The daily business briefing: August 4, 2023

1. Amazon shares surge after strong earnings report

Amazon reported Thursday that its sales jumped 11% in the second quarter, fueling a big increase in profit compared to a year ago. Sales reached $134.4 billion, up from $121.2 billion a year earlier and surpassing the $131.4 billion analysts expected. The news sent the online retail giant's stock rising nearly 10% in after-hours trading. Amazon shares had already gained 52% this year, making it one of the tech giants fueling this year's rally. Analysts said Amazon's 4% rise in online sales and better-than-expected income from cloud computing, a reliable cash cow, were good signs for the second half of 2023.

CNN Bloomberg

2. Apple sales fall in longest slump since 2016

Apple reported Thursday that its revenue fell for the third straight quarter, the iPhone maker's longest sales slide since 2016. The company reported iPhone revenue that fell short of analysts' expectations. Apple's smartphone line is a key profit engine, but net income was up 2.3% on an annual basis at $19.9 billion thanks to record revenue of $21 billion from the company's service unit, driven by paid music and TV streaming and purchases in Apple's App Store. Subscriptions jumped 150 million to more than a billion. "People spending on services shows that economic activity is good," Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told The Wall Street Journal.

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The Wall Street Journal

3. Gas prices jump after months of stability

Gas prices have jumped nearly 30 cents to a nationwide average of $3.82 per gallon in the past month after holding steady for nearly six months, AAA reported Thursday. Voluntary production cuts by OPEC+ nations have contributed to the increase, along with extreme heat that has triggered outages at four refineries in Texas and Louisiana in recent weeks, according to Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis. A spokesperson for the trade group American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers blamed weather and "extended periods of high utilization" for the refinery outages. High demand also has been a factor. The busy summer driving season is usually the time of year when demand peaks, pushing prices up.

Politico

4. Stock futures edge higher ahead of jobs report

U.S. stock futures gained early Friday ahead of the July jobs report. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.2% and 0.4% at 6:30 a.m. ET. Nasdaq futures were up 0.5%. Amazon shares surged after the online retail giant reported better-than-expected profit and a strong guidance, but Apple shares dipped after it reported a revenue drop compared to last year. Still, "all eyes are on the jobs report," U.S. Bank senior investment strategist Rob Haworth told CNBC. Economists expect the report to show that employers added about 200,000 jobs, down from the 244,000-job average over the last three months. "We just want to see: Is the Fed getting some help here on the inflation fight?" Haworth said.

CNBC The New York Times

5. Airbnb bookings rise but shares slip on fears about future demand

Airbnb reported Thursday that its second-quarter profit jumped to $650 million, a more than 70% increase compared to summer 2022. The improvement came as bookings for summer vacation rentals grew 11% while rates held steady. The San Francisco-based short-term rental company forecast third-quarter revenue of $3.3 billion to $3.4 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Still, concerns about a potential weakening of domestic demand dragged down Airbnb shares by about 1% in after-hours trading. Airbnb has been facing complaints from some customers that high cleaning fees had pushed its prices near or even above those of short hotel stays.

The Associated Press Reuters