The Weekly Brief (As of April 30)
- Warner Bros (WBD) shareholders approved the mega merger with Paramount (PSKY) in an $81 billion takeover. The deal is expected to reshape Hollywood and the competitive dynamic of the media industry.
- Despite reporting revenue growth of 21%, ServiceNow (NOW) stock sank, dragging the whole software sector along with it, as AI disruption fears continued to persist.
- Meta (META) announced it will enter a multiyear agreement to use Amazon (AMZN) Graviton chips to power its AI capabilities.
- Google (GOOGL) announced the company will invest in Anthropic, with another $30 billion potentially to follow if performance targets are met.
- In the first quarter of 2026, Microsoft (MSFT) reported solid double-digit cloud growth (Azure grew 40%) driven by AI demand. Microsoft stock was pressured as surging capital expenditures and near-term capacity constraints raised concerns about returns on its aggressive AI spending.
- Alphabet (GOOGL) reported strong overall results. Alphabet stock surged as Google Cloud growth of over 60% highlighted clear AI monetization traction, easing investor concerns around heavy capex.
- Amazon (AMZN) stock rose as AWS growth and accelerating AI demand reassured investors that its aggressive investments are already translating into revenue momentum.
- Despite beating revenue expectations with over 30% growth, Meta (META) stock fell as sharply higher AI-related capital expenditures and slowing user trends overshadowed strong operating performance.
*Analysts of 5i Research responsible for this report have a financial or other interest in AMZN, META, GOOGL, and MSFT. The i2i Fund does not have a financial or other interest in securities mentioned. Clients of i2i Capital Managements Private Investment Counsel service (i2i PIC) may hold a financial interest in any companies discussed and the views of i2i PIC may differ from the views of 5i Research.
New Podcast Episode!
In this episode
Chris and Michael cover:
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$100 oil and four ways to play Canadian energy
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The 5i Z-score quadrant: defensives fading, growth sectors flipping
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Cipher Pharmaceuticals (CPH) — relative strength in a flat TSX
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Michael's ETF pick
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Semiconductors: why the structural thesis survives a capex pause
Listen on Spotify
Report Updates
We have posted report updates on Badger Infrastructure Solutions (BDGI) and Pason Systems (PSI). BDGI is North America's largest non-destructive hydrovac excavation provider, deploying its proprietary Badger Hydrovac units to safely dig around critical underground infrastructure - power, water, gas, and sewer lines - where conventional excavation carries serious safety and economic risk. PSI is a leading global provider of data management systems for oil and gas drilling, with mission-critical instrumentation and analytics. One name benefits from the AI and broader infrastructure buildout, while the other benefits from AI's growing appetite for power.
Read the latest updates by logging in here!