Chapter 1: What are the implications of the Washington Post's layoffs?
Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Lunch, our afternoon update on today's market action, news, and analysis. Good afternoon. Today is Wednesday, February 4th, and I'm your host, Kim Kahn. Our top story so far.
The Washington Post announced sweeping layoffs, cutting about one-third of its staff, and gutting major parts of the newsroom as owner Jeff Bezos and his leadership team struggle for a path to profitability.
Staffers described the day as a bloodbath, and the move signaled a sharp narrowing of the Post's ambitions as it looks to right the ship, with reports of steep losses, including an estimated $100 million in 2024. The paper is dismantling its sports desk, closing the books section, and suspending the Daily Post Reports podcast.
International coverage is also being scaled back, while the Metro desk, once the heartbeat of the paper in the Watergate era, is being heavily reduced.
Chapter 2: How is AMD performing despite earnings reports?
The cuts come after weeks of internal concern, including public pleas from journalists urging Bezos to change course. And during the Laos Zoom meeting, one reporter described the mood as funereal. Among active stocks, AMD is plunging despite beating on both the top and bottom lines.
JP Morgan analyst Harlan Sir said the big question is whether AMD can show real operating leverage, and until it does, the stock may stay under pressure, especially with potential margin risk as it ramps up MI450 Helios later this year. Eli Lilly is bouncing back after topping street forecasts with its Q4 results in 2026 Outlook.
Its GLP-1 drugs, Manjaro and Zepbound, beat revenue expectations, with both up more than 100% from a year ago. Uber is lower after missing Wall Street's lofty Q4 profit expectations, as a shift towards cheaper rides and higher insurance costs weighed on results.
Chapter 3: What warnings did Michael Burry give about Bitcoin's future?
But the company also updated its autonomous vehicle plans, aiming to operate AVs in 15 cities by year-end. App Lovin' is sliding after AdExchanger reported on CloudX, a new AI-infused startup that could shake up the mobile advertising stack. There are reports that CloudX will use large language models to automate work typically done by engineers and ad ops teams.
And MGM Resorts is rallying after BetMGM said 2025 was a record year, with net revenue reaching about $2.8 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $220 million, driven by strong growth in both online sports betting and iGaming.
In today's trading, Bitcoin resumed its slide after a crypto sell-off in the previous session that wiped out nearly $470 billion in market cap, and big short investor Michael Burry warned the sell-off could turn into a self-reinforcing death spiral, potentially causing lasting damage to companies that have spent the past year stockpiling Bitcoin.
In a Substack post seen by Bloomberg, Burry argued that Bitcoin has been revealed as largely speculative, failing to establish itself as a debasement hedge like precious metals. Sickening scenarios have now come within reach, he wrote.
Chapter 4: How does Anthropic position itself against OpenAI in the AI ad debate?
If Bitcoin falls another 10%, Strategy, the world's largest corporate crypto treasury, could be billions in the red and find capital markets essentially closed. Further declines, he said, could push crypto miners toward bankruptcy. And in other news of note, Claude is getting a little salty with ChatGPT.
Nearly three weeks after OpenAI confirmed it would begin testing ads inside the near-ubiquitous chatbot, competitor Anthropic declared itself above the ad dollar. Anthropic said, The company added that users won't see sponsored links next to their conversations, and Claude's responses will be influenced by advertisers or include third-party product placements they didn't ask for.
Anthropic didn't mention ChatGPT or OpenAI by name, but the message is a pretty clear shot across the bow, and the debate over ad-supported AI is now echoing across the entire sector.
Why don't you let me fix you some of this new mo' cocoa drink?
Chapter 5: What final thoughts does the host share about today's market news?
All natural cocoa beans from the upper slopes of Mount Nicaragua. No artificial sweeteners.
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