You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
75 calls
Of the nearly 700 U.S. companies in the S&P 1500 that have reported quarterly earnings so far, 75 explicitly mentioned Amazon in their earnings call, and many brick-and-mortar retailers haven’t even announced earnings yet. [Reuters]
1987
That’s the year construction got started on the still incomplete Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea. The impressive and potentially structurally unstable 105-story building in the North Korean capital was unveiled with new renovations last week. The structure was also sporting a new sign: “Rocket Power Nation.” Perhaps Kim Jong Un’s regime has finally caught on to “Rocket Power,” the hit Nickelodeon action-games cartoon that inspired a generation of extreme sports lovers. Or, more likely, he’s happy with those ballistic missile tests. [Bloomberg]
2028
Los Angeles has been given the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, clearing the way for Paris to host the 2024 games. [BuzzFeed]
$19.95 million
ExxonMobil’s request to lessen a $19.95 million fine has gone unheeded by a federal judge. An ExxonMobil complex in the Houston area was found to have exceeded air pollution limits from 2005 to 2013 by 10 million pounds. [The Texas Tribune]
60 million subscribers
Number of people currently paying for a subscription to the music streaming service Spotify. The service has added more than 20 million customers in the past year. Spotify, which is preparing for an IPO, has cut licensing deals with Universal Music and Sony Music, and it’s hoping to strike a deal with holdout Warner Music soon. [FT]
$1.8 billion
Valuation of Reddit according to its CEO. The company recently raised another $200 million in funding. [Recode]
If you see a significant digit in the wild, send it to @WaltHickey.