Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), which lost the race to become the first US company with a value of US$1 trillion, may hit a market value of US$2.5 trillion by 2024, a report by CNBC said. The report cited MKM Partners' Rob Sandereson saying the retail behemoth is poised to gain more market share and its cloud business in Amazon Web Services could be worth US$1tn in six years, which would top the market cap of the entire company at this time of US$929bn. Sanderson raised his 12-month price target for Amazon to US$2,215 from US$1,840.
Amazon stock was up 0.3% at US$1,910.99 by midday on Thursday.
Alphabet Inc's Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has announced it is testing a new assistant feature that will allow users to hear a summary of uplifting news stories, Tech Crunch reported. The feature is called "Tell me something good" and the stories will focus on people who are "solving problems for our communities and our world," the report quoted Google as saying. A Google official had earlier said they should not be blamed for the bad news that would be seen in theirs and other search sites.
Google shares traded 0.11% higher at US$1,208.71.
READ: Google, Facebook trigger jump in global ad-spending forecast, per report
Rumors swirling around Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) are that the tech giant may be announcing three new iPhones in 2018, a report by CNET said. One phone would be big, another would be cheap and the third would have three rear cameras, the report said. The large version would be known as the iPhone X Plus. Apple is expected to deliver enhancements such as a bump in processing speeds, higher screen resolution and to extend battery life.
The chief executive of Apple, Tim Cook, is poised to collect US$120mln in stock that is tied to the company's performance, CNN Money reported.
Cook was given a restricted stock award when he took over Steve Jobs in 2011. On Friday, he will earn 560,000 shares of Apple although it is not clear if he will cash out the shares, the report said.
Apple shares were trading 0.5% higher at US$216.20.
Streaming service Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) unveiled four new unscripted original series and one original special at the Edinburgh TV Festival, a report by Hollywood Reporter said. The Netflix vice-president of unscripted originals and acquisitions, Brandon Riegg, said at the Festival they would launch a global culinary competition show called "The Final Table." Another series would be the stories of magicians who died performing dangerous stunts which will be called "Death by Magic."
Netflix stock reversed by midday, falling 0.7% to US$341.90 after rising 1.3% earlier in the session to US$348.90.
READ: Apple beats Amazon in race to a $1 trillion market cap
Facebook Inc's (NASDAQ:FB) Onavo security app has been removed from the App Store because it did not comply with Apple's privacy rules, a report by CNBC said. Facebook had acquired Onavo, which is based in Israel, in 2013. It lets users access a virtual private network to browse the Web and download apps with a greater degree of privacy.
Shares of Facebook gained 0.5% to US$174.51.