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Top stories today:
- SoftBank said to invest $15B - $25B in OpenAI
- Microsoft Cloud drives +12% YoY in revenue to $69.6B in Q2
- Meta Q4 revenue +21% to $48.3B, net income +49% to $20.8B
- Tesla misses Q4 earnings expectations, with -71% YoY in net income
- Fed holds rates steady, awaiting updates on Trumpās economic policies
0. Data and calendar
All values as of 6 AM ET / 3 AM PT, other than S&P500 and NASDAQ close (4 PM ET / 1 PM PT).
All times are ET.
Listen to our AI-generated podcast summarizing todayās newsletter (beware of hallucinations):
1. SoftBank said to invest $15B - $25B in OpenAI
OpenAIās total funding would go to $48.4B with SoftBankās $25B:
In addition to $15B in Stargate ($40B total).
SoftBank would get a smaller stake in OpenAIās for-profit division than Microsoft, though.
2024: SoftBank acquired a $2B stake in the AI startup.
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3. Microsoft Cloud drives +12% YoY in revenue to $69.6B in Q2, operating income +17% to $31.7B
AI business +175% YoY in annual revenue run rate to $13B, per CEO Satya Nadella.
+10% in net income to $24.1B.
Search and ads also grew by double-digits, while Windows OEM and Xbox lagged behind
+9% in LinkedIn revenue, with Premium subscriptions passing a record $2B revenue.
Microsoft stock is -4% in pre-market trading on weak quarterly guidance
$67.7B-$68.7B in Q3 revenue forecast, vs. $69.78B expected by analysts.
DeepSeek R1 model is available through Azure AI Foundry and GitHub and will soon be accessible on Copilot+PCs, Nadella said.
āOpenAI has a lot more coming soon, so stay tuned,ā Nadella said.
4. Meta Q4 revenue +21% to $48.3B, net income +49% to $20.8B amid AI-driven growth
