Alphabet’s record Q1

Search and Cloud continue to deliver, as Alphabet announces its first-ever dividend

4/26/24 10:45AM

Alphabet arguably posted the pick of the big tech earnings yesterday, reporting more than $80bn in revenue and a record $25.5bn in operating income. What really got investors going, however, was the news that the company would pay its first-ever dividend alongside a $70bn share buyback plan, sending shares up more than 10% and taking Alphabet into the coveted $2 trillion market cap club.

Reports of the death of Google Search…

… might be exaggerated. Or, at least, early.

In recent years, a number of articles — including a particularly sharp one from Ed Zitron just this week — have outlined the demise of Google Search. While it may be harder than ever to find what you’re looking for on Google, that hasn’t translated into any discernible impact on the search giant's bottom line (yet). The search engine raked in over $46bn in ad sales in Q1 alone... translating to ~$20m of revenue every hour.

Plugging more sponsored results at the top of the Google search bar might make for a worse user experience, but, for now, it also means more money for the company, which is spending a fortune on staying competitive in the AI race. Indeed, the cherry on top was the stellar performance of Google Cloud, which as a division tripled its operating profit, boosted by a rise in demand for all-things-AI (server infrastructure etc).

Why the company has decided to start paying a dividend now is somewhat curious. Maybe it’s run out of suitable ideas to invest that money into… or maybe it’s just so profitable it can do both: pay a dividend and invest for the future.

Claire Yubin Oh

Scentsible

12h

Estée Lauder’s Jo Malone is launching an “AI Scent Advisor” to convince people to buy perfumes without smelling them

Gen Z is driving a perfume and fragrance boom.

Max Knoblauch12/4/25

Netflix is down amid reports it’s leading the Warner Bros. bidding war as Paramount cries foul

Netflix’s charm offensive appears to be working.

Netflix is reportedly emerging as the leader in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery after second-round bids this week, edging out entertainment juggernaut rivals Comcast and Paramount Skydance.

Investors don’t appear psyched by the streaming leader’s turn of fortune: the stock is down on Thursday morning, a day after closing down nearly 5% following reports that scooping up HBO Max wouldn’t necessarily result in a big market share boost.

Paramount, which has reportedly made five bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, doesn’t love the current state of play, either. The company sent WBD a letter questioning the “fairness and adequacy” of the process, highlighting reports that WBD’s board favors Netflix and is resisting Paramount.

Any offer would be subject to regulatory approval — a fact that may have weighed against Netflix’s offer given that cofounder Reed Hastings’ politics are vocally to the left, very much at odds with the current regulatory regime. Paramount seems confident in its ability to get approval, reportedly boosting its breakup fee to $5 billion should its potential acquisition fall apart in the regulatory process.

Paramount questions Warner Bros. Discovery on 'fairness and adequacy' of sale process: Read the full letter

Hyunsoo Rim

PEAK CONSULTING?

12/3/25

After three decades of pretty constant growth, the consultancy boom just hit an AI-shaped wall

Accenture has a new deal with OpenAI — did ChatGPT’s launch top-tick consulting employment?

Human hand and AI hand on the yellow background

Max Knoblauch12/3/25

Delta says the government shutdown will cost it $200 million in Q4

The 43-day government shutdown that ended last month will result in a $200 million ding for Delta Air Lines, the airline said in a filing on Wednesday.

That’s about $100,000 per shutdown-related canceled flight. (Delta previously said it canceled more than 2,000 flights due to FAA flight reductions.) When the company reports its fourth-quarter earnings, the shutdown will lop off about $0.25 per share.

Delta initially stayed calm about the shutdown, with CEO Ed Bastian stating in early October that the company was running smoothly and hadn’t seen any impacts at all. One historically long shutdown later, Delta wasn’t able to remain untouched.

The skies have since cleared, though, and Delta’s filing states that booking growth has “returned to initial expectations following a temporary softening in November.”

Delta’s shares were up over 2% as of Wednesday’s market open.

Delta Air Sees $200 Million Hit from Shutdown Fallout

The skies have since cleared, though, and Delta’s filing states that booking growth has “returned to initial expectations following a temporary softening in November.”

Delta’s shares were up over 2% as of Wednesday’s market open.

Tom Jones

amassed media

12/3/25

Netflix reportedly made a mostly cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery over the weekend

The WBD bidding war is heating up — what will the winner get?