Dilok Klaisataporn/iStock via Getty Images By James Knightley , Chief International Economist, US and Padhraic Garvey, CFA , Regional Head of Research, Americas Fed hawks find their voice The Federal Reserve has left monetary policy unchanged, with officials voting 8-4 in favour of keeping stable rates. Those four are broken down as Stephen Miran again voting for a 25bp rate cut, but with three ot...
Dilok Klaisataporn/iStock via Getty Images By James Knightley , Chief International Economist, US and Padhraic Garvey, CFA , Regional Head of Research, Americas Fed hawks find their voice The Federal Reserve has left monetary policy unchanged, with officials voting 8-4 in favour of keeping stable rates. Those four are broken down as Stephen Miran again voting for a 25bp rate cut, but with three others – Beth Hammock, Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan – while not voting for a rate hike, "did not support inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time". The confusing aspect is there isn't specifically a reference to an easing bias. The statement itself says, "The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate." This is an unusual way of characterising a vote and maybe they wanted it included as a shot across the bow of Kevin Warsh, who will be leading the Fed at the next FOMC meeting. They perhaps want to make it clear that they will not be easily swayed to his way of thinking that rates in time can be lowered. Certainly, the Fed says they will be assessing "a wide range of information, including readings on labour market conditions, inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and financial and international developments". It may be that the minutes will show they wanted to signal an intention to hike rates if inflation expectations started to push meaningfully higher, risking a more prolonged and broader inflation threat. Markets interpreted it as a hawkish shift, with Fed funds futures contracts discounting stable rates through to year-end, having priced 10bp of cuts in 2026 on Friday. More disagreement and more market volatility Today’s Senate Banking Committee 13-11 vote in favour of putting Kevin Warsh’s nomination to a full Senate ballot means it looks like a virtual certainty that he will be signed in as the new chair just ahead of the 15 May expiration of Jerome Powell’s term. The messaging from Warsh is that he seemingly wants...
2017年6月，Google发表了一篇名为《Attention Is All You Need》的论文，论文提出的Transformer架构让人工智能的进程大幅加速，是当代人工智能产业的里程碑。 一个月后，《自然·光子学》封面刊登了一篇名为《Deep Learning with Coherent Nanophotonic Circuits》的博士论文，论文的学术意义远远超过了同期的Transfor...
2017年6月，Google发表了一篇名为《Attention Is All You Need》的论文，论文提出的Transformer架构让人工智能的进程大幅加速，是当代人工智能产业的里程碑。 一个月后，《自然·光子学》封面刊登了一篇名为《Deep Learning with Coherent Nanophotonic Circuits》的博士论文，论文的学术意义远远超过了同期的Transformer，但在工业界并未泛起太多涟漪。 两篇论文打开的两个世界，多年后会以一种意料之外的方式交汇。 2017年，《Deep Learning with Coherent Nanophotonic Circuits》刊发 论文的主要作者是两位MIT在读博士生，一作 沈亦晨 、二作 Nicholas Harris ，初出茅庐，名不见经传，倒是共同导师Marin Soljačić名声在外，因开发磁耦合共振无线充电技术享誉业界，是纳米光子领域的学术扛把子。 沈亦晨和Nicholas Harris提出并验证了一种新的算力架构：利用相干纳米光子电路（光计算芯片）加速深度学习中的核心运算—— 矩阵乘法 ，由此突破传统算力芯片（如GPU）的性能瓶颈。 论文直接打开了光计算产业化的大门，发出后引起学术界轰动。两位作者也没闲着，分别成立了两家光计算公司—— 曦智科技（Lightelligence） 与 Lightmatter ，为光计算的产业化凿开了第一个口子。 从历史的后见之明看，2017年是一个“计算”的大年，OpenAI开始以Transformer为基石训练GPT模型；英伟达9月正式宣布转型为“AI计算公司”，发布了首个专为深度学习设计的Tesla V100架构，向统治算力世界迈出了第一步。 明面上，围绕人工智能的军备竞赛徐徐展开，暗地里，一场与光有关的赛跑开始了。 光的年代 21世纪未必是生物的世纪，但21世纪20年代大概率是光的年代。 从80年代的大型机、到90年代的PC、再到智能手机开辟的移动互联网时代，“计算”这件事的主角都是 电芯片 。英特尔的CPU、英伟达的显卡、高通的手机芯片，都属于电芯片。 光与电都是信息的载体， 集成电路（电芯片） 以电子为载体，通过金属导线传递信息； 集成光路（光芯片） 以光子为载体，通过光波导传递信息。 与电子相比，光子无质量、不带电、彼此不相互作用，...
The iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) provides concentrated exposure to the chip industry, while the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLK) offers a broader, more affordable gateway to the technology sector. Investors seeking technology exposure often choose between broad sector funds and specialized industry vehicles. The iShares fund tracks a concentrated index of chi...
The iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) provides concentrated exposure to the chip industry, while the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLK) offers a broader, more affordable gateway to the technology sector. Investors seeking technology exposure often choose between broad sector funds and specialized industry vehicles. The iShares fund tracks a concentrated index of chipmakers, while the State Street fund captures a wider swath of the technology landscape through the S&P 500. This comparison evaluates which approach better suits a portfolio. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield. Continue reading
Samsung Electronics Co. ’s semiconductor arm beat expectations with a 48-fold jump in profit after AI’s reliance on memory delivered hefty margins. The unit, which competes with SK Hynix Inc. and US-based Micron Technology Inc. , reported an operating income of 53.7 trillion won ($36 billion) in the first quarter. The result compares with the average analyst estimate of 35.3 trillion won. Group-wi...
Samsung Electronics Co. ’s semiconductor arm beat expectations with a 48-fold jump in profit after AI’s reliance on memory delivered hefty margins. The unit, which competes with SK Hynix Inc. and US-based Micron Technology Inc. , reported an operating income of 53.7 trillion won ($36 billion) in the first quarter. The result compares with the average analyst estimate of 35.3 trillion won. Group-wide net income rose to 47.1 trillion won. The results reflect massive spending by hyperscalers including Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The hundreds of billions of dollars pouring into data centers and other hardware are spurring some investors to bet that memory — one of the key bottlenecks to AI’s rise — is no longer beholden to boom-and-bust cycles and can tap sustained growth. Accelerators such as those made by Nvidia Corp. are limited by the speed and capacity of memory to supply data, making DRAM a key factor in determining the quality of AI services. That’s given rise to the theory of a memory supercycle and helped Samsung’s shares climb about 88% this year after more than doubling in 2025. That argument faces persistent concerns about whether the pace of AI spending is sustainable. Meta shares sank overnight on fears that the big sums committed to AI won’t pay off. Earlier this week, stocks linked to OpenAI slumped after it reportedly failed to meet sales and user targets, rekindling doubts AI will deliver sufficient profits anytime soon. Read more: Meta Shares Plunge on Rising Concerns Over AI Spending Spree Still, analysts expect Samsung’s chip division to build on its record-breaking profit over the next several quarters as contract prices continue their steep upward trajectory amid limited supply. They point to a more than 180% rise in Korea’s semiconductor exports during the first 20 days of April as a sign of continued momentum for both Samsung and SK Hynix. Counterpoint Research expects a 60% quarter-on-quart...
Earnings Call Insights: Impinj, Inc. (PI) Q1 2026 Management View "Our first quarter results were solid with revenue and adjusted EBITDA exceeding the top end of our guide range," said (Co-Founder, Vice Chairman & CEO Chris Diorio), adding that "endpoint IC bookings hit an all-time record" and citing drivers including "the custom ASIC ramp at our second large North American supply chain and logist...
Earnings Call Insights: Impinj, Inc. (PI) Q1 2026 Management View "Our first quarter results were solid with revenue and adjusted EBITDA exceeding the top end of our guide range," said (Co-Founder, Vice Chairman & CEO Chris Diorio), adding that "endpoint IC bookings hit an all-time record" and citing drivers including "the custom ASIC ramp at our second large North American supply chain and logistics end user," "retailer rebuys" and "lengthening competitor lead times." (CEO Diorio) highlighted share momentum, saying "the RAIN Alliance has now released the 2025 industry volumes and our market share grew 1,700 basis points over 2024," and framed the second half cautiously: "we're approaching second half 2026 prudently, hedging against multiple possible macro scenarios." (CEO Diorio) described demand and product catalysts across verticals, including supply chain and logistics where Impinj "shipped meaningful volumes of the custom ASIC in the first quarter and expect those volumes to more than double in the second" and the end user is "on track to fully convert to that ASIC before year-end." (Chief Financial Officer Cary Baker) reported Q1 revenue of $74.3 million, with endpoint IC revenue of $63.2 million and systems revenue of $11 million, and said systems "fell short of our expectations due primarily to the timing of Lighthouse enterprise CapEx spend." "In March, we opportunistically repurchased $40.2 million aggregate principal of our 1.125% convertible notes due May 2027 using cash on hand," said (CFO Baker), adding that "this repurchase highlights our commitment to minimize dilution, in this case, by roughly 400,000 shares." Outlook "We expect second quarter revenue between $103 million and $106 million" and "adjusted EBITDA between $27.8 million and $29.3 million," said (CFO Baker). "We expect non-GAAP net income between $24.6 million and $26.1 million, reflecting non-GAAP fully diluted earnings per share between $0.77 and $0.82," said (CFO Baker). (CEO Diorio) r...
Alphabet reported a monster quarter, with revenue more than $2.5 billlion ahead of expectations and earnings nearly doubling the Street estimate. Revenue in the first quarter increased 22% year-over-year to $109.9 billion, well ahead of the $107.2 billion expected, according to LSEG data. Earnings per share surged 82% to $5.11, well ahead of the LSEG-compiled consensus estimate of $2.63. GOOGL YTD...
Alphabet reported a monster quarter, with revenue more than $2.5 billlion ahead of expectations and earnings nearly doubling the Street estimate. Revenue in the first quarter increased 22% year-over-year to $109.9 billion, well ahead of the $107.2 billion expected, according to LSEG data. Earnings per share surged 82% to $5.11, well ahead of the LSEG-compiled consensus estimate of $2.63. GOOGL YTD mountain Alphabet YTD Shares of the Google parent company jumped more than 6.5% on the print in after-hours trading. As of Wednesday's nearly record-high close of around $350, the stock was already up nearly 12% year to date. Club names Meta Platforms , Amazon , and Microsoft also reported earnings after the bell. Bottom line Alphabet posted beats in search, subscriptions, and cloud — its three most consequential segments — that more than offset small misses in YouTube advertising, Networks, and Other Bets. That explains the top-line beat. One notable call out was a 48% increase in cloud revenue, which resulted in an over 200% increase in cloud operating income. As for the phenomenal EPS, the team kept costs under control and realized strong year-over-year margin expansion. The Street was expecting a marginal contraction for the key profit metric. Along with the other clear indicators that artificial intelligence investments are paying off (more on that in a bit), these results are helping investors stomach the massive levels of AI infrastructure spending, even as the team told investors to expect even higher levels in the year ahead. Regarding capital expenditures, Alphabet is now including investments relating to the acquisition of data center and energy infrastructure solutions provider Intersect, which was finalized in March. As a result, Alphabet now sees capex for full-year 2026 between $180 billion and $190 billion, a $5 billion increase at the midpoint, and well above the Street's estimate of just over $175 billion. "We are seeing unprecedented internal and externa...
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday defended massive spending on artificial intelligence that dragged down shares despite strong earnings boosted by the technology."The way to think about the investment is that we're making a bet (on) the individual things that people care about, and that people are going to be more important in the future," Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said during an earnings c...
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday defended massive spending on artificial intelligence that dragged down shares despite strong earnings boosted by the technology."The way to think about the investment is that we're making a bet (on) the individual things that people care about, and that people are going to be more important in the future," Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said during an earnings call, as analysts pressed him about the company's heavy spending on AI. He gave the example of a hot