Martin Peers
The Information
New York, NY, United States
Contact Martin
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Past articles by Martin:
Why the Worst-Case Scenarios of SVB Fallout Are Unlikely
What a weekend! The term “everything everywhere all at once” seems a better description for the turmoil sparked by Friday’s failure of Silicon Valley Bank than for an incomprehensible movie that’s up for an Oscar tonight. The good news is that the worst-case scenarios some on Twitter were ... → Read More
Alphabet Needs to Replace Sundar Pichai
Shareholders in Alphabet are sending the company a message: It’s time for some drastic action. After a sharp slump in the past few weeks, Alphabet stock is up just 1.9% so far this year compared to the Nasdaq’s 10% rise. In contrast Facebook parent Meta Platforms, which was in the doghouse last ... → Read More
The Ugly Reality of Instacart’s IPO Plans
After the caning tech stocks have suffered this year, it’s understandable that few companies are looking to brave the public markets right now. An exception is apparently Instacart, which, according to The Wall Street Journal today, seems determined to go public soon come hell or high water. It ... → Read More
Twilio Learns to Like ‘Profitable Growth’; Google’s Cuts
This is the year of corporate mea culpas, there’s no doubt about it. Twilio, the enterprise software firm best known for its messaging product, became the latest to acknowledge the errors of its ways when it unveiled plans today to cut 11% of its workforce. Twilio, said CEO Jeff Lawson, grew “ ... → Read More
Free TV Is a Rerun That Investors Should Watch
Streaming services like Pluto, Tubi and Freevee are gaining viewers and generating ad revenue. → Read More
Axios Purchase Comes With Some Sticker Shock
The $525 million valuation that Cox is putting on the digital news startup appears rich unless growth rebounds next year. → Read More
Pinterest and PayPal Problems Won’t Be Fixed Overnight by Elliott
The activist investor has a mixed record on its targets and needs to stick around for stock gains to be more than temporary. → Read More
Are Apple App Store Profits Slowing? Investors Need to Know
Shareholders deserve more insight into the company’s services business, which accounts for nearly a third of its gross profit. → Read More
Amazon’s Ad Business Is a Star. But Where Are the Details?
The online retail giant is muscling in on the parents of Google and Facebook in digital advertising. It would be helpful to know more. → Read More
Alphabet Investors Shouldn’t Ignore the Warning Signs
Stockholders are taking a surprisingly short-term view when executives are emphasizing an uncertain outlook. → Read More
It’s a bit rich to blame Musk for Twitter’s weak performance
Revenue growth slows for social media firm as advertisers pull back amid rising inflation → Read More
Netflix Shouldn’t Take a Victory Lap Just Yet
Subscriber losses were not as severe as expected in the second quarter, but investors need to look at the fine print. → Read More
Tech’s Worst-Timed Deals: Six Acquisitions That Have Not Improved With Age
As tech valuations collapse to a fraction of where they were last year, executives likely have a few regrets. One is sure to be acquisitions done at the top of the market. It’s always tempting when stock prices and private valuations are trading at stratospheric levels for company executives to ... → Read More
Apple’s Buy Now, Pay Later Move May Be a Little Late
Never underestimate the value of small steps in technological progress. Of all the software and hardware developments Apple unveiled today, the ability to edit iMessages after sending them will probably get the most plaudits from regular people. Yes, we can finally fix a message screw-up caused ... → Read More
The People Determining Twitter’s Fate
Now that Elon Musk has put Twitter into play, the company’s fate is likely to be determined by a small circle of people, including a Saudi prince and a Silicon Valley CEO. The group—with shareholders such as Elliott Management’s Jesse Cohn, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, and Silver Lake chief Egon ... → Read More
BuzzFeed To Raise $200 Million in Bonds As SPAC Deal Nears
BuzzFeed is in discussions to raise about $200 million in convertible bonds to supplement cash it will raise by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, say people familiar with the situation. The financing will help BuzzFeed fund the acquisition of digital lifestyle publisher Complex ... → Read More
Bezos Will Blast Himself Into Space
Now we know why Jeff Bezos picked July 5 as the date to give up the Amazon CEO job—two weeks later he’ll be flying into space on Blue Origin’s first flight with human passengers. Can you imagine the nerves of investors if he decided to strap himself into that rocket ship while still holding the ... → Read More
Why Amazon Is Pursuing MGM—and What It Means for Apple
In the space of two weeks last month, Sony Pictures announced deals to license its movies to both Netflix and Disney. The deals complement each other: Netflix will show Sony movies soon after they’ve been in theaters and Disney will show them after they go off Netflix. One company conspicuously ... → Read More
The Briefing: Microsoft Takes a More Nuanced Approach to Deals
Phew! For a few months we’ve been worried that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had lost his bearings, as he reportedly looked at buying TikTok (can you imagine the cultural combination?), Pinterest (a little better) or Discord (a fit with Xbox at least). Instead, Microsoft is plunking down nearly ... → Read More
Zoom Now Printing Money: The Information’s Tech Briefing
Zoom Video Communications provided another reminder of why it’s been such a hot stock during the pandemic. The company, whose brand name is now synonymous with video calls, revealed it has become a cash machine over the past 12 months. Zoom generated $1.4 billion from its videoconferencing ... → Read More