Business
business
Jon Keegan

AI cloud computing and ads drive Amazon profits up 54%

Amazon soundly beat expectations with its third-quarter earnings, posting a ​​$15.3 billion profit for the quarter — a 54% increase year over year — with revenues of $158.9 billion growing 11% from last year. Amazon also beat estimates for earnings per share, coming in at $1.43.

“We kicked off the holiday season with our biggest-ever Prime Big Deal Days and the launch of an all-new Kindle lineup that is significantly outperforming our expectations; and there’s so much more coming, from tens of millions of deals, to our NFL Black Friday game and Election Day coverage with Brian Williams on Prime Video, to over 100 new cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities that we’ll share at AWS re:Invent the week after Thanksgiving,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a press release.

As it gears up for the crucial holiday season, Amazon said it plans to hire 250,000 people across the US.

Amazon’s massive advertising business was in-line with expectations, growing 22% year over year to $14.3 billion in sales.

Across the tech industry, companies are spending enormous amounts to build out capacity for AI. In Q3, Amazon’s capital expenditures grew a whopping 81% to $22.6 billion.

Sales for Amazon’s cloud business, AWS, grew 19% year over year to $27.5 billion, as customers turn to the platform for its growing AI-computing offerings.

Bloomberg reported this week that a new AI-enabled version of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant is plagued by technical challenges, and has been delayed until 2025.

Investors liked what they heard, and Amazon’s stock was up about 4% in after-hours trading.

Amazon.com Announces Third Quarter Results

Amazon.com Announces Third Quarter Results

“We kicked off the holiday season with our biggest-ever Prime Big Deal Days and the launch of an all-new Kindle lineup that is significantly outperforming our expectations; and there’s so much more coming, from tens of millions of deals, to our NFL Black Friday game and Election Day coverage with Brian Williams on Prime Video, to over 100 new cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities that we’ll share at AWS re:Invent the week after Thanksgiving,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a press release.

As it gears up for the crucial holiday season, Amazon said it plans to hire 250,000 people across the US.

Amazon’s massive advertising business was in-line with expectations, growing 22% year over year to $14.3 billion in sales.

Across the tech industry, companies are spending enormous amounts to build out capacity for AI. In Q3, Amazon’s capital expenditures grew a whopping 81% to $22.6 billion.

Sales for Amazon’s cloud business, AWS, grew 19% year over year to $27.5 billion, as customers turn to the platform for its growing AI-computing offerings.

Bloomberg reported this week that a new AI-enabled version of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant is plagued by technical challenges, and has been delayed until 2025.

Investors liked what they heard, and Amazon’s stock was up about 4% in after-hours trading.

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$35.4B
Max Knoblauch

The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have cost automakers at least $35.4 billion since the start of 2025, according to a new analysis by Automotive News.

That total will continue to climb this year, since the Supreme Court’s February tariff ruling largely leaves the 25% levy on vehicles and auto parts untouched.

Toyota has taken the biggest hit, projecting more than $9 billion in tariff costs in its fiscal year ending this month, while Detroit’s big three automakers — Ford, GM, and Stellantis — were hit with a combined $6.5 billion tariff charge in 2025.

In the fourth quarter, automakers sold about 8% fewer imported vehicles in the US compared to the same period a year ago, per the Automotive News Research & Data Center.

Tariff charges come at a rough time for legacy carmakers, which are also scaling back EV plans following the Trump administration’s elimination of tax credits and fuel standard goals. According to Automotive News, the cost of EV write-downs and restructuring is, so far, nearly $70 billion.

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Universal Studios is giving theaters a longer minimum exclusive run

Universal will now guarantee a minimum of five weekends before a movie hits home screens — which might help theater companies like AMC finally get back to profitability.

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Tesla Will Open Up Its Chargers To Other Brands, In Order To Receive Federal Subsidies

After a big pullback for EVs, climbing gas prices are causing drivers to eye them again

Still, the market is much different than it was the last time oil prices were this high.

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McDonald’s plans $3 menu items as fast food loses its price edge

Americans are spending more of their dining-out dollars at full-service restaurants again.

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business
Rani Molla

How Tesla quietly wound up owning a small piece of SpaceX

Tesla is converting its recent $2 billion investment in Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, into a small ownership stake in SpaceX — just months before the rocket maker’s highly anticipated IPO.

Here’s what happened: Tesla announced its xAI investment in late January, after a shareholder proposal to invest fell short last year. Several days later, xAI merged with SpaceX. All three companies are headed by Musk.

Now, regulatory filings with the Federal Trade Commission show Tesla converting that investment into a small stake in SpaceX, formalizing the financial link between the companies ahead of the rocket maker’s IPO. SpaceX is expected to go public this year at a valuation some speculate could top $1.75 trillion, potentially making it the biggest company to ever go public. (The current record holder, Saudi Aramco, went public at a more than $1.7 trillion valuation in 2020.)

While the size of Tesla’s stake wasn’t available, Bloomberg reports that the investment would equate to ownership of less than 1%.

While SpaceX and Tesla have engaged in related-party transactions over the years, Tesla had not previously disclosed an equity investment in SpaceX.

Tesla Converts xAI Investment Into SpaceX Stake Ahead of IPO

Tesla Converts xAI Investment Into SpaceX Stake Ahead of IPO

Now, regulatory filings with the Federal Trade Commission show Tesla converting that investment into a small stake in SpaceX, formalizing the financial link between the companies ahead of the rocket maker’s IPO. SpaceX is expected to go public this year at a valuation some speculate could top $1.75 trillion, potentially making it the biggest company to ever go public. (The current record holder, Saudi Aramco, went public at a more than $1.7 trillion valuation in 2020.)

While the size of Tesla’s stake wasn’t available, Bloomberg reports that the investment would equate to ownership of less than 1%.

While SpaceX and Tesla have engaged in related-party transactions over the years, Tesla had not previously disclosed an equity investment in SpaceX.

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