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 Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) 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
5. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Market snapshot: $101.08, up 0.22%
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) reaches fifth place because it is no longer being viewed only as a semiconductor giant that missed major technology shifts. Under chief executive Lip-Bu Tan, the company is attempting a difficult turnaround built around stronger engineering discipline, a more focused product roadmap and the expansion of Intel Foundry. Cramer has become increasingly interested in that recovery, highlighting what he described as several major growth opportunities and arguing that the company could rebuild a significant American semiconductor manufacturing business.
The Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) story is attractive partly because of its diversity. The company designs processors for personal computers and servers, develops accelerators for AI workloads, operates manufacturing facilities and is trying to produce chips for outside customers through its foundry division. That gives Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) exposure to multiple parts of the semiconductor value chain. It also gives the company multiple problems to solve at the same time. Turning around the product business would already be difficult; rebuilding manufacturing competitiveness and convincing outside chip designers to trust Intel Foundry adds another layer of execution risk.
Tan has moved to reduce organizational complexity and return engineering decisions closer to the center of the company. He has argued that the foundry operation is gaining interest from potential customers and that advanced manufacturing technologies could eventually allow Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) to compete more effectively with the industry’s leading producers. Cramer has praised Tan’s background in chip design and manufacturing and suggested that his experience could help create a viable foundry business. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) has also recently delivered stronger growth from its data-center operations, although its foundry business remains a work in progress and continues to require heavy investment.
The stock ranks fifth because the potential reward is significant if the turnaround works. A successful Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) could benefit from demand for AI servers, edge computing, personal computers, domestic semiconductor production and advanced packaging. However, investors should not mistake an improving narrative for a completed recovery. The company still needs competitive products, manufacturing yields, major external customers and better financial performance. Cramer’s optimism gives the stock additional attention, but Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) remains an execution-heavy turnaround rather than a low-risk AI investment.
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Disclosure: No material interests to disclose. This article was originally published on Global Market Bulletin.
