Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Apple is preparing to expand its presence in the smart home market, with the company set to unveil a new range of devices at an event in New York City next week.

Apple has announced an event for October 13 titled "Welcome Home".

The event is expected to feature a new smart home hub with a screen, an updated HomePod mini, and a refreshed Apple TV set-top box, said a Bloomberg News report.

Apple could also introduce smart home products developed with LG Electronics, including a doorbell, cameras, a smart lock and a thermostat.

The expansion comes as Apple looks to revive its HomeKit smart home platform while using its Siri AI assistant to strengthen its ecosystem.

At the same time, analysts remain focused on the potential for artificial intelligence to drive device upgrades and services revenue.

Apple stock AAPL gained 0.75% on Thursday.

The products developed with LG will carry the South Korean company’s brand, with LG handling manufacturing and product support.

The lineup is expected to include the LG Video Doorbell Wired, Floodlight Cam, Outdoor Cam Plug-In, Indoor Cam Plug-In, Smart Deadbolt Lock, Smart Thermostat and Temperature Sensor.

The products are not expected to reach consumers for at least several months, as development has lagged behind Apple’s own devices.

LG has recently sought regulatory approvals for the products, including filings with the US Federal Communications Commission and UL Solutions.

The filings include product names, specifications, and other details, while LG has requested confidentiality for photographs and more precise information until early next year.

Many of the devices support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as Thread and Matter, smart home protocols used by Apple and other technology companies.

The smart lock also supports ultra-wideband technology, which can enable automatic unlocking when users approach a door.

The planned ecosystem would place Apple and LG in closer competition with established smart home offerings from Amazon’s Ring and Alphabet’s Google Nest.

Apple launched HomeKit in 2014, but the platform has gained less traction than competing smart home ecosystems from Amazon and Google.

The new devices are part of a broader effort to reboot Apple's smart home strategy.

Apple is also planning additional products, including a privacy-focused home monitoring device, a smart home hub with a screen attached to a robotic arm, and an in-home security monitoring service.

The company is expected to use Siri and AI as part of this strategy.

The push also comes as Apple explores ways to integrate AI across its broader product ecosystem.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said Apple's AI strategy could add about $75 per share to the company's valuation as AI helps drive device upgrades and increase services revenue.

“Apple is moving into a new stage of its ecosystem story,” Ives said, adding that AI could eventually account for more than 15% of Services revenue.

Ives has an Outperform rating on Apple with a $400 price target.

He expects the iPhone 18 upgrade cycle to support the company over the next several quarters, noting that about 375 million iPhones have not been upgraded in more than four years.

He also expects Apple's foldable iPhone Duo to generate additional demand, estimating sales of about 10 million units over the next few quarters.

Citi remains bullish ahead of Apple earningsCiti has also reiterated its Buy rating on Apple ahead of the company's earnings expected in early November.

The bank said investor attention this quarter is likely to centre on Services growth momentum, alongside continued weakness in App Store revenue and concerns about the potential impact of agentic AI.

Citi also pointed to gross margin pressure from higher memory costs, partly offset by higher average selling prices, as well as iPhone sales seasonality following the lack of a base-model launch this autumn.

The combination of the smart home expansion, AI strategy, and upcoming iPhone upgrade cycle gives investors several areas to watch as Apple approaches its next earnings report.

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, XETRA:FB2A, SIX:FB) could see revenue from agentic commerce delayed after Jefferies, the investment bank, found about one-third of websites blocked access by Muse, its artificial intelligence (AI) agent.

Agentic commerce means AI agents browse, book and buy online on a consumer's behalf, and Meta hopes to collect a take rate, a percentage of each transaction.

Jefferies tested Muse on several hundred leading US e-commerce, airline, online travel agency, hotel and reservation websites: about one-third blocked its access, one-third challenged or restricted it, and one-third were easy to navigate.

Jefferies said new restrictions were appearing almost daily across the sites it tested, making website access, rather than model quality, an increasingly important bottleneck for agentic commerce.

Meta has responded by establishing sanctioned connectors with merchants including Walmart, Best Buy, Wayfair, Sephora and Dick's Sporting Goods, although many integrations remain in the early stages of deployment or are not yet live.

Jefferies considers blocking agents by default the wrong call over the long term, since agentic commerce would broaden distribution for merchants, but expects the access friction to extend the timeline for meaningful take-rate revenue for Meta.

Alphabet, the parent of Google, gains a potential structural advantage because most enterprises are unwilling to block Googlebot, its web crawler, given the risk of losing search traffic, while rivals may have to negotiate access site by site.

Jefferies also sees an opportunity for customer support software vendors as persistent AI agents generate more inquiries, naming Salesforce, HubSpot and ServiceNow among public companies and Sierra and Decagon among private companies.

An advertising expert consulted by Jefferies this week said Meta's ad spend growth outpaced Google's in the third quarter and expects the outperformance to continue in the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2027.

The expert added that as AI agents handle more queries, advertisers will optimize for outcomes rather than clicks, a shift that Jefferies said could benefit Meta alongside the current hype around Muse.

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Amazon barred Meta's Muse from its website, citing concerns about access to and storage of customer data. Bloomberg/Getty Images Paul Graham says he thinks Amazon is opening itself up to competitors.

In a Wednesday night X thread, Graham, the cofounder of tech VC firm Y Combinator, criticized Amazon's recent decision to block consumer AI agents from its platform.

It's the "first opportunity I've seen since Amazon was founded for a startup to create an Amazon competitor," he wrote.

"People will want agents to buy stuff for them. It will be one of the main use cases. And they won't want to use some Amazon-supplied agent to do it."

Amazon banning agents is the first opportunity I've seen since Amazon was founded for a startup to create an Amazon competitor. People will want agents to buy stuff for them. It will be one of the main use cases. And they won't want to use some Amazon-supplied agent to do it.

— Paul Graham (@paulg) October 8, 2026 SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk reposted the thread with a one-word endorsement: "Seriously."

Graham's post comes as Amazon clashes with Muse, Meta's consumer-focused AI agent that can complete multi-step tasks, like making purchases.

Amazon banned Muse from its marketplace, saying the agent didn't identify itself when shopping and appeared to capture and store customer credentials.

Meta has said Muse itself cannot see users' passwords or payment methods. The company says credentials a user shares are stored securely in Muse's dedicated cloud computer, rather than visible to the agent.

Graham's theory is that Amazon wouldn't bother blocking agents if shoppers didn't want to use them — but blocking the agents could come at Amazon's peril, he warned.

"Your usage restrictions are my opportunity."

The post also comes as AI companies are moving deeper into the consumer agent arena. In late September, OpenAI launched Dots, its Muse-like competitor. Amazon has not publicly said if it has blocked Dots.

Not everyone agrees with Graham. Imran Khan, the founder of investment management firm Proem Asset Management, wrote that Amazon likely believes that more agents shopping on their platform risks increasing costly returns and "completely mess up their unit economics."

Amazon is hardly sitting on the sidelines of the consumer AI race. It has its own shopping assistant, Rufus, and a "Buy for Me" feature that buys products from some outside brands.

Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

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Ben Shimkus You're currently following this author! Click to unsubscribe from email alerts.

Ben Shimkus is a reporter for the Business News desk. He writes about cars, transportation, retail, and jobs. Ben's reporting has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Verge, Automotive News, USA Today, AutoBody News, LGBTQ Nation, TopSpeed, and Out Magazine. He's also held staff writing positions at The U.S. Sun and the Daily Mail. He graduated from NYU with a Master's in journalism in 2024. Email Ben at [email protected] or message him privately on Signal at bshimkus.41. 

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos introduced the Kindle Fire tablet in 2011. EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images Goodbye, Amazon Fire tablets. You lasted longer than the Fire Phone.

After 15 years, the e-commerce giant is discontinuing its Fire tablets and replacing the budget-friendly devices with a new line of pricier tablets that have its Alexa+ voice assistant built in.

An Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider that the company will continue to sell through its current inventory of Fire tablets, but is no longer manufacturing new units with that branding.

The new Amazon Alexa Tablets, which run on Google's Android operating system and come with access to the Google Play Store, are now available for purchase and will ship on October 14 in the US, Mexico, and Canada.

Amazon's new line of Alexa tablets.  Amazon Amazon's aluminum-cased Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, Alexa Tablet 11, and Alexa Tablet 8 run from $229.99 to $499.99.

"The Alexa Tablets are a new product line built for what's next — they don't change anything about the experience Fire tablet owners have today," the Amazon spokesperson said. "Fire tablets remain their own product — fully supported, with continued security updates. Customers who love their Fire tablets can keep using them."

It's not the first time Amazon has moved on from a Fire-branded device. Its Fire Phone was a high-profile flop that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos later called a "tiny little blip."

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Natalie Musumeci You're currently following this author! Click to unsubscribe from email alerts.

Natalie is a senior reporter on Business Insider's Business News team covering the AI and data center boom.She was previously on BI's Legal Affairs team, where she handled major cases coming out of state and federal court, as well as bankruptcy. Her coverage often focused on stories at the intersection of law, business, politics, and technology. Natalie has covered Donald Trump’s criminal and civil cases, the wave of lawsuits against the second Trump administration, the indictment and criminal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and the legal battles facing Elon Musk and his companies. Natalie came to Business Insider in June 2021 as a breaking news reporter, focusing on the most interesting angles on the day's trending news. Natalie largely drove BI’s coverage around the fatal “Rust” shooting involving Alec Baldwin and the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito.Prior to joining BI, Natalie worked for the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and The Brooklyn Paper. She has an extensive background covering crime and courts. During her more than 12-year journalism career, she did a stint covering the police beat out of the New York Police Department's headquarters. Natalie, a Brooklyn native, graduated from Brooklyn College in 2012 with a degree in journalism. 

Amazon Technology Alexa More Jeff Bezos

Key Takeaways Boeing's debt remains high as production delays, order cancellations and 777X setbacks weigh on execution.Boeing secured seven-year PAC-3 MSE and MH-139A contracts, boosting defense demand and production visibility.Boeing trades at a discounted P/S valuation, but poor ROIC and uneven cash generation remain concerns. The Boeing Company’s (BA - Free Report) shares have lost 10.6% in the past month compared with the Zacks Aerospace-Defense industry’s decline of 9%. BA continues to carry a significant debt burden despite ongoing efforts to reduce its leverage. While the company’s balance sheet is gradually improving, its high debt levels continue to absorb financial capacity that could otherwise support investments, growth initiatives or shareholder returns.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Shares of other defense stocks, such as Northrop Grumman (NOC - Free Report) and Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) , have lost 8.7% and 6.8%, respectively. Northrop Grumman is supported by strong backlog levels, higher defense spending and growing demand across strategic deterrence, missile defense, space and advanced aircraft. Similarly, Lockheed Martin benefits from a robust backlog, increasing munitions production and strong alignment with United States and allied defense priorities, providing a foundation for sustained growth.

Considering Boeing’s underperformance, investors may be wondering whether now is a good time to add the stock to their portfolios. Let’s examine the factors and assess the company’s investment prospects to make a more informed decision.

Key Headwinds Facing BA StockBoeing’s consolidated debt totaled $45.9 billion as of the end of the second quarter, down $1.3 billion sequentially and $8.2 billion year to date. Cash and marketable securities totaled $20.0 billion, while $10.0 billion of credit facilities remained undrawn. The balance sheet is improving, but debt still absorbs financial capacity that could otherwise support investment or shareholder returns. Boeing expects free cash flow of $1 billion to $3 billion in 2026, with a $700 million DOJ payment scheduled for the third quarter. Management remains committed to debt reduction and preserving its investment-grade rating. Until cash generation becomes more durable, leverage will remain an important constraint on financial flexibility.

The order book is growing, but slow production, delayed deliveries and ongoing inspections could be turning customers away from Boeing’s commercial aeroplanes, leading to recent order cancellations. Aircraft order cancellations during the six months ended June 30, 2026, totaled $2.78 billion and primarily relate to 737 aircraft. Additionally, the 777X program has suffered repeated postponements and significant cost overruns. The Boeing 777X program is running seven years late, with an expected entry-into-service date in 2027. These delays—driven by rigorous FAA scrutiny, design changes and part cracks—have resulted in significant cost overruns.

Factors Acting in Favor of BA StockOn Oct. 5, 2026, Boeing announced that it received a seven-year contract from Lockheed Martin to scale production and deliver PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (“MSE”) seekers. The award formalizes a previously announced seven-year framework and allows Boeing to triple PAC-3 MSE seeker production. The contract strengthens Boeing's Defense, Space & Security (BDS) business by providing greater visibility into long-term defense demand and supporting higher production volumes for a critical missile-defense component.

On Oct. 1, 2026, Boeing announced that it had received an order for the first four full-rate production MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters after the U.S. Air Force declared the program had reached initial operational capability earlier in the year. The award moves the Grey Wolf program into full-rate production and supports the Air Force’s plans to deploy the helicopter to protect critical national assets, including strategic missile fields. The new order brings the total number of MH-139A helicopters under contract to 42, with Boeing having already delivered 27.

Estimates for BA StockThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Boeing’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) indicates a year-over-year improvement of 91.45%.
 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The consensus estimate for Northrop Grumman’s 2026 EPS suggests year-over-year growth of 9.45%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Lockheed Martin’s 2026 EPS implies a year-over-year rise of 31.7%.

BA’s Earnings Surprise HistoryThe company beat on earnings in one of the trailing four quarters and missed in the other three, delivering an average negative surprise of 113.46%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

BA Stock’s Poor ROICThe image below shows that BA stock’s trailing 12-month return on invested capital (ROIC) not only lags the peer group’s average return but also reflects a negative figure. This suggests that the company's investments are not yielding sufficient returns to cover its expenses.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

BA Stock Trades at a DiscountIn terms of valuation, Boeing’s forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S) is 1.36X, a discount to the industry’s average of 2.11X. This suggests that investors will be paying a lower price than the company's expected sales growth compared with that of its peer group.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

What Should Be the Next Move?Boeing is making progress on debt reduction, but elevated leverage and uneven cash generation continue to constrain financial flexibility. Commercial-aircraft production delays, order cancellations and 777X setbacks remain key risks, while growing defense contracts provide a positive offset by strengthening demand and production visibility.

Considering current execution challenges, price performance and poor ROIC, it is advisable to avoid the stock at present. BA has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Curaleaf’s Higher Aurora Bid Raises the Stakes in Cannabis ConsolidationTilray Brands NASDAQ: TLRY reported record first-quarter revenue and gross profit, driven by its BrewDog acquisition, international cannabis growth and pharmaceutical distribution operations, while reaffirming fiscal 2027 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $68 million to $75 million.

Net revenue rose 23% year over year to $257.1 million, while gross profit increased 35% to $77.5 million. Consolidated gross margin expanded by about 300 basis points to 30%, CFO Carl Merton said during the company’s earnings call.

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The Cannabis Sector's Billion-Dollar Tax CutThe company reported a net loss of $40 million, compared with net income of $1.5 million in the prior-year quarter. Tilray said its adjusted net loss, excluding non-cash and non-recurring items, was $3 million, including roughly $5 million of net cash interest expense. Adjusted EBITDA was $9.2 million, down from $10.2 million a year earlier.

International cannabis grows as total cannabis revenue declines International cannabis revenue increased 21% to $16.2 million, supported by patient demand in Germany and contributions from U.K.-based patient access business Lyphe. Tilray said EMEA revenue, including medical cannabis, beverage and pharmaceutical distribution, rose more than 70% during the quarter.

The 2026 Cannabis Wildcard: How Tax Reform Could Reset Stock ValuationsTotal cannabis revenue, however, declined to $56.1 million from $64.5 million a year earlier. Merton said the company prioritized profitable international opportunities over lower-return volume. Tilray also redirected approximately one metric ton of inventory, representing $1.1 million of potential Canadian revenue, to international markets.

Cannabis gross margin rose to 39% from 36%, aided by operating efficiencies, product mix improvements in Canada and greater use of the company’s Portugal facility. Those gains partly offset $8.8 million in international cannabis price compression, according to Merton.

Management said its Portugal cultivation operation has reduced operating and cultivation costs by about 40% while improving strains and potency. Tilray expects the facility to produce more than 40 metric tons of flower at full capacity during fiscal 2027. Its Aphria RX operation in Germany is operating at full capacity, the company said.

Tilray said its CC Pharma distribution business offers access to more than 16,000 pharmacies and serves as a connector between pharmaceutical distribution, medical cannabis and patient access in Europe. Distribution revenue rose 14% to $84.3 million, while segment gross margin remained 11%.

BrewDog lifts beverage revenue and margins Beverage revenue increased 82% year over year to $101.5 million, including $55.9 million of incremental revenue from BrewDog. Beverage gross margin expanded by approximately 300 basis points to 41%.

Management said BrewDog became profitable in the first quarter after Tilray stabilized operations, reduced costs, renegotiated or avoided certain leases and moved away from unprofitable activities. The company also cited a favorable summer period for its retained bars and pubs, along with improving brand sales following new marketing campaigns.

“The budget for this year is profitability and some good profitability coming from BrewDog,” management said in response to an analyst question.

Tilray said BrewDog’s Punk IPA sales at its top six off-trade retailers were up 187% over the prior-year period in the two weeks following the rollout of its latest campaigns. BrewDog also added more than 9,000 distribution points for a new craft beer product and signed eight on-trade partnerships across entertainment, sports, pubs and hotels, according to the company.

In the U.S., Tilray said it continues to rationalize beer brands and SKUs, consolidate brewery operations and focus on priority channels, retailers and distributors. Management said the legacy U.S. craft beverage business would have posted a revenue decline excluding BrewDog because of those rationalization efforts.

The company cited Circana data for the 14 weeks ended Aug. 30 showing Tilray was the No. 2 craft vendor in Georgia and the West and No. 4 in New York state. It said SweetWater represented 12% of craft beer sales in Georgia.

Tilray also highlighted its multiyear agreement with Carlsberg Group. Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, Tilray expects to produce, market, sell and distribute Carlsberg Elephant 1664 and Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc throughout the United States. Management described the arrangement as a profit-sharing venture and said all Carlsberg products covered by the agreement would be produced in Tilray’s U.S. facilities.

Balance sheet and outlook Tilray ended the quarter with approximately $221 million in cash, restricted cash and marketable securities. The company retired $24 million of principal during the quarter and another $12 million after the quarter ended, leaving $52 million outstanding, Merton said.

The company raised a modest amount through its at-the-market program and had $70 million of remaining availability. Merton said BrewDog did not require cash injections during the quarter and was self-financing after an initial funding period tied to its payment cycle.

Wellness revenue was relatively stable at $15.3 million. Merton said segment margin pressure reflected a one-time shortage of organic hemp seed that affected the company’s e-commerce product mix.

Looking ahead, management said it expects fiscal-year results to be more heavily weighted toward the second half because of seasonality across beverage, cannabis and distribution. The company said its priorities include expanding cannabis margins through cultivation efficiencies and international scale, integrating BrewDog, optimizing its beverage manufacturing footprint, preparing for the Carlsberg transition and reducing debt and interest costs.

“Market conditions remain mixed across several categories,” Merton said, but he added that Tilray remains focused on “disciplined execution, profitable growth, and building a stronger global platform.”

About Tilray Brands (NASDAQ:TLRY)Tilray Brands, Inc is a global consumer packaged goods company focused on cannabis, beverage alcohol, wellness and consumer products. The company develops, produces, distributes and markets a range of cannabis products, including dried flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles and medical cannabis products, subject to applicable regulations in the markets it serves.

Tilray also operates beverage alcohol businesses, including craft beer, spirits and other alcoholic beverages. Its portfolio has included brands such as SweetWater Brewing Company, Montauk Brewing Company and Breckenridge Distillery.

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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Key Takeaways MMM's Safety and Industrial segment posted broad-based growth across key end markets in 2026.Industrial adhesives and tapes sales rose 13%, while personal safety sales increased 9.4% in Q2.Organic sales grew 8.2%, with new products and productivity gains supporting segment performance. 3M Company’s (MMM - Free Report) Safety and Industrial segment remains a key growth driver, supported by broad-based demand across its major end markets. The segment continues to benefit from strength in industrial adhesives and tapes, electrical, industrial specialties and personal safety end markets. In the second quarter of 2026, sales of industrial adhesives and tapes increased 13% year over year, while personal safety sales rose 9.4%. Electrical and industrial specialties also delivered solid growth, with sales advancing 12% and 10.9%, respectively, during the quarter.

Stable demand for electrical infrastructure products, including medium-voltage cable accessories and insulation tapes, further supported performance. New product launches, along with rising demand for industrial adhesives and electronics bonding solutions, also bode well for the segment. Organic sales increased 8.2% year over year in the second quarter of 2026. The operating income margin expanded year over year, supported by higher sales and productivity gains. However, the improvement was partly offset by tariff-related impacts and continued investments to support long-term growth.

Supported by strength across its businesses, 3M provided an upbeat outlook for 2026. The company expects total adjusted organic sales to increase more than 3.5% year over year, while adjusted earnings are projected to range between $8.80 and $8.95 per share. At the midpoint of $8.875, the earnings outlook represents an improvement from the $8.06 per share reported in 2025.

Segmental Performance of MMM’s Peers in Q2Among 3M’s major peers, Honeywell Technologies (HON - Free Report) is witnessing softness in the Process Automation and Technology segment. In second-quarter 2026, the segment’s organic revenues decreased 1% on a year-over-year basis. This decline was attributable to a 6% drop in organic sales in the aftermarket business owing to lower refining catalyst shipments and project delays. Also, reduced customer demand in the Middle East due to ongoing geopolitical tensions hurt Honeywell’s results.

Another peer of MMM, Carlisle Companies Incorporated (CSL - Free Report) , is experiencing strength in its Construction Materials segment. Revenues from Carlisle’s Construction Materials segment increased 7.8% year over year to $1.18 billion in the second quarter of 2026. Organic revenues rose 7.7%, driven by healthy re-roofing demand, strategic initiatives and strong commercial execution, partly offset by continued softness in commercial new construction.

The Zacks Rundown for MMMShares of 3M have gained 1.2% in the year-to-date period against the industry’s decline of 18.1%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, 3M is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84X, above the industry average of 14.39X. MMM carries a Value Score of C.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MMM’s earnings for 2026 and 2027 has increased 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively, in the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

MMM stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Strong equities trading must offset softer fixed income, higher expenses and a quieter investment portfolio. Summary

Goldman enters earnings with activity—but less room for weak deal execution.

Goldman Sachs GS, the global investment bank, approaches its October 13 earnings report with shares down approximately 0.52% to $882.60 at 10.44am EST on October 8. According to Reuters, elevated yields are putting deal activity and bank funding costs under scrutiny. For Goldman, the question is simple: How much of its deal pipeline will turn into fees?

Expenses add another hurdle. CEO David Solomon told investors that equities activity remained strong, while fixed-income, currency and commodity trading was softer. He also flagged a quieter investment-income contribution and a sequential increase of more than $500 million in non-compensation expenses, partly tied to technology spending and transaction costs. Strong stock trading helps. A bigger expense bill raises the bar for earnings.

The valuation snapshot puts the shares 5.53% above the $836.38 GF Value™ estimate, suggesting investors are still paying a modest premium despite the decline. That leaves Goldman with something to prove. Trading can support the quarter, but delayed underwriting fees and rising costs could squeeze margins. Investors should watch whether management offers concrete evidence that deals can close in the fourth quarter. A busy pipeline only pays shareholders when the fees arrive.

Disclosures I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

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PepsiCo NASDAQ: PEP isn't without hurdles, but it’s doing what long-term investors need: generating cash flow and returning capital to investors.

PepsiCo Today

$126.28 +2.55 (+2.06%)

As of 02:18 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

$123.47▼

$171.484.69%

16.66

$150.20

The opportunity in 2026 is an historically low valuation and price point, compounded by an historically high yield. While high bond yields have played a role in PepsiCo's stock price decline, investors should consider that bond yields won’t stay high forever, and PEP won't remain low.

The same money invested in 10-year bonds will yield a little more than 5% over time, but that’s it; PepsiCo’s stock price will increase over the next decade even while it pays its dividend.

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In this scenario, investors buying PEP in Q4 2026 can lock in an approximately 4.7% yield and an outlook for significant capital appreciation. At about 15x forward earnings, PEP stock trades at a 40% discount to historical norms, is deeply oversold, and is set up for a long-term price recovery. Recovering its premium alone puts the stock near existing highs; add in the growth outlook, and it's set up to hit fresh highs.

PepsiCo’s Diversified Business and Strategic Shifts Drive GrowthPepsiCo had a decent Q3, with revenue up 5.6% year over year (YOY) and above consensus. Growth was underpinned by a 3.1% organic increase, driven by volume and pricing. Acquisitions added another 1.7%, and the remainder was a foreign exchange-related tailwind.

Regionally, North America was the weakest, with PepsiCo Foods flat and Beverages up 5%. International was the bright spot, with International Beverages up 8%, and EMEA, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific Foods all growing by at least that much.

Margin news was mixed, but sufficient to keep buy-and-hold investors interested, given the low share price. Margin expanded at the headline, but was impacted by tariff refunds. Internally, core margins contracted, but less than expected, leaving the adjusted earnings per share (EPS) up by about 2%.

That EPS growth beat expectations by 5 cents, helping to offset the weak guidance. PepsiCo revised guidance, firmed the revenue target and trimmed earnings projections, which isn't typically good news. However, market responses suggest investors expected worse, making lower share prices unlikely.

Analysts and Institutions Limit PepsiCo’s Downside in Q4Analysts' responses to the release were muted, citing North American weakness and lowered profit targets. As it stands, the 20 analysts tracked by MarketBeat are strongly aligned in their consensus Hold rating; the data indicate a bullish bias, and price targets highlight deep value. While consensus suggests a 20% upside, PEP trades about 5% below even the lowest analyst price target.

Institutional activity aligns with the thesis that PepsiCo’s stock price is bottoming. Institutions own a solid 73% of the stock and have accumulated for nine consecutive quarters. More importantly, buying activity ramped up in Q3 as price action hit long-term lows and is likely to remain bullish because of the market disconnect. Retail traders are overreacting to the GLP-1 threat, ignoring the company's International strength, turnaround efforts, and strategic shifts to capture consumer habits.

Capital Returns Help Put the Floor in PepsiCo’s Share PricePepsiCo's capital returns are attractive, including a high dividend yield and share buybacks. Share buybacks aren’t aggressive, but reduce the count incrementally each quarter. Highlights from Q3 include a slight YOY reduction in buybacks, but this was tied to the share price, which enabled steady share count reduction at a lower cost. Looking ahead, PepsiCo is likely to continue reducing the count at the same pace while increasing its dividend distribution. The company is a Dividend King and unlikely to end its streak anytime soon.

Chart price action is yet another indicator that PepsiCo’s stock price is at a floor. Price action broke through critical support ahead of the release but is rebounding with favorable indicators. MACD reveals divergence from price, while Stochastic shows an incredibly oversold market.

The only thing missing is a strong catalyst, and there are several brewing. Turnaround efforts include a massive North American portfolio reset, with a 20% stock-keeping-unit (SKU) reduction that streamlines operations and improves shelf spacing, plus value pricing. The efforts are already showing traction, as shown by the sequential improvement in Q3 versus Q2.

PepsiCo’s risks are primarily external, including consumer habits, regulatory hurdles, and legal headwinds. Consumer habits are affecting North American business but have not yet triggered structural declines; turnaround efforts are underway. Regulatory hurdles and legal pushback are bigger issues, with local and national agencies targeting soda companies as unhealthy, and recalls hurting consumer awareness.

Should You Invest $1,000 in PepsiCo Right Now?Before you consider PepsiCo, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and PepsiCo wasn't on the list.

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Key Takeaways Pfizer's Tukysa combo won FDA approval for frontline maintenance in HER2-positive breast cancer.Tukysa reduced progression or death risk by 35.9%, with median PFS reaching 24.9 months.The approval expands Tukysa beyond second-line use, adding a chemotherapy-free maintenance option. Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) announced that the FDA has approved its marketed drug, Tukysa (tucatinib), in combination with Roche’s (RHHBY - Free Report) Herceptin (trastuzumab) and Perjeta (pertuzumab) for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer following induction treatment.

The latest approval expands Tukysa’s use into the frontline setting, providing a chemotherapy-free maintenance treatment option for patients following initial induction therapy. The approval was supported by data from the phase III HER2CLIMB-05 study.

Data from the study showed that treatment with Tukysa in combination with RHHBY’s Herceptin and Perjeta reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 35.9% versus placebo plus Herceptin and Perjeta.

The median progression-free survival was 24.9 months in the Tukysa arm compared with 16.3 months in the placebo arm, representing an 8.6-month improvement.

The safety profile of the Tukysa regimen was generally consistent with its known profile, although hepatotoxicity was more severe.

PFE’s Price PerformanceYear to date, shares of Pfizer have rallied 18.3% compared with the industry’s increase of 11.7%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The latest FDA nod expands the use of Tukysa beyond its existing second-line indication in HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. Pfizer noted that the drug is already an NCCN Category 1 second-line plus treatment for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer in the United States.

The December 2023 acquisition of Seagen strengthened Pfizer’s oncology portfolio by adding four antibody-drug conjugates or ADCs — Adcetris, Padcev, Tukysa and Tivdak.

PFE’s Strong Position in Oncology SpacePfizer is one of the world’s leading oncology drugmakers with a broad portfolio of marketed cancer therapies as well as a deep oncology pipeline.

The company’s oncology revenues grew 5% in the first half of 2026, driven by drugs like Xtandi, Lorbrena, the Braftovi-Mektovi combination and Padcev. Pfizer considers Padcev to be a potential growth driver in the oncology segment and plans to invest in this asset.

The company is also rebuilding its pipeline in oncology. A key candidate in its oncology pipeline is PF-08634404, a dual PD-1/VEGF inhibitor in-licensed from Chinese biotech 3SBio in 2025. Pfizer has initiated nine studies, including two pivotal phase III studies for PF-08634404 in first-line metastatic colorectal cancer and first-line NSCLC. Pfizer aims to establish PF-08634404 as a potential backbone therapy across multiple tumor types. By 2030, Pfizer expects to have eight or more blockbuster oncology medicines in its portfolio.

PFE’s Zacks Rank & Key PickPfizer currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

A top-ranked stock in the biotech sector is Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO - Free Report) , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Over the past 60 days, estimates for Inovio Pharmaceuticals’ 2026 loss per share have narrowed from 99 cents to 72 cents. During the same time, estimates for 2027 loss per share have narrowed from 46 cents to 44 cents. INO shares have lost 33.6% year to date.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals’ earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 69.05%.

Key Takeaways UnitedHealth's Q3 earnings are projected to surge 41.1%, despite an expected 1.6% revenue decline.Declining memberships and premiums may pressure results, while improved cost management offers relief.UNH trades below its historical valuation median, with restructuring supporting recovery prospects. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH - Free Report) is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 13, 2026, before the opening bell. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the to-be-reported quarter’s earnings is currently pegged at $4.12 per share on revenues of $111.38 billion. 

Third-quarter earnings estimates witnessed no movement over the past 60 days. The bottom-line projection indicates an improvement of 41.1% from the year-ago reported number. But the Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues suggests a year-over-year decline of 1.6%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

For the current year, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for UnitedHealth’s revenues is pegged at $446.78 billion, implying a decline of 0.2% year over year. However, the consensus mark for current-year earnings per share is pegged at $19.85, implying an improvement of 21.4% on a year-over-year basis.

UnitedHealth beat the consensus estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 12.1%. This is depicted in the figure below.

Q3 Earnings Whispers for UNHOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for the company 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. That’s not the case here.   

UNH currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% 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 UNH’s Q3 Results?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for premium revenues for the third quarter indicates a 3.3% year-over-year decline, whereas our model estimate suggests a nearly 5% fall. Reduced contributions from both the UnitedHealthcare division and Optum Health are expected to have led to the decrease.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UnitedHealthcare’s total domestic commercial customers suggests a 1.3% year-over-year decline, whereas our estimate implies a 2.7% slip. The consensus mark for Medicare Advantage members indicates an 11.4% year-over-year decrease, while we expect an 11.7% decline. The same for Medicaid memberships implies a 9.1% fall from the year-ago level. These are likely to have pushed total memberships in the domestic market down from the year-ago period. The consensus estimate implies around a 4.1% reduction year over year. These are likely to have affected its revenues in the third quarter.

Nevertheless, improved medical cost management is likely to have provided some relief to UNH’s medical care ratio in the third quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the metric is pegged at 90.1%, indicating a slight deterioration from 89.9% in the year-ago quarter.

As such, the consensus mark for UnitedHealthcare’s operating income signals a 26.8% year-over-year jump. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for operating income from the total Optum business segment suggests a 26.7% year-over-year increase.

UNH’s Price Performance & ValuationUnitedHealth's stock has gained 13.9% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s growth of 16.4%. Its peers, such as Humana Inc. (HUM - Free Report) and Molina Healthcare, Inc. (MOH - Free Report) , have jumped 54.8% and 12.3%, respectively, during this time. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has increased 14.7%.

YTD Price Performance – UNH, HUM, MOH, Industry & S&P 500 Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

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

UNH is trading at 17.15X forward 12-month earnings, below its five-year median of 19.05X, but above the industry’s average of 15.16X. In comparison, Humana and Molina Healthcare are currently trading at 28.44X and 22.31X, respectively.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

How Should You Play UNH Stock Now?UnitedHealth appears well-positioned for a gradual recovery, supported by improving medical-cost trends, strategic portfolio optimization and a more favorable Medicare Advantage reimbursement environment. Management’s efforts to exit underperforming markets and prioritize profitable operations should strengthen margins and support earnings growth. Optum’s diversified operations and transition toward a more transparent pharmacy benefit model provide additional opportunities for long-term expansion. Meanwhile, disciplined capital deployment and shareholder-friendly initiatives reinforce the company’s financial flexibility.

However, that decline in memberships and persistent high healthcare utilization warrant attention. The upcoming third-quarter results will be crucial in assessing whether recent operational improvements are sustainable. Moreover, the company's valuation remains below its historical median, despite trading above the industry average.

Improving profitability prospects and continued business restructuring support an encouraging long-term outlook. With earnings estimates indicating a recovery and the stock offering potential for further appreciation, investors may consider accumulating shares at current levels.

Campbell's just made its most painful dividend decision in over two decades, and the debt load behind it raises a bigger question about whether even the new, smaller payout can survive what's coming in 2027.

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Campbell’s (NASDAQ:CPB | CPB Price Prediction) cut its quarterly dividend 36% from $0.39 to $0.25 per share on September 3, 2026 to pay down debt faster. The new $1.00 annualized payout yields about 5.3%. The stock is down 35.08% over the past year. The real question is whether the smaller payout will hold.

Chief Executive Mick Beekhuizen addressed the cut directly on the earnings call:

“Reducing the dividend is obviously a difficult decision, but it’s an unfortunately necessary decision that we needed to take.”

Smaller Dividend Is Much Easier to Cover In fiscal 2026, Campbell’s generated $1.039 billion in operating cash flow and spent $361 million on capital expenditures, leaving about $678 million of free cash flow. Dividends took $470 million, or roughly 69% of it, leaving little for debt reduction.

At the new rate, the dividend costs about $298 million per year, roughly 44% of last year’s free cash flow. Management expects fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS of $1.65 to $1.80, so the dividend would take between 56% and 61% of earnings. In the fourth quarter, operating cash flow was only $200 million while capex was $291 million.

Acquisition Debt Forced the Cut Total debt reached $7.137 billion at fiscal year-end, up from $4.689 billion in fiscal 2023 before the Sovos (Rao’s) acquisition. Debt stands at about 4.4 times EBITDA of $1.62 billion. The company holds just $394 million in cash. Bills due within a year total $3.336 billion, more than the $2.72 billion of current assets. CFO Todd Cunfer said fiscal 2027 interest expense will rise about $25 million. A $500 million bond comes due in March, and a second La Regina payment is due May 4, 2027.

Snacks Are Shrinking While Soup Holds Up In the fourth quarter, Meals & Beverages increased organic sales 3% while Snacks fell 6% with operating earnings down 34%. Management expects fiscal 2027 organic sales to fall 4% to 2%. Campbell’s raised prices on about 60% of its portfolio and plans for elasticity of 1.5 times, expecting lower volume.

“We need to protect those margins. We need to take some unfortunate pricing activities to make the math work on our P&L.”

Other packaged food companies face similar pressure. General Mills (NYSE:GIS) yields 7.58% with trailing EPS of -$1.64. Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) yields 7.33% with trailing EPS of -$2.89 and cut its dividend in 2019. Both still pay yields above 7% while reporting GAAP losses. Campbell’s has adjusted its payout to match its finances.

Verdict: Safe at $0.25, but Don’t Count on Raises The new dividend is safe, using well under half of last year’s free cash flow. Raises are unlikely until debt goes down and everything settles. The quarterly payment reached $0.39 in January 2025, but that progress is gone. Watch adjusted EPS against the $1.65 bottom of guidance. Inflation at 5% to 6% and weakening Snacks could pressure earnings below that floor, threatening safety.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Key Takeaways AbbVie's Temab-A earns two FDA Breakthrough Therapy designations for CRC and NSCLC.Temab-A is being studied as a c-Met-directed ADC with a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor payload.AbbVie is also evaluating Temab-A in head and neck, pancreatic, ovarian and other cancers. AbbVie (ABBV - Free Report) announced that the FDA has granted two Breakthrough Therapy designations (BTDs) to its investigational next-generation antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), telisotuzumab adizutecan (Temab-A; ABBV-400), for two different types of cancer indications – colorectal cancer (CRC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

One BTD covers Temab-A in combination with bevacizumab for treating adults with refractory, metastatic CRC who were previously treated with fluoropyrimidine, irinotecan, oxaliplatin, anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody (mAb), and, if indicated, anti-EGFR mAb therapy.

The second BTD is for Temab-A as a monotherapy for treating adults with locally advanced or metastatic EGFR wild-type, c-Met protein-expressing, non-squamous NSCLC who previously received platinum-based chemotherapy and an anti-PD-(L)1 antibody therapy.

The two new designations from the FDA mark the first BTDs for Temab-A.

ABBV’s Price PerformanceYear to date, shares of AbbVie have rallied 21.6% compared with the industry’s increase of 11.7%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Both the above designations for Temab-A were based on data from the first-in-human M21-404 study. Temab-A is being evaluated as a c-Met-directed ADC with a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor payload across several advanced solid tumors, including CRC and NSCLC.

Besides CRC and NSCLC, AbbVie is evaluating Temab-A in other advanced solid tumors, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and ovarian cancer. The development program includes several phase III and phase II/III studies evaluating the drug as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapies.

Strong Pipeline Expands ABBV’s Growth OpportunitiesAbbVie boasts a robust pipeline. The company recently announced positive top-line data from the phase III CERVINO study on etentamig for treating third-line-plus multiple myeloma. The study met both its primary goals, showing that treatment with etentamig significantly improved the objective response rate and progression-free survival compared with standard available therapies.

AbbVie is strengthening its portfolio of oncology medicines with the addition of ADCs, which are being considered a disruptive innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. ADCs will allow better treatment of cancer by harnessing the targeting power of antibodies to deliver cytotoxic molecule drugs to tumors.

AbbVie expects pivotal data readouts for some other key pipeline candidates, including Temab-A in metastatic CRC and lutikizumab in hidradenitis suppurativa. The company is also developing ABBV-706, an ADC for treating relapsed/refractory small-cell lung cancer, as well as some other candidates that are in early-stage development.

ABBV’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderAbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the biotech sector are Actuate Therapeutics, Inc. (ACTU - Free Report) , Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY - Free Report) and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Over the past 60 days, estimates for Actuate Therapeutics’ 2026 loss per share have narrowed from 86 cents to 73 cents, while loss per share estimates for 2027 have declined from 78 cents to 59 cents during the same time. ACTU’s shares have plunged 88.2% year to date.

Actuate Therapeutics’ earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, while missing the same on the remaining occasion, with the average surprise being 8.21%.

Over the past 60 days, estimates for Bristol Myers’ 2026 earnings per share have risen from $6.81 to $6.91, while estimates for 2027 have increased from $6.42 to $6.46 during the same time. BMY’s shares have risen 15.6% year to date.

Bristol Myers’ earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 14.43%.

Over the past 60 days, estimates for CRISPR Therapeutics’ 2026 loss per share have narrowed from $4.53 to $4.47, while loss per share estimates for 2027 have declined from $3.63 to $3.61 during the same time. CRSP’s shares have lost 0.1% year to date.

CRISPR Therapeutics’ earnings beat estimates in two of the trailing four quarters, while missing the same on the remaining two occasions, with the average negative surprise being 1.38%.

There is a criticism of Palantir Technologies (PLTR +1.07%) that refuses to go away. For all the praise surrounding its artificial intelligence (AI) software, Palantir sends engineers directly into customer organizations to solve problems. On the surface, this sounds like consulting.

While there is some truth to that comparison, Palantir's forward deployed engineers work alongside customers rather than simply handing them a software toolkit and walking away. Focusing on this process misses what Palantir is actually selling -- and, more importantly for investors, the economics of the business.

If Palantir were really a consulting firm disguised as an AI company, its financial statements would eventually expose that. Instead, they're telling almost the exact opposite story.

Image source: Getty Images.

Palantir's engineers are not traditional consultants Palantir calls its sales approach forward deployed engineering. The idea is straightforward: engineers go directly into organizations, learn how those businesses operate, integrate Palantir's technology with their systems, and build data workflows around real-world problems.

Although this has consulting characteristics, there's an important difference. A traditional consulting firm like Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, or McKinsey, primarily monetize the time and expertise of its employees. Palantir's engineers are deploying the company's Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), a suite of software programs that can be used across an entire organization in different departments.

Palantir's AIP Bootcamps reinforce the business model. Prospective customers can demo AIP and work directly with Palantir to build use cases in a matter of hours or days. Once customers see how the software works against their own pain points, Palantir can expand the relationship quickly -- keeping customers sticky in the process.

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Palantir's financials look nothing like a consulting firm Palantir's second-quarter results were remarkable. Total revenue surged 93% year over year to $1.94 billion. U.S. commercial revenue accelerated 149% to $764 million, while U.S. government revenue climbed 90% to $809 million.

During the quarter, Palantir closed 220 deals worth at least $1 million, including 73 worth at least $10 million. Meanwhile, U.S. commercial remaining deal value (RDV) increased 124% to $6.24 billion.

Margins tell investors the most important part of the story. Palantir generated $1.2 billion in adjusted operating income, producing a jaw-dropping 62% adjusted operating margin. Adjusted free cash flow also reached $1.2 billion, representing a 63% margin. Those aren't the economics of a consulting company.

PLTR Operating Margin (TTM) data by YCharts

Consulting is inherently labor intensive, meaning it is low-margin. Palantir, by contrast, is demonstrating impressive operating leverage as revenue scales. Think of it this way: Palantir's software can be deployed across customers without expenses rising proportionately with sales.

What's even more encouraging is Palantir has multiple avenues for expansion. AIP and Foundry are penetrating commercial enterprises while Gotham is increasingly embedded across defense agencies and national security workloads. In addition, sovereign governments increasingly want AI capabilities and secure data infrastructure. This gives Palantir exposure to commercial AI, defense modernization, and sovereign technology spending all at once.

Palantir's valuation is another blemish Another argument against Palantir stock revolves around valuation. As of this writing (Oct. 5), Palantir trades at roughly $189 per share and commands a market capitalization around $453 billion. The stock boasts a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 78 and a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 160.

PLTR PS Ratio data by YCharts

Under conventional valuation frameworks, those multiples are difficult to justify. I see another side to the argument, though. A P/S ratio becomes considerably less informative when revenue is growing 93% year over year while operating margins simultaneously expand. Likewise, as the chart above illustrates, a P/E ratio can fall surprisingly quickly when earnings compound rapidly.

While this does not mean I'd buy into Palantir's momentum at any price, I do think the trends above should encourage investors to think more deeply about what the company's profitability profile could look like several years from now rather than simply looking at today's ratios and stopping there.

All told, Palantir's forward deployed engineers might make the company look like a consultancy, but its financial trajectory resembles an unusually scalable software business. This makes Palantir one of the most interesting long-term AI stocks.

I view Palantir as a stock to accumulate selectively rather than chasing after big rallies. By using dollar-cost averaging, investors can steadily build a position in Palantir at different price points over a long-term time horizon. This will give you the flexibility to build or trim your position as you see fit based on the company's growth over the next several years.

HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU – Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,492 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,784,000. Micron Technology comprises about 1.1% of HWG Holdings LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Micron Technology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,364,000. Castleark Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Micron Technology in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,709,000. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS raised its stake in shares of Micron Technology by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 3,544 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $4,091,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Micron Technology by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 48,520 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $56,006,000 after acquiring an additional 6,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC boosted its holdings in Micron Technology by 2,461.4% during the second quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 37,141 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $42,871,000 after buying an additional 35,691 shares in the last quarter. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Micron Technology Here are the key news stories impacting Micron Technology this week:

Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Micron to “Strong Buy.” The rating change reinforces the bullish view following Micron’s recent earnings beat and stronger-than-expected outlook. Micron Technology Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson raised its price target to $3,000 from $2,100 while maintaining a Buy rating. Analyst Gil Luria expects AI infrastructure spending to keep memory demand ahead of supply potentially through 2028, implying substantial long-term upside. Why Is Micron Stock Rising? Positive Sentiment: Micron’s record results continue to support the AI memory-supercycle thesis. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue reached $54.23 billion and adjusted EPS was $33.42, while first-quarter fiscal 2027 guidance calls for $37.15–$39.15 of EPS. More than 75% of expected fiscal 2027 shipments are reportedly committed, improving visibility and reducing reliance on spot memory prices. Micron’s Latest Earnings Reveal Why the AI Memory Supercycle Could Run for Years Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighting Samsung’s record profit and Micron’s long-term customer agreements suggest memory suppliers may enjoy stronger pricing power and less severe boom-bust cycles. Data-center SSDs, high-bandwidth memory and AI-agent workloads are expanding Micron’s growth opportunities. Why Micron Investors Should Pay Attention to Samsung’s Record Profit Neutral Sentiment: Micron agreed to pay Netlist $600 million for a five-year patent license and settlement, resolving litigation but creating a sizable cash expense. Micron Technology and Netlist Settle Patent Dispute Negative Sentiment: A Taiwan union representing Micron workers authorized a strike over bonus negotiations. No walkout was announced, but disruption at a major manufacturing hub could threaten production and raise costs. Micron’s Taoyuan Union Secures Authorization to Strike Negative Sentiment: Some analysts warn that slowing memory-price growth, potentially lower margins and Micron’s enormous prior rally leave the stock vulnerable if supply catches up with AI-driven demand. Investor Michael Burry’s reported longer-dated put positions add to the caution. Micron NAND Is Not One Market Anymore Insider Activity at Micron Technology In other news, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $968.90, for a total transaction of $38,756,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 264,503 shares in the company, valued at $256,276,956.70. The trade was a 13.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sumit Sadana sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.29, for a total value of $14,014,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 191,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,469,010.09. This trade represents a 7.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 95,879 shares of company stock valued at $90,939,466. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $2,100.00 to $3,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on Micron Technology from $1,600.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,400.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Monday, September 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $550.00 to $1,540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Micron Technology in a report on Thursday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,407.88.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MU

Micron Technology Stock Up 4.1% Shares of NASDAQ MU opened at $1,088.00 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $972.71 and its 200-day moving average is $836.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Micron Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $179.61 and a 1 year high of $1,255.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 2.22.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 30th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $33.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $31.77 by $1.65. The company had revenue of $54.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.33 billion. Micron Technology had a return on equity of 92.62% and a net margin of 63.80%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 379.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.03 EPS. Micron Technology has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 37.150-39.150 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 175.82 EPS for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 14th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 14th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio is 0.81%.

Micron Technology Profile (Free Report)

Micron Technology, Inc is a semiconductor company that develops and manufactures memory and storage solutions. Its product portfolio includes dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, three-dimensional XPoint-related technologies, solid-state drives, and high-bandwidth memory products designed for demanding computing applications.

The company serves customers across the data center, artificial intelligence, networking, automotive, industrial, mobile, consumer electronics, and embedded markets.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM – Get Free Report) CEO Che-Chia Wei acquired 144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $79.39 per share, with a total value of $11,432.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 18,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,451,249.20. This trade represents a 0.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Che-Chia Wei also recently made the following trade(s):

On Monday, September 7th, Che-Chia Wei acquired 149 shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $76.20 per share, for a total transaction of $11,353.80. On Friday, August 7th, Che-Chia Wei purchased 152 shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $73.31 per share, for a total transaction of $11,143.12. Shares of TSM opened at $472.64 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $431.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $412.62. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. has a 12 month low of $266.82 and a 12 month high of $487.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The semiconductor company reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $39.89 billion for the quarter. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 39.25% and a net margin of 50.31%. As a group, analysts predict that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 16.56 EPS for the current year. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be paid a $1.0854 dividend. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a negative change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.1136. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 10th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s payout ratio is 24.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have recently commented on TSM. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $430.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $524.89.

Read Our Latest Report on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Key Stories Impacting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Here are the key news stories impacting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing this week:

Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly sales beat expectations. TSMC reported third-quarter revenue of approximately NT$1.49 trillion ($46.7 billion), up 50% year over year and above the roughly NT$1.46 trillion consensus estimate. The result reinforces expectations that demand for advanced processors from Nvidia, AMD and other AI customers remains exceptionally strong. TSMC’s third-quarter revenue surges to record, beating market forecast Positive Sentiment: September revenue set another record. Monthly revenue rose 54.6% from a year earlier to NT$511.86 billion, extending TSMC’s record-sales streak and providing a favorable lead-in to its upcoming earnings outlook. TSMC September sales hit another record as AI boom rolls on Positive Sentiment: Broad insider buying adds a confidence signal. The CEO, CFO, COOs, VPs and senior vice presidents collectively purchased more than 1,400 shares in disclosed transactions on October 7, including a 144-share purchase by CEO Che-Chia Wei. The purchases are modest relative to TSMC’s market value but indicate continued internal confidence. SEC insider transaction filing Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting management’s detailed outlook. TSMC is expected to provide guidance on margins, capital spending, advanced-node production and AI demand at its October 15 earnings release. With TSM trading near its 52-week high and at a premium valuation, the forecast may matter more than the sales beat. Negative Sentiment: Musk ruled out TSMC operating his Terafab facility. TSMC may still potentially sublease space or contribute expertise, but Tesla and SpaceX plan to build and operate the Texas project themselves. This reduces the immediate strategic upside from a direct TSMC role. Elon Musk Rules Out Potential TSMC Role in Terafab Operations Institutional Investors Weigh In On Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. City Center Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 34.1% during the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 10,775 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,915,000 after buying an additional 2,739 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC grew its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 2,050.0% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 129 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC increased its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.4% in the third quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 10,098 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,607,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 0.3% during the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 6,313 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,880,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.51% of the company’s stock.

About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (Get Free Report)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM), commonly known as TSMC, is a Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer and the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry. Founded in 1987 by Morris Chang, the company pioneered the pure-play foundry model, producing chips designed by other companies rather than selling products under its own semiconductor brand.

TSMC manufactures a broad range of integrated circuits, including advanced logic chips used in high-performance computing, smartphones, automotive systems, communications equipment, and consumer electronics.

See Also Five stocks we like better than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Skydance Just Became a Media Giant—With an $80 Billion Debt Load Could Velo3D Be the Next Defense Buyout Target? Penguin Solutions Is Soaring as AI Memory Demand Explodes Alphabet’s Chart Is Coiling—and the Fundamentals May Be Ready to Back It Up

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PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO), a global technology leader that designs, develops, and supplies semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions, today announced it is set to present its latest innovations in scale-up, scale-out, and scale-across AI networking at the 2026 Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit. Running from October 12–15 in San Jose, Broadcom will feature Ethernet switches, NICs, PCIe components and integrated optics to power Open Rack Version 3 (ORV3) solutions for scaling AI infrastructure.

Featured innovations include Tomahawk® 6, Tomahawk Ultra, and Jericho 4 Ethernet switches, the Thor Ultra 800G and Thor 2 400G AI Ethernet NICs, and Broadcom's third-generation TH6-Davisson Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) — a portfolio built to meet the exponential bandwidth demands of frontier AI models as they grow in scale and complexity.

"Together, the OCP Community and Broadcom have a long history of driving computing at massive scale, and this year’s event theme—'Scaling Innovation for the AI Era'—underscores the growing importance of open collaboration. AI infrastructure demands are scaling faster than anything our industry has seen, and Ethernet is the foundation that makes that growth sustainable. With our industry-leading portfolio of networking solutions and new breakthroughs in integrated optics, Broadcom is giving AI labs, hyperscalers and cloud providers the bandwidth and power efficiency they need to scale-up, scale-out, and scale-across next-generation AI clusters,” said Charlie Kawwas, Ph. D., president, Semiconductor Solutions Group, Broadcom.

“The current pace of AI data center infrastructure development depends on an open ecosystem that can support rapid innovation. The OCP Foundation with its unique collaborative model, Chip-to-Grid vision, and large collaborative community is the perfect place to nurture open ecosystems for the rapidly evolving AI data center industry. Broadcom has been a longstanding contributor to OCP, and we appreciate the technologies and contributions they're bringing to this year's Summit that leverage the open collaborations of the OCP Community, from ORV3 rack-based designs to advances in ORW (wide) racks and new wide co-packaged optics, that reflect exactly the kind of collaboration our Community needs to solve the bandwidth and efficiency challenges facing AI data centers at scale,” said George Tchaparian, CEO, Open Compute Project Foundation.

At this year’s summit, Asad Khamisy, Ph. D., senior vice president and general manager, Broadcom’s Core Switching Group, will deliver a keynote titled “Scaling AI Infrastructure Through Open Innovation” on Monday, October 12, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time in the South Hall of the San Jose Convention Center (SJCC). His presentation will present Broadcom’s vision for scaling AI infrastructure, highlighting breakthroughs in open networking, optical interconnects, and modular rack designs for clusters of over 100,000 accelerators. Khamisy will also address challenges in building switch hardware for AI networks and share innovations that deliver greater bandwidth, reliability, and efficiency for distributed AI computing. To learn more about Khamisy’s upcoming keynote, click here to read his blog, "The Future of AI Infrastructure: Why Ethernet and Optical Connectivity Are Redefining Scale-up Networks."

Throughout the conference, Broadcom experts will address the critical technical challenges and breakthroughs in building next-generation AI infrastructure. Featured speaking sessions include:

224G AECs for AI Data Centers: Extending Reach, Enhancing Telemetry, and Redefining Copper Connectivity, Rajesh Annapillai, Broadcom, and Clay Miller, Molex, Monday October 12, 12:00pm-12:20pm | SJCC - Concourse Level - 210AE.Designing the Next AI Fabric: When Compute Meets Optics, Manish Mehta, Broadcom, Tareq Bustami, Celestica, and Binbin Guan, OpenAI, Monday, October 12, 1:15pm-1:35pm | SJCC - Concourse Level - 210CG.Current Activities in the Open Cluster Designs for AI Strategic Initiative, Lowell Lamb, Broadcom, and Loren Staley, Celestica, Tuesday, October 13, 1:25pm-1:40pm | SJCC - Concourse Level - 220B.Using SPDM for PLDM Firmware Updates: Authorization Policy and Measurement Manifest Capabilities, Brett Henning, Broadcom, Patrick Caporale, Lenovo, and Scott Phuong, Microsoft, Tuesday, October 13,4:00pm-4:20pm| SJCC - Lower Level - LL21BC.Enabling AI Networking @ Scale with Multi-path Reliable Connections (MRC), Eric Spada, Broadcom, and Guohan Lu, OpenAI, Wednesday October 14, 9:45am - 10:05am | SJCC - Concourse Level - 220B.Network Configurations for Optical AI Fabrics including MRC and SRv6, Mohammad Hanif, Broadcom, and Arihant Jain, Arista Networks, Wednesday, October 14, 10:10am-10:30am | SJCC - Concourse Level - 220B.SUE-T - An Ethernet transport for Scale-Up Networking, Karen Schramm, Broadcom, and Tom Emmons, Arista Networks, Wednesday, October 14, 1:00pm-1:15pm | SJCC - Concourse Level - 220B.CPO, OCI (OCP Special Focus: Photonics), Rajiv Pancholy, Broadcom, Wednesday, October 14, 3:15pm-3:30pm | SJCC - Concourse Level - 210AE.Standards and Future Technologies (OCP Special Focus: Photonics), Rajiv Pancholy, Broadcom, Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity, Rang-Chen Yu, TeraHop, Andy Bechtolsheim, Arista Networks, Vlad Kozlov, Lightcounting (Moderator), Wednesday, October 14, 4:40pm-5:00pm| SJCC - Concourse Level - 210AE.Deep Buffers: The Essential Foundation for Scalable AI Training and Inference Infrastructure, Golan Schuzkin, Broadcom, and Hugh Holbrook, Arista Networks, Thursday, October 15, 12:30pm-12:45pm| SJCC - Concourse Level - 210AE.Precision Time for AI Infrastructure: Deploying PTP Boundary Clocks at Scale, Bhaskar Chinni, Broadcom, and Vikram Chandra, Nokia, Thursday, October 15, 12:50pm-1:05pm | SJCC - Lower Level - LL21BC.
At OCP, Broadcom will partner with 15 plus companies to showcase its latest solutions across the show floor, underscoring its leadership in shaping the future of AI infrastructure. Key partner demos on the show floor include:

Accton/Edgecore Networks will feature Tomahawk 6 demos, Expo Hall 3, Booth D1.Alpha Networks will showcase live demos with their Tomahawk 6 liquid cooled solution, Expo Hall 3, Booth D9.Celestica will display Tomahawk 6-Davisson 102.4T CPO and Tomahawk 6 demos, Expo Hall 2, Booth C2.Delta Electronics will showcase Tomahawk 6-Davisson 102.4T CPO, Expo Hall 3, Booth D5.Micas Networks will showcase Tomahawk 6-Davisson 102.4T CPO, Expo Hall 3, Booth E5.
To learn more about these and other technical speaking sessions, joint partner demonstrations, technology showcases, key Broadcom news, and other activities at 2026 OCP Global Summit, please click here.

About Broadcom
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is a technology leader that designs, develops, and supplies semiconductors and infrastructure software for global organizations’ complex, mission-critical needs. Broadcom combines long-term R&D investment with superb execution to deliver the best technology, at scale. Broadcom is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.

Broadcom, the pulse logo, and Connecting Everything are among the trademarks of Broadcom. The term "Broadcom" refers to Broadcom Inc., and/or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Press Contact:
Jon Piazza
Corporate Communications
[email protected]
Telephone: +1 310 498 5254

Unit 42's annual subscription combines frontier models and human testing, but revenue and renewal data remain undisclosed. Summary

Palo Alto is productizing continuous attack simulation before revealing its economics.

Palo Alto Networks PANW, the AI-cybersecurity platform provider, launched a subscription service for continuous security testing on September 22, with shares trading around $408.28, up approximately 0.7%, at 10:59 a.m. ET on October 8. Unit 42 Continuous Frontier AI Defense combines specialized models from Anthropic and OpenAI with security experts to uncover weaknesses and help customers fix them. The pitch is straightforward: keep hunting for openings before attackers find them.

The commercial opportunity starts with repeat business. Palo Alto offers the service worldwide through annual subscriptions, although the announcement gives no pricing. The company says it spent $17 million developing and validating the approach over six months, including more than 100 customer engagements. Its assessments uncovered exposures at every customer tested, with 37% of those exposures rated high or critical. That supports the need for testing. It does not yet establish how profitable the service will be.

The valuation picture leaves little room for weak execution: shares sit 74.02% above the displayed GF Value estimate of $234.62. Turning occasional consulting assignments into ongoing subscriptions could build a steadier revenue stream. But the economics hinge on how much expert labor each account requires. Investors should watch customer adoption, renewals and service margins. Finding more vulnerabilities makes a compelling sales pitch; fixing them efficiently is what could turn that pitch into durable earnings.

Disclosures I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.

Click for the complete disclosure

If you are looking for a stock that has a solid history of beating earnings estimates and is in a good position to maintain the trend in its next quarterly report, you should consider Fidelity National Information Services (FIS - Free Report) . This company, which is in the Zacks Financial Transaction Services industry, shows potential for another earnings beat.

When looking at the last two reports, this banking and payment technologies company has recorded a strong streak of surpassing earnings estimates. The company has topped estimates by 3.47%, on average, in the last two quarters.

For the last reported quarter, Fidelity National came out with earnings of $1.48 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.47 per share, representing a surprise of 0.68%. For the previous quarter, the company was expected to post earnings of $1.28 per share and it actually produced earnings of $1.36 per share, delivering a surprise of 6.25%.

Price and EPS Surprise

For Fidelity National, estimates have been trending higher, thanks in part to this earnings surprise history. And when you look at the stock's positive Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction), it's a great indicator of a future earnings beat, especially when combined with its solid Zacks Rank.

Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Fidelity National currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.77%, which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock's Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner.

When the Earnings ESP comes up negative, investors should note that this will reduce the predictive power of the metric. But, a negative value is not indicative of a stock's earnings miss.

Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, but that may not be the sole basis for their stocks moving higher. On the other hand, some stocks may hold their ground even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.

Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Key Takeaways SLB adds Chevron to Arena, broadening operator-backed development of digital subsurface technologies.Chevron contributes investment, intellectual property and expertise in uncertainty analysis & field planning.Arena deepens SLB's exposure to AI-enabled workflows and digital technology needs across upstream operations. SLB N.V. (SLB - Free Report) has expanded its long-term digital subsurface collaboration with TotalEnergies SE (TTE - Free Report) by adding Chevron Technical Center, a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (Chevron), as the second global operator in the initiative. The move broadens SLB’s operator-backed development model for next-generation reservoir engineering and geoscience technologies, and strengthens the investment appeal for its growing digital business.

A Broader Digital Collaboration of SLBSLB and TotalEnergies established the collaboration known as Arena in 2024. Chevron will contribute investment, intellectual property and technical expertise while adding capabilities in uncertainty analysis, optimization and field development planning.

For SLB, the addition of Chevron brings another major operator directly into the technology-development process, expanding the practical input used to shape scalable digital subsurface tools.

SLB’s AI & Subsurface WorkflowsArena focuses on improving decisions across reservoir engineering and geoscience as operators handle more complex reservoirs and larger volumes of subsurface data. SLB plans to combine its digital and subsurface expertise with technical input from TotalEnergies and Chevron.

Embedded experts from Chevron and TTE at SLB technology centers are designed to shorten feedback cycles and bring operational requirements directly into product development.

Investment Relevance for SLBArena reinforces SLB’s strategy of moving beyond traditional oilfield services toward higher-value digital solutions. Chevron’s participation adds credibility to the collaboration and demonstrates continued industry demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled workflows, data-driven reservoir analysis and faster field-development decisions.

The model gives SLB deeper exposure to recurring technology needs across the upstream value chain rather than relying solely on activity-driven service revenues.

SLB’s Long-Term Digital UpsideSLB, Chevron and TotalEnergies have already collaborated on the Intersect reservoir simulator, providing a foundation for the latest effort. Arena extends that relationship into a broader digital framework focused on open and extensible technologies.

For SLB investors, the collaboration strengthens the company’s technology positioning, expands engagement with major operators and supports the long-term growth of its digital portfolio.

SLB’s & TTE’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksSLB and TotalEnergies currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each.

The broader investment backdrop remains constructive for oilfield equipment and service providers, as elevated crude prices support upstream spending by major producers and integrated energy companies.

With West Texas Intermediate crude trading around $90 per barrel, according to Oilprice.com, companies such as TotalEnergies, Chevron Corporation (CVX - Free Report) and Equinor ASA (EQNR - Free Report) have greater flexibility to sustain drilling, field development and production-enhancement programs, which supports demand for SLB’s services and digital solutions.

CVX & EQNR currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

Chevron operates in the Permian Basin, Gulf of America, Bakken, DJ Basin, Kazakhstan and Australia, while its second-quarter 2026 results highlighted record U.S. production of nearly 2.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. CVX stands to benefit from its Hess Midstream agreements, which are expected to reduce Bakken unit midstream costs by roughly 50%, improve earnings and enhance return on capital employed.

Equinor maintained solid exploration momentum in the second quarter of 2026, with appraisal activity confirming previously announced commercial discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The company plans to allocate nearly 90% of its capital spending to oil and gas while targeting production growth through 2030, a strategy that supports sustained demand for drilling, subsea and reservoir services. EQNR is also expanding its exploration footprint through an agreement to acquire a 17.4% interest in Chevron-operated PEL 90 in Namibia’s Orange Basin, strengthening its upstream growth pipeline.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. & FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., Oct. 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- eXp Realty®, the most agent-centric™ real estate brokerage on the planet and the core subsidiary of AGNT, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGNT), and Newrez, a leading homeownership company and one of the nation’s five largest nonbank mortgage lenders and primary mortgage servicers, today unveiled Revenos Mortgage, powered by Newrez, a new mortgage joint venture designed to serve eXp Realty agents and their clients. Announced at eXpcon in Salt Lake City, the joint venture brings together eXp’s national brokerage scale and agent network with Newrez’s mortgage expertise and servicing capabilities.

“What matters most in a real estate transaction is the agent-client relationship, and Revenos Mortgage is being built around that,” said Leo Pareja, CEO of eXp Realty. “eXp has always bet on creating infrastructure that gives our agents an edge no other brokerage can match. Revenos Mortgage is the next piece of that vision. Bringing Newrez’s lending support and technology, as a top originator and servicer in the country, into our ecosystem is how we build the connected future of real estate, finance, and technology, together.”

“Revenos Mortgage represents the next evolution of our local market strategy,” said Baron Silverstein, President of Newrez. “By combining eXp’s trusted local market expertise and Newrez's scaled mortgage platform, including a broad range of lending solutions, technology, and servicing capabilities, we can better support buyers throughout the homeownership journey. Together, we can provide value at every step and remain a trusted resource for homeowners long after the initial transaction is complete.”

Bringing Newrez’s mortgage and eXp’s real estate expertise together, the new joint venture, Revenos Mortgage, aims to create a more seamless homebuying experience from application through closing and beyond. This exciting partnership gives agents the products, expertise, and tools to support their clients, connecting them with financing and providing reliable, ongoing service as their needs evolve throughout the life of the loan.

eXp Realty and Newrez are working to integrate their platforms ahead of the planned launch of Revenos Mortgage in early 2027. Additional details will be shared in the coming months.

About AGNT, Inc.
Built by Agents. Built for Agents. AGNT, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGNT) is the global parent company of eXp Realty®, the most agent-centric™ real estate brokerage on the planet, NextHome, Inc., an award-winning national real estate franchise, FrameVR.io, a virtual collaboration platform, and SUCCESS® Enterprises, a leading personal development and media brand for entrepreneurs. Together, the AGNT platform provides a world-class multi-model operating system empowering independent agents, franchise owners, and team leaders across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and South Africa. As a publicly traded company, AGNT prioritizes transparency, innovation, and long-term value for agents, franchise owners, staff, and shareholders.

About Newrez
Newrez LLC (“Newrez”), a Rithm Capital Corp. (NYSE: RITM) company, is a top five nonbank mortgage lender and primary mortgage servicer, according to Inside Mortgage Finance®, dedicated to providing a customer-first experience throughout the homeownership journey. Newrez offers industry-leading servicing capabilities, delivering for homeowner customers from the Newrez portfolio and those of its third-party customers, as well as a robust origination model with presence in the wholesale, correspondent, consumer direct, and joint venture verticals. Newrez's mission is “to do everything possible to make home happen” through a wide array of products and services. Newrez was established in 2008 and is headquartered in Fort Washington, PA. To learn more about Newrez, visit www.newrez.com.

Safe Harbor and Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements made on behalf of AGNT, Inc. (“AGNT”) and Rithm Capital Corp. (“RITM”). Statements attributed to AGNT and its subsidiary, eXp Realty, LLC, reflect AGNT’s and its management’s current expectations, and statements attributed to RITM and its subsidiary Newrez LLC reflect RITM’s and its management’s current expectations; in each case, these statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated scope, timing, and benefits of the partnership between eXp Realty and Newrez, including the broader lending and technology relationship described above; eXp Realty’s market position, agent and team performance, and ability to attract and retain top-producing agents in competitive housing markets; and Newrez’s mortgage origination and servicing business and its ability to support the partnership as anticipated. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in forward-looking statements include the parties’ ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the partnership on the timeline or in the manner anticipated, or at all; the ability to finalize the broader lending and technology relationship; real estate and mortgage market fluctuations, including changes in interest rates; changes in agent retention or recruitment, regulatory changes, and other risks detailed in AGNT’s and RITM’s respective filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to each company’s most recently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K. Neither AGNT nor RITM undertakes any obligation to update these statements except as required by law.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2d6ec81d-d6e3-4304-b909-4cc6dbb8573b

Dell's AI customer list is exploding and its backlog dwarfs what Wall Street expects, yet analysts have barely moved their price targets. Here is what the numbers actually suggest about where this stock could go by 2027.

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Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL | DELL Price Prediction) has turned into one of the market’s biggest AI winners, but it still gets less attention than the chipmakers. Shares are up 348.53% year-to-date and 1,048.21% over five years. The driver is a customer base that keeps getting wider.

Dell’s AI infrastructure list passed 6,500 customers, and 3,300 of them signed on in the last three quarters. On Dell’s September 1 earnings call, Jeff Clarke said “IT environments have shifted from cost centers to value drivers that fuel growth and competitive advantage, and customers are investing accordingly.”

So what would it take for Dell to reach $800 by 2027?

Wall Street’s Price Targets Lag Behind Rapidly Rising Estimates The average analyst target is $583.96. That’s only 4% above today’s $559.42. Still, analysts like the stock: 19 rate it a Buy or Strong Buy and none rate it a Sell.

Earnings estimates have rose faster than targets: ninety days ago, analysts expected $18.3732 in fiscal 2027 EPS. Today the figure is $25.8976, a 41% increase. In the last 30 days there were 22 upward revisions and zero cuts.

Management now guides to $192 billion in revenue (up 69%) and $25.50 in non-GAAP EPS (up 148%). Dell has also beaten EPS estimates in five straight quarters, so actual results may land above forecasts again.

Here’s What It Takes for Dell to Reach $800 Dell currently trades at 22x fiscal 2027 estimates. At $800, that multiple would rise to 31x. Against fiscal 2028’s $24.6637 consensus, it would be 32x.

That fiscal 2028 average is pulled down by one outlier estimate of $9.67, while the high estimate is $30.19. A low-30s multiple is a premium, but it’s justified for a company more than doubling its earnings.

The case for Dell reaching $800.

Backlog visibility: Dell booked $60.9 billion in AI orders last quarter and ended it with a $95 billion backlog. Management says the pipeline is still multiples of backlog. Server refresh: Traditional servers and networking grew 122%, and Dell gained more than 10 points of share over two quarters. Its new 18G server can replace 12 to 14 older machines. Storage margins: Storage revenue rose 26%. More of that mix is Dell’s own IP, which has higher margins. Buybacks: Dell returned a record $4.3 billion to shareholders in the quarter. Long runway: Management estimates the AI opportunity could top $1 trillion by 2030. The main challenge is supply: management said demand is running ahead of supply, with DRAM and NAND shortages limiting how much it can ship. A falling market would also make $800 harder to reach.

Dell’s History Says $800 Is Within Reach Getting to $800 requires a 43% gain. Since 2020, Dell has topped that bar in three full calendar years: 51% in 2021, 96% in 2023 and 53% in 2024.

That’s before counting 2026’s run so far. The stock is volatile, though. It fell 27% in 2022 and has a beta of 1.409.

$800 Is a Stretch, but Dell Has the Backlog to Get There Reaching $800 would take a 43% move. Estimates are rose quickly, Dell keeps beating them, and a $95 billion backlog gives unusual visibility.

Should supply improve and servers and storage keep growing, the multiple has room to expand. Dell is one of the best examples of an AI winner that isn’t a chipmaker, and we rounded up seven more infrastructure names riding the same expansion in a free report here. Returns at this level are rare, but this is how Dell could deliver outsized gains in 2027.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Artificial intelligence (AI) hyperscaling has hit a physical wall. Tech conglomerates spent the past two years securing semiconductor chips, but powering those processors requires electricity levels the current grid cannot supply.

Black Hills Today

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$59.91▼

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Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL recently signaled a solution, executing a definitive agreement to directly finance a natural gas and microgrid expansion with Black Hills Corp NYSE: BKH in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Alphabet's decision to directly finance the $1.8 billion, 564-megawatt power facility permanently alters Black Hills' valuation matrix. Black Hills has shifted from a steady-state regional power provider to a high-free-cash-flow, critical-infrastructure play on the AI revolution. Investors tracking AI infrastructure might want to look beyond chips and fiber optics, as utilities are fast becoming premium tech assets.

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Alphabet Bypasses the Grid for Dedicated PowerTech conglomerates are digesting heavy infrastructure bills, with Alphabet recently revising its 2026 capital expenditure guidance upward to about $195 billion to $205 billion. A significant portion of that capital is earmarked for data centers, which require constant, uninterrupted baseload energy. Traditional grid procurement is too slow, heavily regulated, and fragmented to meet AI's aggressive timelines.

To address this bottleneck, Alphabet bypassed standard centralized grid queues and partnered directly with Black Hills to establish a dedicated power ecosystem. The deal commits Black Hills to a $1.8 billion capital expenditure to construct 564 megawatts of company-owned natural gas generation by approximately 2029. Alongside the grid-connected service, Black Hills will manage a 2.1-gigawatt microgrid composed of third-party contracted resources located in Wyoming.

This localized, privately managed microgrid structure allows Alphabet to scale its Cheyenne data center operations rapidly while keeping the energy source geographically ring-fenced. By paying Black Hills a contractually defined microgrid management fee, Alphabet effectively turns the regional utility into a high-margin energy coordinator. For investors, this shift indicates that the real bottleneck for technology growth is no longer software or processing power, but localized energy generation.

Locking in Returns: The Economics of Tech Power DealsThe financial mechanics of the Cheyenne agreement provide Black Hills with decades of revenue visibility, changing how analysts model the utility provider's long-term earnings trajectory. The company is projected to generate about $150 million in net income by 2030. It is expected to deliver approximately $2.4 billion in unlevered free cash flow through the contract's expiration in 2048.

Historically, the market is skeptical of utilities when they undertake billion-dollar capital projects due to debt burdens and execution risks. Alphabet largely neutralized these risks by providing $399 million in refundable advances for long-lead equipment procurement. This upfront capital injection de-risks the early construction phase, lowers near-term financing costs, and helps Black Hills preserve its investment-grade credit rating.

The Generation Facilities Agreement embeds strict regulatory safeguards. A primary fear for utility investors is stranded asset risk: the possibility that a data center project is abandoned, leaving the utility provider with an expensive facility and no buyer for the power.

The contract structure guarantees full recovery of all generation capital investment over the term, placing the stranded asset risk on Alphabet. By passing inflation and interest-rate volatility directly to the technology giant, Black Hills ensures existing retail customers face no cost-shifting while utility shareholders enjoy insulated returns.

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Before the Alphabet deal finalized, Black Hills demonstrated the strength of its fundamentals in its second-quarter report. The company posted earnings per share of 54 cents, beating the 41-cent consensus estimate, along with a 3.1% year-over-year revenue expansion. The new power agreement layers a multi-decade growth catalyst on top of an already stable operational baseline.

Black Hills offers a 3.7% dividend yield. Because the Alphabet contract protects Black Hills from traditional operational cost pressures, this dividend is highly insulated. The yield functions similarly to a secured corporate bond, but it now carries the equity upside of a tech-adjacent growth stock.

Institutional positioning indicates the market is actively repricing Black Hills to reflect this new reality. Before the public announcement, Bank of America raised its price target on Black Hills to $97 from $87. Currently trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 17.5, Black Hills is absorbing a multiple expansion that bridges the gap between a traditional utility and a critical technology partner.

Re-Rating the Sector: When Utilities Become Tech TargetsThe Black Hills agreement provides a definitive blueprint for how cloud providers will solve localized energy crises moving forward. Cloud backlogs are estimated in the hundreds of billions across the technology sector, and the electricity needed to clear that backlog does not exist on the public grid today. Regulated utilities with excess capacity, or regulatory frameworks that can rapidly approve capacity expansions, operate as high-yield extensions of the data center ecosystem.

This dynamic makes mid-cap regional utilities prime targets for joint ventures, direct financing agreements, or outright acquisitions. Companies situated near major fiber routes and possessing localized natural gas or nuclear assets have newfound pricing power against the world's largest tech conglomerates. Hyperscalers are signaling a willingness to pay premium rates and front capital costs to ensure their facilities can power on.

Investors tracking the data center build-out may want to examine regional utilities using this lens. As technology companies lock in gigawatt-scale power agreements, utilities that can bypass grid congestion to deliver dedicated energy solutions will likely see sustained institutional interest and structural re-ratings.

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Key Takeaways Best Buy Ads targets 10% collections growth in fiscal 2027, supported by customer reach and insights.BBY raised its Marketplace GMV outlook to $1.3 billion after stronger-than-expected second-quarter results.Ads and Marketplace growth helped lift domestic gross margin 60 basis points to 24%, alongside tariff refunds. Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY - Free Report) is strengthening its retail model by expanding the advertising and Marketplace businesses. Best Buy Ads draws on customer reach and insights, while Marketplace broadens product selection and attracts new sellers. Together, these initiatives create additional profit streams, support investments in customer experience and reinforce the company’s position as an omnichannel technology retailer.

Best Buy Ads collections are on track to grow 10% in fiscal 2027, building on $900 million last year. This momentum supports management’s strategy to advance Best Buy as a retail media, advertising and technology company. Its customer relationships and growing reach provide a foundation for connecting brands and advertising partners with shoppers.

Marketplace is delivering stronger-than-anticipated results. Domestic gross merchandise value reached approximately $300 million in the second quarter, prompting management to raise its full-year forecast to $1.3 billion. Customer ratings and return rates are in line with the first-party business. Plans to add international sellers create another expansion opportunity, opening the platform beyond sellers with a U.S. physical presence.

These businesses are contributing to margin improvement. Domestic gross profit rate rose 60 basis points year over year to 24%, with Ads and Marketplace growth among the key drivers, alongside approximately $34 million in tariff refunds. Management expects annual gross profit rate expansion of 30-40 basis points, primarily supported by continued growth in both initiatives.

The stronger Marketplace outlook has also slightly improved management’s expectations for the combined operating income contribution from Ads and Marketplace. Alongside broader business momentum, Best Buy raised its fiscal 2027 adjusted operating income rate guidance to 4.4-4.5%. Expanding seller participation, sustained advertising growth and a wider assortment position these businesses to become increasingly meaningful profit contributors while supporting investment in the core retail experience.

BBY’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesOver the past six months, Best Buy stock has risen 31% as compared with the industry’s 29.6% growth.

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From a valuation standpoint, BBY trades at a trailing price-to-sales ratio of 0.43, slightly above the industry’s average of 0.42. It has a Value Score of A. 

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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Best Buy’s current and next financial years’ earnings implies year-over-year growth of 6.1% and 7%, respectively. Earnings estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have been revised upward by 3 cents and remained unchanged, respectively, over the past 30 days.

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BBY’s Zacks Rank & Other Key PicksBest Buy currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

We have highlighted three other top-ranked stocks in the retail space, namely Ross Stores Inc. (ROST - Free Report) , Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) and Dollar Tree (DLTR - Free Report) .

Ross Stores operates as an off-price retailer of apparel and home accessories. The company also holds a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ross Stores’ current fiscal-year earnings and sales indicates growth of 32.7% and 12.8%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. ROST delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 11.2%.

Target Corporation offers guests fashionable, differentiated merchandise and everyday essentials at discounted prices. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Target’s current fiscal-year earnings and sales implies growth of 37.8% and 5.1%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. TGT delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 10.5%.

Dollar Tree is an operator of discount variety stores offering a broad assortment of everyday consumables and discretionary merchandise. The company also has a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dollar Tree's current fiscal-year earnings and sales indicates growth of 36.4% and 6.6%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. DLTR delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 12.2%.

Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) received the full $1 billion commitment from Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW) on Wednesday, with the proceeds distributed to the electric-vehicle maker for general corporate purposes.

The funding was provided under the companies’ existing joint venture agreement through two linked $1 billion loans involving the joint venture and a Rivian subsidiary.

The joint venture borrowed $1 billion from a Volkswagen entity under Loan A at a fixed interest rate of 5.93%, while a Rivian subsidiary borrowed $1 billion under Loan B at a fixed rate of 6.03%.

The Rivian subsidiary used proceeds from the second loan to make a distribution to Rivian, providing the electric-vehicle maker with the full $1 billion commitment.

The Loan B facility is non-recourse to Rivian and is secured by the company’s 50% equity interest in the joint venture.

Both loans mature on October 7, 2036, with principal repayments beginning in 2029 at $100 million a year through two $50 million installments.

The remaining balances will be due when the loans mature in 2036, according to the filing.

Rivian said neither loan is guaranteed by the company, limiting its liability under the second loan to certain agreements, representations and warranties.

The structure allows Rivian to access the committed funding while using its equity interest in the joint venture as security rather than providing a broader corporate guarantee.

The transaction comes under the companies’ existing partnership, through which Volkswagen has committed substantial funding to support Rivian’s technology and electric-vehicle development.

Rivian can use the $1 billion distribution for general corporate purposes, providing additional funding as the electric-vehicle maker continues to invest in its operations and vehicle programs.