Fortune’s first century was tied to purpose. Its second century will be too

It begins with purpose. Fortune’s very first issue, published in February of 1930, came on the cusp of the Great Depression. And from the beginning, Fortune was forced to develop a social conscience. Fortune editor James Agee and photographer Walker Evans best captured the soul of that difficult time in their Pulitzer Prize winning book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. That DNA later led to the creation of the Most Powerful Women list and the 100 Best Companies to Work For list, both first published in 1998, and both drivers of necessary change.

We doubled down on that history in 2015 with the Change the World list, in 2016 with the Fortune Global Forum at the Vatican, and in 2017 with the creation of the CEO Initiative, a forum to share best practices on maximizing companies’ positive impact on society. Today, that purpose is embedded in our mission and our actions. I like to think we have played a small part over the decade in making business better.

But of course, purpose without profit passes quickly. That’s why we have worked hard over the last five years to complete the transition to digital at Fortune, to vastly expand our leadership audiences, and to diversify our revenues. We’ve seen 50% growth during that time and have recorded three straight years of profit. There is still much to be done, but I have every confidence that our new CEO Anastasia Nyrkovskaya, in partnership with editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell, can build a great edifice on that foundation. They are two very powerful women.

As for this newsletter, Diane Brady, editorial director of the CEO Initiative, will be taking over, assisted once a week in Europe by Peter Vanham and in Asia by Clay Chandler. So keep opening this email; it will be an important window into the global business world.

Meanwhile, I will be taking the summer off—biking, kayaking, reading, and enjoying my first extended sabbatical in four decades—before starting a new venture in the fall.

I want to thank all of you who have allowed me to invade your inboxes each morning. It has been an honor, a privilege, and I hope I’ve not been too much of nuisance. Please keep striving. I am convinced the challenges of our future must be conquered not just by new technology, but by new leadership. And the readers of this column remain my best hope.

More news below.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com

TOP NEWS

Deleting chats

The Federal Trade Commission wants Amazon to explain why the company told leaders to use Signal, the encrypted messaging app. The FTC made the demand as part of a lawsuit that alleges the e-commerce company maintains an illegal monopoly. The agency previously accused Amazon executives of using Signal’s disappearing-messages feature to destroy evidence. Fortune

Alphabet surges

Alphabet shares rose 11% in extended trading after the Google parent announced a $70 billion stock buyback and its first-ever dividend. The company beat expectations on both the bottom and top-line, reporting $80.5 billion in revenue and $23.7 billion in net income. Ad sales on Google grew at their fastest pace for over a year, helped by a surge in spending from Chinese e-commerce companies like Temu. The Wall Street Journal 

Biden’s EV incentives risk ‘collapse’

South Korea’s industry minister warns that China’s control of graphite—a critical material in batteries—will make it impossible for any EV maker to qualify for U.S. subsidies. The Inflation Reduction Act does not offer subsidies to EVs with components made in “countries of concern” like China. “Unless they make some kind of exemption or transition period, the whole regime will collapse,” Ahn Duk-geun says. Financial Times

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

Netflix will spend ‘vast majority’ of its $17 billion content budget on originals in 2024, despite a deluge of licensed hit shows up for grabs by Rachyl Jones

SEC sued over Ethereum, crypto firm asks court to state token is not a security by Jeff John Roberts

How the ordeal of getting an ear piercing pushed a 34-year-old mom to ditch her law career to launch the adult version of Claire’s by Jane Thier

Sam Altman’s Worldcoin eyeing partnerships with PayPal and OpenAI by Niamh Rowe

Meet the ‘professional namer’ who directed Accenture’s $100 million name change: ‘It’s the best job in the world’ by Jasmine Li

It’s not just investors watching the Fed: Central bankers across Southeast Asia are trying to time rate cuts to ensure their currencies don’t collapse by Lionel Lim

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.