Dis-Chem doubled its spending on X, bigly labs, its in-house technology and innovation unit, in the six months to August. The pharmacy group’s earnings fell again, even though revenue grew 8%. Headline earnings per share dropped 12.8% to 64.3c, Dis-Chem said in its interim results published after markets closed on Thursday. Revenue rose 8% to…
Google parent company Alphabet reported third-quarter financial results that missed Wall Street targets, driven by slowing search advertising growth and a sharp acceleration in capital expenditure for artificial intelligence infrastructure. The results prompted a 10% decline in after-hours trading, reflecting growing investor concern over elevated spending timelines and core revenue pressure. Read: Apple unveils 2026…
AI data center solutions at the SK Telecom Co. booth in the World IT Show in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images The artificial intelligence boom may be entering a more unforgiving phase, as investors increasingly question whether the billions poured into data centers will translate…
Never has so much cash flowed into a new technology as is pouring into AI, eclipsing the sums splurged on railways or the internet when those technological revolutions sucked in capital. Cumulative spending globally on data centres alone could top US$30-trillion by 2050, according to a projection by PwC, almost matching the value of outstanding…
Woman choosing books in a modern bookshop Apichat Panyakaew | E+ | Getty Images It’s getting more expensive to have fun in America, but consumers are splurging anyway, seeking out experiences ranging from outdoor activities to video games. The Bank of America’s latest analysis suggested that “funflation” — the increased cost of fun — may…
The first five years of life lay an important foundation for children’s future schooling, health and earnings. Yet over 77% (table 2) of children in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have access to early childhood care and education. This places them at risk of not reaching their development potential. In response, governments across Africa are increasingly committing…
Eskom group chief financial officer Calib Cassim Eskom reported R4.9-billion of irregular expenditure for the year to 31 March 2026, less than half the restated figure for the year before. But read further into the auditor’s report and a different number appears. During the year, Eskom confirmed irregular expenditure of R36.8-billion relating to prior years….
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita MTN Group cut capital spending on its South African network by 17.1% in the six months to June, to R2.64-billion excluding leases, in a half that saw its prepaid base shrink by about 1.5 million customers and its total subscriber base fall 0.7% year on year to 39.5 million. The…
South African IT spending will grow 19.8% in 2026 to US$28.1-billion, more than five percentage points faster than the global figure, according to figures Gartner provided to TechCentral. The research firm does not publish a South African breakdown with its quarterly global releases. It supplied the local cut on request, following its worldwide forecast on…
SpaceX, Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk (R) and Google CEO Sundar Pichai attend the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump at the Rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, on January 20, 2025. Trump takes office for his second non-consecutive term as the 47th president of the United States. Kevin Lamarque | Afp | Getty…
