The world’s most valuable company just doubled its revenue in a year, powered by the global AI boom
Revenue of $96.2 billion, guidance of $108 billion with nothing assumed from China, and an order book led by companies building their own processors.
Business Bagel News
Daily news from the Business Bagel desk — the markets, money and company stories shaping South Africa, reported fast and kept clear.
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MTN has started building AI data centres in Africa - without saying how much of them it owns
The group has a Dubai partner, a first phase of 150 megawatts and land already under negotiation, and it still will not say how much of the venture it owns.
Big story
South Africa’s busiest airport is facing a sudden jet fuel. Here’s what you need to know.
A downstream unit went down at Sasol's Natref refinery, and a rule from 1964 means the missing fuel cannot simply be shipped in instead.
Absa is replacing many of its traditional branches with smaller ones that don’t handle any cash
The bank swapped cash-handling branches for smaller outlets that do not touch notes, and its South African points of presence went up rather than down.
Discovery bought the building it was already renting, creating a massive accounting boost to its profits
The insurer expects headline earnings for the year to June to rise between 31% and 36%, with a gain on ending the lease over its Sandton building doing much of the lifting.
Big South African businesses are learning to make their own power, and that’s becoming a problem for Eskom
A union has rejected the deals that hand municipal electricity to Eskom, days before fourteen municipalities have to sign one, while the mining companies that can generate their own power keep contracting more of it.
A controversial Naspers vote shows how 66% opposition can turn into 92% support
The world's largest pension funds and asset managers objected in writing before Wednesday's annual meeting, where a small group of insiders hold shares carrying a thousand votes each.
A South African company supplying restaurant kitchens globally made R242 billion in sales last year
The food distributor turned R242.2 billion of sales into R18.6 billion of cash after working capital, lifted the dividend, and bought back shares while its own price was weak.
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South Africa has 65 million people, but up to 300 million SIM cards are being put out every year. Here’s why.
XtraTime advances once ran at up to R800 million a month, about half the borrowers stopped repaying, and MTN cut the product back and took the revenue hit.
Bitcoin broke above $80,000 after surging 23% in its biggest week in nearly 3 years
A US Treasury plan to buy back its own long-dated bonds weakened the dollar, and $7.2 billion of bearish crypto positions were liquidated in the week that followed.
Alibaba raised $10 billion for its AI push in Hong Kong’s biggest share sale in five years
Hong Kong's largest follow-on share sale sent Alibaba's stock down 8.5% in a day, and its chairman, its chief executive and Jack Ma all bought in afterwards.
Big international shareholders are taking on Naspers over who really controls the company
Storebrand, CalPERS and New York City pension funds published votes against Naspers directors before Wednesday's meeting, over a share structure that has overruled objections like theirs before.