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Tech Stocks Surge Amid Strong Market Demand and Increased Price Expectations

SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) surges over 15% as DRAM price forecasts skyrocket to new highs!

In a report released on February 2, Goldman Sachs revealed that despite fluctuations in the spot market, contract prices for DRAM are not only holding steady but are projected to rise sharply. Goldman Sachs has significantly revised its DRAM price forecast for Q1 2026, now expecting a quarter-over-quarter increase of 90-95%, far exceeding previous market and the firm’s own expectations.

For mobile NAND (eMMC/UFS), Q1 2026 contract prices are also expected to rise by 55-65%, aligning with Goldman Sachs’ earlier projection of a 45-70% increase for overall NAND pricing. Despite a seasonal decline in consumer electronics demand, strong demand for enterprise SSDs (eSSD) and AI-related storage has led to limited supply for smartphone and PC customers, further driving up prices in these segments.

The server market is also facing a supply shortage. While some suppliers have shifted production capacity from PCs and smartphones to servers, demand from North American and Chinese cloud service providers (CSPs) continues to outpace supply, maintaining the pricing power of suppliers. TrendForce has revised its server DRAM price forecast for Q1 2026, now predicting a quarter-over-quarter increase of 88-93%, slightly higher than Goldman Sachs’ prior forecast of 75-80%. Notably, the premium for DDR5 over DDR4 is shrinking, with the price difference for 64GB DDR5 modules in January dropping to just 9% compared to DDR4 of the same specifications.

Robotaxi industry enters the race for mass adoption! Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) hits a new all-time high with a nearly 2% increase, as its autonomous driving arm Waymo secures $16 billion in funding for global expansion.

Google’s autonomous driving division, Waymo, has successfully raised $16 billion in funding, reaching a post-money valuation of $126 billion. This funding round highlights the company’s rapid growth as a leader in the robotaxi industry.

In a statement on Monday, Waymo announced that this round of funding was led by new investors Sequoia Capital, DST Global, and Dragoneer Investment Group. Other investors included Andreessen Horowitz, Mubadala Capital, Silver Lake Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Waymo has established a clear lead in the commercialization of autonomous taxis, operating fully driverless services in about six U.S. cities, charging passengers for the service. The company provides services in San Francisco and Los Angeles through its own app, and in Austin and Atlanta in partnership with Uber. Waymo plans to rapidly expand across the U.S. and enter the UK market this year.

Strong earnings performance leads to a 4% rise for Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), as the data center end market revenue continues to grow for the seventh consecutive quarter.

Texas Instruments recently released its fiscal report for 2025, showing strong performance in the data center end market. The company’s data center-related revenue reached $1.5 billion in 2025, a 64% increase from the previous year, accounting for 9% of its total revenue. This growth is attributed to sustained demand in areas such as data center computing, networking, power, and cooling.

In the earnings call, the company’s management revealed that revenue from the data center end market has been growing for seven consecutive quarters. Texas Instruments believes that the accelerated global digital transformation and high demand for data center construction and upgrades will continue to provide significant growth opportunities for this sector. If investment in data centers remains strong, the company’s related business is likely to maintain its growth momentum.

For Q1 2026, Texas Instruments has provided revenue guidance, estimating revenues to fluctuate around $4.5 billion, with a variance of $180 million. This forecast reflects the company’s cautious assessment of market demand while maintaining confidence in its business development. As the global semiconductor market gradually recovers, Texas Instruments is expected to strengthen its industry position through technological innovation and market expansion.

U.S. Babies May Join “Retail Investor Headquarters” Right at Birth, Wall Street Giants Eyeing the Opportunity

Recent reports reveal that the U.S. government is preparing to appoint financial technology firm Robinhood as the trustee for the “Trump Account” program, which would allow millions of newborns in America to join the “retail investor headquarters” right from birth.

As background, the so-called “Trump Account” is a deferred-tax investment program established under the “Big and Beautiful” bill passed last year, which is expected to go live this July.

The bill itself only proposes a $1,000 allocation for children born between 2025 and 2028, but any child under 18 in the U.S. will be able to open an account and receive the grant. Funds provided by Congress will be required to be immediately invested in low-fee U.S. stock funds, with investments locked until the beneficiary turns 18.

According to a forecast from the White House Economic Advisory Council last year, based on the 18-year rolling returns of the S&P 500 index from 1975 onwards, if only the $1,000 provided by the U.S. government is stored in the “Trump Account,” under a low return (annualized 5.4%) scenario, the account would grow to $2,577 by the time the baby turns 18. Under a medium return (annualized 10.3%) and high return (annualized 18.5%) scenario, the same amount would grow to $5,839 and $21,229, respectively.

Meanwhile, children who save the maximum allowed for the “Trump Account” will see their balances at age 18 reach $180,000, $300,000, and $730,000 in these three scenarios.

Robinhood Stands Out, Wall Street Giants Also Have Plans

According to Friday’s latest reports, the financial technology brokerage Robinhood, known as the “retail investor headquarters,” has begun preparations internally to become the trustee for the program. In contrast, large fund management companies like Fidelity Investments and Vanguard have not yet been included in the list of candidates and have not been consulted about the matter.

Sources say that the U.S. Department of the Treasury is expected to announce the brokerages selected for the project soon, with up to three companies likely to serve as initial trustees.

For Robinhood, a brokerage that was founded just over a decade ago and made a name for itself during the pandemic, this program could bring millions of new customers. The competition for this trustee role reportedly began last summer. Shortly after the bill was signed by Trump, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev publicly stated that the company was “actively engaged in this process.”

At the same time, Wall Street giants like JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) are adopting a “wait-and-see” strategy: these banks will seek to manage the rollover accounts rather than be the first-choice institutions for managing the initial accounts. Given that many of the account holders may not even know what a “fund” is, how to handle the needs of millions of new clients will be a significant challenge. Some banks believe taking on a secondary role would be a simpler and more cost-effective way to participate.

Assets Under Management Are Expected to Keep Growing

In addition to the initial $1,000, many wealthy individuals and large corporations are adding money to these accounts.

According to unofficial statistics, Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, and his wife Susan have contributed $6.25 billion to open accounts for 25 million children under the age of 10 who are not eligible for government funding, with $250 allocated to each account.

The U.S. Treasury has also launched an initiative called the “50-State Challenge,” urging wealthy individuals in each state to donate to their local “Trump Accounts.” Notable investors Ray Dalio and his wife Barbara Dalio have pledged $75 million to provide $250 for each of over 300,000 eligible children in Connecticut.

Additionally, companies like JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD), Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) have announced their participation in this policy, injecting funds into their employees’ children’s “Trump Accounts.” According to rules released by the White House, each child’s parent’s employer can contribute up to $2,500 per year to the account

AI Data Center Power Demand Surges as Caterpillar Beats Q4 Expectations

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) reported its fourth-quarter earnings, delivering results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, primarily driven by surging power demand from the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers, which boosted sales of the company’s power generation equipment.

According to the earnings report, fourth-quarter revenue reached USD 19.1 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 17.9% and exceeding market expectations by USD 1.34 billion. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter came in at USD 5.16, above the analyst consensus estimate of USD 4.69. Caterpillar’s Power & Energy segment posted a sharp 25% year-on-year increase in profit.

As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of mining and engineering machinery, Caterpillar has long been regarded as a global economic “barometer.” Today, its Power & Energy business is accelerating growth on the back of the AI data center construction boom. The company’s iconic yellow machines are present across industries and regions worldwide, and its sales performance often signals the strength of global industrial activity—or, at times, a slowdown in economic growth.

Following the earnings release, shares of the Irving, Texas–based Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) rose nearly 7% at one point. As of the time of writing, the stock was up 1.58% in premarket trading.

The Power & Energy segment has become the company’s largest and fastest-growing business unit. Once a slower-growing part of Caterpillar’s overall operations, the segment now sells products including generators, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines, supplying power to construction sites, factories, and data centers.

In a market environment where investors are eager for AI-related plays after soaring valuations of major technology and semiconductor companies, this business has helped Caterpillar stand out as a clear winner. Fueled by optimism around data center–driven demand, Caterpillar’s market capitalization has surpassed USD 300 billion this month.