The Bloomberg Tech segment opens with a focus on the tech market’s current volatility, highlighting concerns about Palantir’s valuation amid the AI rally. Despite Palantir’s strong revenue growth and positive fundamentals, investors remain cautious, partly due to bearish bets from notable figures like Michael Burry. Mariana Perez Mora, an aerospace analyst, defends Palantir’s position, emphasizing its unique AI infrastructure developed over 20 years and its ability to extract real value from AI implementations, especially through its longstanding government and commercial partnerships. She argues that Palantir’s operational AI capabilities set it apart from many other companies struggling to make AI work effectively.
Tesla also faces scrutiny as Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, votes against CEO Elon Musk’s pay package, citing concerns about dilution and key man risk. This opposition marks the most significant shareholder dissent yet, although the fund acknowledges Musk’s visionary role. Tesla’s board has attempted to mitigate succession risks but remains focused on retaining Musk. Historically, even when the fund has opposed Musk’s compensation, Tesla’s substantial retail investor base has helped pass such measures, indicating a complex dynamic between institutional and retail shareholders.
The discussion then shifts to other tech companies like Instacart, Uber, and Grab, highlighting their strategies amid AI integration and profitability challenges. Instacart is launching AI tools to enhance grocery shopping experiences, while Uber reports strong top-line growth but disappointing profitability due to investments in new products like autonomous vehicles. Grab, in contrast, focuses on affordability and cross-selling to expand its user base and improve profitability, with CEO Peter Oey emphasizing AI’s core role in their operations and plans to deploy robotaxis in Singapore and beyond, navigating regulatory and labor considerations.
On the macroeconomic front, experts warn of a potential market correction of over 10% in the next 12 to 24 months, driven by mixed economic signals. While AI-related tech stocks show strength, broader consumer weakness, especially among lower- and middle-income groups, poses risks. Concerns include the availability of rare earth elements critical for AI hardware, uncertain productivity gains from AI investments, and local opposition to data center expansions due to rising electricity costs. Analysts suggest diversifying investments, including exposure to China’s AI sector, which operates under different geopolitical and technological constraints.
Finally, Snowflake’s CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy discusses the company’s AI partnerships and business model, emphasizing a consumption-based approach that ties revenue to actual product use, ensuring customers see tangible returns on AI investments. He stresses the importance of incremental AI adoption through pilots and proofs of concept rather than large-scale launches, helping Snowflake navigate the hype and focus on delivering real value. Meanwhile, AMD prepares to report earnings amid strong investor interest in its AI chip deals, though it still trails NVIDIA in revenue. The segment concludes with reflections on the ongoing earnings season, investor anxiety about valuations, and the broader implications for the tech sector’s future.
