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Luke Kawa

Qualcomm surges after revealing new AI chips with Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN as first big buyer

Qualcomm took over leadership of the semiconductor rally this morning after announcing new AI chips for data centers, sending shares soaring.

The AI200 and AI250 are expected to be available in 2026 and 2027, respectively. These new solutions are “redefining what’s possible for rack-scale AI inference,” per Senior Vice President Durga Malladi.

In a separate press release, Qualcomm said Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN is poised to deploy 200 megawatts in these upcoming models starting next year for inference, formalizing an announcement made earlier this year. HUMAIN previously also revealed a deal in May with Nvidia to build “AI factories of the future.”

The AI boom remains more constrained by demand than supply, and this launch represents Qualcomm’s foray to take more market share.

Nvidia, the leader in AI GPUs, pared some of its gains on the announcement, while competitor Advanced Micro Devices turned negative after the news hit the wires.

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Budget airline stocks dip as Spirit pilots ratify contract that’ll help the carrier stay afloat

Low-cost airlines JetBlue and Frontier are trading lower on Thursday following the news that Spirit Airlines pilots ratified modifications to their labor contract that will lower costs for the carrier, which filed for bankruptcy in August.

According to the Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit pilots approved a deal that included “temporary reductions to pay rates and retirement contributions.” Beginning January 1, hourly pay will be reduced 8% and retirement contributions will drop by half, from 16% to 8%.

“Spirit pilots made a difficult choice that provides the Company with what it needs from labor to secure financing and complete its restructuring,” said Captain Ryan P. Muller, chairman of the Spirit Airlines Master Executive Council.

Wall Street sees JetBlue and Frontier as the biggest beneficiaries to Spirit’s woes, and both carriers have attempted to purchase Spirit in recent years.

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Planet Labs rips on strong earnings report

Satellite services company Planet Labs was on track for a new record closing high after rising more than 35% in early afternoon trading on Thursday.

The roughly $5 billion company posted better-than-expected quarterly results and guided toward higher-than-expected sales for the current quarter after the close of trading Wednesday.

“AI continues to be a major tailwind as the company is seeing significant demand through enhanced capabilities for its advanced satellite data solutions,” wrote Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives, adding, “We continue to believe the PL is well-positioned at the intersection of Space and AI.” He has an “outperform” — basically a “buy” — rating and a price target of $20 on the stock.

Other satellite services AST SpaceMobile and Rocket Lab also enjoyed a bump on Thursday, seemingly riding the momentum of Planet Labs’ numbers.

“AI continues to be a major tailwind as the company is seeing significant demand through enhanced capabilities for its advanced satellite data solutions,” wrote Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives, adding, “We continue to believe the PL is well-positioned at the intersection of Space and AI.” He has an “outperform” — basically a “buy” — rating and a price target of $20 on the stock.

Other satellite services AST SpaceMobile and Rocket Lab also enjoyed a bump on Thursday, seemingly riding the momentum of Planet Labs’ numbers.

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