HP vs Lenovo

PayPal CEO Lores Aims to Revive Pioneer Following Market Losses

According to a podcast by manager magazin, PayPal is facing a crisis as its stock has lost approximately 80% since its pandemic peak, revenue growth slowed to 3% in the last quarter, and competitors like Apple and Klarna are gaining ground. New CEO Enrique Lores, previously at HP, aims to transform PayPal back into a technology company. The company's challenges are particularly evident in Germany, its 'golden market', where market share is declining. A potential acquisition by Stripe and Advent was recently abandoned, adding to the uncertainty. The podcast discusses whether Lores can successfully lead a turnaround for the payment pioneer.

• PayPal stock has lost about 80% since its pandemic peak.
• Revenue growth slowed to 3% in the last quarter.
• Competitors like Apple and Klarna are gaining market share.

Tariq Hassan Joins Wendy’s as Marketing Chief

Tariq Hassan, who left McDonald’s in January 2025, has joined Wendy’s as chief marketing and customer growth officer, reporting to CEO Bob Wright, the company said on August 24, 2026. An experienced marketer with agency roots including Leo Burnett and senior roles at HP, Bank of America, Petco and most recently McDonald’s, Hassan will deploy a digital-marketing approach he outlined at Cannes Lions. Wright praised Hassan’s ability to combine culture, technology and consumer insight to drive measurable growth and called the hire a step toward returning Wendy’s to profitable growth. The hire is part of a broader effort to boost digital engagement and sales.

• Tariq Hassan joined Wendy’s as chief marketing and customer growth officer, reporting to CEO Bob Wright.
• Hassan stepped down from his role at McDonald’s in January 2025.
• He previously worked on the agency side including Leo Burnett and held senior marketing roles at HP, Bank of America, Petco and McDonald’s.

IBM Says AI Isn’t Killing the Mainframe

IBM reported a disappointing quarter with revenue of $17.2 billion, gross profit of $9.9 billion, and net earnings of $2.2 billion, missing Wall Street expectations. The company warned that its mainframe business fell 42%, which contributed to lowered full-year growth forecasts and a sharp stock decline after leadership pre-announced the results. CEO Arvind Krishna and CFO Jim Kavanaugh said the drop resulted from several customers delaying mainframe purchases amid rising data-center hardware costs driven by an AI infrastructure build-out, but they insist customers will purchase mainframes and associated software later.

• IBM reported $17.2 billion in revenue for the quarter.
• IBM reported $9.9 billion in gross profit and approximately 58% margins for the quarter.
• IBM reported $2.2 billion in net earnings for the quarter.

HL Klemove and Lenovo forge autonomous driving partnership

HL Klemove, a specialist in autonomous driving solutions under the HL Group, and global technology company Lenovo have established a strategic partnership to lead the autonomous driving market. The agreement was signed on September 8 at Lenovo's R&D center in Shanghai, with executives from both companies present. The collaboration will proceed in phases: first, joint development of high-performance computing (HPC) solutions for vehicles; second, securing orders; and third, mass production. HL Klemove will lead global business development with OEMs and series production activities, leveraging its established customer network, local market expertise, and global manufacturing capabilities. The company has extensive experience in ADAS series production since 2012, with facilities in South Korea, China, India, and North America, and holds over 2,700 patents. Lenovo aims to expand its AI computing business into the automotive sector, focusing on Level 4 autonomous driving and ADAS systems.

• HL Klemove and Lenovo signed a strategic partnership agreement on September 8, 2026, in Shanghai.
• Partnership focuses on joint development of high-performance computing (HPC) solutions for vehicles.
• Collaboration will proceed in three phases: development, order securing, and mass production.

Lenovo Expands Personal AI with Colorful New IdeaPad Vibe Series and IdeaCentre All-in-One AI PCs

Lenovo announced new AI-powered personal devices including the IdeaPad Vibe Series and IdeaCentre All-in-One AI PCs, alongside broader Hybrid AI advancements across personal and enterprise technology.

Your AI Chatbot Just Made My Cheeseburger Order Worse

This opinion piece critiques AI-powered customer experience (CX) solutions that introduce friction through context switching, illustrated by an anecdote about ordering a cheeseburger via a QR code that required switching WiFi networks, creating an account, and checking multiple options. The author argues that AI should be held to human performance standards and highlights the importance of headless CX, orchestration, service-level objectives, and contextual data. The article cites Lenovo's 50% customer service efficiency improvement, IBM's AI assistant with a 94% customer satisfaction rate, and Capgemini research on journey fragmentation as evidence. It concludes that while AI-to-AI commerce may eventually remove friction, companies must ensure their AI doesn't burden customers more than human alternatives.

• The article criticizes AI CX solutions that require context switching, leading to poor customer experiences.
• Lenovo improved customer service efficiency by 50% with agentic AI solutions.
• IBM reports an AI-powered assistant achieving a 94% customer satisfaction rate.