But there might be another market set to benefit long term. 

Alice Shen, Portfolio Manager at VanEck said in a recent report that Nvidia Inc (NASDAQ: NVDA) posted gravity-defying earnings in its most recent October quarter. 

This came as the AI economy increasingly looped back on itself and the major players invested in each other's technologies.

Ms Shen said giants like OpenAI and Oracle Corp (NYSE: ORCL) are locking in the chip supply needed to scale their models. This means demand for Nvidia hardware could soar even more.

How does China fit into the AI puzzle?

AI euphoria isn't limited to the US. 

The Chinese market has also been focussed on homegrown AI technology and chipmaking. 

Subsequently, valuations for pure-play AI stocks have soared.

While China is a global leader in semiconductor production, it isn't limiting its AI participation to this segment. 

Ms Shen believes China may be taking a different, more holistic approach compared to the western world.

The tremendous amounts of electricity, cooling, metal-intensive data centres, and resilient power supply required by AI have been the focus of many Chinese companies that have been specialising in these systems for decades.

For investors, this means there could be more reasonably priced opportunities across the broader supply chain that powers the physical backbone of AI: metals producers, energy storage leaders, and optical fibre manufacturers.

The AI boom isn't just digital 

When you think of AI, the first thing that comes to mind might be cloud computing, Chat AI tools, etc. 

But the truth is, the data centres fuelling these AI solutions require huge amounts of copper and aluminium in servers and heatsinks. 

Data indicates global copper demand could surge as much as 24% by 2035, with data centre expansion being one of the key drivers. 

According to VanEck, China may have an advantage is its integrated value chain across mining, refining and manufacturing.

Several Chinese copper and aluminium miners have been outperforming the CSI 300 Materials Index this year. In our view, investing in these metals may offer a more cost-effective and direct way to participate in China's AI capex cycle.

Chinese companies engaged in battery manufacturing and Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have also been soaring this year as a result of the Chinese AI boom. 

How do investors gain exposure?

For investors here in Australia, the most important question is how to gain exposure to this market. 

There are a few ASX ETFs directly targeting Chinese technology and AI: 

• VanEck China New Economy ETF (ASX: CNEW) – Invests in 120 fundamentally sound and attractively valued companies with growth prospects in China's New Economy, targeting technology, healthcare, and consumer staples and consumer discretionary sectors.
• VanEck Ftse China A50 ETF (ASX: CETF) – Invests in a diversified portfolio comprising the 50 largest companies in the mainland (A-shares) Chinese market.
• Global X China Tech Etf (ASX: DRGN) – designed to track the performance of 20 leading technology companies listed in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The index selects across 15 innovation-linked sectors, including semiconductors, automation, industrial software, and internet platforms.

The post How to target China's AI rush through ASX investing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Let's see what makes them potentially top picks for Aussie investors with money to put into the share market:

BetaShares Cloud Computing ETF (ASX: CLDD)

Cloud computing has been called one of the most transformative trends of the 21st century and it is still only partway through its story. The BetaShares Cloud Computing ETF gives investors access to stocks powering the world's digital backbone.

Its holdings include Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP), ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). These are all leaders in cloud infrastructure, enterprise software, and online services.

ServiceNow's software helps large organisations automate workflows and reduce inefficiencies, becoming an indispensable tool for corporations undergoing digital transformation. With its customer base growing across government and enterprise sectors, the company is well-positioned to capture more of the global shift toward automation and cloud-based operations.

Analysts at Betashares recently named the BetaShares Cloud Computing ETF as one to consider buying.

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

If you want a focus on quality, the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF is hard to beat.

This fund invests in US-listed stocks that have wide economic moats. These are competitive advantages that make them difficult to disrupt. Holdings include names such as Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE), Nike (NYSE: NKE), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), and Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT).

With respect to Adobe, its subscription-based software suite, which includes Photoshop, Acrobat, and its growing Experience Platform, continues to deliver reliable recurring revenue and robust profit margins. Its entrenched market position, coupled with expanding AI integration, makes it a textbook example of what wide moat investing is all about.

BetaShares India Quality ETF (ASX: IIND)

Finally, India represents one of the most exciting long-term growth stories on the planet.

The BetaShares India Quality ETF provides exposure to high-quality Indian stocks benefiting from rapid urbanisation, digital transformation, and a rising middle class. Its portfolio includes leaders such as Infosys (NYSE: INFY), Reliance Industries (NSEI: RELIANCE), Tata Consultancy Services (NSEI: TCS), and Bharti Airtel.

A standout here is Reliance Industries, one of India's largest conglomerates. Its operations span energy, retail, and telecommunications. These are sectors that are all expanding alongside the country's economy. Reliance's pivot toward digital services and green energy could make it a long-term winner as India continues modernising.

It was also recently named as one to consider buying by the team at Betashares.

The post Where to invest $10,000 in ASX ETFs next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Key Points

• Oracle’s $455 billion RPO gives it rare visibility into future revenue.
• Multiyear contracts, including OpenAI’s Project Stargate, validate Oracle’s role in AI infrastructure.
• Oracle’s strong cash flows support expansion, but flawless execution is critical against entrenched rivals.

When investors talk about the trillion-dollar club, they usually point to Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, or Amazon -- companies that dominate consumer tech, cloud, and semiconductors.

Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) rarely makes that list. For decades, it looked like a legacy database giant, important but uninspiring.

Now, Oracle has quietly crossed into trillion-dollar territory (as of this writing). What sets this moment apart is not its old software empire, but its emergence as a serious player in cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI). 

A mind-blowing backlog that signals growth

Oracle's latest earnings delivered one of the most eye-opening numbers in tech: $455 billion in remaining performance obligations (RPO), up more than 350% year over year.

RPO represents revenue that customers have already committed but that Oracle has not yet recognized. It's a forward-looking metric that provides rare visibility into future growth. When a company locks in contracts of this size, it signals customers are betting heavily on its platform.

For perspective, that backlog alone rivals the scale of annual revenue at some of the world's largest tech companies. It also positions Oracle as one of the few players with multiyear revenue visibility at this magnitude.

Oracle wins big in AI contracts

The real driver behind Oracle's surge lies in AI-focused contracts. The standout deal is with OpenAI's $300 billion "Project Stargate," a multiyear, multibillion-dollar partnership set to kick in around 2027.

Beyond OpenAI, in the quarter ended Aug. 31, 2025, Oracle signed four multibillion-dollar contracts with three other enterprise customers that want to run their workloads on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Many of these workloads demand enormous computing power, and Oracle has leaned on partnerships with Nvidia and Microsoft to expand capacity quickly.

These wins validate that OCI can compete for the largest and most demanding AI contracts -- a narrative shift few investors expected even two years ago.

A new challenger in the cloud

For most of the past decade, the cloud market looked like a three-horse race: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Oracle was an afterthought. Its market share hovered in the low single digits, and few believed it could catch up.

But OCI is now Oracle's fastest-growing segment. Management expects revenue to grow about 77% in fiscal 2026 to $18 billion, and then increase to $32 billion, $73 billion, $114 billion, and $144 billion over the subsequent four years. These revenue forecasts reflect the $455 billion RPO and not just management's prediction.

Oracle's growth is starting from a smaller base, but that pace matters. If OCI can sustain momentum, it could gradually carve out a larger share of the market, especially among enterprises looking for alternatives to the "Big Three."

Oracle's strengths and risks

Oracle's transformation rests on a combination of financial strength and execution risk. On the one hand, the company generated $57 billion in revenue with a healthy $18 billion in operating profit in fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 (FY25). That cash flow gives Oracle the muscle to expand its data center footprint and fund partnerships without sacrificing profitability.

On the other hand, building cloud infrastructure at a global scale is capital-intensive and unforgiving. Customers demand reliability, low latency, and security -- areas where established leaders like AWS and Azure already excel. Any stumble in execution could open the door for rivals to capture a share of Oracle's backlog.

In short, Oracle has the financial resources to chase this opportunity, but it must deliver flawlessly to turn contracts into sustainable growth.

What it means for investors

Oracle's quiet entry into the trillion-dollar club doesn't stem from nostalgia for its database business. It comes from a bold bet on cloud and AI that is beginning to pay off.

The company's massive backlog, high-profile AI partnerships, and accelerating OCI growth suggest it could become a credible challenger in the global cloud market.

For patient investors, the story is not about where Oracle has been. It's about where this AI dark horse could go in the decade ahead -- and whether its transformation can sustain beyond the headlines.

Investors seeking exposure to AI infrastructure should keep Oracle on their radar.  

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post This AI dark horse just joined the trillion-dollar club — and it could be the market's most overlooked AI stock appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Some of the biggest drivers of the ongoing market rally that began early last year are the advances in artificial intelligence (AI). These next-generation algorithms and the semiconductors that power them could spark a wave of increased productivity.

The potential to profit from these advances has fueled rapid adoption of AI, which has sent purchases of semiconductors soaring. However, the chip industry could be among the first to feel the impact of the just-announced dockworkers' strike.

With that as a backdrop, AI chip specialist Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) slumped 3.9%, memory and storage chipmaker Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) tumbled 3.9%, semiconductor specialist Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) fell 3.1%, and database and AI chipmaker Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) dropped 1.9%, in mid-afternoon trade (in the United States) on Tuesday.

A check of all the usual suspects -- financial reports, regulatory filings, and changes to analysts' price targets -- showed nothing in the way of company-specific news to explain the falling stock prices. This suggests investors were focused on the work stoppage at some of the biggest ports in the United States and what that means for the semiconductor industry and the market rally in general.

Strike while the iron is hot

On Tuesday, the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) began its first widespread strike in almost 50 years. The union said that tens of thousands of its members began to hit picket lines at ports along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts at 12.01am.

More than half of the containerised products imported into the country are destined for the ports on those two coasts. If the strike lasts more than a few days, it could have a ripple effect on the supply chain and, by extension, the broader economy.

Delays in everyday products could reignite inflation, cause shortages, and drive up prices. The longer the strike lasts, the more likely the chance of economic upheaval.

Governor Kathy Hochul of New York said that "the food supply is secure right now," urging consumers not to stockpile items unnecessarily. While a shortage of essential goods like food and household items is still weeks away, other industries could be affected, including semiconductors.

The accelerating adoption of AI has already caused many of the most advanced chips to be in short supply. As a result, a shortage of semiconductors resulting from the dockworkers' strike could come sooner rather than later.

Years, not weeks or months

So, what's the potential impact on our quartet of companies? In the near term, a disruption in the semiconductor pipeline could slow revenue and profit growth. Over the long term, however, any impact would be fleeting at most.

Many AI and semiconductor stocks have been bid up since early last year as investors feared missing out on the next big trend. If a shortage of chips comes to pass due to this strike, it will likely be short-lived, and the pent-up demand will remain once the strike has passed.

Investors should stay focused on AI's long-term opportunity, which will play out over years, not weeks or months. The most advanced semiconductors power this technology, so the future remains bright for these chip industry pillars.

• Nvidia created the graphics processing units (GPUs) that provide the computational horsepower used in AI systems.
• Broadcom creates many of the semiconductors and ancillary technology used in data centres and cloud computing, where much of AI occurs.
• Oracle is primarily known for its database and cloud infrastructure services, but it also designs and engineers chips used for AI.
• Micron Technology makes flash memory and storage processors, which are crucial components in the GPUs that are used for AI processing.

Some of these stocks might appear pricey at first glance, but any premium is well deserved. Nvidia, Broadcom, Oracle, and Micron are currently selling for 41 times, 35 times, 27 times, and 11 times forward earnings, respectively. However, given the accelerating adoption of AI and the corresponding accelerating growth of these companies (all of which provide components that are crucial to the AI revolution), I would rate them all buys.

That said, each of these stocks carries increased volatility, and the potential for supply chain disruption could further exacerbate that situation. Investors should hold on for a wild ride.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Nvidia and other US tech stocks slumped on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Larry Ellison is the chairman of Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), which is currently building some of the fastest and most cost-efficient data centres in the world for developing artificial intelligence (AI).

Elon Musk, on the other hand, runs Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), which is building AI-powered self-driving software for its electric vehicles. He also runs SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and a new AI start-up called xAI.

Ellison and Musk need tens of thousands of graphics processors (GPUs) for their data centres in order to bring AI to life, and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) supplies the best chips in the industry.

At Oracle's financial analyst meeting on 12 September, Ellison told the audience that he and Musk recently went to dinner with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the Nobu restaurant in Palo Alto. The two, who are among the richest people on Earth, found themselves begging Huang for something money simply can't buy at the moment. Here's how it went down.

The arms race for GPUs

Oracle currently has 162 data centres either live or under construction, but it believes that number could eventually top 2,000 because the demand for computing power from AI developers is soaring. Some of Oracle's largest data centres feature clusters of more than 32,000 GPUs, but next year, the company will offer a cluster of 131,072 GPUs from Nvidia's latest Blackwell lineup.

Oracle designed unique RDMA (random direct memory access) networking technology that can move data from one point to another more quickly than traditional Ethernet networks, and since developers pay for computing power by the minute, this can significantly reduce costs. That's why leading AI start-ups like OpenAI, Cohere, and even Musk's xAI are using Oracle's infrastructure.

In its recent fiscal 2025 first quarter (ended July 31), the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) segment generated $2.2 billion in revenue, a whopping 45% jump from the year-ago period. However, it could be growing even faster if not for supply constraints -- in other words, Oracle simply can't get its hands on enough GPUs for its data centres.

Not only is Oracle battling other cloud giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet for GPU allocations from Nvidia, but tech companies like Tesla and Meta Platforms are also soaking up supply to develop AI for their own purposes. Tesla is trying to bring a cluster of 50,000 GPUs online this year to enhance its self-driving software, which requires a substantial amount of computing power.

Meta, on the other hand, used around 16,000 of Nvidia's flagship H100 GPUs to train its Llama 3.1 large language model (LLM), but the company plans to increase its capacity to a mind-boggling 600,000 H100 equivalents by the end of this year. That will pave the way for Llama 4, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg says could set the benchmark for the industry in 2025.

Ellison and Musk are begging for more GPUs

Ellison's and Musk's comments to Jensen Huang over dinner, according to Ellison:

Please take our money ... take more of it. You're not taking enough. ... We need you to take more of our money. Please.

Ellison and Musk were practically begging Huang for more GPUs, but no amount of money in the world can buy the numbers they require right now because Nvidia simply can't keep up with demand. Oracle and Tesla aren't even Nvidia's biggest customers!

Oracle spent $6.9 billion on capital expenditures (capex) during fiscal 2024 (which ended 30 April) and expects to spend double that in fiscal 2025. Most of the money will go toward buying chips and building data centres. Tesla plans to spend more than $10 billion on capex this calendar year, which will also go toward the 50,000 GPU cluster I mentioned earlier.

Those numbers are modest compared to what other tech giants are spending. Microsoft allocated $55.7 billion to capex during its fiscal 2024 (ended June 30), and it plans to spend even more in fiscal 2025. Amazon's capex spending, on the other hand, could top $60 billion in calendar 2024.

Therefore, it's no surprise that Nvidia generated $26.3 billion in data centre revenue during its recent fiscal 2025 second quarter (ended July 28), a 154% increase from the year-ago period.

Ellison says the wave of AI spending could continue for the next 10 years as companies and nation-states battle for tech supremacy when it comes to AI, so Nvidia's data centre revenue probably has plenty of growth left in the tank.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Most market watchers would agree that one of the dominant forces driving the market rally over the past year is advancements in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

On the other hand, investors have kept a sharp eye on the trajectory of the economy as inflation continues to wane. Recent economic indicators suggest conditions are ripe for the Federal Reserve Bank to begin interest rate cuts, which could happen as soon as later this month.

Investors have also been keenly interested in the rate of AI adoption, looking for indicators that this trend still has legs. Recent results suggest that these secular tailwinds continue to blow.

With that as a backdrop, semiconductor specialist Broadcom soared 20.7% this week, AI chip specialist Nvidia surged 17.1%, and database and AI cloud provider Oracle climbed 13.9%, as of 2:57 p.m. ET on Thursday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

It appears solid results from one member of the trio and rate-cut hopes helped spur a rally in the space.

A double dose of good news

Late last week, Broadcom reported the results of its fiscal 2024 third quarter (ended 4 August), and while the results were better than expected, the stock initially sold off on the news. However, as investors had time to digest the results, cooler heads prevailed, helping spark a rebound.

Broadcom generated revenue of $13.1 billion, up 47% year over year, while adjusted earnings per share of $1.24 increased 18%. The results were fueled by strong demand for the company's Ethernet and custom accelerators used in AI-centric data centres. At the same time, however, Broadcom's smartphone chip business -- which was once its primary breadwinner -- continues to struggle.

This weakness in Broadcom's legacy business contributed to weak guidance for the upcoming fourth quarter, which helped fuel the initial sell-off. However, the company got good news earlier this week, as Apple unveiled its iPhone 16 lineup. Analysts at KeyBanc listed Broadcom as one of the principal beneficiaries, as the upgrade to Wi-fi 7 across those devices requires Broadcom hardware.

Furthermore, after a protracted battle with inflation, the central bank is expected to announce the first in a series of interest rate cuts when Fed officials conclude their two-day policy meeting, which concludes on Sept. 18. Most market watchers now believe a rate cut of 0.25% is now imminent.

It's also worth noting Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reassured investors this week about the state of AI adoption. During an interview at a technology conference, he noted the company was experiencing "incredible" demand for its AI processors. As the flag bearer for AI, this seems to suggest the trend has a long runway ahead.

Now what

What do interest rate cuts have to do with these three AI stocks? The prospect of reaping the productivity rewards from generative AI is certainly intriguing, but some businesses have been reluctant to pursue new business investments in the face of challenging economic conditions.

The first interest rate cut will be an admission by the central bank that the economy has finally turned the corner. This could be the first in a series of rate reductions, which will likely spur additional adoption of AI. That, in turn, would benefit our trio of AI-focused companies.

• Broadcom creates many of the semiconductors and other tech used in data centres, where most AI resides.
• Nvidia is the leading provider of graphics processing units (GPUs) that provide the computational horsepower needed to power AI systems.
• Oracle provides the AI database and cloud infrastructure capabilities many will choose to join the AI revolution.

The adoption of AI has a long way to go. The market is expected to be worth between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually, according to global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Even if they capture only a sliver of that opportunity, Nvidia, Broadcom, and Oracle will profit handsomely -- as will their shareholders.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Nvidia, Broadcom, and other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks rallied this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

And the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) looks to be following its lead.

With the majority of ASX tech shares in the red, the All Tech Index is down…

So, what went wrong on the Nasdaq?

Here's what investors were considering on the Nasdaq

The United States tech sector was broadly under pressure yesterday as investors await the latest inflation print from the world's top economy.

That's due out on Wednesday in the US, so tonight after markets close for us down under.

Tech stocks are often priced with future earnings in mind, leaving the Nasdaq particularly susceptible to pressure from higher interest rates. While the market is still pricing in a pause from the Federal Reserve next week, odds remain even for another (and likely final) rate hike in November.

Commenting on the Nasdaq and wider investment markets, Lauren Goodwin, portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments said (courtesy of Bloomberg):

In our view, it may be a good moment for investors to consider allocation moves that prepare for a re-firming of inflation this fall. For example, cyclical growth equity sectors soared on hopes of a divine disinflation and near-term Fed cuts. Yet, if inflation re-emerges, these sectors might give up some of their year-to-date gains.

Three tech titans take a tumble

Some of the world's top tech names helped drag the Nasdaq lower overnight.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), with an eye-popping market cap of US$2.8 trillion, closed the day down 1.7%.

The tech giant unmasked its new iPhone 15 with a range of novel new features. But there were no real surprises here. And as often happens with Apple stock, shares fell on the day of the release. Apple shares are still up 41% in 2023.

Elon Musk's Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) also dragged on the Nasdaq, ending the day down 2.2%. That appears to be a case of profit-taking after Tesla shares surged 10.1% on Monday.

That came following an uber-bullish assessment of Musk's EV company from Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas. Optimistic about the AI potential of Tesla's Dojo supercomputer Jones increased his price target for Tesla's shares by a whopping 60% to $400 per share. That's some 45% above yesterday's closing price.

Tesla shares are up 147% in 2023.

Which brings us to one of the biggest headwinds battering the Nasdaq overnight, Oracle Corp (NYSE: ORCL).

The tech giant ended the day down a painful 13.5% following a decrease in its cloud sales. Despite that big retrace, Oracle shares remain up 31% in 2023.

The post What went so wrong for the Nasdaq overnight? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

A plan that would have forced China's ByteDance to sell TikTok's US operations to Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) has been suspended indefinitely, according to a report today in The Wall Street Journal.

The Biden administration will undertake its own review of the situation to address the privacy and security risks posed to US users resulting from the potential for data collection by the Chinese government. 

That doesn't mean the deal is completely dead, though any future agreement would likely change since there's no longer the threat of a looming closure at the hands of the US government.

The Trump administration had threatened to shutter the popular short-form video-sharing app over security concerns for US users. Federal courts subsequently blocked the forced shutdown, saying former president Donald Trump likely exceeded his authority in issuing the executive order that would have banned the app. 

The Biden administration plans a broad review of the situation. "We plan to develop a comprehensive approach to securing US data that addresses the full range of threats we face," said National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne. "This includes the risk posed by Chinese apps and other software that operate in the US In the coming months, we expect to review specific cases in light of a comprehensive understanding of the risks we face."

ByteDance has continued its negotiations with US regulators, discussing measures that would ensure that data collected by the app wouldn't end up in the hands of the Chinese government.

Another stumbling block is a recent restriction imposed by Chinese regulators, who would no doubt scrutinise any potential sale. The country adopted new measures last year that banned companies from exporting artificial intelligence algorithms, like those used by TikTok to recommend videos for its users.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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