Netflix Enters the Ring

Netflix Enters the Ring

Beyoncé is to headline the halftime show at Netflix’s [NFLX] first NFL games this Christmas, as the streaming giant makes a major move into live sports. The announcement followed Netflix’s record-breaking live stream of the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match, which attracted 65 million concurrent streams and 60 million household viewers. The event overwhelmed Netflix’s servers, resulting in numerous complaints about connection issues and frozen screens.

Earnings this Week: All Eyes on NVDA

Earnings season may be winding down, but there are still some big-name reports ahead. Among others, this week investors will hear from Snowflake [SNOW], Palo Alto Networks [PANW] and Baidu [BIDU], as well as Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers Nio [NIO] and XPeng [XPEV] and health tech Medtronic [MDT]. The earnings report that will likely draw the most headlines is that of Nvidia [NVDA] on Wednesday; estimates reported by Seeking Alpha would see the firm report an EPS of $0.74 on revenue of $33.2bn, an 80% year-on-year spike.

Blackwell Bug?

Nvidia is currently in the headlines for the wrong reasons, after The Information reported that servers equipped with its new Blackwell artificial intelligence (AI) chips are overheating. The issue reportedly arises in server racks designed for up to 72 GPUs. Nvidia has urged suppliers to redesign these racks to mitigate overheating. Customers are concerned about delays in building new data centers to accommodate the chips, potentially impacting roll-out timelines.

Trump Boost to Autonomous Driving

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team plans to prioritize federal regulations for fully self-driving vehicles, Bloomberg reported. This initiative would benefit Tesla [TSLA] CEO Elon Musk, a key Trump supporter, whose EV company is heavily invested in autonomous technology and AI development. Pedro Palandrani, Director of Research at Global X ETFs, recently joined OPTO Sessions to unpack how autonomous vehicles have the potential to completely overhaul transportation.

Chinese Phone Brands Target Europe

Chinese smartphone makers are expanding aggressively in Europe, the Financial Times reported, focusing on premium devices. Realme aims to double its European market share from 4% to over 10% in 3–5 years, leveraging a 275% sales increase from 2020 to 2022. Honor overtook Samsung [SSNLF] as the top foldable smartphone seller in Western Europe in Q2 and entered the top five in overall market share. Oppo is also returning to the European premium segment with its flagship Find X8 series.

BABA Bonds

Alibaba [BABA] aims to raise some $5bn through a dual-currency bond offering, featuring both US dollar- and RMB-denominated senior unsecured notes. The dollar tranche includes 5.5-year, 10.5-year and 30-year bonds. Each tranche operates independently, with details such as principal amount, interest rates and maturities to be determined upon pricing. This move highlights Alibaba’s strategic financial planning amid evolving market conditions, Seeking Alpha reported.

Can Cardiovascular Sales Boost Medtronic’s Growth?

The world’s top medical devices company in terms of revenue, US-based health tech firm Medtronic [MDT] is widening its product suite with a view to maintaining its market dominance. While the company’s projected revenue for the next couple of years might not excite investors, steady demand for medical devices, especially in the cardiovascular segment, should continue to lift sales and profit. OPTO delves into the fundamentals for MDT stock prior to its earnings report on Tuesday.