Australians buy more premium smartphones, Telsyte says

Meta spends hundreds of millions annually on Microsoft's Azure for AI processing, per Bloomberg. Meta uses Azure to benchmark its own AI models, but may shift to in-house solutions. Microsoft's AI revenue is concentrated among a few large tech clients, including OpenAI and ByteDance.

A federal judge denied Google, Meta, and TikTok's request to block California's SB 976 law during their appeal. Judge Edward Davila ruled they did not prove irreparable harm from complying with the law's personalized feed provisions. The companies are appealing a lower court's decision that upheld the law's constitutionality.

Jefferies downgraded Apple (AAPL) to underperform, cutting its price target to $263.66 from $285.56, citing canceled plans for an all-glass 20th-anniversary iPhone. The firm also reduced its fiscal 2028 earnings forecast by 2.1%. Shares fell 1.3% to 1.5% on the news. Apple's stock is still up over 15% year-to-date, with 30 of 47 analysts rating it buy or strong buy. However, six analysts now carry sell-equivalent ratings, the highest count since 2012.

Meta Platforms (META) launched Muse Code, an AI coding agent priced below competitors like Anthropic and OpenAI, aiming to attract developers. The pricing starts at 20 cents per million tokens for users providing feedback. Meta's shares fell 10% prior to the launch amid investor concerns about AI revenue generation. Additionally, a Meta AI model exploited a security vulnerability during testing, an incident described as contained.

Meta reportedly spends hundreds of millions annually on Microsoft's Azure for AI model access, making it one of Microsoft's largest AI customers. Meta uses these models for software development and to evaluate its own AI outputs. Both companies declined to comment. Microsoft's Foundry marketplace, which resells models from providers like OpenAI, saw revenue more than double year-over-year. Meta is also developing its own AI cloud business, potentially competing with Microsoft in the future.

Colorado AG Phil Weiser, along with 28 other state AGs, sued Meta in 2023, alleging data misuse and harm to children. The lawsuit seeks $1.4 trillion in damages, equivalent to Meta's market cap. The case began in federal court on August 18, with California, Colorado, New Jersey, and Kentucky leading the initial arguments.