AT&T network outage

Market Overview
Read time 1.6 minutes

Year To Date Performances:

1. AT&T experienced a significant network outage that was resolved after several hours on Thursday, attributed to a procedural error during network expansion efforts, excluding the possibility of a cyberattack. The disruption left hundreds of thousands without wireless service, leading to over 1.5 million complaints on Downdetector and investigations by the FBI, Homeland Security, and the FCC to ascertain the cause. The incident, which affected services and emergency communications in major cities, resulted in a 2.4% decrease in AT&T's stock value. This marks another notable outage for AT&T, following a similar event in 2008.

2. Block's shares experienced a significant rise of up to 14% in after-hours trading, driven by the company's impressive fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded market expectations. The payment firm reported a 22% increase in gross profit, reaching $2.03 billion, and announced an updated forecast for adjusted EBITDA to be at least $2.63 billion. This financial success was largely attributed to the growth of its Square and Cash App divisions. Specifically, Cash App demonstrated remarkable performance with a 25% year-over-year increase in gross profit, totaling $1.18 billion. The platform also reported having 56 million monthly active users. Additionally, the Cash App Card, under the leadership of Jack Dorsey, saw a 20% increase in monthly active users. As part of its efforts to enhance operational efficiency, Block has recently undertaken workforce reductions, continuing a trend of layoffs within the company.

3. Visa and Mastercard agree to historic $5 Billion Settlement! In a groundbreaking move for the payment industry, Visa and Mastercard have come to a historic $5 billion settlement, marking a pivotal moment for small business owners. If you are a small business owner, claim your share today!*

4. Headlines

   1. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 both hit at all-time highs on Friday

   2. Amazon has been forced to pay $1.9M in penalties to compensate migrant workers.

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