Key Takeaways
- Meta Platforms (META) and CoreWeave (CRWV) have signed a massive $21 billion AI infrastructure expansion that will utilize the next-generation Nvidia (NVDA) Vera Rubin platform through 2032.
- U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a high-stakes ultimatum to European allies, demanding they deploy warships to the Strait of Hormuz within days or face a total cutoff of military aid to Ukraine.
- Amazon (AMZN) revealed its AWS AI revenue run rate has surpassed $15 billion, while its custom chips business has doubled its run rate to over $20 billion in the first quarter of 2026.
- Eli Lilly (LLY) has officially launched Foundayo™ (orforglipron) in the U.S., the first oral GLP-1 weight-loss pill that can be taken without food or water restrictions, priced as low as $149 for self-pay.
- Chevron (CVX) expects Q1 earnings to be hit by up to $3.7 billion in negative timing effects and a $400 million litigation charge, despite steady production of 3.8 to 3.9 million barrels daily.
Tech and AI: Infrastructure Spending Hits New Peaks
Meta Platforms (META) has significantly deepened its commitment to artificial intelligence through a $21 billion agreement with specialized cloud provider CoreWeave (CRWV). The deal, which extends through December 2032, is designed to support Meta's massive inference workloads and will feature some of the first deployments of the Nvidia (NVDA) Vera Rubin platform. To support this and other capital-intensive projects, CoreWeave announced plans to issue $1.25 billion in senior notes.
Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy highlighted a "once-in-a-lifetime" inflection point in his annual shareholder letter, noting that AWS's AI revenue run rate now exceeds $15 billion. Jassy also emphasized the rapid scaling of Amazon’s custom silicon, with the Graviton and Trainium chips business now operating at a $20 billion annual run rate. To maintain this lead, Amazon is planning approximately $200 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, despite a 71% year-over-year drop in free cash flow.
In the competitive AI video space, Alibaba (BABA) has reportedly launched a new model titled HappyHorse-1.0 under a pseudonym. The model has already claimed the top spot on the Artificial Analysis leaderboard, outperforming established rivals like Sora and Seedance. Analysts suggest this "stealth" release is a common tactic for Chinese tech giants to stress-test high-performance models before a formal public rollout.
Geopolitics: Trump Pressures Europe as Middle East Tensions Flare
President Donald Trump has effectively given European nations a "days-long" ultimatum to commit actual military forces, including warships, to secure the Strait of Hormuz. According to reports from Der Spiegel and the Financial Times, Trump is using the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) as leverage, threatening to halt all U.S. arms supplies to Ukraine unless NATO allies assist in reopening the vital oil waterway.
The geopolitical landscape remains volatile as Hezbollah launched non-stop rocket fire into Israel over a three-hour window today. Meanwhile, the UAE reported that no air threats have been detected in its airspace in recent hours, providing a brief moment of calm for regional logistics. Shipping data indicates that only one oil products tanker and five dry bulk ships traversed the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours, highlighting the continued disruption to global trade.
Energy and Healthcare: Chevron Guidance and Lilly’s New Pill
Chevron (CVX) provided a complex Q1 2026 outlook in a recent SEC filing, projecting upstream production between 3.8 and 3.9 million barrels of oil-equivalent daily. While the company expects a $1.6 billion to $2.2 billion benefit from upstream commodity prices, this will be overshadowed by $2.7 billion to $3.7 billion in negative timing effects. Additionally, the company will book a $350 million to $400 million litigation reserve charge related to downstream operations.
In healthcare, Eli Lilly (LLY) has reached a milestone with the U.S. availability of Foundayo™ (orforglipron). As the first oral GLP-1 therapy for weight loss without strict fasting requirements, it is expected to significantly disrupt the market currently dominated by injectables. The drug is available via LillyDirect for as little as $25 per month for insured patients, while self-pay patients can access the treatment starting at $149 per month.
Global Trade and Regulation
China has signaled a new phase of industrial policy by promising to regulate "excessive" competition among domestic battery companies to stabilize the global supply chain. This move coincides with a flurry of diplomatic trade activity, as an Indian trade delegation prepares to visit Washington this month, and EU Trade Chief Maroš Šefčovič schedules a U.S. visit for April 23-24. In the UK, regulators are reportedly preparing new curbs on private equity insurance trades, a move that could impact how large firms manage long-term liabilities.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.