SMIC raises wafer prices on strong AI demand

SpaceX is seeking to raise $40 billion, in a deal led by Apollo Global, to buy Nvidia chips, the Financial Times reported, with about $10 billion in bank loans and $30 billion in investment-grade debt and Pimco among lenders in talks to fund the order. Constellation Brands shares fell in after-hours trading even though the Corona and Modelo Especial maker posted better-than-expected second-quarter results, with net sales up 6% to $2.63 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $3.74, as beer depletions slipped 0.6% and missed estimates by 70 basis points. Constellation also said it will pay $75 million, and potentially an additional $278 million over five years, after closing its deal to acquire SpikedAde, a vodka-based ready-to-drink beverage firm. Investors are awaiting minutes from the Federal Reserve's September meeting, when the central bank raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, though expectations have faded for another hike this month. Levi Strauss is due to report after the closing bell, with the jeans maker leaning on premium denim demand from wealthier shoppers.

Cerebras Systems has secured a deal with Gimlet Labs, which agreed to use its wafer-scale chips inside a new disaggregated inference cloud targeting ultrafast agentic and real-time AI workloads for paying customers. The partnership lands after a volatile stretch for Cerebras, during which conflicting headlines around its OpenAI relationship swung sentiment and short-term trading. Even with recent rebounds on Altman's public backing, the stock's share price return is still down 15.7% over 30 days and 43.1% year to date. Cerebras last closed at $177.10, while the most followed narrative values the stock at $415.54, framing a large gap between trading price and perceived long-term potential. The story could still unravel quickly if OpenAI pulls back on spending or if the mid November share unlock floods the market with selling.

Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su said demand for compute is still running above supply and is expected to stay strong for the next several years, with AMD planning to substantially increase supply in 2027 after already raising it this year. Roughly 80% of Anthropic's planned $518 billion in cloud and compute spending over the next decade is non-cancelable or payable regardless of how much capacity it actually uses. Elon Musk confirmed over the weekend that SpaceX and Taiwan Semiconductor are in discussions about a potential collaboration in which the Taiwanese foundry giant may use Terafab, the vertically integrated semiconductor manufacturing initiative launched by Musk, Tesla and SpaceX, as an anchor client for a future Texas semiconductor facility. Zscaler reaffirmed its Q1 and full-year 2027 guidance, with CEO Jay Chaudry warning in a CNBC interview that autonomous AI agents will become the primary cybersecurity risk vector in the coming years. Wells Fargo maintained its overweight rating on Meta Platforms and raised its price target to $1,000, citing Muse as driving a larger long-term AI cycle.

The Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that SpaceX plans to raise $40 billion, with asset management giant Apollo Global Management leading the effort, to fund the purchase of artificial intelligence chips from Nvidia. The financing plan consists of roughly $10 billion in bank credit facilities and $30 billion in investment-grade bonds, for a total of $40 billion. Apollo is expected to structure the financing and distribute the bonds to a broad group of investors, with PIMCO among a small number of financial institutions in talks to lend. The transaction is expected to be completed by 2027. Morgan Stanley estimates that global AI infrastructure development will require as much as $1.5 trillion in external financing by 2028. In market moves, SpaceX shares fell 1% in after-hours trading in the United States following the report, while Nvidia shares rose 0.5%. Musk, who only recently took SpaceX public in June through a record-breaking IPO worth $86 billion, said last month that xAI's Colossus 2 data center could more than double its installed base of Nvidia chips by this December.