When a six-fold profit surge is not enough

Big Tech earnings are here—but investors may be looking at AI spending very differently this time. After a brief pause in Middle East tensions, oil prices are rising again, inflation fears are back, and markets are rotating away from the biggest AI winners. SK Hynix delivered record revenue and operating profit, yet its shares plunged after missing lofty expectations and reaffirming aggressive investment plans. The selloff spilled over to Samsung and the broader semiconductor sector, raising fresh questions about whether investors are still willing to finance the AI spending boom. With Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Apple all reporting in the coming days, the focus is shifting from earnings growth to capital spending, free cash flow and margins. Listen to find out more! Ipek Ozkardeskaya has begun her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked at HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high net worth clients. In 2012, she started as FX Strategist at Swissquote Bank. She worked as a Senior Market Analyst in London Capital Group in London and in Shanghai. She returned to Swissquote Bank as Senior Analyst in 2020, and launched her own website ipekScope.com in 2025.