Independent equity research, trade ideas, and market analysis by Balaji N, CFP. We cover AI infrastructure, semiconductors, mobility tech, energy, and macro trends.
- Arista Networks Q2 2026: First $3B Quarter, 100+ AI Fabric Customers, and a $9.7B Supply Chain Bet
Balaji N, CFP · August 5, 2026 · AI Networking
Arista hit $3B in revenue, raised FY guidance to $12.6B, and revealed 100+ EtherLynx customers. The scale-across TAM reaches $15–20B by 2030.
- Palantir's SpaceX Windfall: How the Largest IPO in History Turbocharged PLTR's Q2 Earnings
Balaji N, CFP · August 4, 2026 · AI & Technology
SpaceX IPO'd at $135 in June 2026. Palantir booked unrealized gains adding $0.03 to Q2 EPS. But the real story is 93% revenue growth and 149% US commercial growth.
- SK Hynix Crashes 14%, Samsung Down 12%: The Semiconductor Selloff Shaking Asia
Balaji N, CFP · July 28, 2026 · Semiconductor
SK Hynix plunged 14%, Samsung fell 12%, SoftBank dropped 6% in a single session. The KOSPI lost 9.4%. What is driving the rout and is it time to buy?
- China Cracks DUV Lithography: What It Means for ASML, AMAT, LRCX, and KLAC
Balaji N, CFP · July 27, 2026 · Semiconductor Equipment
A Shanghai state-backed company has started mass-producing homegrown immersion DUV machines. Here is what it means for ASML's monopoly and U.S. equipment stocks.
- Lyft vs Uber 2026: Which Rideshare Stock Is the Better Investment?
Balaji N, CFP · July 22, 2026 · Equity Research
A data-driven comparison of LYFT vs UBER across FY2025 revenue, EBITDA, valuation multiples, FCF yield, and the autonomous vehicle future.
- Why Memory Stocks Are Selling Off — And Why the Bulls Aren't Dead Yet
Balaji N, CFP · July 17, 2026 · Semiconductor
HBM supply is surging from all three makers simultaneously. CXMT is adding 500,000 wafers a month. Is this the cycle peak — or the last exit before the next leg up?
- China's CXMT: The $4.3B Memory Giant That Could Reshape the DRAM World
Balaji N, CFP · July 15, 2026 · Semiconductor
CXMT is launching China's biggest IPO of 2026 and targeting 17% of global DRAM supply by 2028. Here is what it means for Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.
- Amazon AWS Trainium 2 Is Nvidia's First Real Competitor
Balaji N, CFP · July 9, 2026 · AI Infrastructure
AWS crossed $29B in quarterly revenue. Trainium 2 delivers 4× better price-performance than the H100. The AWS margin expansion story has only begun.
- Meta's AI Bet Is Paying Off: How Llama 4 Is Rebuilding a $1.5 Trillion Company
Balaji N, CFP · July 9, 2026 · Large Language Models
Meta AI has 700 million monthly active users. Llama 4 downloaded 650 million times. The open-source strategy is producing a competitive moat rivals cannot replicate.
- Microsoft Azure Is Growing Faster Than AWS — And Copilot Has Only Just Begun
Balaji N, CFP · July 9, 2026 · AI Infrastructure
Azure grew 35% in Q3 FY2026. Copilot crossed $10B in annualised recurring revenue. With $80B in annual capex, Microsoft is building the enterprise AI stack.
- Apple Intelligence Is the Real iPhone 17 Upgrade Catalyst
Balaji N, CFP · July 9, 2026 · Large Language Models
Apple Intelligence ships on 1.4 billion devices. iPhone 17 upgrade rates running 12% above the prior cycle. Services at $96B annualised and growing 14%. The full AAPL case for 2026.
- Nvidia Blackwell B200: Why the AI Chip King Has No Credible Challenger Through 2027
Balaji N, CFP · July 9, 2026 · Semiconductor
Nvidia data centre revenue hit $39.1B in a single quarter. Blackwell is sold out. The CUDA ecosystem took 15 years to build and cannot be replicated.
- Vertiv: The Pick-and-Shovel Play Powering Every AI Data Center
Balaji N, CFP · July 6, 2026 · Infrastructure
Vertiv grew Q1 2026 revenue 30% to $2.65B, holds a $15B+ backlog up 109% YoY. With AI racks hitting 150kW, liquid cooling is no longer optional.
- Onto Innovation: The Hidden Gatekeeper of the AI Chip Supply Chain
Balaji N, CFP · June 29, 2026 · Semiconductors
Onto's Dragonfly G5 passed TSMC's 2.5D AI packaging qualification and won a $240M+ HBM4 contract. ONTO is the inspection chokepoint every AI chip must pass through.
- CEVA Inc: The Invisible AI Engine Inside a Billion Chips
Balaji N, CFP · June 29, 2026 · Semiconductors
CEVA's AI IP is in the 2026 Toyota RAV4. Licensing revenues at a 3-year high. AI tops 20% of licensing mix. The royalty flywheel is accelerating.
- IPG Photonics: The Fiber Laser Giant Turning an EV Bet Into Revenue
Balaji N, CFP · June 29, 2026 · Industrials
IPG grew Q1 2026 revenue 17% to $265M. Welding revenue driven by EV battery manufacturing surpassed flat-sheet cutting for the first time in company history.
- Why Bloom Energy Has a 5-Year Window Competitors Cannot Close
Balaji N, CFP · June 29, 2026 · Energy
The bears are right that Bloom faces competition from gas turbines and nuclear. They are wrong about the single variable that matters in the AI power crisis: speed.
- The AI Memory Gold Rush: Micron Prints Record $41.5B Quarter
Balaji N, CFP · June 25, 2026 · AI Infrastructure
Micron's Q3 FY2026 revenue surged 346% YoY to $41.5B. SK Hynix raising $29.4B in a US IPO. The AI memory supercycle is structural and the window may be narrowing.
- Western Digital's Quiet Tripling: Why the AI Storage Supercycle Is Just Getting Started
Balaji N, CFP · June 16, 2026 · AI Infrastructure
WDC is up 135% in 2026. Q3 revenue up 45% YoY. Only $145M quarterly capex generating $978M in free cash flow. The storage supercycle has fundamentals demanding attention.
- The Energy Bottleneck: Why the Power Grid Is the Biggest Constraint on AI
Balaji N, CFP · June 16, 2026 · AI Infrastructure
AI data centres are straining the US power grid. We map the full power-delivery stack and identify the companies best positioned to profit from the infrastructure build-out.
- Why Astera Labs (ALAB) Is Surging 227% in a Year
Balaji N, CFP · June 16, 2026 · AI Infrastructure
Astera's aiXscale Photonics acquisition positions it at the centre of the AI interconnect wave. Q1 2026 revenue surged 93% YoY to $308 million. The photonics bet is paying off.
- Zoom's $51M Bet That Became $1.27 Billion: The Anthropic Stake
Balaji N, CFP · June 16, 2026 · AI Infrastructure
Zoom invested $51 million in Anthropic in 2023. That stake is now worth $1.27 billion as Anthropic files for an IPO at a $965 billion valuation. ZM stock jumped 11%.
- Photonics and the AI Data Centre: Why Light Is Replacing Copper
Balaji N, CFP · June 8, 2026 · AI Infrastructure
At 1.6 terabits per second, physics forces the transition to silicon photonics. We map the full value chain from transceivers to picks-and-shovels plays.
- AVGO at the Crossroads: Why Wall Street Is Selling a Record Quarter
Balaji N, CFP · June 7, 2026 · AI Infrastructure
Broadcom posted revenue up 48%, AI chips up 143%, FCF at $10.3B. The stock is falling. Here is why, and why the bears are dead wrong on the setup that matters.
- ZS Trade Update: The 20% Target Is Here
Balaji N, CFP · July 6, 2026 · Trade Update
Zscaler delivered exactly what we expected. Clean 20% gain at $147.50. Positional traders should book profits now.
- CRDO Hits Second Target — Book Profit at $300
Balaji N, CFP · June 22, 2026 · Trade Update
Our conviction long on Credo Technology at $250 has hit T2 at $300 — a 22% gain in 8 days. Positional traders should book full profit here.