Highlights of the week: Trump and duties, Palantir breaks records, OpenAI catches up with SpaceX

AI and fintech are surging in the U.S. market. OpenAI is preparing an employee stock deal that could raise the company's valuation to $500 billion - higher than SpaceX. Apple joined Donald Trump in announcing a $100 billion increase in investments in the U.S., including $2.5 billion in iPhone glass manufacturing. Palantir surpassed $1 billion in revenue for the first time, Nebius Group shares soared 28% after a seven-fold increase in revenue and an increase in guidance. The main events of August 4-8 are in our review;

Following the release of its quarterly report, shares of defense contractor and military AI developer Palantir rose nearly 10% in trading on August 5, as the company's revenue rose 48% year-on-year to exceed $1 billion for the first time. The company improved its full-year forecast, citing a boom in interest in AI, and performed particularly well in the U.S. commercial sector, where its revenue raised his target price on the stock from $160 to $200, suggesting another 10% upside.

However, most Wall Street analysts maintain a neutral view on the stock due to its high valuation. UBS, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank raised their price targets but did not move to a "buy" recommendation. They consider excessively high multiples and potential instability of such growth rate in the future as the main risk factor.

Some analysts, including Jefferies, still recommend selling Palantir securities, considering them overvalued even in the most optimistic scenario. Despite this, investor interest in the company remains high - Palantir has found itself at the center of several megatrends at once: AI, defense modernization and data processing.

What else is there to read about Palantir?"

- Journalist Roman Moguchy explored for Onivest what Palantir is doing to attract investor attention and why human rights and civil rights activists don't like a future that could be dominated by such a company - in the article "The All-Seeing Eye of the Military: How Palantir Became an AI Supplier to Corporations and the Pentagon". 

Дональд Трамп объявил о введении 100% пошлин на импорт полупроводников в США. However, they will not affect those companies that are building or have promised to build factories in the US. He emphasized that promises must be backed up by real action - otherwise the duties will still be levied, including "accumulated debt." Акции крупнейшего в мире поставщика чипов TSMC, который активно строит заводы в США, отреагировали на новость ростом почти на 5%. 

In addition, Trump announced that duties on drugs imported into the US could reach 250%, the maximum rate he has threatened so far. He specified that he would first impose a "small duty" on the drugs, but would raise the rate to 150% after a year - a year and a half at most - and then to 250%. The planned duties would hit the pharmaceutical industry, whose representatives warn that such measures could drive up costs, discourage investment in the U.S. and disrupt drug supply chains, jeopardizing patient health, wrote CNBC.

The U.S. president is trying to bring pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the country, amid its decline in recent decades. In April, the Trump administration initiated a Section 232 investigation into pharmaceutical products - it allows the Commerce Secretary to assess the impact of imports on national security.

What else to read?"

- Over the past 12 months, Novo Nordisk shares have lost nearly 70% of their value. See article "The Novo Nordisk Case: How the creator of Ozempic lost the leadership in the market he created".

Donald Trump requested Intel CEO Lip-Boo Tan to resign immediately due to a "serious conflict of interest." Trump posted his statement on the social network TruthSocial, which immediately affected the market: Intel shares reacted by falling more than 4%.

Earlier, Republican Senator Tom Cotton sent an inquiry to Intel's board of directors about Tan's ties to Chinese entities. At issue are his investments in Chinese chip companies, including those associated with the Chinese Army, as well as a case against Tan's former company Cadence Design, which agreed to pay $140 million for technology transfer to a Chinese military university.

"Intel has an obligation to responsibly manage U.S. taxpayer money and comply with applicable security regulations," wrote Cotton. - Mr. Tan's ties raise questions about Intel's ability to meet these obligations." Intel receives federal funding. The company said it and its CEO are fully committed to U.S. national security and are available to clarify any questions.

What else is there to read about Intel?

- That's not Intel's only problem. The new chip manufacturing technology the company has invested billions of dollars to develop has run into quality problems, jeopardizing profits on a key new processor. How its production volumes will be affected is in article "Intel is having trouble making the new chip. It's critical to competing with TSMC."

US President Donald Trump announced a doubling of duties on imports of goods from India to 50%. The decision will go into effect on August 27. The reason for the increased pressure was India's investment in Russian oil imports despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the US has not yet imposed similar measures against other buyers of Russian oil, including China.

New Delhi reacted sharply, calling Washington's actions unfair and threatening the country's energy security. The opposition in India accused Trump of economic blackmail, and authorities have begun considering possible retaliatory measures. 

If the new duties go into effect, they could cut Indian exports to the U.S. by 60% and hit key industries - jewelry, textiles, footwear and pharmaceuticals. 

Apple and Donald Trump announced a $100 billion expansion of the company's investments in the U.S. over four years. Of that, $2.5 billion will be directed toward expanding iPhone glass production at Corning's Kentucky plant, where all glass for the iPhone and Apple Watch will now be made. Apple's total investment in the U.S. economy will total $600 billion.

Apple has also announced a partnership with Coherent (lasers for Face ID), Texas Instruments, GlobalFoundries and others to create an "end-to-end" manufacturing chain in the U.S., from chip and wafer fabrication to module assembly. This year, the company estimates that more than 19 billion chips for its products will be made with U.S. suppliers.

Speaking at the White House, Trump called this Apple's largest investment ever and said he expects new factories to be built across the country. Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized that production of key components has already been partially moved to the U.S. and that the company took Trump's call to expand its presence in the country seriously.

OpenAI is in talks to sell employee shares to investors, a move that could raise the company's valuation to $500 billion and make it the most expensive non-public tech startup, surpassing Ilon Musk's SpaceX. Its value in July was estimated at $400 billion. OpenAI's deal is aimed at retaining key talent but has already attracted interest from big funds including Thrive Capital, sources at the Financial Times and Bloomberg confirm.

The valuation at which OpenAI shares will be sold has not been fixed, and the size of the sale will depend on investor demand. However, it could significantly exceed the $1.5 billion share sale that OpenAI conducted at the end of last year, the source told the FT. OpenAI itself has not commented on the upcoming deal.

The company is looking to capitalize on strong investor demand to provide employees with liquidity to reflect growth and motivate them to stay with the company, wrote Bloomberg. OpenAI has lost several research division employees to Meta Platforms in recent months - the company has been actively poaching talent in the market, offering compensation packages reaching nine-figure sums.

OpenAI demonstrates rapid revenue growth: annual recurring revenue (ARR) has reached $12 billion, and by the end of 2025 may exceed $20 billion. By comparison, ARR of its closest competitor - Anthropic has reached $4 billion, the company is valued at $170 billion. At the same time, both startups remain unprofitable due to high costs of training and operation of advanced AI models;

What else is there to read about it?"

- More than 90% of investment managers have used or plan to use artificial intelligence in their work. AI is already analyzing data, identifying market trends, and even building portfolios. Ekaterina Smirnova wrote about the advantages and disadvantages of AI investing in material "Credit for Trust: What Investors Can Give to AI".

Shares of Nebius Group (formerly Yandex N.V.) rose by 19% after the company released a strong quarterly report. The company's second-quarter revenue increased 625% to $105.1 million, exceeding analysts' forecasts. At the same time, the net loss grew by 48.5% to $91.5 million. The company late last year announced plans to invest $1 billion in developing AI infrastructure in Europe. 

Arkady Volozh, head of Nebius Group, said that demand for AI infrastructure - from servers to software - will only increase. The company raised its full-year forecast and now expects revenue in the range of $900 million to $1.1 billion, which analysts said reflects high confidence in stable demand for computing power and data centers.

Experts say such rapid growth is necessary to justify Nebius' current valuation. Seeking Alpha analyst Jack Bowman called the company "incredibly strong in terms of growth," though he warned: any slowdown in AI demand could negatively impact the business. So far, there are no such signs.

What else is there to read about it?"

- Why Arkady Volozh's AI startup Nebius - born in Kazakhstan and co-founder of Yandex - is called one of the most promising investments in the artificial intelligence sector was written in article "Wall Street Casino: Why Volozh's Nebius stands out in an overheated market".

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