The one thing
Last night the two biggest AI spenders reported, and the market read them as a funding story. Alphabet grew revenue 25% to $127.6bn and Google Cloud 103% to $30.7bn, but third-quarter capex of $51.4bn left free cash flow at −$9.1bn, after −$5.9bn in the second quarter. The release also shows how the gap was filled: $12.4bn from selling Class A and C shares through an at-the-market programme and $28.7bn of new notes. Alphabet kept its 2026 capex range at $195–205bn and said spending rises significantly in 2027. The stock was $288.36 pre-market at 08:11 ET (−11.24%). Microsoft went the other way: Azure grew 48% and commercial RPO rose 73% to $677bn, but capex came in below forecasts because third-party capacity deliveries slipped. The neoclouds that supply that capacity fell 5–7% pre-market. Software had a bad night too: Fortinet −27.03% and ServiceNow −18.60% pre-market. All of it came hours after the Fed held at 3.75–4.00% with two votes for a hike. Amazon and Intel report tonight. By 14:06 ET the selling had deepened: Alphabet was down 13.15%, on course for its worst day since at least 2006, ServiceNow 26.72% and Fortinet 21.94%.
Wednesday 28 October closes: S&P 500 7,743.98 (+0.28%), Nasdaq Composite 26,549.85 (+0.27%), Dow 52,475.10 (+0.19%), Philadelphia Semiconductor index 11,684.00 (+1.75%), Nasdaq-100 29,813.16 (+0.55%); 10-year Treasury yield 5.05%. Thursday closes in Asia: Kospi 5,937.66 (−1.24%), Taiex 46,368.33 (−1.42%), TSMC NT$2,415 (−0.41%), Nikkei 225 64,659.47 (+1.10%).
Since the morning edition · prices at 14:06–14:08 ET
Intraday at 14:06 ET, against Wednesday’s closes: S&P 500 7,698.01 (−0.59%), Nasdaq-100 29,310.18 (−1.69%), Philadelphia Semiconductor index 11,456.63 (−1.95%). Every price and record below comes from the CoreValue price database; “worst day” compares today’s move so far with every daily close the database holds, which for Alphabet starts in January 2006.
Alphabet is down 13.15%, deeper than before the open and worse than any day in our record
Alphabet traded at $282.16 at 14:06 ET, down 13.15% from Wednesday’s $324.89 close and below the −11.24% it showed pre-market. No day since January 2006, as far back as our database goes, has closed lower: the previous worst was −11.63% on 16 March 2020. Microsoft was $527.34 (−0.69%). The rest of the AI trade followed Alphabet down: Nvidia $212.88 (−1.16%), AMD $564.53 (−2.40%), Nebius $172.25 (−5.53%) and CoreWeave $61.94 (−3.10%) at 14:06–14:07 ET.
The read: The cloud grew 103% and the stock is having a worse day than any in the 2020 crash. That is a verdict on funding, not demand: the release showed a company selling its own shares to pay for capex, with a larger fourth-quarter spend still implied. If it closes near here, one session has repriced what an equity-funded build-out is worth, and the close goes into the Google study update queued this morning.
ServiceNow −26.72%, its worst day since it listed in 2012; Fortinet −21.94%
At 14:07 ET ServiceNow was $110.02 (−26.72%), lower than its −18.60% pre-market, after guiding fourth-quarter cRPO growth down to 18.5%. Its worst close in our database, which starts at its June 2012 listing, had been −17.75% on 23 April 2026. Fortinet was $135.89 (−21.94%), having recovered part of its −27.03% pre-market fall after the services-guide cut; only two days since its 2009 listing have been worse, the latest −22.03% on 7 August 2025.
The read: Two subscription guides trimmed by a point or two, and two of the largest falls in each stock’s history. The market is pricing any slowdown in recurring revenue as the start of AI-driven seat and contract compression, not as one soft quarter, so the next software guides will be read the same way. The morning items’ study updates stand; today’s close goes into both.
Chips: Marvell −12.71%, memory −5%, KLA the one gainer at +5.34%
At 14:07 ET: Marvell $219.66 (−12.71%), with no company announcement found by then; Micron $933.07 (−5.10%) and Sandisk $1,335.11 (−4.96%) ahead of Sandisk’s results tonight; Intel $91.25 (−4.48%) ahead of its own; KLA $167.24 (+5.34%) on its $4.7bn December-quarter guide. Marvell has had 11 worse days since 2006, the latest −16.74% on 5 June 2026.
The read: The toolmaker guiding to a 2027 equipment market above $200bn rises while the chip names that live on hyperscaler budgets fall. The market is separating suppliers of capacity from suppliers to the spenders whose funding it now doubts. Tonight’s Sandisk and Intel prints test that split.
A short seller says Cerebras’s wafers wear out in under 2.5 years; the stock fell 5.66% on Wednesday and is up 2.91% today
Culper Research, which disclosed a short position, published a report on 28 October claiming that Cerebras’s wafer-scale chips last about 1.5 to 2.5 years in the field, against the three to five years suggested in Cerebras’s draft IPO filings, according to Data Center Dynamics. The report alleges that Cerebras keeps wafers running “dummy operations” so they never cool, and disputes the company’s claim to have invented a connector material it says is a 1980s product. Cerebras had not responded publicly in the reports we found. The stock closed at $112.56 on Wednesday (−5.66%), the day after Tuesday’s +10.10% on the Oracle cloud announcement, and was $115.84 at 14:08 ET (+2.91%).
The read: Chip life matters more to Cerebras than to most because it also runs its own inference cloud: a shorter life means faster depreciation and more capex per token served, and it would bear on the 2027 Oracle deployment too. The claims are unverified and unanswered. We update the Cerebras study’s risk section with Culper’s lifespan claim, to be set against the company’s response when it comes.
Sector pulse · names with material news, 28–29 Oct
Semis: Samsung, KLA, Nvidia, SK hynix and Cerebras (afternoon update). Hyperscalers: Alphabet, Microsoft, Oracle and CoreWeave. Power: Equinix. Software: Fortinet and ServiceNow. Consumer: DoorDash. OpenAI appears in the Microsoft and ServiceNow items.
Overnight & last session
Semis & equipment
Samsung: first tech company to earn over 100tn won of operating profit in a quarter, chip profit just short of consensus, returns decision pushed to January
Third-quarter revenue was 195.3tn won, a record and up 14% from the second quarter; operating profit was 107.4tn won, both matching the 8 October preliminary figures. The chip division (DS) earned 106.5tn won on revenue of 147.1tn, against an LSEG consensus of 107.3tn cited by Reuters; memory set records for revenue and profit, and Samsung says it “significantly scaled up” HBM4 sales. Phones and networks lost 0.6tn won and TVs and appliances 0.2tn (0.8tn for the DX division). Capex was 29tn won in the quarter (DS 27.2tn), with about 84.4tn planned for 2026. The company expects AI demand in 2027 to “far exceed” industry supply. The third-quarter dividend is 4,601 won a share (30tn won); of a 90–110tn won return target for 2026, 35tn is done or planned and the remaining 55–75tn, including a “substantial” buyback, will be set at the late-January board meeting. In Seoul the stock closed at 232,000 won (−4.13%), after rising 9.0% on Wednesday on SK hynix’s numbers; SK hynix closed at 1,526,000 won (+2.62%).
The read: The market wanted a number for the returns and got a date. Set beside SK hynix’s 100tn won plan announced yesterday, Samsung’s 55–75tn remainder is a range, not a commitment, and the 84.4tn capex budget now competes with it. The chip division’s 106.5tn on 147.1tn of revenue is a 72% margin, against 80% at SK hynix. We update the Samsung study with the third-quarter print, the 84.4tn won 2026 capex plan and the 55–75tn won of returns still to be set in January.
KLA: revenue $4.14bn, December quarter guided to $4.7bn
Fiscal first-quarter revenue was $4.136bn, against $3.658bn in the June quarter and $3.210bn a year earlier. Non-GAAP EPS was $1.22 and GAAP EPS $1.18, on a post-split basis (10-for-1). Gross margin works out at 62.7% non-GAAP from the release. December-quarter guidance is $4.7bn ± $0.2bn of revenue, non-GAAP EPS of $1.44 ± $0.11 and a 62.5% ± 1 point non-GAAP gross margin. On the call, per call summaries, management put 2026 wafer-fab equipment spending in the mid-$150bn range and 2027 above $200bn, with China falling to the low 20s per cent of KLA’s sales in 2027. The stock closed at $158.77 and was $162.99 pre-market at 08:11 ET (+2.66%).
The read: A guide 14% above the quarter just reported, and a 2027 equipment market above $200bn, say the memory makers’ capex plans are reaching the tool vendors. Process control is the last step to be cut and the first to recover. We update the KLA study with the September-quarter print, the $4.7bn December guide and management’s above-$200bn 2027 equipment outlook.
Justice Department reported to be examining Nvidia’s $12.9bn Hugging Face purchase
Reuters reported, citing two sources, that the US Department of Justice is asking whether the $12.9bn acquisition would give Nvidia control of a key channel for distributing AI models. According to the report, the questions sit inside a broader conduct inquiry covering Nvidia’s acquisitions, investments, sales practices and chip allocations tied to buying its networking and Groq processors. Closing is expected in the first half of 2027. Nvidia and the DoJ declined to comment. The stock closed at $215.38 (−1.17%) and was $214.14 pre-market at 08:11 ET (−0.58%).
The read: The allocation question is the bigger one: if regulators treat tying GPU supply to networking purchases as conduct, it reaches the attach rate behind Nvidia’s networking growth, not only one deal. Nothing is filed and no case is open, so the study waits.
SK hynix confirms Solidigm is studying a US NAND fab, with no decision
Responding to a Maeil Business Newspaper report of a fab of about 60tn won in the US, SK hynix said its US subsidiary Solidigm is “reviewing various measures” but that no matters have been determined. It will disclose more within one month.
The read: A US NAND fab would be the first large memory fab announced since the memory makers started selling capacity years ahead. Until the company gives a figure, it stays a press report.
Memory fell with Samsung pre-market (08:12 ET): Micron $955.50 (−2.82%), Sandisk $1,362.00 (−3.04%), after closing Wednesday at $983.23 (+5.86%) and $1,404.77 (+7.66%). Intel was $92.21 (−3.48%, 08:11 ET) ahead of tonight’s print. MediaTek closed NT$4,045 (−4.49%) in Taipei. A report that TSMC is weighing a 10–20% CoWoS price rise remains unconfirmed by the company.
Hyperscalers & neoclouds
Alphabet: Cloud +103% to $30.7bn, free cash flow −$9.1bn, $12.4bn of shares sold
Third-quarter revenue was $127.577bn, up 25%; against a consensus of $127.22bn (Investing.com). Google Search & other grew 12% to $63.35bn and YouTube ads 9% to $11.21bn. Google Cloud revenue more than doubled to $30.709bn and its operating income rose to $11.121bn (a 36% margin, from $3.594bn a year ago); the release says TPU system sales were “a meaningful contributor”. Operating margin was 31.8%. Net income available to common stockholders fell to $26.17bn and EPS to $2.12 (from $2.87), after an $8.66bn loss on equity securities, which coverage attributes mainly to the fall in SpaceX’s share price. Capex was $51.355bn ($131.95bn year to date); operating cash flow was $42.29bn, leaving free cash flow at −$9.065bn, the second negative quarter in a row. In the quarter Alphabet sold 12m Class A and 24m Class C shares through its at-the-market programme for $12.4bn net, with $27.6bn still available, and issued $28.7bn of senior notes. The 2026 capex range stays at $195–205bn, which implies $63–73bn in the fourth quarter (our arithmetic), and the CFO said capex rises significantly in 2027, with third-party capacity coming online in the fourth quarter weighing on Cloud margins. Pre-market: $288.36 at 08:11 ET (−11.24%), after $292.50 at the end of the after-hours session (−9.97%, 19:59 ET).
The read: The cloud number is excellent, and it is not what moved the stock. A company with a $500bn revenue run rate is now funding its capex partly by selling its own shares: $12.4bn of equity in one quarter, alongside $28.7bn of debt, while ads grew 11%. The fourth-quarter capex implied by the unchanged range is larger than any quarter yet, so free cash flow stays negative unless the range is undershot. We update the Google study with the third-quarter print, the −$9.1bn free cash flow and the $12.4bn of at-the-market share sales next to the $28.7bn of notes.
Microsoft: Azure +48%, RPO $677bn, capex short because third-party capacity slipped; it booked $10.0bn of revenue from OpenAI in the quarter
Fiscal first-quarter revenue was $92.3bn (+19%), operating income $45.9bn (+21%) and GAAP EPS $4.92 ($4.89 excluding OpenAI). Microsoft Cloud revenue was $63.9bn (+30%) and Azure grew 48%. Commercial remaining performance obligation rose 73% to $677bn. Segments are recast this year: Agents and Infra $76.8bn (+25%), Devices and Consumer $15.5bn (−3%). Cash paid for property and equipment was $39.4bn; call coverage (CNBC) puts capex including finance leases at $45.2bn against a StreetAccount estimate of $50.67bn, while the 10-Q shows $5.2bn of finance-lease assets obtained, so the sources do not quite reconcile. The CFO said some third-party capacity deliveries expected in the quarter were delayed, and that capex will exceed $50bn in the second quarter. For the full year coverage reports about $170bn, but outlets disagree on whether that is fiscal 2027 (to June 2027) or a calendar year. Azure is guided to 49–50% constant-currency growth in the December quarter, per two call summaries. The 10-Q discloses, as a related party, $10.0bn of revenue from commercial arrangements with OpenAI in the quarter, including revenue-sharing payments, with $7.2bn receivable at 30 September; Microsoft holds about 24% of OpenAI on an as-converted basis. This morning Microsoft filed a preliminary prospectus for a ten-tranche note offering, unpriced, with proceeds for general purposes including capex. The stock was $537.00 pre-market at 08:10 ET (+1.13%).
The read: Microsoft’s shortfall in capex was a delivery problem, not a decision to spend less, and the delays sit with the neoclouds Microsoft rents from. The OpenAI disclosure is new: $10.0bn in a quarter is about 11% of Microsoft’s revenue from one customer it also part-owns. A first note offering in years says even Microsoft now funds part of the build-out in the bond market. We update the Microsoft study with the quarter, the $677bn commercial RPO, the $10.0bn of OpenAI revenue and the delayed third-party capacity.
Oracle caps new external funding at $20bn and says free cash flow turns positive in the second half of FY28
Oracle kept its fiscal 2030 targets of $225bn or more of revenue, a non-GAAP operating margin above 40% and non-GAAP EPS of $21 or more, unchanged from last year’s investor day, and reaffirmed at least $90bn of revenue and $8.10 of non-GAAP EPS for fiscal 2027. Free cash flow turns positive in the second half of fiscal 2028 and exceeds $30bn in fiscal 2029, from which point growth is self-funded. Capex peaks in fiscal 2027–28 and steps down in 2029; no dollar path was given. New capital-market funding for fiscal 2027–30 is capped at $20bn, $10bn of equity and $10bn of gross debt, excluding refinancing and on top of the $20bn at-the-market sale already completed; vendor financing, customer-supplied hardware and prepayments are meant to cover the rest. Net debt, including vendor financing and leases, is to fall below 3.5 times adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2029. CNBC puts Oracle’s five-year credit-default swap at 277 basis points, from about 320 earlier this month. The stock closed at $144.54 on Wednesday (+10.73%) and was $141.23 pre-market at 08:10 ET (−2.29%).
The read: The targets did not change; the funding plan did. A $20bn cap on new external money means Oracle is moving the financing onto its suppliers and customers, through vendor finance, hardware customers bring themselves and prepayments, which shifts the risk rather than removing it. We update the Oracle study with the free-cash-flow path, the $20bn cap on new external funding and the sub-3.5x leverage target.
Neoclouds fall on Microsoft’s delayed third-party deliveries
Pre-market at 08:11 ET: CoreWeave $59.26 (−7.30%), Nebius $169.09 (−7.27%), IREN $27.25 (−5.52%), after Wednesday closes of +7.32%, +6.96% and +5.10%. Morningstar notes that CoreWeave’s 9.625% 2032 notes yielded above 15% earlier this month and that its five-year CDS is about 1,100 basis points, roughly double June’s level. No new CoreWeave financing was filed.
The read: “Delayed third-party deliveries” is Microsoft’s phrase for capacity the neoclouds owed it this quarter. For a lender, a late delivery means revenue starts later while interest is already running, which is what a 1,100 basis-point CDS is pricing.
Power & data-centre infrastructure
Equinix raises its 2026 guide for a third time on record bookings
Third-quarter revenue was $2.571bn (+11%), adjusted EBITDA $1.321bn (+15%) and AFFO per share $11.64 (+18%). Annualised gross bookings were a record $533m (+35%). The 2026 guide rises to $10.325–10.365bn of revenue (from $10.205–10.285bn) and $43.71–44.11 of AFFO per share (from $42.69–43.29), with total capex of $5–6bn. On the call, management cited new-deal pricing up 12% and an 800 MW pipeline at the atNorth joint venture. The stock was $1,015.35 after hours at 18:12 ET (+0.76%).
The read: Pricing up 12% on new deals is what scarce power does to a landlord with existing capacity. Equinix earns it without carrying a hyperscaler build on its balance sheet. We update the Equinix study with the third-quarter print, the record $533m of bookings and the raised 2026 guide.
Vertiv’s print, covered yesterday, closed +16.48% at $242.94, its third-largest earnings-day move in 13 prints; it was $235.15 pre-market at 07:53 ET (−3.21%).
SaaS & enterprise software
Fortinet beats on billings but cuts its services guide; stock down 27% pre-market
Third-quarter revenue was $2.078bn (+20%), billings $2.336bn (+29%), product revenue $765m (+37%) and service revenue $1.313bn (+12.7%). Non-GAAP operating margin was 38% and non-GAAP EPS $0.91. Full-year revenue guidance rises to $8.125–8.215bn and billings to $9.568–9.718bn, but service revenue is cut to $5.150–5.170bn (from $5.180–5.220bn). Per CTech, revenue, EPS and billings beat consensus while services ($1.33bn expected) missed; product growth slowed from 52% in the second quarter. The stock closed at $174.08 and was $127.02 pre-market at 08:11 ET (−27.03%).
The read: Services are the recurring part of Fortinet; the firewall refresh is the cyclical part. Cutting the services guide while raising billings says the refresh is still running but the annuity behind it is growing more slowly. We update the Fortinet study with the third-quarter print and the lower 2026 service-revenue guide.
ServiceNow guides cRPO growth down to 18.5%; stock down 19% pre-market
Subscription revenue was $3.988bn (+21%), total revenue $4.106bn and current RPO $13.65bn (+20.5%). Non-GAAP operating margin was 32.5% (33.5% a year ago) and non-GAAP EPS $1.00. Fourth-quarter guidance is $4.245–4.255bn of subscription revenue and constant-currency cRPO growth of 18.5%, down from 21% in the third quarter; press reports consensus near 19.8%. The year-end AI ACV target rises to $1.7bn. On the call the CFO said early renewals pulled about half of the third-quarter cRPO beat forward. ServiceNow also expanded its OpenAI partnership, starting with a plug-in for ChatGPT. The stock closed at $150.13 and was $122.20 pre-market at 08:11 ET (−18.60%).
The read: cRPO is the forward indicator for a subscription business, and a guide 2.5 points lower, with half the beat borrowed from next quarter, is what the market sold. A $1.7bn AI ACV is still small next to about $16bn of subscription revenue. We update the ServiceNow study with the third-quarter print, the 18.5% cRPO guide and the $1.7bn AI ACV target.
Consumer platforms & commerce
DoorDash agrees to buy Instacart for about $17bn alongside a 34% revenue quarter
DoorDash will pay $65.00 a share for Maplebear (Instacart), an equity value of about $17bn, in cash, DoorDash stock or a mix, with stock capped at 25% of the total. It targets $500m or more of annual net synergies over several years and expects the first year after closing to be net negative. Third-quarter orders were 993m (+28%), marketplace GOV $33.9bn (+36%, +23% excluding Deliveroo), revenue $4.616bn (+34%) and adjusted EBITDA $1.06bn. The stock was $180.63 pre-market at 08:11 ET (+6.57%).
The read: After Deliveroo, DoorDash is buying the grocery leader rather than competing with it, and paying mostly cash. The 25% stock cap keeps dilution low and puts the cost on the balance sheet.
Quiet this run: Networking & optical; Ads & adtech (Meta filed the final prospectuses for its $37.5bn equity raise, covered on 28 October); Hardware & devices; Space & mobility; Private labs (OpenAI appears in the Microsoft and ServiceNow items). Amazon was $249.41 pre-market at 08:12 ET (−2.04%) ahead of tonight’s print.
Capex guidance · current full year, $bn
Alphabet confirmed and Microsoft updated last night; the rest carried from earlier editions. Bars are scaled to the midpoint of each range.
| Company | Period | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | CY2026, reports tonight | ~220 |
| Alphabet | CY2026, reiterated 28 Oct | 195–205 |
| Microsoft | ~FY to Jun 2027, period disputed | ~170 |
| Meta | CY2026 | 135–145 |
| Oracle | FY to May 2027 | 90–95 |
| Samsung | CY2026, KRW 84.4tn | ~63 |
| TSMC | CY2026 | 60–64 |
| Micron | FY to Aug 2027, implied | >50 |
| CoreWeave | CY2026 | 35–39 |
| Intel | CY2026, gross; reports tonight | >20 |
Do not add them up: periods and definitions differ. Meta includes principal payments on finance leases and Alphabet excludes them. Microsoft’s ~$170bn comes from call coverage that disagrees on the period (fiscal 2027 or a calendar year) and on whether finance leases are included; it replaces the ~$175bn estimate carried in earlier editions. Samsung’s dollar figure converts 84.4tn won at the rate implied by KED Global’s “100tn won (about $75bn)” on 28 October. Amazon’s figure is net of asset-sale proceeds and incentives. Oracle’s is gross, and Oracle says capex peaks in fiscal 2027–28. Micron’s >$50bn is our arithmetic from its first-half guide. CoreWeave’s and Oracle’s exclude third-party-funded sites; Intel’s is gross of partner and government offsets. SK hynix, Nvidia and Broadcom give no comparable figure.
Where each name stands · verified names only
Rows are limited to names with a print verified against a company or filing source in recent editions; other names are left out rather than estimated.
| Name | Last print | Key figures (as reported) |
|---|---|---|
| Semis & equipment | ||
| TSMC (TSM) | Sept sales, 8 Oct | NT$511.86bn, +54.6% y/y |
| Lam Research (LRCX) | 21 Oct | Revenue $8.22bn; EPS $2.20; December-quarter guide about $8.6bn |
| Western Digital (WDC) | 22 Oct | Revenue $4.38bn; non-GAAP EPS $4.64 |
| Cadence (CDNS) | 26 Oct | Revenue $1.633bn (+22%); non-GAAP EPS $2.11; FY26 guide $6.387–6.417bn; backlog $8.2bn |
| NXP (NXPI) | 27 Oct | Revenue $3.786bn (+19%); non-GAAP EPS $4.20; Q4 guide $3.75–3.95bn |
| SK hynix (000660.KS) | 28 Oct | Revenue 104.6tn won (+328%); operating profit 83.3tn (80% margin); 2026 returns ~100tn won |
| KLA (KLAC) | 28 Oct | Revenue $4.136bn; non-GAAP EPS $1.22; Dec-quarter guide $4.7bn ± $0.2bn |
| Samsung (005930.KS) | 29 Oct | Revenue 195.3tn won; operating profit 107.4tn; DS 106.5tn; 2026 capex ~84.4tn won |
| Hyperscalers & neoclouds | ||
| Alphabet (GOOGL) | 28 Oct | Revenue $127.6bn (+25%); Cloud $30.7bn (+103%); capex $51.4bn; FCF −$9.1bn; EPS $2.12 |
| Microsoft (MSFT) | 28 Oct | Revenue $92.3bn (+19%); Azure +48%; commercial RPO $677bn (+73%); EPS $4.92 |
| Power & data-centre infrastructure | ||
| GE Vernova (GEV) | 28 Oct | Orders $29bn (+96% organic); revenue $12.6bn (+27%); backlog $197bn; FY26 FCF $16–17bn |
| Vertiv (VRT) | 28 Oct | Net sales $4.313bn (+61%); organic orders >+100%; FY26 guide $14.45–14.85bn |
| AEP | 28 Oct | Operating EPS $2.23; $100bn 2027–31 capital plan |
| Equinix (EQIX) | 28 Oct | Revenue $2.571bn (+11%); AFFO/share $11.64 (+18%); FY26 guide $10.325–10.365bn |
| Bloom Energy (BE) | 22 Oct | Revenue about $1.24bn, +138% y/y |
| SaaS & enterprise software | ||
| IBM | 21 Oct | Revenue $17.1bn; adj EPS $2.95 (secondary) |
| Fortinet (FTNT) | 28 Oct | Revenue $2.078bn (+20%); billings $2.336bn (+29%); FY26 service guide cut to $5.150–5.170bn |
| ServiceNow (NOW) | 28 Oct | Subscription $3.988bn (+21%); cRPO $13.65bn (+20.5%); Q4 cRPO guide +18.5% cc |
| Ads & adtech | ||
| Meta (META) | 21 Oct | Revenue $64.6bn (+26%); Q3 capex $34.9bn; FCF about −$2.1bn |
| Netflix (NFLX) | 20 Oct | Revenue $12.87bn; EPS $0.87 |
| Consumer platforms & commerce | ||
| DoorDash (DASH) | 29 Oct | Revenue $4.616bn (+34%); GOV $33.9bn (+36%); adj EBITDA $1.06bn; Instacart deal ~$17bn |
| Space & mobility | ||
| SpaceX (SPCX) | 20 Oct | Revenue about $14.6bn, of which AI $7.6bn |
| Tesla (TSLA) | 21 Oct | Revenue $28.05bn; adj EPS $0.48 (secondary) |
| Private labs | ||
| Anthropic | S-1, 26 Oct | H1 2026 revenue $16.3bn; Q2 operating margin 8% |
| OpenAI | MSFT 10-Q, 28 Oct | Microsoft recorded $10.0bn of revenue from OpenAI in the September quarter (Microsoft’s related-party disclosure) |
On the calendar · times in ET
| Date | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 29 Oct, after close | Amazon Q3 (call 17:00 ET / 14:00 PT); Intel; Sandisk; Digital Realty; Monolithic Power; Reddit | Amazon, Intel confirmed earlier; others Nasdaq calendar |
| Fri 30 Oct, before open | Dominion Energy Q3 (call 11:00 ET); nVent Q3 | Nasdaq calendar |
| Mon 2 Nov | Before open: Marriott. After close: Apple FQ4 (call 17:00 ET / 14:00 PT); Palantir; onsemi; Roku | Apple confirmed by company; others Nasdaq calendar |
| Tue 3 Nov | Before open: Eaton; Shopify; DigitalOcean. After close: AMD; Arista; Booking; Astera Labs; Super Micro | Nasdaq calendar |
| Wed 4 Nov | Before open: Uber; Datadog. After close: Arm; Qualcomm; AppLovin; Coherent; HubSpot | Nasdaq calendar |
| Thu 5 Nov, after close | Cloudflare; Airbnb; Lumentum; IonQ; IREN | Nasdaq calendar |
| Fri 6 Nov, before open | Vistra 3Q26; TeraWulf | Nasdaq calendar |
| Week of 9 Nov | Anthropic IPO marketing could begin (Bloomberg) | Reported |
| ~10 Nov, 00:30 ET (13:30 Taipei) | TSMC October monthly revenue | Typical timing |
| By late Nov | SK hynix further disclosure on a Solidigm US fab (within one month of 29 Oct) | Company 6-K |
| Late Nov | Nvidia fiscal Q3 results | Date not confirmed |
| December | Next FOMC decision, after two dissents for a hike on 28 Oct | Date not re-checked today |
| Late Jan 2027 | Samsung board sets the remaining 55–75tn won of 2026 returns | Company |
Story worth owning
The AI spenders have started selling shares. For two years the build-out was funded from cash flow and then from bonds. The filings now show equity. Alphabet sold $12.4bn of Class A and C shares through an at-the-market programme in the third quarter, with $27.6bn still available, while free cash flow was negative. Meta priced $37.5bn of common and mandatory convertible preferred this week, with a $60bn at-the-market programme to follow. Oracle completed a $20bn at-the-market sale and budgets $10bn more of equity to fiscal 2030. Microsoft, the one still funding from cash flow, filed for a ten-tranche bond deal this morning. A register of equity raised by the AI spenders, company by company and quarter by quarter, set against their buybacks and free cash flow, would show the point at which the build-out stopped being self-funded and started diluting shareholders. It ties the Google, Meta, Oracle and Microsoft studies together and follows on from Tuesday’s register of supplier-side support.
Sources
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- Microsoft Corp., “Microsoft Announces First Quarter Results”, 8-K Ex. 99.1, 28 Oct 2026. sec.gov
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- Microsoft Corp., preliminary prospectus supplement (Form 424B2), 29 Oct 2026. sec.gov
- Samsung Electronics, “Samsung Electronics Announces Third Quarter 2026 Results”, 29 Oct 2026. news.samsung.com
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- KLA Corp., fiscal Q1 2027 results, 8-K Ex. 99.1, 28 Oct 2026. sec.gov; call highlights, GuruFocus, 29 Oct 2026. gurufocus.com
- “Exclusive: US DOJ inquiring about Nvidia’s purchase of Hugging Face”, Reuters via Yahoo Finance, 28 Oct 2026. finance.yahoo.com
- SK hynix, Form 6-K (clarification of press report), 29 Oct 2026. sec.gov
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- DoorDash, Q3 2026 results and Instacart agreement, 8-K Ex. 99.1, 29 Oct 2026. sec.gov
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- Prices, index levels and market moves (US closes 28 Oct; Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo closes 29 Oct; after-hours to 19:59 ET; pre-market quotes 07:53–08:12 ET), CoreValue price database (Yahoo Finance bars), pulled 29 Oct 2026 about 08:12 ET.
- Earnings dates, Nasdaq earnings calendar, pulled 28 Oct 2026. nasdaq.com/market-activity/earnings
- Capex guidance other than Alphabet and Microsoft, and “Where each name stands” rows dated before 28 Oct, are carried forward from the 2–28 October editions and their cited filings.
- “Cerebras chips have shorter lifespans than statements suggest, short-seller report claims”, Data Center Dynamics, 28–29 Oct 2026. datacenterdynamics.com; “Cerebras Systems drops 4% following Culper Research short report”, Investing.com, 28 Oct 2026. investing.com
- Afternoon update: intraday prices at 14:06–14:08 ET and the record comparisons (worst daily close since each stock’s first bar in the database: Alphabet from January 2006, ServiceNow from June 2012, Fortinet from November 2009, Marvell from January 2006) are from the CoreValue price database (Yahoo Finance bars).
Figures are as reported by the cited company filings and press sources and have not been independently verified against audited filings beyond the documents linked. Call commentary is taken from call summaries and transcripts where noted. Pre-market and after-hours moves are indicative and time-dependent. Prices and market moves: CoreValue price database (Yahoo Finance bars), as of 08:12 ET. Nothing here is investment advice. Prepared for CoreValue Research internal review before publication, 29 October 2026.
