Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller comments on the state of digital asset during an event at the Global Independence Center. (Source: Bloomberg)
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller comments on the state of digital asset during an event at the Global Independence Center. (Source: Bloomberg)
tumsasedgars/iStock via Getty Images Will the Market Underestimate Hyperscalers’ CAPEX Again in 2026? As all equity indices (such as the DJI , SP500 , NASDAQ , and RTY ) keep creating near highs, I have written a couple of recent articles to caution investors about betting against the SP500. In recent years, many investors have become increasingly concerned about the sustainability of AI CAPEX spe...
tumsasedgars/iStock via Getty Images Will the Market Underestimate Hyperscalers’ CAPEX Again in 2026? As all equity indices (such as the DJI , SP500 , NASDAQ , and RTY ) keep creating near highs, I have written a couple of recent articles to caution investors about betting against the SP500. In recent years, many investors have become increasingly concerned about the sustainability of AI CAPEX spending from hyperscalers. Yet, according to the report and statistics from Goldman Sachs below, the market has drastically underestimated the degree and also the duration of their AI CAPEX in both 2024 and 2025. In 2024 and 2025, the market expects about 19% to 22% of AI CAPEX increase from the top 5 hyperscalers (AMZN, GOOG, META, MSFT, and AVGO), respectively. But their true spendings increased by 54% and 64%, respectively, as seen. Goldman Sachs Report: The size and speed of recent AI investment announcements among hyperscalers have raised questions around the sustainability of AI capex. In our view, we are closer to the early innings of AI capex and expect increased AI competition between hyperscalers and countries to drive spending globally… Beyond the Mag 7, enterprise adoption is broadening, driving efforts to clean, structure, and secure data so it can be used effectively by AI systems. AI applications are expanding fast, especially in areas like automation, customer engagement, and operational intelligence —creating opportunities for platforms that seek to help businesses navigate AI integration. Against this background, the goal of this article is to perform a reality check on the sustainability of AI CAPEX from hyperscalers in 2026. For those who cannot wait for the bottom line, my conclusion is that, again, it's quite optimistic. I see no immediate signs of sustainability issues for their CAPEX budgets for 2026 (or even 2027 at levels similar to 2026) for reasons detailed below. Furthermore, I am optimistic about the returns from these CAPEX investments as consum...
農曆新年｜李家超：跨部門工作組已協調各部門、業界 確保旅客有好體驗 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】內地春節黃金周臨近，行政長官李家超說，由政務司司長領導的節慶安排跨部門工作小組，上星期已經協調各部...
農曆新年｜李家超：跨部門工作組已協調各部門、業界 確保旅客有好體驗 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】內地春節黃金周臨近，行政長官李家超說，由政務司司長領導的節慶安排跨部門工作小組，上星期已經協調各部門與業界合作，確保旅客有好體驗。 李家超：「在口岸服務、公共交通、郊外熱門景點、旅行團及保障旅行安排等方面，全面做好準備及應對工作，為提供更全面的資訊。香港旅遊發展局已經推出一站式新春節慶專頁，保安局亦會通過一站式通關資訊平台『口岸通』為旅客提供更全面資訊，方便更早規劃行程。」
Even this dominant tech titan can't escape the market's latest turmoil. Investors might think that we're in unprecedented times. The world's most valuable cryptocurrency is plunging. A safe haven like gold has been extremely volatile. And software stocks have gotten pummeled. Meta Platforms (META +3.24%) hasn't been immune from this turbulent market environment; the social media stock is 15% off i...
Even this dominant tech titan can't escape the market's latest turmoil. Investors might think that we're in unprecedented times. The world's most valuable cryptocurrency is plunging. A safe haven like gold has been extremely volatile. And software stocks have gotten pummeled. Meta Platforms (META +3.24%) hasn't been immune from this turbulent market environment; the social media stock is 15% off its peak (as of Feb. 5). But are the company's shares going to $1,000? Meta is on a stunning run First, it's important to place a time horizon on the $1,000 price target. This represents a hypothetical 49% gain. That's much higher than the S&P 500 index's long-term 10% annualized average. Will Meta reach this in 2026? It's possible. In the past three years, the stock has climbed at a compound yearly rate of 53%. It's been on an incredible run on its way to a $1.7 trillion market cap. Based on this past performance, it wouldn't be surprising to see the momentum continue. However, investors are better off tempering expectations. I think a more rational perspective is to see the share price rise 49% to $1,000 by the end of 2028. It helps that the current valuation isn't demanding. The stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 22.3. Expand NASDAQ : META Meta Platforms Today's Change ( 3.24 %) $ 21.44 Current Price $ 682.90 Key Data Points Market Cap $1.7T Day's Range $ 658.83 - $ 683.26 52wk Range $ 479.80 - $ 796.25 Volume 1.1M Avg Vol 18M Gross Margin 82.00 % Dividend Yield 0.32 % Don't buy the stock with a short-term outlook It can be easy to get caught up with random price targets. They can drive excitement for investors looking to score quick gains. Avoid fixating on the short term, though. If you're going to buy Meta shares, do it with a five- or 10-year perspective. Adopting this mentality forces investors to think about fundamentals. In this case, they are very strong. Meta's financials are a good place to start. It continues to post rapid growth. The business...
Procter & Gamble is riding this year's surge in the consumer staples sector — and there are reasons to believe the rally is far from over. Shares of Procter & Gamble are up 10% so far this year, a sharp reversal from their 13% decline in 2025, when investors were concerned about soft consumer demand and rising tariffs. The consumer staples sector rose nearly 6% last week and is up more than 12% ye...
Procter & Gamble is riding this year's surge in the consumer staples sector — and there are reasons to believe the rally is far from over. Shares of Procter & Gamble are up 10% so far this year, a sharp reversal from their 13% decline in 2025, when investors were concerned about soft consumer demand and rising tariffs. The consumer staples sector rose nearly 6% last week and is up more than 12% year to date, marking its best start to a year since 1997. Consumer staples stocks are typically viewed as defensive, attracting investor interest during periods of economic or market uncertainty. While part of the sector's recent strength reflects a broader rotation away from tech stocks, Bank of America argues the move is also underpinned by improving fundamentals. This marks a notable shift from recent history. Consumer staples were largely out of favor throughout 2025, lagging the S & P 500 in both stock performance and earnings for the past several years, according to a Feb. 5 Bank of America note. That backdrop has changed meaningfully to start 2026. Investors are bowing out of high-growth technology stocks due to concerns about artificial intelligence's impact on traditional enterprise software and mounting capital expenditures by mega-cap companies to build out their own AI offerings. Over the past couple of weeks, the four largest hyperscalers — Amazon , Microsoft , Meta , and Alphabet — collectively forecast nearly $700 billion in capital spending this year, which will absorb most of their operating cash flow. Investors responded to those jaw-dropping estimates by selling. The four stocks above, plus Oracle and Nvidia, collectively lost more than $1 trillion in market value last week, according to FactSet data. Instead, investors turned to traditional safe-haven names like Procter & Gamble, which has a long track record of adeptly managing its business during market and economic uncertainty. P & G's diversified portfolio of everyday household brands, combined with d...
E-commerce leader Amazon.com (AMZN) saw its stock drop 5.6% intraday on Feb. 6 after reporting its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 5. The reason for this post-earnings dip was due to the company’s increasing CapEx, which is expected to climb to $200 billion in 2026, as Amazon scales its artificial intelligence (AI) aspirations. However, the AI boom is at risk of becoming a bubble, raising concern ...
E-commerce leader Amazon.com (AMZN) saw its stock drop 5.6% intraday on Feb. 6 after reporting its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 5. The reason for this post-earnings dip was due to the company’s increasing CapEx, which is expected to climb to $200 billion in 2026, as Amazon scales its artificial intelligence (AI) aspirations. However, the AI boom is at risk of becoming a bubble, raising concern among investors that it's about to burst. Amazon has already shed about $300 billion in market capitalization as investors have reacted pessimistically to rising AI costs. Analysts at D.A. Davidson downgraded the stock to “Neutral” post the earnings release, citing concerns related to its spending plans and the potential for AI to erode its retail business. Should you consider capitalizing on Amazon’s stock now? About Amazon Stock Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Amazon is a leader in e-commerce and cloud computing through AWS. Its vast operations serve millions globally, dominating online retail. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 trillion. Slow AWS growth fueled concerns that it was missing AI opportunities amid rising competition. E-commerce faced stiff competition from Walmart. The company is also reducing jobs and pushing for organizational changes. As a result, Amazon’s shares have been hit with a bout of volatility. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has declined 8.48%, and it is down 9.14% year-to-date (YTD). The stock reached a 52-week high of $258.60 in November but is down 19% from that level. On a forward-adjusted basis, Amazon’s stock is trading at 27.40x, higher than the industry average of 17.94x. Amazon’s Q4 Earnings Snapshot Despite a sharp post-Q4 stock drop, Amazon’s results showed broad-based growth. The company’s total net sales increased 14% year-over-year (YOY) to $213.39 billion, exceeding the $211.46 billion that Wall Street analysts had expected. This growth was driven by expansion across both product and service sales. Excluding ...
Sundry Photography Cloudflare ( NET ) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Tuesday after market close. Wall Street expects the company to post earnings per share of $0.27, implying a rise of around 42% on revenue of $591.36 million, representing year-over-year growth of about 29%. During the quarter, Cloudflare expanded its strategic focus on developer and artificial intelligence c...
Sundry Photography Cloudflare ( NET ) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Tuesday after market close. Wall Street expects the company to post earnings per share of $0.27, implying a rise of around 42% on revenue of $591.36 million, representing year-over-year growth of about 29%. During the quarter, Cloudflare expanded its strategic focus on developer and artificial intelligence capabilities, including plans to acquire AI platform Replicate, while drawing positive analyst attention such as bullish coverage from Barclays. The company remained in focus among investors for its positioning in cloud infrastructure and internet services. However, the period was also marked by operational disruptions that temporarily affected access to major internet platforms and applications, prompting concerns about potential reputational risk despite service restoration . According to Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating system, NET is rated Hold with an overall score of 2.75 out of 5, reflecting a B+ grade for growth but an F grade for valuation. A Seeking Alpha analyst struck a cautious tone on Cloudflare ahead of its results, citing elevated expectations and valuation concerns while highlighting strategic progress in enterprise adoption and cash flow. The analyst noted that “market expectations heading into this event are a little on the higher side,” adding that the company’s “earnings multiple is 3x more than some of its competitors.” Over the last 2 years, NET has beaten EPS estimates 88% of the time and has beaten revenue estimates 100% of the time. More on Hershey: The Reasons Why The Post-Earnings Jump Is Not Sustainable Türkiye Vakiflar Bankasi Türk Anonim Ortakligi (TKYVY) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript FMI Q4 2025 Shareholder Letter Congress balks at Trump banning large investors from single-family housing - report What's next for Palantir after its blockbuster Q4 earnings?
Igor Barilo/iStock via Getty Images By Zain Vawda The price of gold ( XAUUSD:CUR ) has started the week on the front foot. It settled down after some big price swings at the end of last week, mostly because of renewed haven demand and strong fundamental support. Right now, gold is trading at about $5,070/oz. That is an increase of roughly 1.45% today. At its highest point so far, the price reached...
Igor Barilo/iStock via Getty Images By Zain Vawda The price of gold ( XAUUSD:CUR ) has started the week on the front foot. It settled down after some big price swings at the end of last week, mostly because of renewed haven demand and strong fundamental support. Right now, gold is trading at about $5,070/oz. That is an increase of roughly 1.45% today. At its highest point so far, the price reached nearly $5,080/oz. US Dollar Index (DXY) vs. Gold (XAU/USD) (Source: TradingView) China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China ( PBOC ), continued to grow its gold reserves for the 15th month in a row this January. By the end of the month, the country’s total holdings reached 74.19 million ounces. Because gold prices fluctuated so much recently, the total value of these reserves jumped significantly, rising from about $319 billion to nearly $370 billion in just one month. While gold is typically a "safe" investment during times of trouble, it had a very rocky start to the year. Prices hit a record high of nearly $5,600 per ounce in January due to heavy betting by investors. However, this surge crashed quickly after Kevin Warsh was chosen to lead the US Federal Reserve, among other factors which sent prices tumbling down to around $4,403 by early February. In terms of how people in China are using gold, the trends are mixed. Overall gold use fell for the second year in a row in 2025, dropping about 3.75%. Despite this general decline, people are rushing to buy physical gold bars and coins as a way to protect their wealth. Demand for these items spiked by over 35% last year, and they now make up more than half of all the gold bought in the country. This shows that while the PBOC has gone through phases of pausing and restarting its purchases, the general public remains very interested in gold as a safety net. US dollar faces headwinds at the start of the week The US dollar ( DXY ) has started the week on the back foot due to two main reasons. First, market participants ar...
Alphabet the parent company of Google, is playing with both time and debt this week, with plans to raise US$20 billion amid a challenging week for the bond market as part of its larger effort to invest around US$185 billion this year, with more expected after that, on artificial intelligence technologies. Google’s so-called “century bond” will join a relatively short list of corporate paper sold w...
Alphabet the parent company of Google, is playing with both time and debt this week, with plans to raise US$20 billion amid a challenging week for the bond market as part of its larger effort to invest around US$185 billion this year, with more expected after that, on artificial intelligence technologies. Google’s so-called “century bond” will join a relatively short list of corporate paper sold with a 100-year maturity, including a US$2.5 billion “green bond” offering from Ford Motor Co in 2021. Motorola which split into two companies in 2011, was the last high-grade company to issue a 100-year bond, selling the paper in 1997.
Democrat Lawmakers Seek Pentagon Probe Of SpaceX Over Potential China-Linked Investment Authored by Sean Tsang via The Epoch Times, Two senators are urging the Pentagon to find out whether investors tied to China hold stakes in SpaceX, one of America’s most important defense contractors and a key provider of military launch services. In a Feb. 5 letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Sens. Eliza...
Democrat Lawmakers Seek Pentagon Probe Of SpaceX Over Potential China-Linked Investment Authored by Sean Tsang via The Epoch Times, Two senators are urging the Pentagon to find out whether investors tied to China hold stakes in SpaceX, one of America’s most important defense contractors and a key provider of military launch services. In a Feb. 5 letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said recently unsealed court records and media reports raise concern about whether Chinese money reached SpaceX through intermediaries and offshore entities. “These [alleged] ties could pose a national security threat, potentially jeopardizing key military, intelligence, and civilian infrastructure,” they wrote. The senators argue it could trigger U.S. safeguards meant to keep foreign adversaries from gaining leverage over companies that handle sensitive national security work. Warren and Kim cited media reports describing a market for SpaceX shares that allegedly included Chinese investors, sometimes using middlemen and structures in places such as the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands. A Delaware court last year backed a fund manager’s decision to remove a Chinese investor from a fund set up to buy SpaceX shares, according to court filings. Iqbaljit Kahlon, who managed the fund, had admitted Leo Investments, a publicly traded Chinese company, as a limited partner. SpaceX told Kahlon the fund could not purchase shares if Leo remained involved, prompting him to remove the investor and return its $50 million. The fund was structured as a special-purpose vehicle (SPV), a common way for investors to pool money to buy shares in private companies like SpaceX. SPVs let multiple investors combine capital into a single ownership stake, making it easier to trade smaller slices of stock without the company having to deal with a large number of individual shareholders. In the letter, the senators said that as SpaceX is privately ...
Leaders from Boise State University’s College of Engineering recently traveled to Taiwan as part of a statewide delegation focused on strengthening ties in microelectronics and semiconductor-related fields. The visit, organized by the Idaho Department of Commerce, built on more than four decades of economic and educational ties between Idaho and Taiwan and centered on expanding university-to-unive...
Leaders from Boise State University’s College of Engineering recently traveled to Taiwan as part of a statewide delegation focused on strengthening ties in microelectronics and semiconductor-related fields. The visit, organized by the Idaho Department of Commerce, built on more than four decades of economic and educational ties between Idaho and Taiwan and centered on expanding university-to-university collaboration in two regions deeply connected to the semiconductor industry. Representing Boise State were Dean Amy Fleischer, Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering Director Eric Jankowski, and Professor Lan Li. The delegation included faculty and administrators from the Idaho Department of Commerce, Boise State, and four other Idaho higher education institutions, the Idaho Technology Council, the Idaho Manufacturing Alliance and from Micron Technology, who over five days met with Taiwanese universities, research institutes and government education leaders. Photo courtesy of Dean Amy Fleischer The delegation completed 13 site visits with universities, research institutes, ministries, companies and startup organizations – exploring pathways for collaboration in workforce development, research and academic exchanges. “Our mission to Taiwan was a huge success, thanks to a warm welcome and a true spirit of partnership and collaboration across our state delegation,” Idaho Commerce Business Development Specialist Tracy Day said. “During our visit, we secured new pathways for trade and high-tech workforce development that will support high-paying jobs and economic growth for Idaho. This visit proved that when we work together as a state, the future of Idaho and Taiwan’s partnership is full of potential for shared growth and innovation.” A decades-long partnership Taiwan and Idaho share a long-standing relationship that dates back more than 40 years. As Idaho’s second-largest trading partner behind Canada, the pair established a sister-state relationship in the e...
Getty Images Since making its $10 billion investment in OpenAI ( OPENAI ), Microsoft Corporation's ( MSFT ) stock has mostly gone in one direction, and that's up. However, since peaking in late October, shares have lost about a quarter of their value as the initial hype surrounding its AI investments now turns into headwinds. Indeed, investor focus has shifted from the company's growth potential t...
Getty Images Since making its $10 billion investment in OpenAI ( OPENAI ), Microsoft Corporation's ( MSFT ) stock has mostly gone in one direction, and that's up. However, since peaking in late October, shares have lost about a quarter of their value as the initial hype surrounding its AI investments now turns into headwinds. Indeed, investor focus has shifted from the company's growth potential to its massive capital expenditures. However, I believe that the market's focus on capex has caused it to overreact to the downside. As a result, I see the recent drawdown as a long-term buying opportunity. Azure's Growth Rate Will Likely Reaccelerate One of the most important near-term catalysts for Microsoft is Azure, or more specifically, an increase in its ability to handle AI workloads. In fact, the only thing limiting Azure's growth (which, by the way, came in at 39% year-over-year in Q2) is the fact that it can't supply enough data capacity to meet demand. It's also worth mentioning that Azure's growth saw three consecutive quarters of growth acceleration prior to the most recent earnings report , as demonstrated by the image below. Azure Growth (CNBC) If investors want Microsoft to return to accelerating revenue, then it is forced to increase its capex. There's no way around it. Sure, the figure came in slightly higher than expected, at $37.5 billion versus estimates of $34.3 billion, but what does Wall Street expect when the company is trying to fulfill a $625 billion backlog of contracted revenue? This is an absolutely staggering number, and if AI is supposed to be this next great thing, then the demand is only going to continue to grow. I would go as far as to say that Wall Street's fears over too much AI spending are logically inconsistent with the recent "SaaSpocalypse" fears. This is because hedge funds are worried that AI will replace or seriously impact software companies, yet they think an infrastructure company that literally makes AI possible won't see a g...
Discord is facing backlash after announcing that all users will soon be required to verify ages to access adult content by sharing video selfies or uploading government IDs. According to Discord, it's relying on AI technology that verifies age on the user's device, either by evaluating a user's facial structure or by comparing a selfie to a government ID. Although government IDs will be checked of...
Discord is facing backlash after announcing that all users will soon be required to verify ages to access adult content by sharing video selfies or uploading government IDs. According to Discord, it's relying on AI technology that verifies age on the user's device, either by evaluating a user's facial structure or by comparing a selfie to a government ID. Although government IDs will be checked off-device, the selfie data will never leave the user's device, Discord emphasized. Both forms of data will be promptly deleted after the user's age is estimated. In a blog, Discord confirmed that "a phased global rollout" would begin in "early March," at which point all users globally would be defaulted to "teen-appropriate" experiences. Read full article Comments