Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Sales for Q3 2025 increased by $890 million year-over-year to $7.7 billion, representing a 13% increase compared to the prior year, or an 11% increase on a constant currency basis [16] - Non-GAAP gross margin for Q3 was 10.8%, down approximately 70 basis points year-over-year, primarily due to regional and customer mix in Global Components and a $21 million charge in ECS [16] - Non-GAAP diluted EPS for Q3 was $2.41, exceeding the guided range, with the charge lowering EPS by $0.31 [16] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Global Components sales increased by $610 million year-over-year to $5.6 billion, up 5% sequentially [20] - Global ECS sales rose by $300 million year-over-year to $2.2 billion, reflecting a 15% increase compared to the prior year [21] - ECS billings were $5.2 billion, up 14% year-over-year, with a healthy backlog growth exceeding 70% year-over-year [21] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Sales in the Americas were flat sequentially at $1.7 billion, driven by strength in industrial and transportation markets [19] - EMEA sales reached $1.4 billion, with resilience in industrial and aerospace markets despite macroeconomic challenges [19] - Asia sales grew sequentially by 12% to $2.4 billion, supported by strength in industrial, compute, and consumer markets [19] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on delivering high-quality, innovative technology solutions and is positioned to emerge with improved momentum as the market gradually recovers [5][6] - The strategy includes a deliberate shift towards higher-margin value-added offerings and expanding the addressable market through strategic outsourcing arrangements [12][13] - The company aims to leverage strong trends in cloud and AI to drive growth in both supply chain services and ECS segments [27] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management believes the current cyclical recovery is gradual, with leading indicators remaining robust across all markets [26] - The company anticipates that the West will catch up to the East in terms of recovery, with mass market customers expected to improve over time [26] - Future guidance for Q4 expects sales between $7.8 billion and $8.4 billion, indicating an 11% year-over-year increase at the midpoint [25] Other Important Information - The company has returned approximately $3.5 billion to shareholders via share repurchase since 2020 [14] - A $21 million charge was taken in Q3 due to lower profit expectations on multi-year contracts, which are part of the strategic outsourcing model [23][35] Q&A Session Summary Question: Clarification on the interim CEO role - The interim CEO confirmed he is not a candidate for the permanent position and a search committee is in place to find a successor [30] Question: Details on the $21 million charge - The charge relates to underperformance in strategic outsourcing contracts, which are expected to be margin-accretive in the long term despite current challenges [31][35] Question: ECS margins and growth expectations - The company expects strong performance in the ECS business for Q4, with margins anticipated to improve despite the recent charge [38] Question: Slower growth in specific verticals - Management indicated that while recovery is underway, some mass market customers are not recovering as quickly as larger OEMs, impacting profit margins [40] Question: Impact of new contracts on working capital - The company noted that while new contracts may require more working capital, they are expected to be margin-accretive, justifying the investment [46]

Demand isn’t speculative anymore; it’s contractual. Microsoft’s commercial remaining performance obligation reached $392 billion, up 51% from a year earlier. And that figure doesn’t include OpenAI’s $250 billion Azure commitment, a multiyear deal that functions like an energy forecast disguised as a tech partnership. Together they represent hundreds of billions in future workloads — booked, not built.The physics are inescapable. Each AI deployment now drags behind it a convoy of equipment, cooling, and grid ...

Core Insights - Microsoft reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings of $4.13 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.15% and reflecting a year-over-year increase of 25.2% [1] - Revenues reached $77.6 billion, an 18.4% year-over-year growth, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.62% [1] - Strong demand for cloud and AI offerings was highlighted, with revenues growing 17% year-over-year at constant currency [1] Financial Performance - Commercial bookings surged by 112%, significantly driven by Azure commitments from OpenAI and growth in high-value contracts for Azure and M365 [2] - Commercial remaining performance obligation rose to $392 billion, a 51% increase year-over-year, nearly doubling over the past two years [3] - Microsoft Cloud revenues were $49.1 billion, growing 26% year-over-year, with a gross margin percentage of 68% [3] Segment Performance - The Productivity & Business Processes segment contributed 42.5% to total revenues, with a 17% year-over-year increase to $33.02 billion [5] - M365 commercial cloud revenues increased by 17%, driven by ARPU and seat growth, with paid M365 commercial seats growing 6% year-over-year [6] - The Intelligent Cloud segment reported revenues of $30.89 billion, growing 28% year-over-year, primarily driven by Azure [11] Capital Expenditure and Guidance - Total capital expenditures for the fiscal first quarter were $34.9 billion, with a focus on short-lived assets like GPUs and CPUs [24] - Microsoft expects total company revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 to be between $79.5 billion and $80.6 billion, representing growth of 14% to 16% [28] - The company anticipates Azure and other cloud services revenue growth of approximately 37% in constant currency for the second quarter [32] Strategic Developments - Microsoft secured exclusive rights for Azure with OpenAI until AGI achievement or through 2030, with an incremental $250 billion in Azure services contracted [27] - The Azure AI Foundry now serves 80,000 customers, including 80% of the Fortune 500, showcasing significant adoption of AI capabilities [19] - Microsoft plans to increase total AI capacity by more than 80% this year and double its data center footprint over the next two years [18]

Core Insights - Coherent Corp. (COHR) is set to release its first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on November 5, after market close, with a strong earnings surprise history, averaging 16.6% over the last four quarters [1]. Financial Expectations - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total revenue is projected at $1.5 billion, reflecting a 14% increase compared to the same quarter last year [2]. - The Networking segment is expected to generate $972.2 million, indicating a growth of 19.2% year-over-year, driven by investments in AI and cloud computing infrastructure, along with increased demand for high-speed products [3]. - The Materials segment's revenue estimate stands at $232.1 million, suggesting a decline of 4.7% from the previous year, while the Lasers segment is estimated at $339 million, indicating a 9.7% year-over-year decrease [4]. - Earnings per share (EPS) is anticipated to be $1.04, representing a significant year-over-year increase of 40.5%, supported by margin expansion from the Networking segment's revenue growth [4]. Earnings Prediction Model - Current analysis indicates that Coherent Corp. does not have a definitive prediction for an earnings beat this quarter, with an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold) [5].

RT Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal)🇮🇱 ISRAEL FORCED GOOGLE AND AMAZON TO USE SECRET CODE TO BYPASS GLOBAL LAWSIsrael made Google and Amazon agree to a "winking mechanism" as part of their $1.2 billion cloud deal in 2021, dubbed "Project Nimbus".Here's how it works: if either company is legally forced to hand over Israeli data to foreign authorities and gagged from saying so, they must send a coded payment to Israel within 24 hours.The payment amount corresponds to the country's dialing code.US request? 1,000 she ...

Core Insights - Flex Ltd. reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 79 cents, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.3% and up from 64 cents in the prior-year quarter [1][9] - Revenues increased 4% year over year to $6.8 billion, beating the consensus mark by 2%, driven by strong data center growth in cloud and power markets [2][9] Financial Performance - Flex's revenue guidance for fiscal 2026 has been revised to $26.7–$27.3 billion, an increase of $500 million from the prior midpoint, with an expected adjusted EPS of $3.09 to $3.17, raising the midpoint by 17 cents per share [3][9] - Non-GAAP gross profit rose to $632 million from $554 million year-over-year, with a non-GAAP gross margin expansion of 80 basis points to 9.3% [10] - Non-GAAP operating income increased to $409 million from $358 million year-over-year, with an operating margin expansion of 55 basis points to 6% [10] Segment Performance - The Flex Reliability Solutions Group saw revenues grow 3% to $3 billion, accounting for 45% of net sales, driven by strong power growth and steady gains in health solutions [7] - The Flex Agility Solutions Group's revenues increased 4% to $3.8 billion, representing 55% of net sales, supported by strong cloud demand [8] Future Guidance - For the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Flex expects revenues between $6.65 billion and $6.95 billion, with adjusted earnings projected at 74-80 cents per share [13] - Reliability Solutions revenue is anticipated to grow mid- to high-single digits, while Agility Solutions revenue is expected to range from slightly down to up low single digits [14] Stock Performance - Following the earnings announcement, Flex's shares rose 2.86%, closing at $66.10, with a year-over-year stock surge of 85.7% compared to the industry growth of 28.8% [5]

Industry Overview - The data-storage sector is experiencing significant growth driven by cloud migration, AI/ML workloads, and edge devices, with a projected CAGR of 17.2%, reaching $774 billion by 2032 from $255.3 billion in 2025 [2][3] - The cloud storage segment is expected to dominate the market due to its scalability and cost-effectiveness, while the healthcare sector is anticipated to have the highest CAGR due to increasing unstructured data [2] Company Analysis: Western Digital Corporation (WDC) - WDC is a key player in the global data infrastructure, focusing on hardware storage solutions like HDDs and SSDs, and is committed to technological improvements to enhance product density, speed, energy efficiency, and cost-effectiveness [4][5] - The company is leveraging AI technology to drive growth, with a new 25,600-square-foot System Integration and Test Lab to accelerate product development and testing [5] - WDC expects non-GAAP revenues of $2.7 billion for the fiscal first quarter, reflecting a 22% year-over-year increase, and anticipates gross margins of 41-42% [6][8] - The company has reduced its debt by $2.6 billion, achieving a net leverage target of 1–1.5x, and is focused on enhancing shareholder value through dividends and buybacks [10][8] Company Analysis: NetApp Inc. (NTAP) - NTAP is positioned to drive growth in data infrastructure, focusing on AI and cloud solutions, with strong demand for its all-flash portfolio and modern data infrastructure [11][16] - The company reported an 80% revenue increase in its Keystone storage-as-a-service, and its Public Cloud segment is benefiting from healthy traction in hyperscaler services [18][19] - NTAP returned $404 million to shareholders in the fiscal first quarter and $1.57 billion for the fiscal year through dividends and share repurchases [19] - Despite challenges from macroeconomic uncertainty and cautious IT spending, NTAP is experiencing strong demand for its AI and data lake solutions [20][12] Performance Comparison - Over the past year, WDC's stock has increased by 116.5%, while NTAP's stock has declined by 1% [23] - In terms of valuation, NTAP trades at a forward price/sales ratio of 3.3, lower than WDC's 4.21 [24] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WDC's earnings for fiscal 2026 has been revised up by 2.6% to $6.67, while NTAP's estimate has increased by 0.26% to $7.77 [27][29] Investment Outlook - Both WDC and NTAP are well-positioned to capitalize on the emerging data storage industry, with WDC currently rated as a Strong Buy and NTAP as a Hold according to Zacks Rank [30]

Big Tech's back on a spending binge — only this time, it's not about COVID-19 pandemic-fueled growth or cloud land grabs. Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet Inc‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google are spending like it's 2021 again, with data centers, GPUs and AI infrastructure replacing metaverse dreams and remote-work hardware as the new capital obsession.Track META stock here.According to JPMorgan's Samik Chatterjee, the trio's combined capex jumped 23% quarter-o ...

Core Insights - ServiceNow, Inc. is a leading player in the cloud computing industry, providing enterprise software solutions for managing digital workflows, competing with major tech companies like Salesforce and Microsoft [1] Financial Performance - Goldman Sachs set a price target of $1,250 for ServiceNow, indicating a potential increase of about 37.11% from the current stock price of $911.70 [2][6] - The recent Q3 2025 earnings call featured key executives and attracted analysts from major financial institutions, reflecting strong interest in the company's performance and strategic direction [3][6] Market Position - ServiceNow's current stock price is $911.70, with a decrease of 2.79% or $26.21, and has fluctuated between $910.10 and $934.54 during the trading day [4] - The company has a market capitalization of approximately $189.2 billion, underscoring its significant presence in the tech industry and potential for future growth [5][6]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Total revenues for Q3 2025 were $595.9 million, representing a growth of 9.7% year-over-year [11] - Subscriptions revenue increased by 15.5%, with SaaS revenues growing 20% to $199.8 million [11] - Transaction revenues grew 11.5% to $201.3 million, driven by higher transaction volumes and increased adoption of new services [11] - Non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 26.6%, up 120 basis points from the previous year [14] - Total annualized recurring revenue was approximately $2 billion, up 10.7% [13] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - SaaS bookings reached a new quarterly high, up 5% sequentially and 5.8% year-over-year [12] - Annualized recurring revenue from new SaaS deals and flips signed this quarter was approximately $30.8 million, up 8.5% sequentially [13] - The company continues to see strong performance in public safety, with significant contracts signed during the quarter [9][17] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The public sector demand remains stable, with no significant impact from recent government initiatives or shutdowns [6] - The company is experiencing a resilient budget environment, with increased allocations towards technology investments [7] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on completing its cloud transition, leveraging its large client base, growing its payments business, and expanding into new markets [7] - AI innovation is a key part of the strategy, enhancing client experiences and creating upsell opportunities [8] - The company aims to lead the public sector's digital transformation through enhanced cloud capabilities and AI modernization [17] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in achieving sustained growth through competitive strengths and strategic initiatives [17] - The company anticipates SaaS revenue growth of approximately 20% for 2026, supported by a robust pipeline and ongoing client demand [15][29] - Management noted that the historical capital allocation priorities remain unchanged, focusing on internal investments, M&A, and share repurchases [18] Other Important Information - The company has closed two acquisitions in 2025 and has an active M&A pipeline [18] - The balance sheet remains healthy, with over $1 billion in cash and short-term investments [17] Q&A Session Summary Question: Can you help us bridge the decline in net new annual SaaS bookings? - Management explained that the decline is due to tough comparisons from the previous year and emphasized confidence in achieving 20% SaaS revenue growth for next year based on various factors including new bookings and renewals [26][29] Question: How will the Texas payments contract wind-down impact transaction revenue? - Management indicated that revenues from Texas are expected to be in the $39 to $40 million range for the year, with some carryover into next year, while the California parks deal is ramping up [41][42] Question: What is the growth opportunity for newer products like emergency response? - Management highlighted significant growth potential in the corrections and public safety sectors, leveraging existing relationships and cross-sell opportunities [75][76] Question: How is the company addressing AI functionality pricing? - Management discussed the importance of demonstrating ROI to clients and indicated that pricing strategies may evolve as AI features are integrated into existing products [53][56] Question: What is the outlook for flips and the SaaS install base? - Management noted that the trajectory for flips is expected to continue upward, with a focus on increasing the average size of flips and enhancing cross-sell opportunities [91][92]