[March 18, 2026] AI Monetization Hits High Gear: Amazon’s $600B Cloud Goal & Micron’s Price Surge

■ Amazon.com (AMZN): AWS Revenue Target Doubled to $600B

Massive Forecast: CEO Andy Jassy projected that AWS annual revenue could hit $600 billion, doubling the previous long-term target of $300B.
AI Multiplier: While it took a decade to envision $300B, Jassy noted that rapid AI advancements have halved that timeline and doubled the potential scale. AWS revenue grew 20% in 2025 to $128.7B.

■ Alibaba Group (BABA): Aggressive AI Price Hikes

Pricing Power: Following Tencent and Baidu, Alibaba is raising prices for AI computing (T-Head chips) by 5% to 34% and storage services by 30%.
New Tools: The company recently launched "Wukong," an agentic AI service for enterprises, signaling a shift toward aggressive AI commercialization.
Analyst View: Morgan Stanley reiterated Alibaba as a Top Pick, viewing the price hikes as a sign of strong market dominance.

■ Apple (AAPL): Navigating China’s Regulatory Tightrope

CEO Visit: Tim Cook visited Chengdu for Apple’s 50th-anniversary celebration (marking his second China trip this month).
Fee Cut: Apple reduced its App Store commission in China from 30% to 25% following discussions with regulators. However, Beijing continues to pressure Apple to allow third-party payments and further loosen its "walled garden" policies.

■ Micron Technology (MU): High Expectations for Earnings

Forecast: Markets expect Q2 EPS of $8.79 on $19.19B in revenue, a massive jump from the previous quarter.
Bullish Targets: TD Cowen raised its price target to $500 (expecting an EPS beat at $10.40), while RBC Capital pushed its target to $525, citing strong pricing power through 2026.

■ Coupang (CPNG) & Nvidia (NVDA): AI-Driven Logistics

Strategic Partnership: Coupang partnered with Nvidia to develop an AI platform for e-commerce logistics.
Dynamo Launch: Coupang will be a launch partner for Nvidia’s "Dynamo," an open-source software for agentic reasoning, aimed at drastically increasing delivery speed and warehouse efficiency.

■ Swarmer (SWMR): The 700% IPO Surge

Drone Swarm AI: This Austin-based startup, which provides AI software to operate drone swarms, saw its stock skyrocket 520% to $31 on its first day of trading.
Real-World Proven: Its tech has reportedly been used in over 100,000 operations in the Ukraine conflict since April 2024.

■ Lululemon (LULU): Guidance Miss on Rising Costs

Weak Outlook: Despite a Q4 beat, Q1 and full-year guidance fell short of estimates.
Cost Pressures: Lululemon expects $380 million in tariff costs this year. Even with cost-cutting, the net negative impact is projected at $220 million.

■ Macy’s (M) & General Mills (GIS): Cautious Consumers

Macy’s: Beat Q4 estimates but issued a conservative 2026 revenue forecast ($21.4B–$21.6B), lower than last year’s $21.8B.
General Mills: Reported an 8% decline in net sales. FY2026 organic sales are expected to drop 1.5%–2% as inflation-weary consumers pull back.

Jabil (JBL): Beat Q2 estimates and raised full-year EPS guidance to $12.25.
Block (XYZ) & Constellation Brands (STZ): Received upgrades from analysts citing attractive valuations and improving revenue trends.
Nvidia (NVDA): Rumors circulate that China has approved the import of H200 GPUs, alongside a new LPU-based chip specifically for the Chinese market.
Knight-Swift (KNX): Upgraded to Buy by UBS on improved pricing power in the trucking sector.

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