Bitcoin Surges Above $103,000

AMD held a conference call following the release of its third-quarter (Q3) 2026 financial results. The company projects that its data center AI business revenue will exceed server CPU business revenue for the first time in Q4 2026, with total data center segment revenue expected to rise around 50% quarter-over-quarter. AMD forecasts total Q4 revenue of approximately $17 billion, up roughly 66% year-over-year. For Q3 2026, AMD’s revenue grew 45% YoY to $13.377 billion, a quarterly record, beating analyst estimates by about 2.3%. Non-GAAP earnings per share jumped 74% YoY to $2.09, exceeding expectations by over 6%. Gross margin stood at 56%, up 190 basis points YoY. Data center revenue surged 97% YoY to $8.5 billion, with its share of total revenue climbing from 47% in the year-ago period to 64%. AMD CEO Lisa Su expects total company revenue to grow over 80% YoY in 2027, with the data center segment accounting for more than 80% of total revenue, and server business revenue projected to double YoY. She noted current demand remains outstripping supply, and the company is collaborating with wafer, substrate, advanced packaging and storage suppliers to expand production capacity. AMD CFO John Hu forecasts 2027 operating expense growth will be less than half the revenue growth rate, leading to a significant improvement in operating margin. Su added that AI agents are emerging as the "next killer application" for cloud CPUs, driving demand for both accelerators and server CPUs. In contrast, the PC market faces pressure from rising memory and other component costs. Su stated AMD’s 2027 planning assumes a double-digit percentage decline in global PC shipments, and the company will focus on enterprise, high-end consumer and desktop channels.

According to preliminary national results from CNN’s voter poll, U.S. voters are broadly dissatisfied with the state of the nation, economic conditions, and President Donald Trump’s job performance. Roughly three-quarters of voters say they are dissatisfied or worse with the country’s direction, and about 40% even describe themselves as “angry”. The preliminary results identify two key drivers of this discontent: negative views of Trump and frustration with current economic conditions. How these factors will specifically play out remains to be seen—especially in some solidly Republican states where competitive Senate races have unexpectedly emerged. About 60% of U.S. voters nationwide disapprove of Trump’s job performance, with roughly half saying they strongly disapprove. Among voters who supported Trump in 2024, about one in five now disapprove of his performance. The share of voters reporting inflation is causing them hardship is roughly on par with 2024. But this time, many voters are directly blaming Trump. About two-thirds of voters believe he has worsened the U.S. economy, and most attribute rising prices directly to his policies rather than factors beyond his control. Most voters doubt Trump has the right priorities and say he puts personal interests above the nation’s. Despite the president urging his base to vote as he is on the ballot, fewer than one in five voters say their House vote was to support Trump; the rest say they voted against Trump, or that Trump was not a factor in their decision. About three-quarters of voters call economic conditions poor, and roughly 90% say the cost of living is a “key” or major factor in their voting choice.

As of 19:00 Eastern Time (ET) on November 3, voting for the U.S. midterm elections is underway. Polling stations in Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and Indiana have all closed, with voting completed. Separately, voting in some U.S. House of Representatives districts in Florida has concluded, while voting across the rest of the state will end at 20:00 ET the same day. As polling stations across states shut down one after another, vote counting in the relevant districts will gradually get underway. (CCTV)

According to Bloomberg, Block, the payments company founded by Jack Dorsey, reported a 22% year-over-year increase in third-quarter gross profit to $3.24 billion, exceeding analysts’ average forecast of $3.1 billion. The firm raised its full-year 2026 gross profit outlook from approximately $12.5 billion to around $12.6 billion, pushing its shares up more than 7% in after-hours trading. On the operational front, Square is expanding its reach to food and beverage merchants, while Cash App has rolled out additional bank account-like features. Block is also connecting Cash App users with Square merchants via its Neighborhoods initiative and has begun selling some internally developed AI tools. Despite prior layoffs, the company’s third-quarter operating expenses hit $2.8 billion, rising both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. Additionally, Block disclosed a roughly $230 million loss on its Bitcoin investments in the third quarter. Its Bitcoin business primarily provides trading channels for clients, with performance tied to Bitcoin price fluctuations. The company projects fourth-quarter gross profit of $3.32 billion and 2027 gross profit of $14.52 billion, a 15% year-over-year increase. Business head Owen Jennings stated Block expects to generate direct revenue from AI tools for the first time in the fourth quarter, with AI investments set to drive future growth. Block also revealed it has reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over a multi-year anti-money laundering investigation. The proposed deferred prosecution agreement totals roughly $964 million, with Block anticipating a net payment of around $764 million—higher than the $526 million reserve disclosed in the prior quarter. The deal remains subject to court approval.

According to Bitget data, South Korea’s KOSPI index opened 2.43% higher, SK Hynix rose 4.8%, and Samsung Electronics gained 3.6%.

On US midterm election voting day, US stocks rebounded, with artificial intelligence-related sectors leading gains. Data from BIT Stock Platform shows: the S&P 500 rose 0.36%, the Nasdaq gained 0.83%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.38%; the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 2.64%, ending three consecutive trading days of losses. Morgan Stanley believes the election has helped eliminate a major uncertainty facing the market, noting that the US stock correction that began in June has entered its "final stage". Chip stocks rallied broadly: Nvidia rose 2.29%, returning its market capitalization above $5 trillion; Micron Technology gained 2.58%, SanDisk advanced 4.78%, and Broadcom climbed 3.07%. Computing power leasing stocks saw larger gains: CoreWeave rose 7.16%, Nebius jumped 7.25%, and Applied Digital surged 9.80%. Goldman Sachs' trading desk pointed out that the S&P 500's rally is still mainly driven by heavyweight stocks, with narrow market breadth. AMD closed up 3.65% in regular trading; its after-hours release showed Q3 revenue rose 45% year-on-year, data center revenue nearly doubled, and Q4 revenue guidance hit a new high, leading to a 7.6% rise in after-hours trading. On the macro front, US September JOLTS job openings rose to a four-month high, while layoff numbers declined. The stronger-than-expected jobs data pushed US Treasury yields higher: the 10-year yield rose 5.36 basis points to 4.948%, and the 2-year yield increased 3.13 basis points to 4.614%. In the crude oil market, WTI crude futures settled down 0.38% at $96.09 per barrel, and Brent crude futures fell 1.12% to $103.60 per barrel. Reports of possible progress in US-Iran talks briefly pushed WTI below $94, but Iran's Foreign Ministry stated there was no new progress in the negotiations, causing oil prices to trim their losses. Brent's spot premium over futures narrowed from around $30 in early October to approximately $3.70.