Highlights of the week: luxury rises, gold overtakes bitcoin, Walmart and OpenAI deal

LVMH returned to growth, which was a sign of recovering demand for luxury goods. Gold once again became the main safe haven for investors, displacing bitcoin. Walmart agreed with OpenAI to integrate shopping into ChatGPT. Oracle and AMD announced an AI deal challenging Nvidia's leadership, and Microsoft, Nvidia and xAI are investing $40 billion in Aligned data centers. The main events of October 13-17 are in our review.

Sales at LVMH, the biggest player in the luxury goods market, rose 1% to €19.1 billion ($22.1 billion) after two consecutive quarters of decline, beating analysts' forecasts. Shoppers spent more on Moët & Chandon champagne and Dior fragrances, helping the company emerge from a prolonged slump. Revenue in the U.S. rose 3%, while the Asian region, which includes China, added 2%, after falling 9% in the first half of the year.

LVMH reports became a signal of possible recovery of the whole sector: after its publication in the evening of October 14, the company's securities jumped by 8.8% on the US over-the-counter market, quotations at the auction in Paris the next day soared by 12%. LVMH papers pushed up shares of other luxury brands - Kering, Hermès and Richemont. Analysts note that the dynamics of demand in China remains encouraging, and the return to growth is "a step in the right direction".

What else is there to read about it?

- Oninvest correspondent Albert Fakhrutdinov tells us which luxury brands' shares Wall Street analysts advise to buy in the article "Investment banks bet on LVMH. What other luxury stocks does Wall Street recommend to buy?".

Gold has once again become the main "safe haven" for investors, displacing bitcoin from the status of a protective asset, said Ed Yardeni, head of Yardeni Research. According to his forecast, the price of the precious metal may exceed $5,000 as early as 2026, and by the end of the decade - rise to $10,000 per ounce.

"Bitcoin has been called 'digital gold,' but I would say gold is the 'new bitcoin,'" Yardeni said. - Investors leaving risky assets are increasingly coming to the conclusion that gold better protects against geopolitical threats". The analyst reminded that unlike bitcoin, gold has a thousand-year history.

Since the beginning of the year, gold has risen in price by about 60%, while bitcoin has grown by only 20%. At the same time, the precious metal has added more than 13% over the past month, while the cryptocurrency has lost about 3%. Yardeni attributes the fall of bitcoin to liquidity problems and reduction of credit positions: about $19 billion in futures and credit positions were withdrawn from the market. Gold, on the contrary, rose sharply after the statements of US President Donald Trump about the possible introduction of duties in 100% against China.

What else is there to read about gold?

- How to bet on the growth of gold without physically buying the metal - in Oninvest's material "Gold fever: the growth of gold miners' shares twice exceeded the growth of gold prices".

TSMC, the largest contract manufacturer of microchips, has reported record figures for the third quarter of 2025: net profit grew by 39% to $15.1 billion, revenue - by 30% to $32.3 billion. Both figures became a record for the company and exceeded analysts' forecasts. The growth was driven by the boom in artificial intelligence and the launch of new Apple devices, which boosted orders for the company's advanced chips.

Analysts note TSMC's resilience to external risks and profit growth as customers switch to more complex processes. At the same time, the negative effect of factors such as trade barriers or a weakening economy has not yet manifested itself, indicating a stable short-term position of TSMC, said Macquarie analyst Arthur Lai. The company's papers since the beginning of the year rose in price by more than 50%, analysts on Wall Street almost unanimously recommend them to buy.

Walmart, the largest retailer in the US, has partnered with OpenAI to build online shopping functionality right into the ChatGPT interface. Users will be able to purchase items via Instant Checkout, making shopping faster and more personalized. The deal opens a new source of revenue for OpenAI, and Walmart strengthens its position as a technology leader among retailers: the company's shares rose more than 5% in trading on October 14, after the announcement of the deal, and set a new record.

Analysts call the cooperation a step towards the era of agency commerce, where AI anticipates the needs of shoppers. According to experts, betting on AI at an early stage will allow Walmart to get ahead of competitors, but they warn of risks: the growing role of digital assistants increases dependence on algorithms and may increase the collection of personal data.

What else is there to read about it?

- What analysts say about the deal between Walmart and OpenAI - in the article by Oninvest correspondent Vlad Osipov "Walmart can reach $1 trillion capitalization thanks to integration with ChatGPT - Mizuho".

Oracle announced a deal with AMD to supply 50 thousand Instinct MI450 GPUs. The chips will be delivered in the second half of 2026, and the companies plan to expand their cooperation from 2027. AMD's AI gas pedals are capable of combining into powerful racks of 72 chips, which allows to create and scale advanced artificial intelligence models. The announcement of the deal caused AMD's shares to rise by almost 4% in trading on October 14, while Oracle's securities were on the contrary declining - by 5.5%.

The deal confirms the increasing competition in the market, where Nvidia still holds more than 90% of the data center segment. AMD aims to close the gap by offering alternative server solutions to cloud providers. The Oracle and AMD partnership adds to a series of high-profile OpenAI agreements - with both companies and Nvidia itself - and points to the growing race for computing power in the AI era.

A group of investors led by Nvidia, Microsoft and Elon Musk's company xAI will spend $40 billion to acquire 100% of Aligned Data Centers, one of the largest data center operators in the Americas, which is owned by Macquarie Asset Management. The deal, organized by the AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP) consortium with participation from BlackRock and MGX, will be the largest in the industry's history, according to a press release.

Aligned operates 50 data centers with a combined capacity of more than 5 gigawatts and plays a key role in expanding global infrastructure for artificial intelligence. According to CNBC, this is AIP's first major investment, bringing the group closer to its goal of investing $30 billion in AI infrastructure. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026 following regulatory approval.

The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Agyon and Peter Howitt for explaining how innovation and competition in the marketplace of ideas generate sustainable economic growth. Their work showed that the pursuit of stability and fear of change leads to stagnation, while "creative destruction" stimulates development. Mokyr emphasized that society must be open to new ideas and change, while Aghion and Howitt emphasized that technological breakthroughs inevitably tear down old structures, creating space for new ones.

The laureates' research is particularly relevant against the backdrop of the proliferation of artificial intelligence. Experts believe that AI will become a new catalyst for innovation, bringing growth and transforming markets. According to Agyon, it is important not to restrain technological progress, but to guide it - through antitrust policy and support for experimentation. Mokyr believes AI has the potential to make humanity "more productive and more enlightened," ushering in a new era of economic growth.

On Friday, October 17, China's BYD, Tesla's main competitor, announced a recall of more than 115,000 cars manufactured from 2015 to 2022 - due to design flaws and possible battery problems. This is the largest recall of its electric cars since the company was founded.

BYD shares fell by 4% during trading in Hong Kong. According to MarketScreener, most analysts maintain a Buy recommendation on shares of the electric car maker. BYD last recalled nearly 7,000 Fangchengbao Bao 5 hybrid SUVs in January 2025 due to fire risk.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor