• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechData Sheet

Apple’s Comeback, Amazon’s Profit, and Kalanick’s Stand

By
Adam Lashinsky
Adam Lashinsky
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Adam Lashinsky
Adam Lashinsky
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 6, 2017, 9:41 AM ET

Good morning. If, like me, you’re still on a high from the adrenaline rush of Sunday night’s thrilling Super Bowl finish, perhaps you’ll appreciate a look back at some of last week’s most extraordinary stories. For journalists—tech, business, political, and otherwise—we live in a time of abundance. There’s so much to cover and only so much time to cover it.

* If you want to read more about Apple’s skeptics-defying quarterly results from last week, I highly encourage you dig into this excellent report from Jean-Louis Gassée, one of the most perceptive Apple (AAPL) observers in the land. Gassée and I share an unwillingness to count Apple out. We discuss this from time to time, especially when the news looks bleakest for Apple, where Gassée once was an executive. Gassée writes more powerfully about Apple’s willingness and ability to play the long game, which is truly unique among publicly traded companies. By the by, he also took note, as Fortune’s Aaron Pressman did, of the juxtaposition of CEO Tim Cook’s boilerplate recitation of a willingness to do large acquisitions with Cook’s hint that Apple will produce original entertainment content on a grander scale.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter, where this essay originated.

* Amazon (AMZN) reported earnings last week, a non-trivial statement for Amazon, which over the years more often loses money than makes it. The profit was Amazon’s seventh in a row. Talk about a company playing the long game: Amazon also has begun work on a $1.5 billion air cargo hub in Kentucky. (I loved the company several-second-long Echo ads during the Super Bowl.)

* Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber, pulled out of the president’s business advisory council, which met on Friday. This is the second time in recent months that Kalanick, known for his stubbornness, has capitulated on something big, the previous being Uber’s abandonment of its China business. Uber is said to have lost 200,000 customers protesting Kalanick’s council membership and its reaction to a temporary taxi boycott of New York’s JFK airport at the height of the travel ban crisis. My take: Kalanick quit the council because Uber employees, not customers, were so upset. This one’s far from over.

About the Author
By Adam Lashinsky
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.