Meta reported our Q1 2025 Earnings today and, as Mark noted, it was a strong start to a pivotal year, including the news that our global community continues to grow, with an estimated 3.4 billion people using at least one of our apps each day. A few more highlights:
🎥 Strong growth in video consumption across IG and FB, with a year-over-year doubling in the US.
📈 Improvements to our recommendation systems have increased time spent, delivering 7% and 6% gains on FB and IG, respectively, over the past 6 months.
💎 We introduced a new generative ads recommendation model, or GEM, for ads ranking. During the initial launch on FB Reels this year, GEM increased ad conversions by up to 5%.
🌟 We have great momentum with our GenAI tools, with 30% more advertisers using them in Q1.
As you can tell, it's been an impactful quarter here at Meta — we've also launched a myriad of new products to help advertisers gain every incremental advantage possible, such as Omnichannel ads; Ads in Notifications on Facebook; Threads ad feed placement; new creator marketing tools, and more (with even more big announcements to come!).
Innovation like this is especially important in today's economic climate, where businesses are constantly re-evaluating their marketing strategies to ensure their dollars drive performance that matters.
With real GDP contracting in Q1 as consumers and businesses braced for tariffs, and today’s ADP data pointing to a sharp slowdown in payroll growth, both equity markets and job seekers are growing increasingly pessimistic about the US labor market. It’s no exaggeration to say vultures may now be circling Friday’s jobs report. While uncertainty remains an economic albatross, the fundamentals still suggest we could see a solid report. For more on what to expect—and why—here’s a preview of this week’s jobs report with some highlights below:
1. Consensus estimates project nonfarm payroll employment to have increased by around 135K in April, moderating substantially from last month’s gain. LinkedIn data suggests some upside to job gains compared to the consensus, with an increase of around 150 K.
2. Unemployment is expected to remain at 4.2%. Future increases in the unemployment rate are likely to come from layoffs, with no acceleration in hiring in sight and a stall in labor force participation growth.
3. Despite concerns around the impact of trade policy and uncertainty, the strength of labor market expansion still depends primarily on the performance of Healthcare and Social Assistance, Government, and Leisure and Hospitality.
1. Consensus estimates project nonfarm payroll employment to have increased by around 135K in April, moderating substantially from last month’s gain. LinkedIn data suggests some upside to job gains compared to the consensus, with an increase of around 150 K.
2. Unemployment is expected to remain at 4.2%. Future increases in the unemployment rate are likely to come from layoffs, with no acceleration in hiring in sight and a stall in labor force participation growth.
3. Despite concerns around the impact of trade policy and uncertainty, the strength of labor market expansion still depends primarily on the performance of Healthcare and Social Assistance, Government, and Leisure and Hospitality.
GOOGLE WANTS ITS GEMINI AI IN YOUR NEXT iPHONE—IF APPLE SAYS YES
At an antitrust trial, Google CEO Sundar Pichai casually dropped that he’s hoping to seal a deal with Apple this year to get Gemini—Google’s AI brain—baked into future iPhones.
If it happens, it could be a big flex in the AI arms race, bringing Google's tech straight into Apple territory.
But don’t get too excited yet—this is Apple we’re talking about.
They don’t exactly hand out invites to the party easily.
No official deal yet, but both sides are reportedly still talking.
At an antitrust trial, Google CEO Sundar Pichai casually dropped that he’s hoping to seal a deal with Apple this year to get Gemini—Google’s AI brain—baked into future iPhones.
If it happens, it could be a big flex in the AI arms race, bringing Google's tech straight into Apple territory.
But don’t get too excited yet—this is Apple we’re talking about.
They don’t exactly hand out invites to the party easily.
No official deal yet, but both sides are reportedly still talking.
📈 Microsoft Q1: Strong Azure Beat Drives Post-Earnings Rally ☁️
Microsoft delivered an upside surprise on both earnings and revenue, with Azure growth coming in stronger than expected despite macro headwinds and tariff-related uncertainty. Shares rose 6% after hours as investors digested solid commercial cloud momentum and reassurance around AI-led capex discipline.
🔹 EPS: $3.46 vs. $3.22 expected
🔹 Revenue: $70.07B vs. $68.42B expected (+10.6% YoY)
🔹 Commercial Cloud Revenue: $42.4B vs. $42.2B expected (up from $35.1B YoY)
📊 Segment Highlights:
Azure Growth: +33% YoY vs. 30% expected; AI now contributes 16 percentage points
Intelligent Cloud: $26.8B vs. $26.7B expected
Productivity & Business Processes: $29.9B vs. $29.6B expected
More Personal Computing: $13.4B vs. $12.6B expected
🧠 Strategic Notes:
CEO Satya Nadella emphasised adaptability amid Trump’s tariff plans, noting Microsoft is “adjusting incentives” to counter softer non-AI Azure revenue.
Capital spending remains elevated at $80B for AI infrastructure, but CFO Amy Hood reiterated expectations for a slower capex ramp in FY2026.
The updated OpenAI agreement provides right-of-first-refusal on compute capacity while maintaining flexibility, key amid geopolitical flux.
📉 Despite tariff overhang and early-year underperformance (-7% YTD), this quarter reaffirms Microsoft’s leadership in cloud and enterprise AI. The combination of above-expectation Azure growth and better-than-feared macro positioning sets a high bar for the rest of Big Tech this week.
Microsoft delivered an upside surprise on both earnings and revenue, with Azure growth coming in stronger than expected despite macro headwinds and tariff-related uncertainty. Shares rose 6% after hours as investors digested solid commercial cloud momentum and reassurance around AI-led capex discipline.
🔹 EPS: $3.46 vs. $3.22 expected
🔹 Revenue: $70.07B vs. $68.42B expected (+10.6% YoY)
🔹 Commercial Cloud Revenue: $42.4B vs. $42.2B expected (up from $35.1B YoY)
📊 Segment Highlights:
Azure Growth: +33% YoY vs. 30% expected; AI now contributes 16 percentage points
Intelligent Cloud: $26.8B vs. $26.7B expected
Productivity & Business Processes: $29.9B vs. $29.6B expected
More Personal Computing: $13.4B vs. $12.6B expected
🧠 Strategic Notes:
CEO Satya Nadella emphasised adaptability amid Trump’s tariff plans, noting Microsoft is “adjusting incentives” to counter softer non-AI Azure revenue.
Capital spending remains elevated at $80B for AI infrastructure, but CFO Amy Hood reiterated expectations for a slower capex ramp in FY2026.
The updated OpenAI agreement provides right-of-first-refusal on compute capacity while maintaining flexibility, key amid geopolitical flux.
📉 Despite tariff overhang and early-year underperformance (-7% YTD), this quarter reaffirms Microsoft’s leadership in cloud and enterprise AI. The combination of above-expectation Azure growth and better-than-feared macro positioning sets a high bar for the rest of Big Tech this week.
Since Amazon’s start in Jeff Bezos’ garage near Seattle, Washington, it’s been in our DNA to invest in and support the U.S.
Today, we are proud to announce we are investing $4 billion by the end of 2026 to expand our rural delivery network, with a focus on small towns across the U.S. This investment is already bringing faster delivery to more of our customers, and it will also grow our rural delivery network’s footprint to more than 200 delivery stations. We estimate it will create over 100,000 new jobs and drive opportunities through a wide range of full-time, part-time, and flexible positions in our buildings and on the roads.
Today, we are proud to announce we are investing $4 billion by the end of 2026 to expand our rural delivery network, with a focus on small towns across the U.S. This investment is already bringing faster delivery to more of our customers, and it will also grow our rural delivery network’s footprint to more than 200 delivery stations. We estimate it will create over 100,000 new jobs and drive opportunities through a wide range of full-time, part-time, and flexible positions in our buildings and on the roads.
This expansion will provide even faster Amazon delivery speeds for many millions of customers, particularly in less densely populated areas. Once this expansion is complete, our network will be able to deliver over a billion more packages each year to customers living in over 13,000 zip codes spanning 1,200,000 square miles—an area the size of Alaska, California, and Texas combined.
Since we began scaling our small-town delivery network in 2023, we’ve already seen improvement in delivery speeds by 50% on average for customers living in less densely populated areas of the country. I look forward to seeing the positive impacts this investment has for our customers, employees, and communities across the U.S.
Visa is partnering with some of the biggest names in artificial intelligence to enable AI-powered shopping. The venture, Visa Intelligent Commerce, allows consumers to leverage AI agents to shop online and place orders on their behalf based on their pre-selected preferences. The credit card giant is teaming up with a host of tech firms for the initiative, including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Perplexity. Visa’s product chief likened the rise of AI agents to “the shift from physical shopping to online, and from online to mobile.”
🚨 Markets Are Sliding Down Today. Here is why 🚨
⬇️ U.S. private payrolls growth slowed more than expected in April, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday.
🧑🏭 Private payrolls increased by only 62,000 jobs this month after a downwardly revised 147,000 gains in March.
📰 Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment would advance by 115,000 following a previously reported gain of 155,000 in March.
🏛️ Government data on Tuesday showed job openings dropped to a six-month low in March. There were 1.02 job openings for every unemployed person, slightly down from 1.06 in February.
🤔 The labor market continues to slow in an orderly fashion, though economists warn that President Donald Trump's tariffs could force companies to lay off workers.
Junior employees at midwestern investment bank Robert W. Baird endured long, grueling hours, leading to two being hospitalized, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources. Details of their working conditions became public earlier this month when an anonymous post on a Wall Street message board went viral. Former employees on Baird’s industrial team said they routinely worked 110 hours per week, describing the demands as “unsustainable.” Over a dozen junior bankers have left the firm since the start of 2024.
⬇️ U.S. private payrolls growth slowed more than expected in April, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday.
🧑🏭 Private payrolls increased by only 62,000 jobs this month after a downwardly revised 147,000 gains in March.
📰 Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment would advance by 115,000 following a previously reported gain of 155,000 in March.
🏛️ Government data on Tuesday showed job openings dropped to a six-month low in March. There were 1.02 job openings for every unemployed person, slightly down from 1.06 in February.
🤔 The labor market continues to slow in an orderly fashion, though economists warn that President Donald Trump's tariffs could force companies to lay off workers.
Junior employees at midwestern investment bank Robert W. Baird endured long, grueling hours, leading to two being hospitalized, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources. Details of their working conditions became public earlier this month when an anonymous post on a Wall Street message board went viral. Former employees on Baird’s industrial team said they routinely worked 110 hours per week, describing the demands as “unsustainable.” Over a dozen junior bankers have left the firm since the start of 2024.
That's a lot of Baja Blasts: Taco Bell on Wednesday reported same-store sales growth of 9%, beating estimates and notching traffic growth across all income levels. Parent company Yum Brands, however, missed on revenue and saw net income drop year-over-year — thanks in large part to another of its holdings, Pizza Hut. Same-store sales at "The Hut" fell 2% overall, and 5% in the U.S. Yum isn't anticipating any major impacts to its supply chain from tariffs and trade tensions.
New York City has gotten squeezed by South Florida to the tune of $9.2 billion over five years, Bloomberg says, citing a new Citizens Budget Commission report. According to the CBC's findings, a net of 30,000 New Yorkers moved to Miami-Dade or Palm Beach counties from 2017 to 2022, many of whom had healthy six-figure incomes. The exodus intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. The nonprofit is calling for a rethink of spending and services in New York City and the state.