Twitter posted a wider-than-expected second-quarter loss. The social networking behemoth’s  adjusted loss in the quarter was 16 cents a share – a result worse than the breakeven per share that analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting.  Revenue of $683.4 million fell from the year-ago quarter’s $841.4 million, and was also below  analysts’ forecasts of $701.6 million. The company’s ad revenue suffered a -23% decline year-over-year.

Apple, Facebook, Amazon.com  and Alphabet’s  Google are expected to testify before a congressional committee , according to reports published late Wednesday. The testimony is related to antitrust issues. CEOs Tim Cook (Apple), Sundar Pichai (Google), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook )and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) are expected to appear July 27, according to Reuters citing two sources familiar with the matter. Technology behemoth have been under the scrutiny of  the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice for a while.The extent of user privacy and prevention of spread of false information and hate speech on their platforms are other topics that other concerns that the companies face from regulators.  

Pinterest got a price target hike from Deutsche Bank analyst. Deutsche Bank analyst Lloyd Walmsley boosted his price target on the image sharing /social media company’s shares to $27 from $20.In 11 of 11 cases where PINS's RSI Indicator exited the overbought zone, the price fell further within the following month.

On Monday, Zillow  shares were upgraded by a Needham analyst, on what the latter perceives as growing willingness among consumers for online realtors’ services. Needham analyst Brad Erickson lifted rating on shares of the online real-estate platform/ brokerage to buy from hold. Erickson thinks that prospective home buyers will have a greater comfort level with online interactions with realtors as the covid-19 pandemic compels them to move much of their lives online through (work from home) and shelter-in-place.He also mentioned that smaller realtors face increasing challenges due to headwinds to lead generation and low inventory – a situation that will propel real estate agent consolidation towards larger agencies and thus enable those agencies to spend more on advertising to grab market share. Erickson did mention downside risks of low inventory leading to transaction softness and macro risk; but said,  "we view these risks as low probability if at all given the curr

China has used grand ambitions and careful government planning to create powerful, profitable companies uniquely positioned to take advantage of their market – and beyond. Home to the largest internet and mobile markets in the world, Chinese companies tend to be more transaction-based than their Western counterparts.and internet services (including the largest search engine in China). While the trade wars and questions about Chinese technology companies’ ability to innovate remain, many economic experts see a positive future, driven in part by the impending arrival of 5G technology.

Search engine/cloud company Baidu Inc.  could leave the Nasdaq, as US lawmakers press for tighter restrictions on  listing requirements.   According to Reuters,  Baidu CEO Robin Li told the state-controlled China Daily newspaper that there are 'many choices' for a good company to list and that they're 'not limited' to the U.S. On Wednesday, Senate lawmakers said non-U.S. companies listed on domestic exchanges will be required to prove  "they are not owned or controlled by a foreign government.” The Nasdaq indicated that it will tighten IPO rules for foreign companies. Baidu shares were down -0.75% in early trading Thursday.

On Wednesday, Google announced that it's making Google Meet free for up to 100 users.Google Meet is a video conferencing product, and was previously available to enterprise customers using G Suite.  Google Meet  requires users to have a Google account. The version will have a 60-minute time limit, but Google said that it won't introduce that limit until Sept. 30. On Friday, Facebook  made its video calling app Messenger Rooms available for up to 50 people without any time limit.

Facebook announced plans to invest nearly $6 billion in Jio Platforms, the digital technology subsidiary of Indian company Reliance Industries. Facebook will buy a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms for approximately $5.7 billion, becoming Jio’s largest minority shareholder. Reliance Jio began its commercial operation in the second half of 2016, and emerged as a game changer in the Indian telecom market by offering bulk of 4G data and voice calls for six months to users at no charge. “We’re making a financial investment, and more than that, we’re committing to work together on some major projects that will open up commerce opportunities for people across India,” said Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and chief executive of Facebook.

Google  and Apple  are teaming up on developing a mobile software that would help track the spread of coronavirus. On Friday, the technology behemoths announced that they are working on an  opt-in tool for Android and iOS, where the tool will tell people if they have been in contact with someone who was had contracted coronavirus. The feature will also allow users report to a public health agency if they have been infected.  The tool is expected to launch within a few months

On Thursday, Google parent company Alphabet’s market cap touched  a trillion dollars for the first time. Alphabet joins Apple , Amazon  and Microsoft  in the trillion-dollar club.The company expects similar growth in the year ahead. In December 2019, Alphabet founder Larry Page announced plans to step down as CEO, along with co-founder and president Sergey Brin.  Sundar Pichai became CEO of Alphabet thereafter; Pichai was already Google’s CEO. However, the company also faces potential hurdles such as antitrust investigations.

Deutsche Bank's Lloyd Walmsley said that "renewed strength" in Facebook's core app should bolster its continued growth in 2020. Walmsley  cited improvements to Facebook’s newsfeed algorithms, the build-outs on features for its Marketplace and Groups sections and other product work as key drivers of the app’s strength. According to Walmsley, strengthening  engagement in core Facebook could become "durable" in 2020. The analyst also pointed out that products such as Marketplace, and recently  launched  Facebook Pay, could further add to the monetization of core Facebook. Deutsche Bank raised its target price to $270 from $260 and maintains a buy rating on the stock. 

Both Page and Brin will remain on the company board, though. According to several analysts, Pichai's new role is unlikely to have a  major impact in the near term,  since investors already know the executive’s achievements at search engine Google well and largely expect  business to continue as usual. But at the same time,  the shuffle could be indicative of positive changes at Alphabet. Ever since Pichai stepped in as  Google CEO in August 2015, shares of Alphabet have gained around +100%  -well exceeding the S&P’s gain of +60% in the same period. Pichai worked at Applied Materials and McKinsey before joining Google in 2004.

Facebook's Instagram will begin testing hiding "likes" from U.S. viewers next week. At the Wired25 conference, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced, "We're testing making like counts private".Mosseri also said, “We will make decisions that hurt the business if they help people’s well-being and health”.

Facebook shares were rising +3% in extended trading Wednesday, after the company reported earnings that beat expectations. For the third quarter, the social network behemoth posted earnings of $2.12 a share, which handily topped analysts' estimates of $1.91. Quarterly revenue surged +29% year-over-year to $17.65 billion, beating estimates of $17.37 billion.  Average revenue per user came in at $7.26, compared to $7.09 expected by analysts. As of the end of the third quarter, Facebook’s daily active users of 1.62 billion was an increase of +9% year-over-year.Monthly active users rose +8% year-over-year to 2.45 billion. According to the company, 2.2 billion people use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger every day on average, and around 2.8 billion people use at least one of those apps each month.   

Social media giant Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) has been trending higher since December with the stock gaining over 40% from its low to its high.Similar crossovers in the last ten months have been pretty good indicators for a move to the upside. In addition to the stochastic crossover, the stock broke below its lower Bollinger band on October 1.

Online dating site operator Match Group (Nasdaq: MTCH) has been on an incredible run over the last four years.Match Group is the parent company of websites such as Tinder.com, Match.com, and OKCupid.com. As late as April 2016, the stock was trading under $10 a share before rallying as high as $95 last month.

Chinese social media platform Weibo (Nasdaq: WB) has been doing relatively well as a company, but the stock hasn’t followed suit.The stock was in oversold territory based on the 10-week RSI and the weekly stochastic readings, but the RSI has recently moved out of oversold territory while the stochastic readings remain there. The Relative Strength Rating from Investor’s Business Daily is a 12 and that means the price performance is in the bottom 12% of stocks for the past year.

The parent company of Google also revealed its $25 billion additional stock buyback plan. Alphabet’s adjusted earnings for the quarter came in at $14.21 per share, wee above the $11.30 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Total revenue of $38.94 billion also exceeded analysts’ estimate of $38.15 billion. Even traffic acquisition costs of $7.24 billion for the tech giant were lower than the $7.27 billion expected, according to StreetAccount.Traffic acquisition costs incurred as a percentage of Google advertising revenues was slightly lower this year compared to the previous year’s quarter. While cost-per-click on Google properties declined -11% year-over-year in Q2, paid clicks on Google properties surged + 28% over the same period. Alphabet also said that its board of directors have approved a repurchase of up to an additional $25 billion of its Class C capital stock.

Twitter posted higher-than-expected adjusted earnings for its second quarter, along with reporting strong growth in its number of daily active users. The social networking company’s adjusted earnings came in at 20 cents per share, compared to the 19 cents per share expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Total revenue for the company increased +18% year over year to $841 million, which exceeded analysts' estimate of $829.1 million (per Refinitiv survey). According to Twitter,  it achieved an average of 139 million monetizable daily active users (mDAUs) in the second quarter, which is +14% higher from the year-ago quarter.International average mDAUs were 110 million in the quarter, +15% higher from the year-ago period. Twitter said that its total advertising revenue increased +21% year-over-year (or +23% on a constant currency basis) to $727 million in the quarter.

Snap Inc. shares climbed Friday, following a rating upgrade by Goldman Sachs. Analysts at Goldman Sachs increased their rating on the technology and camera company to buy from neutral , citing product improvements and feature additions that they believe are bolstering user growth for Snap.The analysts also mentioned that ad tech initiatives from Snap are tailwinds to monetization for the company’s offerings. Analyst Heath P. Terry of Goldman Sachs emphasized that Snap’s new Android app, the launch of Snap Games and new viral lenses would accelerate user growth.