Can the NAND boom keep delivering?

Can the NAND boom keep delivering?

Reporting Q2 this week, Sandisk [SNDK] logged record revenue, gross margin and EPS, each above the high end of guidance. The firm expects fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of $10.3bn-10.8bn, with non-GAAP gross margins of 83-85% and non-GAAP EPS of $44-46. The company also forecasts the global NAND market will exceed $300bn in 2026 and approach $500bn in 2027. Despite the upbeat outlook, analyst sentiment remained cautious, according to Seeking Alpha, amid lingering concerns over guidance and margins.

Now Meta’s AI has gone rogue

Meta [META] said one of its artificial intelligence (AI) models was able to access another organisation’s systems during a third-party security evaluation. The breach resulted from a testing misconfiguration and is under investigation. The evaluation was conducted by AI security firm Irregular, which has also tested models from Anthropic. An Irregular spokesperson said the incident “is the exact same evaluation-environment issue that was already disclosed by Anthropic last week”, the BBC reported.

AppLovin posts record ad spend as AI push accelerates

AppLovin [APP] reported strong Q2 results, with revenue rising 53% year-on-year to $1.92bn and adjusted EBITDA increasing 58% to $1.61bn. Free cash flow reached $863m, which management said was temporarily affected by timing rather than underlying earnings power. The company noted advertiser spending hit a record high, ending the quarter 28% above Q4 2025 levels, while higher AI training and model development costs drove a sequential increase in expenses. 

Entegris rides chip boom to Q2 beat

Providing recurring inputs preventing contamination during the chipmaking process, Entegris [ENTG] could be an overlooked ‘picks and shovels’ play on the AI infrastructure boom. In the wake of strong Q2 earnings, Aureon examines how AI-related demand has trickled down the supply chain to support a top- and bottom-line beat, plus how the company is positioning itself to capitalise on the current upswing of the semiconductor investment cycle.

Apple’s complaint “rotten to its core”, OpenAI says

The ChatGPT maker has asked a US federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed against it by Apple [AAPL], which accuses the AI firm of stealing trade secrets via hires and job candidates. The two companies have collaborated on integrating ChatGPT directly into iPhone, Mac and iPad software, but the partnership has cooled in recent months. Claiming the allegations are baseless, OpenAI says it acted in line with industry recruiting standards when interviewing former Apple employees.

Intel’s rally helps SoftBank beat expectations

On Thursday the Japanese giant [SFTBY] reported Q1 profit of ¥347.3bn, down 17.7% but well above analyst expectations of ¥148.4bn. The beat was largely the result of a ¥1.3tn gain on its investment in Intel [INTC], as well as a ¥358.4bn gain on its stake in Chinese AI firm ByteDance. SoftBank reported no loss or gain on its investment in OpenAI, the revaluation of which has driven record profit in recent quarters.

Can Latin America’s digital champion turn expansion into profit?

MercadoLibre [MELI] is at the heart of Latin America’s digital transformation, combining a fast-growing e-commerce platform with Mercado Pago’s fintech ecosystem. Released earlier this week, Q2 earnings showed continued momentum, with revenue rising 50% to $10.2bn and payment volumes climbing 42% on an FX-neutral basis, but higher investment pushed operating margins lower. On Foresight, Aureon unpacks how the bull case for MELI stock rests on converting regional scale into lasting profitability.