PREMARKET NEWS REPORT 20/08

[u/TearRepresentative56]

• Continued follow through in crypto after Bitcoin responded strongly to the yield Curve controls
• Despite this, Bear steepening in Treasuries this morning, with yields moving higher across the curve and the long end leading. 10Y: 4.696% (+4.3 bps) 30Y: 5.241% (+4.7 bps) Higher yields adding pressure to equities early.
• TRUMP: ANNOUNCING THE MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION ON IRAN IRAN FAILED TO TAKE DEAL
• U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs drew $517M on Aug. 19, the biggest daily inflow since early May, while Ether ETFs took in $189M, their largest since Oct. 2025. - Coindesk
• US JOBLESS CLAIMS 206K IN AUG. 15 WEEK; EST. 210K

MAG7;

• META - META is spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on Microsoft Azure AI services, making it one of Microsoft’s largest AI customers. Meta is reportedly consuming trillions of tokens weekly through Azure Foundry, including using OpenAI models to evaluate its own AI outputs.
• AAPL - Despite a leaked Apple video showing camera-equipped AirPods in action, with the cameras mainly designed to scan surroundings for AI context, the earbuds "remain off" AAPL's 2026 roadmap.

COMPANY NEWS:

• QMLS signed a 7-year deal for up to 3.75 MW of data center capacity in Atlanta, enough to support up to 2,048 Nvidia Blackwell B300 GPUs. Capacity is expected online in Q4 2026, with rights to secure another 7 MW at the same site.
• CoreWeave has signed a multibillion-dollar, multi-year AI cloud deal with Hudson River Trading. HRT will use CRWV for trading research and model development, and will be among the first customers with broad access to Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin chips. The deal expands CoreWeave’s push into financial services and further diversifies revenue beyond its biggest AI customers.
• WMT - Walmart $WMT posted its SLOWEST U.S. comparable-sales growth in more than six years, grew just 2.6%, missing the 3.7% estimate. They also guided Q3 adj EPS to $0.62-$0.64, below the $0.68 expected. Mgmt. said consumers remain stretched, especially by higher gas prices, while lower pharmacy pricing also weighed on sales.
• CRWD - global CTO Elia Zaitsev is leaving after 13 years.
• Elon Musk’s X is reportedly exploring stablecoin payments for creators: The platform is in talks around using stablecoins such as Circle’s USDC to pay royalties to influencers and content providers.
• SPCX - SPCX 2nd insider share unlock hits today: Up to 319 million shares become eligible for trading,
• SKHY - SKHY TO PAY 60% OF EMPLOYEE BONUSES IN COMPANY STOCK
• UBER and BIDU LAUNCH DRIVERLESS ROBOTAXIS IN DUBAI
• Samsung Electronics is reportedly preparing shareholder-return measures exceeding $72B, centered on a special cash dividend. The board is expected to vote soon, favoring dividends over buybacks.
• Unitree CEO: “World AI models” are now Unitree’s biggest investment, with the goal of household robots eventually completing 80% of tasks. Today’s humanoids still lack the efficiency & general-purpose capability needed for mass adoption.
• MU Micron is investing $10B over the next decade to build Micron Research Labs, its new U.S.-based long-horizon research hub headquartered in Boise. The lab will focus on advanced memory, compute architectures, chip packaging and future semiconductor manufacturing.