Facebook Analyst: Tech Firms Will Have to Invest "Billions" in Security
While some Facebook execs were in Washington, D.C. Wednesday, testifying about Russia-backed ads, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced blow-out earnings. The company reported ad revenue of over $10 billion and 2.07 billion monthly active users. Daniel Ives, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Technology Research at GBH Insights, discusses the social media platform's 2018 guidance.
Zuckerberg said 2018 will be a year of "investment." Ives believes this should be used to further expand its ad growth, AR, mobile platforms, video, consumer engagement, and Instagram/Messenger monetization into 2018 and beyond. However, Ives said the platform will need to invest billions in security, which concerns investors. Zuckerberg warns that the company's future profitability will be impacted because of it.
Plus, we can't forget Apple. The tech giant reports earnings after the bell Thursday. Ives says early demand for the iPhone X will continue throughout the year. He says the Street really wants to see guidance for 75-80 million units in the month of December. He believes this will be Apple's biggest super cycle.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
