Breakfast News: Whirlpool's Demand Doubts

Breakfast News: Whirlpool's Demand Doubts

Source: Image Created by Jester AI.

1. WHR Drops Over 10% on Q2 Miss; CDNS Beats

Dividend Investor recommendation Whirlpool (WHR -14.01%) fell 14% following the closing bell after Q2 earnings missed expectations. In contrast, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS 9.74%) moved almost 7% higher following the closing bell thanks to a strong beat and raised earnings guidance.

• "In this uncertain environment, we are focused on what we can control": Whirlpool CFO Jim Peters outlined measures to cut costs and manage debt as the business expects weaker demand going forward and ongoing concern around tariff impacts.
• Results "highlighted the strategic relevance of our AI-driven portfolio and the depth of our customer relationships": Cadence CEO Anirudh Devgan hailed the exceptional Q2 figures, although some bad taste was felt from pleading guilty to illegally supplying China with products, taking a $140.6 million charge.

2. Nvidia Orders More H20 Chips for China

Nvidia (NVDA -0.80%) has placed fresh orders for 300,000 H20 chipsets with Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM -0.58%) according to Reuters, with strong demand from China evident as the export ban gets lifted.

• Existing inventory stockpile of 600,000-700,000: The H20 chip is specifically designed for the Chinese market, with the new orders indicating Nvidia expects it to quickly run out of the backlog of chips for the market.
• H20 sales of around a million in 2024: The scale of the order highlights the potential for higher sales over the coming period, although it still needs to obtain export licenses from the U.S. government before shipping can resume.

3. Apple's China Retreat Benefits India

The shift in production from Apple (AAPL -1.37%) from China to India has helped the country to overtake China as the top exporter of smartphones to the U.S., at a time when the business looks to close a retail store in China for the first time ever.

• India's share of U.S. smartphone imports is 44%, China at 25%: The data, covering the Q2 period, marks a big shift in production levels. Even though other peers are looking to imitate Apple, the scale and speed is slower and more limited in impact.
• Apple China sales fell 2.3% to $16 billion in Q2: Continued underperformance in the region is one reason to blame for the closure of a store in Dalian City, seen as a retreat from a market where management are trying to revive sales.

4. Z.ai Model Shifts AI Cost Landscape

Chinese start-up Z.ai has released a new agentic AI model that it says is cheaper than DeepSeek to use, highlighting the continued race in offering smarter open-sourced systems at lower costs.

• Operating at half the size of DeepSeek's model: Z.ai's model only needs eight Nvidia H20 chips to operate, being free for developers to download and use, and works off an agentic system whereby it breaks a task down into sub-tasks to improve accuracy.
• OpenAI named Z.ai in a June warning about Chinese progress: The model represents a step forward in the ability of Chinese companies to bypass U.S. chip restrictions and undercut major U.S. tech companies in training and operating costs.

5. Next Up: PYPL & PG Set to Report

Ranked 7th across all TMF services for its ability to beat the market over the next 5 years, PayPal (PYPL -8.76%) is expected to release second quarter earnings before the opening bell, with investors keen to see more progress on turnaround initiatives from last quarter.

• New PayPal World initiative to connect the world's largest payments providers: Fool analyst Jason Moser explained "the benefit for consumers in simplest terms is their digital wallets will be accepted at millions more businesses around the world along with seamless money transfers across borders. The benefit for businesses will be access to 2 billion consumers with their existing platforms."
• Modest 1.6% revenue growth versus last year expected: Procter & Gamble (PG -0.30%) will also report results before the market opens, aiming to build on solid results from the previous quarter, with a focus on whether further organic sales growth is being driven by pricing or volume changes.

6. Your Take

Do you think incoming Procter & Gamble CEO Shailesh Jejurikar – who will succeed Jon Moeller on January 1, 2026 – will prove a catalyst for the stock and help make it a market-beater over the next five years? Why or why not? Debate with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying