Capex

• A new report released on August 10 indicates that Indian equities remain attractive for long-term investment despite recent market volatility. • The positive outlook is driven by a recovery in corporate earnings, an increase in private capital expenditure, and the potential for new trade deals. • Despite pressures from geopolitical tensions, crude oil price fluctuations, and earnings reports, Indian equities closed July with a 2.2 per cent gain.

• Major US stock indexes, including the Dow Jones, NASDAQ, and S&P 500, fell sharply on July 23, 2026. • The decline was driven by a heavy selloff in Big Tech shares as investors questioned AI capital expenditures, coupled with a massive surge in global oil prices. • Market volatility is being fueled by geopolitical instability following the widening of attacks in the Middle East.

• UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel indicated that a potential acquisition of Commerzbank could occur in the fourth quarter of this year. • Orcel noted that the two institutions remain "very different," meaning several operational alignments must be completed before a full merger can be finalized. • UniCredit has shifted its view of the deal, describing it as a "strategic transaction of substantial industrial value creation" rather than just a financial investment.

• Alphabet reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, beating revenue expectations despite the company's stock price declining following the announcement. • The stock dip is primarily attributed to investor concerns over a projected increase in capital expenditures (capex) heading into 2026. • This spending surge is driven by the company's aggressive investments in AI infrastructure to remain competitive in the evolving search and cloud markets.

• Indian companies are shifting capital away from physical assets like factories and machinery toward financial investments, inorganic growth, and overseas expansions. • This trend is driven by weak domestic demand, existing spare capacity, and global economic uncertainty, which have stalled the next private capital expenditure (capex) cycle. • Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda, notes that these financial assets include strategic mergers, acquisitions, and investments in subsidiaries to expand global footprints.

• Meta Platforms is leveraging its massive capital expenditure on AI compute clusters to transform internal R&D infrastructure into scalable revenue channels. • The strategy involves monetizing physical infrastructure that has outpaced the company's immediate internal utilization needs. • This shift allows Meta to turn high operational costs into a competitive weapon against other tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon.

• Eurofiber forecasts its 2026 revenues to reach approximately EUR 361 million, representing a EUR 12 million increase over the previous year. • This growth is driven by the strategic expansion of the company's fiber optic footprint across France and Germany. • The company expects capital expenditure to decrease by an estimated EUR 8 million, bringing the total down to EUR 203 million.