Author: Anusuya Lahiri

Amazon.Com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) now offers Prime members free Grubhub subscriptions, enhancing its $139-a-year loyalty program. Previously, Prime members received a yearlong Grubhub subscription with free delivery on orders over $12.

This new deal makes Grubhub a permanent Prime benefit, allowing non-Prime users to place Grubhub orders through Amazon’s website and app, CNBC reports.

This deal could make Grubhub more appealing to potential buyers, as Just Eat Takeaway has been trying to sell it since its acquisition, Reuters cites analyst Panmure Gordon.

In 2023, about 167 million Amazon customers in the U.S. subscribed to Prime, representing 71% of all users in the country.

Amazon has been increasing Prime benefits to attract and retain members amid competition from Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) and Target Corp (NYSE:TGT).

Recent additions include a discounted One Medical membership, fast shipping, and video streaming.

In July 2022, Amazon secured rights to a 2% stake in Grubhub, potentially increasing to 15% based on performance factors.

After its first-quarter performance, analysts flagged Amazon’s retail margin expansion and GenAI revenue as major upside drivers. According to analysts, the company’s scale and strong cash flow enable substantial investments while expanding margins.

Amazon stock gained 50% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via VanEck Retail ETF (NASDAQ:RTH) and ProShares Long Online/Short Stores ETF (NYSE:CLIX).

Now Read: US Q1 Economic Growth Downwardly Revised To 1.3%: Consumer Spending Falters

Photo: rblfmr/Shutterstock

TikTok confirmed testing the ability for users to upload 60-minute videos. This feature is currently available to select users in specific markets, and there are no immediate plans for a broader rollout. 

Initially recognized for 15-second videos at launch, TikTok has gradually increased its video length limits, adapting to the demand for longer formats such as cooking demonstrations, beauty tutorials, and educational content, TechCrunch reports.

This extension offers creators more versatility in their content, challenging platforms like Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) YouTube by encouraging creators to post longer videos on TikTok. 

Moreover, this could pave the way for uploading full TV show episodes directly rather than in segments. 

Networks might leverage this extended format to debut show episodes on TikTok, similar to strategies employed on YouTube. 

TikTok also enhances the user experience for longer videos by testing features like horizontal full-screen viewing and video-scrubbing thumbnails. 

Recently, Amazon.com, Inc’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Twitch launched a short-form video platform, Discovery Feed, that lets users browse through short clips extracted from longer videos.

TikTok is actively working to maintain its presence in the U.S. after President Joe Biden signed legislation that gives TikTok parent ByteDance nine months, with an option to extend for another 90 days, to either divest the app or face a nationwide ban.

Reports also indicated that Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) LinkedIn is testing TikTok-style short-form video feeds focusing on career content.

Reportedly, Uber Technologies, Inc (NYSE:UBER) Uber Eats plans to launch a TikTok-style short-form video feature to improve food discovery. 

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

TikTok Photo by Mehaniq on Shutterstock

Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) announced it will introduce a new streaming bundle called StreamSaver, which includes Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple TV+, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), and its own Peacock service. 

CEO Brian Roberts revealed at an investor conference that this bundle aims to reduce subscriber churn and will be significantly discounted compared to similar market offerings. 

The bundle will be available later this month to both video and broadband customers, Bloomberg reports. 

Also Read: AT&T, Comcast, Verizon Challenge: Subsidy Slash Threatens Internet for 23M Households

This strategy comes as Comcast, under the Xfinity brand, continues to lose pay-TV subscribers to streaming services despite having nearly 32 million customers, including 13.6 million video subscribers.

In April, Comcast reported first-quarter revenue growth of 1.2% year-over-year to $30.06 billion, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $29.81 billion. EPS of $1.04 beat the analyst consensus estimate of $0.99. Peacock paid subscribers increased 55% Y/Y to 34 million.

Analysts do not see Comcast’s market valuation adequately reflecting its growth potential.

Comcast stock lost close to 1% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Invesco BuyBack Achievers ETF (NASDAQ:PKW) and Vanguard Communication Services ETF (NYSE:VOX).

Price Action: CMCSA shares traded higher by 0.30% at $39.82 at the last check Tuesday.

Also Read: Disney, Comcast Seek Advisor To Figure Out How Much Hulu Is Really Worth: Report

Proxima Studio via Shutterstock

Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) is collaborating with major U.S. banks to test a shared-ledger technology that will enable the unified settlement of tokenized assets, including commercial bank money and Treasury and investment-grade debt securities. 

This Regulated Settlement Network proof-of-concept will simulate dollar transactions, aiming to simplify and speed up international and system-wide transactions while reducing errors and fraud risks, Bloomberg cites a Mastercard statement.

Also Read: Jack Ma Backed Ant Group’s Alipay+ Broadens Payment Reach Across Continents: How It’s Shaping Global Commerce?

The new ledger technology can revolutionize financial operations by allowing commercial bank money, wholesale central bank money, and securities like investment-grade debt to reside on a single system once they are tokenized. 

The initiative builds on a 12-week pilot that started in late 2022, focusing on domestic interbank and cross-border dollar transactions.

Major financial institutions participating in this trial include Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), US Bancorp, Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), and Visa Inc (NYSE:V), along with Swift, TD Bank NA, and Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ:ZION). 

Experts from the Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association contribute to the project. Earlier in May, Mastercard reported fiscal first-quarter net revenues of $6.35 billion, up 10% year over year, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Adjusted EPS of $3.31 beat the analyst consensus estimate of $3.24.

Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard said, “We are driving growth in electronic payments by scaling innovative technologies like tokenization.”

Mastercard stock gained 18% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via IShares U.S. Financial Services ETF (NYSE:IYG) and Fidelity MSCI Financials Index ETF (NYSE:FNCL).

Price Action: MA shares are trading lower by 0.04% at $452.87 at the last check Wednesday.

Photo via Shutterstock

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has aggressively recruited dozens of artificial intelligence experts from Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, establishing a secretive AI laboratory in Zurich, Europe. 

This move comes as the company intensifies its efforts to lead in new AI model and product development.

Apple, valued at $2.7 trillion, has been expanding its global AI and Machine Learning team by poaching many specialists from Google since hiring John Giannandrea as its top AI executive in 2018. 

This includes at least 36 experts who have since joined Apple, the Financial Times reports.

Also Read: Apple Strengthens Supply Chain in China While Growing Presence in Southeast Asia and India

In addition to its central AI teams in California and Seattle, Apple has grown its presence in Zurich, Switzerland. This expansion followed the acquisitions of two local AI startups, leading to the creation of the “Vision Lab” in Zurich.

The Zurich team has contributed to research on advanced AI models that merge text and visual inputs, which are crucial for products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Apple has advertised several generative AI positions in Zurich, maintaining a low profile in the area.

The company plans to showcase new generative AI features at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, potentially transforming the next iPhone into a more sophisticated voice-activated assistant with an enhanced Siri capable of interacting with all apps via voice control.

Apple analysts projected a slight increase in revenue for the March quarter and a significant guide-down for the June quarter compared to consensus, followed by a negative market reaction. 

The critical event following the earnings will be Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), where analysts anticipate new AI software features will be a significant highlight, with Apple experiencing a relief rally. 

Analysts will be closely watching the March quarter for total revenue, focusing on revenue from China (where he expects iPhone shipments to be down 28% year-over-year) and growth in Services revenue, which he projects at 12.7% year-over-year.

Apple stock gained over 2% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Vanguard Information Tech ETF (NYSE:VGT) and SPDR Select Sector Fund – Technology (NYSE:XLK).

Price Action: AAPL shares trade higher by 0.22% at $173.88 at the last check Tuesday.

Also Read: Microsoft Set to Unveil Qualcomm-Powered AI PCs, Aiming to Surpass Apple’s MacBook Air

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo by Thai Nguyen on Unsplash

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) and peers are trading lower Friday amid reports of China retaliating against U.S. semiconductor sanctions via the East Asian country’s latest move.

In 2024, Chinese officials directed major telecom carriers to phase out foreign processors, notably impacting American chip giants Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (NASDAQ:AMD). 

China set the deadline for 2027. Intel, with China as its largest market, and AMD saw a revenue reduction from China following U.S. restrictions. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that China commanded its telecom operators to inspect their networks for non-Chinese semiconductors and plan their replacement. 

Also Read: Alibaba’s Jack Ma Backs Company’s AI Push and Restructuring

Alibaba rivals Baidu, Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU), JD.Com, Inc (NASDAQ:JD), and PDD Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PDD) also traded lower on Friday.

Alibaba has slashed its cloud service prices significantly, offering discounts of up to 59% internationally, in response to competitive pressures and U.S. sanctions impacting the technological capabilities of Chinese firms, including Alibaba itself. 

This move follows a price reduction initiative within China, where Alibaba cut prices by up to 55% for critical cloud services, sparking a price war with rivals like JD.com. 

According to Alibaba co-founder and chairman Joe Tsai, the U.S. sanctions have disadvantage Chinese tech companies, including Alibaba, in AI development and high-end computing services by restricting access to advanced semiconductors. 

Despite these hurdles, Tsai mentioned efforts to seek alternatives and develop large language models in-house to ensure the competitiveness of Alibaba’s cloud offerings.

Price Actions: BABA shares traded lower by 1.86% at $73.46 premarket on the last check Friday. BIDU shares traded lower by 3.13% at $72.51, JD shares traded lower by 4.96% at $25.65, and PDD shares traded lower by 2.30% at $118.34.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Image via shutterstock

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) and Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) face challenges in China, where the East Asian country retaliated against the U.S. semiconductor sanctions by eliminating foreign technology from its telecom systems. 

In 2024, Chinese officials directed major telecom carriers to phase out foreign processors, notably impacting American chip giants Intel and AMD. China set the deadline for 2027. 

This Ministry of Industry and Information Technology directive accelerates Beijing’s ambitions to end the use of foreign core chips in its telecom infrastructure. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that China tasked its telecom operators with inspecting their networks for non-Chinese semiconductors and planning their replacement.

Also Read: US Embargo On Nvidia Stings Hard, China’s AI Development Lags Peers: Alibaba’s Joe Tsai Reveals

The key AI beneficiaries, including Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), AMD, and Intel stock, are trading lower Friday following the report. Previously, Nvidia claimed there was no material impact from U.S. sanctions on China.

Historically, China’s dependency on foreign semiconductors persisted due to the inferior quality of domestic chips. However, the situation is changing as local chip quality and performance have improved, prompting a shift towards domestic alternatives. 

This transition poses significant challenges to Intel and AMD, which have supplied many core processors in China’s networking equipment.

American restrictions on selling high-end AI chips to China and China’s localization policies threaten the market positions of Intel and AMD, which are substantial players in the global semiconductor industry. 

Intel, with China as its largest market, and AMD saw a revenue reduction from China following U.S. restrictions. 

This shift comes as China aims to enhance its telecom capabilities, moving towards faster network speeds and promoting local CPU alternatives, further challenging Intel and AMD’s dominance in one of their key markets.

Analysts had an exciting take on Nvidia, AMD, and Intel in the current semiconductor landscape. Analysts flagged Nvidia’s competitive edge in the AI chip market, notably with its advanced AI chips like the A100 and H100, which are critical for server-based AI in data centers. 

Despite facing U.S. export restrictions to China, Nvidia has adapted by introducing new GPUs exempt from these curbs and planning specific models for the Chinese market, underscoring its dominance and innovative response to regulatory challenges. 

In contrast, AMD and Intel are pivoting towards AI personal computers by embedding AI chips for local model processing, aiming to enhance data privacy and battery life. 

However, widespread consumer adoption may be gradual due to the lack of AI-native applications.

Nvidia stock surged over 242% in the last 12 months. AMD climbed 85% and Intel by 18%.

Investors can gain exposure to Nvidia via VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) and Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (NASDAQ:BOTZ).

Price Actions: AMD shares traded lower by 3.41% at $164.69 on the last check Friday. INTC shares traded lower by 3.48% at $36.32. NVDA shares traded lower by 1.18% at $895.50.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo via Shutterstock

Meta Platforms, Inc’s (NASDAQ:META) Instagram, the most sought-after social networking platform for teenagers, has cracked down on their safety by taking initiatives to protect them against “sextortion” scams.

Now, victims receiving nude images via direct messages will get a pop-up instruction to block the sender or report the chat and encourage the recipient not to feel pressure to respond. 

The culprits will get a warning against such acts followed by a reminder alert, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Also Read: Meta Faces Flak for Child Exploitation via Subscription Tools on Facebook and Instagram

Reports indicated sextortion is taking a toll on the mental health of teenagers.

Instagram will now obscure nude images that teenagers receive on the social networking site with a message redirecting them to safety tips. 

Instagram will test the new feature shortly, followed by a global launch by default for accounts with birth dates corresponding to teenagers. Teens can turn off the feature at their discretion. Instagram will also promote the feature to the adult accounts. 

Meta does not look to the launch of such features in WhatsApp and Messenger.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) added a similar protection years ago. 

Meta’s latest move follows efforts to restrict teen Instagram accounts from harmful content. 

Earlier this year, Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to the families of the victims of abuse on social media platforms. 

Meta stock gained over 143% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) and Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index ETF (NYSE:FCOM).

Price Action: META shares are trading higher by 0.32% at $521.49 premarket on the last check Thursday.

Also Read: Meta Under Fire: Walmart and Match Group Slam Company Over Ads Next to Underage Sexual Content

Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

Netflix Inc.’s (NASDAQ:NFLX) film division is undergoing a significant reorganization under the leadership of its new head, Dan Lin. 

The restructure aims to categorize the division based on genre, dividing films into specific categories such as sci-fi, rom-com, and faith-based. This strategic move, which has been in development for over a month, involves collaboration between Lin, Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria, the film department heads, and external partners. 

The reorganization reflects Lin’s vision for the streaming giant, marking his influence since officially joining Netflix on April 1, the Hollywood Reporter reports.

Also Read: Is the Streaming Bubble Bursting? Significant Portion Of Users Cut Multiple Subscriptions

Under the revamped structure, Ori Marmur will be responsible for action, fantasy, horror, and sci-fi films, while Kira Goldberg will be responsible for thrillers, dramas, and family movies. 

Niija Kuykendall will manage faith-based, young adult, and holiday films, while Jason Young will focus on comedies and rom-coms. 

The reorganization also anticipates some staff departures, estimated to be around a dozen, although this number could change. 

Netflix has faced challenges in managing its vast projects and significant content budget. 

Previously, the film division was organized by budget size, with Lisa Nishimura and Tendo Nagenda overseeing different segments. Following their departures, Netflix created a temporary structure to reduce confusion and consolidate film operations.

This latest reorganization under Lin aims to better align Netflix’s internal structure with its film slate’s needs. 

Insiders suggest that the future Netflix film lineup will predominantly feature midsize offerings, which have historically been the platform’s most successful ventures, alongside a selection of larger films and award contenders.

In March, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter removed Netflix from Wedbush’s Best Ideas List due to the pricing in of key growth drivers such as the crackdown on password sharing and the introduction of an ad-supported tier reducing churn. 

His quarterly survey suggests a seasonal slowdown in subscriber growth, albeit with continued year-on-year increase and a rise in subscribers opting for Netflix’s ad tier.

Pachter anticipates strong performance from Netflix as global trends stay stable and the advertising market improves throughout the year. 

He acknowledges the ad tier’s role in reducing churn and sees a substantial opportunity for Netflix to grow its advertising revenue in 2024 and beyond. 

Netflix stock gained over 85% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Invesco Next Gen Media And Gaming ETF (NYSE:GGME) and REX FANG & Innovation Equity Premium Income ETF (NASDAQ:FEPI).

Price Action: NFLX shares traded higher by 0.69% at $624.08 premarket on the last check Tuesday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Netflix Photo by Ink Drop on Shutterstock