Ed Ludlow
Ed Ludlow is a Bloomberg Television anchor and interviewer covering technology and business. He hosts interviews with executives, including Grab CFO Peter Oey, on company results and topics such as AI.
Grab AI Interactions Rose 60% As Cost Per Transaction Fell 42%
Grab CFO Peter Oey says the company’s AI tools are generating returns by increasing activity and spending across its ride-hailing and delivery platform. He pointed to higher customer basket sizes and more rides and delivery jobs, while saying AI interactions rose 60% and cost per transaction fell 42%. Grab raised its full-year revenue and profit forecasts.
Apple’s Holiday Revenue Outlook Faces Pressure From Memory and Siri Costs
Apple’s holiday-quarter revenue forecast of 7% to 10% growth exceeded Wall Street expectations, but a warning of higher memory costs and Siri AI expenses weighed on the stock. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said the margin pressure could persist through fiscal 2027, while higher iPhone prices make revenue a less reliable measure of unit demand. He also said supply constraints on the new iPhone Duo could push sales into later quarters.
Disney Seeks Up to 20% Cost Cuts Across Its Businesses
Disney is planning thousands of job cuts across television, film and theme parks as it asks managers to find as much as 20% in cost savings, Bloomberg’s Chris Palmeri reported. The 20% target applies to costs, not a share of the workforce, and could be met through layoffs or other measures. Palmeri said the companywide effort comes as Disney pursues double-digit earnings-per-share growth amid slower sales growth and pressures across its businesses.
Northwood Raises $375 Million at a $2 Billion Valuation
Northwood has raised $375 million at a $2 billion valuation to expand the ground network that connects satellites, CEO Bridgit Mendler said in an interview with Bloomberg’s Ed Ludlow. Mendler argues that the ground segment remains fragmented across vendors, slowing the deployment of infrastructure as the space industry grows. Northwood is aiming to take on more of that work itself, from building antenna hardware to deploying sites and connecting them with software.
Microsoft’s $25 Billion Bond Offering Signals More AI Spending Ahead
Microsoft is seeking to raise at least $25 billion in its first broad U.S. bond offering since 2017, a move Bloomberg Intelligence senior credit analyst Robert Schiffman says reinforces his view that AI spending will continue to grow. He argues Microsoft’s strong credit standing gives it room to borrow while continuing to invest and return cash to shareholders. The deal, in his assessment, is another sign that the broader hyperscaler spending cycle has not yet peaked.
Marvell Weighs an $83 Billion Lumentum Deal as Optics Supply Tightens
Bloomberg’s Ryan Gould reported that Marvell Technology is in advanced talks to acquire Lumentum Holdings, a maker of optical components for data centers, in a deal that could make Lumentum a substantial part of Marvell. Gould’s case for the fit is that optics are becoming essential to moving signals between servers as data-center demand grows, and Marvell has said it wants to expand in the field. But with Lumentum valued at about $83 billion and Marvell holding less than $4 billion in cash, how the companies could finance a deal remains unresolved.
Microsoft’s Backlog Grows Beyond OpenAI as Azure Revenue Climbs 48%
Microsoft’s results showed Azure revenue up 48%, while Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Anurag Rana said investors should focus on whether cloud demand is broadening beyond major AI companies. He also said they would look for clues about Microsoft’s capital spending plans, including whether the company might raise its 2027 target.
AI Could Improve Games by Clearing Old Code and Expanding Creative Options
Bing Gordon, Electronic Arts’ founding executive and a former Kleiner Perkins chief product officer, argues that AI’s near-term value in game development is less about making finished games than helping teams work through neglected code and test more ideas. In an interview with Bloomberg’s Ed Ludlow, Gordon says those uses could reduce delays and improve game quality, while warning that extra time helps only if teams keep building rather than settle too soon.
Anthropic Weighs Reserving 15% to 20% of IPO Shares for Retail Investors
Anthropic is considering reserving 15% to 20% of the shares in its planned IPO for retail investors, Bloomberg reports, with JPMorgan Chase tapped to lead the US offering. Bloomberg reporter Ryan Gould said the possible allocation could encompass a broad range of investors, but the report does not establish a final percentage or explain how shares would be distributed.
Anduril and Qualcomm Aim to Build a US Laptop Supply Chain
Anduril Industries and Qualcomm are developing BlueChip, a laptop designed and assembled in the United States, as an effort to build a domestic computer supply chain. Bloomberg’s Ed Ludlow reported that the companies see dependence on overseas production, particularly China, as a national-security vulnerability; the project has so far produced a prototype, not a supply chain operating at scale. The laptop is expected to be expensive initially, with public-sector buyers as its first market and cost competitiveness with overseas-made products a longer-term goal.
Anduril and Qualcomm Target a Fully Domestic Laptop Supply Chain
Anduril founder Palmer Luckey argues that the US needs a domestic computer supply chain because military and critical infrastructure systems still rely on machines made in China. In an interview with Bloomberg’s Ed Ludlow, he said Anduril and Qualcomm are building BlueChip to address that dependence, drawing on the defense company’s manufacturing experience. The prototypes are not yet fully US-made: Luckey said they are about 90% US and allied production, with a roadmap to reach 100%.
SoFi Says Its Diversified Business Can Sustain Growth as Rates Rise
SoFi chief executive Anthony Noto argues that the company can keep growing through economic uncertainty because its technology lets it adjust loan prices as rates change, while a broader mix of businesses reduces its reliance on lending. The case rests on recent growth: revenue rose 44% year over year, and SoFi raised its full-year net revenue guidance to about $5.04 billion.
Anthropic’s S-1 Shows Strong Finances and a Slowing Growth Rate
Anthropic’s S-1 presents an IPO candidate with ample cash, not a company forced to go public to plug a funding gap, says Gil Luria, managing director at D.A. Davidson. But the filing also lays out an unusual governance structure: Anthropic is a public benefit corporation, and seven founders together control a majority of its voting power, leaving investors to weigh both the company’s stated purpose and how that group will make decisions.
Meta Seeks Up to $95 Billion in Stock Sales to Fund AI
Meta is seeking to raise as much as $95 billion through a stock offering to fund its AI investments, Bloomberg’s Sarah Frier reports. The plan combines common stock with shares from a new non-voting class, which Meta says could help attract different kinds of investors while preserving some of Mark Zuckerberg’s stake from dilution. Frier said the target exceeds Google’s $85 billion offering earlier this year, though she noted more skepticism around Meta’s plan.
Microsoft Offers Buyouts to 60,000 Workers as AI Spending Rises
Microsoft is offering buyouts to 60,000 workers, though the figure counts offers, not departures. Bloomberg reporter Brody Ford places the move amid heavy AI spending and technology companies’ efforts to do more with fewer employees; he reads the offer as a signal about the focus expected of those who stay.
OpenAI Seeks $30 Billion at a $1.25 Trillion Valuation
OpenAI is seeking about $30 billion in new funding at a target valuation of $1.25 trillion, according to Bloomberg reporter Rebecca Torrence. The proposed raise is roughly the size previously reported, but the valuation target is $150 billion lower than an earlier figure, a change Torrence attributed to price sensitivity in broader markets. The financing has not been completed.
Many Anthropic Investors May Fall Outside the IPO’s 5% Ownership Disclosure
Bloomberg’s Natasha Mascarenhas says Anthropic’s expected public listing could put multibillion-dollar estimated values on the stakes held by venture firms, technology companies and other investors, but those figures are based on the company’s last private valuation and do not establish investors’ returns. She expects many of the investors Bloomberg examined to fall outside the S-1’s 5% ownership category, so their positions may not be visible in the filing as readers might expect.
Xona Raises $250 Million to Build a Commercial GPS Alternative
Xona says GPS’s limitations are becoming more consequential as autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics and other systems rely on precise location with less human oversight. CEO and co-founder Brian Manning argues that smaller, lower-cost satellites in a closer orbit can improve navigation while working with existing GPS devices through software updates. The company has raised $250 million at a $2.45 billion valuation to build and launch its network after receiving FCC approval to operate alongside GPS.
Meta’s Planned Capital Raise Looms Over AI Spending and Shares
Meta’s new nonvoting share class could give Mark Zuckerberg liquidity to cover a tax bill if California’s proposed wealth tax passes, while preserving his control, Ed Ludlow said. Alison Porter, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson, said investors had anticipated a capital raise to support Meta’s growth spending and that uncertainty over its timing will weigh on the stock; without a third-party cloud business, she added, investors have less visibility into what the company’s AI spending will yield.
SpaceX and Tesla Committees Explore a Merger, With No Terms Agreed
SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to examine a possible merger, but have not agreed on terms, Bloomberg’s Ed Ludlow reported. Elon Musk’s stated rationale centers on joint work on superintelligence software; Ludlow also pointed to existing overlap in engineering and shared technologies. The committees are still exploring what a combination might look like.
Netflix’s Ad Tier Adds a Flexible Lever as Revenue Growth Slows
Netflix’s slowing revenue growth and difficulty sustaining audience engagement leave it looking for ways to broaden its offer, Phillips Securities analyst Helena Wang argues. Advertising can give the company flexibility to tailor subscriptions to different markets, while sports and other partnerships can expand its content mix; the test, she says, is whether those additions keep viewers coming back between major hits.
A SpaceX–Tesla Tie-Up Would Unite Production From Chips to AI
Chad Anderson, an early SpaceX investor and CEO of Space Capital, says a potential merger with Tesla would bring together companies already converging operationally, creating a vertically integrated business that could span chip fabrication through AI services. He compares SpaceX’s role in building infrastructure for intelligence with the industrial giants of the early 20th century, but says the growth case depends on Starship becoming reusable: more launch capacity is needed to expand connectivity and AI computing in orbit.
Netflix Forecasts a Fourth Straight Quarter of Slowing Sales Growth
Netflix’s fourth-quarter revenue forecast fell short of analysts’ estimates and pointed to a fourth consecutive quarter of slowing sales growth. Bloomberg’s Ed Ludlow said the forecast offered investors little sign of a stronger finish to the year; earnings per share was the only measure to beat estimates, and then by just a few cents. Netflix said its advertising business was on pace to bring in $300 million less than expected, one factor in the revenue shortfall.
Tesla’s Flying Roadster Prototype Won’t Reach Production Until 2028
Tesla’s Roadster prototype jumped and flipped using cold-gas thrusters developed with SpaceX engineers, but production remains years away, with a launch not expected until 2028. On Bloomberg Tech, Ed Ludlow described the demonstration and said Elon Musk brought audience members forward to show it was real, not AI-generated; Bloomberg columnist Max Chafkin argued the spectacle was also a pitch for Tesla stock and, potentially, a merger with SpaceX.