Information Technology

Information Technology
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35 Active research reports

Intel’s Make-or-Break Moment: 18A Technology, Competitive Positioning, and the Path to Foundry Leadership

Intel stands at the inflection point of its 56-year history. The 18A process node is either the foundation of a manufacturing renaissance or the final chapter of American semiconductor leadership. We break down the moat reconstruction, Panther Lake's competitive positioning against AMD/QCOM/AVGO, and the $28-$65 valuation scenarios that define this binary bet.

Skyworks-Qorvo: The $22B RF Merger – Arb the Spread or Own the Synergy

Skyworks and Qorvo are combining in a $22B defensive merger to create the largest U.S.-based pure-play RF semiconductor company. Two ways to play it: buy QRVO for an ~11% arbitrage spread (effectively acquiring SWKS at a 15.6% discount), or buy SWKS for direct 63% ownership of a combined entity targeting $500M+ in annual synergies and 50% EPS accretion. We break down the arb math, the synergy mechanics, and why China approval is the swing factor.

CoreWeave (CRWV): AI Neocloud Leader With Blackwell First-Mover Edge – and a Big Execution/Leverage Overhang

CoreWeave (CRWV) is an AI neocloud scaling quickly, but the stock is trading on execution and leverage, not demand. In Q3’25 it delivered $1.4B revenue (+134% YoY) and grew backlog to $55.6B, but powered-shell delivery delays pushed some revenue timing and forced a capex/growth cadence reset. Leverage remains a headline risk, and customer concentration is still meaningful, even as backlog diversification improves. We frame outcomes as Bear $50–$60 (30%) / Base $100–$125 (50%) / Bull $135–$165 (20%).

Alphabet in 2026: Full-Stack AI Engine, Heavy-Duty Capex

At around $314 per share (~$3.8T market cap, ~24x forward P/E), Alphabet is being priced as a durable AI platform, not a cheap “value tech” name. The question is whether Gemini 3, TPUs, and Cloud can grow into that valuation without margins getting crushed by the capex bill. GOOGL is a high-quality AI compounder with a real moat and real cash flow, but now firmly in “execution and capital-discipline” territory. Upside is still attractive if AI monetization scales as planned; downside shows up if AI Mode erodes Search economics or if capex outruns revenue.

The $105 Billion AI Bet: Is Oracle’s Bond Market Stress a Systemic Risk?

Oracle’s credit risk has sharply repriced, with its 5-year CDS spiking to the highest level since 2009—roughly tripling from mid-year—as investors hedge a debt-funded AI expansion with uncertain payback. Its balance sheet now resembles a leveraged AI infrastructure project, carrying about $105B in total debt and roughly $95B in U.S. bonds, making it the largest non-bank issuer in major indices; leverage is above 4× debt/EBITDA, and levered free cash flow is negative as capex surges. Rating agencies still keep Oracle investment grade but have moved outlooks to Negative, citing massive AI cloud commitments and sustained negative free cash flow. Across the AI complex, more than $200B in related bond issuance has come to market as hyperscalers and data-center operators raise capital aggressively. Systemic risk is creeping higher, but Oracle itself is viewed as a stress indicator—not a systemic trigger—in the emerging AI credit web.

Salesforce After Q3 FY26 Earnings: High-Margin AI Platform, Solid Growth

Salesforce delivered a quarter that was operationally excellent but not growth-explosive: Revenue around $10.3B, growing high single digits year-on-year. Non-GAAP operating margin in the mid-30s, at or near record levels. Free cash flow above $2B for the quarter, with healthy double-digit growth. AI stack (Agentforce, Data Cloud, Einstein) now represents meaningful, recurring ARR, scaling quickly off a small base. Guidance frames high-single-digit to low-double-digit top-line growth with mid-30s non-GAAP margin for the full year. The equity story is shifting from “hyper-growth CRM pioneer” to “AI-enhanced, cash-rich enterprise platform compounder.”

NVIDIA Buybacks: A Frank Assessment of Value, Signal, and Risk

NVIDIA’s buybacks do create shareholder value — just not in the dramatic, thesis-driving way some bulls think, nor in the self-destructive way critics like Michael Burry argue. The repurchase program works because it: Offsets very large SBC issuance, Provides real share-count shrink, Adds ~1% EPS uplift versus a no-buyback world, And acts as downside liquidity support. But the program is not the engine of NVIDIA’s stock performance. The stock trades on AI data-center earnings, TSMC/HBM/CoWoS supply, hyperscaler capex, and macro positioning, not on the authorization size.

Lumentum (LITE): InP Inside the AI Optical Super-Cycle – but Priced Like It Already Won

Lumentum is a high-quality, vertically integrated indium-phosphide (InP) optics supplier sitting directly in the slipstream of the AI data-center build-out, with record revenue, rapidly recovering margins, and a second growth engine emerging in optical circuit switching. The business is strong, strategically relevant, and executing well - but the stock, up ~240% YTD and trading near 195x trailing earnings, already reflects a lot of optimism. Great business, stretched valuation: accumulate on dips and use hedges or smaller sizing to keep the upside while managing risk.

Apple (AAPL) Options Trade: Exploiting Post-Earnings IV Compression and the iPhone 17 Catalyst

Wait until after tomorrow's (Oct 30) earnings, then enter a ratio call spread (buy 2x Dec $260 calls, sell 3x Dec $270 calls) for ~$400 credit when IV crushes to 23-24%. The edge: IV at 34th percentile will likely expand back toward its median (28-30%), generating 50-80% returns with max profit at $270. Downside capped at $256, but unlimited upside risk above $283 requires active management. Massive institutional call wall at 280-320 validates the bullish thesis on iPhone 17 strength and China recovery.

Credo Technology (CRDO): AI Connectivity Play at Premium Valuation

Credo Technology has emerged as a leading provider of high-speed connectivity solutions for AI infrastructure, delivering explosive 274% year-over-year revenue growth driven by Active Electrical Cable (AEC) shipments to hyperscalers. However, the stock trades at a substantial premium, approximately 40-44x trailing sales, pricing in continued flawless execution amid intensifying competition and potential technology disruption.