China Tech – The doldrums pt. III

Rumblings get louder. A rotten set of results from Xiaomi, cutbacks by Oppo, a weak domestic currency and a massive government debt problem are all pointing in a direction that Chinese officialdom would like to distract us from. Xiaomi reported an 18.9% YoY decline in revenues that it put down to “uncertainty in the global economy” but it is clear...

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Nvidia FQ1 24 – A party of picks and shovels

Nvidia is the enabler of the modern-day gold rush. Nvidia reported stellar results as the intensifying mania around generative AI is driving unprecedented demand for its products which has driven both the share price and valuation into the stratosphere. FQ1 24 revenues / Adj-EPS were $7.2bn / $1.09 way ahead of estimates at $6.53bn / $0.92 and the fun did...

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Microsoft – Dependency Build

Microsoft will end up having to acquire OpenAI. Microsoft is putting OpenAI’s technology into almost everything it makes creating single source risk that I think can only be resolved by the acquisition of OpenAI where it already owns 49%. It is Microsoft Build time again and this time it was all about how generative AI, ChatGPT and OpenAI’s technology would...

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Technology Newsround – Zoom, Cars & AR

Zoom – Hybrid work. Zoom reported good results as pandemic customers are sticking with the service which allowed the company to raise its estimates resulting in a valuation that is no longer particularly challenging. Revenues for 2023 will now be $4.47bn – $4.49bn and EPS $4.25 – $4.31 up marginally from its previous forecasts. What is remarkable here is that...

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USA vs. China – The tell

China reveals its hand. China has banned Micron’s products from critical infrastructure in a move that clearly demonstrates just how weak its hand is in semiconductors which remains something it is not going to fix any time soon. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has announced that Micron’s products “posed significant risks to China’s critical information infrastructure” and as such,...

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Alibaba FQ4 23 – Doldrums pt. II

So much to fix. The full spin-out of its cloud business failed to direct investors’ attention away from a very dull set of results which show almost no recovery in the Chinese economy and that management has a lot of things to fix to get Alibaba back on track. FQ4 23 revenues / EPS were RMB208bn (up 2% YoY) /...

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Tencent Q1 2023 & China Tech – Doldrums

Tepid resumption of consumption Tencent reported a return to YoY growth in Q1 in a sign that some consumer activity is coming back in China, but the shares did not budge as investors remain unwilling to invest in China given the less-than-spectacular economy and geopolitical events. Q1 2023 revenues / EPS were RMB150bn (up 11% YoY) / RMB2.63 (up 9%...

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Artificial Intelligence – Regulatory debate

Regulation should target humans not machines. The recent Congressional hearings greatly increase the prospect of some form of regulation of the AI industry, but this will have to be very carefully crafted to ensure that unintended consequences are minimised and that the USA does not hamstring itself in the technological arms race with China. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, NYU Professor...

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Amazon – Alexa me too

Alexa is the obvious place for generative AI at Amazon Amazon is jumping on the generative AI bandwagon with the intention to use it to power searches on its site, but Amazon seems to be ignoring or is ignorant of some of the fundamental issues that will make this very difficult. Amazon is planning to replace the search function for...

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Automotive ecosystems – All in pain.

Cariad – execution or strategy? Cariad has reshuffled its executive team again in an attempt to get its vehicle software program back on track, but the risk remains that the new boss confuses strategy with execution. Cariad is on its second CEO in a year as the company is now 2 years behind on delivering a new software platform to...

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