Daily Report: More Earnings, Earnings, Earnings

[ad_1]

Photo

Credit

We are now getting to the newsiest part of the tech earnings cycle.

Yes, last week provided more than enough such news, with Apple reporting its slowest-ever growth in iPhone sales, Facebook posting another prodigious quarter, Microsoft showing its cloud-computing chops, and Amazon merely strolling away with the holiday shopping season. But this week is set to be even newsier, and there are two reasons: Alphabet and Yahoo.

For Alphabet, the company formerly known as Google, Monday’s earnings report will bring the first-ever view of how all the different entities within what is now a holding company are actually performing. That would include the online advertising behemoth Google, as well the smart-devices maker Nest and the highly secretive research division X. If Wall Street likes what Alphabet discloses, it may soon pass Apple as the world’s most valuable company.

To prep for Alphabet’s report, we recommend reading this illuminating profile on Larry Page, Alphabet’s chief executive, and how he has turned the company into a reflection of his personal fascinations.

Then there’s Yahoo, which has not typically reported must-watch earnings. But on Tuesday, Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s chief executive, is expected to give more details about a complicated plan to spin off the online portal’s core business. It probably won’t be pretty, with the prospect of layoffs looming over the company as part of the plan. Ms. Mayer will be facing a lot of doubters and critics, so what she says will be especially scrutinized and dissected.

For a sense of the high stakes for Ms. Mayer, we recommend reading this portrait of employee morale at Yahoo.

[ad_2]