Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

A Treasury Secretary's lunch order at a chain restaurant turned a campaign rally joke into a political firestorm, and the restaurant at the center of it all has been quietly outpacing some of the biggest names in tech all year.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent chose a chain restaurant as the setting for his latest political jab. On Monday, he ate at a Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) near the White House. Afterward he told a Fox Business reporter that former President Barack Obama is “the man who built the museum [that] looks like Darth Vader’s tomb,” which appeared to be a reference to the Obama Presidential Center, CNBC reported.

Bessent added: “I had a great meal, always have a great meal, and I would just tell the Martha’s Vineyard set to give it a try.” He said he ordered “what I always have: the French Dip Cheeseburger,” which CNBC said costs $22.95 at the downtown Washington location. In a follow-up post on X, he wrote: “I recommend the Cheeseburger Spring Rolls.”

How an Ohio Rally Joke Started It
On Saturday, Obama spoke at an Ohio campaign rally for gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and Senate candidate Sherrod Brown. Talking about President Trump, he said, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovations. He should be on HGTV!” He went on: “There’s gold everywhere. What’s up with the gold?” and “He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”

Trump Responds as Commentators Split
Trump answered on Monday: “And for you to say it’s a cheesecake factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president.”

Commentators split along predictable lines. Republican commentator Matt Whitlock called the comment “Classic Obama snobbery.” Menswear influencer Derek Guy pushed back on the criticism, writing, “This is actually a condescending view of working-class people.” He said his working-class immigrant family went to Red Lobster and The Cheesecake Factory for “fancy nights out.” The back-and-forth comes days before the Nov. 3 midterm election.

A Restaurant Stock Outpacing Big Tech
The stock had a big year well before any of this. As of 10:40 AM ET, shares traded at $109.74, down 0.35% on the day and down 5.54% over the past week. The stock is still up 120.15% year to date and 99.08% over the past year, putting its market value at about $5.46 billion.

Fox Business pointed out that the chain has outperformed big tech this year, and the figures support that. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) was up 10.86% year to date as of this morning, and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) was up 16.94%. The same Fox Business segment said viral social media posts have brought a new wave of customers to the chain.

Record Quarter Behind the Run
The most recent results explain much of the rally. In its second-quarter earnings release filed with the SEC, the company reported revenue of $1.03 billion, its first quarter above $1 billion. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.44, beating the $1.18 consensus. Comparable sales at the namesake brand rose 5.8% and traffic grew 2.7%, beating the Black Box Casual Dining Index by 350 basis points. Restaurant-level margin hit 20%, the highest in a decade.

Social media was already helping. On the earnings call, management said the brand’s social references run 2 to 3x the casual-dining average on a per-unit basis. Matthew Clark said viral menu activity “is identifiable. It is measurable and it is supporting the overall trend in the business.” Results across the portfolio were mixed. Flower Child comparable sales rose 13%, while North Italia’s fell 3%.

What Investors Should Track Next
The political attention is likely to fade after the election. Third-quarter results will matter more. Analysts’ consensus calls for EPS of $0.9519. Three things to check in the report: whether traffic at the core brand holds up, whether North Italia’s new value menu and marketing push stop its sales decline, and whether app-driven activity keeps bringing in new guests. After a 120.15% gain, those numbers will show if sales are keeping up with the stock price.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Nvidia stock NVDA rose on Tuesday as the chipmaker announced a $3 billion investment in Meta Platforms’ equity offering, strengthening their partnership as competition in the artificial intelligence infrastructure market intensifies.

Nvidia shares gained around 1%, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) climbed more than 5% after announcing a separate $1 billion investment in Meta’s offering.

Meta shares slipped about 1.1%, while Broadcom rose more than 3% in trading.

The investments come as Meta expands its AI infrastructure and develops its own custom chips, raising questions about how Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom will compete to supply the technology powering its services.

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Meta’s AI push keeps NVDA demand in focus despite financing risks.

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Nvidia said on Monday that it would invest $3 billion in Meta’s recently announced share offering.

As part of the expanded partnership, Meta will increase its deployment of Nvidia hardware to support its AI agents, while the companies explore further technological collaboration.

AMD announced a separate $1 billion investment in the offering on Tuesday.

The company said its Helios server racks would support Meta’s AI models and services.

The arrangements highlight how major chipmakers are seeking to strengthen relationships with large technology customers investing heavily in AI infrastructure.

Nvidia has previously invested in smaller AI startups and hardware suppliers.

Its investment in Meta, however, involves a major publicly traded customer that already purchases substantial amounts of Nvidia hardware.

Meta is also placing its Muse AI agent at the centre of its AI strategy, increasing the importance of the computing infrastructure needed to develop and operate its models.

Nvidia and AMD may be seeking to maintain their positions as Meta expands its computing capacity and considers alternatives to commercially available AI chips.

Meta is reportedly planning to begin manufacturing a new in-house AI chip from September, adding another dimension to the competition for its infrastructure spending.

The company has also worked with Broadcom on custom chip development.

Broadcom has indicated interest in participating in Meta’s equity offering, while its CEO, Hock Tan, serves as a strategic adviser to Meta’s board.

The involvement of multiple chipmakers suggests Nvidia's expanded relationship with Meta will not necessarily translate into an exclusive supply arrangement.

For Nvidia, investing in Meta could help reinforce demand for its hardware while reducing the risk that the customer shifts a larger share of its spending towards internally developed chips.

However, the company faces competition from AMD and Broadcom as Meta evaluates different technologies for its AI systems.

Nvidia's investment in Meta also highlights its growing role in financing the broader AI infrastructure build-out.

The company has entered into arrangements with businesses that purchase its chips and has supported financing for data-centre projects.

Earlier this year, Nvidia agreed to guarantee up to $105 billion in conditional lease and power payment obligations tied to an OpenAI data-centre project in Ohio.

The arrangement followed earlier discussions of a guarantee of as much as $250 billion, which was subsequently scaled back.

Nvidia also agreed to invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, the project’s developer, and supply the facility’s chips.

The guarantee is a contingent financial obligation, rather than a direct $105 billion investment in OpenAI.

Nvidia has also agreed to purchase unsold cloud-computing capacity from CoreWeave and entered into arrangements with cloud-computing companies in Australia.

These deals have raised concerns among some analysts and investors about the potential risks of financing customers that subsequently purchase Nvidia products.

Critics have drawn comparisons with the dot-com era, when equipment suppliers financed customers to support demand for their own products.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has rejected criticism that such arrangements amount to circular financing.

When the OpenAI deal was announced in August, Huang said in an X (formerly known as Twitter) post, "Is this circular financing? No. OpenAI will pay the lease."

Earnings from major technology companies this week will give investors fresh evidence of whether AI spending is generating sufficient returns to support further investment.

“One of the key catalysts for Nvidia this week will be earnings from major technology companies, including Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft. Investors will be looking beyond headline AI spending figures to assess whether these companies are generating sufficient revenue growth and business returns to justify continued investment," said David Merry, CEO of Kyro.

"For Nvidia, this is particularly important because its growth outlook is closely tied to the sustainability of customer spending. If earnings point to strong monetisation of AI investments, that could reinforce confidence in the current spending cycle", he added.

Merry noted that if companies’ rising AI spending fails to translate into stronger returns, investors may question whether the current pace of investment can be sustained.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Key Takeaways MA reports Q3 results on Oct. 29, with EPS forecast at $5.14, up 17.4%, on $9.63 billion in revenue.MA's switched transactions are projected to rise 9.8%, with cross-border assessments growing 13% in Q3.MA's VAS revenues are projected to rise 18%, though higher costs and rebates may partly offset gains. Payments giant Mastercard Incorporated (MA - Free Report) is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 29, 2026, before the opening bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings is currently pegged at $5.14 per shareon revenues of $9.63 billion. 

The third-quarter earnings estimate witnessed three upward revisions and no downward movement over the past 60 days. The bottom-line projection indicates an increase of 17.4% from the year-ago reported number. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues suggests year-over-year growth of 12%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

For full-year 2026, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mastercard’s revenues is pegged at $37.25 billion, implying a rise of 13.6% year over year. The consensus mark for 2026 earnings per share is pegged at $19.91, implying a jump of 17.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Mastercardhas a robust history of surpassing earnings estimates, beating the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 6.3%. This is depicted in the figure below.

Q3 Earnings Whispers for MastercardOur proven model predicts a likely earnings beat for the company this time around as well. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That is precisely the case here.

MA has an Earnings ESP of +0.11% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

What’s Shaping Mastercard’s Q3 Results?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s total Gross Dollar Volume (GDV) for all MA-branded programs suggests a 9.2% rise from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. GDV from domestic operations is expected to increase 4.9% year over year and 12.2% from European operations.

Switched transactions are expected to have experienced an upsurge, driven by resilient consumer spending and increased contactless acceptance initiatives pursued by the company. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its switched transactions indicates a 9.8% rise from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. Other companies like American Express Company (AXP - Free Report) also benefited from resilient spending in the September quarter, while Visa Inc. (V - Free Report) is likely to see high single-digit growth in processed transactions.

Mastercard is likely to have witnessed higher third-quarter cross-border volumes despite global uncertainties. The consensus estimate for cross-border assessments suggests an increase of 13% compared with the previous year. Further, the consensus mark implies domestic assessments and transaction processing assessments to witness a 12.3% and 10.6% year-over-year jump, respectively.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Value-added Services and Solutions net revenues indicates 18% year-over-year growth, while our model estimate suggests a 17.7% increase in the third quarter. Growing demand for its consulting and marketing services and loyalty solutions is likely to have driven this metric.

The above-mentioned factors are expected to have positioned the company not only for year-over-year growth but also for a likely earnings beat. The positives are expected to have been partially offset by rising expenses, rebates and incentives.

Mastercard’s adjusted operating costs are likely to have increased in the third quarter due to higher G&A costs and Advertising & Marketing expenses. We expect total adjusted operating expenses to rise nearly 11% from the prior-year quarter’s actuals. Furthermore, our estimate for payments network rebates and incentives suggests a nearly 16% year-over-year increase.

Mastercard’s Price Performance & ValuationOver the year-to-date period, Mastercard has gained 7.5%, while Visa has risen 15.2% and American Express has slipped 14.8%. Meanwhile, theS&P 500 Index grew 10.6%, and the industry hasdeclined 4.2%.

YTD Price Performance – MA, V, AXP, Industry & S&P 500Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Now, let’s look at the value Mastercard offers investors at current levels.

Currently, Mastercard is trading at 27.38X forward 12-month earnings, above the industry’s 18.76X, but below its five-year median of 29.89X. In comparison, Visa and American Express are trading at a forward P/E of 26.71X and 15.95X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

How Should You Play Mastercard Ahead of Q3 Earnings?Mastercard enters its third-quarter report with several factors in its favor. Consumer spending remains resilient, cross-border activity is growing, and demand for value-added services continues to broaden its revenue base. Together, these trends could keep revenues moving higher, even as operating costs and customer incentives climb.

The earnings setup is encouraging, too. Mastercard appears well-positioned for another earnings beat. Its track record of four consecutive positive surprises adds to that confidence.

Valuation calls for perspective. Mastercard's forward P/E sits above the industry average but below its own five-year median, suggesting the stock is not unusually expensive by its historical standards. Still, regulatory scrutiny, alternative payment networks and rising costs deserve attention, particularly after Mastercard's year-to-date gains lagged Visa's.

For investors already holding the stock, Mastercard's expanding payments network and growing services business support staying the course, while prospective buyers might consider building positions.

Complaint alleges Bank Of America Corporation misled investors between August 1, 2025 and October 13, 2026; investors may seek lead plaintiff role by December 15, 2026

, /PRNewswire/ -- Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP ("Glancy") announced today that the class action lawsuit covers investors who bought Bank Of America Corporation ("Bank of America" or the "Company") (NYSE: BAC) securities between August 1, 2025 and October 13, 2026. The Bank Of America Corporation case, New England Teamsters Pension Fund v. Bank of America Corporation et al., was filed on October 16, 2026 in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York (Case No. 1:26-cv-09137).

Investors who suffered losses on Bank Of America Corporation investments can submit their Bank Of America Corporation loss information here before the December 15, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

Key dates in the Bank Of America Corporation case

Class period: August 1, 2025 to October 13, 2026Complaint filed: October 16, 2026Lead plaintiff deadline: December 15, 2026What happened?

On October 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a $1.2 billion fine against Bank of America Corporation for violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. According to the Department of the Treasury, Bank of America Corporation failed to mitigate and report priority national security risks. The Department of the Treasury also found that the Company's Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance programs were deficient and ineffective.

On this news, Bank of America stock fell $2.57 or, 4.76%, to close at $51.39 on October 14, 2026, thereby injuring investors.

What is the Bank Of America Corporation lawsuit about?

The Bank Of America Corporation securities lawsuit alleges that, between August 1, 2025 and October 13, 2026, defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts about Bank Of America Corporation's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the complaint alleges defendants failed to disclose that: (1) systemic weaknesses in BANA's BSA/AML program caused it to fail to properly monitor trillions of dollars in transactions and to miss, delay, or file inaccurate or incomplete suspicious activity reports involving billions of dollars in suspicious activity; (2) internal reports had documented BANA's BSA/AML deficiencies for years, yet BANA had not adequately remedied them after the 2024 Consent Order; (3) BANA also had deficiencies in its sanctions compliance program and processed transactions later identified as apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs; (4) fixing these deficiencies required significant additional compliance resources and exposed BANA to substantial penalties and costs; and (5) as a result, defendants' positive statements about Bank Of America Corporation's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

"The complaint against Bank Of America Corporation alleges, among other things, that the Company failed to disclose that systemic weaknesses in BANA's BSA/AML program caused it to fail to properly monitor trillions of dollars in transactions and to miss, delay, or file inaccurate or incomplete suspicious activity reports involving billions of dollars in suspicious activity. For investors who purchased during the class period, the December 15, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline is the first significant deadline to keep in mind," said Charles H. Linehan, Partner at Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP.

What's the next step?

Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP is a leading national shareholder rights law firm, ready to assist Bank Of America Corporation investors in potentially pursuing claims to recover their losses.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in the Bank Of America Corporation class action, you must move the Court no later than December 15, 2026. To learn more about your rights, visit the Bank Of America Corporation case page, email [email protected], or call 310-201-9150 (toll-free: 888-773-9224).

You may retain counsel of your choice. If you bought Bank Of America Corporation securities during the class period, you may take no action and remain an absent class member. No class has been certified yet in the Bank Of America Corporation case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible? Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Bank Of America Corporation securities between August 1, 2025 and October 13, 2026 and suffered losses may be members of the proposed class in the Bank Of America Corporation shareholder lawsuit. Any class member may ask the court to appoint them lead plaintiff by December 15, 2026.

What is a lead plaintiff? In the Bank Of America Corporation class action, the lead plaintiff is the investor, or group of investors, that the court appoints to represent all class members and oversee the case. Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, courts generally presume the movant with the largest financial interest is the most adequate lead plaintiff.

Do I have to be lead plaintiff to recover? No. A Bank Of America Corporation investor's ability to share in any future recovery does not depend on serving as lead plaintiff. Bank Of America Corporation investors may take no action and remain absent class members.

What is the deadline? Motions to serve as lead plaintiff in the Bank Of America Corporation class action must be filed by December 15, 2026.

Does it cost anything to contact Glancy or participate in this action? Glancy represents Bank Of America Corporation investors on a contingency fee basis, so investors pay no attorneys' fees out of pocket. Any attorneys' fees and litigation expenses are paid only from a recovery, if one is obtained, and are subject to court approval.

Can I choose my own lawyer? Yes. Bank Of America Corporation investors may retain counsel of their choice.

Why work with Glancy on the Bank Of America Corporation lawsuit? Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP is a premier law firm with decades of experience representing investors and consumers in securities litigation and other complex class action litigation. Contact Glancy about the Bank Of America Corporation lawsuit. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

About Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP

Glancy was named one of Law360's Securities Groups of the Year and ranked second in total investor recoveries by ISS Securities Class Action Services in 2025.

Glancy's successes have been widely covered by leading news and industry publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters, the Associated Press, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, and Money.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Related links

Bank Of America Corporation case page, Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLPComplaint: New England Teamsters Pension Fund v. Bank of America Corporation et al., U.S. District Court Southern District of New YorkBank Of America Corporation SEC filings index, EDGARGlancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLPContact

Charles H. Linehan

Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP

1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100

Los Angeles, CA 90067

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 310-201-9150 | Toll-free: 888-773-9224

www.glancylaw.com

Follow Glancy on LinkedIn, X, or Facebook.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

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Walmart is being sued for allegedly scrimping on shrimp, with one pescophile saying the retail giant has been inflating the weight of sacks of the product with ice.

The new class-action suit from Elijah Baptist of Illinois says some of Walmart’s shrimp packages have up to 11% less shrimp than advertised once the ice in them is removed, according to Top Class Actions.

He’s regularly bought the product for some three years, and was especially disappointed when he recently picked up some Walmart shrimp for a party he threw, the suit states.

The new suit from Elijah Baptist of Illinois says some of Walmart’s shrimp packages have up to 11% less shrimp than advertised. billtster – stock.adobe.com
A jumbo bag of Walmart’s frozen, raw, tail-on shrimp is about $16 for 2 pounds, with an advertised 21 to 25 shrimp per pound, per the suit. If Baptist were to buy 6 pounds for a 10-person party, he would have lost about 15 shrimp or about $5, the suit notes. The fish lover said he would not have bought the bags or paid as much had he known the actual amount they contained.

“We have policies in place to help ensure suppliers provide correctly labeled products,” said a spokesperson from Walmart which recently agreed to pay $45 million to customers over another food-weight lawsuit . “We are reviewing the complaint and will respond in court.”

Baptist’s suit may come down to “glazing,” a common, perfectly legal seafood industry practice in which producers coat their product with water to create a protective barrier around raw shellfish. But doing too much glazing can artificially jack up the weight of the product and lead to overpriced seafood, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Shrimp is the obvious battlefield” for glazing, trade publication FrozeNet notes.

Baptist’s suit may come down to “glazing,” a common, perfectly legal seafood industry practice in which producers coat their product with water to create a protective barrier around raw shellfish. rh2010 – stock.adobe.com
The weight of the ice is not supposed to be included in the net product amount, and manufacturers can be criminally liable for failing to do so, according to Food and Drug Administration guidance.

A package can look plentiful but consumers only know what they are getting once they’re at the kitchen sink.

“If the glaze was declared clearly and priced honestly, the discussion stays technical. If not, it becomes personal,” FrozeNet states.

The suit aims to represent all consumers in Illinois who have bought Walmart’s “Great Value” shrimp sacks. Baptist is seeking a jury trial and requesting damages, restitution and injunctive relief in state court, according to Top Class Actions. 

The suit aims to represent all consumers in Illinois who have bought Walmart’s “Great Value” shrimp sacks. khosrork – stock.adobe.com
This lawsuit comes two years after Walmart settled a food weight class action, agreeing to shell out millions for improperly weighed seafood, meat and poultry.

The retailer allegedly used a price sticker that was “false, misleading and deceptive,” advertising a weight that is more than the actual weight of the product. Walmart did not admit wrongdoing in settling the suit.

Investors have been waiting for Nike (NKE -1.19%) stock to turn around for a long time. It's important to have a long-term investing mindset, but it's also critical to know when to pivot. Over the past five years, Nike stock has posted a negative 25% average annualized return. This year, it's worse, with shares down 40%. Its woes have been well documented.

There was a leadership change a year ago, and a new strategy that, in part, focuses on rebuilding the wholesale channels. But challenges persist, and sales and earnings were down year over year in the most recent quarter due to declines in China and sputtering sales for its sportswear and Jordan brands, which account for half of its revenue.

And in its fiscal 2027 guidance, Nike doesn't expect much, if any, improvement. Revenue is anticipated to decline in the high single digits in fiscal 2027 while adjusted earnings are targeted for $1.15 to $1.35 per share, down from $2.10 in fiscal 2026. And Nike stock is not even that cheap, trading at 17 times earnings and 21 times forward earnings.

A better-value option with a higher dividend is Target (TGT -0.20%). Here's why.

Image source: Getty Images.

On Target Target has been a better turnaround story than Nike. It faced similar challenges to its brand, including tariffs and losing market share amid rising inflation, and the stock price tumbled over four straight years of negative returns from 2022-2025. But Target has reversed course this year with shares up 57% year-to-date. The five-year annualized returns remain negative at -10%, but Target seems headed in the right direction.

Target also underwent a leadership change this year with Michael Fiddelke promoted from within to replace longtime CEO Brian Cornell.

TGT Target$148.24-$0.29 (-0.20%)

NYSE · As of 2:26 PM ET 10/27/26

The turnaround plan involves investing some $6 billion into new stores, remodeling, and infrastructure. It is also focusing its sales on certain areas where it is differentiated, like home, beauty, baby, health and wellness, women's style, food and beverage, and pop culture, and trying not to be everything to every shopper.

Furthermore, it has reduced costs for consumers and is improving the customer experience. Target is planning to open 30 new stores and remodel 130.

Successful turnaround Target has been successful so far, as sales were up 5% in the second quarter and comp sales rose 3.8% year over year. Earnings were up 100% to $4.11 per share, but most of that came from a tariff refund. But even without the tariff refund, earnings rose 20% year over year.

And management raised its full-year guidance for fiscal 2026 to 5% sales growth, up from 4%, and earnings, excluding the tariff refund, to $7.50 to $8.50 per share, up $0.75 from previous guidance.

Target's $1.16 per share dividend is another factor that makes it a buy. It has raised its payout for 57 consecutive years, making it a Dividend King. It also has a high yield of 2.93% and a sustainable payout ratio of 45%.

Finally, Target is cheaper than Nike, trading at just 16 times earnings and 15 times forward earnings. It is a solid buy right now.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of VZ, T, SPCX either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

BlackRock delivered a decisive Q3 2026 beat on revenue and EPS, reinforcing operational strength and a robust balance sheet. BLK's 19.3% AUM growth, strong net inflows, and expanding high-margin segments support double-digit EPS growth and margin expansion. Shares are moderately discounted versus fair value, offering potential for 15%+ annual total returns over the next five years.

Key Takeaways Starbucks' China transition to a licensed model is expected to weigh on International revenues.Stronger U.S. comparable sales and easing coffee cost pressures may support revenues and margins.Starbucks' $2 billion cost-savings plan and disciplined execution are expected to support earnings growth. Starbucks Corporation (SBUX - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Oct. 29, after the closing bell.

SBUX’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, with the average surprise being 8.4%.

Trend in Estimate Revision of SBUXThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at 73 cents, indicating a rise of 40.4% from 52 cents reported in the year-ago quarter.

For revenues, the consensus mark is pegged at nearly $9.27 billion. The metric implies a decline of 3.1% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

Let’s take a look at how things might have shaped up in the quarter.

Factors Likely to Shape Starbucks’ Quarterly ResultsRevenuesStarbucks’ fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenues are expected to decline year over year, primarily reflecting the impact of the transition to a licensed business structure in China. The company’s revenue performance is likely to have varied across segments, while lapping prior-year traffic comparisons and variability in the consumer landscape might have posed additional challenges.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Channel Development revenues is pegged at $571 million, compared with $543 million reported in the prior-year quarter. On the other hand, the company-operated stores revenues are pegged at $7.42 billion, down 5.6% year over year.

International revenue comparisons are expected to have remained affected by the transition of Starbucks’ China retail operations to a licensed joint venture structure. The change reduces the revenue consolidated from China, with Starbucks’ 40% share of the joint venture’s earnings reflected through income from equity investees.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for International revenues in the fiscal fourth quarter is pegged at $1.38 billion, down from $2.07 billion reported a year ago.

However, stronger U.S. comparable store sales are expected to have provided some support to revenues, partially offsetting pressure from the transition to a licensed business structure in China. Easing coffee price pressures might have also supported Channel Development revenues, although the impact is likely to have varied with coffee price trends. The company expects U.S. comparable store sales growth of at least 6.5% in the fiscal fourth quarter.

EarningsStarbucks’ fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 earnings are expected to have increased year over year, supported by sales leverage, disciplined execution and cost-saving initiatives. The company expects these factors to have helped offset investments in its Back to Starbucks priorities, including Green Apron Service. Easing coffee cost pressures are also expected to have provided support, as the company anticipates coffee costs to have become largely immaterial to year-over-year margin comparisons in the fiscal fourth quarter.

The company expects continued progress on its cost-saving initiatives to have supported profitability. Starbucks remains on track with its $2 billion cost-savings plan, with savings across product and distribution costs, operating expenses and general and administrative expenses.

What Our Model Says About SBUX StockOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Starbucks this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. However, that is not the case here.

Starbucks’ Earnings ESP: Starbucks currently has an Earnings ESP of -0.21%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank of Starbucks: The company has a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

Stocks With the Favorable CombinationHere are some stocks worth considering from the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +350.01% and a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

In the to-be-reported quarter, Cracker Barrel’s earnings are expected to register a 100% year-over-year increase. CBRL’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 228.6%.

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.38% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

In the to-be-reported quarter, Restaurant Brands’ earnings are expected to increase 4.9% year over year. QSR’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 3.8%.

Sweetgreen, Inc. (SG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +4.26% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.

In the to-be-reported quarter, Sweetgreen’s earnings are expected to register a 3.7% year-over-year decline. SG’s earnings lagged estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average miss being 43%.

Worried About a Fading Rally? Consider These 3 Dividend StocksCincinnati Financial NASDAQ: CINF reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $459 million and non-GAAP operating income of $443 million, as higher catastrophe losses weighed on underwriting results while investment income increased.

President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Spray said operating income declined by $6 million from a year earlier despite catastrophe losses that were $146 million higher on an after-tax basis. The company’s property-casualty combined ratio was 90.9%, up 2.7 percentage points from the prior-year quarter, including a 7.0-point increase from catastrophe losses.

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Dividend Aristocrats or Dividend Kings: Which Is Best for You?For the first nine months of 2026, Cincinnati Financial’s current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses improved slightly to 86.5%, compared with 86.7% in the same period of 2025.

Premium Growth Moderates as Pricing Remains Disciplined
Consolidated property-casualty net written premiums grew 2% in the third quarter. Spray said the moderation was expected and reflected the insurer’s focus on pricing discipline, risk selection and policy-level segmentation.

Average renewal price increases declined from the second quarter but remained at what management considered healthy levels. Commercial lines and excess and surplus lines posted low-single-digit average increases, while homeowners renewal increases were in the high-single-digit percentage range and personal auto increases were in the mid-single-digit range.

Commercial lines net written premiums increased by less than 1%, while the combined ratio rose 1.7 points to 92.8%. Higher catastrophe losses accounted for 4.3 points of the increase.
Personal lines net written premiums rose 1%, affected by lower new-business premiums amid softer market conditions. Its combined ratio was 90.3%, up 2.1 points despite a 12.1-point increase from catastrophe losses.
Excess and surplus lines net written premiums grew 5%, with an 89.4% combined ratio.
Cincinnati Re’s net written premiums rose 34%, and its combined ratio was 94.8%.
Cincinnati Global grew net written premiums 13% and recorded a 70.7% combined ratio.

Spray said Cincinnati Financial views the current lower growth environment as a normalization from exceptionally strong growth rather than a reversal. He noted that the company doubled personal lines net written premiums over the past four years and tripled them over the past decade. Companywide net written premiums doubled between the end of 2018 and 2025, he said.

On commercial lines, Spray said competition was most intense for larger-premium accounts. Small and midsize commercial business remained competitive but rational, he said. The company does not plan to pursue growth at the expense of profitability.

Management also discussed its use of three-year commercial package policies. Spray said more than half of commercial package policies are written on a three-year basis, with rates guaranteed for property, general liability, crime and inland marine coverage. Auto, workers’ compensation and umbrella coverage remain subject to anniversary rate changes. He said the three-year policies have outperformed one-year policies from an underwriting perspective and can help protect pricing in a down market.

Reserve Approach and Personal Lines Mix
Chief Financial Officer Mike Sewell said Cincinnati Financial’s reserving process remains actuarially driven and is not managed to produce a particular value creation ratio result. The company aims to hold net loss and loss expense reserves in the upper half of its actuarially estimated range.

During the third quarter, Cincinnati Financial recognized $94 million of net favorable prior-accident-year property-casualty reserve development, benefiting the combined ratio by 3.6 percentage points. There was no material reserve development for any prior accident year in commercial casualty.

For the first nine months, the company added $1.26 billion to property-casualty loss expense reserves, including $997 million for incurred-but-not-reported reserves. Favorable development included $203 million for accident year 2025 and $70 million for 2024, while accident years before 2024 had aggregate unfavorable development of $56 million.

Spray said uncertainty related to legal system abuse and third-party litigation funding remained a consideration in commercial casualty reserving. He also said workers’ compensation represented less than 5% of commercial lines net written premiums and that the company would continue to assess capital allocation to the line.

In personal lines, Spray said about 60% of the business is now in high-net-worth coverage. The company remains committed to the middle market, but he said high-net-worth and private-client business could become a larger share of the portfolio over time.

Investment Income, Capital and Technology Initiatives
Investment income increased 10% during the quarter, driven by insurance operating cash flow, according to Sewell. Bond interest income rose 11%, and net purchases of fixed-maturity securities totaled $1.1 billion for the quarter and $2 billion for the first nine months.

The fixed-maturity portfolio’s average pre-tax yield was 5.04%, down 6 basis points from a year earlier. Bonds purchased during the quarter had an average pre-tax yield of 5.93%. Dividend income declined 4%, while net equity-security sales totaled $52 million for the quarter and $784 million year to date.

Rising interest rates contributed to an approximately $1.2 billion pre-tax loss in the bond portfolio’s valuation during the quarter, while equity securities generated a $6 million pre-tax gain. At quarter-end, the total investment portfolio had net unrealized appreciation of about $7.4 billion, including an $8.9 billion equity gain position and a $1.5 billion fixed-maturity loss position.

Year-to-date value creation ratio was 5.8%, and book value was $105.42 per share at quarter-end. Cincinnati Financial had $16 billion of GAAP consolidated shareholders’ equity, $6.1 billion of parent-company cash and marketable securities, and debt to total capital below 10%. The company paid $142 million in shareholder dividends and repurchased an immaterial number of shares.

Spray also highlighted technology investments, including seven proprietary artificial-intelligence assistants used in underwriting, claims and loss control. The company is using automation and AI-enabled tools to process emailed new-business submissions, which Spray said has accelerated quote delivery by more than 30% across commercial lines and excess and surplus lines.

About Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF)Cincinnati Financial Corporation is an insurance holding company headquartered in Fairfield, Ohio. Founded in 1950 by four independent insurance agents, the company markets its products primarily through a network of independent agencies.

The company's principal business is property and casualty insurance. Its offerings include commercial insurance for businesses, personal insurance for individuals and families, and specialty coverage for risks that may require more customized underwriting.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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Royal Caribbean CEO Jason Liberty joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the company's third-quarter earnings, travel bookings for 2027, and more.

Key Takeaways Hilton's Q3 adjusted EPS rose 16.1% YoY to $2.45, beating estimates, while revenues grew 6.6% to $3.33B.System-wide RevPAR rose 5.8%, driven by higher occupancy and room rates, while adjusted EBITDA grew 8.4%.Hilton raised its 2026 RevPAR growth outlook to 4-4.5%, with adjusted EPS projected at $9.07-$9.13. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2026 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while revenues missed the same. Both the top and bottom lines increased on a year-over-year basis.

Hilton delivered strong operating performance during the quarter, driven by higher system-wide RevPAR, improving occupancy and average daily rates. Growth in management and franchise fees supported results, while lower ownership revenues partly offset the gains. Management expects operating momentum to continue through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.

Hilton’s Q3 Results in DetailHilton reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.45, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.36 by 3.8%. In the year-ago quarter, it reported adjusted earnings of $2.11 per share. The metric increased 16.1% year over year.

Total revenues of $3.33 billion missed the consensus mark of $3.39 billion by 1.8%. Nonetheless, revenues increased 6.6% year over year from $3.12 billion.

The quarter's franchise and licensing fees improved 10.3% year over year to $815 million from $739 million. Our estimate for the metric was $828.6 million.

Base and other management fees increased 3.2% to $96 million from $93 million. Our estimate for the metric was $100.5 million.

Incentive management fees increased 9.2% year over year to $71 million from $65 million. Ownership revenues declined 5.6% to $304 million, while other revenues increased 12.5% to $72 million. Cost reimbursement revenues increased 7.1% year over year to $1.97 billion from $1.84 billion.

HLT's Q3 RevPAR & Adjusted EBITDAIn the third quarter, system-wide comparable RevPAR increased 5.8% year over year on a currency-neutral basis, driven by increases in both occupancy and average daily rate.

Occupancy improved 1.4 percentage points year over year to 75.8%. Average daily rate increased 3.9% year over year to $164.57.

RevPAR in the United States increased 7% year over year. The metric rose 6.3% in the Americas, excluding the United States, and 6.5% in Europe.

However, RevPAR in the Middle East and Africa declined 5.6% year over year, owing to a 5-percentage-point decrease in occupancy despite a 1.7% increase in average daily rate. Asia-Pacific RevPAR declined 0.5%.

Adjusted EBITDA was $1.06 billion, up 8.4% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 180 basis points year over year to 77%.

Net income in the third quarter increased 27.3% year over year to $536 million. Operating income advanced 17% year over year to $909 million.

Hilton's Q3 Balance SheetAs of Sept. 30, 2026, Hilton's total cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash, were $830 million compared with $970 million as of Dec. 31, 2025.

As of the third quarter, the company had $13.45 billion of debt outstanding, excluding unamortized deferred financing costs and discounts, compared with $12.46 billion at 2025-end. The weighted average interest rate was 5.09%.

Hilton had no outstanding borrowings under its revolving credit facility, which had approximately $1.89 billion in available borrowing capacity.

During the quarter, the company repurchased 2.6 million shares for $845 million. Total capital returns, including dividends, were $879 million during the quarter and $2.90 billion year to date.

HLT's Business UpdatesIn the third quarter of 2026, Hilton opened 182 hotels comprising 27,000 rooms, resulting in 23,000 net room additions. Net room additions increased 6.5% sequentially from the second quarter of 2026.

The company achieved net unit growth of 6% from Sept. 30, 2025. Hilton also approved 30,500 rooms for development during the quarter.

As of Sept. 30, 2026, Hilton's development pipeline comprised 3,869 hotels, representing 543,100 rooms across 135 countries and territories. The pipeline increased 5% year over year.

During the quarter, Hilton opened its first hotels under Select by Hilton. Notable openings included Hale Hokuala Kauai, Curio Collection by Hilton, and Den Bengaluru, LXR Hotels & Resorts, marking the respective brands' debuts in Hawaii and India.

Hilton's Q4 & 2026 OutlookFor fourth-quarter 2026, Hilton anticipates net income between $508 million and $522 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $1.05 billion and $1.07 billion. It predicts adjusted earnings per share between $2.32 and $2.38. Management forecasts system-wide comparable RevPAR growth of 3-3.5% year over year on a currency-neutral basis.

For 2026, Hilton estimates net income between $1.91 billion and $1.92 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $4.06 billion and $4.08 billion. It predicts adjusted earnings per share between $9.07 and $9.13.

Management anticipates full-year system-wide comparable RevPAR growth of 4-4.5% year over year, up from its previous expectation of 3-3.5%. Net unit growth is expected between 6% and 7%, with performance around the midpoint of the range, while capital returns are projected to be approximately $3.5 billion.

HLT’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksHilton currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks from the Zacks Consumer-Discretionary sector are Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (CNK - Free Report) , AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (AMC - Free Report) and Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (ASO - Free Report) .

Cinemark presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

 Cinemark delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.9%, on average. The stock has surged 67.7% in the year-to-date period. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNK’s 2026 sales and EPS implies growth of 17.7% and 155.8%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.
 
AMC Entertainment presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 321.7%, on average. The stock has rallied 85.3% in the year-to-date period.

 The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMC’s 2026 sales and EPS indicates an increase of 18.8% and 91.7%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

Academy Sports currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings beat of 4%, on average. The stock has gained 19.3% in the year-to-date period.

 The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASO’s 2027 sales and EPS indicates growth of 4.2% and 15.4%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. faces slowing growth in its core branded checkout business, prompting a 'Hold' (Downgrade) rating. Growth in Venmo, buy now pay later, and Braintree is promising, but profit expansion lags payment volume increases. PYPL trades at a deep discount to historical valuation multiples, reflecting muted revenue and EPS growth expectations.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT projects Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) stock could climb to $120 over the next 12 months as its latest acquisition strengthens its position in quantum computing.

On October 26, Intel announced an agreement to acquire Israeli quantum computing software company Classiq, expanding its ambitions beyond conventional processors and artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

The deal would combine Classiq’s quantum algorithm and circuit design software with Intel’s silicon spin-qubit technology and semiconductor manufacturing expertise, creating a more comprehensive quantum computing business spanning hardware and software.

Reports value the transaction at approximately $2.3 billion, although Intel has not officially disclosed the price. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.

However, quantum computing remains in the early stages of commercial development, meaning the deal is unlikely to materially boost earnings immediately. Its long-term value will depend on technological progress, customer adoption, and Intel’s ability to commercialize the technology.

INTC stock prediction 
Based on ChatGPT’s analysis, Intel stock has a base-case target of $105 to $120 over the next six to 12 months, assuming continued server processor demand, improving margins, and progress in advanced manufacturing.

In a more bullish scenario, INTC could reach $135 to $150, representing upside of approximately 49% to 66% from the $90.47 reference price. 

This would likely require stronger-than-expected processor demand, sustained earnings growth, and greater confidence in Intel’s manufacturing strategy.

Conversely, the stock could fall to $70 to $80 if manufacturing costs remain elevated, foundry losses persist or earnings disappoint.

INTC stock price prediction. Source: ChatGPT
Intel stock fundamentals 
Beyond quantum computing, Intel’s financial performance offers a more immediate basis for a potential recovery.

Intel reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $16.1 billion, up 25% year over year, while non-GAAP earnings per share reached $0.42, compared with a loss of $0.10 a year earlier. Non-GAAP gross margin rose to 41.8% from 29.7%, while Data Center and AI revenue jumped 59% to $6.3 billion.

The results suggest Intel could benefit from growing demand for server CPUs as AI infrastructure expands. Sustained demand, cost control, and progress in its 18A manufacturing process could further improve profitability.

However, substantial manufacturing costs and continued foundry losses remain risks. Quantum computing’s commercial potential is also uncertain, while acquisition integration and customer adoption will take time. 

If investors have already priced in much of Intel’s recovery, disappointing results or weaker guidance could trigger a correction.

Intel’s third-quarter 2026 results, scheduled for October 29, are the next key catalyst. Strong revenue, margins, and guidance could support a move toward the $100–$103 resistance area identified in ChatGPT’s technical assessment, while weaker results could put further pressure on the stock.

Featured image via Shutterstock

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) on Tuesday released topline results from its Phase 3 MagnetisMM-32 study evaluating Elrexfio (elranatamab) as a monotherapy.

• Pfizer stock is showing upward bias. What’s next for PFE stock?

The trial studied adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who previously received at least one line of therapy, including an anti-CD38 agent and lenalidomide.

Strong Progression-Free Survival ResultsThe study achieved its primary endpoint of progression-free survival at a pre-specified interim efficacy analysis.

Elrexfio demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in the risk of disease progression or death compared to three standard-of-care regimens selected by investigators.

More than 75% of patients receiving Elrexfio avoided disease progression or death at the time of analysis, showing an estimated 68% progression-free survival rate at 18 months.

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Secondary endpoint data for overall survival remain immature, and researchers will continue monitoring patients until the next scheduled analysis.

Safety Profile and Regulatory PlansELREXFIO demonstrated a safety profile consistent with its known characteristics, generating no new safety signals.

Early infection prophylaxis measures helped mitigate infection risks. Grade 3 or higher infections developed in 27.5% of patients receiving Elrexfio versus 18.1% on investigator’s choice, while Grade 5 infections occurred in 0.8% of Elrexfio patients compared to 1.6% in the control group.

FDA Approval for Prostate Cancer DrugOn Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pfizer’s talazoparib (Talzenna) in combination with enzalutamide for mutated prostate cancer.

The approval covers adults with metastatic androgen pathway modulation-naïve or -sensitive prostate cancer with homologous recombination repair gene mutations, as detected by an FDA-authorized test.

PFE Price Action: Pfizer shares were down 0.32% at $29.70 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Image via Shutterstock

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© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Key Takeaways Linde is set to report Q3 earnings on Oct. 29, with EPS expected to rise 7.4% and revenues to grow 6.6%.LIN's long-term take-or-pay contracts and growing project backlog are expected to support earnings.Labor cost inflation & weaker APAC demand may pressure margins, while Engineering profit is expected to fall. Linde plc (LIN - Free Report) is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 29, before the opening bell.

Let us delve into the factors that are likely to have influenced the performance of this global industrial gas producer. However, before that, it would be worth reviewing LIN’s performance in the previous quarter.

LIN’s Highlights of Q2 Earnings & Surprise HistoryIn the last reported quarter, Linde’s earnings of $4.50 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.49, driven by higher pricing, volume growth, favorable currency movements and acquisitions. 

Linde’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 0.71%. This is depicted in the graph below: 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at $4.52, with one upward and one downward revision over the past seven days. The bottom-line estimate implies an improvement of 7.4% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter revenues is pegged at $9.2 billion, indicating a year-over-year improvement of 6.6%. 

Factors to Note for LINLinde is a global leader involved in the production of industrial gases, such as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and others, used across several end markets, including healthcare, manufacturing, electronics, chemicals & energy and food & beverage.

In the to-be-reported quarter, the company is expected to have sustained stable performance, supported by its long-term, take-or-pay contracts with major on-site clients. Linde’s operations across several resilient end markets, such as healthcare, food & beverage and electronics, are expected to have supported its earnings in the third quarter. Particularly, electronics is expected to become one of its fastest-growing end markets in the near term, driven by project start-ups and increased hardware demand associated with AI. Moreover, LIN’s growing project backlog is expected to have contributed positively to its earnings.

However, challenges are likely to have loomed, particularly due to labor cost inflation, which may have weighed on its margins. In addition, the Middle East conflict has impacted several Asia Pacific markets, particularly those highly dependent on importing hydrocarbons. Consequently, industrial activity is expected to have weakened in certain APAC markets, resulting in softer demand for Linde’s products in these regions.

These factors are anticipated to have affected demand and pricing dynamics, potentially hampering Linde’s quarterly performance.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for operating profit in the Americas segment is pegged at $1.28 billion, up from $1.2 billion reported in the third quarter of 2025.

However, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for operating profit from the Engineering business unit is pinned at $95 million for the third quarter, lower than $101 million recorded a year ago.

LIN's Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Linde this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. That is not the case here, as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: Linde’s Earnings ESP is +0.19%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: The company currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks to ConsiderHere are some other stocks that you may want to consider, as these, too, have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this reporting cycle.

Flotek Industries (FTK - Free Report) specializes in green chemistry, which provides innovative solutions aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the energy industry. It currently has an Earnings ESP of +18.18% and a Zacks Rank #1.

Flotek Industries is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 earnings on Nov. 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 22 cents per share, indicating an improvement of 10% from the prior-year reported figure. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Huntsman Corporation (HUN - Free Report) manufactures diversified organic chemical products and markets the products to a wide range of industrial and consumer customers. The company currently has an Earnings ESP of +36.14% and a Zacks Rank #3. 

Huntsman is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 earnings on Nov. 2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HUN’s earnings is pegged at 7 cents per share, indicating a 333.3% increase from the prior-year reported figure.

Air Products and Chemicals (APD - Free Report) is involved in producing and marketing industrial gases for a wide range of industries. It currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.44% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Air Products and Chemicals is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 earnings on Nov. 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $3.60 per share, indicating an improvement of 6.2% from the prior-year reported figure.

Key Takeaways NEE's 2026 and 2027 EPS growth estimates of 8.63% and 8.77% outpace The Southern Company's projections.NEE plans $94.1B in capital investment through 2030, compared with SO's $81B, to support growth.SO leads in dividend yield at 3.28% and ROE at 12.93%, while NEE has lower debt and a slightly cheaper P/E.
The Zacks Utility-Electric Power industry presents an attractive investment opportunity, supported by stable cash flows and the predictability of regulated business models. Most utilities benefit from long-term power purchase agreements that provide revenue stability and reduce exposure to economic fluctuations. Primarily domestic operations, growing electricity demand and continued infrastructure investments are enhancing operational efficiency, enabling these companies to generate consistent earnings and sustain dependable dividend payouts.

NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE - Free Report) and The Southern Company (SO - Free Report) are two leading U.S. electric utilities, making significant investments in renewable energy, positioning themselves at the forefront of the transition to cleaner power generation. As decarbonization efforts gain momentum, utilities that embrace renewable and low-carbon technologies stand to benefit from lower fuel-cost volatility, broader market opportunities and stronger long-term growth prospects, making them increasingly attractive to both institutional and retail investors.

NextEra Energy is a leading utility company with strong growth prospects driven by its expanding clean energy portfolio and stable regulated operations. Its Florida Power & Light business generates reliable cash flows under a regulated framework, while NextEra Energy Resources remains a leader in wind, solar and battery storage projects. Backed by disciplined capital allocation and a strong commitment to decarbonization, the company is well positioned to benefit from the ongoing transition to cleaner energy.

Southern Company offers attractive long-term value through its regulated utility operations, diversified generation portfolio and consistent dividend growth. Its investments in nuclear power and renewable energy support a proactive decarbonization strategy, positioning the company to benefit from the ongoing energy transition.

As both Southern Company and NextEra Energy are leading utility players, comparing their fundamentals can help determine the more compelling investment opportunity.

NEE & SO’s Earnings Growth ProjectionsThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for NextEra Energy’s earnings per share in 2026 and 2027 indicates year-over-year growth of 8.63% and 8.77%, respectively. Long-term (three to five years) earnings growth per share is pegged at 8.51%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Southern Company’s earnings per share in 2026 and 2027 indicates year-over-year growth of 6.74% and 7.04%, respectively. Long-term growth per share is pegged at 8.28%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Debt to CapitalThe Zacks Utilities sector is a capital-intensive one, and huge investments are required at regular intervals to upgrade, maintain and expand operations. The usage of new evolving technology also requires investments. Therefore, utilities borrow from the market and add it to their internal cash generation to fund the long-term investments.

The interest rate was hiked in the past month by 25 basis points, taking the funds rate to 3.75% to 4%. Another round of rate hikes is expected before the end of 2026. The rising rates increase the capital financing expenses of the utilities.

NEE’s debt-to-capital currently stands at 60.99% compared with SO’s 64.09%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

NEE & SO’s Capital InvestmentNextEra Energy plans more than $94.1 billion in capital investment through 2030 to expand clean energy capacity. Southern Company plans to invest $81 billion in capital expenditures through 2030 to strengthen its operations.

Both companies are investing in their generation to meet the rising demand, modernize the grid and upgrade the infrastructure to provide reliable round-the-clock electricity to customers.

Return on EquityReturn on Equity (“ROE”) is an essential financial indicator that evaluates a company’s efficiency in generating profits from the equity invested by its shareholders. It demonstrates how well management is utilizing the capital provided to increase earnings and deliver value.

NEE’s current ROE is 12.27% compared with SO’s 12.93% and the industry’s 11.48%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

NEE & SO’s Dividend YieldDividends provide shareholders with a steady stream of income and serve as an important indicator of a company’s financial strength and stability. Consistent dividend payments often reflect healthy cash flows, stable earnings and a company's commitment to rewarding shareholders. Utility companies, supported by predictable revenues and relatively stable business models, are particularly known for their consistent dividend payouts, making them attractive to income-focused investors.

Currently, the dividend yield for NextEra Energy is 3.04%, while the same for Southern Company is 3.28%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

ValuationSouthern Company currently appears to be trading at a marginal premium compared with NextEra Energy on a Price/Earnings Forward 12-month basis. (P/E- F12M).

NEE is currently trading at 19.01X, while SO is trading at 19.05X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Summing UpNextEra Energy and Southern Company are strategically investing in their infrastructure to serve millions of customers more efficiently and reliably.

Despite Southern Company having a better ROE, from the above discussion it is evident NextEra Energy is having a clear edge over the former, given its better earnings estimates movement, cheaper valuation, lower percentage of debt usage and more elaborate capital expenditure.

Both companies are currently having a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

CNBC's Seema Mody joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the latest news surrounding OpenAI and Oracle.

Oracle brings frontier AI into the heart of enterprise computing with OpenAI to transform how organizations work

, /PRNewswire/ -- Oracle AI World -- Oracle today announced a major new collaboration with OpenAI to redefine how the world's businesses run in the age of AI. By bringing together OpenAI models, ChatGPT, and Codex with Oracle's applications, data, and cloud infrastructure, both companies are putting AI directly to work across the systems and operations used by customers that power the world's economy. An expanded suite of products brings that approach to life, by helping people work across systems with AI, enabling them to build and deploy applications, finding and fixing security vulnerabilities, and giving entrepreneurs an integrated foundation to build and run companies.

"OpenAI is transforming how enterprises solve business problems, from chat, to coding, to analytics, to autonomous agents," said Clay Magouyrk, CEO, Oracle. "With this new product suite, we are uniting their transformative AI capabilities with Oracle applications, data, and cloud infrastructure—technology that businesses around the world rely on to run their most critical operations."

"More businesses are choosing OpenAI as we make it easier to put AI to work through the tools and systems they already use," said Greg Brockman, president and co-founder, OpenAI. "Our expanded partnership with Oracle helps bring that opportunity to more companies, putting frontier AI into everyday operations so teams can build software faster, strengthen security and take on more complex knowledge work."

Oracle and OpenAI are putting AI to work across enterprise operations, application development, cybersecurity, and business creation:

Run Your Business Through ChatGPT
OpenAI and Oracle share an ambition to set the standard for the agent-ready enterprise. Both companies are partnering across the full innovation cycle to transform Oracle's applications for agents and bring them into a unified experience in ChatGPT.

Oracle AI Workspace provides a single user experience that brings OpenAI frontier models together with Oracle applications, enterprise data, and cloud services. Through the plugins in ChatGPT on Oracle AI Workspace, employees can access information, complete approved business workflows, and take action alongside Oracle systems. It is designed to connect Oracle Fusion Applications, Oracle NetSuite, Oracle AI Database, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), and other enterprise tools, and data sources.

The Oracle AI Workspace will make the breadth of Oracle's capabilities agent-ready and accessible to ChatGPT users. People can describe business goals and these plugins in ChatGPT will bring together the right Oracle tools and information to help them accomplish it. With ChatGPT, Oracle AI Workspace puts AI directly into the flow of enterprise work while maintaining the governance, approvals, and controls required for enterprise operations.

Strengthen Security with Frontier AI 
Oracle and OpenAI are working to make advanced security testing easier for organizations to put into practice. Oracle AI Security Mesh, a managed service that uses OpenAI cyber models, helps customers find and fix vulnerabilities in their applications and infrastructure across OCI, other clouds, and on-premises environments before attackers can exploit them.

The service combines OpenAI frontier cyber models with Oracle's testing tools, independent validation, testing infrastructure, and operational safeguards managed by Oracle, so customers don't need to build and operate their own agentic defensive/offensive systems. Customers define where testing is authorized and control its scope, while Oracle manages the safeguards to reduce the risk of outages or business disruption during testing.

Turn Ideas into Enterprise Applications
Oracle App Composer helps employees turn ideas into enterprise applications that solve recurring business challenges, without requiring coding expertise to build or maintain them. Users can build applications with Codex, while Oracle manages deployment and operations on OCI. Oracle App Composer connects applications to approved Oracle data and workflows and provides access to OCI services, including OCI Kubernetes Engine and Oracle Autonomous AI Database. It also applies enterprise identity, permissions, networking, audit, and application life cycle controls, helping organizations take AI-generated applications from idea to secure enterprise deployment at scale.

Oracle App Composer also supports APEXlang, a new Oracle technology that gives customers the speed of generative development without producing opaque application code that is difficult to maintain.

Build Your Business with AI from Day One
Oracle AI SMB Bundle is a new free-to-start packaged offering that provides $12,000 in Oracle cloud credits each year, giving small businesses the AI tools they need to build products, run their operations, and scale. It brings together ChatGPT Business for daily work, Oracle AI Workspace for accessing business applications and data through ChatGPT, Codex and Oracle App Composer for building apps, and OCI for deploying them. The bundle also includes NetSuite QuickStart, which provides a foundation for managing core operations, including invoicing and cash flow. Terms, conditions, and restrictions apply.

Additional Resources

Learn more about the Oracle and OpenAI partnershipRead more about the expanded suite of productsLearn more about Oracle Cloud InfrastructureAbout Oracle
Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at oracle.com.

About Oracle AI World
Oracle AI World is where customers and partners discover the latest product and technology innovations, see how AI is being applied across industries, and connect with experts and peers. Attendees will gain practical tips and insights to drive immediate impact within their organizations and explore how Oracle is helping unlock the full potential of AI. Join the event to see new capabilities in action and hear from thought leaders and industry movers. Register now at oracle.com/ai-world or follow the news and conversation at oracle.com/news and linkedin.com/company/oracle.

Future Product Disclaimer
The preceding is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, timing, and pricing of any features or functionality described for Oracle's products may change and remains at the sole discretion of Oracle Corporation.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
Statements in this article relating to Oracle's future plans, expectations, beliefs, and intentions are "forward-looking statements" and are subject to material risks and uncertainties. Many factors could affect Oracle's current expectations and actual results, and could cause actual results to differ materially. A discussion of such factors and other risks that affect Oracle's business is contained in Oracle's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including Oracle's most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q under the heading "Risk Factors." These filings are available on the SEC's website or on Oracle's website at oracle.com/investor. All information in this article is current as of October 27, 2026 and Oracle undertakes no duty to update any statement in light of new information or future events.

Trademarks
Oracle, Java, MySQL and NetSuite are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. NetSuite was the first cloud company—ushering in the new era of cloud computing.

SOURCE Oracle

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OCI plans to deploy SambaNova chips for AI labs as agentic AI drives demand for fast, efficient tokens

Highlights:

SambaNova and Oracle are collaborating to deploy SambaRack SN50 inference chips in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) data centers. Oracle will offer the capacity to AI model builders. The plan adds high-performance inference chips to OCI’s growing range of AI infrastructure, giving customers more choice in how they run inference at scale. LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SambaNova, the AI chip company delivering high-performance inference, today announced a collaboration with Oracle to bring its AI chips to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) data centers. The collaboration will combine OCI’s infrastructure with SambaNova’s Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit (RDU) chips to deliver a new level of performance, speed, and efficiency at scale to AI customers.

“We plan to bring SambaNova’s RDU chips to OCI to give AI builders another efficient way to run models at scale.” -- Karan Batta, senior vice president, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Oracle

Share “Our customers want the right infrastructure for every AI workload, and inference demand is growing fast,” said Karan Batta, senior vice president, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Oracle. “We plan to bring SambaNova’s RDU chips to OCI to give AI builders another efficient way to run models at scale.”

Oracle plans to host the systems in its data centers and provide the capacity to customers who need a high-performance and highly efficient inference platform.

“Oracle doesn’t wait for the market to settle; it builds ahead of it,” said Rodrigo Liang, co-founder and CEO, SambaNova. “Agents are driving the next wave of inference demand. They need tokens fast, all day, at a cost that works. That’s what SN50 was built to do. OCI will put that capacity in the hands of the builders who need it.”

Oracle began investing in AI infrastructure early and has continued to expand its efforts, from gigawatt-scale AI data centers to a widening range of compute on OCI. Inference is the next shift: agentic AI runs nonstop, and chains model calls. That demands fast, efficient tokens that deliver ROI within the year. SambaNova’s high-performance inference gives customers a new option for exactly this kind of workload.

About the SambaNova SN50 RDU Chip

SN50, SambaNova’s fifth-generation RDU, is purpose-built for agentic AI. It delivers up to 5X the maximum speed of competitive chips and 3X lower total cost of ownership. SambaRack SN50 draws an average of 20 kW per rack, low enough to scale in existing air-cooled data centers.

SN50 is also built for disaggregated inference, where GPUs handle prefill, and SN50 handles decode, the token-generation stage that determines how fast agents respond. With SN50 alongside NVIDIA GPUs, SambaNova is boosting token-generation capability to existing GPU infrastructure.

About Oracle

Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com.

About SambaNova

SambaNova is a leader in next-generation AI infrastructure, providing a full stack platform that powers high-performance inference for enterprises, NeoClouds, AI labs and service providers, and sovereign AI initiatives worldwide.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Jose, Calif., SambaNova delivers chips, systems, and cloud services that enable customers to deploy state-of-the-art models with superior performance, lower total cost of ownership, and rapid time to value.

For more information, visit sambanova.ai or contact [email protected]. Connect with SambaNova on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube for company news, AI inference insights, and technology demonstrations.

Future Product Disclaimer

The preceding is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, timing, and pricing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s products may change and remains at the sole discretion of Oracle Corporation.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

Statements in this article relating to Oracle’s future plans, expectations, beliefs, and intentions are “forward-looking statements” and are subject to material risks and uncertainties. Many factors could affect Oracle’s current expectations and actual results, and could cause actual results to differ materially. A discussion of such factors and other risks that affect Oracle’s business is contained in Oracle’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including Oracle’s most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q under the heading “Risk Factors.” These filings are available on the SEC’s website or on Oracle’s website at oracle.com/investor. All information in this article is current as of October 27, 2026 and Oracle undertakes no duty to update any statement in light of new information or future events.

Trademarks

Oracle, Java, MySQL and NetSuite are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. NetSuite was the first cloud company—ushering in the new era of cloud computing.

SambaNova, RDU, SN50, and SambaRack are registered trademarks of SambaNova Systems, Inc.

More News From SambaNova

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Key Takeaways Oracle's OCI revenues surged 121% to $7.4 billion, while its record backlog reached $664 billion.Multicloud database revenues soared 353%, while agentic AI expands Oracle's application growth opportunities.Oracle raised fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to at least $90 billion, despite negative free cash flow.
Oracle (ORCL - Free Report) shares have plunged 24% over the past six months, as investors weighed the company’s aggressive artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure spending against its funding needs. The stock has underperformed the Zacks Computer and Technology sector and the Zacks Computer - Software industry’s growth of 6.6% and 16.4%, respectively. The underperformance reflects capex worries and intensifying competition from Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) -owned Google.

However, the pullback overlooks a business with strengthening fundamentals. Cloud infrastructure growth is accelerating, contracted backlog has hit a record, and management has raised its fiscal 2027 outlook.

Oracle is also embedding agentic AI across its applications suite, opening a second growth avenue. While negative free cash flow remains a legitimate concern, here are three reasons why investors should consider buying Oracle stock right now.

ORCL’s 6-Month Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Accelerating OCI Growth Backed by a Record BacklogOracle Cloud Infrastructure (“OCI”) is the primary growth engine. In first-quarter fiscal 2027, cloud infrastructure revenues jumped 121% year over year to $7.4 billion, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of acceleration, while total cloud revenues rose 62% to $11.6 billion. Infrastructure (CPU and GPU) revenues alone surged 151% to $6.5 billion. Total revenues climbed 30% to $19.3 billion, non-GAAP operating income rose 31% to $8.2 billion with a 42% margin, and non-GAAP earnings increased 30% to $1.92 per share. Demand visibility is exceptional, with remaining performance obligations (RPO) surging $209 billion year over year to $664 billion.

Oracle added 850 megawatts of data center capacity during the quarter and reported AI infrastructure utilization of 97.9%. GPUs up for renewal commanded an average premium of 20%, signaling strong pricing power. Most of the RPO growth was structured through customer prepayments or bring-your-own-hardware arrangements, easing capital intensity and supporting healthy contractual margins.

AI Applications and Multicloud Broaden the Growth BaseBeyond infrastructure, Oracle is monetizing AI across its database and applications portfolio. Multicloud database revenues soared 353% in the first quarter, while cloud database revenues grew 26% to $0.9 billion. Cloud applications revenues rose 10% to $4.2 billion, led by Fusion back-office applications, up 14%, and industry applications, including Oracle Health, up 12%. NetSuite, which grew just 6%, remains a soft spot, but deeper AI integration across Fusion and industry suites should improve customer retention and cross-selling over time.

Recent announcements strengthen this momentum. In September 2026, Oracle introduced Fusion Claw, a governed execution runtime powering 25 new agentic applications across finance, HR, supply chain and sales, and unveiled AI-driven oncology EHR and revenue cycle management tools for Oracle Health. In October, OCI Enterprise AI added xAI’s Grok 4.6 and Grok 4.7 models along with a Smart Model Router, while OCI Generative AI introduced sandboxes and support for importing NVIDIA’s Nemotron 3 Ultra model. At Oracle AI World, the company launched Console AI for OCI customers, enhanced its Autonomous AI Lakehouse and committed $1 billion over four years to its partner ecosystem, alongside new industry-focused NetSuite AI agents.

Raised Guidance Points to Sustained MomentumOracle now expects fiscal 2027 total revenues of at least $90 billion, implying 34% year-over-year growth, and non-GAAP earnings of $8.10 per share. For the second quarter, revenues are projected to grow 30-34%, with cloud revenues expected to rise 64-70% at constant currency and non-GAAP earnings per share anticipated between $1.83 and $1.91. Excluding the prior-year Ampere investment gain, second-quarter non-GAAP earnings are expected to rise 19-23% at constant currency. Management expects infrastructure revenue acceleration to continue through fiscal 2027. Spending remains the key risk, and management expects gross margins to decline as new data centers ramp. First-quarter capital expenditures reached $28 billion, pushing free cash flow to negative $5 billion despite record operating cash flow of $23 billion, up 184%.

Oracle expects fiscal 2027 capex of $90-$95 billion, with net cash capex capped at $70 billion, and sold $20 billion of common stock during the quarter, diluting shareholders. Still, Oracle closed more than $30 billion of additional AI contracts in the quarter without changing its capital-raising plans.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ORCL’s fiscal 2027 earnings is currently pegged at $8.13 per share. The estimate implies 6.55% year-over-year earnings growth. Excluding one-time fiscal 2026 investment gains, management expects 18% growth.

ORCL’s Valuation and Competitive LandscapeAmazon, Microsoft and Google lead the cloud market and are also scaling AI capacity aggressively worldwide. Amazon Web Services recently launched Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI in preview, letting enterprises run agents within existing cloud governance controls, and added several new frontier models to Amazon Bedrock. Microsoft unveiled its Maia 300 custom inference chip in October 2026, promising about 40% more tokens per megawatt, and plans multi-gigawatt Azure Maia deployments from 2027, strengthening Microsoft’s AI cost position. Google introduced its Gemini agent at Gemini at Work 2026, alongside TPU 8i chips claiming 80% better price-performance, while Google Cloud says about 80% of its customers use its AI products. Still, Oracle’s growing multicloud database offerings across these hyperscalers effectively turn rivals into distribution channels.

ORCL’s valuation remains relatively attractive, with the stock trading at a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 13.64X, lower than the sector average of 19X. Oracle has a Value Score of B. Accelerating OCI growth and a $664 billion backlog justify buying the stock at current valuation.

ORCL’s Valuation Chart
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

ConclusionOracle’s sharply accelerating OCI growth, record $664 billion backlog, expanding agentic AI portfolio and raised fiscal 2027 guidance make a compelling near-term case despite elevated capex and negative free cash flow. With its Investor Day on Oct. 28 offering a potential catalyst, investors should consider accumulating the stock on this recent dip. ORCL currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Oracle is adding OpenAI's ChatGPT and Codex to its application stack, extending enterprise access to OpenAI tools. CNBC's Seema Mody discusses.

State regulators just forced two major brokerages to pay back millions in commissions their customers never knew they were losing. The same quiet erosion could be happening inside your 401(k) right now.

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Small stock trades aren’t always cheap ones. On Oct. 15, state securities regulators announced a $4.4 million settlement involving two Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC | WFC Price Prediction) brokerage units and Merrill Lynch, part of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) said the firms had charged unreasonable commissions on thousands of small-dollar stock trades.

What Regulators Found on 256,000 Small Trades Massachusetts regulators led a multistate investigation that uncovered unreasonable commissions on more than 256,000 stock trades over five years. The problem was minimum commissions, which can turn even a modest transaction into an expensive one.

The two Wells Fargo units collected nearly $3.9 million in unreasonable commissions across approximately 228,243 trades between Sept. 30, 2020, and Oct. 1, 2025. Merrill Lynch accounted for another $549,000 in excessive charges during the same period.

Affected customers in participating states will receive refunds plus interest, and the firms must certify that they’ve changed their commission practices. The investigation concerned retail brokerage accounts, not specifically 401(k)s. But workplace retirement investors can face trading commissions through brokerage windows, along with fund expenses and other charges that quietly eat into their savings.

A $250,000 Balance and a Fee Nobody Noticed Picture a hypothetical 55-year-old with $250,000 in his 401(k). He never sees a separate bill for investment expenses, so he assumes his plan costs him nothing. But his funds and plan charges run an extra 0.5 percentage point a year compared with similar, lower-cost options.

On his current balance, that difference amounts to roughly $1,250 in one year, assuming the balance doesn’t change.

Now stretch the comparison over a decade. Suppose the cheaper portfolio earns 6% annually after fees, while the more expensive one earns 5.5%. With no additional contributions, his $250,000 would grow to approximately $447,700 in the cheaper option, compared with $427,000 in the pricier one.

That’s a difference of nearly $20,700 from an additional half-percentage-point in annual costs, compounded over 10 years.

Four Places 401(k) Costs Hide Fund expense ratios. These expenses are built into the fund’s returns rather than billed separately on your statement. You can find them in your plan’s investment disclosures and fund documents, but it’s easy to overlook their effect on your balance. Administrative and recordkeeping fees. These pay for running the plan: recordkeeping, legal work and the website. Some plans charge a flat dollar amount and others take a percentage of assets. When they come out of your account, they show up on your statements. Managed account or advice fees. A 2025 NEPC survey found that 46% of participating retirement plan sponsors offered managed accounts. These services may charge an additional asset-based fee on top of the expenses of the underlying investments. Brokerage window commissions. A Plan Sponsor Council of America survey found that 25% of companies offered a self-directed brokerage window. These accounts let employees buy investments outside their plan’s regular lineup, but they can carry trading commissions, transaction fees and other charges. Why Fees Keep Taking a Bite in Any Market Investments can recover from a bad year, although there’s no guarantee they will. Fees work differently. They reduce your investment returns in good markets and bad ones, and every dollar spent on costs loses the chance to grow over time. Unlike market performance, expenses are something you can compare in advance and, in some cases, reduce.

Where to Find Your Real Costs Start with your plan’s annual participant fee disclosure, often called the 404(a)(5) notice. It shows the expense ratios of the plan’s regular investment options and describes administrative and other charges. Your quarterly statements generally show fees deducted directly from your account, but fund expenses are already reflected in investment returns. If you use a brokerage window, check its separate fee schedule, too.

Next, compare two funds that do the same job. Say your plan offers two S&P 500 options, one at an illustrative 0.05% and one at 0.55%.

On $250,000, the cheaper fund costs about $125 a year and the pricier one about $1,375, assuming the balance stays unchanged. Both track the same index, so their market exposure should be similar, although their holdings and performance may differ slightly.

Switching to the cheaper option could save roughly $1,250 in the first year alone, with more money left to compound over time. You don’t have to predict the market to recognize that difference. The Wells Fargo and Merrill customers needed a multistate investigation to recover excessive commissions. Your own plan’s fee disclosures can help you spot costs before they eat away at years of retirement savings.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Food companies have been struggling this year. Between inflation and the growing popularity of GLP-1 drugs, which are curbing appetites, companies such as Conagra and Campbell's haven't been doing particularly well. Both of those companies cut their dividend payments this year.

Top cereal maker General Mills(GIS -1.77%), however, has kept its dividend intact, at least for now. At 7.2%, it's one of the highest-yielding stocks in the S&P 500. But is it really safe?

Image source: Getty Images.

The company's sales were down last quarter, as were earningsGeneral Mills last reported earnings on Sept. 23, and that's a good place to start when looking at the safety of its payout, to get an idea of how it's been doing of late. For the quarter, which ended on Aug. 30, the company's net sales were down 3%, but that was due to its U.S. yogurt divestiture, and its organic sales were flat. While that's not awful, it's not terribly exciting, either.

A year ago, the food company got a boost from a gain on divestitures, but even after adjusting for that, its per-share profit this past quarter was $0.75, down from $0.86 in the prior-year period. At its current quarterly dividend rate of $0.61, its payout ratio is around 81%, which is a bit high but perhaps not unsustainable.

Cash flow can sometimes be a better indicator of a company's ability to pay dividends, as non-cash items such as depreciation and amortization can weigh down the bottom line. In the trailing 12 months, General Mills' free cash flow totaled $1.6 billion, which is higher than the $1.3 billion the business has paid in dividends over that period. It suggests there is a buffer there, but, as with earnings, it isn't a huge one.

$33.11-$0.60 (-1.77%)

NYSE · As of 2:20 PM ET 10/27/26

The dividend looks safe for now, but investors should watch it closelyFor now, I don't see a glaring reason why General Mills may cut its dividend in the near future. It's facing some challenges, but with the stock already down 45% over the past five years, news of a dividend cut may only cause its valuation to sink even further.

At the same time, however, investors shouldn't feel too comfortable with the business, as anytime a company is experiencing a decline in earnings and it's struggling to generate growth, there are valid reasons to be concerned about its dividend, as it may only be a matter of time before things get to a point where it needs to be reduced.

Although General Mills' dividend may look attractive for its high yield, a safer option may be to choose other dividend stocks with stronger financials.