Dell bumped its fiscal 2027 revenue forecast to $192 billion on massive demand for AI servers, while OpenAI secured $5.5 billion in warrants from SB Energy for data center expansion. Meanwhile, the FTC and 22 states sued Amazon for overcharging advertisers by more than $20 billion.
01Company specific
London Stock Exchange Partners with Payward to Bring UK Equities Onchain
Traditional stock exchanges lending their listings to offshore, unregulated token issuers risks fragmenting domestic liquidity while surrendering secondary-market trading fees to crypto venues.
The London Stock Exchange Group is partnering with Kraken parent Payward to bring the 100 largest UK-listed companies onto rails as tokenized . Under the agreement, Payward will issue the UK through its xStocks framework, which backs each digital token one-to-one with an underlying security held in custody. The first batch of tokenized UK stocks is scheduled to launch within weeks for eligible investors across more than 110 countries. However, UK-based investors are currently excluded from purchasing the products due to regulatory constraints. Beyond the initial tokenization rollout, the London bourse plans to integrate xStocks into LSE 24, its upcoming extended-hours trading venue slated for 2027, subject to regulatory approval. The two companies also intend to explore natively issued equity tokens that would allow exchange members to issue and service shares directly onchain. Payward's xStocks framework has already generated more than $40 billion in total trading volume, with nearly $20 billion settled directly onchain across more than 200,000 holders.
xStocks Volume Metrics ($B)
Total trading volume has reached over $40 billion with nearly $20 billion onchain.
FTC to File Lawsuit Alleging Amazon Deceived Advertisers
Challenging secret floor manipulations in standard second-price ad auctions directly targets the high-margin retail media fees that subsidize core e-commerce marketplace operations.
The Federal Trade Commission and 22 state attorneys general sued Amazon for allegedly extracting over $20 billion through a seven-year scheme that rigged online advertising auctions. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington, claims Amazon systematically overcharged roughly 1.2 million advertisers by overriding competitive second-price auctions with hidden surcharges. Advertisers were led to believe they would pay just one cent more than the second-highest bidder for sponsored product and brand placements, but Amazon instead charged full winning bids nearly 80 percent of the time using an internal proxy pricing mechanism. Amazon generated more than $68 billion in advertising last year, making it the third-largest digital ad business globally behind Google and Meta. Amazon defended its auction practices as fully understood by sophisticated participants and called the lawsuit misguided.
OpenAI Issued $5.5 Billion in Warrants for SB Energy
Structuring data center rent subsidies as equity warrants ties an AI developer's computing overhead directly to the public market valuation of its utility provider.
OpenAI received an estimated $5.5 billion in warrants from power infrastructure firm SB Energy as part of a customer agreement tied to its leases. Draft documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal show the warrants operate as a lease subsidy, granting the firm stock-linked incentives that vest as SB Energy hits market-value milestones following its upcoming public debut. SoftBank-controlled SB Energy is preparing for an IPO targeting a of more than $50 billion while seeking to raise $5 billion to $7 billion. The transaction underpins a broader infrastructure buildout that includes Nvidia's $1.5 billion investment in SB Energy and a guarantee of up to $105 billion backing OpenAI's lease of a company-built data center in Ohio. The arrangement creates circular financial exposure where the IPO pricing determines the real value of the warrant subsidy offsetting OpenAI's rent costs, while SB Energy's contracted depends directly on OpenAI's financial stability.
Dell Raises Fiscal 2027 Forecast on AI Server Demand
Upgrading full-year server sales forecasts demonstrates that enterprise demand for hardware remains robust enough to absorb rising component costs without squeezing hardware maker margins.
Dell Technologies shares surged 10 percent in extended trading after reporting fiscal second-quarter of $46.97 billion and raising its full-year on robust demand for hardware. The computer maker now expects fiscal 2027 revenue of $192 billion and adjusted of $25.50 per share, up from earlier projections of $17.90 per share. The Infrastructure Solutions Group drove the quarter with $31.78 billion in revenue, fueled by $16.40 billion from AI-optimized servers. For the fiscal third quarter, Dell called for $49.0 billion in revenue and adjusted earnings of $6.50 per share, easily clearing consensus estimates. The company also raised its annual outlook for AI-optimized server sales to $74 billion, doubling prior expectations as operators continue heavy infrastructure spending.
Dell Fiscal 2027 Guidance Revisions ($)
Dell raised its FY27 revenue forecast to $192 billion from $165 billion.
Polymarket Secures Funding Round Led by Donald Trump Jr.'s Firm
Direct political backing gives prediction markets federal regulatory air cover, helping platforms defend event contract trading against state-level legal enforcement.
1789 is leading a $1 billion funding round for Polymarket that values the prediction market at $21 billion. The firm, where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, is contributing about $300 million to the raise. The fresh capital pushes Polymarket's up 40 percent from a $15 billion tag in recent months, trailing rival Kalshi's $22 billion valuation. The latest injection brings 1789 Capital's total commitment to about $500 million, making it one of the platform's largest backers alongside Intercontinental Exchange, which holds a 22 percent preferred share stake. The round proceeds as prediction markets face mounting friction from state regulators over sports event contracts, with more than a dozen US states pursuing legal action. Meanwhile, the Trading Commission has moved to block state-level enforcement, aligning with the federal administration's push to keep oversight at the national level.
Polymarket Valuation ($B)
Polymarket's valuation rose by 6 billion dollars in a matter of months.
MapQuest Hits No. 1 on App Store Following Lake Ontario Naming Controversy
MapQuest's traffic surge demonstrates how legacy navigation providers can capture sudden market share by using cartographic neutralism to differentiate from rivals bound by domestic political mandates.
MapQuest hit the No. 1 spot on the U.S. Apple App Store after refusing to adopt the federal government's mandated name change for Lake Ontario. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 27 directing federal agencies to rename the body of water Lake America amid trade disputes with Canada. While tech giants Google and Apple complied with the directive in the U.S. market, Denver-based MapQuest announced it would retain the historical name. The stance drove a massive wave of consumer interest, pushing app usage to roughly 50 times its normal rate as hundreds of thousands of new users downloaded the service. General manager Doug Berger noted that the company leveraged the same playbook it used when resisting a similar re-branding of the Gulf of Mexico. The surge temporarily placed the 30-year-old mapping pioneer ahead of perennial chart-topper ChatGPT on Apple's free app rankings.
Figure Closes Kiavi Acquisition to Expand Blockchain Investor Loans
Putting private real estate debt onto a blockchain native marketplace tests whether tokenized asset rails can permanently lower secondary distribution costs for niche originators.
Figure Technology Solutions has completed its of Kiavi for $717 million, bringing the residential real estate investor lender onto its -native marketplace. The transaction integrates Kiavi's residential transition loan and -service-coverage ratio lending platform across Figure's network of more than 480 active partners. A joint venture between Figure and Sixth Street also purchased loans off Kiavi's as part of the deal structure. Kiavi CEO Arvind Mohan is joining Figure as chief business officer to oversee the platform rollout. The acquisition adds significant volume to Figure's ecosystem as competition intensifies across DSCR lending.
DSCR to Conventional Mortgage Rate Spread (bps)
The DSCR rate spread over conventional mortgages has compressed to 50 bps.
Rapid corporate investment in AI infrastructure and blockchain platforms reflects aggressive market expansion. However, antitrust lawsuits against dominant platforms and unpredictable presidential orders threaten to disrupt projected earnings and operating models.
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