Good morning.
The Amazon juggernaut continued last quarter, despite President Trump’s tweet attacks, with revenues jumping 43% over the previous year to $51 billion and net income doubling to $1.6 billion. While Amazon was once derided as a profit-free zone, the extraordinary success of Amazon Web Services is changing that. AWS is only 11% of the company’s revenue, but accounted for 73% of its profit.
Microsoft and Intel also reported strong earnings, driving stock prices higher in after-hours trading, and dispelling notions that the tech boom is over.
Speaking of tech, Fortune is looking for a few good companies harnessing the power of technology in new and innovative ways to tackle pressing global problems. At this year’s Brainstorm Tech conference, July 16-18 in Aspen, Colorado, we will be staging The Pitch, a contest designed to put a spotlight on the private sector’s freshest and smartest solutions to the world’s biggest social challenges.
The Pitch welcomes both entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs from big and small companies to apply. Finalists will be on the stage in Aspen, and part of our Change the World coverage this fall. If you are interested in applying, send a note to thepitch@fortuneconf.com.
Have a great weekend. More news below.
| Alan Murray | |
| @alansmurray | |
| alan.murray@fortune.com |
Top News
Korea Breakthrough
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korea's Kim Jong-un have agreed to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons and finally sign a peace treaty to end the almost seven-decade-old Korean conflict. The two met today in a historic summit on the south side of the demilitarized zone. The deal is short on details, but it might ensure that President Donald Trump comes to the table with Kim Jong-un. Fortune
Bezos Wealth
Amazon's strong results sent the company's shares up 7% to a new record and made Jeff Bezos a lot richer—by $8 billion or $12 billion, depending on whether you ask Reuters or Bloomberg. And the company's revenue may increase more in the future, as Amazon is also increasing its U.S. Amazon Prime subscription fee by 20%. Fortune
Another Wells Probe
Wells Fargo is under investigation by the Labor Department, which wants to see whether the bank has been pushing people with cheaper corporate 401(k) plans to transfer their holdings to Wells's more expensive individual retirement plans. The timing is not great for the bank, which just last week had to pay a $1 billion fine over misconduct in its mortgage and car loan divisions. Wall Street Journal
Tesla Shakeup Call
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also the company's chairman but, if a Californian shareholder gets his way, that won't remain the case for long. Jing Zhao has submitted a proposal, on which Tesla's shareholders will vote in June, that would insist the chairman be an independent director of the company. Tesla's board is against the idea, arguing that "the company's success to date would not have been possible if the board was led by another director lacking Elon Musk's day-to-day exposure." Bloomberg
Around the Water Cooler
Huawei and Android
As noted yesterday, the Justice Department is investigating Huawei for breaking Iran sanctions, potentially threatening the Chinese phone-maker's ongoing access to Android. Sure enough, it turns out that Huawei has in fact been developing its own smartphone operating system in recent years, according to the South China Morning Post's sources. However, Huawei is holding off on releasing it for now, as it still has Android and its own OS isn't as good. SCMP
Suspect's DNA
Joseph DeAngelo, the former cop suspected of being the Golden State Killer, East Area Rapist and Visalia Ransacker, was caught because a relative of his sent their own DNA swab for testing at a genealogy website. Investigators were able to find a partial match between DNA from one of the decades-old crime scenes and the DNA of the site user, which led them to scour that person's family tree for possible suspects. Fortune
Brokaw Allegations
Veteran NBC anchor Tom Brokaw has been accused by two women of sexual misconduct. One is former NBC correspondent Linda Vester, the other a former production assistant. Brokaw has denied both women's allegations. These are the first accusations against Brokaw, but not the first for NBC, which fired Matt Lauer last year for alleged sexual misconduct (which Lauer still denies.) Fortune
American Airlines Lawsuit
A South Carolina woman suffered an embolism on an American Airlines flight a couple years back and subsequently died. Now, Brittany Oswell's family is suing the carrier for wrongful death, claiming the flight crew didn't try to make an emergency landing when she became dizzy and disorientated, and that their onboard medical equipment was faulty. ABC News
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer. Find previous editions here, and sign up for other Fortune newsletters here.
