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Microsoft said Wednesday that its profit for the October-December quarter grew 10% as it works to capitalize on the huge amounts of money it has spent to advance its artificial intelligence technology.But while its overall profits and revenue beat Wall Street expectations, it slightly missed projections for its closely watched cloud computing business, a centerpiece of its AI efforts.The company reported net income for the quarter of $24.1 billion, or $3.23 per share, beating Wall Street expectations of $3.11 per share. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker posted revenue of $69.6 billion in the quarter, up 12% from the previous year, also beating expectations.Analysts polled by FactSet Research expected Microsoft to generate revenue of $68.87 billion in the last three months of the year.Sales from Microsoft’s cloud-focused business segment that includes its flagship Azure computing platform grew 19% from the same time last year to $25.5 billion, which was less than the $25.83 billion forecast by FactSet analysts.Microsoft’s productivity business segment, which includes its Office suite of email and other workplace products, grew 14% to $29.4 billion.Its personal computing business, led by its Windows division, remained steady at $14.7 billion, with a drop in consumer device sales offset by growth in advertising revenue tied to the Bing search engine.Microsoft shares dropped 5% in after-hours trading Wednesday but were still higher than Monday, when the tech giant was hit by a broader tech stock sale caused by a frenzy over the new ChatGPT competitor developed by Chinese tech startup DeepSeek.Microsoft is a close partner of ChatGPT maker OpenAI and also sells its own AI chatbot services, branded as Copilot. Part of what drove the Wall Street panic this week was concern over the startup’s claims that it was catching up to U.S. tech titans on a fraction of their budget.Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella downplayed those concerns on an investor call Wednesday, saying “DeepSeek had some real innovations” and it is good to have efficiency gains and lower prices in AI development because it “means people can consume more and there’ll be more apps written.”Microsoft also added DeepSeek’s latest AI model to those available on its Azure computing platform Wednesday.Building and operating AI systems is costly, and Microsoft has said it plans to spend $80 billion this year as it expands its global network of energy-hungry computing centers and supplies them with specialized chips to train and run AI models.“We have more than doubled our overall data center capacity in the last three years and we have added more capacity last year than any other year in our history,” Nadella said. Matt O’Brien, AP Technology Writer
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Meta Platforms Inc. posted sharply higher profit and revenue for its fourth quarter on Wednesday, thanks to higher ad revenue on its social media properties, sending its shares up in after-hours trading even as it forecast increasing expenses on its artificial intelligence efforts.CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he expects 2025 to “be the year when a highly intelligent and personalized AI assistant reaches more than 1 billion people, and I expect Meta AI to be that leading AI assistant.”The Menlo Park, California-based company earned $20.83 billion, or $8.02 per share, in the October-December quarter. That’s up 49% from $14.02 billion, or $5.33 per share, in the same period a year earlier.Revenue grew 21% to $48.39 billion from $40.11 billion.Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $6.76 per share on revenue of $47 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.“We continue to make good progress on AI, glasses, and the future of social media,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.For the current quarter, Meta said expects revenue of $39.5 billion to $41.8 billion. Analysts are expecting revenue at the high end of that range$41.68 billion.The company also said it expects expenses in the range of $114 billion to $119 billion, driven by infrastructure costs and employee compensation. Meta had 74,067 employees as of December 31, up 10% from a year earlier.“Meta’s Q4 performance underscores the company’s resilience in a still-uncertain digital ad market. By beating both earnings and revenue estimates, they’ve demonstrated that cost discipline and efficiency gains are paying dividends,” said Jesse Cohen, an analyst with Investing.com. “However, the real headline is their commitment to aggressive capital expenditures. This signals Meta is doubling down on its AI infrastructure and metaverse ambitions, even as investors grapple with the costs.”Separately, Meta has agreed to pay roughly $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit that President Donald Trump brought against the company and Zuckerberg after Trump’s accounts were suspended following the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.“This is also going to be a big year for redefining our relationship with governments,” Zuckerberg said in a conference call with analysts. “We now have a U.S. administration that is proud of our leading companies, prioritizes American technology winning, and that will defend our values and interests abroad. And I’m optimistic about the progress and innovation this is going to unlock.”Meta’s stock rose $13.53, or 2%, to $690.02 in after-hours trading. Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer
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According to estimates from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, more than 16,200 structures were damaged or destroyed in the devastating fires that broke out in the Los Angeles area at the beginning of the year. These will take years to rebuild, not to mention billions of dollars. Music superstars decided early on to lend their talents to the fundraising efforts and play an epic FireAid Benefit concert spanning two venues. The event takes place tonight (Thursday, January 30, 2025), beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. Heres everything you need to know about it, including how to stream it and donate: A brief timeline of the L.A. fires On the morning of January 7, a fire broke out in the Pacific Palisades area. Fueled by strong Santa Ana winds and dry conditions, it spread rapidly. Later that same morning, the Eaton fire broke out north of Pasadena, near Eaton Canyon. Similar weather conditions caused this blaze to also proliferate swiftly. As of publication, the Palisades fire has burned 23,448 acres and is 96% contained while the Eaton fire burned 14,021 acres and is 99% contained. Twenty-nine people died in these two fires. On January 22, the Hughes fire broke out near Castaic Lake in northern Los Angeles County. It burned 10,425 acres and is now 98% contained. Several smaller fires also broke out, including the Lidia, Archer, Woodley, Sunset, Kenneth, Hurst, and Auto firesburning a combined total of 2,399 acres. These are no longer considered active. Who spearheaded the FireAid concert? Shelli Azoff is the mastermind behind the concert. The idea was born on January 9, just two days after the first fires broke out. When it became obvious that there was going to be a need, I think we were just trying to commiserate. What can we do? And Shelli said we should do all we know how to do. We should do the show, Irving Azoff, Shellis husband and COO of Full Stop Management, told the Associated Press. Where will the FireAid benefit take place? A concert at the Intuit Dome was announced on January 10, which additionally expanded to the nearby Kia Forum as well. So many artists wanted to help that two venues were necessaryand still they had to turn some artists away. Who is performing where? Producing partners the Azoff family, Live Nation, and AEG Presents decided to divide the artists by genre. Pop artists will perform at the Intuit while rockers got the Forum. Intuit Dome: Billie Eilish, Gracie Abrams, Jelly Roll, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Baby, Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Tate McRae, and Earth, Wind & Fire. Kia Forum: Alanis Morissette, Anderson .Paak, Dawes, Graham Nash, Green Day, John Fogerty, Joni Mitchell, No Doubt, Pink, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stephen Stills, Stevie Nicks, the Black Crowes, Dave Matthews, and John Mayer. Each act is going to perform two to four songs, bringing the total run time of the show to more than five hours. Performers at the two venues will switch off, so no matter the audience’s physical location, they will get the whole show. Beyond the 28 performers, there will also be special guest appearancesboth celebrities and people impacted by the fires, including first responders. How can I donate to FireAid? You dont have to wait until the big show to donate. You can do so right now at FireAidLA.org. How can I watch or stream the benefit concert live? If you find yourself in Los Angeles, tickets can be procured on Ticketmaster. One hundred percent of all ticket purchases will go to benefit FireAid relief efforts and all fees have been waived for the special event. If you are outside of Tinseltown or the ticket prices are not in your budget, never fear. Some AMC theaters are hosting screenings. There are also many options for you to listen to or stream the event. We’ve also embedded a YouTube stream of the event below. Check it out on: Amazon Music/Prime VideoApple Music the AppleTV app Disney+/Hulu Facebook/Instagram iHeartRadio KTLA+, Max Netflix/Tudum Paramount+ Peacock/NBC News Now SiriusXMs exclusive LIFE with John Mayer channel SoundCloud Veeps YouTube
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