Top Stock Market Highlights of the Month: Nvidia, Google, Microsoft ...
Welcome to The Smart Investor’s first top stock market highlights for the month. May has been a busy month with the release of the latest quarterly earnings and business updates from a host of Singapore and US companies. We took the liberty of selecting the most relevant news bits and summarising them here in case you missed them.
Nvidia: Record-Breaking Earnings and Stock Split
Nvidia released another set of blowout earnings for its first quarter of fiscal 2025 (1Q FY2025) ending 28 April 2024. Revenue hit US$26 billion, a record high and more than tripling year on year. Operating profit came in at US$16.9 billion, up 690% year on year from US$2.1 billion a year ago. In line with the blockbuster results, the company declared a 10-for-1 stock split effective 7 June 2024. Nvidia also increased its quarterly dividend by 150% year on year to US$0.01 on a post-split basis.
Google: AI Innovations at I/O Conference
There were many exciting announcements at I/O, Google’s annual developer conference held in Mountain View, USA. The highlight of the session was the prominence of "artificial intelligence" or AI, with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai mentioning it 121 times. Google unveiled a brand-new AI model called Gemini 1.5 Flash and showcased its newest universal assistant dubbed Project Astra, among other upgrades for Google Photos and Search.
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Microsoft: Major Investments in Malaysia and Southeast Asia
Microsoft announced a plan to invest US$2.2 billion to build digital infrastructure in Malaysia. This investment also includes AI training for 200,000 people in Malaysia and collaboration with the government to enhance cybersecurity capabilities. The company will also train a total of 2.5 million people in AI skills in Southeast Asia by 2025. Microsoft's efforts in the region demonstrate its commitment to competing in cloud computing and AI services.
US Federal Reserve: Interest Rate Uncertainty
The interest rate debate remains uncertain after the latest speech by Jerome Powell, chairman of the US Federal Reserve. While Powell indicated that another rate increase may not be necessary to combat inflation, he did not provide a clear timeline for potential rate cuts. Policymakers are closely monitoring economic data before making any decisions, especially regarding inflation and the overall health of the economy.
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