Nvidia's David Sacks-brokered killing of export-control bills faces a test from three bipartisan lame duck bills.
Georgia, Texas, and Alaska governor races will decide data center moratoriums and rate payer protections.
Apple's first earnings under John Ternus show memory costs squeezing margins and services growth slowing to high single digits.
Nvidia's Grip on Washington Faces a Lame Duck Test
Funding and deals
Marvell. All-stock purchase of laser and optics maker Lumentum, valued near $80bn, with Marvell shareholders owning two thirds of the combined company.
Guest interviews
Phoebe Liu, reporter at The Information covering Nvidia. Reported that OpenAI's Noam Brown asked internally about the company's export-control policy, and that some OpenAI policy staff softened their stance for fear of angering Nvidia. Nvidia's biggest lever is deciding who gets how many chips. The New York Times reported Jensen Huang's ties to a Chinese executive linked to a Singapore customer under investigation for smuggling chips to China, and Trump said he keeps full faith in Huang.
Tore Svanberg, managing director and senior semiconductor analyst at Stifel. Called the Marvell-Lumentum deal one of the biggest in semiconductor history and expects it to clear antitrust review, though it needs US and China approval and will not close until 2028. He explained why optical connections replace copper as AI networks scale, and says Broadcom is the only other company with both semiconductor and optical technology in house.
Barton Crockett, senior research analyst at Rosenblatt Securities. Says John Ternus did fine with the hand he was dealt. The iPhone family is holding up against tough comparisons and the Mac is hitting AI's sweet spot, but memory costs squeeze gross margins and services growth is slowing to high single digits. He sees a home robot or AR glasses as Apple's next growth driver.
Leo Schwartz, journalist at The Information covering technology and politics. Says he doubts Senate results will change much and that data centre battles are state and local, with federal legislation unlikely while the Trump administration keeps incentivising build-outs. He traces Nvidia's Washington build-up, its pressure on think tanks and its use of Trump ally David Sacks to kill export-control bills in the Defense Authorization Act.
Shane Burke, senior data journalist at The Information. Says governor races now turn on data centres, naming Georgia and Texas among the closest, and flags Alaska's four-candidate contest as a possible upset. Rate payer protections are the most popular restriction candidates back.
News
Apple revenue growth slows to 12%. The first report under chief executive John Ternus showed revenue growth of 12%, the slowest in a year, with guidance of 7% to 10% for the current quarter. Barton Crockett says memory costs are squeezing gross margins.
Export control bills to test Nvidia's sway. Three bipartisan export-control bills are expected in the lame duck session after the midterms, and Leo Schwartz says the vote will show whether Nvidia's influence in Washington has waned.
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On this episode 6
Show 1
Midterm races turn on data centre rules. Governor races in Georgia and Texas turn on data centre moratoriums and rate payer protections, and Alaska's four-candidate contest could bring an upset. Leo Schwartz says federal legislation is unlikely.
California's billionaire tax heads for defeat. The no side on Proposition 40 has outspent the yes side by about 2.5 to 1 and spent over $100m. Leo Schwartz says polling has shifted toward failure.