Microsoft Meta and Nvidia lead AI news

Key Takeaways

• <ul><li>Alphabet shares fell ~12.6% on October 29, wiping out roughly $500 billion in market value after a revenue miss</li><li>Nasdaq dropped 365 points as AI spending fears spread across the tech sector</li><li>Microsoft climbed 1.8% on strong cash flow while Fortinet and ServiceNow each fell over 20%</li><li>Meta announced plans to raise up to $95 billion to fund its AI build-out</li><li>Nvidia invested $3 billion in Meta and plans to expand their AI infrastructure partnership</li><li>The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, with a possible rate hike expected in December</li><li>UK Chancellor announced over £600 million in AI development and security funding</li><li>Character.ai is selling assets to Disney for $20 million as it goes bankrupt, raising privacy concerns</li><li>Fiverr launched AI agent tools as first-time buyer volume from AI channels jumped 64% quarter-over-quarter</li><li>Celestica set a 2027 revenue outlook of about $40 billion following its investor day</li></ul>

Nasdaq futures fall as Big Tech results test AI trade

US stocks were set to open lower on Thursday after Alphabet's earnings reignited worries about high AI costs. Alphabet shares fell 11.5% in premarket trading, potentially wiping out over $450 billion in market value. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, and fresh inflation data showed the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price index rose as expected. Microsoft climbed 1.8% with strong cash flow, while other tech stocks like Fortinet and ServiceNow also fell after reporting results.

Nasdaq falls over 1% as Alphabet results spark AI spending fears

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped more than 1% on Thursday after Alphabet shares slid 13% on disappointing search advertising results and rising AI-related spending. Alphabet was on track to lose over $500 billion in market value, making up most of the $693 billion the Nasdaq-100 was set to erase. Microsoft fell 0.5% amid reports it plans to raise at least $25 billion in a bond sale. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, and traders expect a rate hike in December. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.8%, and software stocks like Fortinet and ServiceNow also dropped sharply.

Wall Street ends lower as Alphabet revenue miss revives AI spending worries

US stocks slid on Thursday as investors reassessed big tech's massive AI spending after Alphabet reported disappointing quarterly results. The Dow fell 132.54 points, the S&P 500 lost 23.59 points, and the Nasdaq dropped 365.13 points. Alphabet shares fell 12.6% as revenue missed expectations and AI-related cash burn accelerated. Semiconductor stocks fell 1.4%, ending a four-day winning streak. The Federal Reserve held rates steady on Wednesday, while Thursday's data showed the US economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter and inflation continued to rise. Eli Lilly rose 6.6% after lifting its revenue outlook.

Alphabet slump reignites AI investment fears and drags stocks lower

All three major US stock indexes closed lower on October 29 as Alphabet's weak results revived concerns about AI investment. The Dow Jones fell 132.54 points, the S&P 500 slipped 23.59 points, and the Nasdaq dropped 365.13 points. Alphabet's third-quarter revenue of $127.577 billion rose 25% year-over-year but missed expectations, causing shares to plunge 12.64% and erase about $500 billion in market value. Cybersecurity firm Fortinet and cloud software company ServiceNow each fell more than 20%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ended its four-session winning streak, falling 1.42%.

Alphabet plunges 12% as AI investment fears knock stocks lower

Alphabet's third-quarter revenue and adjusted EPS both missed expectations, sending its shares down 12.64% on October 29. The Nasdaq Composite fell 365.13 points or 1.38% to 26,184.72, the S&P 500 dropped 23.59 points to 7,720.39, and the Dow slipped 132.54 points to 52,342.56. Concerns over cash burn from heavy AI investment spread across the technology sector, with Fortinet and ServiceNow each dropping more than 20%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.42%, ending a four-session winning streak. Pharmaceutical stocks rallied as Eli Lilly rose 6.63% and Merck gained 3.83% on improved earnings.

Vicor stock jumps 11% as Meta raises $95 billion for AI

Vicor shares rose 11% after Meta announced plans to raise up to $95 billion in stock to fund its AI build-out. Vicor reported revenue of $197.1 million, up 78.5% from a year earlier. Analysts expect Vicor revenue to more than double from 2025 to 2027. The stock trades at 32x forward earnings, well below its five-year average of 50x. The main risk is uneven royalty revenue, with the next test coming in the fourth-quarter report.

Celestica rallies as analysts target $40 billion revenue in 2027

Celestica shares climbed after its investor and analyst day, where it set a 2027 revenue outlook of about US$40 billion and adjusted earnings of US$21.50 per share. Canaccord Genuity raised its price target to $480. The company reported third-quarter revenue of US$5.83 billion and lifted its 2026 outlook to US$21.0 billion. Celestica also plans to launch a new share buyback program in the fourth quarter. Risks include rising capital spending and customer concentration.

Nvidia invests $3 billion in Meta as AI financing strategy expands

Nvidia bought $42.4 billion in equity securities in the first half of fiscal 2027, a 30-fold increase from $1.25 billion a year earlier. The company invested $3 billion in Meta to support Meta's AI infrastructure build-out. Nvidia also invested $2 billion each in CoreWeave and Nebius Group. The company holds $56.6 billion in cash and marketable securities and generated $74.4 billion in operating cash flow. Nvidia spent $39.8 billion repurchasing shares in the same period.

Nvidia invests $3 billion in Meta to expand AI partnership

Nvidia announced it will invest $3 billion in Meta's capital increase. Meta offered 250 million depositary shares at $50 per share and $25 billion in Class A stock at $625 per share. The companies will work together to improve Meta's Muse family of AI models using Nvidia's computing infrastructure. Meta will expand use of Nvidia's Vera Rubin systems, Vera CPUs, Spectrum-X Ethernet, and BlueField-4 DPUs. Meta is also considering Nvidia's OpenShell architecture and Sentry security framework.

Fiverr launches AI agent tools as search traffic declines

Fiverr CEO called the shift to AI assistants an earthquake for the web. The company launched Mira, an AI-powered headhunting tool, and public APIs for AI agents. First-time buyer volume from AI channels jumped 64% quarter-over-quarter. Third-quarter revenue reached $90.9 million, beating guidance, though core marketplace revenue fell 24.7%. Active buyers dropped 25.8% to 2.4 million, but average spend per buyer rose 12.9% to $373.

AI company collapse could expose users private data

Character.ai is going bankrupt and selling some assets to Disney for $20 million. User data is not part of that deal, but experts worry about what happens to sensitive information shared with AI chatbots. A coalition of 40 US state attorneys general called for child safety and privacy protections. Experts say bankruptcy can remove many privacy protections that users thought they had.

Placer.ai adds Jigso co-founders to boost AI work

Placer.ai announced that Or Shani and Tomer Naveh, co-founders of Jigso, are joining the company. Shani will become Executive in Residence for business development and Naveh will become Vice President R&D for AI Actions. The two previously built Albert.ai, an autonomous AI platform for advertising. Placer.ai CEO Noam Ben-Zvi said their 16 years of real-world AI experience will strengthen the team.

UK tech leaders welcome Autumn Budget AI spending

UK Chancellor John Healey announced a budget with over 600 million pounds for British AI development, security, and skills. Funding includes 165 million pounds for a National AI Biosecurity Initiative and 120 million pounds for the AI Security Institute. An additional 60 million pounds will support the Sovereign AI Fund and 60 million pounds will fund an R&D Procurement Scheme. Tech leaders called the investment strong but some want more support for UK companies.

Judge lets FTC case against Syngenta Key AI go to jury

A federal judge denied Syngenta's motion to dismiss the FTC case about its Key AI loyalty rebate program. The FTC and 12 states argue the program kept generic crop protection products out of distributor channels and raised prices. Syngenta said Key AI is simply a pricing practice and that it prices above cost. Co-defendant Corteva reached a proposed settlement, leaving Syngenta as the remaining defendant.

Nasdaq falls as Alphabet revenue shortfall hits tech stocks

U.S. stocks declined after Alphabet, the parent company of Google, reported a revenue shortfall. This caused one of the largest ever one-session market capitalization losses for a single company. The selloff fed doubts about the payoff from artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending across the tech sector.

AI bug can crash Bitcoin nodes on Windows and Mac

An AI tool found a serious bug that can crash Bitcoin Core nodes on Windows and Mac computers. The flaw was discovered by an automated scan using a large language model and then reviewed by a human contributor. On 64-bit machines the attack takes about a month of the network's block production to work, while on 32-bit systems the node fails outright and restarting does not fix it. Bitcoin Core fixed the bug in version 30.0 and plans to reveal three more bugs in two weeks.

Sources

• Nasdaq futures slide as mixed Big Tech results test AI trade
• Nasdaq slides over 1% as Alphabet results revive AI spending fears
• Wall Street slides as Alphabet revenue miss revives AI capex jitters
• Alphabet slump reignites AI investment fears, drags New York stocks lower
• Alphabet Plunges 12% as AI Investment Fears Knock New York Stocks Lower
• Vicor Soars 11%, TTM Up [10%] as Meta’s $95 Billion AI Raise Lifts Hardware Stocks
• Why TSX:CLS kept climbing on the S&P/TSX Composite: analysts chased its US$40-billion 2027 target as AI hardware stocks rallied
• Nvidia's $3 billion Meta bet reveals a 30-fold shift
• Nvidia to Invest $3 Billion in Meta, Expand AI Partnership
• Fiverr Pivots to AI Agents as Traditional Search Erodes
• The AI bubble could expose your deepest secrets
• Jigso co-founders join Placer.ai to strengthen AI capabilities
• Autumn Budget 2026: UK tech industry welcomes ‘strong’ AI investment focus
• Judge Sends FTC’s Case Against Syngenta’s Key AI Rebates to a Jury
• Nasdaq Leads Stock Decline as Alphabet Selloff Weighs on Tech
• BTC news: AI found a way to crash bitcoin nodes on Windows and Macs. It's now public