Europe's Creative Hubs 2016

Tech companies are approaching terminal velocity on capex, which will surpass a $500 billion annual run-rate in early 2026. Apple is out of position on AI; CEO Tim Cook has signalled a willingness to consider M&A yet also faces acute political strain in the US

Despite revenues surpassing $2 trillion in 2025, tech is in a fragile transition as most cloud growth is still not driven by gen AI—tariffs, uneven compute build-out and US economic impacts may deliver a bumpy landing in quarters ahead

European tech sovereignty is a mounting political issue, as the continent fights the White House on its regulatory red lines. The financial and cultural impacts of Europe’s lack of tech champions remain intractable

Disney’s streaming business continues to grow meaningfully, now outpacing the somewhat predictable decline of its linear operation. Studios is always a highwire act, but it is currently the source of most of Disney’s uncertainty.

With subscription numbers quite flat and engagement likely subdued, in the US Disney is hoping that product improvements and sport will invigorate the relationship that users have with its services.

In the UK, the Disney+ and ITVX content swap arrangement is off to a slow start.

VMO2 had a solid Q2 in financial terms, with revenue growth dipping but not by as much as we had expected, and EBITDA growth improving thanks to strong cost control

Consumer fixed is however continuing to deteriorate under altnet pressure, countered by mobile performing better than expected, with continuing weak subscriber numbers across both

Meeting 2025 full year financial guidance is looking more likely after a robust H1, but the trajectory thereafter depends heavily on how the altnet sector develops, a factor over which VMO2 has limited control now that NetCo has been cancelled