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.
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.
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Markets: The S & P 500 jumped nearly 1.5% on Monday, as House members were called back to Washington to vote on a Senate deal to end the longest government shutdown in history. The Nasdaq surged more than 2%. With these gains, both indexes recovered nearly all of last week’s losses. A possible end to the 41-day shutdown, which has caused massive flight delays and cancellations and shaken consumer confidence in the economy, has put investors in a more risk-taking mood. Club holding Nvidia rose nearly 5% on Monday, after losing 7% last week in a tech rout driven by worries about valuations in stocks tied to the artificial intelligence boom. Monday’s rally isn’t just about tech. Consumer discretionary and materials sectors were also strong. In fact, eight of the 11 S & P 500 sector indexes were higher. Only real estate, utilities, and consumer staples were in the red. Wafer demand: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang asked key manufacturing partner Taiwan Semiconductor to boost its wafer production, he told reporters over the weekend. This is a clear indication that Huang expects strong demand for Nvidia’s AI chips to continue. It also aligns with the “$500 billion in order visibility” comment the CEO made at the company’s GTC event a few weeks ago. Huang’s comments are obviously positive for Nvidia, but when we hear the word “wafer,” which is the basic building material used to make semiconductor chips, our mind immediately goes to the recent DuPont spinoff of Qnity Electronics. That’s because CEO Jon Kemp has repeatedly said that wafer starts are the best indicator of demand. Wafer starts refer to the number of new semiconductor wafers that initiate the manufacturing process in a fabrication plant. “Wafer starts, which are measured by MSI data, are one of the best indicators of demand for our products. You can see wafer starts have grown steadily with a long-term [compound annual growth rate] in the mid-single digits, demonstrating consistent positive growth,” Kemp said at the October Investor Day event. “Global fab capacity has steadily expanded to keep pace with that demand, increasingly driven by investments at the leading edge, which will approach $200 billion or more in coming years.” This comes as the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers’ Group, which provides market data for the silicon industry, reported last week that worldwide silicon wafer shipments increased by 3.1% year over year in the third quarter of 2025. The increase was driven by the demand for supporting AI applications. Looking ahead, SEMI expects global shipments will increase steadily through 2028. Club name Qnity stock is up about 6% on Monday, rebounding with other AI-related names. It’s unclear, however, how much of the move is tied to Huang’s comments. After all, trading in Qnity has been volatile since the spin was completed last Monday. Up next: We’ll continue to follow the events from Washington to see if a deal is made to reopen the government. On earnings, Paramount Skydance , CoreWeave , Rigetti Computing , AST SpaceMobile , Rocket Lab , and Occidental Petroleum report after the closing bell. Before the opening on Tuesday, Wall Street Nebius Group and Sea Limited will report earnings. – CNBC’s Matthew J. Belvedere contributed to this report. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
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.