ALT benefits from data and AI demand as backlog surges to 6.9 billion baht

OpenAI expects to reach or exceed $70 billion in annualized revenue by the end of the year, according to a Bloomberg News report, after a Financial Times report said its annualized revenue stood at about $50 billion at the end of September, short of the $70 billion previously signaled. The growth is expected to be driven chiefly by its enterprise business, Bloomberg said, though a path to profitability remained unclear, with recent reports indicating the company was still on track to slip to a full-year loss and has projected it will burn $280 billion by 2030. Delta Air Lines is due to report third-quarter results before the opening bell, with Bloomberg consensus estimates pointing to adjusted revenue of $17.66 billion and adjusted per-share income of $1.82, as the carrier grapples with an uptick in fuel costs and has predicted its fuel bill will be roughly $4 billion higher this year compared to the prior year. The University of Michigan's October consumer sentiment index is tipped to edge down to a reading of 47.5 from a four-month low of 48.1 in September. U.S. mobile tower stocks rose in extended hours trading after SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide block of low-band spectrum from private equity firm Grain Management for about $8 billion in cash, a deal Bernstein said keeps alive the possibility that the satellite company builds a ground network; American Tower, Crown Castle, and SBA Communications rose between 3% and 4.5% after-hours.

SpaceX agreed to buy a nationwide block of low-band spectrum for about $8 billion in cash from private equity firm Grain Management, a deal that sent U.S. cell tower stocks higher in aftermarket trade on Thursday. American Tower Corp, Crown Castle International Corp, and SBA Communications Corp, three of the country's largest phone tower operators, rose between 3% and 4.5% in afterhours trade. Bernstein analysts called the move positive for tower operators, saying it keeps the terrestrial network build option very much alive, though they noted that buying spectrum is not a commitment to build more towers. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the spectrum is the last critical piece of the spectrum puzzle needed for SpaceX to provide complete phone coverage in America, and the acquisition is aimed at improving its Starlink satellite-to-cellular service by letting its signal pass through obstacles. Shares of major American telecommunications providers fell on the prospect of more competition from Starlink, with AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc, and T-Mobile US Inc sliding between 5% and 7% in aftermarket trade, while SpaceX shares rose 2.3%.