What Are China’s Ambitions in the Arctic?
Rapid Arctic warming is shrinking sea ice, opening the prospect of shorter shipping routes between China and Europe. While Beijing frames its Arctic goals in terms of trade and scientific research, Western analysts see a dual civilian-military agenda, spanning research bases, energy co-operation and joint patrols with Russia near Alaska, the Financial Times detailed. China’s expanding icebreaker fleet has heightened concern, reinforcing US fears as the Arctic emerges as a strategic arena. (Image shows a model of China’s polar research icebreaker Xuelong 2).
What Are Elon Musk’s Ambitions in Space?
Elon Musk has reshuffled xAI’s leadership following its merger with SpaceX, saying the reorganization was needed to speed up execution. The overhaul comes as Musk pursues plans to build artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in space, including orbital data centers delivering up to 200GW annually, with plans to grow this total to 1TW. Musk apparently wants “factories on the moon, building AI satellites”.
Claude vs. ChatGPT
Anthropic has upgraded Claude’s free tier, adding file creation, external service connections and advanced skills in what looks like a pointed response to OpenAI’s plans to introduce ads into free ChatGPT. Free users can now create and edit Excel, PowerPoint, Word and PDF files using Claude Sonnet 4.5. Anthropic underscored the contrast with the tagline “No ads in sight,” Engadget reported.
Massive AI Capex: Magnificent 7 Earnings, Part 2
Following on from last week’s article on the earnings of Apple [AAPL], Meta Platforms [META], Microsoft [MSFT] and Tesla [TSLA], OPTO dives into Alphabet’s [GOOGL] and Amazon’s [AMZN] recent earnings calls, and looks ahead to Nvidia’s [NVDA] results. Together, the earnings may suggest that AI-driven capex — not just near-term profits — is shaping the next phase of tech growth.
AppLovin Rides High on Earnings Beat
The mobile ad leader [APP] delivered a blowout Q4, with revenue up 66% year-over-year to $1.66bn and adjusted EBITDA of $1.4bn, driven by internally developed AI models. Management argued market fears around AI competition are misplaced, framing discovery as the truly scarce resource. Strong cash generation underpinned upbeat Q1 guidance, with revenue seen rising to $1.75bn–1.78bn and EBITDA margins near 84%.
Hyperscaler Orders Drive Up Cisco’s Revenue
Cisco [CSCO] delivered a strong Q2, with revenue up 10% year-over-year and product sales rising 14%, driven by AI infrastructure and campus networking. AI orders from hyperscalers hit $2.1bn, relative to $1.3bn in the previous quarter. Management now expects over $5bn in AI orders in FY26 and more than $3bn in related revenue, alongside a dividend increase, according to Seeking Alpha. Next week, OPTO will examine CSCO stock’s prospects, plus the impact of its newly announced AI networking chip.
Big Pharma Earnings: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Several heavy hitters in the pharma space have reported in recent days. It’s been a mixed bag, to say the least. While traditional perception casts the sector as a safe haven, these results show that individual company strategies, product portfolios and regulatory exposures now drive markedly different outcomes. OPTO looks at the good — AstraZeneca [AZN] — the bad — Bristol Myers Squibb [BMY] — and the ugly — Novo Nordisk [NVO].
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