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☆ Tech Layoffs Scare Employees but Make Wall Street Investors Happy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Emily Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It may seem counterintuitive for Wall Street to reward companies for letting people go. After all, layoffs are usually thought to be a sign that the business isn’t doing so hot. And while a lot of the layoff talk is concentrated in tech, investors were also quite pleased about job cuts at Estée Lauder . Many companies took an aggressive approach to hiring during the pandemic, particularly tech companies whose engagement boomed while everyone was stuck at home. The tech companies developing AI products are the best positioned to try them out.

Persons: Estée Lauder, ”, Scott Kessler, Goldman Sachs, Sameer Samana, moonshot, Ted Mortonson, Baird, Kessler, ” Mortonson, hasn’t, Emily Stewart Organizations: Bloomberg, Third, Companies, Wells, Investment Institute, Business Locations: Samana

☆ AI is changing the cybersecurity industry. Why these two stocks look best positioned to capitalize
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"As we move to cloud and generative AI, it opens up massive total addressable markets, where security just has to be done a different way." Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike have already surged more than 25% each only six weeks into the new year after proving among the best performers in the Nasdaq-100 in 2023. But arguably, companies offering all-in-one solutions to mounting cybersecurity threats are viewed as sitting in the most advantageous position. PANW YTD mountain Palo Alto Networks in 2024. This leading position is one reason Deepwater Asset Management's Doug Clinton retains a stake in Crowdstrike, along with Palo Alto Networks, in the core fund that he manages.

Persons: Ted Mortonson, Baird, Mortonson, Peter Weed, Bernstein, Morgan Stanley, Hamza Fodderwala, Hendi Susanto, Doug Clinton, JPMorgan's Brian Essex, CRWD, Essex, Michael Bloom Organizations: MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, Nasdaq, Gamco Locations: cyberattacks, Palo, Crowdstrike

☆ Nvidia is the clear winner in the AI race. Its stock isn't the only reason why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Last week I asked you all a question in the newsletter — Do you own Nvidia stock? One of you even told me you first bought the stock when Nvidia was $16(!) Nvidia is the clear winner in the AI arms race so far. A secretive hedge fund has likely notched a $5 billion gain on Nvidia stock this year. Shares of the company hovered near their biggest single-day spike ever, and the chipmaker credited AI for its upbeat quarterly outlook.

☆ Nvidia is up 165% in 2023. Here's why its the clear winner in the AI race so far.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Nvidia stock has soared 165% in 2023 as investors wake up to the potential of artificial intelligence. Nvidia appears best positioned for AI growth as companies rely on its high-tech GPUs to power chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard. The stock is up 165% so far in 2023, and some analysts think there's still plenty of room for growth. "They have the entire AI silicon stack. They own over 95% of market share of the GPU market within the data center space," Zino said.

☆ Uber's AI potential is making it stand out among its peers. Here's what that could mean for its stock.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

All told, there is a nearly $6 trillion in revenue opportunity from AI across the internet industry, a March report from Morgan Stanley found. "UBER/LYFT/DASH already use ML [machine learning] in their matching algorithms (matching rides/eaters with drivers/couriers)," Morgan Stanley wrote in its report. AI tailwind for Uber Uber has both its ride-sharing service and UberEats food delivery business. According to Morgan Stanley, AI and machine learning will be a tailwind to network efficiency. "The extent to which AI drives substantial improvements in top-line growth could lead to teens upside [for the stock]," Morgan Stanley said.

☆ AI startup cloud deals by Microsoft, Google and Amazon ring 'accounting alarm bells' across Silicon Valley over revenue 'round-tripping'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Eugene Kim | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Some investors question whether these arrangements are artificially juicing cloud revenue growth. When Microsoft announced a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI earlier this year, the deal made Azure the ChatGPT-maker's "exclusive cloud provider." There's another deal in the works with similar attributes involving Runway AI and a major cloud company. But they are drawing more scrutiny lately because they could artificially inflate cloud revenue, a key driver of growth for Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, according to Ted Mortonson, managing director of financial-services firm Baird. Is OpenAI a regular cloud customer that is getting no investment money from Microsoft?

Researchers have also sought to quantify fairness and bias in AI models through various socio-ethnic parameters. For example, Stanford University's artificial intelligence index report scores for bias across AI models. It found a "counterintuitive" correlation between fairness and bias: models that scored better on fairness metrics demonstrated stronger gender bias, and less gender-biased models were more toxic. Driving AI technology advancements — being a "key player or enabler across the AI ecosystem to make businesses and society better." Some investors believe AI itself can help investors monitor and track ESG efforts by companies.

☆ Who’s the next Chegg? A.I. could threaten the main revenue sources for these companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tuesday's selloff in Chegg shares exposed some investors to the dark side of artificial intelligence, igniting concerns about how the latest technology craze may be putting some companies' revenue sources in danger. CHGG 1D mountain Chegg shares plummet on AI risks While Chegg may be the first shoe to drop, it's certainly not the last company set to showcase some of the risks posed by AI. Elsewhere, Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster sees potential risks ahead to some consulting companies known to outsource work for other businesses. Companies operating off of seat-based models, such as human resources companies, may face headwinds from declining headcount, but could benefit long term from optimizing AI, he added. To be sure, even the largest companies dominating the space and poised to prosper from AI face risks ahead.

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