🚀 Intel beats revenue expectations

Market Overview
Read time 1.4 minutes

Year To Date Performances:

1. Intel beat revenue expectations with $12.86B in Q2, but posted a $2.9B net loss as new CEO Lip-Bu Tan slashed foundry investments and halted expansion plans in Europe, citing overbuilding and underutilized capacity. Tan, who took over in March, has laid off 15% of Intel’s workforce and vowed an end to “blank checks,” promising that future chip investments will require firm customer demand. Intel’s foundry unit lost $3.17B, and PC chip sales slipped 3%, but data center revenue rose 4% as the company eyes a comeback against AMD in the server space.

2. The FCC approved the $8 billion Paramount–Skydance merger, greenlighting a deal that hands control of CBS, Paramount Pictures, and Nickelodeon to David Ellison’s Skydance Media. While FCC Chair Brendan Carr praised Skydance for pledging ideological diversity and banning DEI initiatives, Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez dissented, warning the merger follows troubling signs of political interference, including Paramount’s $16 million payout to Trump over a "60 Minutes" lawsuit and the abrupt cancellation of Colbert’s show. Critics, including the WGA and Senators Warren and Schiff, allege the deal may reflect political pressure, not just media consolidation.

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4. Tesla’s infamous 2022 bitcoin sell-off has cost it billions. After buying $1.5 billion worth of BTC in 2021, the company offloaded 75% of its holdings in mid-2022 during a market crash, missing out on the crypto’s sixfold rebound. With Bitcoin now trading above $119,000, Tesla’s remaining digital assets are valued at $1.24 billion; however, they’d be worth around $5 billion had the company held steady. The $936 million it converted to cash would now be worth over $3.5 billion. While Tesla’s focus remains on robotaxis and humanoid robots, its core EV business is faltering—and bitcoin gains are propping up its profits.

   Headlines

   1. Microsoft has laid off more than 15,000 people this year.

   2. Starlink experienced a significant and prolonged outage following the rollout of T-Mobile’s satellite service.

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