Weekly Stocktake with Danyaal
27 January 2023
Key Indicators
| Index / Fund / Rate | Start of Year | Last week | This Week | % change YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JSE ALSI | 73 049 | 79 270 | 80 791 | 10,60% |
| NASDAQ Composite | 10 467 | 11 138 | 11 622 | 11,03% |
| S&P 500 | 3 840 | 3 972 | 4 071 | 4,58% |
| Prime Lending Rate | 10,50% | 10,50% | 10,75% | 0,00% |
| Lunar BCI WW Flexible Fund | 141,43 | 147,52 | 152,31 | 6,67% |
| USD/ZAR | 16,98 | 17,19 | 17,72 | 1,24% |
| EUR/ZAR | 18,44 | 18,56 | 18,69 | 1,36% |
| Brent Crude ($’barrel) | 85,95 | 87,58 | 86,35 | 0,28% |
Source: Iress
Open AI
One of the hottest topics at the moment has been Open AI and its application – Chat GPT. And I thought it would be quite interesting to try have it write an article about Microsoft’s recent Q2 2023 results. I plugged in certain information about Microsoft’s Q2 2023 results because OpenAI has only collected certain data from 2021 and before. I then prompted it to structure the article in a certain way. And this was the result:
“Microsoft had a strong quarter, with a 2% increase in revenue to $52.7 billion. This is compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. Despite this growth, the company saw a decrease in net income, which came in at $16.4 billion, a 12% decrease year over year. Earnings per share (EPS) also decreased, coming in at $2.20, a drop of 11% compared to the previous year.
One of the biggest drivers for Microsoft’s success this quarter was their Intelligent Cloud division. The division saw a significant increase in revenue, coming in at $21.5 billion, an 18% increase. This growth was driven by strong demand for their cloud offerings, including Azure, Dynamics 365, and LinkedIn.
Microsoft operates in a very competitive industry and their success is driven by their ability to adapt to the changing technology landscape. The company’s focus on cloud computing has been a major factor in their success, and they are constantly looking for ways to improve their offerings and stay ahead of the competition.
However, Microsoft is not without its risks. The company operates in a rapidly changing industry, and they must continually innovate in order to stay ahead of their competitors. They also face increasing competition from both established technology companies and new entrants, which can impact their ability to maintain their market share.
Microsoft and OpenAI have a strategic partnership, where the two companies collaborate on research and development of AI technologies. Microsoft provides OpenAI with cloud computing resources, allowing the research organization to scale its research and development efforts.”
It was really fun playing around with Chat GPT, and seeing how far chat-based AI has developed in the recent years. As it develops more over the coming years, it could have the potential to enhance the way people interact with the vast amount of information that is out there. AI bias and the accuracy of information it provides are still some of the major challenges applications like these face. And it will be vital to see how these challenges are dealt with over time.
Microsoft is held in the Lunar BCI WW Flexible Fund.
Lunar Capital on Eastwave Radio
Every Tuesday, at 07h45, Sabir chats with Nazia from Eastwave Radio (92.2 fm, live stream on www.eastwave.co.za) on investing and the markets.
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This roundup is prepared for the clients of Lunar Capital (Pty) Ltd. This roundup does not constitute financial advice and is generated for information purposes only.
