Results

The Wall Street Journal has a story detailing the tough investor questions Anthropic is seeing ahead of its IPO, which should be this Fall. According to The Journal:

"Company executives have played down the impact of Chinese competition in meetings, telling investors that Anthropic is hyperfocused on offering cutting-edge AI models, the people said. Chief Executive Dario Amodei and other top U.S. AI leaders have publicly said that most users want the most intelligent AI systems available at any given time, suggesting that Chinese systems are less of a threat since their capabilities generally trail those of top AI models by at least a few months."

A business that depends on being a few months (or weeks) ahead of open models is one of two companies driving the AI economy. There are no details on pricing of shares or the financials yet. I can't wait to see the numbers.

Monday topped second quarter estimates, but provided a light third quarter outlook. Monday reported second quarter earnings of 8 cents a share on revenue of $346.6 million, up 22% from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings in the second quarter was $1.48 cents a share, well ahead of estimates.

For the third quarter, Monday projected revenue of $368 million to $370 million, up 16% to 17%. The company said its push upmarket is showing results.

Monday Q2 2026

CBRE released its mid-year review of the commercial real estate sector and noted that "preference for 250+ megawatts with 125+ acres of land continues to drive site selectors in new markets."

The issue is that power procurement is extending beyond a decade so data center operators are looking at natural gas, small modular nuclear reactors or co-location at existing energy sites. Electrical equipment supply chain shocks also a pressing concern.

In addition, the average construction cost per megawatt is running $14 million to $16 million.

CBRE's note on risk is worth a look:

"Counterparty and tenant risk remain a focus in 2026 and differentiate landlord strategies. While certain landlords and operators are willing to lease significant capacity to non-investment-grade tenants, others are opting to only serve the world’s largest technology companies. In the event of a slowdown, the bifurcation of financial health of operators will reveal itself."

CEO confidence rebounded slightly to an index score of 52 in the third quarter, up from 47 in the second quarter, according to The Conference Board. In the first quarter, the CEO confidence score was 59.

The Conference Board in collaboration with The Business Council fielded the survey July 13 through July 27.

CEOs were most concerned about cybersecurity, AI and new technology and geopolitics.

CEO Confidence Q3 2026