Today, we cover Meta and Microsoft’s earnings and the big capex cost from the former hyperscaler. Plus, Needham’s new target for Core Scientific, a fresh Core board seat, and a raise for Soluna's CEO.

As always, listen by clicking below.

While I’m writing this newsletter, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is explaining to shareholders why the company upped its lower bound for capex spend to $130 billon over the next year. Meanwhile, Meta is down 10% in after-hour markets after missing on its EPS and revenue expectations (EPS was $6.18 against an anticipated $7.14 - $7.22, alongside revenue of $60.8 billion versus the expected $60.2 billion).

Microsoft is next and I hope to catch a bit of the prepared remarks before logging off for the day.

We do have their earnings though, which are pretty bullish if you believe in the AI trade, or if you have investments in data centers. In the earnings, Microsoft said they have revised non-commenced lease spend (mostly for data centers) from $196.6 billion last quarter to $236.4 billion this quarter — a pretty big jump! This time last year, Microsoft spent a measly $92.7 billion. They also reported that revenue on its Azure product is up, proving the AI thesis for the legacy tech giant.

The profit profile is great, with net income up 31% year-over-year. The ticker is up nearly 3% in after-hour markets.

Looking back at Meta, what does its CAPEX guidance mean in the context of a missed quarter?

Well, that’s the business of running a business. You make bets, and hopefully those bets produce attractive returns. Zuck missed with the goggle headsets and VR tech, but they have a great shot on goal here.

Zuckerberg said he’d be willing to “misspend a couple of hundred billion dollars” so as not to lose the AI race. And this quarter proves that, as the firm dropped free cash flow to $784 million from $8.55 billion. If he could provide an earnings beat with that spend like Microsoft did today, perhaps you don’t have a 10% negative print.

I for one, appreciate the conviction. Let’s see how neoclouds and other data center stock react tomorrow morning once the market digests Meta and Microsoft’s earnings.

If you’ve startled Cramer with your bearishness, you might be finding a local bottom…right?

Needham raised its price target for Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ) to $35 from $29 on Wednesday, citing the economics and scale of its new 15-year AMD infrastructure partnership. The firm maintained its Buy rating. The target implies about 69% upside from Core Scientific's July 28 closing price of $20.75.

Activist investor Sachem Head Capital Management disclosed a 6.9% beneficial ownership stake in Ionic Digital (NASDAQ: IOND) this week, giving the activist investor exposure to the bitcoin miner’s shift toward AI/HPC infrastructure.

Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ) appointed former Penguin Solutions chief executive Mark W. Adams to its board on Wednesday, expanding the bitcoin miner and AI infrastructure provider's board to seven directors effective immediately. Adams has more than 30 years of experience in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, storage, digital media and enterprise hardware. He led Penguin Solutions as president and CEO from 2020 until February 2026, when he retired from that role and from the company's board.

Soluna Holdings' (NASDAQ: SLNH) Compensation Committee approved a $600,000 annual base salary for CEO John Belizaire and a target bonus equal to 100% of that amount on July 9, according to an SEC filing Friday. Soluna reported in May that first-quarter revenue rose 58% year over year. The salary increase applies retroactively to January 1, 2026.

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