It's more about what it has in its portfolio than its inherent business potential. Although stocks of companies linked to artificial intelligence (AI) have been something of a see-saw these past few months, investors are still clearly excited about the technology. On Monday, an analyst noted that Zoom Video Communications (ZM +11.23%) could benefit materially from a recent AI investment. That was ...
It's more about what it has in its portfolio than its inherent business potential. Although stocks of companies linked to artificial intelligence (AI) have been something of a see-saw these past few months, investors are still clearly excited about the technology. On Monday, an analyst noted that Zoom Video Communications (ZM +11.23%) could benefit materially from a recent AI investment. That was enough to ignite a rally in the teleconferencing company's stock, and it closed the day more than 11% higher. A prescient investment In May 2023, Zoom disclosed that it had invested in and launched a strategic partnership with Anthropic, the privately held company best known for its Claude AI platform. At the time, Zoom did not provide any financial details of the arrangement. On Monday, Baird analyst William Power wrote a new research note on Zoom. According to reports, he wrote that by his estimation, the company invested $51 million in Anthropic in the deal. Placing that within the $350 billion valuation rumored for Anthropic, Zoom's stake could be worth $2 billion to $4 billion. Although Anthropic management has not yet announced concrete plans for an initial public offering (IPO), it has made certain moves -- such as apparently hiring a law firm well known for advising companies through the IPO process -- that strongly indicate it will do so. Expand NASDAQ : ZM Zoom Communications Today's Change ( 11.23 %) $ 9.63 Current Price $ 95.42 Key Data Points Market Cap $25B Day's Range $ 86.75 - $ 95.79 52wk Range $ 64.41 - $ 95.79 Volume 479K Avg Vol 2.8M Gross Margin 76.89 % A monster return on investment While it's wisest to invest in a stock primarily based on its potential for organic growth, Zoom's investment in Anthropic could indeed be compelling. An Anthropic IPO is increasingly likely, and if it happens, it'll surely be a monster issue given Claude's prominence and the fact that its developer is a pure-play AI company. I think Power's new take is a smart way to look ...
If you are wondering whether Microsoft is still fairly priced after its long run, or if there is value left on the table, it helps to start by looking at what recent returns and current valuation are actually telling you. The stock last closed at US$470.28, with returns of 2.3% over 7 days, a 3.6% decline over 30 days, a 0.6% decline year to date, 9.0% over 1 year, 98.4% over 3 years, and 104.5% o...
If you are wondering whether Microsoft is still fairly priced after its long run, or if there is value left on the table, it helps to start by looking at what recent returns and current valuation are actually telling you. The stock last closed at US$470.28, with returns of 2.3% over 7 days, a 3.6% decline over 30 days, a 0.6% decline year to date, 9.0% over 1 year, 98.4% over 3 years, and 104.5% over 5 years. Taken together, these figures set the backdrop for any discussion about upside or risk. Recent news coverage around Microsoft has largely centered on its role as a core large cap software name and its position in major technology themes. This keeps attention on how the stock is priced relative to expectations built into those stories. That context matters because shifting sentiment around those themes can quickly influence how investors think about paying up for quality, stability, or growth potential in the share price. On our checks, Microsoft currently has a valuation score of , which means it screens as undervalued on four of six measures. Below, we break down how different valuation approaches arrive at that view and then outline a framework that can help you read these signals more effectively. Advertisement Approach 1: Microsoft Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis A Discounted Cash Flow model takes estimates of a company’s future cash flows, then discounts them back to today’s dollars to arrive at an estimate of what the business might be worth right now. For Microsoft, the model used here is a 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity approach based on cash flow projections. The latest twelve month free cash flow is about $89.4b. Analysts provide explicit forecasts for the next few years, and Simply Wall St then extrapolates those out further, with projected free cash flow reaching roughly $207.3b in 2030. When all those future cash flows are discounted back and added up, the model arrives at an estimated intrinsic value of about $607.31 per share. Compared with...
Broadcom, ticker NasdaqGS:AVGO, has secured a record AI focused order backlog for custom accelerator chips from major hyperscalers. The company is supplying tailored AI semiconductors to large customers including Google, Meta, and OpenAI. Broadcom has also reached a settlement with Fidelity Investments that keeps Fidelity as a significant software customer after the VMware acquisition. Broadcom sh...
Broadcom, ticker NasdaqGS:AVGO, has secured a record AI focused order backlog for custom accelerator chips from major hyperscalers. The company is supplying tailored AI semiconductors to large customers including Google, Meta, and OpenAI. Broadcom has also reached a settlement with Fidelity Investments that keeps Fidelity as a significant software customer after the VMware acquisition. Broadcom shares recently closed at $324.85, with the stock up 62.2% over the past year and more than 6x over five years. That kind of long term return profile has put NasdaqGS:AVGO firmly on the radar of many investors looking at AI infrastructure and large cap semiconductor exposure. The growing AI order backlog and continuity with a major enterprise client like Fidelity could be important for how you think about the mix of Broadcom’s chip and software businesses. Investors following NasdaqGS:AVGO may want to watch how these custom AI chip contracts and post VMware customer relationships evolve and how they shape the company’s revenue mix over time. Stay updated on the most important news stories for by adding it to your or . Alternatively, explore our to discover new perspectives on Broadcom. NasdaqGS:AVGO 1-Year Stock Price Chart For investors, the standout point is that Broadcom now has an AI specific backlog of about $73b, within a total backlog of $162b that is larger than its entire fiscal 2025 revenue. That level of committed demand from hyperscalers like Google, Meta and OpenAI, together with the expectation that AI semiconductor revenue will double year over year in the current quarter, suggests AI ASICs are becoming a central driver of Broadcom’s chip business rather than a side bet. Advertisement How This Fits Into The Broadcom Narrative The AI backlog, plus continuity with a large software client such as Fidelity after the VMware acquisition, feeds into a narrative of Broadcom as an AI infrastructure and enterprise software platform rather than a pure chip supplier. Recen...
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Chinese AI and tech firms continue to impress with their development of cutting-edge, state-of-the-art AI language models. Today, the one drawing eyeballs is Alibaba Cloud's Qwen Team of AI researchers and its unveiling of a new proprietary language reasoning model, Qwen3-Max-Thinking. You may recall, as VentureBeat covered last year, that Qwen has made a name for itself in the fast-moving global ...
Chinese AI and tech firms continue to impress with their development of cutting-edge, state-of-the-art AI language models. Today, the one drawing eyeballs is Alibaba Cloud's Qwen Team of AI researchers and its unveiling of a new proprietary language reasoning model, Qwen3-Max-Thinking. You may recall, as VentureBeat covered last year, that Qwen has made a name for itself in the fast-moving global AI marketplace by shipping a variety of powerful, open source models in various modalities, from text to image to spoken audio. The company even earned an endorsement from U.S. tech lodgings giant Airbnb, whose CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky said the company was relying on Qwen's free, open source models as a more affordable alternative to U.S. offerings like those of OpenAI. Now, with the proprietary Qwen3-Max-Thinking, the Qwen Team is aiming to match and, in some cases, outpace the reasoning capabilities of GPT-5.2 and Gemini 3 Pro through architectural efficiency and agentic autonomy. The release comes at a critical juncture. Western labs have largely defined the "reasoning" category (often dubbed "System 2" logic), but Qwen’s latest benchmarks suggest the gap has closed. In addition, the company's relatively affordable API pricing strategy aggressively targets enterprise adoption. However, as it is a Chinese model, some U.S. firms with strict national security requirements and considerations may be wary of adopting it. The Architecture: "Test-Time Scaling" Redefined The core innovation driving Qwen3-Max-Thinking is a departure from standard inference methods. While most models generate tokens linearly, Qwen3 utilizes a "heavy mode" driven by a technique known as "Test-time scaling." In simple terms, this technique allows the model to trade compute for intelligence. But unlike naive "best-of-N" sampling—where a model might generate 100 answers and pick the best one — Qwen3-Max-Thinking employs an experience-cumulative, multi-round strategy. This approach mimics human p...
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would raise tariffs on imports from South Korea, accusing the country of “not living up to its deal” with the US. Tariffs had declined to 15 per cent but, assuming his threat is carried out, will jump back to 25 per cent. “Because the Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative, I am hereby increasing S...
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would raise tariffs on imports from South Korea, accusing the country of “not living up to its deal” with the US. Tariffs had declined to 15 per cent but, assuming his threat is carried out, will jump back to 25 per cent. “Because the Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative, I am hereby increasing South Korean TARIFFS on Autos, Lumber, Pharma, and all other Reciprocal TARIFFS,” he wrote on social media. The 79-year-old president previously imposed 10 per cent tariffs on South Korea after declaring an economic emergency and bypassing US Congressional approval. Advertisement Seoul, however, needed legislative approval for the framework deal announced in July, which was subsequently affirmed during Trump’s October visit to the country when he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping “Our Trade Deals are very important to America. In each of these Deals, we have acted swiftly to reduce our TARIFFS in line with the Transaction agreed to,” Trump said. “We, of course, expect our Trading Partners to do the same.” Trump says China and other countries trading with Iran to face additional 25% tariffs Trump says China and other countries trading with Iran to face additional 25% tariffs The agreement was finalised after Trump met his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung , last autumn, and included investment commitments from South Korea alongside tariff cuts by the United States.
msft MSFT Stock Rallies Into Earnings as Microsoft Maia 200 Chip Reframes the Debate Microsoft shares have rebounded into earnings as the company unveiled its Maia 200 AI chip, easing reliance on external suppliers even as... Written by: Skerdian Meta • • 5 min read • Quick overview Microsoft's shares have rebounded as the company introduced its Maia 200 AI chip, signaling a strategic shift to red...
msft MSFT Stock Rallies Into Earnings as Microsoft Maia 200 Chip Reframes the Debate Microsoft shares have rebounded into earnings as the company unveiled its Maia 200 AI chip, easing reliance on external suppliers even as... Written by: Skerdian Meta • • 5 min read • Quick overview Microsoft's shares have rebounded as the company introduced its Maia 200 AI chip, signaling a strategic shift to reduce reliance on external suppliers. Despite the positive momentum, investors remain cautious about costs and the pace at which AI investments will yield profits. Analysts have adjusted price targets for Microsoft, reflecting broader pressures in the software sector rather than concerns over weak earnings. The company's ambitious global expansion plans come with heightened scrutiny regarding the financial implications of its AI infrastructure investments. Live MSFT Chart 0.0000 MARKETS TREND [[MSFT-graph]] Microsoft shares have rebounded into earnings as the company unveiled its Maia 200 AI chip, easing reliance on external suppliers even as investors remain focused on costs, margins, and execution. A Rebound That Reflects Relief More Than Conviction Microsoft enters the heart of earnings season with momentum returning to its share price—but the rally carries a different tone than in prior quarters. After peaking above $555 in October, the stock endured a sharp reset, shedding more than $100 at its lows and briefly dipping below $440 last week. That pullback reflected growing unease around costs, valuation, and the pace at which AI investments would translate into profit. Over the past week, however, sentiment has improved meaningfully. Shares rebounded strongly on expectations of a solid fiscal second-quarter report, and upside extended further after Microsoft unveiled its latest in-house AI chip. The move has given investors a reason to re-engage—but not necessarily to suspend skepticism. Maia 200 Signals a Strategic Shift Microsoft’s announcement of the Maia 200 AI accele...
From Opex Discipline to CapEx Aggression The "Year of Efficiency" in 2023/2024 was characterized by headcount reductions and the flattening of organizational structures. This phase successfully restored investor confidence and drove the stock price recovery. However, 2025 marked the beginning of a new phase: the "AI Arms Race." Unlike the Metaverse pivot of 2021, which was viewed skeptically as a ...
From Opex Discipline to CapEx Aggression The "Year of Efficiency" in 2023/2024 was characterized by headcount reductions and the flattening of organizational structures. This phase successfully restored investor confidence and drove the stock price recovery. However, 2025 marked the beginning of a new phase: the "AI Arms Race." Unlike the Metaverse pivot of 2021, which was viewed skeptically as a drift away from core competencies, the current pivot to AI is directly synergistic with Meta’s core business. The "Meta Superintelligence Labs" are not just building abstract AGI; they are powering the recommendation algorithms that keep users glued to Instagram and the ad-ranking engines that maximize ROI for advertisers. Nevertheless, the costs are staggering. The firm raised its full-year 2025 CapEx guidance multiple times, landing at $70–$72 billion, a 70% jump from the previous year. The "Founder Mode" Paradigm A critical qualitative factor influencing institutional sentiment is the governance structure of Meta. Analysts at Rothschild Redburn have upgraded the stock to "Buy" with a $900 price target, explicitly citing CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s "founder mode" as a long-term positive. This term describes a leadership style where the founder, insulated by dual-class share structures, ignores short-term Wall Street pressure to pursue generation-defining technological shifts. While "founder mode" allows for bold bets, it also introduces principal-agent risk. Investors are effectively passengers on Zuckerberg’s vessel. With reports that he is pursuing AI investments "regardless of financial cost," the Q4 earnings call will be scrutinized for any signs of fiscal guardrails. The concern is that without external checks, the pursuit of Llama 4 and beyond could lead to a period of "profitless prosperity," where revenue grows but free cash flow evaporates into GPU clusters. The Valuation Disconnect Despite the stock’s 12.74% rise in 2025, Meta underperformed the Nasdaq 100 (which gain...
Oil steadied as traders weighed the impact on demand from a sweeping US winter storm, which has led to disruptions at major refiners such as Exxon Mobil Corp. across the Texas coast. West Texas Intermediate traded near $61 a barrel after closing 0.7% lower on Monday. Brent settled below $66. The freezing conditions affected a number of refineries on the US Gulf Coast, and curtailed some oil produc...
Oil steadied as traders weighed the impact on demand from a sweeping US winter storm, which has led to disruptions at major refiners such as Exxon Mobil Corp. across the Texas coast. West Texas Intermediate traded near $61 a barrel after closing 0.7% lower on Monday. Brent settled below $66. The freezing conditions affected a number of refineries on the US Gulf Coast, and curtailed some oil production. While the massive storm has passed, there are concerns that the deep snow and ice unleashed by the sweeping system could prolong its impact . Oil futures have rallied at the start of the year, despite expectations supply will outpace demand as OPEC+ and other producers pump more. US President Donald Trump has injected some risk premium into prices following his renewed threats against Iran, dispatching naval assets to the Middle East. To get Bloomberg’s Energy Daily newsletter in your inbox, click here . WTI for March delivery was 0.4% higher at $ 60.85 a barrel at 7:34 a.m. in Singapore. Brent for March settlement closed 0.4% lower at $ 65.59 a barrel on Monday.