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The logos of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft displayed on a mobile phone with an EU flag shown in the background.

Justin Tallis | AFP via Getty Images

A raft of major technology and media companies have signed an open letter accusing tech giants of failing to bring their businesses into full compliance with incoming European Union digital competition rules.

The signatories say that companies defined by the EU as “gatekeepers,” including Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and TikTok owner ByteDance, haven’t done enough to engage effectively with them and others in their industry.

Under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, companies with more than 45 million monthly active users and a market capitalization over 75 billion euros ($81.2 billion) are considered gatekeepers.

They are required to, for example, make their messaging apps work with those of rivals, and let users decide which apps come pre-installed with their devices.

Another EU requirement is that these platforms do not implement practices that lead to the “self-preferencing” of their services over others.

The open letter, which was signed by international media group Schibsted, eco-friendly search engine Ecosia, privacy-focused search engine Qwant, secure messaging app Element, and VPN service ProtonVPN, said the gatekeepers “have either failed to engage in a dialogue with third parties or have presented solutions falling short of compliance with the DMA.”

They also said that businesses and consumers have been largely “kept in the dark” about what’s going to happen after March 7, 2024 — a pivotal deadline by which all six Big Tech gatekeepers need to get their businesses into compliance with the DMA.

Regulatory risk to U.S. tech giants on market monopoly is real, but not priced in yet

“The signatories of this letter represent thousands of businesses affected by the DMA,” the letter stated. “They urge the gatekeepers to engage as soon as possible with business users and other stakeholders, such as business and consumer associations, in a constructive dialogue and make swift progress on their proposed compliance solutions.”

“They also urge the European Commission and the European Parliament to use all within their power to ensure that the gatekeepers comply with both the letter and spirit of the DMA, starting from 7 March 2024,” the signatories added.

Here are the 24 companies that signed the letter:

  • Adevinta
  • Allegro
  • Billiger.de
  • Ceneo
  • CompareGroup
  • Ecosia
  • Element
  • Favi
  • Heureka Group
  • Idealo
  • Kelkoo
  • Ladenzeile
  • Le Guide.com
  • OLX
  • Open-Xchange
  • Panther Holding GmbH
  • Preis.de
  • Prisjakt
  • Proton
  • Qwant
  • Runnea
  • Schibsted
  • Solute
  • Vipps

The EU Commission and the EU Parliament were not immediately available for comment on the issue when contacted by CNBC. CNBC also reached out to Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and ByteDance.

Christian Kroll, CEO and co-founder of Ecosia, told CNBC ahead of the open letter that regulators needed to keep large technology companies in check, or else risk businesses like his facing financial consequences.

“There has always been a huge challenge: Google has had the monopoly for over a decade, but I think we are currently more optimistic than that. It is yet to be determined what will happen on March 7 but we know that 2024 must be the year of fair choice in online search for Europe,” Klein told CNBC.

“EU policy makers have the choice to deliver a digital market that delivers fair competition and choice for European consumers and business,” Kroll added.

Of particular issue for Ecosia and other competing search engines was a proposal from Google for a “choice screen” that would display different search engines on the same window.

“Without a choice screen that is designed fairly, in the letter and spirit of the DMA, we will not see a positive shift in market share but rather further entrenchment of the dominance of gatekeepers such as Google – which would be a failure of the DMA,” Kroll added.

“Ahead of the March 2024 deadline, we need support from the EC and all hands on deck to ensure proactive engagement. The focus of digital regulators around the world will be on Europe as global interest in choice screens increases.”

Last week, the EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager met with the CEOs of Apple, Alphabet, and Qualcomm to discuss regulation and competition policy compliance, according to a post by Vestager on X.

She said she had discussed Apple’s obligation to allow distribution of its apps outside the company’s proprietary AppStore, as well as ongoing competition cases including one involving the firm’s Apple Music music streaming platform.

With Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Vestager said she discussed the design of choice screens, self-preferencing requirements under the DMA, and an EU antitrust case looking at the company’s role in the advertising technology market.

She didn’t specify what was discussed with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon.

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Affirm’s stock soars 15% on earnings, revenue beat

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Affirm's stock soars 15% on earnings, revenue beat

Max Levchin, co-founder of PayPal and chief executive officer of financial technology company Affirm, arrives at the Sun Valley Resort for the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference, in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Drew Angerer | Getty Images

Affirm shares rose 15% in extended trading on Thursday after the provider of buy now, pay later loans reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter.

Here’s how the company did versus LSEG consensus estimates:

  • EPS: 20 cents vs. 11 cents estimated
  • Revenue: $876 million vs. $837 million estimated

Revenue climbed 33% in the period from $659 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Gross merchandise volume rose 43% to $10.4 billion from $7.2 billion a year ago.

Affirm reported net income of $69.2 million, or 20 cents a share, after recording a loss a year earlier of $45.1 million, or 14 cents a share.

 “This consistent execution led Affirm to achieve operating income profitability in FQ4’25 – right on the schedule we committed to a year ago,” the company said in its shareholder letter.

For the first quarter, Affirm said revenue will be between $855 million and $885 million, while gross merchandise volume will be $10.1 billion to 10.4 billion.

Shares of Affirm were up 31% this year before the after-hours pop, topping the Nasdaq’s 12% gain.

Affirm, which went public in 2021, faces growing competition in e-commerce. It has partnerships with Amazon and Shopify, but Walmart recently shifted to competitor Klarna, which is expected to go public in the near future. Last year, Affirm announced a deal with Apple.

WATCH: Affirm posts earnings and revenue beat

Affirm posts earnings and revenue beat for Q4

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Tesla FSD turns off more U.S. consumers than its attracts, survey finds

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Tesla FSD turns off more U.S. consumers than its attracts, survey finds

Elon Musk reacts during a press event with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured), at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025.

Nathan Howard | Reuters

Elon Musk’s fervent promotion of Tesla‘s self-driving technology isn’t doing much to win over prospective buyers.

According to a new survey, more U.S. consumers say that Tesla’s FSD, or Full Self-Driving (Supervised) systems, would push them away from the brand rather than drawing them to it.

The Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report for August, published by political consulting firm Slingshot Strategies, polled 8,000 Americans. Only 14% of those surveyed said FSD would make them more likely to buy a Tesla, while 35% said the technology would make them less likely to purchase one.

The remaining 51% said the availability of FSD would make no difference to them in terms of their car buying decisions. Nearly half of consumers surveyed by Slingshot said they think FSD technology should be illegal.

For Tesla, the troubling results land in the middle of a sales slump resulting from an aging lineup of electric vehicles and increased competition from rivals. There’s also reputational damage in response to Musk, his incendiary political rhetoric, work with the Trump administration and support of Germany’s far-right AfD party.

Sales of Tesla cars in Europe plunged 40% in July from a year earlier, the seventh consecutive month of declines.

In the robotaxi market, Tesla is lagging Alphabet-owned Waymo, and Baidu’s Apollo Go. It’s now in the early stages of testing a ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, and in the San Francisco Bay Area, with hopes to reach more cities this year. Cars in Austin have human supervisors on board, while those in San Francisco have drivers at the wheel.

Musk, the world’s richest person, has said the future of Tesla hangs on its ability to deliver autonomous vehicles and related services. He recently said a new variant of the Model Y, which launched in China, won’t “start production in the U.S. until the end of next year,” and “might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America.”

Tesla sales fall 40% in Europe as Chinese EV rival BYD's triple

For now, Tesla still relies on EV sales for the vast majority of its revenue, though Musk has touted FSD as one of the company’s big advantages over competitors.

Last month, executives suggested that Tesla has a market education problem when it comes to driving adoption of FSD.

“The vast majority of people don’t know it exists,” Musk said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call. “And it’s still like half of Tesla owners who could use it, haven’t tried it even once.”

Musk said he would start telling customers about FSD when they bring their cars in for service, and would begin reaching out to drivers, sending them videos of how it works.

Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja said on the July earnings call that people who subscribe to the premium FSD option get something like a “personal chauffeur” for about $3.33 a day.

The version of FSD Supervised that Tesla sells today is available to owners for $99 per month or an up-front purchase. The system gives users a limited set of self-driving capabilities on residential and city streets.

On Thursday, Tesla sent out a promotion offering 0% APR financing for customers ordering a new Model 3 by Sept. 1, as long as they add FSD Supervised to their order, or transfer it from their previously owned Tesla.

‘Holding AV manufacturers responsible’

Musk has said in posts on X that FSD can “can operate in all conditions,” will “save lives” and will be a “life-changing product” for many people. He’s also shared user-generated videos showing Tesla owners using FSD without their hands on the wheel.

However, in owners manuals, Tesla lists many conditions in which FSD Supervised may not be reliable, and warns users to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times, and be ready to take over steering or braking.

Among the subset of survey respondents actively looking to buy a fully electric vehicle, only 20% said they were more likely to buy a Tesla because of FSD, while 33% said they were less likely. Evan Roth Smith, Slingshot’s head of research, said a lack of clarity and honesty in the company’s marketing could be a factor.

Most consumers polled by the firm want clear and strong regulations in the U.S. governing autonomous vehicles, whether they’re fully or partially automated.

“There is strong support for holding AV manufacturers responsible for accidents and requiring stricter regulatory and advertising guardrails around features such as FSD,” the Slingshot report said.

Smith said the data shows that beyond its FSD woes, Tesla has “the worst reputation of any EV maker in the U.S.”

“The drop in the company’s brand reputation this year is remarkable,” he said, adding that recent product liability lawsuits and verdicts may be playing a role.

In early August, a jury found Tesla partially liable for a fatal crash where the driver was relying on its autopilot systems. Tesla, which plans to appeal the decision, must pay around $243 million in damages to victims and a survivor.

In the past two months, the number of consumers who view Tesla cars as unsafe has increased to 36% from 34%, the Slingshot report found, while those viewing Tesla as very safe fell to 13% from 17%.

Honda, Toyota and Chevrolet were seen as safest among the greatest number of respondents.

Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment. Slingshot said it sent the survey results to the company but also didn’t hear back from the automaker.

Tesla may find that owners in other markets embrace its brand, and FSD, with greater enthusiasm. The company just started offering FSD Supervised in Australia this week.

Read Slingshot’s full Electric Vehicle Intelligence Report for August 2025 here.

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Dell shares fall on soft third-quarter earnings outlook

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Dell shares fall on soft third-quarter earnings outlook

A Dell Technologies sign is seen in Round Rock, Texas, on June 2, 2023.

Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Despite beating on its top and bottom lines, shares of Dell Technologies fell more than 5% Thursday in extended trading after giving third-quarter earnings per share guidance that below Wall Street’s expectations.

Here’s how the systems integrator did versus LSEG consensus estimates:

  • EPS: $2.32, adjusted vs. $2.30 estimated
  • Revenue: $29.78 billion vs. $29.17 billion estimated

Dell raised its full year outlook for revenue to be $107 billion at its midpoint and diluted earnings per share to $9.55 at the midpoint, topping Wall Street estimates of $104.6 billion and $9.38 per share.

However, Dell’s guidance for third-quarter earnings per share of $2.45 came in short versus LSEG’s mark of $2.55, despite Dell’s guide for $27 billion in third-quarter revenue topping estimates of $26.1 billion.

Dell said that part of the reason its profit forecast is concentrated in the fourth quarter is due to seasonality, particularly in its storage business.

For the second quarter, overall revenue rose 19% on an annual basis. That was driven by the company’s Servers and Networking revenue, including AI servers, which came in at $12.9 billion, which was up 69% on an annual basis.

Dell is one of Nvidia’s key customers. Dell buys chips from the AI leader and builds computers around them, which it sells to end-users such as CoreWeave, a cloud service. Dell said it shipped $10 billion in AI servers in its past two quarters.

Dell said that it now plans to ship $20 billion of artificial intelligence servers in its fiscal 2026, double what it sold last year.

However, the company’s storage revenue declined 3% to $3.86 billion and missed a StreetAccount estimate of $4.1 billion in sales.

Revenue in the company’s client solutions group, which includes PC sales to enterprises, rose 1% on an annual basis to $12.5 billion. While it used to be Dell’s largest business group, in recent quarters it has grown much slowly than the company’s data center business.

Dell said it spent $1.3 billion on share repurchases and dividends during the quarter.

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