CoreWeave, TSMC, SoftBank, Sony and Vodafone

Shares in CoreWeave fell 7% in pre-market trading after the AI infrastructure company reported third-quarter results that beat expectations but issued weaker full-year guidance.

Revenue surged 134% from a year earlier to $583.9m (£443.1m), as demand for AI computing capacity continued to grow. The company reported a net loss of $110m, narrowing from about $360m in the same quarter last year.

CoreWeave’s (CRWV) rapid growth has been fuelled by the AI boom, with the company renting out Nvidia (NVDA) graphics processing units to major cloud providers including Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT). Its backlog now stands at $55.6bn, with 2.9 gigawatts of contracted power, up from 2.2 gigawatts on June 30.

However, the company’s outlook for next year disappointed investors. CoreWeave (CRWV) forecasts 2025 revenue between $5.05bn and $5.15bn, below the average analyst estimate of $5.29bn compiled by LSEG (LSEG.L).

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CoreWeave (CRWV) CEO Mike Intrator said on the company’s earnings call that a third-party data centre developer was running behind schedule. “There was a problem at one data centre that’s impacting us, but there are 41 data centre’s in our portfolio,” Intrator said, adding that the delay would not affect the company’s backlog.

During the quarter, CoreWeave (CRWV) announced a $6.5bn expansion of its partnership with OpenAI and signed a six-year deal with Meta (META) worth up to $14.2bn. The company also secured its sixth contract from “a leading hyperscaler.”

Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell in both the US and Taipei after the world’s largest contract chipmaker reported its slowest monthly revenue growth in more than a year.

TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW), the key supplier to AI leader Nvidia (NVDA), said sales in October rose 16.9% from a year earlier, the weakest pace since February 2024, adding to debate over whether the global AI boom can sustain its rapid momentum. Still, the figure was broadly in line with analyst expectations.

Revenue for the month came in at NT$367bn (£9bn/$11.9bn). Analysts expect sales to rise 16% year on year in the current quarter, a sharp slowdown from the 41% growth posted in Q3.

Despite last week’s downturn in Asian tech shares, which also weighed slightly on TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW), the company has surged more than 40% so far this year amid an AI and semiconductor-driven rally. Its client roster includes major chip buyers such as Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD) and Qualcomm (QCOM).

Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said over the weekend that he has asked TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW) for additional chip supplies, as demand for AI processors remains strong.

Shares in SoftBank Group climbed in Tokyo after the tech investment giant reported that net profit more than doubled in the second quarter, buoyed by soaring AI-related share prices that have sparked fears of a market bubble.

The company, a major backer of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, posted a net profit of ¥2.5tn (£12.4bn/$16.2bn) for the July–September quarter, up from ¥1.2tn (£5.94bn) a year earlier. That figure exceeded the ¥207bn (£1.02bn) average estimate from three analysts surveyed by LSEG.

SoftBank’s (9984.T) Vision Fund unit delivered an investment gain of ¥3.5tn (£17.32bn), driven largely by its stake in OpenAI, which contributed ¥2.16tn during the quarter.

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The results come amid a rally in global technology shares that has pushed SoftBank’s (9984.T) stock to record highs.

After the quarter ended, the group sold $5.8bn worth of shares in US chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA). The company did not disclose a reason for the sale in its earnings statement.

Shares in Sony (SONY, 6758.T) were higher in Tokyo and in pre-market hours in the US after it raised its operating profit forecast for the year ending March 2026 by 8% to ¥1.43tn (£7.23bn/$9.5bn), citing a smaller-than-expected impact from US tariffs and continued strength in its entertainment and semiconductor businesses.

Operating profit for the July–September quarter climbed 10% to ¥429bn (£2.11bn), driven by higher sales in its music and chips divisions. The company credited the success of the animated film “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” as a key contributor to performance in its music unit, which includes anime operations.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment company said that it now expects a US tariff burden of ¥50bn (£246bn) on operating profit for the year ending March, rather than ¥70bn (£344bn) estimated previously.

Once best known for its consumer electronics, the Japanese conglomerate has evolved into an entertainment powerhouse, increasingly betting on the global rise of anime.

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Profit at Sony’s (SONY, 6758.T) gaming division declined during the second quarter after the company booked impairment losses related to Destiny 2, a title developed by its subsidiary Bungie.

“User engagement has not met the expectations Sony (SONY, 6758.T) had when it bought Bungie,” chief financial officer Lin Tao said.

Sony (SONY, 6758.T) sold 3.9 million PlayStation 5 consoles during the quarter, a slight increase from the same period a year earlier.

“We plan to expand the install base during the year-end sales season while continuing to balance that expansion with the profitability of the entire segment,” Tao said.

Shares in Vodafone rose to the top of the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) after the mobile operator raised its full-year outlook for earnings and cash flow this morning.

The company said it now expects to reach the upper end of its profit and cash flow guidance, supported by a return to revenue growth in Germany, its largest market. Vodafone (VOD.L) will raise its dividend by 2.5% next year to 4.5 cents a share and move towards a “progressive dividend policy,” with the aim of delivering annual increases in shareholder returns, a person familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.

For the half-year to 30 September, Vodafone (VOD.L) reported underlying earnings excluding lease expenses (EBITDAaL) of €5.73bn (£5.04bn), up 5.9% year on year and slightly above the average analyst forecast of €5.65bn.

Chief executive Margherita Della Valle said: “Following the progress of our transformation, Vodafone (VOD.L) has built broad-based momentum. In the second quarter we saw service revenue accelerating, with good performances in the UK, Türkiye and Africa, and a return to top-line growth in Germany.”

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Adam Vettese, market analyst for eToro said: “Vodafone’s (VOD.L) latest update marks a clear step forward in its turnaround, with improving momentum across core European operations and a notable upgrade to its profit and cash flow outlook. The return to growth in Germany is a particular highlight, signalling that operational fixes are gaining traction. The launch of a €500m share buyback reflects management’s confidence and adds a tailwind for investor sentiment.”

“However, sector competition and structural challenges remain, Vodafone (VOD.L) must continue delivering margin improvement and innovation to sustain its recovery. The share price has rebounded significantly in recent months and is approaching the 100p mark, but further progress rests on maintaining top line growth and extracting more value from its international footprint. Overall, this update gives investors renewed optimism, but disciplined execution will be key if Vodafone is to build on this positive momentum and realise its investment potential.”

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