A new video by Inspired by Iceland pushes back against experiencing life through the “metaverse,” as described by Mark Zuckerberg during Facebook’s rebranding to Meta on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Wall Street is bracing for disaster in online advertising.
Following disappointing results from Snap last week and a 28% plunge in the stock price that sent the company’s value to its lowest since early 2019, investors are now turning their attention to ad giants Meta and Alphabet as well as reports this week from Twitter and Pinterest. They’ll also hear from Amazon and Microsoft, which have big ad businesses of their own.
The flurry of reports comes at a time of extreme skepticism in web and mobile advertising. Facebook parent Meta shares are down more than 60% this year, and the company is expected to report a second straight drop in revenue. Alphabet, which has slid 30% in 2022, is forecast to report single-digit sales growth. Aside from one quarter at the beginning of the pandemic, that would mark the weakest period for Google’s parent since 2013.
The economic downturn and fears of a recession have many marketers reining in spending. At the same time, Apple’s iOS privacy change from last year continues to punish companies — notably Snap and Facebook — that have historically relied on user data to target ads.
“Sentiment in the online advertising space has softened of late, with more anecdotes of budget cuts as well as advertisers holding back some budget in hopes of a 4Q flush,” UBS analysts wrote in a report last week. “Looking into ’23, we think planning amidst this level of macro uncertainty sets the stage for below-consensus growth in ’23, even if macro does not significantly deteriorate from here.”
UBS said it would “reduce estimates and price targets across the online advertising group” due to both the economic environment and a strong U.S. dollar. Through discussions with digital ad agencies, the analysts said they learned that “many advertising directors are pulling back certain budgets, particularly among smaller advertisers.”
In Snap’s report on Thursday, the company said results are being hit by a combination of platform changes, economic challenges and competition. For a second straight quarter, Snap said it wouldn’t be providing guidance for the coming period because of difficulty in predicting the economic trajectory.
Digital ad stocks in 2022
CNBC
“We are finding that our advertising partners across many industries are decreasing their marketing budgets, especially in the face of operating environment headwinds, inflation-driven cost pressures and rising costs of capital,” Snap said.
If the third quarter mirrors the second, Snap’s brutal report could spell dismal results for its industry peers. In July, Meta, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google all reported weaker-than-expected results following Snap’s miss.
Investors started planning ahead last week, sending Pinterest shares down more than 6% on Friday after Snap’s report. Twitter fell almost 5% and Meta dropped more than 1%. Alphabet rose over 1%, but still underperformed the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which jumped 2.3%.
CNBC’s Jim Cramer and the Investing Club said there’s a chance Snap’s poor results won’t reflect the overall online advertising market. Meta and Alphabet “have built multifaceted digital ecosystems” that dwarf the smaller Snap, thus making those companies “more immune from weaker digital ad spend,” the Investing Club wrote.
The industry drama this week isn’t limited to earnings reports.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has until Friday to close his proposed $44 billion acquisition of Twitter if he wants to avoid a trial. After changing his mind on the deal multiple times and being sued, Musk said earlier this month that he wanted to complete the transaction at the originally agreed upon price of $54.20 a share. Twitter wants to make sure the financing is in place before backing off the lawsuit.
Twitter shares closed last week below $50, suggesting investors still aren’t convinced the deal will close. Meanwhile, the business has been struggling. Analysts are anticipating a drop in third-quarter revenue in the company’s earnings report, which is expected this week.
One bright spot in the online advertising space could be Amazon after its digital ad business grew 18% in the second quarter, topping all of the major players in the industry.
While retailers may be pulling back on spending on Facebook and elsewhere, Amazon is a stickier platform for them because people who use it are shopping for stuff. For companies to keep their brands visible on the largest e-commerce site, they have to pay the platform.
But even Amazon’s core business has suffered this year, with growth slowing dramatically from its boom days during the pandemic. Overall revenue expansion was in the single digits for three straight quarters and the stock is down 28% for the year.
By the time Amazon closes out Big Tech earnings week on Thursday, investors should have a much clearer picture of the online ad market and how much companies are tightening their belts heading into the holiday season.
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 22, 2025.
Gerry Miller | CNBC
Uber reported second-quarter results on Wednesday that beat on revenue and announced the authorization of a $20 billion stock buyback.
Here’s how the company did versus analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG:
Earnings per share: 63 cents vs. 63 cents expected.
Revenue: $12.65 billion vs. $12.46 billion expected.
Here are the key segment numbers:
Mobility (gross bookings): $23.76 billion, up 18% year over year
Delivery (gross bookings): $21.73 billion, up 20% year over year
Uber’s revenue increased 18% from $10.7 billion a year earlier. For the quarter ending June 30, net income rose to $1.36 billion, or 63 cents per share,from $1.02 billion, or 47 cents per share, a year ago.
Gross bookings rose 17% to $46.8 billion, and the company reported adjusted earnings of $2.12 billion.
Uber’s “monthly active platform consumers” increased 15% to 180 million in the second quarter. The company said users booked around 3.3 billion trips during the period, up 18% from a year earlier.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks that Uber sees “enormous potential in better serving families across all stages of life.”
Read more CNBC tech news
In the second quarter, Uber launched Senior Accounts, including an “app experience” that features larger text and icons, and other features that allow family organizers to book and manage rides for others.
The company also recently started testing a new feature in the U.S. that allows women riders or drivers to avoid being paired with men in their ride when possible.
In some international markets, Uber Eats’ food delivery service is more popular than ride hailing, and the company is working to increase “cross-platform activity” to drive sales growth, Khosrowshahi said.
Uber shares are up 48% this year as of Tuesday’s close, while the Nasdaq has gained about 8% over that stretch.
Executives will go over results and the company’s outlook on a call with analysts at 8 a.m. ET.
Tesla is now training a new Full Self-Driving model boasting “big” video improvements and size upgrades, CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday on social media.
“Tesla is training a new FSD model with ~10X params and a big improvement to video compression loss. Probably ready for public release end of next month if testing goes well,” the tech billionaire said in an update on the X social media platform.
FSD is a partially automated driving system that seeks to enable Tesla vehicles to navigate and maneuver in driving situations with minimal driver assistance. Owners must keep their hands on the wheel, and remain ready to take over steering or braking at any time. It also serves as an upgrade to the company’s Autopilot driver assistant, which is already available in Europe and China.
The system is based on an artificial intelligence model that helps the car’s cameras and sensors perceive the world around it. Musk’s comment on “10X params” refers to a larger parameter size. In the case of AI models, that usually means it is a bigger model that is trained on more data and is more capable.
FSD has been a central pillar of Musk’s strategy for Tesla’s revenue growth and tech advancement in the increasingly competitive electric vehicle market, where Chinese automakers have stepped up to the plate.
Tesla bulls expect the company’s future will be in autonomy as Musk’s automaker focuses on ramping up its offering of self-driving features.
But right now, the market is focused on how Tesla’s core business of selling cars is doing. And it has been challenging. Tesla most recently reported a 16% decline in automotive revenue in the second quarter and has also been notching steep declines in its European sales.
The company’s stock has taken a bruising this year that has been exacerbated by reputational damage from Musk’s now-severed relationship with the White House administration. Tesla shares were down 23.55% this year as of Wednesday morning.
China is one of Nvidia’s largest markets, particularly for data centers, gaming and artificial intelligence applications.
Avishek Das | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Two Chinese nationals in California have been arrested and charged with the illegal shipment of tens of millions of dollars‘ worth of AI chips, including from Nvidia, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
Chuan Geng, 28, and Shiwei Yang, 28, exported the sensitive chips and other technology to China from October 2022 through July 2025 without obtaining the required licenses, the DOJ said.
The illicit shipments included Nvidia’s H100 general processing units, according to a criminal complaint provided to CNBC. The H100 is amongst the U.S. chipmaker’s most cutting-edge chips used in artificial intelligence applications.
The Department of Commerce has placed such chips under export controls since 2022 as part of broader efforts by the U.S. to restrict China’s access to the most advanced semiconductor technology.
This case demonstrates that smuggling is a “nonstarter,” Nvidia told CNBC. “We primarily sell our products to well-known partners, including OEMs, who help us ensure that all sales comply with U.S. export control rules.”
“Even relatively small exporters and shipments are subject to thorough review and scrutiny, and any diverted products would have no service, support, or updates,” the chipmaker added.
Geng and Yang’s California-based company, ALX Solutions, had been founded shortly after the U.S. chip controls first came into place.
According to the DOJ, law enforcement searched ALX Solutions’ office and seized phones belonging to Geng and Yang, which revealed incriminating communications between the defendants, including those about evading U.S. export laws by shipping sensitive chips to China through Malaysia.
The review also showed that in December 2024, ALX Solutions made over 20 shipments from the U.S. to shipping and freight-forwarding companies in Singapore and Malaysia, which the DOJ said are commonly used as transshipment points to conceal illicit shipments to China.
ALX Solutions did not appear to have been paid by entities they purportedly exported goods to, instead receiving numerous payments from companies based in Hong Kong and China.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security and the FBI are continuing to investigate the matter.
The smuggling of advanced microchips has become a growing concern in Washington. According to a report from the Financial Times last month, at least $1 billion worth of Nvidia’s chips entered China after Donald Trump tightened chip export controls earlier this year.
In response to the report, Nvidia had said that data centers built with smuggled chips were a “losing proposition” and that it does not support unauthorized products.