The Wall Street Journal
WSJ:
Tech News Briefing
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2025
9/19/2025 4:00:00 PMShare This Episode
TNB Tech Minute: Trump Announces TikTok Deal
TNBテック・ミニット: トランプ氏、TikTok取引を発表
Plus: Porsche cuts its guidance again and delays launch of some new EV models. And Pony AI is set to hit a major profitability target by early next year. Julie Chang hosts.
- cuts its guidance kʌts ɪts ˈɡaɪdəns 業績見通しを引き下げる
- delays launch dɪˈleɪz lɔːnʧ 発売を延期する
- EV models iː viː ˈmɑdəlz 電気自動車モデル
- set to hit a major profitability target sɛt tu hɪt ə ˈmeɪdʒər ˌprɑfɪtəˈbɪlɪti ˈtɑrɡɪt 主要な収益目標を達成する見込みである
Julie Chang: Here's your afternoon TNB Tech Minute for Friday, September 19th. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal.
We have a TikTok deal. President Trump announced today that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping approved a preliminary deal under which a group of American investors would take control of the video-sharing app's US operations. The new entity would operate algorithms using technology licensed from TikTok parent ByteDance. A ByteDance spokesperson said it'll work in accordance with applicable laws. Details of the deal haven't been publicly released, and White House officials as well as people familiar with the discussions say many of its finer points and legal issues still need to be worked out before it's finalized. Trump said he and Xi agreed to meet at a summit this fall.
Plus, Porsche has cut its guidance for the year again. The German premium carmaker has been reeling from a slow electric vehicle market, fierce competition from China, and President Trump's tariffs. Porsche said it had to conduct a review of its product portfolio and is delaying the launch of some new EV models. Instead, those vehicles will be offered as combustion engines and plug-in hybrids.
- combustion engine kəmˈbʌsʧən ˈɛnʤən 内燃機関、ガソリンやディーゼルなど燃料を燃やして動力を生み出すエンジン
- plug-in hybrid plʌɡ-ɪn ˈhaɪbrɪd プラグインハイブリッド車（外部から充電できるハイブリッド車）
Finally, Chinese robotaxi firm Pony AI is set to hit a major profit target by early 2026. That's according to the company's CFO. He said Pony AI is on track to reach single-unit economics break-even, meaning they book a profit every time they add a car to their fleets. And after breaking even, the company can more aggressively increase its fleet size. He added that Pony AI has finished producing 400 robotaxis and is on track to roll out a thousand vehicles globally by the end of this year.
- ポニーAIは単位あたり収益（シングルユニット・エコノミクス）の損益分岐点に到達する見込みで
- ロボタクシー1台を運用するだけで、コストを回収できる状態になること。
- 損益分岐点（break-even）
その単位にかかる費用（購入費用、運用費、保険など）と、その単位から得られる収益（配車による売上）が ちょうど同じになる点
And that's a wrap on your TNB Tech Minute. We'll have another quick tech update Monday morning.
WSJ: Sep 20 2025
Wall Street Bets Rates Will Drop Much More Than Fed’s Forecasts
The wager is already boosting the economy by making borrowing cheaper for Americans. The risk now is that investors have become overly optimistic about rate cuts.
- Wall Street Bets ˈwɔːl striːt ˌbɛts ウォール街の投資家たちの賭け、投機的な動き
- rates will drop reɪts wɪl drɑp 金利が下がる
- Fed’s forecasts fɛdz ˈfɔːrkæsts FRBの予測
- wager ˈweɪdʒər 賭け、投機的な見込み
- boosting the economy ˈbuːstɪŋ ði ɪˈkɑːnəmi 経済を押し上げる、刺激する
- borrowing cheaper ˈbɑːroʊɪŋ ˈtʃiːpər 借入コストを安くする
- overly optimistic ˈoʊvərli ˌɑːptɪˈmɪstɪk 過度に楽観的な
Erika Kirk, Who Helped Build a Movement at Her Husband’s Side, Takes Center Stage
The couple had emphasized her duties in the home, but after Charlie Kirk’s death she is taking on a much bigger public role.
- helped build a movement hɛlpt bɪld ə ˈmuːvmənt 運動を築くのを助けた
- at her husband’s side æt hər ˈhʌzbəndz saɪd 夫のそばで
- takes center stage teɪks ˈsɛntər steɪdʒ 主役の座に就く、中心的存在になる
- duties in the home ˈduːtiz ɪn ðə hoʊm 家庭内での務め／役割
- public role ˈpʌblɪk roʊl 公的な役割、社会での役割
- emphasized ˈɛmfəˌsaɪzd 強調した
Kirk Shooting Unleashes Flood of Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories have been a feature of politics at least since the Kennedy assassination. What’s new is their scale and spread, fueled by popular figures on social media.
- shooting ˈʃuːtɪŋ 銃撃事件
- unleashes ʌnˈliːʃɪz 解き放つ、引き起こす
- flood of conspiracy theories flʌd əv kənˈspɪrəsi ˌθɪəriːz 陰謀論の洪水、大量の陰謀論
- conspiracy theory kənˈspɪrəsi ˌθɪəri 陰謀論
- feature of politics ˈfiːtʃər əv ˈpɑːlətɪks 政治の特徴／付きもの
- Kennedy assassination ˈkɛnədi əˌsæsəˈneɪʃən ケネディ暗殺
- scale and spread skeɪl ənd sprɛd 規模と拡散
- fueled by ˈfjuːəld baɪ ～によってあおられる、助長される
- popular figures ˈpɑːpjələr ˈfɪɡjərz 人気のある人物たち
Trump Adds $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee and Rolls Out $1 Million ‘Gold Card’
The new annual fee is intended to crack down on a system the Trump administration says has been used by tech companies to avoid hiring American workers.
- H-1B visa eɪtʃ wʌn bi ˈviːzə 専門職外国人向けの米国就労ビザ
- adds $100,000 fee ædz wʌn ˈhʌndrəd ˈθaʊzənd fiː 10万ドルの料金を追加する
- rolls out roʊlz aʊt 導入する、展開する
- Gold Card ɡoʊld kɑrd 「ゴールドカード」（高額・特別待遇のビザを指す）
- annual fee ˈænjuəl fiː 年会費
- crack down on kræk daʊn ɑn 取り締まる、厳しく規制する
- system has been used ˈsɪstəm hæz bɪn juːzd 制度が利用されてきた
- avoid hiring əˈvɔɪd ˈhaɪərɪŋ 雇用を避ける
- American workers əˈmɛrɪkən ˈwɜrkərz アメリカ人労働者
U.S. Government Expected to Get Multibillion-Dollar Fee in TikTok Deal
The fee would be the latest example of the government getting paid for involvement in private-sector deals.
- U.S. Government juː ɛs ˈɡʌvərnmənt 米国政府
- expected to get ɪkˈspɛktɪd tə ɡɛt ～を得る見込み
- multibillion-dollar ˌmʌltiˈbɪljən ˈdɑlər 数十億ドル規模の
- fee fiː 手数料、料金
- TikTok deal ˈtɪkˌtɑk diːl TikTokを巡る取引
- latest example ˈleɪtəst ɪɡˈzæmpəl 最新の事例
- getting paid for ˈɡɛtɪŋ peɪd fɔr ～の対価を受け取る
- involvement in ɪnˈvɑlvmənt ɪn ～への関与
- private-sector deals ˈpraɪvət ˈsɛktər diːlz 民間部門の取引
Prosecutor Handling Probe of Trump Adversaries Resigns
President Trump had called for dismissal of the U.S. attorney in Virginia, who was under pressure to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James.
- prosecutor ˈprɑːsɪˌkjuːtər 検察官
- handling probe ˈhændlɪŋ proʊb 捜査を担当する
- probe proʊb 捜査、調査
- adversaries ˈædvərˌsɛriz 敵対者、政敵
- resigns rɪˈzaɪnz 辞任する
- called for dismissal kɔld fɔr dɪsˈmɪsəl 解任を求めた
- U.S. attorney juː ɛs əˈtɜːrni 連邦検事
- under pressure to ˈʌndər ˈprɛʃər tu ～するよう圧力を受けて
- charge (someone) ʧɑrdʒ ～を起訴する
- Attorney General əˈtɜːrni ˈdʒɛnərəl 司法長官
At the Airport, There’s a Fancy New Lounge Everywhere You Look
Airlines and credit-card companies are taking over terminals with ever-swankier amenities, and loyal customers can’t get enough.
- at the airport æt ði ˈɛrˌpɔrt 空港で
- fancy new lounge ˈfænsi nuː laʊnʤ 豪華な新しいラウンジ
- everywhere you look ˈɛvriˌwɛr ju lʊk どこを見ても
- airlines ˈɛrˌlaɪnz 航空会社
- credit-card companies ˈkrɛdɪt kɑrd ˈkʌmpəniz クレジットカード会社
- taking over terminals ˈteɪkɪŋ ˈoʊvər ˈtɜrmənəlz ターミナルを支配／席巻している
- swanky amenities ˈswæŋki əˈmɛnətiz 派手で豪華な設備・サービス
- loyal customers ˈlɔɪəl ˈkʌstəmərz 常連客、忠実な顧客
- can’t get enough kænt ɡɛt ɪˈnʌf いくらあっても満足しない／夢中である
Inside the Starbucks Plan to Get 200,000 Baristas on the Same Script
The coffee chain is looking to reverse a sales slump with new training—and lots of meaningful eye contact.
- inside the plan ˈɪnˌsaɪd ðə plæn 計画の内幕
- baristas bəˈriːstəz バリスタ、コーヒーを入れる店員
- on the same script ɑn ðə seɪm skrɪpt 同じ台本に従って、同じ言動をとる
- coffee chain ˈkɑːfi ʧeɪn コーヒーチェーン店
- reverse a sales slump rɪˈvɜrs ə seɪlz slʌmp 売上の不振を回復させる
- training ˈtreɪnɪŋ 研修、トレーニング
- meaningful eye contact ˈmiːnɪŋfəl aɪ ˈkɑnˌtækt 意味のあるアイコンタクト、気持ちを込めた視線の交流
Gaza City’s Christians, Defying Israel, Stay in Their Churches
Many Christians in Gaza City have decided to lean on their faith as Israel moves into the ground phase of its operation.
- Gaza City ˈɡɑːzə ˈsɪti ガザ市
- Christians ˈkrɪsʧənz キリスト教徒
- defying Israel dɪˈfaɪɪŋ ˈɪzreɪəl イスラエルに抗して／逆らって
- stay in their churches steɪ ɪn ðer ˈʧɜrʧɪz 教会にとどまる
- lean on their faith liːn ɑn ðer feɪθ 信仰に頼る／信仰に支えを求める
- ground phase ɡraʊnd feɪz 地上戦段階
- operation ˌɑːpəˈreɪʃən 軍事作戦
What to Know About Vaccine Policy After RFK Jr. Panel’s Whirlwind Meeting
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s handpicked vaccine advisers met at the CDC and showed a desire to change vaccine recommendations.
- vaccine policy ˈvæksiːn ˈpɑləsi ワクチン政策
- RFK Jr. ɑr ɛf keɪ ˈdʒuːniər ロバート・F・ケネディ・ジュニア
- panel ˈpænəl 委員会、諮問委員会
- whirlwind meeting ˈwɜrlˌwɪnd ˈmiːtɪŋ 慌ただしい会合、短期間で激しい会議
- Health Secretary hɛlθ ˈsɛkrəˌtɛri 保健長官
- handpicked ˈhændˌpɪkt 自ら選んだ、任命した
- vaccine advisers ˈvæksiːn ədˈvaɪzərz ワクチン顧問
- CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ˌsiː diː ˈsiː 米国疾病対策センター
- vaccine recommendations ˈvæksiːn ˌrɛkəmɛnˈdeɪʃənz ワクチンに関する勧告／推奨
Flights Disrupted at Dallas Airports Due to Equipment Outage
American Airlines says the issue has limited its operations and resulted in problems throughout its network.
- flights disrupted flaɪts dɪsˈrʌptɪd フライトが乱れる／運航に支障が出る
- Dallas Airports ˈdæləs ˈɛrˌpɔrts ダラスの空港
- due to duː tu ～が原因で、～によって
- equipment outage ɪˈkwɪpmənt ˈaʊtɪdʒ 機器の故障／停止
- American Airlines əˈmɛrɪkən ˈɛrˌlaɪnz アメリカン航空
- limited its operations ˈlɪmɪtɪd ɪts ˌɑpəˈreɪʃənz 運航を制限した
- resulted in problems rɪˈzʌltɪd ɪn ˈprɑbləmz 問題を引き起こした
- throughout its network θruːˈaʊt ɪts ˈnɛtwɜrk ネットワーク全体で
What’s News
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2025
9/19/2025 4:42:00 PMShare This Episode
Can Lower Fed Rates Help Fix the Government’s Debt Problem?
「FRB（連邦準備制度）が利下げすれば、政府の債務問題を解決できるのか？」
P.M. Edition for Sept. 19. Since the U.S. government spends about $1 trillion annually on interest for its debt, a lower interest rate should reduce those costs… right? WSJ tax policy reporter Richard Rubin discusses why the answer is more complex than it may initially seem. Plus, President Trump announced today that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have reached a deal over TikTok’s U.S. operations. We hear from the Journal’s tech policy reporter Amrith Ramkumar about what we know about the deal, including which American investors are getting involved. And in the midst of an artificial intelligence boom, the lowly hard drive is making a comeback. Investors are starting to take notice, but as WSJ Heard on the Street writer Asa Fitch explains, hard drive companies’ future prospects could be even greater. Alex Ossola hosts.
- Fed rates /fɛd reɪts/ FRB（米連邦準備制度）の政策金利
- government’s debt problem /ˈɡʌvərnmənts dɛt ˈprɑːbləm/ 政府の債務問題
- spend about $1 trillion annually /spɛnd əˈbaʊt wʌn ˈtrɪljən ˈænjuəli/ 年間約1兆ドルを費やす
- interest for its debt /ˈɪntrəst fɔːr ɪts dɛt/ 債務の利払い
- more complex than it may initially seem /mɔːr ˈkɑmplɛks ðæn ɪt meɪ ɪˈnɪʃəli siːm/ 一見するほど単純ではない
- reached a deal /riːtʃt ə diːl/ 合意に達した
- U.S. operations /juː ɛs ˌɑːpəˈreɪʃənz/ 米国での事業活動
- getting involved /ˈɡɛtɪŋ ɪnˈvɑlvd/ 関与する、参加する
- artificial intelligence boom /ˌɑrtəˈfɪʃəl ɪnˈtɛlədʒəns buːm/ 人工知能ブーム
- making a comeback /ˈmeɪkɪŋ ə ˈkʌmˌbæk/ 再び人気を取り戻す、復活する
- take notice /teɪk ˈnoʊtɪs/ 注目し始める
- future prospects /ˈfjuːtʃər ˈprɑspɛkts/ 将来の見通し
lowly : /ˈloʊli/
① 形容詞の意味
- 身分が低い、地位が低い a lowly clerk = 身分の低い事務員
- つつましい、卑しい、目立たない in a lowly position = 目立たない立場にある
② 副詞の意味（やや古風・文語的）
控えめに、へりくだって
to speak lowly = 控えめに話す
Alex Ossola: What's in the TikTok deal that President Trump says he's reached with China? Plus, can a lower rate from the Fed help reduce the US government's debt problem?
Richard Rubin: When investors are thinking, oh, we want to lend money to the US for the long term, they're looking at factors that go well beyond what the federal fund's rate is right now.
Alex Ossola: And why in the middle of an AI boom, good old hard drives are making a comeback. It's Friday, September 19th. I'm Alex Ossola for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.
President Trump announced today that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping approved an agreement for a group of investors to take control of TikTok's U.S. operations, capping off months of tense negotiations that put the video-sharing app at the center of trade talks between the two sides. WSJ tech policy reporter, Amrith Ramkumar is here now with more. Amrith, what details do we know about this deal?
Amrith Ramkumar: There aren't a ton of new details here. Some people thought that the deal was totally done. In reality, it seems more like the preliminary agreement is done for the structure and what the deal will look like and generally who's involved. So what they're talking about is a consortium of predominantly U.S. investors, including cloud computing firm, Oracle, a private equity firm, Silver Lake, and others. They would be roughly 50% owners of this new entity that would run TikTok in the U.S. and the existing investors would own roughly 30% and then TikTok's parent in China, ByteDance its ownership stake would drop below 20%. Other big investment firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Blackstone are no longer part of the group, is our understanding. And then with the algorithms, it's a bit squishy and complicated, but generally the idea would be that this new entity would be using algorithms licensed using ByteDance's technology and they would still be expected to comply with U.S. security rules and all that sort of stuff.
- predominantly /prɪˈdɑmənəntli/ 主として、大部分は
- squishy and complicated /ˈskwɪʃi ənd ˈkɑmplɪkeɪtɪd/ （曖昧で）分かりにくく複雑
- licensed using ByteDance's technology /ˈlaɪsənst ˈjuːzɪŋ ˈbaɪtdæns ɪz tɛkˈnɑlədʒi/ バイトダンスの技術をライセンス利用する
Alex Ossola: Does that satisfy the legal requirements that forced the sale in the first place?
Amrith Ramkumar: It's a complex situation. They would actually be using essentially new algorithms is the best way to think about it, that were re-engineered for the U.S. market using technology licensed by ByteDance. They are having to get creative to comply with the law and make everyone happy with the national security restrictions that they're being fulfilled.
Alex Ossola: What is the timing on a potentially finalized deal?
Amrith Ramkumar: The timing on finalizing everything is very unclear. It sounds like Trump and Xi are going to meet soon in the fall at the APEC summit and continue discussing broader trade issues. And even though there's this preliminary agreement finalized, it sounds like there will still be some nuances to flesh out.
- nuances to flesh out
/ˈnuːˌɑnsɪz tuː flɛʃ aʊt/
詰めるべき細かい点、詳細を具体化すること - nuance = 細かな違い、微妙な点
flesh out = 骨格に肉をつけるように「詳細を詰める、具体化する」
Alex Ossola: What has TikTok said about this?
Amrith Ramkumar: TikTok, like a lot of the other players in this agreement, is being very careful about what they say publicly. They put out a brief statement basically saying they thank both leaders and look forward to working to make sure they satisfy the law and can achieve a compromise that satisfies everyone.
Alex Ossola: That was WSJ tech policy reporter, Amrith Ramkumar. Thank you, Amrith.
Amrith Ramkumar: Thanks for having me.
Alex Ossola: Major U.S. indexes closed higher today. The Nasdaq led the gains adding about 0.7%. The S&P 500 was up about half a percent and the Dow rose about 0.4%. For the week, the S&P 500 added 1.2%, while the Dow was 1.1% higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.2%.
Senate Democrats have blocked Republican stopgap measure to keep the government funded until late November. The vote in the Republican-controlled Senate was 44 in favor and 48 against, short of the 60 votes required. Democrats are demanding more than $1 trillion in healthcare subsidies as the price of their support including extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies and restoring cut Medicaid funds. The GOP-led house narrowly passed the measure earlier in the day and now party leaders will have to go back to the drawing board. The move sets up a down-to-the-wire negotiation over how to avoid a government shutdown in two weeks.
- go back to the drawing board /ɡoʊ bæk tu ðə ˈdrɔɪŋ bɔrd/ 白紙に戻してやり直す
- down-to-the-wire negotiation /daʊn tu ðə ˈwaɪər nəˌɡoʊʃiˈeɪʃən/ ギリギリの交渉
We're exclusively reporting that the Trump Administration is seeking congressional approval to sell nearly $6 billion in weapons to Israel. That's according to people familiar with the request. The weapons likely wouldn't be delivered for two or three years one of the people said. The administration is moving forward with the plan despite Israel's missile strike on Hamas in Qatar and intensifying offensive in Gaza City, which have drawn strong condemnation in Europe and in the region. The State Department and Israel's Defense Ministry declined to comment. The White House didn't respond to requests for comment.
Today, a federal judge struck President Trump's $15 billion defamation suit against the New York Times, characterizing the president's legal complaint as a vitriolic screed that violated basic court requirements for suing someone. The judge, whose order came four days after the President filed the complaint, gave Trump's lawyers 28 days to file a new version. A spokesperson for the New York Times welcomed the quick ruling. A lawyer for Trump didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
- defamation suit /ˌdɛfəˈmeɪʃən suːt/ 名誉毀損訴訟
- legal complaint /ˈliːɡəl kəmˈpleɪnt/ 法的申し立て、訴状
- vitriolic screed /ˌvɪtriˈɑlɪk skriːd/ 毒々しい悪口の羅列（強い非難的文書）
->、「vitriolic = 酸のように辛辣な」「screed = 長々とした文章」。→「罵詈雑言の長文」
Coming up, will the Fed's most recent rate cut reduce the U.S. government's interest payments for its national debt? The not so straightforward answer after the break.
The U.S. government spends about $1 trillion every year on interest on its national debt. The Federal Reserve just lowered interest rates that should lower the amount that the U.S. government pays. Right? Turns out the answer isn't so simple. WSJ tax policy reporter Richard Rubin joins me now. Richard, how will this interest rate cut help or not with the federal debt?
Richard Rubin: Maybe a little bit. As you said, the interest on the debt is this huge expense, a trillion dollars a year, but you have to look at how that's composed. The bulk of that is long-term debt, and so when the Fed lowers interest rates, it doesn't necessarily affect the rates on long-term debt. The other thing is that Treasury's interest rate that it pays on long-term debt is just different from what the Fed's short-term rates are. Short-term rates can show up relatively quickly in four-week treasury bills, that kind of thing. But when investors are thinking, "Oh, we want to lend money to the U.S. for the long term," they're looking at factors that go well beyond what the federal funds rate is right now.
Alex Ossola: So what other options does the government have to lower the amount that it's paying in interest?
Richard Rubin: The biggest thing that's going to affect the interest costs in the long run are how much debt the U.S. continues to rack up, right? So we've got this persistent gap between spending and revenue. That's because we've cut taxes, increased spending on entitlements, done emergency borrowing for the pandemic, that kind of thing. And we're paying for that now and continuing to have those gaps. There are some things on the margins you could do. You could issue more short-term debt when rates are lower. So right now about 80% of the U.S. debt is in longer-term things or when you see long-term rates go down, you could change that ratio, that 80/20 and put even more in long-term debt locking in some lower rates. Even those changes aren't going to make all that much difference. The U.S. has a $30 trillion roughly debt held by the public, and the kinds of changes we're talking about here are really just on the edges.
- rack up (debt) /ræk ʌp/ （借金を）積み重ねる
- persistent gap /pərˈsɪstənt ɡæp/ 持続的なギャップ、恒常的な不足
- spending and revenue /ˈspɛndɪŋ ænd ˈrɛvəˌnu/ 支出と歳入
- entitlements /ɪnˈtaɪtəlmənts/ 給付（社会保障・医療保険などの支出項目）
- emergency borrowing /ɪˈmɜrdʒənsi ˈbɑroʊɪŋ/ 緊急借入
- on the margins /ɑn ðə ˈmɑrdʒənz/ 周辺的に、多少の範囲で
- lock in (lower rates) /lɑk ɪn/ （低金利を）固定する、確保する
- on the edges /ɑn ði ˈɛʤəz/ 周辺的な、細部での（大きな影響はない）
on the edge 危険な状況・瀬戸際
He was on the edge of collapse.（崩壊の瀬戸際だった）
on the edges （比喩的に）周辺的な、細部での、主要部分に比べ影響が小さいThe changes we're talking about are really just on the edges.（話している変更はあくまで周辺的なものだ）
on the margins （中心ではなく）周辺的に、重要ではない、わずかに We could make some adjustments on the margins.（わずかな調整はできる）
→ 「on the edges」とほぼ同義で使えることが多いです。どちらも 中心・本質ではなく、影響が小さい部分
Alex Ossola: That was WSJ reporter, Richard Rubin. Thank you, Richard.
Richard Rubin: Thanks.
Alex Ossola: In an AI boom that has made investor darlings of companies like Nvidia and OpenAI, the lowly hard drive is enjoying a resurgence that investors are only starting to reward. Hard drive makers, Western Digital and Seagate, the two largest players in the industry, both reported around 30% higher revenue in their latest quarters. Growth that would've been unthinkable a few years ago. For more, I'm joined now by WSJ heard-on-the-street writer Asa Fitch. Asa, what's driving this growth?
Asa Fitch: Basically one thing, AI. People are using AI a lot and it's consuming a lot of data. It's producing a lot of data, and that data needs to go somewhere and it goes generally on hard drives. People in the past number of years have been shifting more to using flash drives or flash storage rather than these spinning disks that contain people's data. But those disks, those old school hard drives, still have a big place in the world and especially in the AI era.
Alex Ossola: It sounds like investors are just now starting to get a little more interested in these hard drive companies. Does that reflect the prospect of their future?
Asa Fitch: Not fully. There are two big hard drive makers, Seagate and Western Digital. It's effectively a duopoly. They have done very well in the past number of quarters. As you mentioned, in the latest quarter, they both saw revenues rise 30%. Their stocks have also around doubled in the past year or so. But if you look at how they're valued on a price to earnings basis, they're actually not incredibly expensive. These companies both trade at valuations well below what the Nasdaq average is. So from an investor perspective, these companies are still pretty attractively valued despite their recent uptick in price and their prospects as businesses going forward.
Alex Ossola: That was WSJ heard-on-the-street writer Asa Fitch. Thank you, Asa.
Asa Fitch: Thank you.
Alex Ossola: And that's What's News for this week. Tomorrow you can look out for our weekly markets wrap-up, What's News in Markets. Then on Sunday, we're bringing you an episode of Bold Names, where co-host Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins speak with IBM CEO Arvind Krishna about how IBM plans to compete against rivals in the quantum computing space and how to ensure that it doesn't get there too early.
That's in What's News Sunday. And we'll be back with our regular show on Monday morning. Today's show is produced by Pierre Bienaimé and Rodney Davis, with supervising producer Michael Kosmides. Michael Laval wrote our theme music. Aisha Al-Muslim is our development producer. Janna Herron is our deputy production editor. Chris Zinsli is our deputy editor, and Philana Patterson is The Wall Street Journal's Head of News Audio. I'm Alex Ossola. Thanks for listening.