# EP 129: Capex to the Moon 2.0! Bubble Debate, and QCOM and Arm Earnings

- Show: [The Circuit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit)
- Published: 2025-08-04
- Length: 57m
- Episode: 129
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-08-04-ep-129-capex-to-the-moon-2-0-bubble-debate-and-qcom-and-arm-earnings
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/ba614c46

## Summary

Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg analyze recent earnings from cloud providers, noting that Meta's aggressive Capex spending is justified by strong ad monetization, whereas Google and Amazon face scrutiny over their AI ROI. They discuss the competitive landscape among hyperscalers, highlighting Microsoft's GPU advantage and Amazon's struggle to secure Nvidia allocations, which may benefit AMD. The hosts also examine Qualcomm and Arm, discussing Arm's potential move into custom chip design and Qualcomm's risks from handset vendors like Xiaomi building in-house modems.

## Chapters

- [0:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-08-04-ep-129-capex-to-the-moon-2-0-bubble-debate-and-qcom-and-arm-earnings#t=5) Introduction: Bubble Debate and Capex Analysis
- [6:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-08-04-ep-129-capex-to-the-moon-2-0-bubble-debate-and-qcom-and-arm-earnings#t=403) Cloud Provider Earnings: Meta, Google, and Amazon
- [18:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-08-04-ep-129-capex-to-the-moon-2-0-bubble-debate-and-qcom-and-arm-earnings#t=1135) Apple's Search Strategy and AI Integration
- [23:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-08-04-ep-129-capex-to-the-moon-2-0-bubble-debate-and-qcom-and-arm-earnings#t=1407) Hyperscaler GPU Wars: Microsoft, Amazon, and AMD
- [36:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-08-04-ep-129-capex-to-the-moon-2-0-bubble-debate-and-qcom-and-arm-earnings#t=2195) Arm Earnings: Custom Chips and Royalty Increases
- [48:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-08-04-ep-129-capex-to-the-moon-2-0-bubble-debate-and-qcom-and-arm-earnings#t=2882) Qualcomm Earnings and the Modem Threat from Xiaomi

## Topics

- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Meta (company)
- Google (company)
- Microsoft (company)
- Amazon (company)
- Nvidia (company)
- AMD (company)
- Arm (company)
- Qualcomm (company)
- Xiaomi (company)
- Apple (company)
- TSMC (company)
- OpenAI (company)
- Oracle (company)
- Broadcom (company)
- SoftBank (company)
- Ampere (company)
- Graphcore (company)
- Huawei (company)
- MediaTek (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [How Much is Enough for Hyperscale Companies?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-07-26-how-much-is-enough-for-hyperscale-companies) (EE Times Current)
- [CEO Interview: Mike Henry of Mythic | The Biggest Chip Deal Ever | Do Androids Dream of Electric Smartphones?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2020-09-18-ceo-interview-mike-henry-of-mythic-the-biggest-chip-deal-ever-do-androids-dream) (EE Times Current)
- [Fear & Loathing on the M&A Trail](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2021-02-26-fear-loathing-on-the-m-a-trail) (EE Times Current)
- [Amazon Moves In, Dave Says Run](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-10-16-amazon-moves-in-dave-says-run) (The Amp Hour)
- [Inside the emerging frontier of models, machines and manufacturing hell.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-12-11-inside-the-emerging-frontier-of-models-machines-and-manufacturing-hell) (Built 2 Scale)

## Citing this page

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