Google parent Alphabet beats quarterly revenue estimates, boosts capex plan
Shares of the company, which have risen more than 18% since its previous earnings report in April, were down 1% in extended trading.
Google had earlier pledged about $75 billion in capital spending this year, part of the more than $320 billion that Big Tech is expected to pour into building out AI capabilities.
The companies have defended their aggressive AI spending amid rising competition from Chinese rivals and investor frustration with slower-than-expected payoffs, saying those massive investments are necessary to fuel growth and improve their products.
Alphabet reported total revenue of $96.43 billion for the second quarter ended June, compared with analysts' average estimate of about $94 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
How SpaceX's rocket diplomacy backfired in the Bahamas
NASSAU, Bahamas, July 29 (Reuters) - When SpaceX was negotiating a deal with the Bahamas last year to allow its Falcon 9 rocket boosters to land within the island nation's territory, Elon Musk's company offered a sweetener: complimentary Starlink internet terminals for the country's defense vessels, according to three people familiar with the matter. The rocket landing deal, unlocking a more efficient path to space for SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9, was then signed in February last year by Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, who bypassed consultation with several other key government ministers, one of the sources and another person familiar with the talks said. Reuters could not determine the dollar value of the Starlink arrangement or the number of vessels outfitted with Starlink terminals. The Bahamian military, mostly a sea-faring force with a fleet of roughly a dozen vessels, did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters found no evidence that Cooper broke any laws or regulations in striking the deal with SpaceX, but the people said the quick approval created tension within the Bahamian government. By this April, two months after the first and only Falcon 9 booster landed off the nation's Exuma coast, the Bahamas announced it had put the landing agreement on hold. The government said publicly it wanted a post-launch investigation after the explosion in March of a different SpaceX rocket, Starship, whose mid-flight failure sent hundreds of pieces of debris washing ashore on Bahamian islands. But the suspension was the result of the blindsided officials' frustration as well, two of the people said. "While no toxic materials were detected and no significant environmental impact was reported, the incident prompted a reevaluation of our engagement with SpaceX," Cooper, also the country's tourism chief, told Reuters through a spokesperson. SpaceX did not respond to questions for comment. Cooper and the prime minister's office did not respond to questions about how the rocket landing deal was arranged. SpaceX's setbacks in the Bahamas – detailed in this story for the first time – offer a rare glimpse into its fragile diplomacy with foreign governments. As the company races to expand its dominant space business, it must navigate the geopolitical complexities of a high-stakes, global operation involving advanced satellites and orbital-class rockets – some prone to explosive failure – flying over or near sovereign territories. These political risks were laid bare last month when Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government was considering taking legal action against SpaceX over 'contamination' related to Starship launches from Starbase, the company's rocket site in Texas, 2 miles north of the Mexican border. Her comments came after a Starship rocket exploded into a giant fireball earlier this month on a test stand at Starbase. Responding to Sheinbaum on X, SpaceX said its teams have been hindered from recovering Starship debris that landed in Mexican territory. SpaceX is pursuing aggressive global expansion as Musk, its CEO, has become a polarizing figure on the world stage, especially following high-profile clashes with several governments during his time advising President Donald Trump. More recently he has fallen out with Trump himself. Starlink, SpaceX's fast-growing satellite internet venture, is a central source of revenue funding Musk's vision to send human missions to Mars aboard Starship. But to scale globally, SpaceX must continue to win the trust of foreign governments with which it wishes to operate the service, as rivals from China and companies like Jeff Bezos' Amazon ramp up competing satellite networks. The company's talks with Bahamian officials show how Starlink is also seen as a key negotiating tool for SpaceX that can help advance other parts of its business. According to SpaceX's orbital calculations, the Falcon 9 rocket can carry heavier payloads and more satellites to space if its booster is allowed to land in Bahamian territory. Meanwhile, Starship's trajectory from Texas to orbit requires it to pass over Caribbean airspaces, exposing the region to potential debris if the rocket fails, as it has in all three of its test flights this year. SpaceX's deal with the Bahamas, the government said, also included a $1 million donation to the University of Bahamas, where the company pledged to conduct quarterly seminars on space and engineering topics. The company must pay a $100,000 fee per landing, pursuant to the country's space regulations it enacted in preparation for the SpaceX activities. While SpaceX made steep investments for an agreement prone to political entanglement, the Falcon 9 booster landings could resume later this summer, two Bahamian officials said. Holding things up is the government's examination of a SpaceX report on the booster landing's environmental impact, as well as talks among officials to amend the country's space reentry regulations to codify a better approval process and environmental review requirements, one of the sources said. Arana Pyfrom, assistant director at the Bahamas' Department of Environmental Planning and Protection, said SpaceX's presence in the country is "polarizing". Many Bahamians, he said, have voiced concerns to the government about their safety from Starship debris and pollution to the country's waters. "I have no strong dislike for the exploration of space, but I do have concerns about the sovereignty of my nation's airspace," Pyfrom said. "The Starship explosion just strengthened opposition to make sure we could answer all these questions." Starship exploded about nine and a half minutes into flight on March 6 after launching from Texas, in what the company said was likely the result of an automatic self-destruct command triggered by an issue in its engine section. It was the second consecutive test failure after a similar mid-flight explosion in January rained debris on the Turks and Caicos Islands, a nearby British overseas territory. Matthew Bastian, a retired engineer from Canada, was anchored in his sailboat on vacation near Ragged Island, a remote island chain in southern Bahamas, just after sunset when he witnessed Starship's explosion. What he initially thought was a rising moon quickly became an expanding fireball that turned into a "large array of streaking comets." "My initial reaction was 'wow that is so cool,' then reality hit me – I could have a huge chunk of rocket debris crash down on me and sink my boat!" he said. "Fortunately that didn't happen, but one day it could happen to someone." Thousands of cruise ships, ferries, workboats, fishing boats, yachts and recreational sailboats ply the waters around Caribbean islands each year, maritime traffic that is crucial for the Bahamas tourism industry. Within days of the explosion, SpaceX dispatched staff and deployed helicopters and speedboats to swarm Ragged Island and nearby islands, using sonar to scan the seafloor for debris, four local residents and a government official told Reuters. On the surface, recovery crews hauled the wreckage from the water and transferred it onto a much larger SpaceX vessel, typically used to catch rocket fairings falling back from space, the people said. The SpaceX team included its vice president of launch, Kiko Dontchev, who emphasized in a news conference with local reporters that the rocket is entirely different from the Falcon 9 boosters that would land off the Exuma coast under SpaceX's agreement. Joe Darville, chairman of a local environmental organization called Save The Bays, was angered by the Starship debris, as well as what he described as a "deal done totally in secret" over the Falcon 9 agreement. As Bahamian waters become increasingly polluted and coral reefs shrink, he's unhappy with the lack of transparency in his government's dealings with SpaceX. "Something like that should have never been made without consultation of the people in the Bahamas," he said. Pyfrom, the official from the Bahamas' environmental agency, said the review of the SpaceX report and the approval process will show "where we fell short, and what we need to improve on." SpaceX, meanwhile, is forging ahead with Starship. Musk said earlier this month he expects the next Starship rocket to lift off within the next three weeks.
Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
PREVIEW Visa, Mastercard set for higher profits on solid spending trends
July 29 (Reuters) - Visa (V.N), opens new tab and Mastercard (MA.N), opens new tab are expected to report higher quarterly profits this week on steady consumer spending, and analysts will scrutinize how demand for travel and discretionary purchases is shaping up in the face of tariff uncertainty. The results from the world's biggest payment processors will help flesh out the broader financial outlook that major banks such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab and Wells Fargo (WFC.N), opens new tab presented earlier this month, signaling a resilient consumer. "Visa and Mastercard remain top ideas, particularly in an uncertain macro environment, given their broad-based exposure to discretionary and non-discretionary spend, geographic reach, and proven ability to stabilize their expense increase in downturns," Oppenheimer analysts said in a note. Billions of people worldwide use Visa and Mastercard for their everyday spending and other purchases, making the card networks better equipped to weather downturns. They also have more expense flexibility to support profit growth. In recent years, the companies have diversified their business model by building out value-added services such as threat intelligence and fraud reduction. Still, some analysts expect a potential spending slowdown in the back half of 2025. Cross-border travel, a high-margin business for payments companies, has come under some pressure due to trade tensions and geopolitical risks. Slower travel from Canada to the U.S. and fresh tensions in the Middle East in June have raised concerns over a potential drag on growth. Analysts will also examine whether elevated volumes are being driven by a pull-forward in spending, as consumers pre-purchase goods they expect to get costlier after tariffs are imposed. In the second quarter, total card spending volumes modestly increased across bank issuers. Across credit and debit cards, Bank of America (BAC.N), opens new tab showed an increase of 110 basis points, while JPMorgan Chase showed a 40 bps rise, according to data compiled by RBC Capital Markets. "On balance and relative to expectations, data seems neutral for the networks and acquirers, considering overall spending trends appear at least stable compared to last quarter's growth, which we think should be good enough considering the macroeconomic volatility since last quarter's earnings," J.P. Morgan analysts said in a note. Investors will also zero in on the forecast around stablecoins. While both the card giants plan to launch products linked to the cryptocurrency, the recent passing of the Genius Act has raised some concern that stablecoins could eliminate the need for payment intermediaries in the long term. Visa, the larger of the two by market value, will announce quarterly results after markets close on Tuesday, while Mastercard will report on Thursday. American Express (AXP.N), opens new tab surpassed quarterly profit expectations earlier this month, helped by resilient spending by its affluent customer base. Visa and Mastercard shares have gained nearly 13% and 8% year-to-date as of Friday's close, respectively, while the benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX), opens new tab has gained 8.6%. Source: LSEG, Company Statements
Daily Record
19 minutes ago
- Daily Record
How Google's AI mode works as new feature set to hit UK browsers this week
Google's latest AI feature first launched in the US in May and is now making its way to the UK. Google is the web browser that many of us rely on when we are wanting to look up new information or find the best activities to take part in while travelling abroad. While the popular web browser can collate an endless variety of information in a matter of seconds, an upcoming update is set to make this experience even smoother. Set to launch in the UK this week, Google's smart AI mode has been created to make browsing the web a more fluid and faster experience. For those who struggle to find the answers to complicated questions, this new feature will become your saving grace. First launched in the US back in May, the new AI mode will allow web users to find detailed answers to all of their queries no matter how complicated, unlike the current AI overview service, reports the Express. Most of the UK is expected to have access to this handy feature by the end of the week. So what differentiates this new sparkly AI mode in comparison to the AI overview feature that many people in the UK have now become acquainted with? The main point of the new feature is to provide answers to more detailed and conversational questions. Therefore, web users can be more specific about what they are looking for instead of supplying a broad question. For example, instead of writing "What to do in Glasgow?", web browsers can instead write "Things to do in Glasgow this weekend with friends. We are big music lovers, love exploring the wilderness and enjoy a variety of food." With this more detailed question, Google will collate a full query search that will include a detailed overview, links to websites and location maps so travellers can easily plan their next trip. And if you end up having another question, Google users can easily add another search to the question instead of having to start a whole new conversation. While a useful feature for any queries you have, Google says that this new service will flourish when asked exploratory questions or given complicated tasks. For those wanting to plan a trip, get a further understanding of a confusing 'how-to' or compare two tech products, the AI mode should provide a helpful solution. Google explained: "We've found that early users of AI Mode are asking questions that are two or three times the length of traditional search queries." UK Google users will be able to identify when they have access to the new feature as an AI Mode box will appear in your browser window. From here you can easily ask Google questions through your voice, text or camera. Vice president of product management at Google, Hema Budaraju said: "Starting this week, we are excited to bring AI Mode to the UK. AI Mode expands on what AI overviews can do; it has got more advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities from Gemini 2.5. "You can ask nuanced questions, things that would have taken multiple, multiple, multiple searches before, can actually be one prompt." While some people may be a bit wary of this new feature as rival companies have experienced issues with AI providing the wrong information, Google is confident that this won't become an issue. Bubaraju said: "I think for us it's really important to keep the bar quality of Google search. We have 25 years of experience in building stronger ranking systems, strong quality systems, as well as safety systems. "We do extensive internal testing to find challenges ourselves. And all of that is learning that goes into building up these features and these new technologies. "And as with any early-stage AI product, we won't always get it right, but we are committed to continuous improvement." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
