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Analyst
Aaron Rakers
Period: Reporting periods mapped to calendar 2024 Q3 – 2026 Q3 (9 quarters).
- Questions
- 149on tracked calls
- Challenge rate
- 4%6 of 149 questions
- Companies
- 19questioned at least once
- Reporting periods
- 9with questions
These figures cover the whole profile: every tracked question, all reporting periods.
How to read these numbers
Challenge rate is the share of questions that pushed back, pressed for specifics or questioned management’s assumptions. It describes how questions were asked on the calls tracked here; it does not measure whether any view turned out to be right.
Rounding. Rates are rounded to whole percentages, so a small share can show as 0% even when some questions were challenging. The count beside each rate is exact; “none of N questions” means no question was challenging.
No questions recorded. “—” means there is nothing to calculate: no questions were recorded for that period on the calls tracked here. It does not mean there was no activity.
Fewer than 3 questions. A company-level rate is withheld when fewer than 3 questions were recorded for that company; the questions are still counted everywhere else.
Small samples. Profiles with fewer than 10 questions are marked Limited sample.
Reporting periods. Questions are grouped by the calendar quarter each company’s fiscal reporting period maps to, not by the date of the call. Periods without a calendar mapping are listed separately under their fiscal label.
Questions asked
Grouped by company, most questions first. Open a company to read its questions, newest reporting period first.
Showing 149 of 149 questions from 19 companies
CSCOCisco Systems, Inc.14 questions · 8 reporting periods · 0 of 14 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
the implied guide in this current quarter would suggest over 20% year-over-year growth.
Show response
Patterson attributed the implied deceleration to prudence, tougher comps and linearity, and said supply is in good shape via direct TSMC engagement.
Calendar 2026 Q2
One of your competitors recently alluded to just things getting even tighter and even threw out the comment of possible decommits
Show response
Mark detailed silicon supply secured through CY26, 20+ memory reduction programs, $6.7B increase in inventory and purchase commitments in 90 days. No decommits seen.
you've got a very significant increase implied in your AI order intake into fiscal 4Q, up from $1.9 billion
Show response
Chuck attributed jump to nonlinear nature of hyperscaler ordering, strong Acacia optics momentum, primarily scale-out wins. Scale-across wins not yet in the numbers.
Calendar 2026 Q1
an update of the relationship, the engagement you've had with NVIDIA and how much that started to become maybe a driver
Show response
Robbins said NVIDIA field engagements increased 70% sequentially. Jensen appeared at Cisco AI Summit endorsing the partnership. Sovereign opportunity is purely upside to FY26 guide.
how you view scale up as an opportunity for Cisco. What have you been doing? When does that start to maybe materialize
Show response
Robbins said scale-up plans exist but no product announcements yet. Told analysts to stay tuned.
Calendar 2025 Q4
how has that evolved? And have you guys been engaged in deepening kind of super spine or even scale across opportunities
Show response
Robbins clarified $1.3B in new hyperscale orders, expects at least 2x FY25 orders. Use cases expanding from training to scale-across and inferencing. All hyperscalers now buying pluggable optics.
a $2 billion pipeline. I think the slide deck says $200 million on orders this last quarter. How do we expect that to progress
Show response
Robbins confirmed $2B+ pipeline for neo-cloud, sovereign, and enterprise covers remaining three quarters. $200M booked in Q1. None of this included in the 2x hyperscale target.
Calendar 2025 Q3
does that reflect conservatism? Is there any change in the demand environment that you're factoring in
Show response
Robbins attributed apparent deceleration to year-over-year comps, not demand softness. Patterson noted prior-year Splunk lapping explains some growth rate compression.
Calendar 2025 Q2
is that currently in your order book, the $600 million you saw this last quarter
Show response
Robbins confirmed HUMAIN orders are not in current numbers, described deep personal relationship with HUMAIN CEO Tareq Amin from prior Reliance JIO and Rakuten projects.
Can you just give us an update on what you're seeing in the data center switching side and if that really becomes a catalyst year
Show response
Robbins confirmed G200 is core to AI systems orders, demand exceeds supply capacity. Multiple next-gen chips in various development stages.
Calendar 2025 Q1
help us appreciate maybe the WiFi 7 upgrade cycle that you're starting to see
Show response
Robbins said WiFi 7 is early but customers are preparing, expects full transition in both on-prem and cloud managed over next two to three quarters.
Would you say that, that is kind of the point of inflection like the majority of your AI wins are tied to that 51.2 T silicon
Show response
Robbins clarified 51.2T is enterprise Nexus focused, webscale uses different silicon architectures. Team developing multiple parallel silicon designs for different use cases.
Calendar 2024 Q4
how you see the AI back-end possibly leading into front-end opportunities. Have you seen that at all
Show response
Chuck laid out the progression: back-end training investment today, enterprise infrastructure modernization now, then pervasive AI app deployment will drive front-end capacity demand.
how you would characterize the competitive positioning of Nvidia in the Ethernet back-end network side
Show response
Chuck acknowledged Nvidia as a partner and competitor via Spectrum-X, but emphasized Cisco's 40-year Ethernet heritage, customer desire for vendor diversity, and proprietary silicon advantage.
KEYSKeysight Technologies14 questions · 7 reporting periods · 0 of 14 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
how you would characterize the opportunity relative to the 5G cycle that we saw several years ago
Show response
Satish framed 6G around a 2029 first-standard timeline plus new vectors (AI-RAN, ISAC, non-terrestrial networks), positioning the 6G TAM as larger than 5G.
is there any way to kind of help us think about how meaningful AI is to your business today
Show response
Satish said wireline exceeded wireless not just in the quarter but year-to-date; declined to size AI precisely but emphasized early-stage, multi-market adoption and demand exceeding supply.
Calendar 2026 Q2
Is there any kind of onetime items this quarter? Or is that a good durable level of gross margin
Show response
Neil confirmed mid-67% ex-tariff gross margin is the right level at these volumes post-acquisitions, which were accretive to gross margins.
there is been a lot of dynamics that have changed since you guys have provided a longer term you know, growth framework
Show response
Satish spoke to organic growth pillars (innovation, customer expansion, supply chain reshoring) but deferred specific updated growth algorithm to a future update.
Calendar 2026 Q1
I'm curious if there's an ability to unpack how much those are contributing to the business, how much they're necessarily growing
Show response
CEO disclosed AI ~10% of revenue with order growth significantly above 30% company average. Customer base doubled YoY. Top 2 customers still non-AI. Both R&D and manufacturing grew.
I'm curious, as we progress through this year with 20% growth, how you view the current kind of operating -- incremental operating margin leverage
Show response
CFO confirmed 41% core leverage in Q1 while absorbing tariffs not in base period. Acquisitions dilutive to OM initially but $100M synergies will drive accretion. 31-32% still the target.
Calendar 2025 Q4
How are you thinking about the achievement of getting to that 31% to 32%
Show response
CFO confirmed 31-32% target still further out. Business corrected from 29% to 26% during downturn. Strong incrementals plus acquisition synergies will drive recovery but will take time.
I'm curious about what your thoughts are with regards to that. When do we expect to see the volume deployments from the market
Show response
Jason confirmed double-digit silicon photonics system sales to foundries. Kailesh detailed concurrent 400G/800G/1.6T design activity driving R&D intensity. Still early days but expects continued growth in FY26.
Calendar 2025 Q3
Is that how we should kind of think about the story playing out at this point as we look out into fiscal '26
Show response
CFO noted bullish sentiment for FY26 but cautioned on tariff/macro absorption. Guidance raise each of last 2 quarters shows better-than-expected recovery.
what's the mix of the contribution that really AI drives to the Keysight story? And how do you see the durability
Show response
CEO confirmed wireline and commercial comms expected to finish year up double digits. Customer base broadening with new start-ups and cloud providers. More convinced than 18 months ago.
Calendar 2025 Q2
can you just remind us again of how we think about the incremental margin for the company
Show response
CFO confirmed 40% incremental framework but cautioned tariffs are new substantial costs that will impact ability to deliver on that incremental in short run.
can you talk a little bit about the wireless business. That I think, previously talked about is kind of think of that as being stable
Show response
CEO noted stability overall with infrastructure strength from Open RAN and early 6G. Smartphone-related segments still soft especially in China.
Calendar 2024 Q4
have you seen any areas of concern or any kind of churn in programs, et cetera, around some of the federal dynamics of spend
Show response
CEO acknowledged short-term uncertainty from administration change but noted even in 2016, impact was just timing between quarters. Long-term trajectory remains strong.
I want to ask you about the wireless piece of the business. It seems to be recovering
Show response
CEO confirmed wireless stability after two quarters, noted infrastructure strength from Open RAN and 6G research, but devices side lagging.
WDCWestern Digital14 questions · 8 reporting periods · 0 of 14 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
how should we think about cost per terabyte or cost of goods sold per terabyte progressing through 2027?
Show response
Kris said cost/TB was down ~8% YoY and reiterated a mid-to-long-term ~10% annual decline driven by higher-capacity drives.
how are you thinking about the capital structure from here? Is it pretty much 100% free cash flow return?
Show response
Kris reaffirmed returning free cash flow via dividends and buybacks, no change to strategy.
Calendar 2026 Q1
any updated thoughts on how you are thinking about capital return—building cash on the balance sheet versus returning
Show response
Kris confirmed unchanged capital return framework: all excess FCF returned to shareholders via dividends and buybacks, approaching above-30% FCF margin target.
how you are thinking about the capacity to fulfill that demand. Is it a continued ability to just mix higher
Show response
Irving stated no plans to increase unit capacity. Focus is on areal density improvements with next-gen 40TB EPMR offering 25% capacity step-up.
Calendar 2025 Q4
how do you think about the durability of that incremental margin? Or maybe taken another way, how do you think about the cost curve down on a per terabyte basis as we look out over the next, call i...
Show response
Kris confirmed incremental gross margin ~75% on both QoQ and YoY basis. Pricing stable with ASP/TB up 2-3% last quarter. Cost/TB down ~10% YoY. Expects continued gross margin expansion over next couple of quarters and beyond.
Calendar 2025 Q3
curious if you have any thoughts on how we should maybe think about seasonality or whether or not that even applies for the March quarter
Show response
Irving confirmed no material seasonality given 89% data center mix. Any seasonal effects limited to 10-15% client/consumer portfolio.
I'm curious if you could unpack that a little bit more if there's further room above and beyond the 36 terabytes that you see for UltraSMR
Show response
Irving confirmed next-gen ePMR pulled to Q1 2026 qualification (was H1 2026). HAMR pulled forward by half year to H1 2026. Engineers pushing capacity beyond scheduled 28/36TB.
Calendar 2025 Q2
how do you think about excess cash generation or the right level of cash on the balance sheet that you'll operate the business at
Show response
Kris confirmed strong FCF model ($675M last quarter), net debt at ~1x EBITDA. Room to grow dividend and buyback with no hesitation to execute.
One of the metrics that you guys have historically given and helps kind of bridge the hard disk drive versus the non-hard disk drive business was the ASP
Show response
Irving noted ASP per drive continues increasing with higher capacity drives, but ASP per terabyte was down low single digits, mostly mix-driven in a stable price environment.
Calendar 2025 Q1
you did point out that, it reflected all known or anticipated tariff impacts. I'm curious, if you could unpack that a little bit
Show response
Irving clarified no direct tariff cost impacts, but enterprise/distribution/retail face demand uncertainty. Don noted WDC products carry 0% tariff as semiconductor group.
is there anything structurally in the business or kind of the path forward that keeps us from thinking that gross margin could trend into that mid-40%
Show response
Don noted 38% is a floor over five years with market ups and downs. Strong margins driven by customer TCO value, technology innovation, and pricing discipline.
Calendar 2024 Q4
if I think about the 20 to 30 million that you talked about as being underutilization charges in the current quarter
Show response
David declined to specify capacity cuts but unpacked gross margin drivers: cost increases, underutilization charges, and moderating ASP headwinds.
is there any way to frame how we should think about the underutilization impact into the fiscal fourth quarter
Show response
David guided underutilization charges split roughly 40/60 between Q3 and Q4. Wissam confirmed inventory is appropriately stated as of Q2 end.
Calendar 2024 Q3
how we should think about dissynergies? What maybe factored into your December quarter guide as clearly you're carrying two company cost structures?
Show response
Asked how dissynergies factored into the December guide; the CFO quantified the quarter and detailed the guide assumption, direct.
INTCIntel Corporation13 questions · 7 reporting periods · 0 of 13 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
How do we think about the diversity of that business? And just you know, you’ve announced Fortinet.
Show response
Zinsner sized the ASIC/design-services business at roughly a $2B run rate heading toward $4B, targeting a good chunk of a $100B TAM.
Calendar 2026 Q1
the progression of your CPU on the server side, Xeon to Diamond Rapids, Coral Rapids and really kind of closing that gap
Show response
Lip-Bu confirmed the roadmap sequence but did not provide specific timing. Highlighted multithreading coming in Coral Rapids and ASIC business as a near-term bridge.
how you would frame the level of constraints that you see in the guidance this quarter
Show response
Dave confirmed Q1 was the supply low point. Q1 benefited from selling previously reserved and legacy finished goods inventory. Q2 growth depends on increasing supply rather than inventory.
Calendar 2025 Q4
I'm curious of how you guys are seeing customers react to memory. Is there a potential demand disruption in the PC market?
Show response
Lip Bu said large OEMs and hyperscalers have better memory access, smaller players scrambling. Working to allocate CPUs to customers who can complete products. Dave said Lunar Lake memory secured for current forecast but in-package memory remains margin headwind.
you talked about hitting $1 billion of run rate business. How do we think about the progression of that? And how broad is the customer base within that opportunity set?
Show response
Lip Bu highlighted $100B TAM opportunity with robust demand driven by purpose-built silicon for AI, networking, and cloud. Customers want Xeon CPU integrated with ASIC and advanced packaging. Positioned as natural extension of Intel's manufacturing and design capabilities.
Calendar 2025 Q3
Can you just update us on how we think about the NCI, the noncontrolling interest expense, as we look through this year and think about that
Show response
Dave gave a clear $1.2B-$1.4B NCI estimate for 2026, said they're focused on minimizing it as much as possible.
I think there's been some -- also some recent reports about maybe using Gaudi for some dedicated inference workloads within a stack of NVIDIA. How do you -- is this relationship a starting point?
Show response
Lip Bu referenced Crescent Island and a new product line targeting agentic and physical AI inference. Did not directly address Gaudi integration with NVIDIA stacks. Said to stay tuned for updates.
Calendar 2025 Q2
Do you think that that's a function of Diamond Rapids? And if so, can we at all think about the timing of Diamond Rapids
Show response
Lip Bu gave a vague timing of plus or minus 6 months for Diamond Rapids. Mentioned Coral Rapids for 2028/2029. New data center leadership changes coming. Declined to commit to a specific launch date.
I think in the past, you talked about a $500 million headwind this year and then that going to like $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion next year
Show response
Dave confirmed prior NCI guidance roughly correct. 2027/2028 will be higher than the $1.2B-$1.3B 2026 level as SCIP normalized run rates are reached.
Calendar 2025 Q1
how you think about, you know, RackScale, you know, networking and the pieces that Intel has internally to really compete
Show response
Michelle highlighted IPU revenue doubling from 2024 to 2025, optics as a critical rack-scale element, and Intel's unique position as the only foundry with optics capability. Also mentioned one large custom x86 design win.
that's exclusive of the pending divestiture of 51% stake in Altera. I guess that's just a point of clarification
Show response
Dave confirmed Altera OpEx is included in both targets. Upon deconsolidation, the target will come down dollar-for-dollar by Altera's OpEx.
Calendar 2024 Q4
Can you give us a framework of how you would define success looking through 2025
Show response
Dave said 18A wafers have 3x blended ASP vs cost improvement over pre-EUV wafers. EUV mix will meaningfully increase through 2025 with Panther Lake driving volumes.
when you report EPS on a non-GAAP basis, that's in that EPS number, just so we -- I'm modeling it correctly
Show response
Dave confirmed NCI from SCIPs, Mobileye, and eventually Altera all flow through to non-GAAP fully diluted EPS.
AMDAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.12 questions · 7 reporting periods · 0 of 12 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
how big is that kind of middle category, that sandbox AI market
Show response
Su called agentic sandboxes the largest and fastest-growing piece of the $220 billion 2030 server TAM, though smallest today.
Calendar 2026 Q1
how do you characterize the competitive landscape as we see some of the ARM introductions in the market
Show response
Lisa characterized ARM as point products vs AMD's broad portfolio approach. Noted the TAM is much larger than expected, so multiple products can succeed across different workload types.
is there structurally a different level of ASP tied to that kind of CPU optimized for AI
Show response
Lisa couldn't give specific relative ASPs, noting it depends on workload. Emphasized the Agentic AI CPU segment is the largest growth driver of the TAM expansion, with ASPs increasing as core counts rise.
Calendar 2025 Q4
Just any double click on what you've seen for the MI455 and Helios platform from a demand shaping perspective as we look into the back half of the year?
Show response
Lisa Su said MI450 is on track for 2H launch, OpenAI ramp begins in 2H and extends into 2027, with multiple other customers also interested in ramping MI450 quickly across inference and training.
Calendar 2025 Q3
how you think about the updated views on that AI silicon TAM as we look forward.
Show response
Lisa Su said AMD will deliver updated TAM numbers at next week's Analyst Day and believes the AI compute opportunity has expanded meaningfully beyond the prior $500B framing.
if there's a way to unpack how we think about unit growth versus ASP expansion as we move through the Turin product cycle.
Show response
Lisa Su said Turin ASP growth drives the mix while continued strong Genoa demand and early Venice engagement show broad-based CPU demand with a preference for latest-generation compute.
Calendar 2025 Q2
is there no kind of finished inventory there? Does that come back? Do you have any reversal aspects of that once the license gets approved?
Show response
Jean Hu said the majority of the $800M charge is WIP inventory, so there is no immediate finished-goods reversal; ramp will require time even after license approval.
how can we conceptualize what you're expecting in the server side? And where do you think your market share is today in traditional enterprise servers
Show response
Jean Hu said both server CPU and MI are growing strong double-digits sequentially into Q3 with further server share gains vs Q1; Lisa Su added robust cloud CapEx is driving CPU demand alongside GPU spend.
Calendar 2025 Q1
Should we assume that in the back half with mixed attributes to be considered that you would see a return to that 54 plus percent gross margin
Show response
Jean Hu said H2 gross margin should improve slightly as data center mix drives upside, partially offset by client/gaming strength; ex-$800M charge the Q2 margin is already ~54%.
if we were to take out the $700 million impact from China, would the expectation still be flat for the year?
Show response
Jean Hu confirmed 1H vs 2H DC GPU was set up roughly flat ex-China, with the full $1.5B MI308 impact falling in Q2/Q3 and second-half still weighted to MI355 ramp.
Calendar 2024 Q4
how we should think about framing the GPU, the instinct business, as we think about 2025?
Show response
Lisa Su committed to strong double-digit growth in both server and data center GPU lines, with second half stronger than first half driven by MI350.
Are you assuming that you are down sequentially in data center in total in 1Q? And how do I frame that relative to seasonality?
Show response
Lisa Su segmented the Q1 down-7% sequential guide: data center roughly at corporate average, client and embedded worse, gaming a bit better than average.
AAPLApple Inc.11 questions · 6 reporting periods · 0 of 11 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
I'm curious of how you assess whether or not you've seen any pull forward of demand
Show response
Tim answered directly that the data does not show pull-forward, citing a steady 22% year-to-date iPhone growth rate, while cautioning that price elasticity on iPad and Mac is too early to call.
do you see other kind of addressable markets evolving from AI over time?
Show response
Tim affirmed enormous opportunity and framed on-device inference as strategic, but named no specific new addressable market, which the analyst had pre-conceded.
Calendar 2026 Q1
could you comment on what you are seeing specifically in China? From a competitive perspective
Show response
Cook highlighted China quarterly revenue record, iPhone as top-selling model in urban China, Mac mini as top desktop, MacBook Air as top laptop. Store traffic grew double digits.
How are you seeing the market in India evolve around the base of iPhones and the rising middle class
Show response
Cook described India as a huge opportunity, second-largest smartphone, third-largest PC market with modest Apple share. Over half of customers across categories are new to the product.
Calendar 2025 Q4
should think about that as a lever and maybe a supportive factor to gross margin that might be underappreciated
Show response
Both Cook and Parekh confirmed Apple Silicon and custom modem investments provide cost savings that positively impact gross margin while also enabling product differentiation and roadmap control.
can you maybe unpack some of the things that you're seeing in the Indian market as far as iPhone traction
Show response
Cook highlighted quarterly records across iPhone, Mac, iPad and an all-time services record in India, noting it's the 2nd largest smartphone and 4th largest PC market with modest Apple share and majority of buyers new to product.
Calendar 2025 Q3
could you provide any kind of updated thoughts around the build-out of Apple's private compute cloud and how we should think about that
Show response
Cook confirmed the Houston AI server factory started production and has a robust ramp plan; Parekh added that FY25 CapEx included private cloud compute build-out in first-party data centers.
I'm curious if there's been any discernible kind of change in the mix within the iPhone 17 categories between the Pro and the Pro Max versions
Show response
Cook declined to share iPhone 17 mix data, citing both competitive sensitivity and the fact that constraints on multiple models make the final mix still uncertain.
Calendar 2025 Q2
how much of a benefit was currency this quarter, and I guess across the business and in particular, maybe on the Services segment
Show response
Parekh confirmed virtually no FX impact in Q3 and only a very small tailwind expected from Q3 to Q4; on CapEx, confirmed substantial but not exponential growth driven primarily by AI investment.
Calendar 2025 Q1
I'm curious of how you see kind of the modem strategy playing out or maybe just the continual deepening of that internal silicon opportunity for Apple
Show response
Cook expressed enthusiasm about the C1 modem's battery life benefits but characterized it as the beginning of a journey without detailing the roadmap.
how important you think it is for Apple to have their own foundational models. And kind of dovetailed with that is that, how do you think about your data center footprint
Show response
Cook described a hybrid approach using both proprietary foundation models and partnerships, with third-party and owned data centers, without directly comparing spend levels to peers.
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HPEHewlett Packard Enterprise8 questions · 8 reporting periods · 3 of 8 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
should we start to think about unit growth accelerating on top of the ASP pass-through?
Show response
Antonio said the hyperscaler deal is inferencing for the customer's own internal usage rather than Tier 1 cloud infrastructure, and that units will strengthen in Q4 as supply eases, driven by AI inferencing and agentic workloads across server-only, storage-attached and private-cloud deployments.
Calendar 2026 Q2
how much we are seeing in terms of the ability to price through some of the inflationary component costs
Show response
Antonio said units were up slightly with disciplined pricing; cost and pricing stay elevated into 2027 while units rebalance as prices normalize.
Calendar 2026 Q1
how would you characterize the lead times that you're seeing on traditional servers today relative to what they were, let's say, 3 months, 6 months ago
Show response
Neri described CPU as less constrained than memory but still tight across some SKUs. Detailed pricing mechanics: shortened quote commitments, right to reprice between quote and ship, transparent surcharge communication to customers. Customers accept dynamics and prioritize speed of delivery.
Calendar 2025 Q4
I'm curious as why necessarily you see a deceleration in that
Show response
Neri emphasized raised networking revenue guidance to ~5%+ (nearly double SAM midpoint of 2-5%). Cited routing backlog (MX and PTX platforms for DCI and cloud on-ramp) converting later in the year and sales force integration milestone on January 2.
Calendar 2025 Q3
if I'm to do that math, it it leads me to question the profitability of the AI server business. And so I guess, you know, as you think about that 10%, maybe you can unpack the drivers of getting to...
Show response
Neri walked through Q1-Q3 margin progression. Traditional server back to 10-12%. Q3 server margin of 6.4% dragged by one large AI deal and inventory. Expect mix shift to sovereign/enterprise AI to improve Q4 margins to ~10%.
Calendar 2025 Q2
I think their new order number was like $12 billion You guys talked about $1 billion So I'm curious, should we kind of think about H as a little bit different
Show response
Neri acknowledged walking away from certain large deals for margin/working capital discipline. Emphasized commitment to enterprise (all in), sovereign (all in), and select service provider deals that sustain 10% server margin.
Calendar 2025 Q1
how that's changed or how your views have kinda structurally changed over the course of the last three months and whether or not the gross margin pressure you might be seeing, is there any kind of ...
Show response
Neri explained the three-segment dynamic clearly: service providers shift quickly to Blackwell while sovereign/enterprise consume older GPU inventory more slowly, creating working capital pressure rather than margin pressure per se.
Calendar 2024 Q4
Where does HPE stand on that platform shipping those system configurations? When do you think that those would ship in volume for HPE
Show response
Neri provided detailed segmentation: hyperscalers/model builders lead with Blackwell in H1 2025, sovereigns use mixed configs, enterprise stays N-1 or N-2 generations.
PEverpure, Inc.8 questions · 8 reporting periods · 1 of 8 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
what's baked into the full year guide as far as the trajectory of product gross margins and OpEx growth
Show response
Management framed the low-end gross-margin positioning as intentional and margin-controlled, but gave limited specific back-half OpEx figures.
Calendar 2026 Q2
what indications of KB cash moving to SSD storage, have you seen thus far?
Show response
CTO said larger context windows and more tokens drive more memory and storage demand (GPU-server remote memory and remote storage), a large part of the NVIDIA partnership including KV caching.
Calendar 2026 Q1
the opportunities maybe expanding into additional hyperscalers through this year
Show response
CEO said hyperscaler activity and breadth of engagement are both rising, though there's no new win to announce yet ('still in the fight, not at the finish line'); progress depends on hyperscalers' testing plans.
Calendar 2025 Q4
you had a 76% sequential increase in inventory. I'm curious if that is reflective of any kind of strategic purchases.
Show response
CFO attributed the inventory increase to early-year tariff-mitigation buys and a few strategic positions in key parts amid a tightening components market; overall inventory (~$46M) remains low.
Calendar 2025 Q3
Have you gotten some visibility into the procurement cycle of Meta?
Show response
CEO said the Meta relationship is on time and on target; revenue is royalty/software-based at almost 100% margin (ex-service), with Meta buying physical product directly from the supply chain.
Calendar 2025 Q2
how should we just think about the opportunity in terms of size relative to the traditional enterprise market there?
Show response
CEO said FlashBlade//EXA targets niche but substantial markets (sovereign clouds, large GPU clusters); the disaggregated model charges for the metadata node and software with margins at or above company average over time.
Calendar 2025 Q1
any progression of how maybe the model around this opportunity might be evolving?
Show response
CEO said the hyperscaler engagement continues to evolve across storage tiers and talks with other hyperscalers accelerated this quarter, with nothing to announce yet.
Calendar 2024 Q4
are you licensing Purity on a capacity deployed basis and also licensing the DFM module
Show response
CEO confirmed Pure licenses both software and hardware design; the customer buys hardware from an integrator and Pure earns licensing/support fees.
ANETArista Networks7 questions · 7 reporting periods · 0 of 7 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
can you revisit your thoughts on adding a 10%? I think in the past you’ve talked about 1% or maybe even 2%
Show response
Jayshree reaffirmed Microsoft and Meta and expects 1 to 2 ten-percent customers but declined further specifics to keep shipping flexibility.
Calendar 2026 Q1
Any updated thoughts on adding one or two new customers at 10% plus
Show response
Jayshree confirmed expectation of at least one, possibly two new 10% customers exhibiting all three AI fabric use cases, though shipment timing may affect achievement.
Calendar 2025 Q4
how much you are factoring, if any, from scale up networking opportunity
Show response
Jayshree confirmed ESUN spec expected done this year with earliest trial products Q4 2025, but production-level scale-up revenue primarily in 2027 tied to 1.6T switching.
Calendar 2025 Q3
can you unpack the gross margin drivers in this quarter in terms of the guidance? How much is tariff related
Show response
Jayshree explained product margins significantly below 60% with cloud/AI titan volume, while enterprise margins higher. Chantelle confirmed no new model change for next year.
Calendar 2025 Q2
whether or not that's factoring at all into kind of what you're seeing currently
Show response
Jayshree cautiously optimistic on sovereign AI for 2026+, noting one Neocloud is a non-NVIDIA sovereign AI cluster that may factor in 2026.
Calendar 2025 Q1
is it tied to kind of the distributed Etherlink platforms or the 51.2T silicon
Show response
Jayshree compared current AI trial-to-production cycle to 2016 100G cloud deployments, noting 12-18 month timeline for ecosystem assembly vs prior 6-month cloud cycles.
Calendar 2024 Q4
when you see announcements like Stargate, and obviously, Stargate has the involvement of one of your newer cloud titan customers
Show response
Jayshree sees Stargate driving vertical rack integration in 2026-27, with Arista deeply involved in next-gen AI center design at higher density.
NTAPNetApp7 questions · 5 reporting periods · 0 of 7 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
give some color on the early feedback you are seeing on AFX and AI Data Engine
Show response
George reported good early AFX wins in target verticals and positive AIDE feedback, while noting new architecture adoption takes time.
Calendar 2026 Q1
what are you seeing from a pricing perspective, particularly on NAND flash? What's kind of embedded in your gross margin assumptions today?
Show response
Wissam confirmed FY26 mostly covered from earlier pre-buys. Some open-market inventory replenishment in Q3 for unexpected demand, likely some in Q4. Too early to comment on FY27. George added price increases taken at start of quarter with 90-120 day customer adjustment period.
Are you seeing customers actively maybe move away from deciding to go all-flash back to hybrid, maybe Keystone versus CapEx-centric purchases?
Show response
George confirmed more customer interest in hybrid flash, Keystone, and alternatives following price increases. Too early to call it a trend but discussions have increased.
Calendar 2025 Q4
I'm curious to how the company is managing that. Have you leaned in on any kind of strategic purchases? And any thoughts on the duration of those strategic purchases
Show response
Wissam confirmed locked-in pricing through end of FY26. Product margin expected stable at ~59.5% for rest of year. If NAND stays at current levels, potential for small FY27 headwind but mix (cloud at 83% margin) provides tailwind. Pricing pass-through is available if needed.
how quickly could you pass those through? Is that within a given quarter?
Show response
Wissam confirmed rapid pricing pass-through capability with no significant lag time needed.
Calendar 2025 Q1
you had mentioned some comments in your prepared remarks around just sales execution. I'm curious if you could double-click on that
Show response
George explained late-quarter procurement delays on large deals and noted many slipped deals have already closed in Q4.
Calendar 2024 Q4
is it -- did I hear it right, it's now about 80% of that public cloud business. And if so, why would -- why would mid-teens growth be right
Show response
Mike clarified 80% is total consumption revenue, not just first-party/marketplace, and affirmed confidence in growth trajectory.
NVDANVIDIA Corporation7 questions · 7 reporting periods · 1 of 7 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
should we really conceptualize like $40 billion goes to $60 billion, $80 billion
Show response
Jensen confirmed revenue per gigawatt keeps rising each generation and framed maximizing compute per gigawatt as the goal.
Calendar 2026 Q1
what's the importance of Vera plays in this architecture evolution
Show response
Jensen said Vera is the only data center CPU supporting LPDDR5 and is purpose-built for data-heavy AI workloads and post-training tool use.
Calendar 2025 Q4
I'm curious if your thoughts around the role that AI ASICs or dedicated play
Show response
Jensen laid out five differentiators, every phase of transition, every phase of AI, every model, every cloud/edge, and offtake diversity, as why NVIDIA outcompetes custom ASICs.
Calendar 2025 Q3
the Spectrum XGS announcement this week
Show response
Jensen walked through NVIDIA's three networking layers, NVLink scale-up, InfiniBand/Spectrum X scale-out, Spectrum XGS scale-across, and argued networking efficiency gains from 65% to 85-90% translate into $1-20B of effective AI factory benefit.
Calendar 2025 Q2
color around the strength you saw within the networking business
Show response
Jensen walked through NVLink (scale-up), InfiniBand and Spectrum-X (scale-out) plus BlueField control plane, said Spectrum-X has been a 'home run' this quarter with two new major CSPs added, and cited 40% utilization gains on $10B clusters yielding $4B effective benefit.
Calendar 2025 Q1
two-year anniversary of really the Hopper inflection
Show response
Jensen said older architectures (Volta, Pascal, Ampere) remain in active use for data processing, curation and training data generation, leveraged upstream of Hopper training, so installed-base CUDA compatibility yields extended useful life rather than a hard refresh cycle.
Calendar 2024 Q4
the networking business was down about 15% sequentially, but then your comments were that you were seeing very strong demand
Show response
Colette attributed the networking dip to timing as customers prepare for Blackwell deployments. Did not provide specific Spectrum-X revenue trajectory or update the 'multiple billions' target.
STXSeagate Technology Holdings7 questions · 7 reporting periods · 0 of 7 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
how do you think about the cost down, you know, execution as we move through Mosaic 3 to Mosaic 4?
Show response
Gianluca confirmed sequential gross margin improvement and a higher guide; Dave framed cost-down as gated on product-transition yield execution.
Calendar 2026 Q1
how do we think about operating expenses? I think your prior target was to kind of maintain roughly 10% OpEx to revenue
Show response
Mosley said OpEx should be relatively flat on a dollar basis. Team executing well with ability to readjust priorities within existing portfolio. Romano clarified flat in dollars, not as percentage of revenue.
Calendar 2025 Q4
As we roll out the 4 terabyte per platter Mozaic drive, how do I think about that cost down curve?
Show response
Romano confirmed 4TB per disk will strongly reduce cost per TB since unit costs are similar but content per unit jumps significantly. Impact expected to be strong through end of calendar year and into next.
Calendar 2025 Q3
Has your thoughts at all changed whether or not that, that's structurally just looking forward just higher relative to what you initially thought
Show response
Mosley indicated the mid-20% exabyte CAGR from the Analyst Day is still the target but acknowledged supply capacity is the constraint, not demand.
Calendar 2025 Q2
I guess why would that be? And then the second question is kind of tied to that is that as we see the generation of free cash flow
Show response
Mosley explained some CapEx for maintenance equipment replacement and staging for 4TB and 5TB platter transitions. Romano confirmed share buyback restarting after reaching debt target.
Calendar 2024 Q4
would you say even today as you're initially ramping HAMR that your HAMR gross margin is accretive to the hard disk drive only gross margin?
Show response
Mosley expressed satisfaction with current margins but deferred specific targets. Romano confirmed increased HAMR volume contributed to March quarter gross margin improvement.
Calendar 2024 Q3
It looks like your OpEx was a little bit higher than you expected in this quarter.
Show response
Asked about the OpEx overrun and potential to resume buybacks; Gianluca attributed higher OpEx to variable comp and prioritized dividend then deleveraging before buybacks.
DELLDell Technologies6 questions · 6 reporting periods · 0 of 6 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
you mentioned several solidly performing Dell IP portfolio products, one of which I wanted to ask about is Lightning.
Show response
Michael Tsvetanov asked on behalf of Aaron Rakers (Wells Fargo). Jeff said Lightning (a parallel file system for AI) is still new, in beta at several customers and in competitive runoffs, promising an update later.
Calendar 2026 Q1
When I look at the slide deck and you talk about $9,500,000,000 of AI shipments, you are now disclosing an AI revenue number that is a little bit different
Show response
David explained the revenue vs shipments gap as simply in-transit at quarter end. Jeff noted traditional server units expected down in FY27 while TRUs up, with second-half uncertainty reflected in mid-single-digit growth guide.
Calendar 2025 Q4
I'm curious if you could talk a little bit about what you're seeing as far as the aged installed base, where we're at in the upgrade cycle
Show response
Jeff noted double-digit demand growth with P&L lagging as backlog builds. North America improved sequentially, international double digits for second consecutive quarter. 70% installed base still on older servers.
Calendar 2025 Q3
what is your ability to kind of flex upward and the capacity to see continued upside to even that $20 billion?
Show response
Jeff confirmed the five-quarter pipeline continues to grow with sovereign and enterprise growing double digits. Has more than adequate manufacturing capacity for upside.
Calendar 2025 Q1
how would you compare the margin profile of those relative to the AI business on, let's say, the Hopper product cycle?
Show response
Jeff acknowledged Blackwell margins are lower than Hopper but outlined levers: custom engineering, supply chain scale, storage attach, and enterprise scaling.
Calendar 2024 Q4
how do you think about the cadence of shipping Blackwell in volume? And do you have any thoughts around the GB200 NVL?
Show response
Jeff confirmed GB200 is a significant portion of backlog and orders, Blackwell is in production and ramping. However, did not provide specific margin profile or shipping timeline details.
MRVLMarvell Technology6 questions · 5 reporting periods · 0 of 6 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q3
any update on -- you just touched on scale-up optics, the Celestial AI numbers that you've previously outlined.
Show response
Murphy said CXL/memory expansion is deploying at multiple hyperscalers in high volumes and is a home run, and that scale-up optics (CPO plus NPO via SiGe TIAs/drivers and Marvell's light engine) is accelerating well beyond the prior ~$300M category framing, a significant driver of the $1.5B FY28 raise.
Calendar 2026 Q2
I think you mentioned in your script that you had a I think new, XPU or custom, I guess, socket wins. Can you just provide any additional color
Show response
Murphy declined to provide specific details on new socket wins, framing them as continued progress against the 50+ opportunities from the June 2025 custom silicon event.
Calendar 2026 Q1
we've seen some massive upward provisions in CapEx. I think most people look at that and say, "Hey, we're looking at like 60% plus growth this year." Do you think you can grow at that level
Show response
Murphy confirmed electro-optics growing 50%+ this year, closer to accelerator growth than CapEx. Increased optics attach rate per new XPU/GPU generation plus higher ASP from 1.6T driving structural uplift. Business has compounded at ~50% annually since Inphi acquisition and expects to sustain beyond FY2028.
Calendar 2025 Q3
how Marvell sees this opportunity moving from just not scale out and scale up but scale across DCI
Show response
Bharathi detailed strong traction for Ethernet and UALink scale-up switches, leveraging Innovium-acquired IP. Scale-up switches expected as key growth driver in next couple of years.
how concentrated are you amongst your lead customer? And if we look out, let's say, 6 months or even 12 months from now
Show response
Murphy outlined progression from handful of sockets to 18+ to beyond. Design activity described as 'almost episodic' with new incremental wins since AI Day driving confidence in 20% share target.
Calendar 2025 Q1
is that also a compute opportunity or is that referring to the NIC custom NIC opportunity that you're currently engaged in
Show response
Murphy confirmed fourth hyperscaler is the custom NIC engagement, already in production. On HBM, highlighted custom HBM as critical IP with significant engagement alongside memory partners.
SNDKSandisk Corporation5 questions · 3 reporting periods · 0 of 5 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q2
with that and kind of your thoughts on supply growth, when do you see industry supply demand converging
Show response
Question asked by Mike Tsvetanov on Aaron Rakers' behalf. Goeckeler argued supply-demand now matches through customer-level NBMs and four-plus years of visibility rather than at the industry level.
Calendar 2026 Q1
Looking at Stargate starting to ship for revenue in April, can you give some color on how meaningful that ramp could be
Show response
Goeckeler declined to forecast the specific segment but expressed pride in the product and confidence it will do well in the market.
how are you thinking about the KV cache opportunity as we see agentic AI grow?
Show response
Goeckeler said KV cache sizing is complex and depends on customer-specific infrastructure variables, reinforcing the value of multiyear supply agreements.
Calendar 2025 Q3
What should we be thinking about? Are we down sequentially in the March quarter?
Show response
CFO cautioned that Q3 typically sees 12-14% sequential bit decline from holiday season, though data center strength may moderate the seasonal pattern.
how you assess kind of the enterprise SSD market opportunity relative to hard disk drives
Show response
Management views HDD and SSD as primarily complementary in cloud, with AI driving warmer data toward SSDs. Calendar 2026 will be first year data center is largest NAND market.
SMCISupermicro4 questions · 2 reporting periods · 1 of 4 challenging
Calendar 2024 Q4
are you shipping the GB200, the NVL72 today? And or if not, is that a significant factor as far as volume shipments
Show response
NVL72 solution ready but volume-gated by NVIDIA allocation. B200 4U DLC already shipping in volume with strong demand.
can you walk us through the variables that drove the sequential change in gross margin this last quarter
Show response
David cited end-of-life product competition and customer mix. Added that Asian manufacturing could save 1-2 points on margin. Extra R&D spending on advanced chips also pressured costs.
Calendar 2024 Q3
I think there was like $800 million of sales that you had alluded to as being pushed out of last quarter into the fiscal first quarter. Did that all close
Show response
Charles attributed the miss primarily to Blackwell timing. Acknowledged 10-K delay may have had some impact but couldn't quantify it.
you mentioned $5 billion of inventory coming out of this quarter. Any thoughts of where that might trend coming out of this next quarter
Show response
Charles indicated inventory will stay at ~$5B level to support continued growth expectations.
HPQHP Inc.3 questions · 2 reporting periods · 0 of 3 challenging
Calendar 2026 Q1
how would you characterize or define normal seasonality in the fiscal second quarter
Show response
Karen confirmed PS revenue expected above seasonal driven by premium and AIPC share gains, increasing peripherals/solutions attach, continued Win 11 refresh outside US, and additional pricing. Growth expected to moderate into back half.
Any way to frame the current views on that $0.30 headwind or how that's evolved or changed relative to the current updated guidance
Show response
Karen declined to update the $0.30 figure given volatility and complexity of mitigation actions. Confirmed current assessment included in outlook but will continue updating investors going forward.
Calendar 2024 Q4
any of the data that you look at just sizing how large this AI are, this Windows installed base -- aged installed base looks to be
Show response
Enrique confirmed strong analytics on refresh opportunity shared with Microsoft. Expects revenue growth above unit growth in FY25 from ASP lift. Karen confirmed AI PC premium mix benefit.
MUMicron Technology, Inc.2 questions · 1 reporting period · 0 of 2 challenging
Calendar 2024 Q4
Trying to kind of frame the impact that you're thinking about from the underload. Is it 100 basis points? Is it 200? Is it less?
Show response
Murphy confirmed underload impact closer to 100bps in fiscal Q3 but emphasized favorable mix effects from data center, HBM, and high-capacity DIMMs will support margin expansion beyond Q3.
How would you characterize your views of that ramp and where you think Micron's relative share position is within those -- that LPDDR5x data center opportunity?
Show response
Sadana stated Micron is the sole significant LP supplier in data center currently, having pioneered RAS innovations for the data center LP environment, creating a significant competitive moat.
AVGOBroadcom Inc.1 question · 1 reporting period · 0 of 1 challenging
Calendar 2025 Q2
I'm curious if you could give us your thoughts on how the company thinks about capital return versus the thoughts on M&A and the strategy going forward
Show response
Hock said debt paydown to <2x debt/EBITDA is priority; dividends are half of prior year FCF; M&A would be large enough to require debt so capacity preservation matters.
Challenge rate by company
Every company this analyst questioned, most questions first. A company-level rate is shown from 3 questions; below that it is withheld.
| Company | Questions | Challenge rate |
|---|---|---|
| CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc. | 14 | 0%none of 14 questions |
| KEYS Keysight Technologies | 14 | 0%none of 14 questions |
| WDC Western Digital | 14 | 0%none of 14 questions |
| INTC Intel Corporation | 13 | 0%none of 13 questions |
| AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 12 | 0%none of 12 questions |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 11 | 0%none of 11 questions |
| HPE Hewlett Packard Enterprise | 8 | 38%3 of 8 questions |
| P Everpure, Inc. | 8 | 13%1 of 8 questions |
| ANET Arista Networks | 7 | 0%none of 7 questions |
| NTAP NetApp | 7 | 0%none of 7 questions |
- CSCOCisco Systems, Inc. · 14 questions0%none of 14 questions
- KEYSKeysight Technologies · 14 questions0%none of 14 questions
- WDCWestern Digital · 14 questions0%none of 14 questions
- INTCIntel Corporation · 13 questions0%none of 13 questions
- AMDAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc. · 12 questions0%none of 12 questions
- AAPLApple Inc. · 11 questions0%none of 11 questions
- HPEHewlett Packard Enterprise · 8 questions38%3 of 8 questions
- PEverpure, Inc. · 8 questions13%1 of 8 questions
- ANETArista Networks · 7 questions0%none of 7 questions
- NTAPNetApp · 7 questions0%none of 7 questions
Show all 19 companies
| Company | Questions | Challenge rate |
|---|---|---|
| NVDA NVIDIA Corporation | 7 | 14%1 of 7 questions |
| STX Seagate Technology Holdings | 7 | 0%none of 7 questions |
| DELL Dell Technologies | 6 | 0%none of 6 questions |
| MRVL Marvell Technology | 6 | 0%none of 6 questions |
| SNDK Sandisk Corporation | 5 | 0%none of 5 questions |
| SMCI Supermicro | 4 | 25%1 of 4 questions |
| HPQ HP Inc. | 3 | 0%none of 3 questions |
| MU Micron Technology, Inc. | 2 | —Rate withheld: fewer than 3 questions |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 1 | —Rate withheld: fewer than 3 questions |
- NVDANVIDIA Corporation · 7 questions14%1 of 7 questions
- STXSeagate Technology Holdings · 7 questions0%none of 7 questions
- DELLDell Technologies · 6 questions0%none of 6 questions
- MRVLMarvell Technology · 6 questions0%none of 6 questions
- SNDKSandisk Corporation · 5 questions0%none of 5 questions
- SMCISupermicro · 4 questions25%1 of 4 questions
- HPQHP Inc. · 3 questions0%none of 3 questions
- MUMicron Technology, Inc. · 2 questions—rate withheld: under 3 questions
- AVGOBroadcom Inc. · 1 question—rate withheld: under 3 questions
Activity by reporting period
Questions recorded for each calendar quarter that companies’ reporting periods map to (not the call date), with the challenge rate for that period. Periods inside the range with no questions are shown as “No questions recorded”.
| Calendar period | Questions | Challenge rate | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q3 | 4 | 25%1 of 4 questions | 3 |
| 2024 Q4 | 22 | 5%1 of 22 questions | 15 |
| 2025 Q1 | 17 | 0%none of 17 questions | 12 |
| 2025 Q2 | 17 | 6%1 of 17 questions | 12 |
| 2025 Q3 | 21 | 5%1 of 21 questions | 14 |
| 2025 Q4 | 18 | 11%2 of 18 questions | 13 |
| 2026 Q1 | 25 | 0%none of 25 questions | 16 |
| 2026 Q2 | 17 | 0%none of 17 questions | 13 |
| 2026 Q3 | 8 | 0%none of 8 questions | 7 |
- 2024 Q34 questions · challenge rate 25% (1 of 4 questions) · 3 companies
- 2024 Q422 questions · challenge rate 5% (1 of 22 questions) · 15 companies
- 2025 Q117 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 17 questions) · 12 companies
- 2025 Q217 questions · challenge rate 6% (1 of 17 questions) · 12 companies
- 2025 Q321 questions · challenge rate 5% (1 of 21 questions) · 14 companies
- 2025 Q418 questions · challenge rate 11% (2 of 18 questions) · 13 companies
- 2026 Q125 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 25 questions) · 16 companies
- 2026 Q217 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 17 questions) · 13 companies
- 2026 Q38 questions · challenge rate 0% (none of 8 questions) · 7 companies
Topics
Topics tagged on this analyst’s questions.
- Cloud & AI55
- Demand42
- Revenue Growth31
- Margin30
- Innovation & R&D27
- Competitive Dynamics23
- Product Launch18
- Supply Chain16
- Pricing15
- Cost Pressure13
Show all 20 topics
- Guidance Reliability11
- Capex Investment9
- Capital Allocation9
- Inventory5
- Geographic Expansion5
- M&A4
- Regulation Policy3
- Subscriber Growth1
- Fx1
- Trade Tariffs1