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- 📈 Micron's AI Memory Jackpot
📈 Micron's AI Memory Jackpot
Apple Eyes $14B Perplexity Deal, Novo Dumps Hims Over Marketing, FedEx Targets $1B Cost Cuts, Worldline Shares Crater on Reports, Uber Preps for Robotaxi Wars
Evelio Silvera
June 25, 2025
Good morning.
⚡ The Fast Five → Apple Eyes $14B Perplexity Deal, Novo Dumps Hims Over Marketing, FedEx Targets $1B Cost Cuts, Worldline Shares Crater on Reports, Uber Preps for Robotaxi Wars
🔎 Market Trends → Wall St ends sharply higher as Middle East tensions cool; US stock futures rise after Trump announces Israel-Iran ceasefire
And now…
⏱️ Your 5-minute briefing for Wednesday, June 25, 2025:
MARKET BRIEF
Before the Open
As of market close 06/24/2025.
Pre-Market
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Fear & Greed
Markets in Review
Wall Street Cheers Ceasefire, Oil Craters as Risk Premium Evaporates
S&P 500 +1.1%, Nasdaq +1.4%, Dow +1.2%. Tech led the charge. Oil tumbled 5.2% to $64.97—its second major drop in two days.
The Big Picture:
A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran sent stocks higher and crude oil lower as geopolitical risk rapidly receded. Both countries remain on edge, trading accusations of violations, but markets are pricing in de-escalation over disruption.
Tech got a double dose of bullish fuel—a quieter Middle East and solid macro footing. With Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaling no urgency to hike or cut rates, the path of least resistance is upward, at least for now.
Fed presidents remain cautious, urging patience. But with inflation fading and no cracks yet in employment, equity bulls are gaining confidence that modest rate cuts remain a 2025 story, not 2026.
Market Movers:
Uber (UBER) soared 7.5% after announcing autonomous ride-hailing in Atlanta via Alphabet's Waymo (GOOG). The future of transportation is arriving… quietly.
PepsiCo (PEP) rose 1.5% as it tapped Salesforce’s (CRM) AI-powered Agentforce platform to boost field ops. CRM jumped 3%, leading the Dow.
S&P Global (SPGI) climbed 1.6% despite reporting slower home price growth. Investors favored its long-term data moat over near-term housing jitters.
What They’re Saying:
“New highs for tech could be on the horizon this summer… a bullish one-two punch over the last 48 hours.” — Daniel Ives, Wedbush Securities
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Events
Today: Federal Reserve - Fed Chair Powell Testifies - 10:00am
Why You Should Care: As head of the central bank, which controls short term interest rates, he has more influence over the nation's currency value than any other person. Traders scrutinize his public engagements as they are often used to drop subtle clues regarding future monetary policy
Earnings Reports
Today: Micron Technology, Paychex, General Mills, Levi Strauss & Co., National Beverage Corp., Winnebago Industries
Tomorrow: Nike, Walgreens, McCormick & Company
MARKET BRIEF
Leading News
Micron's AI Memory Jackpot: The $8.8B Question
Photo Credit: Micron
Why it matters:
Today's after-hours earnings could signal whether the AI boom has reached peak hysteria or still has room to run—with Micron (MU) serving as the memory chip canary in the data center coal mine.
Zoom Out:
The semiconductor memory maker reports Q3 results tonight with Wall Street expecting $8.86 billion in revenue (up 30% year-over-year) and $1.60 per share in earnings. That's not just growth—it's the kind of explosive expansion that makes investors forget about price-to-earnings ratios.
Micron's stock has surged 45% year-to-date, riding the wave of insatiable demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips that power AI workloads. The company's Compute and Networking segment now represents 56.7% of total revenue, transforming what was once a cyclical commodity business into an AI infrastructure play.
The real test isn't whether Micron beats estimates—it has in eight of the past nine quarters—but whether management's guidance can justify a stock trading near all-time highs.
Key Insights:
HBM market share grab: Micron is targeting 20%+ market share by year-end, with Samsung stumbling on 12-Hi HBM3E qualification issues with Nvidia
DDR4 pricing surge: Spot prices jumped from $2 to $3-4 over the past month, though DDR4 represents only ~10% of Micron's second-half sales mix
Manufacturing commitment: The company's $200 billion U.S. investment plan includes new fabs in Idaho and New York, positioning for reshoring tailwinds
Market Pulse:
Options volatility suggests traders are bracing for an 8.5% swing in either direction—the kind of binary outcome that separates the wheat from the chaff in semiconductor investing.
Bull’s Take:
If Micron delivers on AI-driven demand while maintaining pricing discipline, it validates the thesis that memory chips have evolved from commodity hell to strategic necessity. Smart money bets on the picks-and-shovels play in the AI gold rush.
Headlines
Apple is said to be considering a $14 billion buyout of Perplexity Al (link)
Novo Nordisk Cuts Ties with Hims Over Alleged Deceptive Marketing (link)
FedEx hopes to save $1 billion this fiscal year. (link)
Worldline shares lose a third of their value after media reports (link)
Uber Preps for Robotaxi Growth as Competition Heats Up (link)
Amazon Launches 27 More Satellites Into Space as Jeff Bezos Takes on Elon Musk’s Starlink (link)
CRYPTO
Fear & Greed
Headlines
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On the Socials
*Hat-tip to RampCapitalLLC