NVDA Q2 Earnings Update
• Sales $30.0B vs Est. $28.6B
• EPS $0.68 vs Est. $0.64
NVIDIA reported a record quarterly revenue of $30.0 billion for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, a 122% increase from the previous year. Data Center revenue also reached a record $26.3 billion, a 154% increase year-over-year. GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.67, up 168% from the previous year, and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.68, up 152%.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2025, NVIDIA...

IBM withdraws R&D from China
IBM executive Jack Hergenroder told employees in a virtual meeting on Monday morning that he was transferring Chinese R&D capabilities to other overseas facilities, according to employees present at the meeting. Hergenrother said IBM has seen a decline in its infrastructure business over the past few years, intensifying competition in China, the employees said.
-WSJ

LIBYA EASTERN GOVT TO HALT ALL OIL PRODUCTION AND EXPORTS

According to data released by the Japan Department Store Association, the total sales volume of duty-free goods in department stores nationwide from January to July reached 397.8 billion yen (approximately RMB 19.5 billion), exceeding the cumulative total of 348.4 billion yen last year, setting a new record for the highest annual sales. The monthly duty-free sales volume in July was 63.3 billion yen, about double that of the same period last year. High-priced items such as jewelry and cosmetics are popular. According to reports, there are many customers from Asia such as mainland China and South Korea.

According to the CITIC Securities Research Report, solid-state batteries are expected to start a new cycle of electrification innovation due to their high safety and high energy density. Since 2024, China's solid-state battery industry has experienced marginal changes, such as the launch of semi-solid mass-produced models and the penetration rate of semi-solid state batteries reaching 1%, and the industrialization signal has arrived. It is estimated that consumers pay a 0.1-0.15 million yuan premium for long battery life, which will help solid-state batteries penetrate the power battery sector. It is estimated that global solid-state battery shipping demand will reach 643 GWh in 2030, and the CAGR will reach 133% in 2024-2030, bringing the total market space to 1.2 million yuan.

Summary of FOMC Minutes
- The majority of participants judged that if data continues as expected, it would likely be appropriate to ease policy at the next meeting.
- Some participants noted that recent inflation and labor market easing could have supported a rate cut, but all agreed to maintain rates at 5.25%-5.5%. There was a consensus that additional information was needed.
- Risks related to inflation have decreased, but downside risks in the labor market have increase...

According to Omdia's latest AI notebook PC shipment forecast data, shipments of AI laptops with Microsoft's ARM chip architecture (ARM-base) will jump from 0.8 million units in 2024 to 58.8 million units in 2029, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to reach 136% from 2024 to 2029. It is particularly noteworthy that the annual shipment growth rate of Microsoft's ARM chip-based AI laptop will reach 534% in 2025. (interface news)