Amazon Q2: first $200B quarter, AWS acceleration silences AI-capex skeptics
Revenue hit $200.6B (est. $196.5B, +20% YoY), with AWS at $42.2B (+37%), its fastest growth in 18 quarters. The AI and chips businesses each separately crossed $25B annualized run rates, and Amazon confirmed $220B in capex this year.
Apple: record quarter, structural guidance miss on memory shortage
June quarter was a record ($109.4B, +16% YoY) but September-quarter guidance of 9-11% missed the 12% analyst estimate, driven by DRAM reallocated to AI data centers and TSMC advanced-node capacity sold out through 2027. The 7.3% stock fall erased roughly $500B in market cap, returning the most-valuable-company title to Nvidia.
Mortgage rates hit a one-year high
US 30-year rates rose to their highest level in a year, driven by the Middle East conflict lifting oil prices and inflation expectations. The move tightens housing affordability further at a moment when inventory is already thin.