Intel’s earnings are brutal, but it is a brutal result years in the making. That mismatch between decisions and consequences probably explain why Intel continues to pay a dividend despite its need for cash.
Tech Layoffs, Big Tech’s Hiring Rates, Microsoft’s VR Layoffs
Tech’s layoffs are popularly thought to be because of over-hiring during the pandemic, but in fact there isn’t much evidence that tech over-hired based on past rates. Then, Microsoft still has a metaverse strategy, it just doesn’t involve hardware.
An Interview with The Air Current’s Jon Ostrower about Southwest’s Meltdown and Independent Publishing
An interview with The Air Current’s Jon Ostrower about Southwest’s meltdown, being an independent publisher, why there isn’t supersonic passenger flights, and building a hardware product.
Twitter Timelines, Azure and OpenAI, Apple and China
Introducing the Greatest Of All Talk, a new addition to the Stratechery Plus bundle. Then, more on Twitter and Microsoft/OpenAI, plus the Financial Times covers Apple and China.
The NYT-SBF Interview, Sharp China on China Protests and the Path to Re-Opening
No one should believe anything that SBF says: the one thing we know for sure is that FTX committed fraud. Then, Sharp China covers China’s protests and the rocky path to re-opening.
Two Apple Items, Twitter Cash Flow, Twitter Versus Advertisers
Two Apple updates about ATT and China, then, more on Twitter’s cash flow situation, and Elon Musk discovers that freedom is often structural
Apple Earnings, Apple’s New Advertising Slots, Amazon Earnings
Apple and Amazon’s earnings, particularly the color around their advertising, suggests that there is no real replacement for Facebook ads
Google Earnings, YouTube Growth Strategies, Shopify Layoffs and Earnings
Google search continues to be a source of strength, while YouTube’s weakness is likely because of ATT. Meanwhile, Shopify is suffering from mistaken forecasts, even as ATT’s impact becomes clearer.
Zero-COVID and Free Speech
Zero-COVID is possible, but few of us in the West are willing to pay the costs; the exact same reasoning applies to free speech; in both cases China-lite is the worst possible strategy.
Disney Earnings, Disney and Linear TV, Disney+ Ads
Disney’s earnings raise the question as to whether the company is over-investing in streaming; I don’t think so, and I also think ads will help.