Only a handful of major companies have yet to report their results for the last quarter, and AI leader Oracle (ORCL) is one of them. The Q3 earnings season has largely brought solid results. As of Dec. 5, 99% of S&P 500 companies have reported, according to FactSet data, and analysts estimate a 13.4% jump in earnings per share during the third quarter. If it holds, that figure would mark the fourth straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth and an acceleration from the 12% earnings growth rate repor ...

Core Insights - Microsoft and Nvidia have partnered with Anthropic, a large language model maker, where Anthropic will purchase $30 billion of compute capacity from Microsoft's Azure and commit to an additional 1 gigawatt of compute capacity, valued at around $50 billion [1] - Microsoft will invest up to $10 billion in Anthropic, which has a current valuation of $350 billion, a significant increase from its previous valuation of $183 billion [2] - Anthropic has existing investments from Amazon and Alphabet, with Amazon providing cloud computing and training support through its $11 billion AI data center [3][4] Microsoft and Nvidia's Investment - Microsoft and Nvidia's investments in Anthropic signify a strategic move to diversify their AI partnerships beyond OpenAI, with Microsoft aiming to enhance its Azure revenue and provide customers with alternative AI models [5][6] - The collaboration with Anthropic allows both Microsoft and Nvidia to strengthen their positions in the AI market, as Anthropic also partners with various chip and cloud computing companies [7]

Core Insights - Microsoft, Nvidia, and Anthropic have formed a strategic alliance to enhance AI capabilities [1] - Anthropic has committed $30 billion to Azure for its Claude AI models, indicating a significant investment in cloud infrastructure [1] Company Summaries - Microsoft is strengthening its position in the AI market through partnerships and substantial investments in cloud services [1] - Nvidia continues to play a crucial role in AI development, collaborating with major companies to advance AI technologies [1] - Anthropic is focusing on developing its Claude AI models, leveraging Azure's capabilities to scale its operations [1]

Core Insights - Anthropic plans to invest $50 billion in building data centers in the US to enhance its artificial intelligence infrastructure [1][5] - The data centers will be established in collaboration with Fluidstack in Texas and New York, with additional sites planned for the future [1][3] - The investment aligns with the Trump administration's AI Action Plan aimed at maintaining US leadership in artificial intelligence [4][5] Company Overview - Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, is backed by major investors including Amazon and Alphabet [5][7] - The company serves over 300,000 enterprise customers and is known for its Claude large language models, which are considered among the most powerful in the market [7] Economic Impact - The data center project is expected to create approximately 800 permanent jobs and 2,400 construction jobs in the US by 2026 [4] - This investment is part of a broader trend where tech companies are significantly increasing their spending to expand their presence in the US [3][4]

(Reuters) -AI startup Anthropic said on Wednesday it would invest $50 billion in building data centers in the U.​S., the latest multi-billion-dollar outlay in the industry ‌as companies race to expand their artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company behind Claude AI models said ‌it would set up the facilities with infrastructure provider Fluidstack in Texas and New York, with more sites coming online in the future. The data centers are custom-built for Anthropic. Tech companies have announced ma ...

Core Insights - Amazon's cloud business, AWS, experienced its fastest revenue growth in nearly three years, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence [6][4] - The company is on track to potentially reach a market capitalization of $3 trillion, given its current momentum and performance [2][16] AWS Performance - AWS generated a record $33 billion in revenue during Q3 2025, marking a 20% year-over-year increase, up from 17% in the previous quarter [6] - The growth in AWS is attributed to the adoption of AI technologies and the use of Amazon's proprietary chips, such as Trainium2, which reduced AI training costs by up to 40% [4][5] Financial Metrics - AWS accounted for 18% of Amazon's total revenue of $180 billion in Q3, but contributed 65% of the company's operating income, highlighting its role as a profitability driver [9] - Amazon's earnings per share reached $1.95 in Q3, a 36% increase from the previous year, surpassing Wall Street's estimate of $1.57 [13] Market Position - Amazon's current market capitalization stands at $2.6 trillion, with a potential path to $3 trillion based on projected earnings growth [2][14] - The stock is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.1, which is comparable to the Nasdaq-100 index's P/E of 34.7, indicating it is fairly valued relative to peers [14] Strategic Initiatives - The company plans to invest $125 billion in AI data center infrastructure by 2025, with a significant order backlog of $200 billion indicating strong demand for AWS services [8] - Efficiency improvements in the e-commerce segment, including the use of over 1 million robots, are aimed at enhancing profit margins [12][10]

Core Insights - Anthropic PBC is negotiating with Google for a deal that could provide the AI company with additional computing power valued in the high tens of billions of dollars [1][2] - The discussions involve Google offering cloud computing services to Anthropic, which has previously received investments and cloud support from Google [2] - Anthropic's Claude AI models are positioned as significant competitors to OpenAI's GPT models, highlighting the competitive landscape in the AI sector [3] Funding and Valuation - Anthropic recently concluded a $13 billion funding round, which nearly tripled its valuation to $183 billion, indicating strong investor interest and financial backing [4] - The funding round was led by Iconiq Capital, with participation from Fidelity Management and Research Co. and Lightspeed Venture Partners [4] - Google has invested approximately $3 billion in Anthropic, with commitments of $2 billion in 2023 and an additional $1 billion early this year, while Amazon has pledged about $8 billion [5] Market Position - Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, is focused on advancing AI technology and competing in a rapidly evolving market [3] - The company is a significant customer of Amazon Web Services and utilizes Amazon's custom AI chips, further solidifying its partnerships with major tech firms [5] - The ongoing discussions with Google and the substantial investments from both Google and Amazon underscore the strategic importance of Anthropic in the AI industry [1][2][5]

Market Reaction to Tariffs - U.S. stocks experienced significant declines following President Trump's announcement of 10% tariffs on all trading partners, leading to corrections and bear markets for major equity indexes, with the Nasdaq entering bear market territory [1] - On April 9, Trump announced a temporary reduction in tariff rates to 10% for 90 days, resulting in a historic surge across U.S. markets [2] Market Performance - The S&P 500 surged over 9%, marking its third-largest single-day gain since World War II, while the Dow posted its strongest percentage gain since March 2020, and the Nasdaq Composite had its best single-day performance since January 2001 [3] - The Nasdaq-100-based ETF, Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ), increased by approximately 12% on April 9 [3] Semiconductor Sector Performance - Semiconductor stocks were particularly notable, with six of the top eight performers in the Nasdaq-100 being semiconductor companies, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) advancing 17.2% on April 9 [4] - Top-performing chip stocks included Microchip Technology Inc (up 27.1%), Arm Holdings PLC (up 24.8%), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (up 23.8%), ON Semiconductor Corp (up 22.7%), Marvell Technology Inc (up 21.9%), and NXP Semiconductors NV (up 21.1%) [5] AI Market Developments - Companies are increasingly showcasing their AI product roadmaps, positively impacting chip stocks, with OpenAI valued at $300 million in a new $40 billion fundraising round led by SoftBank [6] - OpenAI's CEO announced that GPT-5 is set to launch in "a few months," indicating advancements beyond initial expectations [7] - Meta launched the first version of its open-source Llama 4 AI model family, with the most powerful model still under development [8] - Other key players in AI include Google with Gemini 2.5, Anthropic with Claude AI models, Elon Musk's xAI with Grok models, and China's DeepSeek preparing new open-source models [9] Semiconductor Industry Challenges - NVIDIA, a leading semiconductor company, faced a 17% stock drop in 2025, with concerns over margin pressure as it scales production of next-gen Blackwell AI chips [11] - In 2023 and 2024, semiconductor stocks outperformed software companies, but interest in data center infrastructure stocks has cooled in 2025, leading to increased scrutiny of AI stocks [13] - The U.S. is tightening restrictions on semiconductor exports to China, particularly targeting high-performance chips for AI systems and advanced computing [13] Investment Opportunities - Despite challenges, developments in the AI field have kept the semiconductor sector active, with recent valuation corrections seen as beneficial [14] - Investing in semiconductor ETFs such as SMH, iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD), and Invesco Semiconductors ETF (PSI) could be advantageous if market recovery continues [14]

Core Viewpoint - Microsoft faces internal protests regarding its AI products being used by the Israeli military, raising ethical concerns about the company's involvement in military applications and human rights violations [1][2][3][5]. Group 1: Internal Protests - A software engineer, Ibtihal Aboussad, interrupted Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event, accusing the company of enabling genocide through its AI products sold to the Israeli military, claiming that 50,000 people have died as a result [1][2]. - Aboussad expressed her moral obligation to speak out after witnessing the suppression of dissent within the company, stating that employees from the Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim communities have faced intimidation and harassment [5]. - Another engineer, Vaniya Agrawal, also protested during a separate event, declaring her resignation and labeling Microsoft as complicit in the military-industrial complex [9][10]. Group 2: Ethical Concerns and Company Actions - Aboussad highlighted that she was unaware her work would contribute to military applications, emphasizing that she did not intend to violate human rights [8]. - Agrawal described Microsoft as a "digital weapons manufacturer" and called for collective accountability among employees, asserting that all workers contribute to the system, regardless of their direct involvement with AI [11]. - The protests come amid a trend where AI companies are increasingly collaborating with defense contractors and military agencies, raising questions about the ethical implications of such partnerships [6][7].