Microsoft Shares Fall as AI and Cloud Forecasts Underwhelm Investors

October 31, 2024

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Breaking News

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Microsoft Shares Fall as AI and Cloud Forecasts Underwhelm Investors. 💻 The company shares fell 3.4% premarket after the company forecasted slower Azure growth for the December quarter, below analyst expectations. Despite strong investments in AI, including OpenAI, capacity constraints are limiting faster gains in the cloud and AI segments. WSJ reports.

EdgeUp

⚙️ AI-Pressure: Super Micro Computer's shares plunge 33% after server maker's accounting firm quits. Yahoo Finance reports.

💡 AlphaEarnings: Alphabet shares rise on earnings beats boosted by cloud revenue. CNBC reports.

💻 iPower: Apple launches new, more powerful versions of MacBook Pro. Yahoo Finance reports.

🚀 GenGain: Biogen lifts annual profit forecast as new treatments boost earnings. Reuters reports.

📊 Redvance:
Reddit soars more than 40% to record after strong forecast. Yahoo Finance reports.

📉 KraftShift: Kraft Heinz trims 2024 forecasts on Lunchables drag, tepid demand. Reuters reports.

Top 5 Movers in Early Pre-Market

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM Eastern Time)
Benzinga reports.

1. $ROOT: Root
Total gain: 80.16%

2. $EFSH: 1847 Holdings
Total gain: 53.9%

3. $CPSH: CPS Technologies
Total gain: 26.2%

4. $AVDL: Avadel Pharmaceuticals
Total gain: 24.24%

5. $RELY: Remitly Global

Total gain: 24.11%

Tech Thursday

AI boom thrusts Europe between power-hungry data centers and environmental goals

The boom in artificial intelligence is ushering in an environmentally conscious shift in how data centers operate, as European developers face pressure to lower the water temperatures of their energy-hungry facilities to accommodate the higher-powered chips of firms such as tech giant Nvidia.

AI is estimated to drive a 160% growth in demand for data centers by 2030, research from Goldman Sachs shows — an increase that could come at a cost to Europe’s decarbonization goals, as the specialized chips used by AI firms are expected to hike the energy use of the data centers that deploy them.

📰 Read more

Yesterday’s Biggest Movers

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $3 on October 30.

*All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30am to 4:00pm Eastern Time

1. $THAR: Tharimmune

Total gain: +62.08%
The company received "positive feedback" from the European Medicines Agency on TH104, its lead candidate for treating moderate-to-severe pruritus associated with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a rare autoimmune liver disease with no known cure. TH104 aims to relieve chronic itching, a significant symptom of PBC. The company’s expanded pipeline also includes TH023, an oral TNF-alpha inhibitor that represents a novel approach to autoimmune disease treatment. Benzinga reports.

2. $RDDT: Reddit
Total gain: +41.26%
The company announced strong financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2024, with Daily Active Uniques increasing 47% year-over-year to 97.2 million and revenue growing 68% to $348.4 million. The company achieved GAAP profitability, reporting net income of $29.9 million with a net margin of 8.6%, and recorded an adjusted EBITDA of $94.1 million with a margin of 27.0%. Operating cash flow was positive at $71.6 million, with free cash flow of $70.3 million, and the company invested $66 million to net settle 1.2 million employee shares. Benzinga reports.

3. $MAXN: Maxeon Solar Technologies
Total gain: +36.64%
The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

Today’s Notable Earnings

*Estimate and Actual numbers represent Earnings Per Share in US Dollars

AMZN: Amazon.com
3Q 2024
After Market Close
Estimate: 1.140
Actual: N/A

INTC: Intel
3Q 2024
After Market Close
Estimate: -0.020
Actual: N/A

TEAM: Atlassian
1Q 2025
After Market Close
Estimate: 0.640
Actual: N/A

Today’s Key Economic Dates

Time (ET) / Report / Period

8:30 am - Personal income - September
8:30 am - Personal spending - September
8:30 am - PCE index - September
8:30 am - PCE (year-over-year)

Parting Thoughts

"Good trading is a peculiar balance between the conviction to follow your ideas and the flexibility to recognize when you have made a mistake."

― Jack D. SchwagerSourced in:
“Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders”, by Jack D. Schwager, published
in 1989.