[Live trading account: ¥8.69M; +¥190K today] Discuss the latest earnings performance of upstream, midstream, and downstream AI companies overseas.

AWS’s AI-related business and its in-house developed chips have both achieved an annualized revenue exceeding $25 billion; its backlog of unfulfilled orders stands at $49.6 billion—a triple-digit year-on-year growth. The company has raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $22 billion. Plain-language interpretation: AWS’s 37% growth rate exemplifies the ‘elephant dancing’ phenomenon—its sheer scale is already massive, yet its growth is actually accelerating (last quarter’s growth was only 28%). The AI-driven boost to cloud services is most visibly evident at Amazon. ③ Google—Cloud business surges 82%, the standout ‘dark horse’ Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reported total Q2 2026 revenue of $119.8 billion, up 24% year-on-year. The brightest highlight was Google Cloud: cloud revenue reached $24.768 billion, soaring 82% year-on-year; cloud operating profit hit $8.814 billion, up 212% year-on-year, with operating margin climbing to 35.6%. Backlog—i.e., signed but not yet recognized cloud revenue—surpassed $50 billion for the first time, reaching $51.4 billion. The company also raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $19.5–20.5 billion (previously $18–19 billion), explicitly stating that investment will “significantly increase” again in 2027. Plain-language interpretation: Google Cloud’s 82% growth is the strongest among the three major cloud providers, indicating that Google’s heavy investments in AI infrastructure are now entering a harvest phase. Over $50 billion in backlog effectively locks in several years’ worth of future revenue. 2.3 Downstream: AI application companies—the gold diggers—are now delivering results. ① Palantir—Earnings ‘explosive’; CEO issues bold statement Palantir reported Q2 2026 revenue of $1.94 billion, up 93% year-on-year; net income reached $1.07 billion, versus just ~$329 million in the prior-year period; diluted EPS stood at $0.41, surpassing consensus expectations of $0.35. This marks Palantir’s ninth consecutive quarter of beating market earnings expectations. Its ‘Rule of 40’ score (revenue growth rate + operating margin) reached a staggering 155%—far exceeding the industry’s healthy benchmark. Even more striking is its U.S. commercial segment: U.S. commercial revenue surged 149% year-on-year to $764 million—up 380% cumulatively since 2024. The company significantly raised its full-year revenue guidance to $8.15–8.16 billion. CEO Alex Karp declared: “This robust growth is expected to continue for at least another 18 months.” Following the earnings release, its stock surged 15% after hours. Plain-language interpretation: Palantir’s 93% revenue growth sends a clear message to the market—that AI software firms aren’t merely ‘telling stories,’ but are genuinely generating hard cash. From the U.S. military to General Electric, from government agencies to commercial enterprises, AI adoption is sweeping across all sectors. ② Snowflake—Steady growth on the data cloud platform Snowflake reported product revenue of $1.0905 billion for Q2 FY2026, up 32% year-on-year—exceeding consensus expectations of $1.04 billion.

Global 'e-cigarettes' are being pulled from shelves one after another—why did cannabis giant Cronos Group’s stock price rise instead?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new statement that may trigger an industry-wide downturn. On November 8, the agency detected vitamin E acetate in all tested e-cigarette samples. It collected bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from 29 patients—all confirmed to have EVALI (e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury). The agency identified vitamin E acetate as a potential cause of the vaping crisis. According to GLJ Research analyst Gordon Johnson’s report, the regulated cannabis industry appears to have breathed a sigh of relief, as their products typically do not contain vitamin E acetate. Following the announcement, Cronos Group’s stock rose 7.65%. The stock closed at CAD $11.26 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on November 8. Additionally, Cronos shares rose 7.44% to close at USD $8.52 on Nasdaq. Will its upcoming earnings report sustain this upward momentum—or weigh down the share price? Analyst estimates for Cronos Group’s earnings: Analysts expect Cronos Group to report CAD $14.62 million in revenue for its fiscal Q3 2019—a 288.74% year-on-year increase. Previously, analysts had projected Q3 revenue of CAD $14 million, representing a 275.6% year-on-year rise. Furthermore, they forecast full-year 2019 revenue of CAD $55.16 million—a 251.27% year-on-year increase. Analysts anticipate Cronos Group will report adjusted EBITDA of CAD $19.8 million for fiscal Q3 2019—a 367.87% year-on-year decline. Additionally, they project full-year 2019 adjusted EBITDA of CAD $61.28 million—a 292.90% year-on-year decline. How did Cronos Group perform in Q2? Cronos Group posted net income of CAD $10.24 million in Q2, up 53% year-on-year. Revenue exceeded the consensus expectation of CAD $7.4 million. The company’s Q2 gross margin stood at 53%, above the consensus expectation of 50.7%. Its adjusted EBITDA was negative CAD $17.77 million—far below the consensus estimate of positive CAD $10 million. As of the end of Q2, Cronos Group held CAD $1.58 billion in cash and cash equivalents. Short-term investments on its balance sheet totaled CAD $749.4 million. Most of the company’s cash assets stem from Altria Group’s (MO) CAD $2.4 billion equity investment in Cronos. In return, Altria holds a 45% stake in Cronos. Additionally, Altria holds a warrant enabling it to raise its ownership stake in Cronos to up to 55% within the next four years. Under this scenario, Cronos could receive up to CAD $1.4 billion in additional funding. Cronos targets the U.S. and Australian markets On August 8, Cronos Group announced its entry into the U.S. hemp-derived CBD (cannabidiol) market. The company announced the completion of its acquisition of four operating subsidiaries under Redwood Holdings Group for USD $300 million.

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