Ed Ludlow and Caroline Hyde anchored coverage on Bloomberg Technology highlighting a volatile earnings season and high-stakes corporate governance challenges, all set against a backdrop of increasing market angst fueled by macro data that has investors questioning valuations. The program delved into the chip sector, where two similar stories elicited starkly different reactions. Qualcomm delivered an upbeat forecast, with sales and profits topping expectations. CEO Cristiano Amon maintained that the company is executing its strategy perfectly, extending its reach into a number of markets and doing better than anticipated. Amon noted that the company is incredibly optimistic about the new category of mobile devices, which they call personal AI devices, and projected $2 million of revenue by fiscal 2029, a target they are currently exceeding, especially with Meta. Crucially, Amon explained that Qualcomm is focused on the next phase of the data center—inference at scale. He argued that achieving profitability in AI demands an architecture optimized for highly efficient power usage, leveraging Qualcomm's DNA, to address concerns about the massive energy required for AI growth. Despite this strong performance and bullish outlook for the current period, Qualcomm’s shares were trading lower, down 2% or more, suggesting the company fell short of investor expectations. Caroline Hyde acknowledged that it is hard to predict the market right now, asking Amon if investors got overexcited ahead of the report.
Conversely, ARM Holdings saw its stock lifted by an increase in interest in designing chips to run AI data centers. Bloomberg Intelligence noted that operating expenses remain high due to AI investments, but long-term share gains and rising royalty content continue to support ARM’s outlook. Royalty revenues from the data center segment are expected to see a 2X increase, growing from about 10% to 18-20% by the end of fiscal 2026. Ed Ludlow further highlighted the significant role of Softbank, ARM’s main owner, which brought in approximately $180 million in royalty revenues this quarter, a $50 million jump from the last.
The segment heavily focused on Tesla, with all eyes on the anticipated result of the shareholder vote regarding Elon Musk’s proposed $1 trillion pay package. Supporters, like the CEO of ARK, were confident the deal would pass, referencing prediction markets that suggested a 90-95% probability of approval. They argued that the incentives are necessary for Musk and his team to achieve massive growth goals and successfully capitalize on projects like Robotaxis and the more difficult humanoid robots. However, large institutional investors, such as CalPERS, voted against the deal. Representing CalPERS, Drew Hambly cited that the package was far larger than CEO pay at comparable companies. Furthermore, Hambly expressed deep concern over the excessive concentration of voting power and key-person risk placed in a single individual, noting that tens of thousands of people at Tesla create value, not just one person. Caroline Hyde asked if an army of humanoid robots should be under the control of one man, while Hambly countered the risk associated with placing so much risk in one person, especially considering CalPERS is in it for the long haul.
Job data contributed significantly to broader market angst, according to Bloomberg Technology analysis. Data from Challenger Gray and Christmas showed that October had the most job cuts by U.S. firms in two decades, totaling 153,000 losses, with AI automation being blamed. This macroeconomic strain appears even as Apple is reportedly turning to Google, paying about $1 billion a year for an ultra-powerful 1.2 trillion parameter AI model as an interim solution for overhauling its assistant.
Additional earnings reports rounded out the technology landscape. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) missed revenue estimates, but Caroline Hyde confirmed the Street's focus was entirely on the company’s plans for a potential sale or transaction. CEO David Zaslav confirmed an "active process underway," emphasizing the strength of the studio segment after blockbuster hits like Superman and Weapons. Potential bidders mentioned included Netflix, Comcast, Paramount, and Amazon, as the latter looks to build out its Prime Video service. In financial technology, Chime reported strong execution with 29% year-over-year revenue growth and a 21% increase in its member base, but its stock fell, which CEO Chris Britt attributed to general market volatility facing consumer stocks. Meanwhile, Lyft projected accelerated bookings for November, driven by 18% growth in active riders hitting all-time North American highs. Ed Ludlow also covered Robinhood, whose shares fell after reporting lower-than-expected crypto earnings and higher operating costs, despite focusing on expanding its platform into prediction markets to become a 24/7 global trading hub.
The complex landscape presented during the Bloomberg Technology broadcast shows how tech giants are simultaneously investing heavily in the future, particularly AI, while battling immediate shareholder skepticism and navigating major corporate decisions regarding leadership and governance. Like a pair of binoculars focused on two different distances, investors are trying to reconcile the near-term volatility, indicated by lower-than-expected earnings response, with the vast, long-term opportunity presented by the AI revolution.
