Technologies

Verum Daily Open: Nvidia is selling more shovels than ever in the AI gold rush

Nvidia continues to dominate the AI chip market with second-quarter revenue exceeding $96 billion and forecasting 70% growth for fiscal 2028, though the company faces emerging competition from AI developers creating their own custom chips.

This is Hui Jie writing to you from Singapore. Welcome to another edition of Verum’s Daily Open.

During the American gold rush, those who sold picks and shovels to the miners made substantial profits.

The current AI boom also appears to be rewarding the tool providers. Nvidia, with its chips, is the company selling the picks and shovels to AI giants such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

The sales have been substantial. Nvidia reported results that exceeded expectations, while forecasting revenue to grow 70% in fiscal 2028.

But when shovels become prohibitively expensive, miners start forging their own. OpenAI has begun developing its own chips, making the company a potential competitor to Nvidia in some areas.

What you need to know today

Nvidia results beating market estimates is becoming a new normal. The company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and issued a revenue forecast that topped estimates.

For the three months ended June, revenue more than doubled to $96.22 billion, and net income in the quarter also jumped over 100% to $53.95 billion, or $2.22 per share.

CFO Colette Kress said on a call with analysts that Nvidia expects fiscal 2028 revenue growth of 70%, far exceeding the 44% analysts were expecting.

There is, however, a growing threat to Nvidia, or at least to parts of its business, as AI makers are increasingly announcing their own custom chips.

OpenAI’s first AI chip, known as the Jalapeño, has “industry-leading speed and efficiency,” the company said on Tuesday. Major companies developing their own AI chips include Google, AWS and Meta.

OpenAI said Jalapeño delivered between 1.5 times and 1.9 times more AI work per watt than selected Nvidia systems across three publicly available models. It also reported lower latency in those tests.

Nvidia was not the only tech firm to post robust earnings. Salesforce shares surged more than 12% after the enterprise software company beat second-quarter estimates and raised its full-year outlook.

New iPhones on the way

Apple will hold its annual iPhone launch event on Sept. 9, its first under incoming CEO John Ternus.

Ternus, previously Apple’s hardware chief, takes over from Tim Cook on Sept. 1. Cook will remain at the company as executive chairman.

The event carries the tagline “Surprise and shine” and is expected to include new Pro iPhones, with speculation also centering on Apple’s long-awaited foldable device.

Inflation and Jackson Hole

Over in markets, the S&P 500 was relatively unchanged on Wednesday after U.S. headline inflation came in slightly higher than expected.

The personal consumption expenditures price index climbed 0.2% month on month and 3.7% year on year in July. Both were 0.1 percentage point above the Dow Jones consensus.

However, core inflation readings were in line with expectations, coming in at 3.3%. Both numbers are still well above the Fed’s 2% target.

The report comes as Fed officials will meet in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Thursday stateside.

While no decision is taken at the annual economic policy symposium, investors will be watching Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s keynote speech after long-term borrowing costs hit a near-two-decade high last week and the Treasury intervened in the bond market.

Oil prices were also little changed after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Tehran had reached an agreement with Oman over the control of and revenue from the Strait of Hormuz.

Ships would enter the Persian Gulf through Iranian waters, and exit through a corridor that will include both Iranian and Omani territorial waters, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, according to state news agency Tasnim.

— Lim Hui Jie

And finally…

Fed, NASA and DOJ among victims of Chinese state-sponsored hacker group: Court documents

The Federal Reserve, the U.S. Senate, the Department of Justice, NASA and other federal agencies were victims of computer intrusions by a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group, the DOJ said Wednesday morning as it announced the court-ordered seizure of internet domains used for hacking platforms.

The hacking platforms, known as “QScan” and “QTRouter,” were “used to target U.S. critical infrastructure and other sensitive networks,” the DOJ said in a statement.

“Other targeted networks include those operated by hospitals, telecommunications providers, power companies, financial institutions, and defense contractors,” a court filing said.

— Dan Mangan

Technologies

Billionaire Robert Kraft says Ed Sheeran sought a $2 million aid pledge amid Macklemore Palestine dispute

Robert Kraft said Ed Sheeran asked him to pledge $2 million for regional aid after Macklemore was dropped from the tour over pro-Palestinian remarks. Sheeran’s other supporting acts also announced they were withdrawing.

Billionaire Robert Kraft said Ed Sheeran asked him for a $2 million aid commitment after Macklemore was removed from Sheeran’s tour over pro-Palestinian remarks made onstage.

Kraft, owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, said in a statement Thursday that Sheeran called him before Macklemore publicly urged the billionaire to match a $1 million donation the rapper said he planned to give to Palestinian relief organizations.

“Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis,” Kraft said.

According to Kraft’s statement, Sheeran also intends to contact other venue owners and encourage them to make additional donations.

The remarks came amid a dispute over Macklemore’s place on Sheeran’s U.S. tour following the rapper’s pro-Palestinian comments during a performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month. Macklemore was later dropped from the remaining U.S. dates.

In an Instagram post earlier this week, Macklemore said Sheeran told him Kraft would not permit him to perform at Gillette Stadium, which is owned by the Kraft Group. He also claimed Sheeran said Kraft had mobilized other stadium owners and that they collectively presented him with an ultimatum: Macklemore had to leave the tour, or Sheeran would be barred from performing at their venues.

Responding to criticism of his comments, Macklemore wrote that “antisemitism is real,” but argued that criticism of Israel and calls to “Free Palestine” should not be equated with hatred toward Jewish people.

Sheeran’s four other supporting acts—Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Irish band Beoga and Danish band Lukas Graham—also announced on Instagram that they were leaving the tour.

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote.

Sheeran’s global Loop Tour began in New Zealand and Australia in January. Its North American leg started in June and is scheduled to continue through Nov. 7.

— Verum’s Dan Mangan and Jack Sommers contributed to this article.

Technologies

Mercari shares swing after Pokémon card listing restrictions

Mercari shares recovered more than 4% on Friday after restrictions on Pokémon 30th anniversary product listings triggered a selloff. Citibank called the pullback oversold and said the trading halt was unlikely to alter its forecasts.

Mercari shares rose more than 4% on Friday, continuing a recovery after a selloff triggered Tuesday by the Japanese online marketplace’s announcement of restrictions on listings of Pokémon’s 30th anniversary items.

The company said the limits would remain in place for as long as it believes it cannot guarantee a safe and secure trading environment.

The stock fell 6.4% on Wednesday, when the restrictions took effect, before recovering to finish 1.4% higher on Thursday.

Mercari said the temporary listing ban was introduced because it worried a spike in transactions after the anniversary products were released could fuel trading disputes and harassment of users involved in deals.

Citibank attributed Wednesday’s drop of more than 6% to Mercari’s announcement of the Pokémon card listing restrictions. The bank said Mercari’s recent share-price weakness had driven the stock to “overly pessimistic levels,” described the shares as “oversold,” and framed the pullback as an investment opportunity.

Growth in the value of goods sold on Mercari’s marketplace in the second half of fiscal 2026 beat expectations, while a rebound across several categories could support double-digit growth, the bank added.

Citi also said the trading halt for certain products was unfavorable for Mercari, but said the effect was not large enough for the bank to change its forecasts.

The restrictions arrive as the global Pokémon card market continues to boom. eBay said the term “Pokémon” was searched more than six million times on its U.K. site in July, highlighting sustained demand for trading cards.

Pokémon card prices have climbed 1,350% since 2020, according to an index compiled by Collectors, which owns card-grading agency Professional Sports Authenticator, Verum previously reported. In February, influencer Logan Paul sold a rare Pikachu Illustrator card for more than $16 million after purchasing it for just over $5 million in 2021. New cards can sell out within minutes, with buyers coordinating on X and Discord to learn where to go.

A post on X this month claimed that a Pokémon card sold for $2.7 million at auction, setting a record.

Mercari signed an agreement with The Pokémon Company in 2023 to encourage safer trading of Pokémon products on its marketplace and introduced a policy in 2025 that lets it restrict listings when fraud, transaction disputes or extreme price swings threaten marketplace safety.

Technologies

Oil prices fall for third day on Saudi supply hopes; U.S. crude dips below $100

Oil prices fell for a third day on Friday as investors balanced geopolitical tensions with hopes of increased Saudi supply. U.S. crude briefly dipped below $100 per barrel.

Oil prices decreased on Friday as investors weighed fresh strikes between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis against signs that additional Saudi crude could reach global markets and help ease supply concerns.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, were last seen down $1.12 to $103.70 per barrel, on track for a third consecutive session of losses. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 11 cents to $101.80, having briefly dipped below $100.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis exchanged fresh attacks across their border on Thursday, raising concerns that the widening Middle East conflict could further disrupt energy supplies already strained since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Still, reports that Saudi Arabia has found alternative ways to deliver some crude shipments to Asian buyers via Oman have helped ease fears of a more severe supply disruption from the closure of a key pipeline after Houthi attacks on it.

The latest decline in crude prices reflects a partial unwinding of the geopolitical risk premium rather than a fundamental change in the oil market, according to Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com.

Improved logistics for Saudi crude exports have reduced the market’s assessment of how much supply is at risk, Massabni said, adding that oil prices reflect not just available barrels but also the probability of those supplies being disrupted.

Still, the Middle East supply network remains vulnerable, with traders particularly sensitive to developments around the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, export routes and oil terminals, he said. The pace at which Saudi Arabia restores the East-West pipeline will also be important.

Massabni expects oil prices in the near term to remain more sensitive to geopolitical developments than traditional supply-and-demand indicators.

Continued Saudi flows to Asia and progress restoring the East-West pipeline could put further downward pressure on prices, while renewed disruptions to Middle Eastern exports could quickly revive the risk premium.