Author: Anusuya Lahiri

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) shares dropped after the company released its fiscal third-quarter 2025 results. While adjusted earnings per share (EPS) surpassed analyst expectations, the company’s total revenue fell slightly short of projections.

For the quarter, Disney reported adjusted EPS of $1.61, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47. However, revenue grew by just 2% year-over-year to $23.65 billion, slightly missing the $23.72 billion analyst forecast. The company’s performance was driven by its Experiences business.

The direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming businesses, including Disney+ and Hulu, reached a combined operating income of $346 million on revenue of $6.2 billion, an increase of 6% year-over-year. The quarter concluded with 183 million total Disney+ Core and Hulu subscriptions, a sequential increase of 2.6 million. Disney+ Core paid subscribers increased by 1.8 million to 128 million.

Also Read: Can Disney’s Experiences Segment Truly Bring The Magic Back For Investors?

Revenue for the Entertainment segment, which encompasses traditional TV networks, DTC streaming, and films, saw a modest 1% increase to $10.7 billion. In contrast, the Sports segment, primarily consisting of ESPN, saw revenue decline by 5% to $4.3 billion. Disney’s Experiences segment, which includes theme parks and consumer products, proved to be a strong performer, with revenue climbing 8% to $9.09 billion.

The company’s traditional Linear Networks business declined, with revenue falling 15% year-over-year to $2.3 billion. Consolidated operating income for the quarter grew 8% to $4.6 billion. This was led by the Experiences segment’s $2.5 billion, followed by the Sports segment’s $1.04 billion and the Entertainment segment’s $1.02 billion. Disney also demonstrated strong cash flow generation, with quarterly operating cash flow up 41% year-over-year to $3.7 billion and free cash flow rising over 52.7% to $1.9 billion.

Sports Content Deals

In a series of strategic moves to boost its sports offerings, Disney announced an equity-for-assets deal where its ESPN unit will take over the NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and NFL Fantasy. The agreement grants the NFL a 10% stake in ESPN, and ESPN will integrate these assets into its digital and DTC platforms, while also gaining rights to three additional NFL games annually. To maintain the NFL Network’s seven-game slate, four existing ESPN games will be moved to the channel.

Furthermore, ESPN and TKO Group’s World Wrestling Entertainment have entered a five-year, $1.6 billion agreement that gives ESPN exclusive U.S. streaming rights to many of WWE’s premium events, including WrestleMania and SummerSlam, beginning in 2026. The Wall Street Journal reported that ESPN will pay $325 million annually for the deal, which “significantly exceeds WWE’s current $900 million contract with Peacock.” These events will be featured on ESPN’s new $29.99 per month service, launching this fall, with select coverage also airing on ESPN’s cable channels. This deal follows WWE’s recent $5 billion, 10-year deal with Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) for its weekly show “Raw.”

CEO Robert A. Iger highlighted the company’s forward momentum, stating that Disney is advancing in streaming with the upcoming launch of ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service, new plans with the NFL, and the integration of Hulu into Disney+, creating a uniquely comprehensive streaming offering. He also noted that Disney is undertaking more global expansions in its parks and experiences division than at any other point in its history.

CFO Hugh Johnston attributed the quarter’s performance to the success of the streaming business on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” noting the unit’s recent turnaround from losing $1 billion per quarter to building a solid financial foundation. He added that streaming growth is now helping to offset the long-declining traditional TV segment and that Walt Disney World delivered its biggest third quarter ever, with strong attendance in Orlando. Despite wider concerns about consumer health, Johnston said Disney continues to see solid spending from its customer base.

Outlook

Disney raised its fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS projection to $5.85, an 18% increase over fiscal 2024, up from a previous forecast of $5.75 and ahead of the $5.78 analyst consensus estimate.

The company reiterated its expectation for double-digit operating income growth in the Entertainment segment and revised its outlook for the Experiences segment to 8% operating income growth (from 6%-8%).

The Sports segment’s operating income is now projected to grow by 18%, an increase from the prior 13% forecast. For the fiscal fourth quarter, Disney expects a “modest increase in Disney+ subscribers” compared to the third quarter.

Price Actions: DIS stock is trading lower by 2.35% to $115.54 at last check Wednesday.

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PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPL) stock dropped Tuesday after it reported second-quarter 2025 results.

The company reported a quarterly revenue growth of 5% year-over-year to $8.29 billion, topping the analyst consensus estimate of $8.08 billion. 

The adjusted EPS was $1.40, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.29.

Transaction Metrics And Margins

Total payment volumes rose by 6% year-over-year, reaching $443.5 billion in the quarter. However, payment transactions declined by 5%, totaling 6.2 billion.

Also Read: PayPal Rolls Out New Crypto Feature: Here’s Why You Should Care

On a trailing 12-month basis, the number of payment transactions per active account decreased by 4%, averaging $58.3.

The total number of active accounts increased by 2%, bringing the total to 438 million. Sequentially, active accounts rose by 0.4%, or 1.7 million accounts.

The operating margin improved by 134 basis points to 18.1%, while the adjusted operating margin increased by 132 basis points to 19.8%.

The operating cash flow for the second quarter was at 898 million, free cash flow was $692 million, and adjsuted free cash flow was $656 million.

PayPal held $13.7 billion in cash and equivalents as of June 30, with $11.5 billion in debt.

CEO Alex Chriss said PayPal delivered a strong second quarter, achieving another period of profitable growth fueled by momentum across key strategic initiatives—from PayPal and Venmo-branded experiences to PSP and value-added services.

Building on this strength, PayPal raised its full-year guidance for transaction margin dollars and EPS. He expects the company to unlock value through innovations like agentic commerce, ads, stablecoins, and PayPal World.

Outlook

PayPal expects a third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.18-$1.22, compared to $1.20 for the previous year’s period, and the analyst consensus estimate is $1.20.

PayPal expects a full-year 2025 adjusted EPS of $5.15-$5.30 (prior $4.95-$5.10), compared to $4.65 Y/Y. Current analysts estimate an EPS of $5.09.

PayPal stock declined over 8% year-to-date despite gaining 18% in the last three months.

It grappled with rising interest rates and a slowing consumer spending environment, taking a toll on digital payment volumes. Additionally, PayPal faces intense competition from other fintech companies and platforms like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Apple Pay.

Price Action: At the last check on Tuesday, PayPal stock was down 7.58% at $72.29 premarket.

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• Visa And Mastercard Remain Top Picks, But One May Outpace Growth

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U.S. payment processors are shifting their focus toward faster, more convenient, and secure digital payment solutions. Key trends driving this transformation include the growth of real-time payments and the broader use of digital wallets and mobile transactions.

The industry is undergoing rapid growth and transformation as “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) and cryptocurrency payments gain momentum.

BNPL allows consumers to divide purchases into manageable installments, while crypto payment gateways let merchants accept digital currencies.

Key players in the sector, including Visa (NYSE:V), surged over 13% year-to-date compared to Mastercard’s (NYSE:MA) by over 7%. The S&P 500 Information Technology Sector Index (which includes both stocks) gained 10% during the period.

Also Read: Mastercard, PayPal Partner To Offer Consumers More Payment Control

Visa and Mastercard stocks surged over 10-13% in the last three months, lagging the index’s 27% gains. PayPal stock is down 13% year-to-date despite gaining 23% in the last three months.

Morgan Stanley and Jefferies cited concerns for PayPal over tariffs, Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) competitive threat, and a slowdown in branded checkout growth. They warned that PayPal’s exposure to China cross-border transactions could face pressure from new tariffs and regulatory changes.

Visa and Mastercard face intense competition from American Express (NYSE:AXP), Discover, UnionPay, and PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) in the payment processing space. PayPal challenged Visa and Mastercard early on by delivering a more convenient and user-friendly solution for online payments, especially for peer-to-peer transfers and small online merchants.

PayPal’s success in digital payments helped accelerate the shift toward online and mobile transactions, pushing Visa and Mastercard to evolve and innovate in response.

Visa and Mastercard also compete with Capital One (NYSE:COF), Stripe, and many fintech startups specializing in digital payments.

Visa And Mastercard’s Latest Quarterly Results

Visa beat expectations in the second quarter, reporting EPS of $2.76 and revenue of $9.59 billion (up 9.2%), slightly ahead of analyst estimates despite a mixed macro backdrop.

RBC’s Daniel Perlin noted solid U.S. payment volumes and strong value-added services growth. Perlin highlighted three positives: steady consumer spending, 22% year-over-year growth in value-added services revenue, which highlights Visa’s expanding revenue base beyond consumer transactions, and Visa’s new $30 billion share buyback plan.

Despite minor cross-border softness, Visa kept its full-year 2025 guidance unchanged, with management ready to adapt as needed; Perlin slightly raised his fiscal 2025 EPS estimate to $11.30.

Mastercard beat first-quarter estimates with $7.25 billion in revenue (up 14%) and adjusted EPS of $3.73, driven by solid pricing and acquisitions.

JPMorgan analyst Tien-tsin Huang cited strong organic growth, resilient volumes, and solid execution despite calendar and macro headwinds.

Huang highlighted better-than-expected revenue yield, aided by pricing and FX volatility, and noted Mastercard’s broad-based strength, even as cross-border volumes decelerated slightly off a strong fourth-quarter base.

Mastercard maintained full-year guidance and forecasted mid-teens revenue growth for second-quarter, with Huang raising EPS estimates for fiscal 2025 to $15.90 and for fiscal 2026 to $18.60, supported by diversified, premium growth and pricing actions that help cushion against macro pressure.

How Visa And Mastercard Stack Up Against Each Other?

On March 21, JP Morgan’s Tien-tsin Huang highlighted Visa leads the payments industry in scale, with higher transaction volume, revenue, and operating margins. However, Mastercard has consistently outpaced Visa in growth, with faster revenue and earnings expansion driven by gains in emerging markets and diversified revenue streams.

Huang noted both Visa and Mastercard as strong performers, highlighting their robust cash flows and commitment to shareholder returns through aggressive buybacks. In 2024, both stocks rose over 20%, in line with the broader market.

Huang highlighted that Visa has pulled ahead in early 2025, benefiting from investor interest in U.S. growth stocks and fading regulatory concerns. He also pointed out that Mastercard trades at a higher valuation, reflecting its stronger growth trajectory. While Mastercard’s growth premium appears justified, Huang noted growing appeal in Visa’s relative value and improving risk profile.

Regulatory Probe

On May 23, European Union antitrust regulators launched a probe into fees charged by Visa and Mastercard, questioning their impact on financial institutions servicing retailers.

Regulators surveyed market participants to assess the fees imposed through Visa and Mastercard networks as EU officials explored ways to reduce reliance on foreign payment providers.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde underscored the urgency to cut dependence on U.S. card networks, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. Visa and Mastercard stocks fell following the news, as both firms face legal and regulatory challenges over their global fee structures.

Crypto Payments

On June 13, American Express partnered with Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) to launch the Coinbase One Card, a metal credit card that offers up to 4% cashback in Bitcoin, available exclusively to Coinbase One subscribers starting fall 2025.

Mastercard powers Gemini’s competing crypto credit card, offering up to 4% Bitcoin rewards on purchases like gas and rideshare, with no annual or foreign transaction fees. Both card networks are deepening their presence in crypto payments, supporting products that let users earn digital assets through everyday spending.

By enabling crypto rewards cards, American Express and Mastercard are helping traditional payments converge with the growing demand for digital currency use and adoption.

Trump Policies

On June 19, analysts warned the GENIUS Act could intensify competition for Visa and Mastercard as it lays the groundwork for regulated stablecoin payments in the U.S.

Mark Hines of Herrick Lake Investments said companies like Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Stripe could quickly adopt stablecoins, bypassing traditional card networks and offering lower transaction fees. Hines predicted that Visa and Mastercard may face slower growth and fee pressure as stablecoins emerge as viable alternatives for online payments. Despite Trump’s push for swift House approval, some analysts, like Rebound Capital, believe stablecoins still have a long runway before materially disrupting major payment processors.

With Visa, Mastercard, and American Express handling $28 trillion in annual volume, any shift toward stablecoin adoption could eventually impact their dominance, especially if the market grows to the projected $3.7 trillion by the decade’s end.

Other Macroeconomic Events

On June 24, Bank of America Securities analysts flagged rising price sensitivity and macro concerns as potential headwinds for Visa and Mastercard’s cross-border volumes. Both stocks declined 4% in the last 30 days.

The analysts found that 47% of global travelers plan to alter their travel plans over the next year, up from 44% in April, posing risks to international spending.

Analysts estimate that about 10% of travelers may cancel or switch to domestic trips, which could impact Visa and Mastercard’s high-margin cross-border revenue.

While both companies still report stable trends, analysts caution that prolonged weakness in global travel—especially U.S. inbound—could pressure future growth.

Price Actions: At the last check on Friday, MA stock was down 0.54% at $560.50, and V is down 0.53%.

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Uber Technologies, Inc (NYSE:UBER) reported fiscal first-quarter 2025 results on Wednesday. The company reported a quarterly revenue growth of 14% year-on-year to $11.53 billion, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $11.62 billion.

Uber reported adjusted EPS of 83 cents, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 50 cents.

The stock price declined after the report.

Also Read: Ahead Of Uber Earnings, Analyst Raises Forecast

Revenue from Mobility grew to $6.5 billion, up 15% Y/Y. Delivery was $3.78 billion, up 18%, and Freight was $1.26 billion, down 2% Y/Y.

Gross Bookings grew 14% Y/Y to $42.82 billion. Mobility Gross Bookings of $21.18 billion, up 13% Y/Y; Delivery Gross Bookings of $20.38 billion, up 15%; and Freight Gross Bookings of $1.26 billion, down 2% Y/Y.

Trips grew 18% Y/Y to 3.04 billion. Uber’s Monthly Active Platform Consumers reached 170 million, up 14% Y/Y.

Uber clocked an Adjusted EBITDA of $1.87 billion, up 35% Y/Y, driven by Mobility. The Adjusted EBITDA margin as a percentage of Gross Bookings was 4.4%, up from 3.7% Y/Y.

Uber held $6.0 billion in unrestricted cash and equivalents and generated $2.3 billion in free cash flow as of March 31, 2025.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO said it continue to build towards the future, including five new autonomous vehicle announcements in just the last week.

CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah told Bloomberg that the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against Brazilian, Mexican and Argentine currencies created an “outsized headwind” for its rides business.

Uber’s U.S. rideshare business, which accounts for more than half of its profitability, was hit by the Los Angeles fires and extreme winter weather. Rising insurance costs took a toll in some of its markets. Additionally, U.S. consumer confidence was affected by concerns over higher prices and the economic outlook amid the Trump administration’s escalating tariffs.

Outlook: Uber expects fiscal second-quarter 2025 gross bookings of $45.75 billion-$47.25 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $2.02 billion-$2.12 billion.

Price Action: UBER stock is down 3.40% at $82.91 premarket at the last check on Wednesday.

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Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google prioritized building educational programs to train the workforce on AI to help the workforce grapple with job insecurity following the advent of AI.

Google’s Kent Walker and Ruth Porat are discussing policy recommendations with global governments after CEO Sundar Pichai earmarked $120 million to build AI education programs.

Walker emphasized to Reuters the importance of familiarizing more people, including governments and organizations, with the use of AI tools.

Also Read: Google Taps HTC’s Talent in $250 Million Deal to Lead AR/VR Innovation

Walker told Reuters that Google aims to boost experiments with public-private partnerships.

Recently, Google invested over $1 billion in OpenAI rival Anthropic, whose valuation could reach $60 billion as it bags more funding. Its annualized revenue hit $1 billion in December.

In related news, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) committed $80 billion to AI-driven data centers for fiscal 2025, and Meta Platform Inc (NASDAQ: META) targeted a $65 billion investment in fiscal 2025 to boost its AI infrastructure.

Some reports indicate that companies are indulging in job cuts and hiring pauses.

Microsoft laid off 10,000 employees in early 2023, representing 4% to 5% of its total staff. In January 2024, following the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft’s gaming division eliminated 1,900 positions.

Google cut ~12,000 jobs in 2023, affecting ~6% of its workforce. Meta, since November 2022, fired ~21,000 employees, accounting for 25% of its staff. Amazon.Com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) eliminated 27,000 roles in 2023.

GOOGL stock surged over 30% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock through SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) and iShares Global Comm Services ETF (NYSE:IXP).

Price Action: GOOGL stock traded lower by 3.76% at $192.68 premarket at the last check on Monday.

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• Apple’s iPhone Dependence Remains, But Services, Wearables Offer Growth Potential: Analyst

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ChatGPT parent OpenAI, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) are facing challenges as the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) outpaces existing evaluation methods.

Major tech firms have begun creating internal benchmarks to test their AI models’ capabilities better and address this issue. However, this approach has raised concerns within the industry about the need for standardized public evaluations, making it difficult for businesses and consumers to assess the advancements in AI technology, Financial Times reports.

Also Read: ASML’s IT Outage Affected Chipmaking Operations Worldwide

Ahmad Al-Dahle, the head of generative AI at Meta, highlighted to the Financial Times the difficulty in measuring the capabilities of the latest AI systems. This has prompted companies like Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft to develop proprietary evaluation methods. However, this move has drawn criticism for limiting the ability to compare different AI technologies.

Traditional public benchmarks, such as Hellaswag and MMLU, utilize multiple-choice questions to test common sense and general knowledge. However, researchers argue that these methods no longer effectively gauge the reasoning capabilities of advanced AI models.

For instance, Mark Chen, senior vice president of Research at OpenAI, told the Financial Times that human-designed tests are increasingly inadequate for measuring the true capabilities of these sophisticated systems. As a result, there is a growing push within the industry to create more complex tests that better reflect real-world challenges.

The shift towards private benchmarks has sparked debate over the transparency of AI testing. Dan Hendrycks, executive director of the Center for AI Safety, told the Financial Times that with publicly available benchmarks, it becomes easier for businesses and the general public to understand the actual progress being made in AI. This lack of transparency may hinder efforts to accurately gauge how close AI models are to automating complex tasks.

Beyond internal benchmarks, external organizations have also started contributing to developing new evaluation methods. In September, Scale AI partnered with Hendrycks to launch “Humanity’s Last Exam,” a project that crowdsources complex questions from experts across various fields, requiring abstract reasoning.

Additionally, FrontierMath, a new benchmark designed by expert mathematicians, challenges even the most advanced models, with a completion rate of less than 2% on its most challenging questions.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives projected $1 trillion in AI capital expenditure by U.S. tech giants like Microsoft, Meta, Amazon.Com Inc (NASDAQ:META), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ; GOOGL).

Price Actions: MSFT stock is down 0.8% at $419.17 at last check Monday. META is down 1.36%.

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Needham analyst Laura Martin reiterated a Buy rating for Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) with a $110 price target.

The re-rating is based on:

• Direct to Consumer (DTC) breakeven in fiscal 2024 with “double-digit” margins at maturity.

• 5.5 million to 6 million new subscribers from Charter Communications, Inc (NASDAQ:CHTR) starting in the second half of fiscal 2024.

• Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games (to build Disney video games).

• 70% of $60 billion Parks CapX will be “incremental capacity” leading to a revenue boost.

• $8 billion of fiscal 2024 free cash flow, exclusive Taylor Swift concert rights for Disney+.

• A 50% higher dividend (to $0.90 per year) for a 1% yield.

• More than $3 billion of share repurchases in 2024.

Longer-term, Martin noted Disney’s asset mix of both digital and physical assets (i.e., an Omniverse) maximizes its economic value capture, that Disney benefits from generative AI and the company will be a takeover target by the Big Tech companies backed by its streaming moat and high-quality content libraries with hit film and TV franchises.

Also Read: Disney Strikes First-Look Deal With Spider-Man Director Jon Watts: Report

Martin lowered her fourth-quarter operating income and EPS estimates. Disney’s new fourth-quarter estimates are revenue of $22.2 billion, operating income of $3.6 billion, and adjusted EPS of $1.07.

Martin maintained her Entertainment revenue estimate of $10.6 billion. She cut her estimate for Linear Networks by 10% to $2.4 billion, reflecting continued linear subscriber declines in the quarter and the Disney carriage dispute with DirecTV exactly offset by higher box office revs for “Deadpool & Wolverine” in the Content Sales segment. Martin estimates the operating income for this division to be $665 million.

Martin maintained her estimates for Sports revenues at $3.8 billion but raised her estimated operating income by 11% to $922 million, reflecting momentum and cadence in this division, evidenced in the third quarter. Martin maintained her revenue estimate for Experiences of $8.2 billion but cut her estimate for operating income by 13% to $1.7 billion to reflect the guidance of losses in the “mid-single digits.”

DIS Price Actions: Disney stock is up 1.32% at $95.16 at publication Thursday.

Also Read:

• Disney Trims Workforce By 300, Targets Corporate Departments for Cost Management

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Nvidia Corp’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) advanced artificial intelligence chips could soon make way to Saudi Arabia as the U.S. contemplates its advanced semiconductor sanctions on the country it had imposed in 2024.

The Saudi government is eying Nvidia’s H200 chips, Reuters cites U.S. and Saudi officials at Saudi Arabia’s Global AI Summit (GAIN).

The U.S. initially imposed advanced semiconductor sanctions on China in 2023, citing national security concerns.

Also Read: AMD Gains Ground in AI Chip Market, Oracle Exec Confirms Growing Demand: Report

In 2024, the embargo on Saudi Arabia followed for its alleged proximity to China. Interestingly, Nvidia AI chips continue to enter China via smuggling and other channels.

Saudi Arabia’s engagement in the AI sector has increased, as evidenced by its participation in AI-driven initiatives and partnerships to reduce its reliance on Chinese firms. This has prompted the U.S. to reevaluate its embargo on the country.

Nvidia’s quarterly print left the Street unimpressed, which led to a broader industry selloff.

Analysts, including Wedbush Securities analyst Matt Bryson and Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer, maintain Nvidia as the critical AI play as Big Techs, including Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.Com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), splurge on their AI ambitions.

Nvidia Stock Prediction For 2024

Equity research can be a valuable source of information for learning about a company’s fundamentals. Analysts create financial models based on the fundamentals and expected future earnings of a company to arrive at a price target and recommendation for the stock.

Shares of NVIDIA have an average 1-year price target of $154.27, representing an expected upside of 31.63%.

Because of differences in assumptions, analysts can arrive at very different price targets and recommendations. No analysts have bearish recommendations on NVIDIA, while 42 analysts have bullish ratings. The street high price target from Rosenblatt is $200.0, while the street low from DA Davidson is $90.0.

Nvidia stock has risen 161% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock through the SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO).

Price Action: NVDA stock is up 1.20% at $118.31 at the last check on Thursday.

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Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is shifting its focus to the gaming GPU market, prioritizing a strategy to gain a larger market share.

This approach marks a significant shift away from competing directly with Nvidia Corp’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) highest-end gaming GPUs, at least for now, Tom’s Hardware cites Jack Huynh, AMD’s Senior Vice President and General Manager.

In an interview during IFA 2024, Huynh emphasized that AMD aims to capture 40%-50% of the total addressable market by focusing on mainstream and mid-range GPUs.

Nvidia currently holds 88% of the discrete GPU market, leaving AMD with just 12%, compelling the latter to focus on building scale.

AMD remains engaged in many activities to boost shareholder value as analysts continue to claim Nvidia as the key AI beneficiary.

Recently, AMD tapped Nvidia’s Keith Strier, who was responsible for boosting Nvidia’s commercial engagements with foreign governments. AMD also shared plans to snap AI server company ZT Systems for $4.9 billion as its Ryzen 9000 series failed to gain traction.

AMD has been up 28% in the last 12 months versus Nvidia, which has gained 128%.

Semiconductor and AI-linked stocks, including Nvidia and AMD, faced a continued selloff despite strong quarterly results from Nvidia and Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO). VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) and iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) dropped over 12% in the past five days.

Price Actions: AMD stock is up 1.37% at $136.20 at the last check on Monday. NVDA is up 1.22% at $104.05.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) continues to build on its social media dominance with its latest platform, Threads, achieving significant milestones in user engagement.

Just a day after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned Threads reaching “almost” 200 million users during the company’s fiscal second-quarter 2024 earnings call, the platform has officially crossed that milestone, TechCrunch reports.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, confirmed in a post on Threads that the Twitter rival has now reached 200 million active users.

Meta accomplished this feat in just 13 months since the platform’s launch in July 2023.

Threads’ growth has been notable. It reached 150 million users by April 2024 and hit 175 million by its first anniversary in July before quickly jumping to 200 million in August. In comparison, Threads’ main competitor, X (formerly Twitter), reported over 600 million monthly users in May, as stated by its owner Elon Musk.

Prior reports indicated Meta will leverage its success in digital advertising to offer more targeted and personalized ads on Threads.

Meta stock gained over 52% as it remains invested in its artificial intelligence ambitions. In July, the Facebook parent reported second-quarter revenue of $39.07 billion, up 22% year over year and beating analyst consensus of $38.31 billion. 

Price Action: META shares traded lower by 1.39% at $490.84 at the last check Friday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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