The Automotive Troublemaker: Google Is Keeping Cookies

We’ve made it to the middle of the week! Today we’re talking about GM’s record pickup and SUV sales in Q2, Tesla’s tough Q2 and how Google is not getting rid of cookies after all.

General Motors has raised its 2024 earnings forecast following a strong second quarter, driven by record North American sales of pickups and SUVs.

• CEO Mary Barra emphasized in a letter to shareholders that responsible growth and efficient capital use amid shifting market conditions. "As excited as we are about our portfolio, we are committed to growing responsibly and profitably in any demand environment," Barra said. "Over the next few years, third-party forecasters now see the EV market growing steadily, but more slowly than it did over the last few years. As a result, we are adjusting our spending plans to make sure we're capital-efficient and moving in lockstep with customers."

• Q2 net income rose 14% to $2.9 billion, with global revenue hitting $47.97 billion.

• North American profit surged 39%, setting a new record at $4.4 billion.

• GM adjusted its full-year EBIT guidance to $13-$15 billion, despite lowering net income forecast slightly.

• The company reported increased EV sales but scaled back production targets due to lower-than-expected demand.

Despite slightly better-than-expected revenue, Tesla's Q2 earnings report highlighted declining profits and raised investor concerns, particularly during a tense earnings call with CEO Elon Musk.

• In Q2, Tesla's net income dropped 45% to $1.5 billion, down from $2.7 billion the previous year, while revenue rose to $25.5 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $24.8 billion.

• The company also experienced a 4.8% decline in global deliveries to 443,956 vehicles, following an 8.5% decline in the first quarter.

• Musk had a elevated Q&A session as he was asked a variety of questions, most of which received short, blunt answers

• When asked about diverting GPUs from Tesla to xAi, Musk by stating that the news was based on an "old article." as he assured that the diversion of GPUs to xAI was "in Tesla's interest," not detrimental to the company.

• When Musk was pressed on Tesla's declining revenue from auto sales and the continued delays of the Robotaxi project, he remained non-committal about large-scale production of a lower-cost model, saying, "We're going to make great products in the future, just like we have in the past. End of story."

Google no longer intends to remove third-party cookies from Chrome, a major shift from its 2020 announcement. The company will retain third-party cookies, focusing on enhancing user choice instead.

• Cookies are an important part of the $180 billion ad-tech industry, allowing advertisers to track users and target ads effectively.

• The original cookie deprecation date was in 2022, and has been pushed several times by Google since then.

• Google's alternative, Privacy Sandbox, aimed to preserve ad mechanisms while protecting privacy but had a rocky rollout.

• "Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time," wrote Anthony Chavez, VP of Privacy Sandbox.​.

• Early reports indicated significant revenue losses (up to 60%) for publishers without cookies, though Google claims its tests showed a 20% drop for Ad Manager publishers.

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