Apple Sues OpenAI, Here's What It Means for Oracle and Microsoft Investors
According to S&P Global Ratings' estimate, "OpenAI makes up roughly half of the $638 billion" of Oracle's remaining performance obligations (RPO). Microsoft's exposure to OpenAI is also significant. On an earnings call in January, Microsoft's management disclosed that 45% of its commercial RPO comes from OpenAI.
Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: TSMC Chips In $100B More
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) plans to invest an additional $100B to expand its U.S. chipmaking capacity. This expands the company’s total investment plan to $265B. The additional investment will fund the construction of four new chip fabrication plants to produce logic chips with 2-nanometer process technology. Uber Technologies (UBER) launched a public takeover offer for Germany's Delivery Hero (DLVHF), valuing the food delivery company at about $14.8B in equity value. The acquisition is conditional on securing acceptances representing at least 50% plus one share of Delivery Hero's (DLVHF) outstanding stock. Uber (UBER) currently holds an economic interest of about 37% in Delivery Hero (DLVHF), including equity derivatives, while Prosus, which owns about 17% of the company, has agreed to tender its shares into the offer.
Morgan Stanley Drops a $50 Billion Bombshell — Can Big Tech Still Afford to Build the AI Factories of the Future?
Morgan Stanley raised AI cluster cost estimates, with Nvidia's Vera Rubin systems now priced at $49 billion per gigawatt. That figure is nearly 20% higher than prior forecasts. Only companies generating hundreds of billions in annual cash flow, like Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta, can finance next-generation AI campuses at this scale. Those investments have fueled one of the strongest bull markets in technology history, with companies like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) leading the charge. AI Infrastructure Is Becoming Even More Capital Intensive Morgan Stanley updated its bottom-up estimates for next-generation AI clusters and found costs have risen across the board. According to the investment bank, Nvidia's GB200 systems now cost about $35 billion per gigawatt (GW) of computing capacity, up 16% from prior estimates. GB300 clusters rise to $39 billion per GW, while Vera Rubin-based systems jump nearly 20% to $49 billion per GW. Those estimates closely match Nvidia's own guidance of $50 billion to $60 billion per GW for Rubin-era AI factories. OpenAI's Stargate initiative, backed by SoftBank and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), plans to invest $500 billion through 2029 to build up to 10 GW of AI infrastructure.
ASML stock pops on strong orders for advanced chipmaking equipment
ASML now expects 2026 net sales of about $49.2 billion to $51.5 billion, well above the roughly $45 billion average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg and above the high end of its previous guidance. Orders for the company's EUV lithography machines, which are essential for manufacturing chips used in AI applications and data centers now stretch into 2028. What else you need to know: ASML's results offer another sign that investment in AI infrastructure remains robust, as leading chipmakers continue spending heavily on the advanced lithography equipment needed to manufacture cutting-edge processors and memory chips. Its customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Intel (INTC), SK Hynix (SKHY), and Micron Technology (MU).
Stripe and Advent International make $53 billion offer for PayPal
Stripe and Advent International have made a joint offer to acquire PayPal Holdings for $60.50 per share, valuing the payments company at more than $53 billion, according to Reuters, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The offer — put forward earlier this month — carries approximately $50 billion in committed bank financing and was priced at a 28% premium over PayPal's Tuesday close. In the first quarter, PayPal brought in $8.35 billion in revenue, while total payment volumes reached about $464 billion — up 8% year over year when stripping out currency effects. The potential deal would add to a wave of consolidation in the global payments industry. A notable recent example was Global Payments' 2025 agreement to buy Worldpay from FIS and GTCR in a transaction valued at $24.25 billion.
DTCC, Wall Street’s post-trade powerhouse, tests tokenized markets with industry heavy hitters
The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation on Wednesday will complete a set of financial transactions using digital versions, or "tokenized," of assets held at The Depository Trust Company, the company announced. The DTCC is the central post-trade organization in the U.S. financial system that processes, settles and safeguards most stock and bond transactions. Its subsidiaries processed $4.7 quadrillion worth of securities transactions last year. Shares of Microsoft, Circle Internet Group, Invesco QQQ Trust, State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV), as well as Treasurys of different maturities are expected to be tokenized during the demonstration.
I Keep Backing Up the Truck and Buying Amazon Because Of This Silicon Secret
Jassy confirmed Amazon's custom chip business ranks top-three globally, running at a $20B annual rate equivalent to $50B if sold externally. AMZN charges a 30% premium over NVDA silicon on its own cloud while still buying NVIDIA chips, profiting as both vendor and competitor. Contracted Trainium commitments of $225B back Amazon's aggressive capex spend, with 62 analysts targeting $313 versus a current $247 price and zero sells. AWS already earns a 37.7% operating margin on 28% year over year growth, the fastest pace in 15 quarters.
Alibaba and Baidu shares jump in Hong Kong on Apple AI partnership
Shares of Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Baidu rose Thursday on their partnership with Apple for deploying their AI tools. Hong-Kong listed shares of Alibaba rose 5% after the company confirmed that its Qwen AI model would be integrated into Apple services in China. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba had closed slightly higher overnight after an Alibaba spokesperson told CNBC that "Qwen will be integrated into Apple Intelligence experiences within iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and vision OS for users in China." Baidu's Hong Kong-listed shares gained 4% as the company confirmed that it was working with Apple on Apple Intelligence features for iPhones in China. This comes amid reports in late June that its artificial intelligence chip unit Kunlunxin is targeting an initial public offering in the city, which could value its affiliate at $50 billion.
BlackRock Hits Record $15.3 Trillion as Inflows Beat Estimates
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) rose 4.74% in premarket trading after reporting second-quarter net inflows of $192 billion that lifted assets under management to a record $15.3 trillion, beating Wall Street forecasts. The world's largest asset manager grew revenue 31% from a year earlier to $7.1 billion, with net income up 20% to $1.9 billion and GAAP diluted earnings of $12.19 a share, or $13.91 adjusted. BlackRock's adjusted operating margin reached 45.9%, the highest in nearly five years, and iShares crossed $6 trillion in AUM, roughly doubling in three years. The firm lifted its planned 2026 share repurchases to $2 billion. CEO Laurence Fink framed the result as a structural shift. "Our momentum is accelerating, and I've never been more optimistic about the growth ahead," he said, pointing to 8% organic base fee growth and 15% growth in technology and subscription contract value as clients lean harder on the firm's Aladdin platform.
Fed Rate Hikes Dead? Producer Prices Fall by Largest Amount Since Pandemic
Producer prices dropped 0.4% in June, marking the largest monthly decline since the pandemic and signaling that Fed rate hikes are increasingly unlikely. Year-over-year wholesale inflation slowed to 1.8% from 2.5%, as energy prices plunged 4.1% and food costs fell nearly 1%. BLS reported that the Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures prices businesses receive for their goods and services, fell 0.4% in June from May. Even more encouraging, producer prices were up just 1.8% year over year, slowing from 2.5% in May. The biggest contributor was energy. Final demand energy prices declined 4.1%, led by another sharp drop in gasoline prices. For Federal Reserve officials, softer producer prices complement this week's consumer inflation report and strengthen the case for keeping rates unchanged rather than considering another increase. Since renewed hostilities erupted in Iran after the government collected June inflation data, oil prices have climbed. West Texas Intermediate crude now trades around $80 per barrel, while Brent crude is near $85, raising the possibility that energy could once again become an inflation headwind during the second half of the year. The Federal Reserve will almost certainly want confirmation that June's decline wasn't merely a temporary benefit from cheaper fuel. Lower inflation generally favors sectors that depend on financing, including technology, housing, industrials, and small-cap stocks.
Here’s Why HSBC Doubled The PT on Intel (INTC)
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) ranks among the Best Stocks to Buy Now for High Returns. The stock has gained 5.14% over the past month despite the broader semiconductor sector sell-off. Analysts expect the company to grow its EPS by roughly 45%. Recently, on July 6, HSBC doubled the price target on Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) from $100 to $200, while maintaining a Buy rating on the shares. After the increase, HSBC has the highest price target on the Street for INTC. The firm noted that the upgrade reflects a stronger server CPU outlook and also a valuation that includes the company's foundry business. HSBC sees CPU growth as a key driver for earnings in 2026-27. The firm raised the 2026 shipment growth estimate to 25% from 20% and the 2027 estimate from 20% to 30%. Moreover, the firm's data center and AI revenue forecasts of $24.1 billion for 2026 and $33.0 billion for 2027 sit well above consensus. In terms of foundry, HSBC called Intel's foundry business too good to ignore. The firm believes that it positions the company as a credible TSMC alternative given fabrication and packaging constraints elsewhere. HSBC highlighted that Intel has already signed Terafab and Apple as customers and is in talks with Google and Nvidia. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is a semiconductor company specializing in computing & related end products and services through its CCG, DCAI, and Intel Foundry segments. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of INTC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than INTC and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Good Stocks to Invest in Now and 10 Most Undervalued US Stocks According to Hedge Funds. Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.
Uber Makes $14.8 Billion Bid for Delivery Hero
Uber Technologies (UBER, Financials) has formally offered to buy Germany's Delivery Hero in a deal valued at about $14.8 billion. Before the deal closes, Delivery Hero plans to sell operations in 14 markets to SSW Partners for about 1.4 billion. Those businesses generated roughly $11 billion in gross bookings last year. Uber would take control of the remaining operations across about 50 markets, which produced close to $42 billion in gross bookings. The purchase would give Uber far more scale in global food delivery and reduce its reliance on ride-hailing alone. Management expects the deal to lift adjusted earnings per share immediately and deliver high-single-digit percentage accretion by the third year.