Growing, growing, gone... Big Tech may be in for a bumpy earnings week. Last week, Netflix reported a subscriber loss for the first time in a decade, which wiped $50B from its market cap. It’s not the only techie stalling out: in February, Meta posted its first user drop ever. Other tech giants face a combo of labor, inflation, and regulatory issues. We’ll see if the pandemic profit party’s ending for Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Amazon when they report this week, and whether Meta has reversed its last quarter’s user shrinkage.
Treat-yo-self season... is still here. Visa and Mastercard are seeing a spike in swipes as you splurge on new fits and dining out. Last quarter, both saw revenues jump 25%. Now higher credit costs (which rise with interest rates) could boost payments from card holders. Plus, this month Visa and Mastercard plan to raise swipe fees for merchants, which make up the bulk of their profits. But since those fee hikes are passed to customers, lawmakers are calling for them to be shelved. Still, the swipe fees could push profits close to records when they report this week.