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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears at the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, Sept. 25, 2024.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg slammed rival tech giant Apple for lackluster innovation efforts and “random rules” in a lengthy podcast interview on Friday.

“On the one hand, [the iPhone has] been great, because now pretty much everyone in the world has a phone, and that’s kind of what enables pretty amazing things,” Zuckerberg said in an episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience.” “But on the other hand … they have used that platform to put in place a lot of rules that I think feel arbitrary and [I] feel like they haven’t really invented anything great in a while. It’s like Steve Jobs invented the iPhone, and now they’re just kind of sitting on it 20 years later.”

Zuckerberg added that he thought iPhone sales were struggling because consumers are taking longer to upgrade their phones because new models aren’t big improvements from prior iterations.

“So how are they making more money as a company? Well, they do it by basically, like, squeezing people, and, like you’re saying, having this 30% tax on developers by getting you to buy more peripherals and things that plug into it,” Zuckerberg said. “You know, they build stuff like Air Pods, which are cool, but they’ve just thoroughly hamstrung the ability for anyone else to build something that can connect to the iPhone in the same way.”

Apple defends itself from pushback from other companies by saying that it doesn’t want to violate consumers’ privacy and security, according to Zuckerberg. But he said that the problem would be solved if Apple fixed its protocol, like building better security and using encryption.

“It’s insecure because you didn’t build any security into it. And then now you’re using that as a justification for why only your product can connect in an easy way,” Zuckerberg said.

Zuckerberg said that if Apple stopped applying its “random rules,” Meta’s profit would double.

He also took shots at Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which had disappointing U.S. sales. Meta sells its own virtual headsets called the Meta Quest.

“I think the Vision Pro is, I think, one of the bigger swings at doing a new thing that they tried in a while,” Zuckerberg said. “And I don’t want to give them too hard of a time on it, because we do a lot of things where the first version isn’t that good, and you want to kind of judge the third version of it. But I mean, the V1, it definitely did not hit it out of the park.”

“I heard it’s really good for watching movies,” he added.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

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CoreWeave’s stock slides on weak guidance even as revenue more than doubles

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CoreWeave's stock slides on weak guidance even as revenue more than doubles

Michael Intrator, co-founder and CEO of CoreWeave, speaks at the Semafor World Economy Summit during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring meetings in Washington on April 25, 2025.

Kent Nishimura | Bloomberg | Getty Images

CoreWeave, a provider of infrastructure for artificial intelligence companies, reported better-than-expected third-quarter revenue on Monday, but the company delivered disappointing full-year guidance. The stock dropped 6% in extended trading.

Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:

  • Earnings: Loss of 22 cents per share
  • Revenue: $1.36 billion vs. $1.29 billion expected

Revenue in the quarter soared 134% from $583.9 million a year ago, according to a statement. The company reported a net loss of $110 million, narrowing from about $360 million in the same quarter last year.

CoreWeave’s growth is tied directly to the AI boom, as the company rents out Nvidia graphics processing units and has won business from leading cloud infrastructure providers, including Google and Microsoft. The company’s backlog now stands at $55.6 billion, with 2.9 gigawatts in contracted power, up from 2.2 gigawatts on June 30, according to the statement.

However, CoreWeave now sees 2025 revenue coming in between $5.05 billion and $5.15 billion, trailing the average analyst estimate of $5.29 billion, according to LSEG.

A third-party data center developer is behind schedule, CEO Mike Intrator said on the company’s earnings call. But he added that the delay won’t affect CoreWeave’s backlog.

“There was a problem at one data center that’s impacting us, but there are 32 data centers in our portfolio,” Intrator said.

During the quarter, CoreWeave announced a $6.5 billion expansion of its business with OpenAI and a six-year deal with Meta worth up to $14.2 billion. CoreWeave also received its sixth contract from “a leading hyperscaler.”

The company remains supply-constrained, Intrator said. The shortage is not in power but instead has to do with the availability of partly completed “powered-shell” data centers in which CoreWeave can set up its own equipment, he said.

Meanwhile, CoreWeave is building its own data center infrastructure from the ground up in Pennsylvania, he said.

“The overwhelming majority of the delay that you’re seeing should be taken care of within Q1 of next year.” Intrator said.

CoreWeave went public on the Nasdaq in March, selling shares at $40 each. On Monday the stock closed at $105.61, representing a 164% return. The Nasdaq has gained 32% over a similar period. CoreWeave shares slipped in extended trading on Monday.

Less than four months after its IPO, CoreWeave announced its intent to acquire data center infrastructure operator Core Scientific for $9 billion, but Core Scientific shareholders voted against the proposed deal.

CoreWeave’s 2026 capital expenditures should be “well in excess of double” the total for 2025, which will end up between $12 billion and $14 billion, said Nitin Agrawal, the company’s finance chief.

WATCH: Cramer’s Mad Dash: CoreWeave

Cramer's Mad Dash: CoreWeave

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Nvidia CEO’s ask of Taiwan Semi means more upside for this portfolio stock

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Nvidia CEO’s ask of Taiwan Semi means more upside for this portfolio stock

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Waymo announces new CFO Steve Fieler

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Waymo announces new CFO Steve Fieler

A Waymo autonomous self-driving Jaguar electric vehicle sits parked at an EVgo charging station in Los Angeles, California, on May 15, 2024.

Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

Waymo has tapped Google executive Steve Fieler as its new chief financial officer, the self-driving company announced on Monday.

The new CFO comes as the Alphabet-owned company has been bringing its robotaxi service to more markets in the past year, with plans for further expansion in 2026. Fieler’s appointment also comes as Waymo looks toward its next phase, which could include seeking additional outside investment.

“Steve’s extensive experience will be instrumental in guiding us through this next chapter,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a LinkedIn post.

Mawakana also thanked previous Waymo finance chief Elisa de Martel for serving in the role since her appointment in 2022. Waymo declined to elaborate on de Martel, and de Martel did not respond to a request for comment.

“We’re wishing her the best as she embarks on her next chapter,” Mawakana wrote.

Fieler was a key member of Google’s CFO leadership team, where he served as vice president of planning, investments and investor relations, according to Waymo. Prior to that, Fieler worked as business finance officer for Google’s “Platforms and Ecosystems” unit, responsible for products including Android and Chrome.

Prior to Google, Fieler served as finance chief at HP. He’s also held various positions at various early-stage companies and at General Electric, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Alphabet’s segment “Other Bets,” which includes the Waymo unit, reported revenue of $344 million during the third quarter, down from $388 million the year prior. Losses also grew from $1.12 billion last year in the third quarter to $1.43 billion in the same period this year.

Waymo now offers a commercial service in the Los Angeles area, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin. The company has also announced plans to start robotaxi services in Miami and Washington, D.C., in 2026, and Waymo said in August that it obtained permits to begin testing its autonomous vehicles with trained safety drivers in New York City.

WATCH: Exclusive: Amazon just launched its Zoox robotaxis in Las Vegas and we took a ride

Exclusive: Amazon just launched its Zoox robotaxis in Las Vegas and we took a ride

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