Morning Roundup: Alphabet Shares Plunge After Earnings Report; Marvell Prepares for a Mega Deal

Alphabet disappointed the market with its quarterly earnings report. The U.S. Department of Justice is examining the impact of Nvidia’s acquisition of the Hugging Face platform on competition in the AI sector. Chipmaker Marvell is in talks to acquire Lumentum, a manufacturer of optical components for data centers. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of October 29.

Alphabet’s stock fell more than 10% in after-hours trading following the release of its quarterly earnings report, according to CNBC. The company’s revenue rose 25% to $127.58 billion but fell short of analysts’ forecasts. Net income fell to $26.17 billion, and free cash flow was negative once again, totaling minus $9.07 billion.

Alphabet's capital expenditures reached $51.36 billion, while its debt increased nearly sixfold to $125.1 billion. The company expects its expenses to exceed $300 billion in 2027. At the same time, revenue from the cloud division more than doubled to $30.7 billion, and the number of Gemini app users reached 1 billion, according to the TV channel.

The U.S. Department of Justice is examining the potential impact of Nvidia’s $12.93 billion acquisition of the Hugging Face platform on competition in the artificial intelligence sector, Reuters reports, citing sources. The regulator is concerned that the deal would allow the largest manufacturer of AI chips to gain control over a key platform for distributing AI models. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

The review is part of a broader antitrust investigation into Nvidia’s activities, which began under Joe Biden, the agency notes. In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice is examining Nvidia’s acquisitions of SchedMD and Run:ai, as well as its partnership with Groq. The regulator is investigating whether Nvidia is using its dominant position in the AI chip market to pressure customers and restrict competition.

U.S. chipmaker Marvell Technology is in advanced talks to acquire Lumentum Holdings, a manufacturer of optical components for data centers, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. Lumentum, in which Nvidia has invested, has a market value of about $83 billion. The deal could be announced as early as next week. On this news, Marvell’s stock fell 9%, while Lumentum’s stock jumped 11%.

The acquisition could rank among the top ten largest tech deals in history. Lumentum manufactures lasers and optical components necessary for high-speed data transmission between AI servers. Demand for its products is so high that production capacity is fully booked through nearly 2029. The deal will allow Marvell to strengthen its position in the artificial intelligence infrastructure market, the agency notes.

Microsoft's stock rose more than 4% after the company reported quarterly results that exceeded analysts' expectations, according to Yahoo Finance. The company's revenue rose from $77.6 billion a year earlier to $92.28 billion, compared with a forecast of $90.63 billion. Earnings per share came in at $4.89, compared with an expected $4.73.

Revenue for the Agents and Infra division reached $76.8 billion, while sales of the Azure cloud platform grew 48% to $33.17 billion. Revenue for the Devices and Consumer division totaled $15.5 billion. Microsoft’s capital expenditures, including rent, reached $39.37 billion, falling short of analysts’ forecast of $45.93 billion.

Apple has unveiled the first MacBook Pro with a PROLED XDR touchscreen OLED display. The laptop is available in 14-inch and 16-inch models, featuring M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, as well as the Dynamic Island feature familiar from the iPhone. Prices start at $2,899 and $3,199, respectively.

Apple introduced a touchscreen years after its competitors Microsoft, HP, and Dell. The company had previously discontinued the Touch Bar due to low demand. The new feature is part of a major update to Apple’s lineup of devices, including the MacBook Pro, iMac, and iPad mini.

Oracle shares rose 11% to $144.34 following the release of its long-term free cash flow forecast, according to Bloomberg. The company expects the figure to reach $30 billion in the fiscal year ending in May 2029, although analysts had forecast a negative figure. Oracle also reaffirmed its revenue forecast of $225 billion by fiscal year 2030.

The company plans to increase its data center capacity to more than 10 GW by the end of fiscal year 2028, while continuing to expand its infrastructure for OpenAI and other customers. Oracle expects to reduce capital expenditures starting in fiscal year 2029 and limit additional funding to $20 billion through May 2030.

Samsung Electronics shares fell 5% following the release of its quarterly earnings report, despite record results, according to CNBC. The company’s revenue rose 127% to 195.25 trillion won ($124 billion), while operating profit increased nearly ninefold to 107.44 trillion won. Both figures came in slightly below analysts’ forecasts.

Samsung’s semiconductor division accounted for nearly all of the company’s operating profit, driven by strong demand for AI memory, including HBM4—the latest generation of high-speed memory used in AI accelerators. The company expects demand to continue growing through 2027 and plans to increase sales of advanced memory chips. However, investors are concerned about Samsung’s growing dependence on memory prices, the TV channel explains.

— Japan’s broad-based Topix index remained virtually unchanged, while the Nikkei 225 rose 1%.
— Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.2%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 Index fell 1%.
— In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 1.1%, and the Kosdaq index fell 2.3%.
— Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5%.
— Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.1%, S&P 500 futures lost 0.3%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.4%.

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