the previous year.

The milestone has investors speculating about whether Uber will buy back stock or pay investors a dividend. Uber Chief Financial Officer Prashant Mahendra-Raja said the company will share its “capital allocation plan” with investors next week.

Uber stock rose 1% on Wednesday after initially falling. The company's stock has risen by more than a fifth through 2024 and doubled in the past 12 months, giving it a value of nearly $150 billion.

The company said customers have booked 2.6 billion trips in the past three months of 2023, which equates to about 28 million trips per day.

“2023 was a turning point for Uber, proving that we can continue to see strong, profitable growth at scale,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's chief executive officer. Our audience is bigger and more engaged than ever, and our platform powered an average of nearly 26 million trips every day last year.

Uber was founded in 2009 by entrepreneurs Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick. Kalanick took over as CEO in 2010 and continued its expansion, during which time the app quickly spread across the United States, followed by Europe and many cities around the world.

This growth has been made possible by Uber's embrace of the gig economy, where drivers in many countries are considered self-employed and are not entitled to things like sick pay or paid time off.

Mr. Kalanick's time as CEO was marked by a series of scandals and battles with regulators. In 2022, leaks reported by the Guardian revealed how Uber broke laws, deceived police, and secretly lobbied governments while rolling out its service.

Mr. Kalanick was replaced in 2017 by Mr. Khosrowshahi, the former chief executive of travel agency Expedia, in an effort to soften the company's image and focus on meeting regulators' requirements.

Skip past newsletter promotions

Dan Ives, an analyst at investment bank Wedbush, said Khosrowshahi has led “one of the greatest turnarounds in tech industry history” and that Uber is “not slowing down.”

Uber has consistently suffered significant operating losses since its stock listing on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2019. Losses increased from $3 billion in 2018 to $8.6 billion in 2019, then declined to $4.9 billion in 2020, $3.8 billion in 2021, and $1.8 billion in 2021. 2022.

Thanks in part to growing demand, the company made a profit in 2023. Gross booking value (the total amount paid by Uber riders and delivery customers) in the final quarter of 2023 increased 22% year over year to $37.6 billion. Uber's profit from these deals was $9.9 billion.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Publisher sues Google for antitrust damages from AI-inflicted profit losses

Posted on by
Reply

A new class action lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of news publishers, accuses Google and parent company Alphabet of anticompetitive practices that violate U.S. antitrust laws, the Sherman Act, and other laws. The lawsuit, filed by the Arkansas-based publisher Helena World Chronicle, alleges that Google is “siphoning” content, readers and advertising revenue from news publishers through anticompetitive means. It also specifically cites new AI technologies such as Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) and Bard AI chatbots as exacerbating the problem.

The Helena World Chronicle, which owns and publishes two weekly newspapers in Arkansas, said in its complaint that Google “starves freedom of the press” by sharing publishers’ content on Google and “starves out freedom of the press” and forces publishers to ” They claim that they have lost billions of dollars.

In addition to newer AI technology, the lawsuit also points to Google’s older question-and-answer technologies, such as Knowledge Graph, which was launched in May 2012, as part of the problem.

“When a user searches for information about a topic, Google displays a “knowledge panel” to the right of the search results. “This panel contains a summary of content extracted from the Knowledge Graph database,” the complaint states. “Google compiled this vast database by extracting information from publisher websites (what Google calls ‘material shared on the web’) and ‘open source and license databases.'” There is.

By 2020, the knowledge graph looked like this: grown 500 billion facts about 5 billion entities. However, much of the “collective intelligence” used by Google was content “appropriated from publishers,” the lawsuit alleges.

Other Google technologies, such as “Featured Snippets,” where Google algorithmically extracts answers from web pages, have also been cited as driving traffic away from publishers’ websites.

Perhaps more importantly, the case addresses how AI will impact publishers’ businesses.This issue has recently been clarified in detail In a Thursday report in the Wall St. Journal, It yielded shocking statistics. When the online magazine The Atlantic modeled what would happen if Google integrated AI into search, it found that 75% of the time, the AI ​​would be used by users without requiring them to click through to his website. , and found that the traffic was lost. This could have a big impact on publisher traffic going forward, as Google currently accounts for nearly 40% of publisher traffic, according to SamelWeb data.

Some publishers are now trying to get ahead of this problem. For example, Axel Springer signed a deal with OpenAI this week to license AI model training news. But overall, publishers believe they will lose 20 to 40 percent of their website traffic once Google’s AI products are fully rolled out, the WSJ report said.

The lawsuit reiterates this concern, saying that Google’s recent advances in AI-based search are “for the purpose of discouraging end users from accessing class member websites that are part of the commercial field of digital news and publishing.” It is claimed that it was implemented in

SGE offers web searchers a conversational way to search for information, but it “appropriates” content, ultimately trapping users in Google’s “walled garden”. claims. Publishers also cannot block his SGE, as it uses his web crawler, which is the same as his GoogleBot, Google’s general search service.

Additionally, Google’s Bard AI says it was trained on a dataset that includes “news, magazines, and digital publications,” citing both 2023. report From News Media Alliance Washington Post article on AI training data For reference only. (The Post, working with researchers at the Allen Institute for AI, found that news and media sites were his third largest category of AI training data.)

The lawsuit also points to other concerns, including AdSense price changes and evidence of improper misappropriation of evidence on Google’s part through the destruction of chat messages. This issue is raised in the recent Epic Games lawsuit against Google over app store antitrust issues. I won.

In addition to damages, the lawsuit also seeks an injunction to obtain consent from publishers to use the website’s data to train artificial intelligence products in general, including those of Google itself and its competitors. It also calls on Google to allow publishers who opt out of SGE to continue to appear in Google search results.

Lawsuits continue in the US Google’s agreement with the Canadian government last month The search giant would then pay Canadian media a fee to use their content. Under the terms of the deal, Google will provide US$73.5 million (C$100 million) annually to news organizations in the country, with the funding to be distributed based on news organizations’ headcount. Negotiations with Meta have not yet been resolved, but Meta began blocking news in Canada in August in light of pressure to pay for content under new Canadian legislation.

This lawsuit will be filed at the same time as the U.S. lawsuit. Department of Justice files suit against Google against digital advertising technology monopolies, and the 2020 Department of Justice Civil antitrust lawsuit around search and search advertising (a different market than the digital advertising technology in recent litigation).

The anticompetitive effects of Google’s plans cause serious harm to competition, consumers, workers, and democratic press freedom.” announcement It was posted on the website of Hausfeld, the law firm that handled the case.

“Plaintiff Helena World Chronicle LLC invokes the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act to restore and ensure competition in digital news and reference publishing and install guardrails to preserve the free market of ideas in a new era. Seeks collective monetary and injunctive relief for: Artificial Intelligence.”

Google has been asked for comment, but has not yet received a response.

Complaints are available below.

Helena World Chronicle, LLC v. Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. by tech crunch On Scribd

Source: techcrunch.com