We recently published our article Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL) Just Made Jim Cramer’s Top 10 – Part 2. To read the full story, you can go directly to Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL) Just Made Jim Cramer’s Top 10. In this article, we discuss Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) as one of the stocks gaining attention, and here’s a closer look at why it stands out in today’s market.
The artificial intelligence boom has produced plenty of remarkable financial figures, but Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ) recently delivered one that immediately caught Wall Street’s attention. On July 30, Amazon disclosed that its second-quarter net income included $53.4 billion in non-operating pre-tax other income, primarily connected to the rising value of its investments in Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot.
The gain helped Amazon report net income of $62.6 billion for the quarter. However, investors should not confuse the Anthropic-related gain with the company’s normal operating profit. It did not come directly from Amazon Web Services, online retail, advertising, Prime subscriptions or logistics operations. Instead, it reflected the increased estimated value of Amazon’s investment in the privately held AI company.
That distinction matters because valuation gains are not necessarily recurring. If Anthropic’s valuation continues rising, Amazon could record additional benefits. If the valuation falls, some of those gains could eventually reverse. For investors analyzing Amazon stock, the figure is impressive, but it should be separated from the company’s underlying operating performance.
At the same time, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ) reportedly moved closer to backing another massive Anthropic infrastructure project. Reuters, citing a Wall Street Journal report, said Google could guarantee billions of dollars in obligations tied to a proposed $15 billion data-center financing in Texas.
Together, the developments show how Amazon and Alphabet are positioning themselves around Anthropic through investments, cloud computing, custom AI chips and large-scale data-center infrastructure.
Amazon Benefits From Anthropic in Several Ways
Amazon’s relationship with Anthropic extends far beyond an investment sitting on its balance sheet. In April, Anthropic reportedly committed to spend more than $100 billion on AWS technologies over ten years while securing as much as five gigawatts of computing capacity.
Anthropic is expected to use Amazon’s Trainium artificial intelligence chips, including current and future generations of the company’s custom processors. That gives Amazon several potential sources of value.
Amazon can benefit when its Anthropic investment increases in value. It can also earn revenue when Anthropic purchases AWS computing capacity, uses Trainium chips and delivers Claude models to customers through Amazon Bedrock.
This makes Anthropic more than a promising private investment for Amazon. It is also a major customer, infrastructure partner and testing ground for Amazon’s custom AI hardware.
That commercial connection may ultimately prove more important than the $53.4 billion accounting gain. A valuation adjustment can change from one quarter to another, while a long-term cloud-computing agreement could generate recurring revenue for many years.
There is also an interesting competitive angle. Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ) continues to dominate the market for advanced AI accelerators, but Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ) and other technology giants are developing their own chips to reduce their dependence on Nvidia GPUs.
Amazon’s Trainium chips are central to that strategy. Anthropic’s enormous computing requirements could help Amazon improve its hardware while proving that AWS can support some of the world’s most demanding generative AI workloads.
The Big Risk Is Amazon’s Heavy AI Spending
The Amazon-Anthropic partnership strengthens the long-term case for Amazon stock, but it also comes with a major financial burden. Artificial intelligence infrastructure requires enormous investments in data centers, semiconductors, networking systems, cooling equipment and electricity.
Amazon’s trailing-12-month free cash flow reportedly fell to a $7.6 billion outflow as purchases of property and equipment increased, largely because of AI-related spending.
That creates an unusual contrast in Amazon’s financial results. The rising value of Anthropic produced a massive non-operating gain, while the infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence demand consumed substantial amounts of cash.
Investors therefore need to look beyond Amazon’s headline net income. The $53.4 billion gain demonstrates the value of the company’s Anthropic stake, but it does not eliminate concerns about capital expenditures and negative free cash flow.
The bullish argument is that Amazon is investing ahead of a long-term surge in AI computing demand. The cautious view is that Amazon must eventually prove that AWS revenue and Trainium adoption can generate returns large enough to justify the spending.
Alphabet’s Anthropic Deal Carries a Different Kind of Risk
Alphabet’s proposed involvement with Anthropic appears to be structured differently. Nexus Data Centers was reportedly in advanced discussions to raise $15 billion for a data-center campus in Hubbard, Texas, that could include a 1.6-gigawatt power plant.
Google would reportedly guarantee billions of dollars covering several Anthropic leases and related power-payment obligations if Anthropic were unable to meet them. In exchange, Google could receive an ownership stake of approximately 20% in the data-center and power project.
The proposed campus would use Google TPUs, which are custom artificial intelligence processors co-designed with Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ). This could give Alphabet greater demand for its AI chips while also providing exposure to the physical infrastructure supporting Anthropic’s growth.
Google’s TPU program is not a recent response to the popularity of generative AI. The company began developing its first Tensor Processing Unit more than a decade ago. TPUs have since been used across Google Search, translation systems, machine learning applications and the company’s Gemini AI platform.
Anthropic’s reported use of both Google TPUs and Amazon Trainium chips also highlights an important piece of the AI infrastructure race. Rather than relying entirely on one cloud provider or chipmaker, Anthropic appears to be spreading its workloads across several platforms.
That approach may reduce its dependence on Nvidia while allowing Amazon and Alphabet to compete for a larger share of the AI computing market.
Why the Anthropic News Currently Favors Amazon
Based on the information available, the Anthropic developments strengthen the investment case for Amazon more clearly than they do for Alphabet.
Amazon already holds a valuable Anthropic investment and has secured a long-term customer commitment involving AWS and Trainium chips. Anthropic’s growth could therefore benefit Amazon through cloud revenue, semiconductor demand and future investment gains.
Still, investors should not treat the $53.4 billion gain as recurring earning power. The more important long-term indicators will be AWS revenue growth, operating income, free cash flow and the returns generated by Amazon’s enormous AI investments.
Alphabet’s arrangement may eventually prove profitable as well. Google could benefit from TPU demand, project equity and a deeper relationship with Anthropic. However, the exact amount of Alphabet’s guarantee, its maximum exposure and the final financing terms had not yet been publicly established.
That uncertainty does not necessarily weaken the long-term outlook for Alphabet stock, but it makes the immediate investment case less clear than Amazon’s.
Amazon, Alphabet and the Wider AI Stock Race
The Anthropic story helps explain why Amazon and Alphabet remain among the most closely watched artificial intelligence stocks. Their involvement touches nearly every part of the AI economy, including cloud computing, custom semiconductors, private-company valuations, energy infrastructure and data-center financing.
Other major technology companies are approaching the AI market from different directions. Nvidia leads in advanced AI chips, while Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ) and Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ) are competing across the semiconductor industry. Microsoft is expanding Copilot and Azure, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ) is investing heavily in AI infrastructure, and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ) continues integrating artificial intelligence into its device ecosystem.
Amazon and Alphabet, however, are showing that the artificial intelligence race is no longer just about producing the best chatbot. It is also about controlling the chips, cloud platforms, data centers and energy supplies required to operate those models.
For Amazon stock, Alphabet stock and other Jim Cramer technology stocks, that may be the central issue investors need to watch. The AI boom has already created extraordinary valuations and historic spending commitments. The next test is whether those investments can generate sustainable operating profits and long-term shareholder returns.
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Our Methodology
For “Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL) Just Made Jim Cramer’s Top 10,” the ranking was based on Cramer’s recent commentary, each company’s financial performance, AI exposure, growth prospects, competitive advantages, and key risks facing investors.
Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL) Just Made Jim Cramer’s Top 10 – Part 2
3. Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM)
Market snapshot: $273.79, down 2.41%
Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) claims third place because the British chip design company occupies a powerful and unusual position in the global semiconductor industry. Unlike companies that manufacture processors or sell large volumes of finished chips, Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) licenses computing architectures and intellectual property to other semiconductor designers. Its technology can be found across smartphones, consumer devices, automotive systems, servers and an expanding number of artificial intelligence applications.
The business model gives Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) a way to benefit from industry growth without carrying the same manufacturing burden faced by traditional chipmakers. License fees provide revenue when customers gain access to its designs, while royalties can continue as those customers ship products based on Arm technology. This structure has allowed the company to participate in enormous numbers of devices across different markets. As AI computing expands from centralized data centers into personal computers, smartphones, vehicles, robots and connected devices, efficient processor designs may become even more valuable.
Cramer has discussed Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) extensively and has expressed bullish views toward the company, describing it as a potential beneficiary of rising computing and AI demand. At the same time, his comments have shown that enthusiasm can change when valuation and share-price momentum become excessive. He has praised the business, added exposure through the Charitable Trust and also acknowledged situations where the stock appeared to be moving too far, too quickly. That combination reflects a sensible distinction between admiring Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) as a company and buying Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) stock at any price.
The company’s opportunity extends beyond mobile devices. Arm-based processors are increasingly appearing in cloud servers and personal computers because of their energy efficiency. That matters in the AI era, when power availability and operating costs have become major constraints for data-center operators. Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) may also benefit as custom chips become more popular among cloud providers that want processors designed for their own workloads.
Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARM) ranks third because its intellectual property can participate in many of the industry’s fastest-growing markets. The main concern remains valuation. A high-quality licensing business can still produce disappointing investment returns if investors pay too much for future growth. Nevertheless, the company’s presence across the computing ecosystem gives it a compelling position in the AI semiconductor race.
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Disclosure: No material interests to disclose. This article was originally published on Global Market Bulletin.
