Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and why.
Meta is making a notable pivot in its infrastructure strategy, announcing plans to rent out excess computing capacity to outside customers. That's significant on two fronts — it opens a new revenue stream beyond advertising, and it signals that Meta's AI buildout has reached a scale where spare capacity itself becomes a monetizable asset.
Shifting to semiconductors, ASML is hovering near eighteen hundred dollars a share, and the stock split conversation is getting louder. At that price point, retail accessibility becomes a real constraint, and historically, splits at these levels tend to follow when management wants to broaden the shareholder base without diluting fundamentals. ASML's underlying demand story in lithography remains intact.
Meanwhile, institutional money is quietly rotating out of AI software names and into hardware plays — aviation, space, and energy infrastructure. As AI software multiples compress under the weight of high valuations and slower monetization timelines, capital is chasing tangible assets with clearer earnings paths. Names tied to rocket systems, lunar logistics, and advanced energy are drawing fresh institutional attention.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
