BlockBeats News, August 19th, a summary of key pre-market news on the U.S. stock market:

1. SK Hynix announced that between 2025 and 2027, at least 50% of the free cash flow generated during this period will be used for shareholder returns. The company will repurchase 40 trillion Korean won (approximately $28.6 billion) of its own stock. This buyback is aimed at retiring shares to enhance shareholder returns. SK Hynix surged over 4% in pre-market trading.

2. Marvell Technology issued a warrant to Google, allowing Google to purchase up to 58.97 million shares of Marvell stock at a price of $206.58 per share, equivalent to about 6.7% of its outstanding shares. Most of this warrant will gradually vest as Google brings Marvell custom chip-related revenue during the period ending in the fiscal year 2033, involving products such as AI accelerators, networking, and storage solutions. Marvell Technology (MRVL) jumped 12% in pre-market trading.

3. The U.S. Treasury Department announced an expansion of the liquidity support repurchase operation size for long-term Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) to at least double the current scale, covering the 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year maturity brackets. The maximum size per operation is currently $20 billion, and this will be raised to at least $40 billion in the future.

4. OpenAI reported a Q2 revenue of $6.7 billion, up only 18% from Q1's $5.7 billion. However, operating losses expanded from $9.3 billion to $12.3 billion during the same period, with losses increasing faster than revenue. Some investors were disappointed by this performance. Anthropic, on the other hand, achieved Q2 revenue of $11.6 billion, more than doubling from the previous quarter. This is also the first time Anthropic's quarterly revenue has surpassed OpenAI. Anthropic also posted a small adjusted operating profit, further distinguishing itself from OpenAI, which is still deeply in the red.

5. According to Reuters, sources revealed that Samsung has raised chip manufacturing prices by 15% due to surging demand.

6. Billionaire investor and Omega Advisors CEO Leon Cooperman warned this week that the U.S. economy could slip into a recession in the next year, dragging down the stock market. He pointed out similarities between the current market and the 1970s "Nifty Fifty" crash and expressed concerns about the waning enthusiasm for AI.

7. As of July 28th, Longi Green Energy Technology has appeared among the top stocks in terms of net purchases by Korean investors in the previous week. However, as of July 27th, Longi Green Energy Technology did not appear in the top 50 A-share stocks in terms of net purchases by Korean investors (it is also possible that Korean investors had purchased, but Longi Green Energy Technology did not make it to the top 50 list in terms of net purchases). This indicates that by July 28th at the latest, which is the second day of Longi's listing, Korean investors had begun buying.

8. The "First Stock of A-share Humanoid Robot" YuTree Technology made its debut on the A-share market today, surging by 629.44%, with the stock price reaching RMB 1100 at one point. At this price, investors who subscribed to the IPO will receive a return of approximately 6.3 times. With an allocation of 500 shares per lot valued at about RMB 550,000, after deducting the subscription payment of RMB 75,000, the profit will be around RMB 475,000.

9. Cantor Fitzgerald plans to open the Kalshi prediction market to its approximately 3000 institutional clients, including family offices and hedge funds, allowing them to trade event contracts related to weather, commodities, and corporate performance. Susquehanna International Group will provide quotes and liquidity for these transactions.

10. Chinese memory chip manufacturer Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. (YMTC) has completed its listing counseling, taking a step closer to its A-share market debut. As per the China Securities Regulatory Commission website, YMTC has finished its pre-listing counseling and has been recognized to possess the necessary corporate governance structure, financial foundation, and internal control system required for a listed company.