Good morning. Who here remembers the days when Facebook’s ad business seemed threatened by a privacy policy at Apple?

Forcing apps to ask permission before tracking users was going to hobble targeting, the company warned then. “Many small businesses will no longer be able to reach their customers with targeted ads," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on one earnings call. “We’re standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere,” the company pledged in full-page newspaper ads.

You’re forgiven if you forgot.

Meta Platforms yesterday reported another quarter of bonkers growth, with revenue up 33% to $56.3 billion, its biggest year-over-year quarterly gain in nearly five years.

Meta’s ad business these days benefits not only from the continued consumer appeal of Instagram and Facebook but the AI that it now offers marketers to create and target ads. Among other things, the technology’s ability to predict behavior seems to have overwhelmed any loss of signal from Apple’s changes.

More than 8 million advertisers used at least one of the company’s generative AI creative tools, the company said yesterday.

“Google and Meta were already winning, and now, with these AI tools, they’re now lapping the field,” Luke Stillman, a Madison and Wall managing director, told The New York Times ahead of the latest earnings.

A lot has been said about tech companies’ spending on AI. Meta shares fell after the market close yesterday despite its AI-driven revenue gains. The company also increased its expected capital spending this year by $10 billion, to a new range of $125 billion to $145 billion.

But that’s not the only concern. The same grip on consumers that enables Meta’s incredible ad machine is now getting its hardest look yet.

“Meta predictably posted impressive growth, once again illustrating that AI continues to bolster its sprawling advertising business,” Emarketer senior analyst Minda Smiley wrote yesterday afternoon: 

More legal threats loom, Meta noted to investors yesterday. “We continue to see scrutiny on youth-related issues and have additional trials scheduled for this year in the U.S., which may ultimately result in a material loss,” it said in its earnings release.

And liability isn’t the only possible outcome; all the litigation also stands a chance of forcing Meta to change how its products work.

If courts and governments begin to reshape Meta’s business in a way that Apple’s privacy policy did not, could AI rescue the company again?

Amazon is discussing a potential reboot of “The Apprentice,” the reality TV show that once starred Donald Trump and propelled him to national fame, Jessica Toonkel and Dana Mattioli report in a scoop for The Journal that landed last night.

And people familiar with the matter said that executives at Amazon internally have discussed casting someone very close to President Trump as the host if they move ahead: his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

Discussions are still in the early stages and Amazon hasn’t approached the Trump family, but if the show gets made, it would appear on Amazon’s Prime Video service.

Amazon inherited the back catalog of “The Apprentice” when it acquired the MGM film and television studio in 2022.

The company previously agreed to pay $40 million to distribute “Melania,” a documentary about the first lady during the first weeks of her husband’s second term, a price nearly three times the next highest offer for the film.

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Airbnb hosts prepped their homes for a World Cup windfall. They’re still waiting. [WSJ]

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will no longer bankroll LIV Golf after this season. [WSJ]

Omnicom is combining 180 and adam&eveDDB New York into a new agency called Lola USA, the first U.S. iteration of a shop that gained acclaim in Madrid. [Adweek]

DTC clothing brand Hill House Home is selling an American Girl dress collection in adult, child and doll sizes. [WWD] 

Uber Black riders will soon be able to order a coffee, other drink or snack to be waiting in their vehicle when they’re picked up. [BI] 

Tractor Supply’s new campaign stars real customers partly as a way to stand out in the AI era. [Modern Retail] 

Amazon has introduced AI-generated faux podcasts talking up product listings. [Katie Notopoulos on X]