Amazon Earnings Review: AWS's Blowout Results Perfectly Showcase the Business Value of AI Cloud $Amazon.com(AMZN)$   released its FY26-Q2 (quarter ended June 2026) earnings after market close on July 30, 2026. This quarter saw AWS grow at its fastest pace in five years, significant overall margin expansion, and both EPS and revenue beating expectations — a comprehensive, high-quality earnings blowout. Key metrics are as follows: Core Financial Indicators – Revenue: $200.6B, up +19.6% YoY and +10.5% QoQ, beating the market consensus of $197B. – Net Income: $62.6B, surging +244.9% YoY, with net margin reaching a record high of 31.2%. – EPS: $5.75, up +242.3% YoY The significant increase in net profit was prim

Meta's 9% Slump Brings Windfall for Short Sellers as AI Costs Soar $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$   short sellers are reaping gains as the social media giant's stock tumbled about 9% in early trading Thursday, after spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure buildout crimped profit. Trading in borrowed Meta shares that were sold short almost tripled to 1.26 million shares Wednesday, before the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp reported second quarter adjusted earnings that missed analysts’ estimates by almost 14%. The company also raised the lower end of its capital expenditures guidance, effectively increasing its midpoint to $137.5 billion, above the $135.86 billion that analys

Neocloud, Memory and Optical Stocks Surge: Is the AI Trade Back? U.S. AI infrastructure stocks staged a broad-based rebound on Thursday. After several sessions of heavy selling, capital flowed back into some of the market's hardest-hit AI infrastructure names, including Neocloud, crypto miners, memory, optical networking, and networking chip stocks. Memory stocks led the rally. $Micron Technology(MU)$   surged more than 13% intraday, while $SK hynix(SKHY)$   climbed over 12%. The biggest catalyst came from Samsung Electronics, which reported record earnings and said supply constraints for high-end memory products such as HBM are expected to persist through

The AI CapEx Cuts Never Came. The Spending Is Paying Off Short covering lit the match SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won bought 3,620 $SK hynix(SKHY)$   shares worth approximately KRW4.8 billion, marking his first direct investment in the memory company. Separately, Leopold Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness fund transferred most of its public-equity portfolio to Citadel after heavy losses forced it to unwind. Reuters said it remains unclear whether margin calls were involved. The two developments helped remove selling pressure and encouraged short covering. But they were only the spark. The more important fuel came from hyperscaler earnings. The four hyperscaler scorecards – $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$: CapEx unchanged, new capacity sold immed

Arm Beat Estimates. Why Did Shares Still Sink? $Arm Holdings(ARM)$   , the global semiconductor IP giant, reported FY27Q1 earnings after the bell. Despite recent market enthusiasm around server CPU shortages, a narrative that fueled strong results at $Intel(INTC)$   and $Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$  , Arm failed to deliver the anticipated upward revision to its data center CPU revenue guidance. The numbers were strong – Revenue: $1.29B (+22% YoY), beat consensus of $1.264B; prior guidance: $1.26B. – Non-GAAP Net Income: $480M (+28% YoY), beat conse

SKHY vs. STX: Why Record Earnings Sent One Down and the Other Up SKHY's record quarter was broadly in line with Korea Investment & Securities' latest preview, while STX delivered the cleaner beat-and-raise.  The earnings calls reveal why HDD currently has the better tactical setup: longer demand visibility, lighter capital intensity and lower expectation risk. SKHY: Record Results, but Mostly as Expected SK hynix reported Q2 FY2026 revenue of $54.1 billion and operating profit of $41.3 billion, with operating margin reaching 76.3%. The figures look spectacular year over year, but the quarter itself was not a major positive surprise for investors following the latest Korean sell-side previews. Korea Investment & Securities had forecast revenue of KRW80.906 trillion and operatin

Palantir Earnings Preview: Will This Light-Asset AI Software Giant Win Back Investor Favor Amid Tech Sector Turmoil? $Palantir Technologies Inc.(PLTR)$   is scheduled to release its financial results post-market on August 3rd ET. The stock has retreated 30% year-to-date. Meanwhile, Palantir's TTM P/E ratio has dropped from a peak of over 600x to the current 138.8x, placing it at the 10th percentile over the past three years. For a company whose net profit is still expected to more than double, this at least takes it out of the exceptionally high range. Core Financial Indicators Revenue is projected to grow 80.51% to $1.81B. EPS is expected to surge 148.47% to $0.315. Based on historical actuals, the real EP

Semiconductor Testing: AI's Next Growth Bottleneck Over the past two years, AI hardware investment has focused mainly on GPUs, HBM, and advanced packaging. But as chips become more powerful and structurally complex, another part of the supply chain is becoming increasingly important: semiconductor testing. Nomura believes AI chip upgrades are steadily increasing the value of back-end manufacturing. Longer test times, tighter capacity, outsourced orders, and higher equipment requirements are improving the strategic position of testing suppliers. The core investment logic is simple: even if AI chip shipment growth slows, testing content per chip can continue to rise. Why Testing Matters More in the AI Era AI chips cannot be shipped immediately after production. They must pass wafer probing,

Qualcomm Earnings Preview: Is the Handset Trough Finally Here? Global handset chip giant $Qualcomm(QCOM)$   is set to report its FY26Q3 earnings after the bell on Wednesday, July 29. The market is focused on Qualcomm's progress in its AI data center and core handset businesses, as well as its diversification efforts in Auto, IoT, and PC. Core Financial Indicators – Revenue consensus: $9.62B, -7% YoY (2nd straight quarterly decline) and -9% QoQ; company guidance: $9.2B–$10.0B. – GAAP net income guidance high-end: $1.44B, -46% YoY. Non-GAAP net income consensus: $2.38B, -22% YoY (3rd straight quarterly decline), -22% QoQ; company guidance high-end: $2.33B. Three Things to Watch Is the China inventory correcti

Arm Earnings Preview: Can an AGI CPU Raise Rescue the Stock? $Arm Holdings(ARM)$  , the global leader in semiconductor IP, will report FY27 Q1 earnings after market close on Wednesday, July 29. The market has been trading the server CPU shortage narrative, with both $Intel(INTC)$   and $Advanced Micro Devices(AMD)$   benefiting significantly from the trend. Investors are now focused on whether data center CPU tailwinds can further drive Arm's earnings growth. Core Financial Indicators – Revenue consensus at $1.264B, up 20% YoY; prior guidance of $1.

Thank you @TigerEvents for organising this Spot the Difference activities. A great exercise for training our eyesight. I had found all the required difference. (5, 10 and 20)

Can TSMC's Record June Sales Steady the Chip Selloff? Korea Shakes Chip Sentiment Global technology sentiment weakened after $Samsung Electronics (005930.KR)$ and $SK Hynix (000660.KR)$ sold off sharply in Seoul. $SK hynix(SKHY)$   faced profit taking following its strong Nasdaq debut, while investors also questioned whether HBM4 shipments had increased as quickly as expected during the second quarter. Rising oil prices and geopolitical tensions added to the broader risk reduction. The selloff raised a larger question: has semiconductor sentiment weakened faster than the underlying AI demand? TSMC Delivers a Strong Counter Signal $Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing(TSM)$ 

SK Hynix's Record 15.4% Drop: Is the AI Memory Trade Starting to Crack? $SK hynix(SKHY)$   suffered its worst trading day since its 1996 listing on Monday, plunging 15.4% in its largest one-day decline on record. The broader KOSPI fell 8.95% and triggered a 20-minute trading halt, while Samsung Electronics dropped more than 10%. The scale of the selloff cannot be explained by geopolitics alone. Higher oil prices provided the immediate shock, but the deeper pressure came from profit-taking after SK Hynix's Nasdaq debut, softer earnings upgrades and rising concerns over the sustainability of AI infrastructure financing. Geopolitical Tensions and Oil Shock Renewed US-Iran hostilities pushed Brent crude up more than 4%, reviving concerns ove

AMAT Rose 300%+ to a Record, Then Fell. What Its Chart Says Now It's no secret that semiconductor-related stocks like Applied Materials have had a pretty rough week or so, with AMAT falling more than 20% after hitting an all-time high just on June 30. Let's see what Applied Materials' chart and fundamental analysis say could happen next with the semiconductor-equipment maker's stock. Applied Materials' Fundamental Analysis Semiconductor stocks have mostly been on a tear in 2026, with the $Philadelphia Semiconductor Index(SOX)$   hitting an all-time high on June 22 after rising 106.9% year to date. But the sector pulled back in recent days and weeks, with the SOX giving back some 12% since June 22. The $Dow J

SK Hynix's Nasdaq Debut Sends Options Traders Piling Onto DRAM ETF $SK hynix(SKHY)$  's trading debut on the Nasdaq has bolstered the appeal of $Roundhill Memory ETF(DRAM)$   to retail investors, strengthening the case for using options as insurance to protect their gains from a 121% rally since the ETF started trading three months ago. The American depositary receipts of the South Korean memory maker climbed 12.8% Friday to close at $168.01. A day earlier, DRAM attracted a net inflow of $437.08 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That took the fund's total assets to $24.3 billion, soaring from just $272 million when it first listed on April 2.   Open interest, or th

Meta Shares Jump 6%, Intensifying the Risk of a Short Squeeze $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$   jumped another 6% Friday, compounding the risk of a short squeeze that sent bears retreating a day earlier when the company outlined plans to further monetize its huge spending in artificial intelligence infrastructure.  Trading in borrowed shares that were sold short more than doubled to 2.95 million shares Thursday, when the stock jumped 4.7%. The latest daily short volume accounted for about 11.1% of the total number of shares that changed hands that day, higher than the 8.01% average. A short squeeze happens when traders who bet against a stock are forced to buy it back as the price rises. That buying pushe

Can Anthropic Single-handedly Save the Entire AI Industry Chain? SemiAnalysis recently reported that Anthropic is projected to achieve $1 billion in GAAP EBITDA by the third quarter of 2026, translating to a profit margin of approximately 6%. Meanwhile, its Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) has surged from $9 billion at the end of 2025 to over $60 billion currently. If Anthropic maintains a monthly Net New ARR (NNARR) pace of around $15 billion, its ARR could reach $300 billion by the end of 2027. This would correspond to a $6 trillion enterprise value, making it the most valuable company in the world, according to SemiAnalysis. Anthropic confidentially filed for an IPO on June 1st. Its superior financial metrics and business model suggest it should go public before OpenAI to seize the initia

The Trade After the Trade: When the Hype Fades, Where Does the Money Actually Go? SpaceX made it onto the index. Then it made a different kind of history. The stock's post-inclusion slide has become one of the more talked-about trades of the summer — not because anyone is shocked that a hyped debut pulled back, but because of how fast the crowd moved on.  Meanwhile, the semiconductor names that carried the first half are starting to look tired. Goldman's Tony Pasquariello is flagging sentiment at a 98th-percentile extreme. And Morgan Stanley's Michael Wilson just called semis a silver-like parabolic trade running out of runway.  Neither is calling the AI cycle dead. Both are saying the easy part is over. Falling Like a Rocket...? The excitement around 

Meta Draws Fresh Bullish Options Bets. Is More Upside Ahead? On Tuesday, $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$   once climbed more than 4% at its intraday high, outperforming most mega-cap technology stocks. The company officially launched its AI image generation model, Muse Image, and revealed that it is developing Muse Video, further demonstrating its commitment to expanding its AI product ecosystem and reinforcing investor confidence in its long-term AI strategy. Meanwhile, the options market saw several institutional-sized trades, suggesting that smart money continues to position for Meta's performance over the coming weeks. Institutional Positioning Remains Bullish The most notable trade of the day was an

Will SK hynix ADRs Get a TSMC-Like Premium? $SK hynix(SKHY)$   is expected to start Nasdaq trading on July 10. SK hynix's Nasdaq listing is more than just a new ticker. It could become a real-world test of how U.S. investors value one of the most important companies in the AI memory supply chain. The company is already listed in Korea $SK Hynix (000660.KR)$ , so this is not its first public listing. But ADR trading on Nasdaq under the expected ticker $SK hynix (SKHY.US)$ should make it easier for U.S. investors to buy the stock in dollars, compare it with Micron, and follow the HBM story more directly. The TSMC premium playbook $Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing(TSM)$  </