Can Alphabet Catch Up on Cloud?

Can Alphabet Catch Up on Cloud? 

Alphabet [GOOGL] saw slower-than-expected cloud growth in Q4, Bloomberg reported: cloud sales hit $12bn but lagged behind rivals Amazon [AMZN] and Microsoft [MSFT]. Alphabet plans $75bn in 2025 capital expenditure, far above the $57.9bn forecast; CEO Sundar Pichai said the firm needs to go on investing in cloud to “ensure we can address the increase in customer demand.”

AMD: Record Revenue Fails to Wow

Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Q4 revenue was at record levels, but concerns persist over the momentum of its artificial intelligence (AI) drive, according to Seeking Alpha. Despite forecasting strong double-digit growth, the stock sank over 8% premarket trading on a weak data center outlook, an area in which it is struggling to compete with Nvidia [NVDA]; although revenue from the segment was 69% higher than last year, it was still well below analyst estimates. 

Trump’s Crackdown on Shein Could Benefit Amazon

The Trump administration is discussing whether to add Shein and Temu to the Department of Homeland Security’s “forced labor” list, Semafor reported. This would be on top of the recently announced 10% tariff on Chinese imports and the revoking of the so-called ‘de minimis’ rules, which exempt shipments under $800 from duties — measures that put both brands under pressure, and in turn could benefit Amazon, according to the Financial Times. 

Obesity Drug Demand Drives Up NVO

Novo Nordisk [NVO] saw sales of its obesity drugs, including Wegovy, jump 56% in 2024, driving a 26% rise in total revenue, to $40bn. Shares climbed nearly 5% as the Danish pharma giant secured insurance coverage for 55 million Americans. With Wegovy expanding into over 15 countries, Novo has cemented its lead in the booming weight-loss drug market. Regarding tariffs, CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said the firm was in a “good position” to adapt to a “less connected” world. 

Red Light for Honda + Nissan Tie-up?

A proposed $58bn merger between Honda [HMC] and Nissan [NSANY] is nearing collapse after Honda unexpectedly proposed making Nissan a fully owned subsidiary, deviating from plans for a jointly owned holding company. This shift has led to tensions over equity ratios and asset valuations. Nissan executives were surprised by the “take it or leave it” offer, the Financial Times reported. 

IBM: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

IBM [IBM] raised its long-term revenue growth outlook to over 5% annually, topping analysts’ 4% estimate. CFO James Kavanaugh did not specify the timeframe, but pointed to software expansion as the driver. IBM continues shifting from hardware to services, fueled by acquisitions like Apptio in 2023 and its planned HashiCorp [HCP] takeover, announced last April.

Can a Biopharma Bounce-back Boost These 3 Stocks? 

After a sell-off at the end of 2024 — following Donald Trump’s re-election and choice of vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as his health secretary — the biopharma sector seems to be bouncing back. Weight loss drugs are likely to continue to constitute a fast-growing market in 2025. Though it is dominated by giants, plenty of other biotechs and new incumbents are developing treatments. On Foresight, OPTO dives into three biopharma stocks at the head of the pack.