Xorte logo

News Markets Groups

USA | Europe | Asia | World| Stocks | Commodities



Add a new RSS channel

 
 


Keywords

2025-08-06 21:00:00| Fast Company

At least one companys bet on AI appears to be paying offfor now. Language-learning platform Duolingo reported earnings results for the second quarter of 2025 on Wednesday after the market closed, and the numbers were eye-opening. The companys revenue increased 41% year-over-year to more than $252.3 million, and net income tallied $44.8 million, up 84%. Its number of paid subscribers was up to 10.9 million from 8 million a year ago, and its daily active users neared 48 million, up from 34 million last year. Im happy to report another quarter of great results, driven by product-led growth, a delightful learning experience, and fast iteration,” wrote Luis von Ahn, Duolingos co-founder and CEO, in a letter to shareholders. “Our user growth and engagement remain strong, and our subscription performance and profitability exceeded expectations.” Von Ahn also thinks theres plenty of room to grow ahead, too, especially as AI is helping boost user engagement and profitability. We believe were still early in our user growth journey,” he continued. “Weve delivered innovation while growing profitabilitythrough strong performance across all subscription tiers, continued investment in our core product, and new subjects that help us increase engagement. We remain focused on building for long-term engagement and growth. The blowout quarter, notably, comes after Duolingo was among the first large companies to publicly lean into AIspecifically, replacing swaths of its human workforce with AI. For a while, it appeared that the strategy was backfiring, but now, thats not so clear. Investors seem happy, as the price of Duolingo shares shot up significantly after hours. As of the closing bell at 4 p.m. ET, Duolingo stock was trading for less than $344 per sharebut as of 4:10 p.m. ET, shares were trading for $426.60. Thats an increase of more than 24%. Duolingos shares had been on a downward slide, too, in recent weeks. Over the past month, the stock was down more than 13%, although its more than doubled over the past calendar year.


Category: E-Commerce

 

LATEST NEWS

2025-08-06 19:53:00| Fast Company

The White House was preparing to act against banks for allegedly dropping customers for political reasons, as President Donald Trump said he believes that banks, including JPMorgan and Bank of America, had discriminated against him and his supporters. A draft of the executive order, which was reviewed by Reuters, instructs regulators to review banks for “politicized or unlawful debanking” practices. The order could authorize monetary penalties or other disciplinary measures against violators. It is likely to be announced as early as this week, two industry sources said. The White House had no immediate comment on the reported order. Trump’s criticism adds pressure on America’s largest lenders, but it also shows how the president’s personal slights and business interests are getting reflected in the administration’s policies — something that critics say raises issues of conflicts of interest. The sprawling Trump business empire has been placed into a trust, but it is still ultimately owned by the president. An executive order against the banks would come after Trump said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday that the country’s top two lenders had previously rejected his deposits. Trump said, without providing evidence, that the banks’ refusal to take his deposits indicated that the administration of former President Joe Biden had encouraged regulators to “destroy Trump.” “They did discriminate,” Trump said of actions taken by JPMorgan after his first term in office. “I had hundreds of millions, I had many, many accounts loaded up with cash and they told me, ‘I’m sorry sir, we can’t have you. You have 20 days to get out.” “They totally discriminate against, I think, me maybe even more, but they discriminate against many conservatives,” he said. Trump said he subsequently tried to deposit funds with Bank of America and was also refused, and eventually split the cash. “I ended up going to small banks all over the place,” he said. “I was putting $10 million here, $10 million there, did $5 million, $10 million, $12 million,” he said, without naming the lenders. In a statement, JPMorgan did not address the president’s specific claims about his account. “We dont close accounts for political reasons, and we agree with President Trump that regulatory change is desperately needed,” JPMorgan said. “We commend the White House for addressing this issue and look forward to working with them to get this right. BofA also did not address Trump’s specific claims. ‘Reputational risk’ issue During Biden’s administration, regulators were able to scrutinize banks’ decisions on the basis of reputational risks, a source familiar with the matter said. Lenders were under intense scrutiny and pressure to weigh reputational risks when dealing with Trump because of his legal woes, another source familiar with the situation said. JPMorgan continues to have a banking relationship with members of the Trump family that dates back years, and it also banks a number of campaign accounts linked to Trump, the source said. After Trump took power, the Federal Reserve announced in June it was directing its supervisors to no longer consider reputational risk when examining banks, a metric that had been a focus of industry complaints. “What the White House is doing is telling the banks not to hide behind regulations to deny loans or banking relationships,” said Wells Fargo bank analyst Mike Mayo. “Banks can use their normal underwriting standards and deny services, but not blame regulators or use reputational risk as a justification.” BofA said it welcomed the administration’s efforts to clarify the policies. “Weve provided detailed proposals and will continue to work with the administration and Congress to improve the regulatory framework,” the bank said. Trump in January admonished the CEOs of JPMorgan and BofA for denying services to conservatives. At the time, the two banks denied making banking decisions based on politics. ‘Regulatory overreach’ Banks have consistently argued that any complaints about “debanking” should be aimed at regulators, as they argue onerous rules and overzealous bank supervisors can discourage them from engaging in certain activities. “The heart of the problem is regulatory overreach and supervisory discretion,” the Bank Policy Institute, an industry group, said in a statement. Lenders have held discussions around debanking and weighed scenarios around a potential order, the first source said. Banks are also hopeful the administration may change anti-money laundering laws that they say are outdated and burdensome, the source added. Andrea Shalal and Doina Chiacu; Additional reporting by Pete Schroder, Nupur Anand, Tatiana Bautzer, and Saeed Azhar, Reuters


Category: E-Commerce

 

2025-08-06 19:45:00| Fast Company

Mickey Mouse and Love Island will soon live under the same roof. The Walt Disney Company announced Wednesday plans to sunset standalone Hulu streaming app to integrate its content to the entertainment company’s flagship app Disney+. News of the integration came during Disney’s third quarterly earnings report and is part of the company’s ongoing focus on streaming entertainment, including an upcoming Aug. 21 release of an ESPN streaming service. “The company is taking major steps forward in streaming with the upcoming launch of ESPNs direct-to-consumer service, our just-announced plans with the NFL, and our forthcoming integration of Hulu into Disney+, creating a truly differentiated streaming proposition that harnesses the highest-caliber brands and franchises, general entertainment, family programming, news, and industry-leading sports content,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in the report. While Hulu isn’t disappearing as a brand, its set to fold into the existing platform. This quarter, Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions grew to 183 million, up by 2.4 million from the previous quarter. Despite growth in subscriptions, and beating earning projections, the entertainment giant’s stock was down 2% at the time of publishing. Closing out a decades-long effort Hulu was initially founded in 2007 as a joint venture between 21st Century Fox (then News Corporation) and NBC Universal, with The Walt Disney Company and others later joining as stakeholders. Disney acquired 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019, giving the company controlling interest of the streaming platform ahead of of Disney+’s debut. Since, Disney has tried to acquire the remaining 33% of stakes in Hulu owned by Comcast (which bought NBC Universal). In June this year, both companies reached an agreement, with Disney set to pay $439 million to take full control of the platform. A Hulu integration unto the existing app had already been teased back in 2023, when Disney rolled out a beta version featuring Hulu’s content inside the Disney+ app. Goodbye”Star+,” hello new homepage Users outside of the US might already be familiar with Hulu’s programming available on the Disney+ app, under the tile dubbed “Star+.” Until last year, Star+ served Latin America with its standalone app and platform featuring shows from FX, ABC, Hulu originals, and more. The standalone app folded into Disney+ last july, integrating as a tile within the app. Starting in the fall, the Star tile will now be replaced in Disney’s international markets by Hulu’s logo. Additionally, imporvements to the existing app are underway, the company revealed during their earnings call. Over the coming months, we will be implementing improvements within the Disney+ app, including exciting new features and a more personalized homepage,” Iger said. “All of which will culminate with the unified Disney+ and Hulu streaming app experience that will be available to consumers next year.


Category: E-Commerce

 

Latest from this category

06.08Instagram launches map feature. It looks a lot like Snap Map
06.08All that backlash against Duolingo going AI-first didnt slow its growth: Why DUOL stock is soaring 24% right now
06.08Trump accuses banks of political discrimination. Heres what to know
06.08Hulus days are numbered, and Disney just made it official
06.08The real meaning behind that viral Department of Homeland Security painting
06.08WhatsApp removes 6.8 million accounts linked to scam centers
06.08Samsung is now tracking employee office attendance
06.08Cities clearly have a sidewalk problem. Its less clear who should fix it
E-Commerce »

All news

07.08HUD drops housing discrimination complaint related to aldermanic prerogative and Chicago zoning
07.08Tilt towards equities a healthy trend in savings: RBI
07.08NSDL shares list at 10% premium, close higher
07.08Reports of curbs on weekly options expiry speculative: Sebi Chief
07.08How Europe is vying for rare earth independence from China
07.08Bank of England expected to cut interest rates
07.08Bank of England expected to cut interest rates
07.08Trump says he plans to put a 100% tariff on computer chips, likely pushing up cost of electronics
More »
Privacy policy . Copyright . Contact form .