Connect with us

Business

US Stocks: Block shares soar 16% as Jack Dorsey leans on AI to trim workforce

Published

on

US Stocks: Block shares soar 16% as Jack Dorsey leans on AI to trim workforce
Block shares soared more than 16% on Friday after the fintech firm announced it would nearly halve its workforce as part of an overhaul to embed artificial intelligence tools across its operations.

The layoffs are the most visible signs of how the industry is navigating the ‌impact of ⁠AI, with ⁠Block’s CEO, tech billionaire Jack Dorsey, warning that most companies were “late” to realize the emerging technology’s potential.

“At its core, it’s about how some companies may ​be run going forward – not just doomsday headcount reductions, but also enabling higher ROI investments in growth and FCF,” analysts at Evercore ​ISI wrote, referring to free cash ⁠flow.

Accelerating AI ‌adoption is helping companies to cut jobs in divisions most exposed to automation. Economists at Goldman Sachs have estimated ⁠that AI was responsible for job losses amounting to a 5,000 to 10,000 hit to average monthly job growth in the industries most exposed to it in 2025.

Advertisement

Block was one of the companies that aggressively hired during the pandemic as the use of digital payments and online commerce spiked.


“In Block’s case, this looks like a mix ‌of AI efficiency gains and an overdue clean-up of corporate bloat,” said Matt Britzman, an analyst at Hargreaves ​Lansdown.
The company’s ​workforce jumped from ⁠about 3,800 employees in 2019 to more than 10,000 in 2025 as it battled increasing pressures from rising competition in its payments and buy-now-pay-later ​segments.

“While the RIF (reduction in force) is large, it does bring Block’s headcount back toward pandemic-era levels, making it a standout in gross profit per employee, well ahead of its peers including Visa,” J.P. Morgan analysts said.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (DNA) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Published

on

OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Daniel Waid Marshall

Good evening. I’m Daniel Marshall, Senior Manager of Communications and Ownership. I’m joined by Jason Kelly, our Co-Founder and CEO; and Steve Coen, our CFO. Thanks, as always, for joining us. We’re looking forward to updating you on our progress.

As a reminder, during the presentation today, we will be making forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our filings with the SEC to learn more about these risks and uncertainties, including our most recent 10-K.

Today, in addition to updating you on the quarter results, we’re going to provide insight into the autonomous lab, how we believe it will transform biotechnology and how we plan to commercialize autonomous labs going forward.

Advertisement

As usual, we’ll end with a Q&A session, and I’ll take questions from analysts, investors and the public. You can submit those questions to us in advance via X, #ginkgoresults or through e-mail, investors@ginkgobioworks.com. All right. Over to you, Jason.

Jason Kelly
Co-Founder, Co-COO, CEO & Director

All right. Thanks, Daniel. So Q4 was really a breakout quarter for us in sort of defining and really leading in the category of autonomous labs. And so you’re going to hear a lot from me about that in the future. But I want to start by saying our mission remains to make biology easier to engineer. But in 2026, the technological focus for the company and really the business focus is going to drill down on investing to win in this category of autonomous labs. And this is really a part of what I see as an emerging movement around robotics and AI and autonomy that’s coming to

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Business

Gary Pinkus, Bloom Energy director, sells $207k in stock

Published

on


Gary Pinkus, Bloom Energy director, sells $207k in stock

Continue Reading

Business

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Stock Experiences Volatility Amid Strong Outlook and CEO Warnings

Published

on

Applied Optoelectronics

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest U.S. bank by assets, saw its shares fluctuate in late February 2026 trading as investors digested recent company guidance, CEO Jamie Dimon’s economic cautions and broader market pressures.

JPMorgan Chase set aside $902 million in reserves in case of bad loans, citing risk from high inflation and the Ukraine war
JPMorgan Chase

As of Feb. 27, 2026, JPMorgan Chase stock (NYSE: JPM) traded around $297 to $301 in intraday sessions, down from a previous close near $306 and well off its 52-week high of $337.25 reached in early January. The shares have shown resilience over the past year, gaining approximately 19% in some measures, but recent sessions reflected a pullback amid concerns over interest rates, AI impacts and macroeconomic risks.

The bank’s market capitalization hovers above $800 billion, outpacing rivals Bank of America and Citigroup combined in valuation at times during the period.

In a Feb. 23 investor update, JPMorgan Chase provided an optimistic glimpse into 2026, nudging up its firmwide net interest income (NII) forecast to approximately $104.5 billion, including markets revenue. Core NII, excluding markets, is expected to reach about $95 billion, up from $92.6 billion in 2025. The guidance assumes two Federal Reserve rate cuts, a decline in interest on reserve balances and some deposit margin compression, offset by modest growth in consumer and wholesale deposits.

Investment banking fees and markets revenue are projected to see mid-teens percentage growth in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the prior year, potentially reaching high teens for IB fees. This outlook eased some investor worries about deal pipelines amid recent equity market volatility.

Advertisement

The bank maintained its full-year 2026 expense guidance at $105 billion while planning a 10% increase in technology spending to $19.8 billion. Executives highlighted investments in AI and new capabilities as drivers, despite cost pressures from inflation, hardware shortages related to AI chips and cloud infrastructure demands.

CEO Jamie Dimon struck a balanced tone in recent comments. He dismissed fears that AI would significantly harm the company, asserting JPMorgan Chase would emerge as a “winner” in the technology shift. However, he warned of potential job disruptions from automation and AI, urging preparation. Dimon also expressed heightened anxiety about the economy, drawing parallels to pre-2008 conditions in some market analyses, and reiterated plans to remain CEO for “a few years.”

The bank beat expectations in its most recent earnings. For the fourth quarter of 2025, reported in January 2026, JPMorgan posted revenue of $46.77 billion and EPS of $5.23, surpassing forecasts of $46.25 billion and $4.86, respectively. Trading desks benefited from volatile markets, contributing to strong performance across segments. Full-year profits for major U.S. banks reached record levels around $300 billion in some reports, underscoring sector strength.

J.P. Morgan Payments, a key growth engine, achieved record $5.1 billion in Q4 2025 revenue, up 9% year-over-year, driven by deposit growth and innovations like JPM Coin.

Advertisement

Analysts remain largely bullish. Multiple firms, including Wells Fargo, RBC Capital, Piper Sandler and Barclays, maintained buy ratings in late February. Price targets include adjustments such as Truist’s reduction to $330 from $334. Consensus estimates project moderate earnings growth of about 5.5% for 2026 and 7.6% for 2027.

Challenges persist. Reports highlighted ongoing scrutiny over past client relationships, including admissions related to accounts closed in 2021 amid a debanking lawsuit. Dimon addressed AI’s broader workforce implications, noting the need for policy responses.

Broader context includes JPMorgan’s role in market forecasts, such as raising long-term gold price targets to $4,500 per ounce while maintaining a 2026 year-end view at $3,300 in some updates. The bank also plans to exclude the UAE from certain emerging-market bond indexes by mid-2026 due to wealth threshold changes.

JPMorgan Chase declared preferred stock dividends recently and filed an $80 billion mixed securities shelf in February, supporting capital flexibility.

Advertisement

Investors watch for the next earnings report, expected around April 14, 2026, for the first quarter. Analysts forecast EPS around $5.37 and revenue near $48.62 billion.

Despite short-term dips, JPMorgan’s diversified operations — spanning consumer banking, commercial banking, asset management and investment banking — position it well in a dynamic environment. The bank’s scale, technology investments and consistent outperformance in recent quarters underpin analyst confidence in sustained returns.

Continue Reading

Business

WBD employees fear job losses with Paramount merger

Published

on

WBD employees fear job losses with Paramount merger

An American flag flies at Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank, California, on Sept. 12, 2025.

Mario Tama | Getty Images

The Warner Bros. Discovery board may have enriched its shareholders Thursday when it chose Paramount Skydance‘s acquisition offer over Netflix‘s, but it also terrified a lot of its employees.

Advertisement

While some of those people own WBD shares and may prefer the financials of Paramount’s $31-per-share bid to Netflix’s $27.75-per-share offer, CNBC spoke to 10 WBD employees in a variety of different roles at the company. All 10, who asked not to be named for fear of potential backlash, expressed concerns about potential job losses and questions of who would ultimately run their divisions if Paramount and WBD are eventually merged.

“It’s fair to say people are deflated by the news,” said one long-term WBD executive.

Nonetheless, a WBD-Paramount merger “is not a done deal,” as California Attorney General Rob Bonta said yesterday.

The transaction must gain regulatory approval both in the U.S. and in Europe. WBD CEO David Zaslav acknowledged at an all-hands meeting Friday that the deal may still be blocked and expressed sympathy for those experiencing a sense of whiplash going from Netflix to Paramount, according to people familiar with the matter.

Advertisement

“The deal may not close. If it doesn’t close, we get $7 billion, and we get back to work,” Zaslav said, according to leaked audio provided to Business Insider.

Paramount Skydance & Warner Bros. Discovery enter definitive merger agreement

Still, several WBD employees told CNBC they wished Netflix had acquired WBD, citing several factors.

While Paramount and WBD both have core competencies in news, sports, theatrical film and streaming TV, Netflix has far less overlap. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos repeatedly said he planned to leave the WBD business alone, keeping its theatrical business separate from Netflix while also keeping HBO Max as a separate, independent streaming service for the foreseeable future.

Netflix also wasn’t acquiring WBD’s linear cable business with its bid. Employees at CNN, TNT Sports and the old Discovery networks would have remained in their jobs to forge a path as a standalone publicly traded company.

Now, WBD employees are staring at potentially massive job cuts. Paramount executives have previously stated they plan to cut $6 billion by eliminating “duplicative operations” on “back office, finance, corporate, legal, technology, infrastructure, et cetera,” according to Chief Strategy Officer Andy Gordon. Both WBD and Paramount have already gone through thousands of job cuts in recent years.

Advertisement

There are also questions about culture and leadership. While Mark Thompson currently runs CNN, Bari Weiss is the editor-in-chief at CBS News and could plausibly have CNN added to her purview.

The Wall Street Journal reported in December that Paramount CEO David Ellison promised President Donald Trump he’d make sweeping changes at CNN if he gained control of the network. Three CNN employees who spoke with CNBC said there’s rampant fear among their colleagues about Weiss making dramatic changes to the cable network’s anchors and tone.

“Despite all the speculation you’ve read during this process, I’d suggest that you don’t jump to conclusions about the future until we know more,” Thompson wrote in a memo to employees Thursday.

CNN media reporter Brian Stelter noted CNN “is a highly profitable business, and it would be foolish for any owner to put that at risk.”

Advertisement

On the entertainment side, WBD employees fear there may be too many proverbial cooks in the kitchen, which could bog down creativity and innovation for both film and TV.

One WBD executive noted that Paramount’s President Jeff Shell, Chair of Direct to Consumer Cindy Holland and Chair of TV George Cheeks are all used to being senior leaders in their organizations. Shell was CEO of NBCUniversal. Cheeks was co-CEO of Paramount before it merged with Skydance. Holland was a top executive at Netflix, where she worked for 18 years.

How that mix meshes with WBD’s entertainment leadership group is an open question and could lead to culture clashes.

TNT Sports is run by Luis Silberwasser and has largely steered WBD toward younger audiences with its programming decisions and investments, including Bleacher Report and House of Highlights. CBS Sports, meanwhile, is driven by the demographics of those who watch CBS and has historically catered to an older audience. This could lead to culture clash, or the divisions could mesh nicely as complementary assets.

Advertisement

While Silberwasser will have to work with CBS Sports President David Berson on employee duplications, like every other department, there’s some reason for optimism in the sports division, because WBD and CBS have worked together for many years producing March Madness, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. That’s given the units some degree of familiarity with each other.

WBD also lost NBA rights last season. Combining with CBS’ robust portfolio of sports rights, including the NFL and the Masters, makes WBD a major player again in sports, even if it’s as a subsidiary of CBS.

One other repeated concern among employees is the $64 billion in debt coming as part of the $111 billion enterprise value for the deal. Several employees said servicing large debt loads has hindered WBD in recent years, and they feared this could lead to more of the same. Two employees noted there’s comfort being a part of a giant company like Netflix, with a market capitalization of more than $400 billion. Paramount Skydance’s market valuation is just $15 billion.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Business

Victory Capital Discloses Competing Bid to Buy Janus Henderson

Published

on

Victory Capital Discloses Competing Bid to Buy Janus Henderson

Victory Capital Discloses Competing Bid to Buy Janus Henderson

Continue Reading

Business

Arcus Biosciences, Inc. 2025 Q4 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation (NYSE:RCUS) 2026-02-27

Published

on

OneWater Marine Inc. (ONEW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Q4: 2026-02-25 Earnings Summary

EPS of -$0.89 beats by $0.18

 | Revenue of $33.00M (-8.33% Y/Y) beats by $8.06M

This article was written by

Seeking Alpha’s transcripts team is responsible for the development of all of our transcript-related projects. We currently publish thousands of quarterly earnings calls per quarter on our site and are continuing to grow and expand our coverage. The purpose of this profile is to allow us to share with our readers new transcript-related developments. Thanks, SA Transcripts Team

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Business

Feld, Becton Dickinson’s EVP, sells $13,638 in stock

Published

on


Feld, Becton Dickinson’s EVP, sells $13,638 in stock

Continue Reading

Business

Charles Schwab MD Howard sells $2.65 million in shares

Published

on


Charles Schwab MD Howard sells $2.65 million in shares

Continue Reading

Business

DTE Energy posts DTE Gas 2025 financial statements to website

Published

on


DTE Energy posts DTE Gas 2025 financial statements to website

Continue Reading

Business

First Look at Ryan Hurst as Kratos and Callum Vinson as Atreus in ‘God of War’

Published

on

Korean band BTS appears at the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing of the White House in Washington, DC, May 31, 2022

Prime Video has released the first official image of Ryan Hurst as the brooding Spartan warrior Kratos and young actor Callum Vinson as his son Atreus, marking the start of production on its highly anticipated live-action adaptation of Sony’s blockbuster “God of War” video game franchise.

God Of War
God Of War

The photo, shared Feb. 27, 2026, by Amazon MGM Studios and Sony Pictures Television, shows the father-son duo in costume against a rugged, snowy backdrop, evoking the Norse mythology setting of the 2018 game and its sequel. Hurst, known for roles in “Sons of Anarchy” and “The Walking Dead,” appears as the ash-covered, battle-scarred Kratos, complete with his signature red tattoo and imposing physique. Vinson, who has appeared in series like “Chucky,” “Long Bright River” and “Poker Face,” portrays a youthful Atreus, standing slightly ahead with a determined expression.

The image is accompanied by the caption: “Father and Son. Behold your first look at Kratos and Atreus in the God of War series now in production for Prime Video. Their journey to the highest peak begins.”

Production is underway in Vancouver, Canada, on the series, which has already secured a two-season order. Ronald D. Moore, the acclaimed showrunner behind “Battlestar Galactica” and “Outlander,” serves as writer, executive producer and showrunner under his Tall Ship Productions banner. Frederick E.O. Toye, an Emmy-winning director whose credits include “Shōgun,” “The Boys” and “Fallout,” is helming the first two episodes.

The adaptation draws primarily from the 2018 “God of War” game and its 2022 sequel “Ragnarök,” following Kratos and Atreus on a poignant quest to scatter the ashes of Kratos’ late wife and Atreus’ mother, Faye, from the highest peak in the realms. Their journey unfolds amid a harsh Norse world filled with gods, monsters and family revelations, shifting from the Greek mythology of earlier games to a more introspective father-son narrative.

Advertisement

The full cast features a mix of established stars and character actors. Mandy Patinkin portrays the cunning Allfather Odin, while Ed Skrein takes on the vengeful god Baldur. Max Parker plays Heimdall, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson embodies the thunder god Thor, and Teresa Palmer appears as Sif. Alastair Duncan voices and portrays the severed head Mimir, with Danny Woodburn as the gruff dwarf Brok and Jeff Gulka as his brother Sindri.

The project is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, in association with PlayStation Productions and Tall Ship Productions. Executive producers include Moore, Maril Davis of Tall Ship, original game director Cory Barlog, Naren Shankar, Matthew Graham, Asad Qizilbash, Jeff Ketcham, Hermen Hulst, Roy Lee and Brad Van Arragon. Co-executive producers are Joe Menosky, Marc Bernardin, Tania Lotia and Ben McGinnis.

Fan reactions to the first-look image have been mixed since its release early Feb. 27. Some praised the fidelity to the game’s aesthetic, noting Hurst’s transformation into the stoic anti-hero and the accurate costuming details like Kratos’ Leviathan Axe (though not visible in the initial photo). Others expressed reservations, with online commentary describing the shot as “strange” or “off,” citing the angle, lighting or youthful portrayal of Atreus compared to the teenage version in the games. Social media discussions on platforms like Instagram, Reddit and X highlighted both excitement for the ambitious adaptation and caution after previous video game-to-screen efforts.

The “God of War” franchise, developed by Santa Monica Studio, has sold tens of millions of copies and earned widespread acclaim for its storytelling, combat and emotional depth. The 2018 reboot shifted the series to a more mature, cinematic style, earning Game of the Year honors and setting high expectations for any live-action version.

Advertisement

Amazon’s push into video game adaptations follows successes like “Fallout” and ongoing projects tied to other properties. The streamer aims to capture the game’s blend of visceral action, mythological spectacle and heartfelt drama, with Moore’s involvement signaling a focus on character-driven narrative over pure spectacle.

No release date has been announced for the series, but with production just beginning in early 2026, a premiere is unlikely before late 2027 at the earliest, depending on post-production timelines and episode count. The two-season commitment suggests confidence in covering the Norse saga arc comprehensively.

As filming progresses, additional images, trailers and casting details are expected to fuel anticipation among the dedicated fanbase. For now, the first look offers a tangible glimpse into bringing one of gaming’s most iconic duos to the small screen.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2025