Apple Inc. has held exploratory discussions about using Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. to produce the main processors for its devices, a move that would offer a secondary option beyond longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The iPhone and iPad maker has had early-stage talks with Intel about enlisting the company’s chipmaking services, according to people familiar with th...
Apple Inc. has held exploratory discussions about using Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. to produce the main processors for its devices, a move that would offer a secondary option beyond longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The iPhone and iPad maker has had early-stage talks with Intel about enlisting the company’s chipmaking services, according to people familiar with the deliberations. Meanwhile, Apple executives have made visits to a Samsung plant under development in Texas that will also make advanced chips. Neither effort has resulted in any orders so far, and the work with both suppliers remains preliminary, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Apple has concerns about using non-TSMC technology and may not ultimately move forward with another partner, the people added. Spokespeople for Apple, Intel, Samsung and TSMC declined to comment. For more than a decade, Apple has designed the main processors, known as systems-on-a-chip, that power its devices and relied on TSMC to build them using the most advanced production processes in Taiwan. The latest iPhones and Macs use what is known as the 3-nanometer fabrication node. But not even Apple, one of the largest purchasers of silicon, is immune to supply-chain disruptions. Recent shortages have been driven by the massive build-out of AI data centers and higher-than-anticipated demand for Macs suitable for running AI models locally. That, in part, highlights the need for Apple to consider additional suppliers. Read More: Nvidia CEO Asks TSMC for More Wafers to Meet Strong AI Demand Apple executives discussed the problem during the company’s quarterly earnings call last week, saying that a lack of chips for the iPhone and Mac was constraining growth. “We have less flexibility in the supply chain than we normally would,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said. But finding backup suppliers is no easy feat. Intel and Samsung can’t reliably offer t...
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. has held exploratory discussions about using Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. to produce the main processors for its devices in the US, a move that would offer a secondary option beyond longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.Most Read from BloombergUS Has Opened a Passage Through Hormuz, Central Command SaysChina’s Unprecedented Defiance of US Sanct...
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. has held exploratory discussions about using Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. to produce the main processors for its devices in the US, a move that would offer a secondary option beyond longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.Most Read from BloombergUS Has Opened a Passage Through Hormuz, Central Command SaysChina’s Unprecedented Defiance of US Sanctions Triggers ShowdownUS and Iran Trade Fire in Gulf, Jolting Four-Week-Old TruceFormer NYC Mayor Gi
Market Snapshot USD/INR ₹95.09 +0.2% Nifty 50 Index 24,119.30 +0.5% India 10-Year Bond Yield 7.02% -0.02 Spot Gold ($/oz) $4,544.84 +0.5% S&P 500 Futures 7,240.25 +0.1% Market data as of 08:14 AM IST, May. 5, 2026, or the previous close for Indian markets. Data is subject to provider delays. Good morning... I’m Ashutosh Joshi in Mumbai with a quick look at the market mood ahead of Tuesday’s open. ...
Market Snapshot USD/INR ₹95.09 +0.2% Nifty 50 Index 24,119.30 +0.5% India 10-Year Bond Yield 7.02% -0.02 Spot Gold ($/oz) $4,544.84 +0.5% S&P 500 Futures 7,240.25 +0.1% Market data as of 08:14 AM IST, May. 5, 2026, or the previous close for Indian markets. Data is subject to provider delays. Good morning... I’m Ashutosh Joshi in Mumbai with a quick look at the market mood ahead of Tuesday’s open. A flareup in violence in the Persian Gulf and a subsequent rise in oil prices may make it hard for Indian equities to build on their recent gains. With markets shut in China, Japan and South Korea, local stocks will likely draw more regional attention today. Hero MotoCorp, Larsen & Toubro and Mahindra & Mahindra are among the big names reporting results. Meanwhile, a decisive outcome for the ruling party in state elections — especially a milestone victory in West Bengal — is likely to give Prime Minister Narendra Modi fresh momentum to push through his political and economic agenda. In today’s newsletter, we write about: The rural sector’s resilience SEBI’s focus on AI risks A new stock trigger in services But first, let’s look at one signal from April’s rally. Markets Buzz: Momentum Builds Last month’s rebound in local equities, driven by robust domestic inflows and stronger-than-expected earnings so far this season, may pick up pace if history holds. The Nifty jumped 7.5% in April, the most in over two years, helped by $4.6 billion of domestic institutional buying. Whenever the gauge has rallied more than 5% in a single month, it has gone on to rise further over the next three months 84% of the time, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That proportion is well above benchmarks in Japan, South Korea and China, suggesting gains could extend if momentum persists and the Middle East ceasefire holds. Three Things to Start Your Day Rural economy set to withstand El Nino impact Rural demand may prove more resilient to an El Nino shock than feared, according to Elara Capital. Data sh...
Earnings Call Insights: Backblaze (BLZE) Q1 2026 Management view “Q1 was a strong quarter. We beat revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance, ending the quarter with $38.7 million in revenue, up 12% year-over-year with B2 growing 24%.” (CEO Gleb Budman) “We more than doubled our average sales deal size and drove 72% year-over-year growth in our $50,000-plus ARR cohort as we continue to move upmarket an...
Earnings Call Insights: Backblaze (BLZE) Q1 2026 Management view “Q1 was a strong quarter. We beat revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance, ending the quarter with $38.7 million in revenue, up 12% year-over-year with B2 growing 24%.” (CEO Gleb Budman) “We more than doubled our average sales deal size and drove 72% year-over-year growth in our $50,000-plus ARR cohort as we continue to move upmarket and are on track for our first full year of free cash flow positivity as a public company.” (CEO Budman) “More than 1/3 of all new bookings” came from AI, and “the number of AI customers using our platform” grew “76% year-over-year,” with management positioning Backblaze as a storage platform for both “neoclouds” and “companies using that infrastructure to bring AI into products and workflows.” (CEO Budman) “We estimate our opportunity to support neocloud at $14 billion by 2030. And with the success we're seeing, we are aligning resources internally behind that opportunity.” (CEO Budman) “To accelerate this next phase, we welcomed Anuj Kumar as our Chief Revenue Officer.” (CEO Budman) “We exceeded the top end of both revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance.” (CFO Marc Suidan) Outlook “For the second quarter, we expect revenue to be in the range of $39.8 million to $40.2 million.” (CFO Suidan) “On our last earnings call, we said B2 growth in the second quarter would be 12%. Based on this new midpoint, the B2 growth in Q2 will be closer to 20%, which is a big improvement.” (CFO Suidan) “Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be in the range of 21% to 23% for Q2.” (CFO Suidan) “We are raising our full year revenue guidance to $161.5 million to $163.5 million.” (CFO Suidan) “We are also raising our full year adjusted EBITDA margin guidance by 400 basis points to a range of 23% to 25%.” (CFO Suidan) Quarter-over-quarter framing in management’s own words centered on prudence and exclusions: “our guidance philosophy excludes individual deals greater than $500,000, high variable usage ab...
Earnings Call Insights: Aviat Networks (AVNW) Q3 fiscal 2026 Management view “Total revenues of $100.0 million, adjusted EBITDA of $4.4 million, non-GAAP EPS of $0.06... maintained a trailing 12-month book-to-bill ratio greater than 1.0.” (President, CEO & Director Peter Smith) “Quarterly results were impacted by the conflict in the Middle East, where we saw certain project pushouts and unfavorabl...
Earnings Call Insights: Aviat Networks (AVNW) Q3 fiscal 2026 Management view “Total revenues of $100.0 million, adjusted EBITDA of $4.4 million, non-GAAP EPS of $0.06... maintained a trailing 12-month book-to-bill ratio greater than 1.0.” (President, CEO & Director Peter Smith) “Quarterly results were impacted by the conflict in the Middle East, where we saw certain project pushouts and unfavorable end-of-quarter demand shifts in several Tier 1 customers totaling approximately $9 million in revenue.” (President, CEO & Director Smith) “We have increased confidence in the level of commitment to this project from our Tier 1 customer, and we believe that we have secured a favored position as the supplier of choice.” (President, CEO & Director Smith) “We expect a larger step-up during fiscal 2027... believe we will have meaningful revenue contribution from this project in fiscal year 2027.” (President, CEO & Director Smith) “Our cash and marketable securities at the end of the third quarter were $78.1 million... outstanding debt was $104.3 million, bringing the net debt position to $26.1 million.” (CFO, SVP & Principal Accounting Officer Andrew Schmidt) “As it relates to the valuation allowance against some of our foreign deferred tax assets, we believe that there is a reasonable possibility that within the next few quarters, we will be able to release a significant portion of the valuation allowance.” (CFO, SVP & Principal Accounting Officer Schmidt) Outlook “We're updating our fiscal 2026 guidance to be full year revenues to be in the range of $428 million to $440 million, full year adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $35 million to $40 million.” (President, CEO & Director Smith) “Our Q3 challenge started at the beginning of March, and the challenge is timing related... we see normalization of demand in Q4.” (President, CEO & Director Smith) “We expect a seasonally strong Q4 revenue, which will drive EBITDA margins back to expected levels.” (CFO, SVP & Principal Acco...
Regis Resources、Vault Minerals两家企业已达成合并协议，将打造澳大利亚第三大上市黄金企业，预估估值达76.7亿美元。 两家总部位于珀斯的矿业企业于周二发布联合声明称，本次交易条款已获得双方董事会全体一致批准，由Regis收购Vault。Vault股东每持有1股Vault股票，可兑换0.6947股Regis股票。 本次合并达成之际，黄金价格走势强劲。受美元走弱与地缘政治紧...
Regis Resources、Vault Minerals两家企业已达成合并协议，将打造澳大利亚第三大上市黄金企业，预估估值达76.7亿美元。 两家总部位于珀斯的矿业企业于周二发布联合声明称，本次交易条款已获得双方董事会全体一致批准，由Regis收购Vault。Vault股东每持有1股Vault股票，可兑换0.6947股Regis股票。 本次合并达成之际，黄金价格走势强劲。受美元走弱与地缘政治紧张局势推动，这款贵金属价格于今年早些时候创下历史新高。 黄金行业并购交易活跃度居高不下，矿业企业一方面希望吸引投资者关注，另一方面补充日渐枯竭的矿产储量。多数矿企也认为，收购现有矿山资产，比新建矿山更简便、成本更低。Vault本身就是由Red 5与Silver Lake Resources在2024年合并成立。 Regis与Vault表示，此次合并将助力双方转型为具备全球行业竞争力的大型黄金生产商。 两家企业称，合并后的主体备考市值约为107亿澳元，折合76.7亿美元，年度黄金产量预计超70万金衡盎司。 矿企方面表示，合并后将在西澳大利亚州拥有五座投产黄金资产，成为澳大利亚证券交易所（ASX）第三大黄金类上市标的。Regis在澳大利亚新南威尔士州持有项目，Vault则在加拿大拥有一处项目资产。 Regis首席执行官Jim Beyer表示：“本次合并将诞生澳洲本土第三大ASX核心黄金上市企业，具备全球市场认可度。” 两家企业预计，合并后的大型黄金资产标的将更受投资者青睐，有望推动市场为其盈利赋予更高估值。 矿企披露，合并主体将拥有稳健的零负债资产负债表，现金流充沛，可支撑新一轮业务扩张，并持续回馈股东。双方同时指出，合并有望实现成本优化、降低资本成本，并收获超5亿澳元的企业税务利好。 Vault首席执行官Luke Tonkin表示：“本次交易为Vault股东带来优质投资机遇，股东可保留可观股权比例与治理话语权，同时接入规模更大、抗风险能力更强的黄金企业，获得更强业务规模、多元化布局与资产负债表实力加持。” 双方表示，合并后 Regis 股东将持有新公司约51%股份，剩余股份由 Vault 股东持有。 管理层任命方面，由 Regis 的Jim Beyer担任合并后公司首席执行官，Vault的Russell Clark出任非执行董事长；董事会成员由Regis与Vault现任董事会...
Dilok Klaisataporn/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Madison Small Cap Fund Q1 2026 Investment Strategy Letter. Portfolio activity remained robust for the first quarter, as it was last quarter. In Q1, we bought four new stocks (ICUI, MTDR, PCOR, and SITE) and sold CHRD and GMED. Buys: ICU Medical ( ICUI ) ICU Medical is a medical device company that specializes i...
Dilok Klaisataporn/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Madison Small Cap Fund Q1 2026 Investment Strategy Letter. Portfolio activity remained robust for the first quarter, as it was last quarter. In Q1, we bought four new stocks (ICUI, MTDR, PCOR, and SITE) and sold CHRD and GMED. Buys: ICU Medical ( ICUI ) ICU Medical is a medical device company that specializes in infusion therapy, vascular access, and vital care applications. The company's main business is intravenous delivery devices, and it provides both systems and consumables associated with these pumps. The business is headquartered in San Clemente, California, and has been around for over 40 years. ICUI's model is a sticky consumables stream that follows its equipment sale and installation. The industry is consolidated among three players, with ICUI being the smallest. ICUI has gained market share in the pumps business due to quality issues at Becton Dickinson ( BDX ) and underinvestment at Baxter ( BAX ) [BAX]. Additionally, the company's new high-volume pump has more connected features, which we believe will drive retention rates and incremental revenue. This is a boring company with a good market position and excellent cash flow that we view as well-positioned in this volatile market. We value this opportunity at 12x earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which blends our intrinsic value estimate to ~$200/share. Matador Resources Company ( MTDR ) Matador Resources Company is a Delaware Basin Exploration and Production (E&P) company founded in 2003. The midstream asset is a joint venture that moves oil, gas, and water in and out of the Permian Basin. Production has grown 28% per annum since its Initial Public Offering (IPO). Matador has an entrepreneurial culture and a high level of employee ownership, with its CEO and founder, Joe Foran, personally owning ~4% of the shares. The company is an innovator in drilling design and has excellent...
Meta Raising $13 Billion SPV For Texas Data Center As Its CDS Hits Record Back in January, just days before the latest private crash swept across markets, we reminded readers that one of the biggest abusers of private credit SPVs was none other than Meta which as of 2025 was "already neck deep in off-balance sheet debt." We then showed a schematic of its $27.3 billion SPV with private credit groun...
Meta Raising $13 Billion SPV For Texas Data Center As Its CDS Hits Record Back in January, just days before the latest private crash swept across markets, we reminded readers that one of the biggest abusers of private credit SPVs was none other than Meta which as of 2025 was "already neck deep in off-balance sheet debt." We then showed a schematic of its $27.3 billion SPV with private credit ground zero - Blue Owl - titled "Project Beignet", which was created for Meta's Hyperion data center, "none of this touches META's balance sheet." We said to expect "hundreds of billions of these in 2026." As a reminder, META is already neck deep in off-balance sheet debt. Here is a schematic of its $27.3 billion SPV with Blue Owl "Project Beignet" for the Hyperion data center. None of this touches META's balance sheet. Expect hundreds of billions of these in 2026 https://t.co/794EgSiiZ9 pic.twitter.com/7hMyVW6Lno — zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 29, 2026 Little did we know that the first big (ab)user of SPVs in 2026 would be none other than Meta again. According to Bloomberg, the company formerly known as Facebook, is working on another financing package wrapped as a special purpose vehicle, this time for a data center in El Paso, that could total over $13 billion - or roughly half of the Beignet - underscoring Big Tech’s growing reliance on debt to bankroll the infrastructure behind the AI boom, which as we noted earlier is now expected to reach $1.1 trillion in 2027 capex spending. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan are leading the process this time, according to Bloomberg sources. And just like Project Beignet, a large majority of the financing is expected to be in the form of debt, with the rest equity. And indeed, Bloomberg confirms that Meta’s effort is similar to an almost $30 billion financing package it completed last year for a data center site in rural Louisiana, and which included $27 billion in debt which Meta raised through a special purpose entity known as Beignet Inves...