Volkswagen And Microsoft CEOs Hold "Fireside Chat"

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Nadella: “I feel very, very good” about the pace of Microsoft’s data center plans

Microsoft plans an increase in capital expenditures for AI, but say it’s being careful not to get “upside down” on demand.

Jon Keegan

5/1/25 11:08AM

Yesterday Microsoft delivered a blowout earnings report, beating expectations fueled by strong demand for AI on its Azure cloud computing services. Investors were quite happy, with the stock up over 9% in early trading today.

On the earnings call, everyone was eager to hear more about Microsoft’s capex plans.

Year on year, capital expenditures were up 52% to $16.2 billion for the quarter. But what about the recent reports of Microsoft pulling back on data center construction?

On an earnings call with analysts yesterday, CEO Satya Nadella led with an update on infrastructure:

“We continue to expand our data center capacity. This quarter alone, we opened DCs in 10 countries across four continents. Model capabilities are doubling in performance every six months, thanks to multiple compounding scaling laws.”

Basically, it’s a complicated moment that AI infrastructure builders face now.

All of the buildings, servers, networking, and energy hardware that are allocated for data centers today will be running models that will have already jumped ahead in capabilities and efficiencies — the field is moving really fast, and building huge data centers is comparatively really slow.

In response to an analyst’s question about the reports of a pullback, Nadella said:

“The reality is we’ve always been making adjustments to build, lease, what pace we build all through the last whatever 10, 15 years. It’s just that you all pay a lot more attention to what we do quarter over quarter nowadays.”

Nadella emphasized that they did not want to find themselves in a situation where they overshot demand.

“You don’t want to be upside down on having one big data center in one region when you have a global demand footprint. You don’t want to be upside down when the shape of demand changes.”

Overall, Nadella expressed confidence in the company’s capex plans, which are expected to increase next quarter. Nadella said, “I feel very, very good about the pace.”

And so far today, investors do too.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

Hollywood Exteriors And Landmarks - 2025

1 year into the Switch 2, we might’ve seen the top of the console market

The Switch 2 launched on this day in 2025. Amid a rough year for consoles, Nintendo has logged a good one.

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