Author: GT

Block reported first-quarter results that missed Wall Street expectations on Thursday and issued a disappointing outlook. The stock tumbled 15% in extended trading.Here is how the company did, compared to analysts’ consensus estimates from LSEG.Earnings per share: 56 cents, adjusted. That figure may not be comparable to estimates.Revenue: $5.77 billion vs. $6.2 billion expectedRevenue decreased about 3% from $5.96 billion a year earlier. Gross profit rose 9% to $2.29 billion from $2.09 billion a year earlier. That missed analysts’ forecasts of $2.32 billion for the quarter.Block provided weaker-than-expected profit guidance for the second quarter and full year, reflecting challenging economic…

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman stands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after ringing a bell on the floor setting the share price at $47 in its initial public offering (IPO) on March 21, 2024 in New York City.Spencer Platt | Getty ImagesReddit reported first-quarter earnings Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations on sales and guidance.Shares of the social media company rose as high as 19% in after-hours trading.Here’s how the company did compared with LSEG estimates:Earnings per share: 13 cents vs. 2 cents expectedRevenue: $392 million vs. $370 million expectedReddit said its second-quarter sales should come in the…

Google’s Gemini chatbot app now lets you modify both AI-generated images and images uploaded from your phone or computer, the company said in a blog post on Wednesday. Native image editing in Gemini will start rolling out gradually today. The service will be expanded to people in most countries and get support for more than 45 languages in the coming weeks. The launch follows an AI image-editing model Google piloted in its AI Studio platform in March, which went viral for its controversial ability to remove watermarks from any image. Similar to ChatGPT’s recently upgraded image-editing tool, Gemini’s newfangled native…

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia on Thursday became the eighth state to see its law requiring parental consent for children to use social media challenged in court.NetChoice, a technology industry trade group, sued in federal court in Atlanta to overturn the law, which is scheduled to take effect on July 1.Similar laws have been overturned by federal judges in Arkansas and Ohio and temporarily blocked in Utah. Litigation is pending against laws in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.The fight pits a growing movement that social media use is harmful to children and teens against constitutional protections for free speech. While the…

(Bloomberg) — Morgan Stanley is working on a plan to add cryptocurrency trading to its E*Trade platform, in what would be the most significant move by a major US bank to help everyday customers buy into the asset class since the Trump administration began removing regulatory barriers. Most Read from Bloomberg The project is nascent and executives envision launching the service sometime next year, according to people familiar with the matter. The firm is considering partnering with one or multiple established crypto firms as it sets up the mechanics for the brokerage’s clients to buy and sell popular tokens including…

The tech layoff wave is still kicking in 2025. Last year saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 549 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. So far this year, more than 22,000 workers have been the victim of reductions across the tech industry, with a staggering 16,084 cuts taking place in February alone. We’re tracking layoffs in the tech industry in 2025 so you can see the trajectory of the cutbacks and understand the impact on innovation across all types of companies. As businesses continue to embrace AI and automation, this tracker serves as a reminder of the human…

BOSTON (AP) — Tariffs weren’t on the agenda of this week’s Robotics Summit, where thousands of tech industry workers mingled with humanoid and other robot varieties and talked about how to build and sell a new generation of increasingly autonomous machines.Not on the official agenda, at least. “Jump up to the microphones,” said keynote speaker Aaron Saunders, chief technology officer of Boston Dynamics, inviting a standing-room-only crowd to ask him questions. “And I’m the CTO, so don’t ask me about tariffs.”The crowd laughed and complied. But as they streamed onto the show floor at Boston’s convention center, greeted by a…

(Bloomberg) — Last year on the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to be a champion of the Bitcoin mining industry in the US. Yet as American crypto miners begin to release their first quarterly earnings reports since Trump returned to the White House, it’s clear the group is struggling. Most Read from Bloomberg Seven of the eight biggest publicly traded miners that are based in the US are expected to post a loss when they report first-quarter results, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The financial struggles come even after Bitcoin reached a record above $109,000 in January, and…

An Iranian national flag flies at the Persian Gulf Star Co. (PGSPC) gas condensate refinery in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Jan. 9. 2019.Ali Mohammadi | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump said Thursday any country or person that buys oil or petrochemicals from Iran will not be allowed to do any business with the U.S. U.S. crude oil futures rose $1.11, or 1.91%, to $59.32 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent was up $1.15, or 1.88%, to $62.21 per barrel. “Any Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary…

An executive cautioned during Microsoft’s earnings call on Wednesday that customers might face AI service disruptions as demand outstrips the company’s ability to bring data centers online. Microsoft’s EVP and CFO Amy Hood said during the company’s fiscal 2025 third-quarter earnings call that the company may face AI capacity constraints as early as June. “We had hoped to be in balance by the end of Q4 but we did see some increased demand, as you saw through the quarter,” Hood said. “So we are going to be a little short, a little tight as we exit the year.” The timing…