The 10 things in advertising you need to know today
1. Google's earnings topped Wall Street expectations in the third quarter and the company also announced a $7 billion stock repurchase. But its stock barely budged in after hours trading, rising 1%.
2. Twitter beat analysts' expectations for both revenue and earnings per share in its third quarter, but confirmed that it plans to lay off 9% of its workforce. Despite these gains, Twitter continues to be a loss-making company, posting a GAAP loss net loss of $103 million in the period.
3. Amazon reported a big miss on profit in its third quarter earnings and its stock fell 7%. Investors were also spooked by the lower than expected revenue guidance for the fourth quarter, traditionally the biggest quarter for Amazon.
4. Twitter is shutting down video-sharing service Vine "in the coming months". Twitter said: "Nothing is happening to the apps, website or your Vines today," in a release on Thursday, adding that users will be given a heads-up and will be able to download their Vines before the app shuts for good.
5. The FCC passed new rules to protect consumers' online privacy, The Washington Post reported. The new rules require that internet service providers obtain consent from consumers before sharing data around their web browsing with advertisers.
6. Apple announced a new Apple TV app that is says will bring all your shows and videos into a central app. It's simply called "TV" and is designed to tie together whichever services you have and provide you with one place to find new shows to watch and pick up where you left off.
7. Google's CFO kicked off the Q3 earnings call with a lengthy defense of the corporate restructuring into the Alphabet holding company. CFO Ruth Porat defended Alphabet's setbacks but struggled to justify its purpose.
8. NFL viewership is falling, and restaurant chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Papa John's should be worried. Pro-football viewership is down 11% this year, according to Sports Illustrated, and this decline could mean a slump in sales for chains that rely on football fans either watching games in their restaurants or ordering takeout to watch at home.
9. Walmart is testing a giant tower inside one of its stores that acts as a vending machine for online orders. The automatic pickup machine - as it's called internally - is so big that the company had to remove a chunk of the ceiling to fit it inside the store.
10. Google is splitting its search index into desktop and mobile - and there will be winners and losers. Counterintuitively, publishers with mobile sites designed specifically to make life easier for smartphone users may suffer.