22/04/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | APR 22, 2026

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‘AI or die’ – Big Tech’s survival test “AI or die.”

The numbers on the energy demand side are also eye-popping. In November, Morgan Stanley energy analysts estimated total US data centre power demand through 2028 at 69 gigawatts, warning of a potential 44 GW shortfall. They now see that demand reaching 80 GW, with the potential shortfall rising to 55 GW. For context, 10 gigawatts could power 10 medium-sized nuclear power plants. With AI-driven demand for energy going up and supply constrained, the prices Big Tech must bear will undoubtedly be higher than expected. This could eat into the huge profits baked into market expectations for hyperscalers. Or, as Melissa Otto, head of research at S&P Global Visible Alpha told Reuters last month, it could even hinder their capex plans altogether. “I think if the capex numbers get pulled back, if in fact energy prices are not reflected in earnings, that could be a catalyst” for an equity

back on the table. Any downward shift in sky-high AI sentiment could have an outsized impact on the wider market. And with global energy prices up the most in five years, there are worries that the hyper-bullish earnings outlook for Big Tech – now a highly energy intensive sector – could sour. While economists at BNP Paribas reckon the AI boost will “comfortably” overshadow all negative shocks over the next several years, in the near term – this year and next – negative shocks are likely to carry more weight. “If current (AI) capex pledges are met in full, this could significantly boost power prices, diminishing the positive productivity effect from AI deployment,” they wrote last week. These capex pledges are huge – some US$635 billion this year from hyperscalers Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta alone, and over US$800 billion in total, according to Morgan Stanley.

more good news. US stocks have shrugged off the Iran war and the energy supply shock to hit new all time highs. The Nasdaq on Friday clocked its 13th daily gain, its longest winning streak since 1992, rising nearly 20% in the process. Should the rally extend through Monday, it will be the best run since June 1987. The S&P 500 is also up 13% in the last three weeks. The rebound has been highly unbalanced, however, driven by only a handful of Big Tech firms. Indeed, less than 10% of the S&P 500 stocks are trading at 52-week highs, according to Liz Ann Sonders at Charles Schwab. The S&P 500 tech sector is now worth nearly 35% of the overall index’s market cap, closing in on October’s record 36%. The tech and communications services sectors’ combined market cap is now less than a percentage point off October’s record 46% market share. Concentration risk is suddenly

market pullback, Otto said. However, the energy price spike may ultimately be a short-term concern that is quickly forgotten as the AI juggernaut rolls on. It’s also possible that rising geopolitical tensions could actually benefit Big Tech, as the fracturing of the world order will likely only heat up the AI arms race. Moreover, if JPMorgan’s Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou is right that investors retain a large short position in the benchmark tech “QQQ” exchange traded fund, there is even room for the AI trade to accelerate further in the short term. “AI or die” may very well be investors’ motto in the coming years, and for good reason. But if energy prices stay higher for longer, this revolution – and the stock market – may not advance as quickly as expected. The opinions expressed here are

That was International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva last week, telling a panel at the IMF/World Bank spring meetings in Washington how she views the challenges businesses, industries, and economies around the world face given the transformative powers of artificial intelligence (AI). Her comments also apply to the stock market. US Big Tech suffered a substantial wobble and repricing in the first quarter, but has roared back in the last three weeks, with market conviction in the AI productivity boom seemingly stronger than ever. Investors will get a sense of whether this optimism is justified this week, with Tesla, the first of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps to report, releasing first-quarter results today. IBM and Intel also report this week. Markets are clearly expecting

those of Jamie McGeever, a columnist for Reuters.

Apple names hardware chief Ternus as next CEO in AI era SAN FRANCISCO: Apple on Monday named longtime hardware boss John Ternus as its next CEO, turning to another insider to steer the iPhone maker after Tim Cook as it navigates a world radically altered by artificial intelligence (AI), a technology it has lagged on. Cook, a supply-chain genius who boosted Apple’s market value by US$3.6 trillion (RM14 trillion) in his 15 years at the helm, will stay on as executive chairman when Ternus takes over on Sept 1, Apple said in a statement.

SpaceX president Shotwell earned US$85m last year, filing shows

NEW YORK: SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell earned US$85.8 million (RM339 million) in total compensation last year, a company prospectus showed, placing her among the highest-paid US executives. Shotwell, who is also chief operating officer, earned a salary of US$1 million, with most of her compensation coming from stock options and awards, according to an excerpt of SpaceX’s S-1 filing. Companies use the registration document to disclose their finances and risks before going public. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has filed confidentially for a US IPO, Reuters reported this month, paving the way for a potential record-breaking listing valued at around US$1.75 trillion. Chief financial officer Bret Johnson earned total compensation of US$9.8 million, while billionaire CEO Musk, the majority shareholder in SpaceX, paid himself a salary of US$54,080, the excerpt from the prospectus showed. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The compensation figures, which have not been previously reported, place Shotwell’s pay above many other high-profile tech executives. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella earned US$79 million in 2024, while Apple’s Tim Cook took home US$75 million, according to compensation data compiled by Equilar. Shotwell has a net worth of US$3.4 billion, according to Forbes. Although Musk is the public face of SpaceX, 62-year-old Shotwell manages much of the company’s day-to-day grind. That involves converting Musk’s futuristic vision into the practical realities of building rockets, deploying satellites and lining up commercial, government and military customers. Shotwell joined SpaceX in 2002 as vice president of business development, becoming employee No. 7 at the then-fledgling company. She has been a central behind-the-scenes figure in building demand for SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket, as well as its Starlink satellite broadband constellation, which now generates the bulk of the company’s revenue and profit. – Reuters

Ternus, who joined Apple in 2001, has played a central role in reviving products such as the Mac, which has gained market share against PCs. Though he has kept a low public profile, he has been deeply involved in shaping Apple’s biggest products such as iPads and AirPods. The transition comes at a crucial time for Apple. After years on top of the most-valuable company scoreboard, Apple has lost its crown to AI chipmaker Nvidia, as investors have fretted over its lack of innovation in the technology that is changing how people work, create and get information. Integrating AI into the iPhone – the most successful consumer product in history – may be Ternus’ hardest challenge. In January, Apple struck a deal with longtime rival in smartphones – Alphabet’s Google – to use Google’s Gemini in an effort to improve its Siri virtual assistant. Despite introducing a form of AI to the public imagination in 2011 with Siri, Apple has not yet scored a hardware or software product hit centered on new AI technologies, while emerging rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT have attracted hundreds of millions of users. In particular, Siri has not yet become an “agent” – the term that AI firms use for systems that carry out complex tasks like a human assistant. “I expect his biggest challenge and efforts will be focused on getting a better AI story and offering together that relies more on Apple’s own capabilities and less on third parties,“ said Bob O’Donnell, head of tech consulting firm TECHnalysis Research. At 50, Ternus is the same age Cook was when he took over CEO duties from Apple co founder Steve Jobs. Apple, which rarely allows its executives to speak publicly, has sought to elevate Ternus’ profile in recent years, having him speak with the press about Apple’s products. He showed off the iPhone Air in September,

Apple announced on April 20 that Cook would step down in September, handing the CEO job to company veteran John Ternus ( pix ). – AFPPIX the biggest revamp of the firm’s top-selling product in nearly a decade. and product inventories largely off Apple’s books while maximizing profits.

Apple’s decades of investments in China helped fuel that nation’s rise as the world’s workshop, a phenomenon that even Cook has found hard to shift away from. Despite opening assembly operations in India and Vietnam, Apple still sources many key parts and subsystems from China, and Cook has not yet been able to present a “Made in USA” iPhone to US President Donald Trump, despite hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in Apple’s US supply chain partners. Cook, who presented a custom golden plaque to Trump last year, will continue to engage with policymakers, the company said. Over his tenure, Cook became a celebrity CEO in his own right. He was the first Fortune 500 CEO to come out as gay in 2014 and took public stances on issues such as workplace diversity and corporate sustainability. Separately, Apple said that Johny Srouji, who has overseen Apple’s custom chip and sensor designs, has been named chief hardware officer. Srouji will continue to oversee that group, along with the hardware engineering group that Ternus once led, which will now be overseen by Tom Merieb. – Reuters

Ternus will also have to fend off rivals such as Meta Platforms, whose augmented-reality glasses have become a surprise hit with just a fraction of the capabilities – and price tag – of Apple’s US$3,499-plus Vision Pro headset. Nvidia, too, has announced its own personal computer and is working on chips that can power laptops. “The promotion of Mr Ternus indicates the company will focus on new hardware devices such as folding phones, glasses, VR devices and AI pins,“ said Gil Luria, managing director of D.A. Davidson & Co. Apple shares declined about 0.5% after regular trading hours when the news was announced, after being up about 1% during regular trading. The stock has soared 20-fold since Cook took over as CEO in August 2011. Cook, 65, was recruited by Jobs from Compaq at a time when that firm was riding high on the 1990s PC boom and Jobs was working to rescue Apple from the brink of insolvency. He made his early reputation at Apple by building out its sprawling supply chain with contract manufacturers in China, a model that became the envy of Corporate America because it kept expensive factory operations