Amazon competes as DoorDash hits $29.7 billion

Key Takeaways

• Global markets show mixed performance, with AI investment concerns and US-Iran conflict influencing trading.
• Oracle's Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is in high demand for AI workloads, with its performance obligations backlog surging over 400% to more than $500 billion.
• Micron Technology demonstrates strong performance in the semiconductor market, contrasting with Oracle's recent stock decline.
• DoorDash reported 39% year-over-year Gross Order Value growth to $29.7 billion, positioning itself as an AI beneficiary despite competition from Amazon.
• Bank of America strategists express doubts about the AI revolution, viewing it as a "double-edged sword" that could harm corporate profits and lead to an "AI air pocket" in late 2026.
• Federal Reserve staff economists are more concerned about elevated stock prices and market concentration than the moderate debt levels of tech companies funding AI.
• Cogent Security raised $42 million in Series A funding to enhance its platform for AI vulnerability defense and expand its team.
• RingCentral and Five9 reported strong earnings, crediting AI for increased bookings; Five9's AI portfolio reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue.
• Billionaires Israel Englander and Cliff Asness are investing in the Invesco QQQ ETF for exposure to AI-benefiting technology stocks.
• Majority Action advocates for ethical AI investments, urging institutional funds to consider the negative community impacts of AI data centers.

Global markets rise as AI fears ease, oil prices climb

Global stocks and US futures saw gains as worries about artificial intelligence investments and potential US-Iran conflict lessened. European markets opened higher, with Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 rising. US futures also showed increases. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell due to concerns about private credit companies linked to AI's impact on businesses. South Korea's Kospi reached a new record high, boosted by defense contractors. Oil prices climbed, reaching their highest level since August, amid signals of potential conflict between the US and Iran.

Asian stocks mixed, US futures up amid AI and Iran concerns

Asian shares traded mixed on Friday as concerns over significant investments in artificial intelligence and a possible U.S.-Iran conflict impacted major markets. U.S. futures showed a slight increase, while oil prices continued to rise. Crude prices have climbed due to indications that both the United States and Iran are prepared for conflict if negotiations over Iran's nuclear program fail. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 experienced a decline, influenced by worries about the financial sector's exposure to companies affected by AI.

Asian markets mixed, US futures higher as AI fears linger

Asian stock markets showed mixed performance on Friday, with concerns about large artificial intelligence investments and potential U.S.-Iran conflict weighing on major indexes. U.S. futures edged higher, and oil prices resumed their upward trend. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell as financial institutions worried about private credit companies exposed to AI's business risks. South Korea's Kospi reached a new record, driven by defense contractors benefiting from increased global military spending. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also declined.

Asian markets mixed, US futures higher amid AI and Iran worries

Asian shares were mixed on Friday, influenced by concerns over major investments in artificial intelligence and the possibility of a U.S.-Iran conflict. U.S. futures saw a slight rise, while oil prices continued to climb. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 declined due to worries about financial institutions exposed to AI's potential impact on businesses. South Korea's Kospi hit a new record high, led by defense contractors benefiting from increased global military spending. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also experienced a drop.

Oracle stock falls, Micron rises amid AI trade shifts

Oracle Corporation's stock has recently declined after a surge in 2025, while Micron Technology has shown strong performance in the semiconductor market. Both companies are key players in the artificial intelligence buildout, presenting a question for traders in 2026 about whether they are still early-cycle beneficiaries or if expectations have caught up. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is a significant part of AI workloads, with strong demand for its GPU-rich infrastructure like OCI Superclusters. Oracle's backlog of remaining performance obligations surged over 400% year over year to more than $500 billion.

Oracle stock corrects, Micron stock rises in AI trade

Oracle Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc. are central to the AI buildout, but their stock performances differ significantly in 2026. Oracle surged in 2025 but has since declined, while Micron has been a top-performing semiconductor stock. This divergence raises questions for traders about their future performance. Oracle's Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is crucial for AI workloads, with its OCI Superclusters seeing high demand. The company's backlog of performance obligations has significantly increased, indicating strong future revenue potential.

BofA: AI revolution doubts emerge, market sees 'double-edged sword'

Bank of America strategists note growing doubts about the AI revolution, with the market now viewing AI as a 'double-edged sword' that could harm corporate profits. Concerns include profit cannibalization, as AI adoption might reduce existing profit pools, and potential labor market weakness impacting consumer spending. BofA also points to strain in debt-fueled AI investments, with companies potentially overinvesting. They anticipate an 'AI air pocket' later in 2026 and question the projected AI-driven productivity growth.

DoorDash strong performer, positioned as AI beneficiary

DoorDash (DASH) is a profitable company investing in an integrated platform, making it a clear beneficiary of artificial intelligence. The company reported 39% year-over-year growth in Gross Order Value (GOV) to $29.7 billion and expects margin improvement in the second half of the year. Despite competition from Amazon, DoorDash's long-term growth potential and projected GAAP net margins of over 20% support a 'Buy' rating. With a price-to-earnings ratio of 30 and approximately 19% growth, DASH offers significant potential upside.

Fed staff more concerned about stock prices than tech debt

Federal Reserve staff economists are more concerned about elevated stock prices than the growing debt among tech companies funding AI spending. While tech giants have issued a record amount of bonds, Fed staff view vulnerabilities from non-financial businesses as moderate, noting that most tech firms have low debt loads. Policymakers also flagged concerns about high stock valuations and the concentration of market value in a few firms. The significant volume of corporate bonds expected in 2026 could put upward pressure on rates and credit spreads.

Cogent Security raises $42M for AI vulnerability defense

Cogent Security, a startup focused on AI vulnerability defense, has secured $42 million in Series A funding led by Bain Capital Ventures. The company plans to use the funds to scale its platform, improve AI reliability in security, and expand its team. Founded in 2024, Cogent aims to help enterprises manage complex security data and reconcile conflicting information from various systems. The funding will support R&D, hiring, and go-to-market strategies to address increasingly AI-enabled threats.

Billionaires invest in QQQ ETF for AI exposure

Hedge fund billionaires Israel Englander and Cliff Asness have purchased shares of the Invesco QQQ ETF, which heavily invests in technology stocks poised to benefit from the artificial intelligence boom. The Invesco QQQ ETF tracks the Nasdaq-100 index and has historically provided strong returns, with an average annual compound return of 15.2% over the last two decades. Investing $500 monthly in this ETF could potentially grow to around $485,000 in twenty years, based on historical performance.

RingCentral, Five9 stocks rally on AI-boosted earnings

Software companies RingCentral and Five9 saw their stock prices rise significantly after reporting strong fourth-quarter earnings, defying a recent downturn in the software sector. Both companies stated that artificial intelligence has positively impacted their businesses, leading to increased bookings and revenues. RingCentral reported that annual recurring revenue from customers using AI tools doubled year over year. Five9 announced that its enterprise AI bookings more than doubled, contributing to a stronger backlog and reaching $100 million in annual recurring revenue from its AI portfolio.

Majority Action pushes for ethical AI investments

The organization Majority Action is working to redirect investments away from AI projects that negatively impact communities, urging pension funds and endowments to align their investments with ethical standards. They highlight that public dollars and institutional funds are financing AI data centers, which can lead to issues like poor air quality and health risks for local communities. Majority Action advocates for greater stakeholder involvement in corporate decision-making to ensure AI development benefits society and avoids exacerbating inequality.

PTC stock undervalued, AI offers growth opportunity

PTC, a leader in product lifecycle management and computer-aided design software, is considered a strong buying opportunity despite recent stock price declines and concerns about artificial intelligence. While the company's annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth has slowed, management expects a significant rebound starting in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026 due to large upcoming deals. PTC views AI as an opportunity, embedding it into its systems to provide actionable insights from product data. The stock's current valuation is considered the cheapest it has been in a decade.

Sources

• World shares, US futures advance after AI fears drag Wall Street lower
• Asian shares are mixed, US futures edge higher as AI fears drag Wall Street lower
• Asian shares are mixed, US futures edge higher as AI fears drag Wall Street lower
• Asian shares are mixed, US futures edge higher as AI fears drag Wall Street lower
• Cloud Nine or Memory Lane? AI Trades Face Reality
• Cloud Nine or Memory Lane? AI Trades Face Reality
• 'Doubts around the AI revolution are emerging,' BofA says, as the market sees a 'double-edged sword' that could 'cannibalize' you
• DoorDash: The Netflix Of Food Is A Sneaky AI Beneficiary
• Fed staff are more worried about stock prices than tech debt, even as hyperscalers go on a borrowing binge for their AI spending
• Cogent Security Gets $42M to Boost AI Vulnerability Defense
• Billionaires Buy an AI Index Fund That Could Turn $500 Per Month Into $485,000
• Beaten-down software stocks RingCentral and Five9 rally as earnings quell some AI concerns
• Is Your Pension Or Endowment Funding AI? Here's How Majority Action is Redirecting Investments | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.
• AI Bust or a Once-in-a-Decade Buying Opportunity for This Software Stock?