Top Stories This Morning: Zoom Shares Plunge After Earnings Report; OpenAI's Head of Data Centers Steps Down

Zoom reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter but issued a weaker forecast for the third, after which its stock fell more than 4% in after-hours trading. Chris Malone, head of data centers at OpenAI, has left the company. He was responsible for the company’s infrastructure plans, which call for approximately $600 billion in spending on computing power by 2030. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of August 26.

Zoom Communications reported better-than-expected results for the second fiscal quarter: adjusted earnings were $1.55 per share, compared with a forecast of $1.48, and revenue rose 4.9% year-over-year to $1.28 billion, according to Barron’s. However, the third-quarter outlook fell short of analysts’ expectations, and the company’s stock fell more than 4% in after-hours trading.

Zoom also generated $1.6 billion in gains from strategic investments, likely due in large part to its approximately 0.31% stake in Anthropic, the publication notes. At the end of April, that stake was valued at $1.27 billion—based on a $380 billion valuation of Anthropic. Investors now expect the AI startup’s valuation to reach $2 trillion by the time of its IPO. However, Zoom has not disclosed any new information regarding its stake in Anthropic.

Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs on more than 700 goods from the U.S. with a total value of about $20 billion—thereby effectively mirroring the 50% tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to CNBC. The rates will range from 15% to 50%, including 50% tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum. The new tariffs will take effect on September 8.

The measures were a response to the breakdown of trade negotiations: Canada accused the U.S. of making excessive demands and changing the terms at the last minute, while Washington accused Ottawa of doing the same. Canadian authorities will also allocate $7.5 billion to support companies and workers affected by U.S. tariffs, although Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged that retaliatory tariffs will raise prices and reduce consumer choice.

Amazon will shut down Mechanical Turk on September 30 (MTurk)—a crowdsourcing platform launched in 2005 where users performed simple digital tasks, such as transcribing audio and video and completing surveys, for a small fee, according to CNBC. At one point, more than 500,000 workers were completing tasks on the platform.

In recent years, MTurk’s popularity has declined amid the development of AI and the emergence of competitors in the field of data preparation for training models, including Scale AI, Mercor, and Prolific. At the same time, the workers themselves have begun using AI to complete tasks: a 2023 study showed that up to 46% of MTurk workers might be doing so, according to the TV channel.

Chris Malone, head of OpenAI’s data centers division, has left the company, according to CNBC. He joined OpenAI in March 2025 and helped implement the AI lab’s ambitious infrastructure plans, which call for spending approximately $600 billion on computing power by 2030.

Malone has become the latest top executive to leave OpenAI in recent months: Previously, Head of Revenue Denise Dresser, Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap, and Director of Product and Business Fiji Simo announced their departures. The string of departures has drawn investors’ attention as OpenAI, valued at $852 billion, prepares for an IPO that the company expects to hold in 2027, the TV channel notes.

— Japan's broad-market Topix index rose 0.5%, while the Nikkei 225 rose 0.7%.

— Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.5%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 Index rose 0.8%.

— In South Korea, the Kospi rose 1.8%, while the Kosdaq remained virtually unchanged.

— Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.3%.

— Nasdaq Composite futures were down 0.1%, S&P 500 futures were also down 0.1%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were virtually unchanged.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor