Bernstein constructed a complete AI memory architecture hierarchy from on-chip SRAM, HBM, system DRAM, and CXL to local SSDs, noting that the decoding phase of Transformer inference is memory-bound because KV cache grows linearly with tokens and concurrent users, and RAG databases and agent workflows further amplify demand for large-capacity storage and system DRAM.

Goldman Sachs data shows that in 8 month, DRAM spot prices remained strong, with DDR4 rising 7% month-on-month and trading at a 43% premium to contract prices; South Korea's 7-month DRAM exports surged 394% year-on-year, hitting a 2008-year high. It also significantly raised SK Hynix's 2027 HBM pricing growth forecast from 50% to 100%, projecting its 2027 HBM revenue to reach USD 630 hundred million.

New memory technologies face different commercialization challenges: HBF, led by SanDisk and SK hynix, requires a substantial leap in NAND performance; Samsung's zHBM faces doubts over heat dissipation and yield; NVIDIA's NVHBM could undermine memory suppliers' base-die differentiation and shift value to foundries such as TSMC; while PIM is constrained by ecosystem migration costs.

Traditional DRAM ASP gains are slowing. Goldman Sachs expects 3Q26E industry DRAM ASP to grow roughly 17% sequentially, but the second-order change is about negative 20 percentage points; affected by high inventory, mobile pricing growth in 3Q26 is expected to slow to 8-13%.

Morgan Stanley expects Broadcom's 7-month quarter AI revenue to reach USD 160 hundred million (+48% sequentially), with strong custom ASIC and AI networking businesses; there is upside to the 2027 approximately USD 1200 hundred million AI revenue forecast, but some investors' expectations exceeding USD 1500 hundred million constitute event risk.

AIDC power demand is fundamentally changing the earnings structure of traditional equipment manufacturers: Goldman Sachs expects Weichai Power's AIDC power generation business earnings to increase from RMB 13 hundred million in 2025 to RMB 113 hundred million in 2027, accounting for more than 50% of net profit; management raised its 2026E large diesel engine shipment guidance to over 4000 units, with gas generator sets expected to exceed 2000 units in 2027. Kstar's data center product sales are expected to grow 40% year-on-year in 2H26E, and it plans to start 800 VDC field testing and launch SST modules.

AI server specification upgrades are driving upstream material volumes and prices higher simultaneously: Bernstein notes that AI-related PCB suppliers' 2Q26 revenue grew approximately 45% year-on-year, with the top eight ABF substrate suppliers growing nearly 50%, and most new capacity will not come online until 2028; T-glass and high-end CCL supply constraints will persist for several quarters.

Semiconductor interconnect ICs benefit from AI inference demand: Montage Technology's 2Q26 revenue grew 33% year-on-year, with DDR5 Gen 3/4 accounting for over 50% of RCD shipments, and new products such as PCIe Retimer generating revenue up 81% year-on-year; however, gross margin fell to 61.8%, missing expectations—Bernstein attributed this to rising wafer costs, while Goldman Sachs attributed it to product mix changes.

Domestic AI chips face high-end competitive pressure: MetaX's C600 series drove 2Q26 revenue up 36% sequentially, but gross margin was only 55.1%, and excluding fair value gains, the underlying net loss was RMB 1.72 hundred million, with HBM costs and strategic price cuts squeezing profits. Iluvatar CoreX's 1H26 gross margin was only 17.2%, which Morgan Stanley views as strategically low pricing to win CSP cooperation; its inventory and prepayments exceeding RMB 39 hundred million suggest proactive stocking for the 2027 Tiangai 300 GPU.

Morgan Stanley noted that global semiconductor channel inventory remains above the historical median, with semiconductor company inventory at 114 days (23 days higher), indicating an uneven recovery in the broader semiconductor market outside of AI.

Z.AI (Zhipu) 8-month ARR exceeded USD 16 hundred million, annualized at approximately USD 20 hundred million based on the latest weekly run rate; Goldman Sachs raised its year-end 2026 ARR forecast to USD 27 hundred million, and JPMorgan noted that management expects a further 50% increase by year-end to USD 24 hundred million. MaaS token consumption has grown more than 40 times year-to-date, and average API selling prices rose 101%.

Z.AI's 1H26 total revenue was RMB 9.54 hundred million (+400% year-on-year), of which Cloud/API revenue reached RMB 8.25 hundred million (+2736% year-on-year), accounting for 86.5% of total revenue. JPMorgan believes the overall revenue miss was almost entirely from the on-premises deployment business that the company proactively scaled back (down 20% year-on-year).

Cloud/API gross margin rose from negative 0.4% in 1H25 to 24.6% in 1H26; unit Token inference costs fell approximately 80% year-to-date, and the compute monetization multiplier increased 14 times year-on-year to 0.46x. Management targets raising Open Platform gross margin above 50% within 12-18 months.

Despite rapid ARR growth, Z.AI's 1H26 R&D expenses reached RMB 21.3 hundred million (+34% year-on-year), with R&D investment more than double revenue, resulting in an adjusted net loss of approximately RMB 19.6 to 20 hundred million. Goldman Sachs lowered its 2026-28E revenue forecasts due to the on-premises decline.

Z.AI's strategy is evolving from Chat to Coding, Agents, and autonomous AI workflows. Cybersecurity is currently the clearest early extension scenario, having discovered 2400 expert-screened vulnerabilities across 269 projects.

Goldman Sachs significantly raised its 2035 global humanoid robot sales forecast from 138 ten thousand units to 648 ten thousand units, lifting the market size forecast to USD 1380 hundred million. Automotive factories are expected to be the earliest adopters in 2026-2028, while logistics and warehousing are seen as the most viable early deployment scenarios.

Automation is both a cost lever and a competitive lever for e-commerce. Amazon's upside scenario assumes cumulative cost savings of approximately USD 720 hundred million and a consolidated EBIT boost of about 240 basis points by 2030. The semiconductor content per humanoid robot is approximately USD 2950 to over USD 6000, and Nvidia is viewed as a foundational full-stack enabler.

Virtual PLC adoption is expected to grow at an annual rate of 20%-30% from a base of approximately USD 5 hundred million in 2025, potentially undermining incumbent industrial automation vendors' hardware-software lock-in and driving a business model shift from proprietary hardware to software-defined automation.

Luster LightTech is expanding from optical motion capture to tactile data acquisition equipment for humanoid robots, raising the ASP per set to approximately RMB 100 ten thousand; its humanoid robot final inspection solution increases daily output from 20 units to over 100 units, opening up high-value-added space in embodied AI inspection.

Nomura believes the most impactful structural change in the 8-month 28-day policy package is reinforcing completed-home sales and reducing reliance on pre-sales, which will lengthen developers' cash recovery cycles and lower cash flow IRRs, marking the industry's transition from a high-leverage, high-turnover model to one emphasizing delivery and capital discipline.

The maximum term for individual mortgage loans has been extended from 30 years to 40 years (the first adjustment since 1999), which can reduce homebuyers' monthly payments and free up disposable income, but will increase total interest expenses. Nomura warns that weak housing sentiment may limit its near-term stimulus effect.

Under the new financing mechanism, development loans will become the main channel for construction funding, adopting a lead bank model and closed-account fund flows; mortgage disbursements for pre-sale projects will be deferred until completion filing, shifting financial risks from homebuyers to developers, commercial banks, and capital markets.

Completed-home sale requirements may reduce new home supply, shifting more demand to the secondary housing market, from which national real estate brokerage platform Ke Holdings stands to benefit.

Although the new policies ease monthly payment burdens, Nomura believes their immediate boost to consumer sentiment is limited due to falling home prices over the past five years and weakening household income expectations.

Goldman Sachs believes the U.S. economy is not experiencing broad overheating; job-labor gaps in most industries have fallen below pre-pandemic levels, and services sector capacity constraints contribute only about 10bp additionally to core PCE inflation. However, AI-related investment is creating localized resource constraints, with capacity utilization among electrical equipment and machinery manufacturers near peak levels.

China's 8-month official manufacturing PMI rose to 49.8, above Goldman Sachs' forecast of 49.4, with improvements in new orders and output as the main drivers; however, the non-manufacturing PMI held at 49.0, construction fell to 46.9, and the gap between input prices and factory-gate prices indicates continued pressure on manufacturers' margins.

South Korea's 7-month overall industrial production grew 0.2% month-on-month, better than expected, with tech output up 3.8% month-on-month (displays and other electronic components such as PCBs surging 20.7%); however, domestic demand indicators weakened significantly, with services output down 1.3% month-on-month, the sharpest contraction since early 2022.

China-U.S. freight flows have recently improved; in the week ended 8 month 27 day, loaded container ships from China to the U.S. increased 10% year-on-year. However, import volumes at the Port of Los Angeles are expected to fluctuate sharply around Labor Day, reflecting shippers' hesitation amid tariff uncertainty. Goldman Sachs holds a positive view on medium- to long-term transportation sector recovery, citing reshoring manufacturing and China Plus 1 strategies.

UBS recommends receiving 1y1y ESTR and paying 1y1y SARON at 253bps, expecting the ECB to end rate hikes after its 9-month meeting and begin cutting rates before the end of 2027, while the SNB's next move will be a 25bps rate hike in 2027 month 6, viewing the EUR-Swiss front-end rate spread as excessively wide.

BYD's 1H26 overseas sales grew 70.6% year-on-year, with overseas business contributing 53% of total revenue for the first time, and overseas gross margin (22%) significantly higher than in the China market (16%). 2Q26 operating margin rose to 5.4%, a record high, but it recorded an FX loss of RMB 47 hundred million.

Li Auto's 2Q26 revenue and deliveries declined year-on-year, with a net loss of RMB 17 billion, facing squeeze from new entrants such as Xiaomi in China's premium EV market; management expects 4Q26 gross margin to recover to 15%, and plans to launch the new MEGA and i9 models while advancing expansion into the Middle East and Europe.

GAC's 2Q26 EBIT excluding investment income widened its loss to RMB 43 billion, with Honda sales plunging 54.4% year-on-year; however, its Aion brand's Q2 sales rose 74.5% year-on-year, the retail customer share increased to about 80%, and the first GD7 of the Qijing brand, developed in cooperation with Huawei, has begun deliveries.

Sungrow's 1H26 revenue fell 29.0% year-on-year to RMB 309 billion, dragged down by weak PV installations in China and a high base in Saudi Arabia; however, gross margin rose 1.6 percentage points year-on-year to 35.9%, and it has secured approximately 2 GWh of AI data center-related energy storage orders. Goldman Sachs noted that its 2Q26 revenue was 34% below Goldman Sachs' forecast, but net profit beat expectations by 6%. Compliance requirements in the United States and Europe may lead to a structural increase in expenses.

Lead Intelligent's 1H26 new orders were approximately RMB 180 billion (up 50%-60% year-on-year), with ESS demand gradually surpassing power batteries; Wuxi Lead's newly signed contracts exceeded RMB 180 billion, but 2Q26 gross margin fell to 30.6%, pressured by rising material and freight costs for overseas business.

Geopolitics and localization policies are accelerating the regional restructuring of the global battery supply chain: US EO 14420 restricts the procurement of foreign equipment for high-voltage transmission systems, India plans to introduce battery material incentives of up to 1300 billion rupees, and Saudi Arabia signed a 2 GW/8 GWh large-scale BOO energy storage contract. LG Energy Solution believes that mass manufacturing of solid-state batteries remains an obstacle and expects them to be used first in high-end fields.

Bernstein estimates that Meta's advertising revenue will surpass Google Search revenue for the first time in 4Q26. AI is driving a renaissance in digital advertising through better content recommendations and improved targeting; the digital advertising basket it tracks grew 21% year-on-year in 1H26, achieving the rare phenomenon of simultaneous growth in impressions and prices. Gains are concentrated among the largest platforms, with Meta and Amazon collectively increasing their share of incremental digital advertising funds by 250 basis points.

Morgan Stanley noted that Meta agreed to settle teenage social media addiction claims for up to approximately USD 170 billion, estimating that teenage revenue accounts for only about 1% of Meta's total, and that legal clearance coupled with AI product launches could trigger valuation multiple expansion. Goldman Sachs estimates that Reddit app users' ARPU is about 4-5 times that of web users, and community activity is a strategic means to drive high-value user acquisition.

Meituan's 2Q26 revenue was RMB 1046 billion (up 14.4% year-on-year), core local commerce operating profit rebounded to RMB 57 billion, non-IFRS operating profit reached RMB 39 billion, and food delivery unit economics improved to about RMB 0.26 per order; Keeta has achieved profitability in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. However, Bernstein expects spending to increase in Q3 to defend market share, and Nomura cautioned that seasonal rider costs could bring 3Q26F down to RMB 0.08 per order.

Kuaishou's management remains cautious on e-commerce, believing consumers are more prudent and merchants face higher compliance costs, making 2H26 potentially more difficult; however, its Kling AI business plans to complete independent financing within the next 1-2 months, and additional computing power needs may be met through leasing to ease free cash flow pressure.

MINISO's China business remained resilient, with 7 month GMV growing approximately 20% year-on-year, but overseas distributor revenue was weak and direct-store integration faced pressure. Management lowered its FY26 revenue guidance to mid-double digits, and significantly cut its full-year net store opening target from 450-500 stores to 130-160 stores.

Inovance's 2Q26 industrial automation revenue was RMB 68 billion (up 45% year-on-year), with strong growth across inverters, servos, and PLC & HMI; however, implied EV component revenue fell 6% year-on-year, lagging behind China's EV production growth rate and forming a clear business divergence.

Supcon's 2Q26 operating profit was only RMB 200 ten thousand (down 99% year-on-year); industrial AI revenue grew 230% year-on-year in 1H26 but rose only 9% quarter-on-quarter in 2Q26, with the subscription model cannibalizing one-off sales; accounts receivable days rose to 288 days, and persistently weak domestic chemical capex severely dragged on the core business.

Midea Group's 2Q26 revenue grew 4.5% year-on-year, and management maintained its 2026-year revenue growth guidance of mid-single digits to high single digits, viewing smart building solutions (chillers, heat pumps, liquid cooling) as the most important long-term 2B opportunity; however, adjusted net profit fell 36% year-on-year, pressured by RMB 36 billion in unfavorable FX hedging costs and impairments.

SF Holding's 2Q26 operating profit of RMB 43 billion was broadly in line with expectations; domestic time-definite express growth slowed, but supply chain and international business revenue in 1H26 rose 15.6% year-on-year (+47% excluding KLN), becoming the core growth engine. Kingsoft WPS 365 revenue grew over 60% year-on-year in 2Q26, Kingsoft Cloud's non-GAAP operating profit turned positive, but gaming revenue fell 19% year-on-year in 1H26.

Hengrui Medicine's management reaffirmed its 2026 innovative drug sales target of RMB 192 billion, stating that commercialization showed a clear sequential recovery from 6 to 8 month; the autoimmune pipeline SHR-1139 Phase I demonstrated a 100% PASI90 response rate, with global Phase III expected to start in 2H26.

Goldman Sachs noted that live events and sports media have the strongest operating visibility, with Live Nation expecting fan count to grow 10% in 2026; however, sub-sectors within the entertainment industry are highly differentiated, the sustainability of cinema box office is questionable, and music audio faces AI monetization controversies.

Morgan Stanley expects Ambarella's 7 month quarter revenue to be USD 1.083 billion, with the automotive business expected to grow about 20% this year, supported by Edge AI and computer vision underpinning the long-term thesis.

Bernstein estimates that if SpaceX were to independently build a terrestrial network in the United States to support direct-to-device mobile communications (D2D), total project costs would range between USD 500 billion and USD 1300 billion including spectrum, corresponding to approximately 3 ten thousand to 12 ten thousand macro sites, representing a massive and long-cycle infrastructure project.

Low-band spectrum is the core variable determining build costs; obtaining Grain low-band spectrum could reduce the required number of towers from 88563 to 58423, total cost from USD 795 billion to USD 715 billion, and construction period from 12.7 years to 8.4 years. The lack of a low-band coverage layer is one of the fundamental obstacles to D2D replacing terrestrial cellular networks.

Bernstein remains bullish on SpaceX's broader opportunities in launch, orbital data centers, and Starlink broadband, assigning an Outperform rating and a USD 248 target price, but believes partnerships will be the more likely ultimate model for SpaceX Mobile in order to avoid massive capex risks.