This archive report was first published on 3 August 2020.
August 2, 2020 - Microsoft has announced it will continue exploring a potential purchase of TikTok in the United States, despite US Government plans to ban the app citing national security concerns.
According to a blog post by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, the company will 'move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks, and in any event completing these discussions no later than September 15, 2020.'
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has postponed easing virus restrictions due to new spikes in the country, while Russia plans to start mass COVID-19 vaccination in October with doctors and teachers being the first to be vaccinated.
Earnings Briefing ¶
Apple Inc. has reported an 11% growth in revenues for the third quarter ended June, beating analysts' expectations with $59.68 billion in revenues.
Despite the disruptions caused by the global pandemic, Apple's net income rose slightly to $11.25 billion, from $10.04 billion reported in the same period last year.
Google's parent firm Alphabet Inc. reported a 2% decline in revenue for the second quarter of 2020, with total costs rising by 7% to $31.91 billion.
Facebook Inc. reported second-quarter revenues of $18.69 billion, a growth of 11% compared to the same period in 2019, with net income rising by 98% to $5.18 billion.
Amazon.com reported a 40% increase in net sales to $88.9 billion for the three-month period ended June 30, 2020, with diluted EPS rising by 97% to $10.3.
