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Behind the Markets Podcast · Friday, July 31, 2026

AI Demand Debate Settled, Focus Shifts to Leverage and Risk

Michael highlights that the debate about the reality of AI demand and potential overspending by hyperscalers is largely settled following recent earnings reports, citing Microsoft's Azure guidance. The current market focus has shifted towards leverage and risk management, particularly concerning leveraged positions in memory chip stocks.

companyMicrosoftcompanyAzure

The tape

3 quotes
But I think overall, um, you know, the, the, the market has fundamentally changed the debate around AI.
Michael
What it means is that, you know, six months ago, investors were asking whether AI demand is real, and if hyper scalers were just overspending.
Michael
I think after this earnings, you know, some of these questions are behind us. We saw, uh, Azure and Microsoft, uh, exceed not to 43% and next quarter, uh, we're guiding to 45%.
Michael
Heard on Behind the Markets Podcast — “Tackling AI as Fed Fumbles, published Friday, July 31, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.
Transcribed via Gemini audio transcription · $0.06
AI Demand Debate Settled, Focus Shifts to Leverage and Risk — Heardvine