👉 Records, Wreckage, and a Jobs Bomb

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👉 Week in Review — Too Long; Didn’t Read:

Key Earnings Announcements:

• AMD delivered record revenue as Data Center segment doubled.

• Sandisk locked in eight long-term deals that cover more than half of 2027 supply.

• Palantir closed 220 commercial deals worth over $1.0 million during the quarter.

Investor Events / Global Affairs:

• The S&P 500 closed at a fresh all-time high of 7,757.

• SpaceX’s $123 billion insider lockup released.

• Situational Awareness returned to investing with a $400 million private bet.

Economic Updates:

• July payrolls fell 23,000 — the biggest jobs miss in more than two years.

• ISM Manufacturing PMI hit 55.6 in July, a four-year high.

👉 Portfolio Update

The portfolio continues to trend up and to the right (+18% YTD, outperforming VOO by +4%), led higher by the “Long Risky” subsection. That subsection is beginning to come back down to reality after names like ARM Holdings (ARM) and Bloom Energy (BE) cool off after +300-400% YTD gains during the summer.

I remain encouraged by names in the “Long Risky” subsection like Nebius, Oscar Health, and Astera Labs up +100% plus YTD — offsetting names like ON Holdings and Tempus AI lagging the markets.

The “Long Technology” subsection continues to trend up and to the right as Big Tech spends money like it’s going out of style. Looking toward the next couple of quarters, I remain excited about opening and adding to my SpaceX and Cerebras positions as I believe inference is going to become more and more important + Starlink itself is trending toward being a $1T+ company before 2029.

The “Dividend Growth Stocks” subsection is lagging the S&P 500 slightly despite names like UnitedHealth Group and Coca-Cola both up +30% YTD. I remain a shareholder in NEOS Funds, as they pay me several hundred dollars per month.

👉 Best and Worst ETF Performers of the Week

The Companies Behind AI’s Rise

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MarketBeat’s new The Infrastructure’s Backbone: 10 Stocks Powering the AI Buildout report reveals 10 publicly traded companies positioned across the AI infrastructure stack.

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See The 10 Stocks

👉 Key Earnings Announcements:

AMD delivered record revenue as Data Center segment doubled, Sandisk locked in eight long-term deals that cover more than half of 2027 supply, and Palantir closed 220 commercial deals worth over $1.0 million during the quarter.

• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

Key Metrics

Revenue: $11.5 billion, an increase of +50% YoY

Operating Income: $2.0 billion, compared to -$134.0 million last year

Profits: $2.3 billion, an increase of +163% YoY

Earnings Release Callout

“We delivered an excellent quarter, with record revenue and profitability as Data Center revenue more than doubled year-over-year. We enter the second half with strong momentum as EPYC demand accelerates, Instinct deployments scale and Helios begins to ramp."

My Takeaway

• SanDisk (SNDK)

Key Metrics

Revenue: $9.0 billion, an increase of +372% YoY

Operating Income: $7.0 billion, compared to $18.0 million last year

Profits: $6.9 billion, compared to -$23.0 million last year

Earnings Release Callout

"We closed fiscal 2026 with a leading technology portfolio, established datacenter as a key growth pillar, and deepened our customer partnerships. Our technology and products are well positioned to create value for our customers and generate growing and durable free cash flow."

My Takeaway

• Palantir (PLTR)

Key Metrics

Revenue: $1.9 billion, an increase of +93% YoY

Operating Income: $912.0 million, an increase of +239% YoY

Profits: $1.1 billion, an increase of +224% YoY

Earnings Release Callout

"Demand for AI sovereignty has now been unleashed. And Palantir is the only company that has demonstrated it can transform tokens into actual economic value. Our customers trust us to provide them with maximal control over their operations, data, and decisions... This quarter was otherworldly: our U.S. commercial revenue grew 149% year-over-year, our overall revenue grew 93% year-over-year, and our Rule of 40 score climbed to 155%."

My Takeaway

👉 Investor Events / Global Affairs:

The S&P 500 closed at a fresh all-time high, SpaceX’s $123 billion insider lockup released, and Situational Awareness returned to investing with a $400 million private bet.

• S&P 500 Hits Fresh All-Time High

Wall Street closed the week with the tape at record highs across the board. The S&P 500 finished Friday at 7,757.64 — its 25th record close of the year and the first since early June — while the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 54,000 for the first time in history and closed at 54,349.12 on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite gained 2.59% on Tuesday alone (its best session in months) to close near 26,585 and sit within striking distance of its own June peak. The total market cap of the S&P 500 crossed $70 trillion for the first time.

The rally was driven by the combination that’s defined the summer: strong AI-adjacent earnings (Palantir +29%, Caterpillar +5%, AMD’s beat) and cooling geopolitical risk premiums as reports emerged of progress on a Middle East ceasefire. Second-quarter earnings are now on pace to grow +29% year-over-year — running well ahead of the +13% consensus that started reporting season — and forward EPS estimates are being revised higher at what Bloomberg called “a stunning clip.” This is the first time since the Fed pivot in 2024 that the S&P has printed a new high on the back of earnings acceleration rather than multiple expansion

• SpaceX’s $123 Billion Lockup Cliff

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