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Atos to Launch Reverse Stock Split Amid Investor Confidence Push

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French IT company Atos (ATOS.PA) will proceed with a reverse stock split, set to take effect by May 1, in an effort to restore investor confidence. CEO Philippe Salle confirmed the decision on Wednesday, stating that the board will finalize approval in the coming days before initiating the process. The move follows a major financial restructuring last year, which significantly diluted shareholder value.

The reverse split was overwhelmingly approved at a general meeting in January. Atos shares have plummeted to historic lows, now trading at approximately one-third of a cent, after completing a 233-million-euro ($248.49 million) capital increase.

The company reported an annual revenue decline of 5.4% to 9.58 billion euros, missing previous forecasts. Market weakness and contract terminations contributed to the downturn. However, Atos highlighted a recovery in order intake, securing significant contracts such as a 165-million-euro extension with Eurotower and a deal to construct Finland’s latest national supercomputer.

Atos, once valued at 10 billion euros, now has a market capitalization of 600 million euros following governance instability and a failed restructuring attempt. While the company has not issued a 2025 outlook, Salle is set to outline his vision and mid-term strategy at the Capital Markets Day event on May 14.

The French government remains in exclusive negotiations to acquire Atos’ advanced computing segment, deemed critical for national defense. This division includes supercomputers essential for France’s nuclear deterrence and military communications.

Salle, who took over as CEO last month—Atos’ sixth in two years—reaffirmed that no additional asset sales would take place in 2025. “We’re not going to rip the group apart,” he stated, citing a strong cash position of 2.2 billion euros. He also dismissed any plans to raise the asking price for Atos’ mission-critical systems business, despite increasing military expenditures in Europe.

Amazon Shares Drop as Cloud Growth Misses Expectations

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Amazon’s stock fell by 4% on Friday after the company’s quarterly cloud computing revenue growth fell short of investor expectations. The disappointing results reflected a slowdown in growth at Amazon Web Services (AWS), which posted a 19% increase in revenue to $28.79 billion. This figure was slightly below the anticipated $28.87 billion. The performance echoed similar disappointments from other major tech giants, including Microsoft and Alphabet, who also saw cloud revenue growth fail to meet expectations.

The missed expectations came as cloud companies, particularly those heavily investing in AI, are under greater scrutiny. AWS’s growth rate matched that of the previous quarter, raising concerns among analysts about potential capacity constraints or other unidentified issues.

The disappointing results led to a $100 billion drop in Amazon’s market value. However, Amazon’s stock has still risen about 4% in 2025, outpacing losses seen by Microsoft and Alphabet, whose stocks have fallen by 3%. Despite this drop, Amazon’s shares continue to be favored by analysts, with 68 recommending buying the stock and no analysts advising to sell.

Nvidia’s Market Value Soars by $2 Trillion in 2024, Driven by AI Demand

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Nvidia has become the biggest gainer in global market capitalization for 2024, experiencing an unprecedented $2 trillion boost thanks to the explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and the growing demand for its AI-focused chips across various sectors.

The chipmaker’s market value skyrocketed from $1.2 trillion at the end of 2023 to an impressive $3.28 trillion by the close of 2024, securing its position as the second-most valuable company globally. Despite this surge, Apple remained the leader, approaching a historic $4 trillion market valuation, driven by investor excitement over the company’s anticipated AI enhancements that aim to revive stagnant iPhone sales.

Tech Giants’ Rising Valuations

Microsoft secured the third spot with a market valuation of $3.1 trillion at the close of 2024, followed by Alphabet and Amazon, both valued at approximately $2.3 trillion. These tech giants played a major role in the performance of global stock indexes in 2024, with the S&P 500 index climbing 23.3% and the Nasdaq soaring 28.6%.

Optimism for 2025

Despite potential risks such as ongoing U.S.-China tariff disputes and the possibility of slower interest rate cuts in the U.S., analysts remain confident about the tech sector’s continued strong performance into 2025. Daniel Ives of Wedbush projects a 25% increase in tech stocks next year, fueled by favorable conditions under a potentially less regulatory environment under President Trump, along with the sustained AI revolution and upcoming AI investments.

“We anticipate robust tech stock performance in 2025, driven by the AI Revolution and an expected $2 trillion in AI-related capital expenditures over the next three years,” said Ives.