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Nintendo has kept players interested in its ageing Switch console series through key games with characters such as Super Mario and Zelda.

Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Images

Nintendo on Tuesday reported weaker-than-expected top and bottom results for its fiscal third quarter, slashing its forecast for the Switch console ahead of the release of its succesor.

Here’s how Nintendo did in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 versus LSEG estimates:

  • Revenue: 432.92 billion Japanese yen ($2.8 billion), compared with 498.22 billion yen expected.
  • Net profit: 128.53 billion yen, versus 136.16 billion yen expected.

Net profit fell 6% year-on-year.

While Nintendo’s quarterly results missed expectations, all eyes are on developments regarding the Japanese gaming giant’s Switch 2, the successor to the Switch, which was first released in 2017, and has become one of the Japanese gaming giant’s most popular consoles in history.

Nintendo last month teased the Switch 2 in a trailer showing off the hardware. Notably, Nintendo announced that some Switch games will be compatible with the Switch 2. The company has yet to announce a price or release date for the new console, but said more details will be revealed at its Nintendo Direct event on April 2.

Nintendo has attempted to maintain momentum for the Switch by releasing slightly updated versions of it and by boosting the appeal of its characters like Super Mario through movies. However, interest in the nearly 8-year-old console is beginning to wane.

Ahead of the release of the Switch 2, Nintendo slashed a number of forecasts for its full-year results which ends on March 31.

Nintendo said it now expects to sell 11 million units of its current Switch console, down from a previously-reduced estimate of 12.5 million units. The company also said it sees net profit at 270 billion yen, a 10% reduction from the prior forecast of 300 billion.

In the December quarter, Nintendo sold 4.82 million Switch consoles, bringing the total for the current fiscal year to 9.54 million units. That is down 30.6% year-on-year.

Switch success a ‘double-edged sword’

Nintendo Switch has sold 150.86 million units of the Switch since its launch, making it the company’s second-most successful console, behind the Nintendo DS on 154.02 million units.

Key to the success has been the 129 million annual playing users which have bought the steady stream of hit games that Nintendo has launched, featuring well-known brands like Pokemon and characters like Zelda and Super Mario.

But Nintendo has a careful challenge now convincing its users of the need to upgrade to the Switch 2, according to George Jijiashvili, senior principal analyst at Omdia.

“The phenomenal success of the Switch is a double-edged sword,” Jijiashvili said by email, adding that Nintendo is “well-positioned for its second-generation hardware launch” given its huge user base.

“However, the biggest challenge will be managing the transition effectively – convincing users to upgrade to the Switch 2 while ensuring those sticking with the original Switch remain supported and engaged.”

Omdia expects the Switch 2 to launch in the first half of 2025 with Nintendo selling 14.7 million units of the new console this year.

“Switch 2 outselling and outpacing the original Switch is a very tall order – this will be a huge challenge for Nintendo to navigate,” Jijiashvili said.

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Waymo to begin testing in Philadelphia with safety drivers behind the wheel

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Waymo to begin testing in Philadelphia with safety drivers behind the wheel

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 said it will begin testing in Philadelphia, with a limited fleet of vehicles and human safety drivers behind the wheel.

“This city is a National Treasure,” Waymo wrote in a post on X on Monday. “It’s a city of love, where eagles fly with a gritty spirit and cheese that spreads and cheese that steaks. Our road trip continues to Philly next.”

The Alphabet-owned company confirmed to CNBC that it will be testing in Pennsylvania’s largest city through the fall, adding that the initial fleet of cars will be manually driven through the more complex parts of Philadelphia, including downtown and on freeways.

“Folks will see our vehicles driving at all hours throughout various neighborhoods, from North Central to Eastwick, and from University City to as far east as the Delaware River,” a Waymo spokesperson said.

With its so-called road trips, Waymo seeks to collect mapping data and evaluate how its autonomous technology, Waymo Driver, performs in new environments, handling traffic patterns and local infrastructure. Road trips are often used a way for the company to gauge whether it can potentially offer a paid ride share service in a particular location.

The expanded testing, which will go through the fall, comes as Waymo aims for a broader rollout. Last month, the company announced plans to drive vehicles manually in New York for testing, marking the first step toward potentially cracking the largest U.S. city. Waymo applied for a permit with the New York City Department of Transportation to operate autonomously with a trained specialist behind the wheel in Manhattan. State law currently doesn’t allow for such driverless operations.

Waymo One provides more than 250,000 paid trips each week across Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas, and is preparing to bring fully autonomous rides to Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C., in 2026.

Alphabet has been under pressure to monetize artificial intelligence products as it bolsters spending on infrastructure. Alphabet’s “Other Bets” segment, which includes Waymo, brought in revenue of $1.65 billion in 2024, up from $1.53 billion in 2023. However, the segment lost $4.44 billion last year, compared to a loss of $4.09 billion the previous year.

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Trump advisor Navarro rips Apple’s Tim Cook for not moving production out of China fast enough

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Trump advisor Navarro rips Apple's Tim Cook for not moving production out of China fast enough

Peter Navarro: 'Inconceivable' that Apple could not produce iPhones outside China

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro chastised Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday over the company’s response to pressure from the Trump administration to make more of its products outside of China.

“Going back to the first Trump term, Tim Cook has continually asked for more time in order to move his factories out of China,” Navarro said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “I mean it’s the longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley.”

CNBC has reached out to Apple for comment on Navarro’s criticism.

President Donald Trump has in recent months ramped up demands for Apple to move production of its iconic iPhone to the U.S. from overseas. Apple’s flagship phone is produced primarily in China, but the company has increasingly boosted production in India, partly to avoid the higher cost of Trump’s tariffs.

Trump in May warned Apple would have to pay a tariff of 25% or more for iPhones made outside the U.S. In separate remarks, Trump said he told Cook, “I don’t want you building in India.”

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Analysts and supply chain experts have argued it would be impossible for Apple to completely move iPhone production to the U.S. By some estimates, a U.S.-made iPhone could cost as much as $3,500.

Navarro said Cook isn’t shifting production out of China quickly enough.

“With all these new advanced manufacturing techniques and the way things are moving with AI and things like that, it’s inconceivable to me that Tim Cook could not produce his iPhones elsewhere around the world and in this country,” Navarro said.

Apple currently makes very few products in the U.S. During Trump’s first term, Apple extended its commitment to assemble the $3,000 Mac Pro in Texas.

In February, Apple said it would spend $500 billion within the U.S., including on assembling some AI servers.

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CoreWeave to acquire Core Scientific in $9 billion all-stock deal

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CoreWeave to acquire Core Scientific in  billion all-stock deal

CoreWeave founders Brian Venturo, at left in sweatshirt, and Mike Intrator slap five after ringing the opening bell at Nasdaq headquarters in New York on March 28, 2025.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Artificial intelligence hyperscaler CoreWeave said Monday it will acquire Core Scientific, a leading data center infrastructure provider, in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $9 billion.

Coreweave stock fell about 4% on Monday while Core Scientific stock plummeted about 20%. Shares of both companies rallied at the end of June after the Wall Street Journal reported that talks were underway for an acquisition.

The deal strengthens CoreWeave’s position in the AI arms race by bringing critical infrastructure in-house.

CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator said the move will eliminate $10 billion in future lease obligations and significantly enhance operating efficiency.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending regulatory and shareholder approval.

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The deal expands CoreWeave’s access to power and real estate, giving it ownership of 1.3 gigawatts of gross capacity across Core Scientific’s U.S. data center footprint, with another gigawatt available for future growth.

Core Scientific has increasingly focused on high-performance compute workloads since emerging from bankruptcy and relisting on the Nasdaq in 2024.

Core Scientific shareholders will receive 0.1235 CoreWeave shares for each share they hold — implying a $20.40 per-share valuation and a 66% premium to Core Scientific’s closing stock price before deal talks were reported.

After closing, Core Scientific shareholders will own less than 10% of the combined company.

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