Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

A strong stock as of late has been Fortinet (FTNT - Free Report) . Shares have been marching higher, with the stock up 24.8% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $194.95 in the previous session. Fortinet has gained 145.3% since the start of the year compared to the 23.7% move for the Zacks Computer and Technology sector and the 117.6% return for the Zacks Security industry.

What's Driving the Outperformance?The stock has a great record of positive earnings surprises, having beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. In its last earnings report on July 29, 2026, Fortinet reported EPS of $0.9 versus consensus estimate of $0.75.

For the current fiscal year, Fortinet is expected to post earnings of $3.45 per share on $8.12 in revenues. This represents a 25% change in EPS on a 19.37% change in revenues. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $3.85 per share on $9.08 in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of 11.6% and 11.93%, respectively.

Valuation MetricsWhile Fortinet has moved to its 52-week high over the past few weeks, investors need to be asking, what is next for the company? A key aspect of this question is taking a look at valuation metrics in order to determine if the company has run ahead of itself.

On this front, we can look at the Zacks Style Scores, as these give investors a variety of ways to comb through stocks (beyond looking at the Zacks Rank of a security). The individual style scores for Value, Growth, Momentum and the combined VGM Score run from A through F. Investors should consider the style scores a valuable tool that can help you to pick the most appropriate Zacks Rank stocks based on their individual investment style.

Fortinet has a Value Score of F. The stock's Growth and Momentum Scores are A and C, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of B.

In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 56.5X current fiscal year EPS estimates, which is not in-line with the peer industry average of 59.1X. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 62.9X versus its peer group's average of 75.9X. Additionally, the stock has a PEG ratio of 3.27. This isn't enough to put the company in the top echelon of all stocks we cover from a value perspective.

Zacks RankWe also need to look at the Zacks Rank for the stock, as this is even more important than the company's VGM Score. Fortunately, Fortinet currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) thanks to favorable earnings estimate revisions from covering analysts.

Since we recommend that investors select stocks carrying Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B, it looks as if Fortinet meets the list of requirements. Thus, it seems as though Fortinet shares could have a bit more room to run in the near term.

Applied Materials unveiled a massive $5 billion research facility in Silicon Valley on Monday – a key part of CEO Gary Dickerson’s plan to speed up development of the cutting-edge computer chips driving the artificial intelligence boom.

The Santa Clara-based firm – a key supplier of equipment and software that tech giants like TSMC, Intel and Samsung use to build chips – is aiming to achieve faster breakthroughs by having scientists, engineers and researchers from companies and universities around the world collaborate under one roof.

Advanced AI models are progressing at a rapid clip, making it essential for industry leaders to improve a process that currently can take more than a decade from lab breakthrough to full-fledged production, Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson said in an interview with The Post

Applied Materials unveils a $5 billion research facility in Silicon Valley in a bid to streamline AI chipmaking. Applied Materials
“There are five to 10 key technologies that determine performance and yield [of semiconductors],” Dickerson said. “It’s all about, how do we accelerate all of that? The goal here is to cut that whole cycle time at least 30%, improving the time to market. There’s enormous value in doing that.”

The EPIC Center is billed as the world’s largest semiconductor equipment and manufacturing process R&D facility. The foundation of the 600,000-square-foot facility holds enough concrete to fill 34 Olympic-sized swimming pools, while its structure contains enough steel to build two Eiffel Towers, according to the company.

Applied Materials’ founding partners at the facility include TSMC, Intel, Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix. Other contributors will include Broadcom, as well as researchers from Arizona State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UCLA Samueli School of Engineering – all of whom will work in tandem with Applied’s internal teams.

Dickerson said improvements in the efficiency and performance of advanced computer chips could help alleviate the American public’s concerns about energy-guzzling data centers, which are key to maintaining the AI models built by Anthropic and OpenAI.

Gary Dickerson, CEO of Applied Materials, is pictured. Applied Materials
“It’s absolutely essential,” Dickerson said. “You’re improving that energy-efficient computing many times versus where we’re at today. It’s many, many times better than where we’re at today.”

Applied Materials declined to comment on specific projects that are planned at the EPIC Center, though Dickerson expects breakthroughs in chip manufacturing to have massive implications across healthcare, education and industrial production.

Better chips will also mean better smartphones and computers in the hands of consumers, Dickerson said.

“You’re going to see new consumer devices that go beyond the smartphone, that I have some visibility into, that will change human to human interaction and human to world interaction,” he said.

Applied Materials is working with various partners at the new R&D facility. Applied Materials
Computer chip production has emerged as a major flashpoint in the high-stakes AI race between the US and China. The Trump administration has imposed export controls on the most advanced chips made by industry leader Nvidia, and officials have pointed to the US lead in development of the hardware as a key advantage.

Part of the idea behind the EPIC Center, according to Dickerson, is to bring the best researchers and engineers from around the world together to drive advancements – and to eliminate the friction that comes from having key parts of the chip supply chain isolated from each other.

“You want to build the best innovation team in the world,” Dickerson said. “That’s what’s going to determine who wins and who loses.”

Monday.com (MNDY - Free Report) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.

Shares of this project management software developer have returned +2.4% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.4% change. The Zacks Internet - Software industry, to which Monday.com belongs, has gained 9.2% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?

Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.

Earnings Estimate RevisionsRather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company's earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.

We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For the current quarter, Monday.com is expected to post earnings of $1.43 per share, indicating a change of +23.3% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +3.4% over the last 30 days.

For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $5.58 points to a change of +26.8% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed +3.9%.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $6.63 indicates a change of +18.7% from what Monday.com is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +0.6%.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for Monday.com.

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Projected Revenue GrowthWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.

In the case of Monday.com, the consensus sales estimate of $368.34 million for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +16.3%. The $1.47 billion and $1.69 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +19.3% and +15.2%, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryMonday.com reported revenues of $364.62 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +21.9%. EPS of $1.48 for the same period compares with $1.09 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $354.95 million, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +2.72%. The EPS surprise was +29.82%.

The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.

ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.

While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.

The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

Monday.com is graded D on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Monday.com. However, its Zacks Rank #2 does suggest that it may outperform the broader market in the near term.

Starbucks just killed the deal that had been carrying Chipotle shares higher, and now the burrito chain has to stand on its own traffic numbers with a buyer no longer waiting in the wings.

Takeover hopes that had been lifting Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG | CMG Price Prediction) shares are fading after the most logical buyer stepped aside. Chipotle stock is at $30.55, down 3% in morning trading, as Chipotle shares give back the deal premium that takeover chatter had built in. Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) is the company that ended the speculation, stating that it isn’t pursuing an acquisition of the burrito chain.

Notably, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is at $778.69, essentially flat, so the broader market offers no explanation for the drop. Thus, the selling is concentrated in Chipotle stock.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) stock trades at $233.32, down 0.8%, representing a much smaller move than the one in Chipotle stock. At the same time, Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) stock is at $145.03, up 0.2%, holding its ground as McDonald’s stock edges lower. As for Starbucks stock, it’s up 1% to $92.04.

Starbucks Denial Strips Out the Deal Premium A Starbucks representative said on October 12 that the coffee chain isn’t buying Chipotle, ending several days of takeover speculation. Last Thursday, a published report said Starbucks had spent recent months working with advisors on a proposal to acquire the burrito chain, and that account carried Chipotle shares higher. Such a combination would have been the largest restaurant takeover on record, and that is why the denial is landing so hard on Chipotle stock.

Brian Niccol’s history made the deal plausible enough for the market to price. Niccol led Chipotle before becoming chief executive of Starbucks, where he is executing the “Back to Starbucks” turnaround plan. Earlier this month, Chipotle hired advisors to defend against activist investors or an unwanted takeover approach, a protective posture the denial now leaves the company holding alone.

Owned Stores Leave Chipotle More Exposed Than Franchised Rivals Chipotle owns and operates its restaurants, so its earnings move in step with transaction counts and traffic at the stores it runs. McDonald’s and Yum! Brands are mostly franchised and collect royalties from operators. That structure means a traffic problem at a single brand reaches their earnings far less directly than it hits Chipotle’s.

Rebuilding traffic is Chipotle’s central task, since the company is working to recover from a stretch in which visits to its restaurants fell. Takeover chatter had been papering over that weakness. A split this sharp, with Chipotle shares falling while McDonald’s stock barely moves and Yum! Brands stock holds steady, marks the session as a Chipotle-specific unwind of deal premium.

Measured by market value, Chipotle stock is now worth $38.14 billion, less than Yum! Brands stock at $39.6 billion and far below McDonald’s stock at $165.24 billion. Starbucks shares carry a market value of $104.44 billion, giving the coffee chain the heft to make a combination credible.

The bull case holds that a buyer of Starbucks’ scale examined Chipotle at all, suggesting the brand and its owned store base carry value the depressed share price doesn’t reflect. On the bear side, the takeover premium has now been stripped back out, leaving Chipotle stock standing on a traffic recovery that hasn’t arrived yet. With a 52-week low of $28.04 and a high of $42.82, Chipotle shares sit far closer the bottom of their range.

What to Watch Next Chipotle’s Q3 2026 results, currently expected on October 28 after the market closes, are the next hard checkpoint. That report’s traffic trend matters most, since it’s the number the takeover story had been covering up. Investors will want to see if visits to Chipotle restaurants begin to recover.

Without a buyer, Chipotle shares now trade on fundamentals rather than deal hopes. Investors holding Chipotle shares may want to size their positions around that traffic risk instead of counting on a renewed bid.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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Multi-vendor interoperability validation of key emerging Ethernet scale-up technology 

SANTA ROSA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) will demonstrate multi-vendor interoperability of Link Layer Retry (LLR) for the first time in joint demonstrations with Broadcom and Alibaba Cloud at the 2026 OCP Global Summit in San Jose, October 12 – 15. LLR is a key emerging Ethernet scale-up technology, and the collaborations will demonstrate validation of LLR operation across both 200G and 100G SerDes implementations, and Credit-Based Flow Control (CBFC) at 100G SerDes, underscoring the readiness of LLR and CBFC as standard, lossless transport mechanisms for next-generation Ethernet-based AI scale-up fabrics.

The public demonstrations will include:

LLR over 1.6T speed with Broadcom Tomahawk 6: Keysight and Broadcom demonstrating Link Layer Retry running over 200G SerDes-based 1.6T speed between the Keysight INPT-1600GE and a Broadcom Tomahawk 6 (TH6)-based switch. The demonstration validates lossless behavior with LLR frame recovery and link resiliency, showing that LLR is ready for the 1.6T era of AI scale-up and scale-out networking. LLR and CBFC over 100G SerDes with Alibaba Scale-Up Ethernet Switch based on Broadcom Tomahawk Ultra: Keysight will demonstrate LLR and CBFC running over 100G SerDes-based 400GE speed with an Alibaba switch built on the Broadcom Tomahawk Ultra ASIC. The demonstration validates LLR and CBFC interoperability and hyperscaler deployment scenarios to demonstrate the technology’s readiness for AI scale-up networks. Together, these demonstrations establish LLR and CBFC as a practical, interoperable standard transport for Ethernet scale-up and scale-out AI networks — proven across multiple switch ASICs, SerDes rates, and vendor implementations. Keysight's scale-up validation solutions provide conformance, interoperability, and performance testing for LLR and CBFC, enabling any vendor adopting these technologies — from ASIC and switch suppliers to accelerator and system vendors — a repeatable, standards-aligned methodology to validate implementations before deployment and accelerate time to market.

Asad Khamisy, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Core Switching Group, Broadcom, said: “As AI systems scale to larger accelerator domains, Ethernet serves as the vital enabler for high-performance scale-up connectivity, delivering unrivaled bandwidth, resiliency, and efficiency. Demonstrating 1.6T Link Layer Retry interoperability with Tomahawk 6 showcases how the open Ethernet ecosystem is rapidly innovating to power these demanding AI workloads while maintaining a flexible, standards-based architecture. Collaboration with Keysight and Alibaba Cloud helps validate these technologies across the ecosystem and accelerate Ethernet adoption in next-generation AI infrastructure.”

Dennis Cai, VP of Engineering, Head of Network Infrastructure, Alibaba Cloud, said: “Large-scale AI infrastructure depends on networking technologies that combine high performance with reliability, interoperability and operational simplicity. Demonstrating LLR and CBFC on Alibaba Scale-Up Ethernet switch platform based on Broadcom Tomahawk Ultra provides an important validation in a hyperscale implementation. Working with Keysight and Broadcom helps advance an open Ethernet ecosystem where emerging scale-up technologies can be validated consistently across silicon, systems and real-world deployment environments.”

Ram Periakaruppan, Vice President and General Manager, Network Test & Security Solutions, Keysight, said: “AI scale-up networks require more than higher bandwidth — they require predictable, lossless and interoperable transport across an increasingly diverse ecosystem. By working with Broadcom and Alibaba Cloud to validate LLR and CBFC across multiple SerDes generations, switch architectures and 1.6T and 400GE interfaces, Keysight is helping the industry move Ultra Ethernet link-layer technologies from specification to deployable technology. Our goal is to provide the independent validation infrastructure that enables silicon, systems and cloud providers to adopt next-generation Ethernet scale-up and scale-out technologies with confidence.”

Keysight will showcase these demonstrations at its Scale-Up station on Booth #C83 at 2026 OCP Global Summit, San Jose Convention Center.

About Keysight Technologies

Keysight (NYSE: KEYS) serves technology innovators as a mission-critical design enablement partner for the world’s most complex engineering challenges. By connecting market-leading design, emulation, and test solutions across the full life cycle, Keysight helps engineering teams accelerate innovation, reduce risk, and bring new technologies to market faster. Customers across AI infrastructure, communications, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, automotive, semiconductor, and general electronics rely on Keysight to bridge virtual design and physical reality, enabling confident decisions earlier. Learn more at www.keysight.com.  

More News From Keysight Technologies, Inc.

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Key Takeaways KTOS demonstrated end-to-end connectivity across a multi-vendor 5G non-terrestrial network using OpenSpace.KTOS's virtualized OpenSpace platform supports flexible satellite communications and network management.KTOS is advancing interoperable ground systems for connected satellite and terrestrial networks.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS - Free Report) is advancing its software-based satellite ground systems as the space communications industry moves toward more flexible, interoperable networks. On Oct. 8, 2026, the company announced a successful end-to-end connectivity demonstration across a multi-vendor 5G New Radio Non-Terrestrial Network (5G NR NTN) using its OpenSpace platform. The milestone supports Kratos’ efforts to develop ground systems that can accommodate equipment from different vendors.

The demonstration is important because satellite communications networks increasingly need to integrate different technologies and suppliers. Kratos used its fully virtualized OpenSpace platform to establish connectivity across a multi-vendor network. This provides a step toward supporting satellite communications architectures that can work across different system components rather than relying on a single vendor’s equipment.

OpenSpace is central to Kratos’ software-defined ground systems strategy. The platform is designed to virtualize satellite ground functions, allowing operators to use software-based capabilities for satellite communications and network management. The October demonstration adds to the company’s work on developing flexible ground infrastructure for evolving satellite communications requirements.

Kratos’ progress in 5G NTN could help expand the applications for its ground systems as satellite and terrestrial communications networks become more connected. Successful multi-vendor connectivity provides a technical milestone, although future commercial impact will depend on additional development, customer adoption and program execution. Continued progress could strengthen the company’s position in software-based satellite communications.

Companies Advancing 5G Satellite ConnectivityThe development of 5G non-terrestrial networks is encouraging satellite communications companies to expand systems that integrate space-based connectivity with terrestrial networks. Viasat, Inc. (VSAT - Free Report) and SES S.A. (SGBAF - Free Report) are also advancing satellite network technologies for next-generation connectivity.

Viasat is developing non-terrestrial network capabilities that can extend mobile connectivity beyond the reach of conventional cellular networks, including direct-to-device services.

SES is advancing a software-defined, 5G-enabled satellite network designed to integrate with terrestrial networks and support connectivity across multiple satellite orbits.

Earnings Estimates for KTOS StockThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 earnings per share suggests year-over-year growth of 50.91% and 37.06%, respectively.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

KTOS Stock Is Trading at a DiscountKratos is trading at a discount relative to the industry, with a forward 12-month price-to-sales of 3.73X compared with the industry average of 6.91X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

KTOS Stock Price PerformanceOver the past three months, Kratos shares have fallen 9.8% compared with the industry’s 14.6% decline.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

KTOS’ Zacks RankKratos currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Zions (ZION - Free Report) reports results for the quarter ended September 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.

The earnings report, which is expected to be released on October 19, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.

While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise.

Zacks Consensus EstimateThis financial holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.64 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +6.5%.

Revenues are expected to be $894.32 million, up 2.6% from the year-ago quarter.

Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.94% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.

Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.

Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction).

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. 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.

Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.

A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.

Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).

How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Zions?For Zions, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +1.18%.

On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3.

So, this combination indicates that Zions will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate.

Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.

For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Zions would post earnings of $1.57 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.74, delivering a surprise of +10.83%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times.

Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.

That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

Zions appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG - Free Report) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.

Over the past month, shares of this company have returned +4.7%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.4% change. During this period, the Zacks Alternative Energy - Other industry, which Constellation Energy Corporation falls in, has lost 2.7%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?

While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.

Earnings Estimate RevisionsRather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company's earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.

We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

Constellation Energy Corporation is expected to post earnings of $3.99 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +31.3%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +0.4%.

The consensus earnings estimate of $12.19 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +29.8%. This estimate has changed +0.4% over the last 30 days.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $13.25 indicates a change of +8.8% from what Constellation Energy Corporation is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +1%.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for Constellation Energy Corporation.

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Projected Revenue GrowthEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.

For Constellation Energy Corporation, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $8.69 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +32.2%. For the current and next fiscal years, $33.68 billion and $32.56 billion estimates indicate +31.9% and -3.3% changes, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryConstellation Energy Corporation reported revenues of $7.5 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +23%. EPS of $2.55 for the same period compares with $1.91 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.47 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +0.48%. The EPS surprise was +8.05%.

Over the last four quarters, Constellation Energy Corporation surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.

ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.

While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.

As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

Constellation Energy Corporation is graded C on this front, indicating that it is trading at par with its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Constellation Energy Corporation. However, its Zacks Rank #2 does suggest that it may outperform the broader market in the near term.

Bloom Energy shares have already surged over 200% this year, yet Wall Street's consensus target barely budges. A closer look at the numbers reveals why one specific price could still be achievable by 2027.

Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) makes solid-oxide fuel cell “Energy Servers” that generate electricity onsite without burning. AI data centers have made that technology a default choice.

Here is how CEO KR Sridhar put it on the second-quarter call: “Today, all the major US hyperscalers and over a dozen US neoclouds, AI labs, and colocation data center operators have validated and approved our power solutions for their AI factories. Bloom is now a standard for AI onsite power.”

The market has noticed. Shares trade at $273.45, up 214.71% year-to-date and 1327.94% over five years. Here is what Bloom needs to do to hit $450 per share in 2027.

Wall Street’s Target Lags Its Own Rising Estimates The consensus price target of $283.78 implies just 3.8% upside. Ratings are split, with 12 holds against 15 buy or strong buy ratings. The estimates themselves are more bullish.

Analysts now expect $4.9421 in 2027 EPS, compared with $4.4009 90 days ago, a 12.3% increase. The 2027 revenue consensus of $6.79 billion sits 65% above the 2026 estimate, and EPS is forecast to grow 82.6%.

Bloom also exceeded estimates in five straight quarters, so forecasts have tended to come in too low. In the second quarter, non-GAAP EPS of $0.78 topped the $0.41 estimate, and revenue rose 165.5% to $1.07 billion.

Here’s What It Takes for Bloom to Reach $450 Today Bloom trades at 55x 2027 earnings. At $450, that multiple rises to 91x. Using the high 2027 estimate of $7.01, it falls to 64x. It’s a premium valuation, but it comes with earnings growth above 80%.

How might Bloom reach $450? Guidance raises: The 2026 non-GAAP operating income outlook now stands at $800 to $900 million, up from $425 to $450 million at the start of the year. Financing capacity: Brookfield expanded its framework from $5 billion to $25 billion in June 2026. Backlog: Total backlog of roughly $20 billion gives Bloom years of visibility. Operating leverage: Revenue grew 166% while operating expenses rose 48%, which raised operating margin to 22.5%. Scalable supply: CFO Simon Edwards said Bloom is “neither gated by capacity nor our supply chain.” Inference demand: Sridhar expects inference to need distributed power close to users, saying “You cannot put a gas turbine in the middle of Manhattan.” Bloom’s Recent Run Shows $450 Is Within Reach Reaching $450 would take a 64.6% gain. It’s a large move, and Bloom has already beaten it by a wide margin this year.

Shares are up 212.23% over the past year and have traded as high as $351.28 in the last 52 weeks. After the second-quarter earnings report, the stock rose 43.1% in a single week. With a beta of 3.776, Bloom moves fast in both directions. The 52-week low was $75.70.

$450 Is a Stretch, but Here’s Why It’s Possible Hitting $450 would require Bloom to gain about 65% in 2027. Several things support that path: 2027 estimates keep rising, Bloom keeps beating them, management keeps raising guidance, and a $25 billion financing shelf supports more installations.

The hurdles are real. A slowdown in AI spending, uneven large-campus deliveries, and tariffs could each halt the rally. Still, if hyperscalers keep choosing onsite power and estimates move toward the high end, $450 is within reach. Returns at this level shouldn’t be expected every year, but we’ve outlined the plan for how Bloom could see outsized returns in 2027.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) shares fell 5% after the quantum computing company agreed to acquire cybersecurity firm Elisity in an all-stock deal valued at up to $1.3 billion, first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The transaction includes up to $150 million in performance-based earnouts, with the number of IonQ shares issued determined by a reference price ranging from $33.07 to $49.61 per share.

The acquisition will combine IonQ’s post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution capabilities with Elisity’s enterprise security platform, helping businesses and government organisations defend against existing and emerging cyber threats.

IonQ chief executive Niccolo de Masi told the Wall Street Journal that increasingly powerful artificial intelligence and quantum computing systems would create greater cybersecurity risks.

The threat includes so-called Q-Day, the point at which quantum computers could become capable of breaking widely used encryption methods that protect sensitive information.

Elisity, founded in 2019, develops software designed to prevent cyber attackers and ransomware from spreading across corporate networks, with customers including healthcare companies and hospitals.

The company has more than 100 customer deployments globally and has doubled its revenue and customer base year-on-year while retaining customers across its deployed accounts.

Elisity chief executive James Winebrenner is expected to remain in the role after the acquisition, which IonQ expects to complete in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

The deal follows IonQ’s agreement to acquire semiconductor manufacturer SkyWater Technology for about $1.8 billion, as it expands beyond quantum computing hardware into related technologies and services.

Key Takeaways IONQ exceeds 1,000 entanglement events per second, beating the previous trapped-ion record by over four times.IONQ combines trapped-ion qubit coherence with solid-state quantum memory for efficient coupling to light.IONQ expands commercial sales with quantum systems sold to the University of Maryland and Korea-based SDT. IonQ (IONQ - Free Report) recently crossed a key milestone for memory-enhanced quantum interconnects. The company achieved entanglement rates exceeding 1,000 events per second (1 kHz) between a trapped ion qubit and a solid-state quantum memory. A technical paper presented results from real-world hardware testing of an end-to-end link between a trapped ion system and a silicon vacancy (SiV) qubit, building on IonQ’s SiV quantum memory platform. The demonstration used a photonic interconnect and recorded a rate more than four times the previous record for trapped-ion systems.

Entanglement allows separate quantum systems to work together and is essential for networking quantum computers. IonQ’s approach combines the strong qubit coherence of trapped-ion qubits with the solid-state quantum memory, which has very high-efficiency coupling to light. The latest achievement addresses a key bottleneck in quantum interconnect while advancing the company’s efforts to build networked quantum data centers, where connected computing and memory systems could help quantum technology scale.

IonQ’s quantum memory and interconnect approach supports its work under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (“DARPA”) HARQ program, which seeks to develop high-speed quantum interconnects compatible with multiple computing qubit types. Although the latest demonstration used trapped ion systems, the underlying architecture could be adapted with multiple qubit approaches, including neutral atoms and superconducting systems with transducers that convert microwave signals into light.  

IonQ’s memory and interconnect platform is also ramping up commercially. The company announced its first commercial sale to the University of Maryland in April, followed by a second system sale to Korea-based quantum technology and software company SDT, Inc. in September.

Latest Developments Among IONQ’s PeersIBM (IBM - Free Report) introduced IBM Ready for SAP Solutions to help midsize and fast-growing organizations speed up cloud ERP modernization, unify enterprise data and develop an AI-ready digital core. The offering combines the company’s industry expertise, fit-to-standard delivery and its AI-powered IBM Consulting Advantage consulting delivery platform. Volumetric Building Companies and Second Nature Brands are among the clients using the solution to support growth and future AI initiatives. IBM has been selected for Stage C, the third phase of the Quantum Benchmarking Initiative led by DARPA.

Infleqtion (INFQ - Free Report) , in collaboration with Honeywell Aerospace and a distinguished UC Santa Barbara professor, announced development of a new integrated optical cavity that helps shrink quantum sensors down to handheld size. Fabricated on a silicon nitride chip at Honeywell Aerospace’s photonics foundry, the prototype reduces the space needed to keep lasers stable inside quantum systems. It uses a manufacturing process widely adopted in the semiconductor industry, allowing production to scale across many existing commercial facilities.

The Zacks Rundown for IONQ StockOver the past six months, IonQ shares have rallied 34% compared with the industry’s 108.2% growth.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

IONQ is trading at a forward, five-year price-to-sales (P/S) of 20.38X compared with 4.60X industry average. 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Analysts’ estimates for IonQ’s 2026 and 2027 loss per share have seen mixed revisions in recent months, as shown below.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

IONQ stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Wall Street analysts forecast that The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc (PNC - Free Report) will report quarterly earnings of $4.97 per share in its upcoming release, pointing to a year-over-year increase of 14.3%. It is anticipated that revenues will amount to $6.6 billion, exhibiting an increase of 11.1% compared to the year-ago quarter.

The current level reflects a downward revision of 0.1% in the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter over the past 30 days. This demonstrates how the analysts covering the stock have collectively reappraised their initial projections over this period.

Before a company announces its earnings, it is essential to take into account any changes made to earnings estimates. This is a valuable factor in predicting the potential reactions of investors toward the stock. Empirical research has consistently shown a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and the short-term price performance of a stock.

While investors usually depend on consensus earnings and revenue estimates to assess the business performance for the quarter, delving into analysts' forecasts for certain key metrics often provides a more comprehensive understanding.

Given this perspective, it's time to examine the average forecasts of specific The PNC Financial Services Group metrics that are routinely monitored and predicted by Wall Street analysts.

Analysts' assessment points toward 'Efficiency ratio' reaching 56.9%. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of 59.0%.

Analysts predict that the 'Book value per common share' will reach $147.34 . The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $135.67 .

The combined assessment of analysts suggests that 'Total interest-earning assets - Average balance' will likely reach $564.21 billion. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported $518.13 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.

The consensus estimate for 'Total nonperforming assets' stands at $2.31 billion. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of $2.30 billion.

The consensus among analysts is that 'Total nonperforming loans' will reach $2.23 billion. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $2.14 billion.

Based on the collective assessment of analysts, 'Tier 1 risk-based ratio' should arrive at 11.1%. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 12.0% in the same quarter last year.

The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Leverage Ratio' of 9.0%. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 9.2% in the same quarter last year.

The average prediction of analysts places 'Total capital risk-based' at 12.7%. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 13.6% in the same quarter last year.

It is projected by analysts that the 'Net interest income (Fully Taxable-Equivalent - FTE) (non-GAAP)' will reach $4.26 billion. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $3.68 billion.

Analysts forecast 'Total Noninterest Income' to reach $2.34 billion. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported $2.27 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.

Analysts expect 'Net Interest Income' to come in at $4.23 billion. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $3.65 billion.

According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Lending and deposit services' should come in at $352.21 million. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $335.00 million.

View all Key Company Metrics for The PNC Financial Services Group here>>>

The PNC Financial Services Group shares have witnessed a change of -10.3% in the past month, in contrast to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.4% move. With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), PNC is expected closely follow the overall market performance in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

Analysts on Wall Street project that Commercial Metals (CMC - Free Report) will announce quarterly earnings of $1.97 per share in its forthcoming report, representing an increase of 43.8% year over year. Revenues are projected to reach $2.44 billion, increasing 15.6% from the same quarter last year.

The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This represents how the covering analysts, as a whole, have reassessed their initial estimates during this timeframe.

Prior to a company's earnings release, it is of utmost importance to factor in any revisions made to the earnings projections. These revisions serve as a critical gauge for predicting potential investor behaviors with respect to the stock. Empirical studies consistently reveal a strong link between trends in earnings estimate revisions and the short-term price performance of a stock.

While investors usually depend on consensus earnings and revenue estimates to assess the business performance for the quarter, delving into analysts' forecasts for certain key metrics often provides a more comprehensive understanding.

Given this perspective, it's time to examine the average forecasts of specific Commercial Metals metrics that are routinely monitored and predicted by Wall Street analysts.

The average prediction of analysts places 'Net sales to external customers- Construction Solutions Group' at $399.07 million. The estimate points to a change of +80% from the year-ago quarter.

The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Net sales from external customers- North America' of $1.75 billion. The estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +8.1%.

According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Net sales from external customers- Europe' should come in at $290.98 million. The estimate suggests a change of +10.5% year over year.

Based on the collective assessment of analysts, 'Net sales from external customers- Corporate and Other' should arrive at $10.36 million. The estimate points to a change of -22.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Analysts expect 'North America - Average selling price (per ton) - Raw materials' to come in at $938.73 . Compared to the present estimate, the company reported $881.00 in the same quarter last year.

Analysts' assessment points toward 'Europe - Steel products metal margin per ton' reaching $340.83 . Compared to the current estimate, the company reported $317.00 in the same quarter of the previous year.

It is projected by analysts that the 'North America - Average selling price (per ton) - Downstream products' will reach $1267.40 . The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $1214.00 .

Analysts forecast 'North America - Average selling price (per ton) - Cost of raw materials per ton' to reach $709.81 . Compared to the current estimate, the company reported $649.00 in the same quarter of the previous year.

The consensus estimate for 'North America - Average selling price (per ton) - Cost of ferrous scrap utilized per ton' stands at $365.35 . Compared to the present estimate, the company reported $314.00 in the same quarter last year.

Analysts predict that the 'North America - Average selling price (per ton) - Steel products metal margin per ton' will reach $620.16 . The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $568.00 .

The consensus among analysts is that 'Europe - Steel products (External tons shipped)' will reach 398.42 thousand. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported 374.00 thousand in the same quarter of the previous year.

The combined assessment of analysts suggests that 'Europe - Steel products - Rebar' will likely reach 125.58 thousand. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 117.00 thousand.

View all Key Company Metrics for Commercial Metals here>>>

Commercial Metals shares have witnessed a change of -4.9% in the past month, in contrast to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.4% move. With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), CMC is expected closely follow the overall market performance in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

Have you looked into how Lamb Weston (LW - Free Report) performed internationally during the quarter ending August 2026? Considering the widespread global presence of this frozen foods supplier, examining the trends in international revenues is essential for assessing its financial resilience and prospects for growth.

In the modern, closely-knit global economic landscape, the capacity of a business to access foreign markets is often a key determinant of its financial well-being and growth path. Investors now place great importance on grasping the extent of a company's dependence on international markets, as it sheds light on the firm's earnings stability, its skill in leveraging various economic cycles and its broad growth potential.

Presence in international markets can act as a hedge against domestic economic downturns and provide access to faster-growing economies. However, this diversification also brings complexities due to currency fluctuations, geopolitical risks and differing market dynamics.

Upon examining LW's recent quarterly performance, we noticed several interesting patterns in the revenue generated from its international segments, which are commonly analyzed and observed by Wall Street experts.

For the quarter, the company's total revenue amounted to $1.67 billion, experiencing an increase of 0.7% year over year. Next, we'll explore the breakdown of LW's international revenue to understand the importance of its overseas business operations.

A Dive into LW's International Revenue TrendsOf the total revenue, $1.14 billion came from North America during the last fiscal quarter, accounting for 68.3%. This represented a surprise of +3.51% as analysts had expected the region to contribute $1.1 billion to the total revenue. In comparison, the region contributed $1.21 billion, or 68.1%, and $1.08 billion, or 65.4%, to total revenue in the previous and year-ago quarters, respectively.

During the quarter, International contributed $528.9 million in revenue, making up 31.7% of the total revenue. When compared to the consensus estimate of $548.52 million, this meant a surprise of -3.58%. Looking back, International contributed $563.9 million, or 31.9%, in the previous quarter, and $574.7 million, or 34.6%, in the same quarter of the previous year.

International Revenue PredictionsFor the current fiscal quarter, it is anticipated by Wall Street analysts that Lamb Weston will post revenues of $1.63 billion, which reflects an increase of 1% the same quarter in the previous year. The revenue contributions are expected to be 67% from North America ($1.09 billion), and 33% from International ($539.04 million).

For the full year, the company is projected to achieve a total revenue of $6.56 billion, which signifies a fall of 0.8% from the last year. The share of this revenue from various regions is expected to be: North America at 67.4% ($4.42 billion), and International at 32.7% ($2.15 billion).

The Bottom LineLamb Weston's reliance on international markets for revenues offers both opportunities and risks. Hence, keeping an eye on its international revenue trends could significantly help forecast the company's prospects.

In a world where international interdependencies and geopolitical conflicts are ever-increasing, Wall Street analysts closely monitor these trends for companies having international presence to adjust their earnings forecasts. Of course, there are several other factors, including a company's standing within its home borders, that influence analysts' earnings forecasts.

At Zacks, we place significant importance on a company's evolving earnings outlook. This is based on empirical evidence demonstrating its strong influence on a stock's short-term price movements. Invariably, there exists a positive relationship -- an upward revision in earnings estimates is typically mirrored by a rise in the stock price.

The Zacks Rank, our proprietary stock rating mechanism, demonstrates a notable performance history confirmed through external audits. It effectively utilizes the power of earnings estimate revisions to act as a predictor of a stock's price performance in the near term.

Lamb Weston currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

Assessing Lamb Weston's Stock Price Movement in Recent TimesOver the past month, the stock has seen no change in its value, whereas the Zacks S&P 500 composite has posted an increase of 2.4%. The Zacks Consumer Staples sector, Lamb Weston's industry group, has descended 0.7% over the identical span. In the past three months, there's been an increase of 2.3% in the company's stock price, against a rise of 3.9% in the S&P 500 index. The broader sector has declined by 0.7% during this interval.

SummaryO’Reilly Automotive remains a Buy, supported by robust financials, resilient operations, and significant expansion potential in a fragmented, defensive market.ORLY’s defensive positioning benefits from delayed auto purchases, driving demand for repairs and parts even amid macro headwinds and industry downturns.Speculation around a transformative NAPA acquisition could reshape the competitive landscape, enhance international growth, and leverage ORLY’s supply chain and omnichannel strengths.Valuation is increasingly attractive when demanding a solid margin of safety; risks include rising competition, macroeconomic pressures, and increased leverage to fund buybacks. Edward Chaidez/iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Introduction O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. (ORLY) was rated a Buy the last time I covered it, highlighting its robust financials, resilient operations, and significant long-term expansion potential in a fragmented market alongside the significant international

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, but may initiate a beneficial Long position through a purchase of the stock, or the purchase of call options or similar derivatives in ORLY over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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

Collaboration addresses protection, control, and power conversion challenges in emerging 800 VDC AI Infrastructure

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Power Integrations (NASDAQ: POWI), the leader in high-voltage integrated circuits for energy-efficient power conversion, and Ideal Power Inc. (NASDAQ: IPWR), developer and provider of its innovative and widely patented B-TRAN® bidirectional semiconductor power switch, today announced a collaboration to deliver a solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) solution providing fast, efficient, always-on protection that scales with the 800 VDC transition in AI data centers.

The companies will collaborate on a new architecture combining Power Integrations’ 1700 V InnoMux-2 power conversion ICs with Ideal Power’s B-TRAN® switches to deliver a self-powered, intelligent, ultra-fast SSCB. They have also demonstrated a working prototype and are working on a reference design.

Rising voltages and rack power levels in AI data centers create a need for innovative approaches to circuit protection. Mechanical circuit breakers are too slow to protect sensitive rack equipment, while existing electronic breakers introduce losses, reducing system efficiency. Further, electronic breakers must be powered from the 800 V bus. In the next generation intelligent SSCB architecture, the InnoMux-2 IC converts 800 V into isolated power for gate-drive, control electronics, sensing, and auxiliary circuitry. Ideal Power’s B-TRAN® switch uses that intelligence to protect the 800 V power path to the AI computing load. The InnoMux-2 IC features 1700 V PowiGaN technology, which can operate from an 800 VDC bus with significant margin. The IC provides multiple independently regulated outputs instead of a conventional architecture with one isolated PSU followed by multiple DC-DC converters. The result is a highly efficient, self-powered protection solution that eliminates the need for an external auxiliary supply while enabling ultra-fast fault isolation.

“As AI data centers move toward 800 VDC power architectures, the industry must address new challenges in power conversion, control, and protection at the system level,” said Chris Jacobs, senior vice president of marketing and product strategy at Power Integrations. “By combining Power Integrations' 1700 V InnoMux-2 IC with Ideal Power's innovative bidirectional solid-state circuit protection, we are helping enable intelligent 800 VDC power architectures that improve efficiency, resiliency, and scalability in next-generation AI data centers.”

“High efficiency, ultra-fast fault interruption is essential for enabling the migration to 800 VDC AI data centers and energy infrastructure. Traditional protection methods are proving to be inadequate. Mechanical breakers are too slow, while previous semiconductor-based breakers have historically been disqualified by high power loss,” said David Somo, CEO of Ideal Power. “Power Integrations offers a unique combination of 1700 V GaN capability, multiple independently regulated outputs, high integration, and a compact solution footprint that is well suited to our 800 VDC solid-state circuit breaker architecture, which must meet demanding power efficiency requirements and strict mechanical constraints.”

Resources

For further information on Power Integrations, please visit the resource page on the web site.

About Power Integrations

Power Integrations, Inc. is a leading innovator in semiconductor technologies for high-voltage power conversion. The company’s products are key building blocks in the clean-power ecosystem, enabling the generation of renewable energy as well as the efficient transmission, conversion and consumption of power in applications ranging from milliwatts to megawatts in applications such as AI data centers, EVs and high-voltage direct current infrastructure. For more information, please visit www.power.com.

About Ideal Power Inc.

Ideal Power (Nasdaq: IPWR) is the developer and provider of its innovative and widely patented B-TRAN® bidirectional semiconductor power switch. B-TRAN® offers compelling advantages over conventional technologies and addresses the demanding standards of today’s solid-state circuit protection and intelligent power delivery systems. It features very low conduction losses that deliver improved power efficiency, thereby reducing energy consumption and providing cost savings. The unique bidirectional capability of B-TRAN® simplifies the design, control, and diagnostics of solid-state power solutions while enabling smaller, lower cost systems. B-TRAN® delivers compelling advantages for a broad spectrum of applications including solid-state circuit breakers, static transfer switches, battery disconnect units, and EV contactors that are widely used in data centers, industrial power systems, energy grid and storage systems, and electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.IdealPower.com, on LinkedIn, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or the Company’s future financial or operating performance and are sometimes accompanied by words such as “believe,” “continue,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “predict,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that concern the Company’s expectations, strategy, priorities, plans, or intentions, predict or indicate future events or trends, or that are not statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements about the collaboration between Power Integrations and Ideal Power, the market need for the new architecture resulting from the collaboration, and the benefits to customers of this new architecture, among others. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by an investor as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are very difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from the assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of the Company. The Company’s expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) the risks that the collaboration may not be able to address protection, control, and power conversion to the extent or in the time frame anticipated, or at all; (ii) the risks that the collaboration may not deliver a solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) solution that provides, fast, efficient, nor always-on protection that scales with the 800 VDC transition in AI data centers to the extent or in the time frame anticipated, or at all; (iii) the risks that the collaboration may not result in a new architecture combining Power Integrations’ 1700 V InnoMux-2 power conversion ICs with Ideal Power’s B-TRAN® switch to deliver a self-powered, intelligent, ultra-fast SSCB to the extent or in the time frame anticipated, or at all; (iv) the risks that existing solutions, such as mechanical circuit breakers and electronic breakers, may improve their performance such that they can adequately protect sensitive rack equipment with sufficiently increased efficiency; (v) the risks that electronic circuit breakers may not need to be powered from the 800 V bus to the extent anticipated, or at all; (vi) the risks that the highly efficient, self-powered protection solution may not eliminate the need for an external auxiliary supply while enabling ultra-fast fault isolation to the extent or in the time frame anticipated, or at all; (vii) the risks that AI data centers may not move toward 800 VDC power architectures nor create new challenges in power conversion, control, and protection at the system level to the extent or in the time frame anticipated, or at all; (viii) the risks that the combination of Power Integrations’ 1700 V InnoMux-2 IC with Ideal Power’s innovative bidirectional solid-state circuit protection may not help in enabling intelligent 800 VDC power architectures that improve efficiency, resiliency, and scalability in next generation AI data centers to the extent or in the time frame anticipated, or at all; (ix) the risk that high efficiency, ultra-fast fault interruption may not be essential for enabling the migration to 800 VDC AI data centers and energy efficiency to the extent or in the time frame anticipated, or at all; (x) the risks that Power Integrations unique combination of 1700 V GaN capability, multiple independently regulated outputs, high integration, and a compact solution footprint may not meet the demanding power efficiency requirements nor strict mechanical constraints to the extent nor time frame anticipated, or at all; (xi) the Company’s ability to forecast its performance; (xii) changes in trade policies, in particular the escalation and imposition of new and higher tariffs, which could reduce demand for end products that incorporate the Company’s integrated circuits and/or place pressure on the Company’s prices as the Company’s customers seek to offset the impact of increased tariffs on their own products; (xiii) the Company’s ability to supply products and its ability to conduct other aspects of its business, such as competing for new design wins; (xiv) changes in global economic and geopolitical conditions, including such factors as inflation, armed conflicts, and trade negotiations, which may impact the level of demand for the Company’s products; (xv) potential changes and shifts in customer demand away from end products that utilize the Company’s integrated circuits to end products that do not incorporate the Company’s products; (xvi) the effects of competition, which may cause the Company’s revenue to decrease or cause the Company to decrease its selling prices for its products; (xvii) unforeseen costs and expenses; unfavorable fluctuations in component costs or operating expenses resulting from changes in commodity prices and/or exchange rates; and (xviii) product development delays and defects and market acceptance of the new products. These risks and uncertainties may be amplified by current or future global conflicts and current and potential trade restrictions, trade tensions, and tariffs, all of which continue to cause economic uncertainty. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q that the Company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and other documents filed by us or that will be filed by us from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release are based only on information currently available to the Company and speak only as of the date they are made.

Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company disclaims any obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. The Company gives no assurance that the Company will achieve any of its expectations.

Power Integrations, the Power Integrations logo and PowiGaN, are trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks of Power Integrations, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Beating AI News (from Dongcha) – AMD today announced the launch of the AMD Helion Agent AI Rack Solution. Built on an open infrastructure design compliant with Open Compute Project (OCP) specifications, the solution is engineered to meet the computing power demands of large-scale AI agent tasks, supporting flexible combinations of CPUs and GPUs.
It offers two primary configurations: The first is a CPU-only rack powered by 6th Gen AMD EPYC processors, supporting up to 32,768 CPU cores, designed for hyperscale deployments, providing dedicated computing power for agent tasks and connecting to separate model inference infrastructure. The second is an integrated rack combining AMD EPYC CPUs, AMD Instinct MI350P GPUs, and general-purpose compute nodes, targeted at enterprise-grade agent AI applications.
AMD states that Helion supports both liquid and air cooling configurations, allowing customers to adjust CPU and GPU resources based on their workload, performance, power consumption, and cost needs. The solution also integrates open-source software and hardware plus a built-in token router, enabling the distribution of agent model calls to both frontier and open-source models.
AMD plans to submit the Helion specifications to the OCP for further community development and adoption. Currently, the solution is being developed in collaboration with ecosystem partners, with a launch scheduled for November 2026.

9 minutes ago

Head of Microsoft’s AI Agents Bets on 2027: AI Will No Longer Wait for Queries, Delivering Work Results Directly via Information Streams

Beating AI News: Nicolas Bustamante, head of Microsoft’s proactive AI Agent team, predicts AI streams will become the mainstream interaction method by 2027. Chat-based models leave too much work to users—requiring them to figure out AI’s capabilities, write prompts, provide context, and repeatedly direct agents. For billions to use agents daily, not everyone can be expected to master these tasks. Bustamante’s envisioned AI stream works like an auto-updated to-do list: AI drafts emails needing responses; when sales data refreshes, team reports are prepped. Users browse it like social media, approving, editing, or ignoring items, only turning to chat for complex issues. Meta’s Muse already proactively suggests and executes tasks. The model also has commercial logic: as users open the stream daily, AI recommends restaurants, goods or services based on their plans, with clearly labeled ads covering the agent’s operational costs.

9 minutes ago

A crypto whale reallocated its UBTC holdings into 16,700 ETH, worth $42.46 million.

According to monitoring by AI Aunt, a crypto whale address swapped its UBTC holdings for 16,704.47 ETH over the past 22 hours, worth approximately $42.46 million, at an average purchase price of around $2,541.89.

9 minutes ago

Microsoft's stock price has hit a nearly one-year high, and the company announced plans to massively deploy its in-house developed AI chips.

According to BIT (Bit.com) market data, Microsoft’s stock price hit a near one-year high, rising 0.8% intraday. On the news front, Microsoft plans to gradually increase the use of its self-developed AI chips in data centers to reduce reliance on NVIDIA GPUs. Microsoft stated that it will mainly rely on its self-developed Maia chip architecture to handle AI model requests in the future, and plans to deploy several gigawatts of computing power on the Maia series chips. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation AI accelerator chip, the Maia 300, on Monday, which is expected to enter production in 2027. Each data center rack can hold 96 Maia 300 chips, double the number of the previous-generation Maia 200; compared with GPUs, its AI token processing capacity per rack can reach up to 7 times higher, and the number of tokens processed per megawatt increases by approximately 40%. Microsoft said the Maia 300 is expected to boost AI service performance and lower data center operating costs. Evercore ISI analysts forecast that by the first quarter of 2027, Maia chips will account for around 10% of Microsoft’s AI chip spending.

9 minutes ago

Michael Saylor’s Strategy continues its Bitcoin accumulation and STRC preferred stock repurchase last week. As a result, MSTR stock price jumped on Monday, extending last week’s upside momentum.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy Expands Bitcoin Treasury to 848,250 BTC Largest corporate Bitcoin treasury acquired 250 BTC for $21.5 million at an average price of $86,194 per Bitcoin. The latest purchase comes from MSTR at-the-market (ATM) offerings and USD Cash, according to the official announcement on October 12.

The company now holds 848,250 BTC, purchased for almost $64 billion at an average cost of $75,444 per coin. The company is sitting at almost $6 billion in unrealized profit, as Bitcoin holdings are worth more than $70 billion at the current market price

In addition, Strategy repurchased $192.4 million of STRC preferred stocks and reported $4.88 billion in USD reserves, alongside $640.5 million in additional cash. Executive chairman Michael Saylor’s Strategy earlier added 334 Bitcoin and maintained STRC stock buyback.

Notably, $354.8 million remains available under the digital credit securities repurchase program, with $1.0 billion still authorized for MSTR common-stock buybacks.

Michael Saylor confirmed Bitcoin holdings and $5.5 billion in total USD assets. He also revealed a USD duration of 3.5 years and a 52 bps BTC credit for STRC, calculated assuming 10% BTC ARR, 40% BTC volatility, and a BTC price of $82,252.

MSTR Stock Jumps MSTR stock price is up 0.56% in premarket trading on Monday as Strategy acquired more Bitcoin. The stock closed 1.89% higher at $154.34 in the previous session, consistent with broader Bitcoin and crypto market recovery.

As per Yahoo Finance, MSTR shares is up more than 16% in a month. Also, it has given better returns in the last 6 months. Wall Street analysts remain bullish on Strategy, with the latest being Barclays raising its price target to $175 from $160.

As CoinGape reported, President Donald Trump increased MSTR stock holdings, purchasing $1,001–$15,000 worth of shares in the Bitcoin treasury company.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin price pared earlier gains and holds above $83,000 at the time of writing. The price plunged from a 24-hour high of $84,231 after recent tensions in the Middle East as Houthis strike Saudi Arabia, causing oil prices to jump slightly.

Polymarket data shows 64% of prediction market participants expect Bitcoin price to reach $90,000 by December 31, 2026.

Bitfinex Alpha released a report stating that Bitcoin’s price movement this week will be influenced by Wednesday’s U.S. CPI data release and the strength of spot buying. The report predicts that before the CPI announcement, BTC will likely trade in a range of $81,300 to $84,500. It notes that BTC has fallen 7.9% from its October 2 high of $87,197, hitting a low of $80,347 on October 8 before reclaiming the previous range high of $81,300. During the same period, around $1.18 billion in crypto positions were liquidated, and open interest has not yet recovered significantly, meaning the next market move will rely more on spot market demand, which remains the weakest link in the market. The overall cost basis for Bitcoin ETF investors is approximately $84,340, slightly above the current price, so some investors may sell near their cost basis if the price rebounds. On the macro front, the U.S. core PCE inflation rate stands at 3%, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury real yield is 2.91%. The report argues that if core CPI’s month-over-month increase does not exceed 0.2%, interest rate expectations may be lowered, providing upward momentum for BTC; if it hits 0.3% or higher, spot buying will face greater pressure. The report adds that if BTC successfully breaks above $84,500 supported by ETF inflows, its next target could be the year-to-date opening price of $87,722; if it consistently falls below $81,300 and ETF outflows resume, attention should be paid to the real market average of around $77,400.

Relevant content

US crypto-related concept stocks reversed earlier losses to trade higher, with MSTR rising 2.04%.

According to market data from BIT (Bit.com), US crypto-related stocks have turned from losses to gains, with the following performance: MSTR up 2.04%, COIN up 2.08%, CRCL up 0.91%, SBET up 0.93%, BMNR up 1.01%, HOOD up 0.34%, and ABTC up 6.73%.

9 minutes ago

Palantir hits an all-time high, with U.S. AI application software stocks remaining active.

According to market data from BIT (Bit.com), U.S. AI software stocks remain active. Palantir (PLTR.US) rose over 1% to hit a new high, while ServiceNow (NOW.US), Shopify (SHOP.US), and Salesforce (CRM.US) gained more than 3%. SAP SE (SAP.US), Snap (SNAP.US), and Workday (WDAY.US) each climbed over 1%. On the news front, Bank of America Securities upgraded Salesforce’s rating from Underperform to Buy, sharply lifting its target price from $160 to $285. In its report, BofA noted that although revenue directly tied to AI still accounts for a small share, it is optimistic about the long-term prospects of the company’s enterprise AI. Additionally, Ben Schneider, chief U.S. equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, and TMT expert Pete Callahan pointed out that the AI investment narrative is shifting from semiconductor capital expenditure to application-layer areas such as the "inference economy" and personal agents. Callahan bluntly stated that "programming AI is no longer a market secret", adding that the market is urgently searching for the next major AI story.

9 minutes ago

AMD unveils Helion AI agent rack solution, with each rack supporting up to 32,768 CPU cores.

Beating AI News (from Dongcha) – AMD today announced the launch of the AMD Helion Agent AI Rack Solution. Built on an open infrastructure design compliant with Open Compute Project (OCP) specifications, the solution is engineered to meet the computing power demands of large-scale AI agent tasks, supporting flexible combinations of CPUs and GPUs. It offers two primary configurations: The first is a CPU-only rack powered by 6th Gen AMD EPYC processors, supporting up to 32,768 CPU cores, designed for hyperscale deployments, providing dedicated computing power for agent tasks and connecting to separate model inference infrastructure. The second is an integrated rack combining AMD EPYC CPUs, AMD Instinct MI350P GPUs, and general-purpose compute nodes, targeted at enterprise-grade agent AI applications. AMD states that Helion supports both liquid and air cooling configurations, allowing customers to adjust CPU and GPU resources based on their workload, performance, power consumption, and cost needs. The solution also integrates open-source software and hardware plus a built-in token router, enabling the distribution of agent model calls to both frontier and open-source models. AMD plans to submit the Helion specifications to the OCP for further community development and adoption. Currently, the solution is being developed in collaboration with ecosystem partners, with a launch scheduled for November 2026.

9 minutes ago

Head of Microsoft’s AI Agents Bets on 2027: AI Will No Longer Wait for Queries, Delivering Work Results Directly via Information Streams

Beating AI News: Nicolas Bustamante, head of Microsoft’s proactive AI Agent team, predicts AI streams will become the mainstream interaction method by 2027. Chat-based models leave too much work to users—requiring them to figure out AI’s capabilities, write prompts, provide context, and repeatedly direct agents. For billions to use agents daily, not everyone can be expected to master these tasks. Bustamante’s envisioned AI stream works like an auto-updated to-do list: AI drafts emails needing responses; when sales data refreshes, team reports are prepped. Users browse it like social media, approving, editing, or ignoring items, only turning to chat for complex issues. Meta’s Muse already proactively suggests and executes tasks. The model also has commercial logic: as users open the stream daily, AI recommends restaurants, goods or services based on their plans, with clearly labeled ads covering the agent’s operational costs.

9 minutes ago

A crypto whale reallocated its UBTC holdings into 16,700 ETH, worth $42.46 million.

According to monitoring by AI Aunt, a crypto whale address swapped its UBTC holdings for 16,704.47 ETH over the past 22 hours, worth approximately $42.46 million, at an average purchase price of around $2,541.89.

9 minutes ago

Microsoft's stock price has hit a nearly one-year high, and the company announced plans to massively deploy its in-house developed AI chips.

According to BIT (Bit.com) market data, Microsoft’s stock price hit a near one-year high, rising 0.8% intraday. On the news front, Microsoft plans to gradually increase the use of its self-developed AI chips in data centers to reduce reliance on NVIDIA GPUs. Microsoft stated that it will mainly rely on its self-developed Maia chip architecture to handle AI model requests in the future, and plans to deploy several gigawatts of computing power on the Maia series chips. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation AI accelerator chip, the Maia 300, on Monday, which is expected to enter production in 2027. Each data center rack can hold 96 Maia 300 chips, double the number of the previous-generation Maia 200; compared with GPUs, its AI token processing capacity per rack can reach up to 7 times higher, and the number of tokens processed per megawatt increases by approximately 40%. Microsoft said the Maia 300 is expected to boost AI service performance and lower data center operating costs. Evercore ISI analysts forecast that by the first quarter of 2027, Maia chips will account for around 10% of Microsoft’s AI chip spending.

9 minutes ago

The newly discovered Ledger exploit has stirred broad industry debate over the safety of hardware wallets compared to effectively custodying Bitcoin holdings through exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Bitcoin analyst Plan B said his then-controversial decision to move his Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to ETFs in 2025 was the right call in light of the recent Coldcard and Ledger exploits. “Zero regrets” about my ETF decision, wrote the analyst in a Monday X post.

Large holders have been converting self-custodied assets to ETFs for “enhanced security” for years, which is one of the main “selling points” for ETFs, 21Shares co-founder Ophelia Snyder told Cointelegraph in an email on Monday, adding that the recent exploits made this phenomenon part of the “public discourse.” 

The remarks follow the discovery of a compromised Ledger wallet that contained an unauthorized hardware implant. Some blockchain investigators estimated that losses from these implants could top $86 million, raising questions about the security of self-custodial cold wallets. 

Hardware wallets are still safe, but providers need better threat modelling: Adam Back To be sure, hardware wallets can still be secure custodial options, but providers need a better understanding of the emerging threat landscape, according to Blockstream CEO and Hashcash inventor Adam Back.

“Surprisingly few manufacturers understood the generic attacks, or so it seemed from their marketing and design choices, for the last decade. Time to catch up with threat-modelling,” wrote Back in a Saturday X post.

Source: Adam Back

However, Snyder said the main issue with self-custodial wallets is that their security depends on investors’ technical expertise and individual setup. She said:

“Without taking the time and rigor to set up properly, self-custody will always be less secure than handing over the assets to a specialist firm whose job it is to manage those protocols for you.”Bitcoin security researcher and cypherpunk Jameson Lopp also said that self-custodial wallets can be a robust option, but urged investors to avoid mass migration to create new central points of failure during rushed transactions.

Magazine: Bitcoiners turn to dice throws as self-custody setups are re-evaluated

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

The XRP Ledger has resolved a critical security vulnerability that posed a threat to its entire token supply, reassuring its community after concerns surfaced about the network’s stability. The flaw could have enabled attackers to generate vast amounts of unauthorized XRP, raising questions about the security mechanisms protecting the cryptocurrency’s fixed supply.

Technical details and scale of the vulnerabilityLevi, a financial expert and commentator, explained in a recent video that the vulnerability represented a significant risk to the integrity of the XRP Ledger. The issue stemmed from an integer overflow in the payment engine, which processes multiple trading offers via the network’s built-in decentralized exchange.

This flaw allowed for the possibility that, if exploited, an attacker could have created up to 18.45 trillion XRP in a single transaction. For context, the total capped supply of XRP stands at 100 billion tokens, meaning the exploit could have exceeded the maximum issuance more than 184 times over.

The vulnerability also affected a security mechanism designed to validate legitimate creation of XRP during transactions. Levi drew a parallel to the Federal Reserve printing trillions of dollars without checks or balance, illustrating the potential damage such an exploit could cause to user trust and market stability.

Mini dictionary: Integer overflow, a condition in computer science where an arithmetic operation attempts to create a numeric value outside the range that can be represented with a given number of digits, potentially leading to unpredictable behavior or vulnerabilities.

MetricMaximum IntendedPossible via ExploitXRP supply100 billion18.45 trillionHow the vulnerability was discovered and patchedAccording to Levi, developers responded quickly to the threat. The security issue was detected by Veria AI, a system developed by Veria Labs, on September 21, 2026. Researchers reported the finding through the XRP Ledger bug bounty program. An emergency update, xrpld version 3.4.1, was released on September 25 to address the flaw. The development team bypassed the usual amendment process to prevent potential exploits, as revealing details could have increased the risk of misuse.

The update also fixed a separate bug related to the ledger’s batch-processing system. Security engineers from RippleX verified that the exploit could create unauthorized XRP and confirmed that the fraudulent coins could be spent, further underscoring the seriousness of the vulnerability.

The XRPL Ripple team implemented a patch for the vulnerability and confirmed that there was no evidence the issue was ever exploited on public networks.

An official vulnerability disclosure report was published on October 9, offering a detailed account of the issue and the remediation process undertaken by the development team.

Community response and security outlookLevi addressed concerns from XRP holders regarding the safety of their investments. He stressed that discovering and promptly fixing such flaws does not indicate a failure of the system, but rather demonstrates the ongoing commitment of the developer community to maintaining and improving network security.

Levi noted that developers continually review the XRP Ledger code, identify weaknesses, and release improvements, reflecting how technology should evolve over time.

He emphasized that no evidence was found of any unauthorized XRP creation or exploitation of the identified vulnerability on any public ledger, reinforcing user confidence following the patch.

The episode highlights the importance of active security research, transparent disclosure, and rapid response within blockchain development teams.

For users and investors, the main takeaway remains that although the vulnerability could have been catastrophic if exploited, timely intervention preserved the integrity of the $XRP network and its token supply.

In its upcoming report, ManpowerGroup (MAN - Free Report) is predicted by Wall Street analysts to post quarterly earnings of $1.01 per share, reflecting an increase of 21.7% compared to the same period last year. Revenues are forecasted to be $4.91 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 5.9%.

The current level reflects no revision in the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter over the past 30 days. This demonstrates how the analysts covering the stock have collectively reappraised their initial projections over this period.

Prior to a company's earnings announcement, it is crucial to consider revisions to earnings estimates. This serves as a significant indicator for predicting potential investor actions regarding the stock. Empirical research has consistently demonstrated a robust correlation between trends in earnings estimate revision and the short-term price performance of a stock.

While it's common for investors to rely on consensus earnings and revenue estimates for assessing how the business may have performed during the quarter, exploring analysts' forecasts for key metrics can yield valuable insights.

That said, let's delve into the average estimates of some Manpower metrics that Wall Street analysts commonly model and monitor.

According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Revenues from Services- Americas' should come in at $1.21 billion. The estimate suggests a change of +10.3% year over year.

The consensus estimate for 'Revenues from Services- APME' stands at $521.79 million. The estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +0.3%.

Analysts forecast 'Revenues from Services- Southern Europe' to reach $2.27 billion. The estimate points to a change of +3.1% from the year-ago quarter.

Analysts predict that the 'Revenues from Services- Northern Europe' will reach $876.01 million. The estimate indicates a change of +7.3% from the prior-year quarter.

The combined assessment of analysts suggests that 'Revenues from Services- Southern Europe- Other Southern Europe' will likely reach $614.43 million. The estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +7.9%.

Analysts expect 'Revenues from Services- Southern Europe- France' to come in at $1.18 billion. The estimate points to a change of +0.8% from the year-ago quarter.

The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Revenues from Services- Americas- United States' of $723.53 million. The estimate suggests a change of +4.7% year over year.

Based on the collective assessment of analysts, 'Revenues from Services- Americas- Other Americas' should arrive at $488.69 million. The estimate indicates a change of +19.8% from the prior-year quarter.

The consensus among analysts is that 'Revenues from Services- Southern Europe- Italy' will reach $489.86 million. The estimate points to a change of +5.9% from the year-ago quarter.

Analysts' assessment points toward 'Operating Unit Profit- Americas' reaching $47.47 million. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $37.90 million.

It is projected by analysts that the 'Operating Unit Profit- APME' will reach $24.64 million. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $26.80 million.

The average prediction of analysts places 'Operating Unit Profit- Southern Europe' at $74.46 million. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported $65.60 million in the same quarter last year.

View all Key Company Metrics for Manpower here>>>

Manpower shares have witnessed a change of -6.5% in the past month, in contrast to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.4% move. With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), MAN is expected closely follow the overall market performance in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .

Crypto analyst Darkfost posted that despite Ethereum (ETH) recently pulling back from $2,775 to roughly $2,500, a nearly 10% drop, the notional value of Binance’s ETH futures open interest fell by about $600 million over the same period. However, when measured in ETH quantity, its open interest has rebounded to the level at the end of September, standing at around 2.46 million ETH. Between October 8 and 9, the market liquidated approximately $345 million worth of ETH long positions in a 24-hour window. Even so, Binance’s share of total ETH futures open interest across major centralized exchanges has climbed to nearly 49%, a new high since 2023. Darkfost noted that this means that despite ETH’s price correction and some leveraged positions being liquidated, the amount of ETH traders have deployed to Binance’s futures market has not decreased notably, further strengthening Binance’s dominance in the ETH derivatives market.

Relevant content

US crypto-related concept stocks reversed earlier losses to trade higher, with MSTR rising 2.04%.

According to market data from BIT (Bit.com), US crypto-related stocks have turned from losses to gains, with the following performance: MSTR up 2.04%, COIN up 2.08%, CRCL up 0.91%, SBET up 0.93%, BMNR up 1.01%, HOOD up 0.34%, and ABTC up 6.73%.

3 minutes ago

Palantir hits an all-time high, with U.S. AI application software stocks remaining active.

According to market data from BIT (Bit.com), U.S. AI software stocks remain active. Palantir (PLTR.US) rose over 1% to hit a new high, while ServiceNow (NOW.US), Shopify (SHOP.US), and Salesforce (CRM.US) gained more than 3%. SAP SE (SAP.US), Snap (SNAP.US), and Workday (WDAY.US) each climbed over 1%. On the news front, Bank of America Securities upgraded Salesforce’s rating from Underperform to Buy, sharply lifting its target price from $160 to $285. In its report, BofA noted that although revenue directly tied to AI still accounts for a small share, it is optimistic about the long-term prospects of the company’s enterprise AI. Additionally, Ben Schneider, chief U.S. equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, and TMT expert Pete Callahan pointed out that the AI investment narrative is shifting from semiconductor capital expenditure to application-layer areas such as the "inference economy" and personal agents. Callahan bluntly stated that "programming AI is no longer a market secret", adding that the market is urgently searching for the next major AI story.

3 minutes ago

AMD unveils Helion AI agent rack solution, with each rack supporting up to 32,768 CPU cores.

Beating AI News (from Dongcha) – AMD today announced the launch of the AMD Helion Agent AI Rack Solution. Built on an open infrastructure design compliant with Open Compute Project (OCP) specifications, the solution is engineered to meet the computing power demands of large-scale AI agent tasks, supporting flexible combinations of CPUs and GPUs.
It offers two primary configurations: The first is a CPU-only rack powered by 6th Gen AMD EPYC processors, supporting up to 32,768 CPU cores, designed for hyperscale deployments, providing dedicated computing power for agent tasks and connecting to separate model inference infrastructure. The second is an integrated rack combining AMD EPYC CPUs, AMD Instinct MI350P GPUs, and general-purpose compute nodes, targeted at enterprise-grade agent AI applications.
AMD states that Helion supports both liquid and air cooling configurations, allowing customers to adjust CPU and GPU resources based on their workload, performance, power consumption, and cost needs. The solution also integrates open-source software and hardware plus a built-in token router, enabling the distribution of agent model calls to both frontier and open-source models.
AMD plans to submit the Helion specifications to the OCP for further community development and adoption. Currently, the solution is being developed in collaboration with ecosystem partners, with a launch scheduled for November 2026.

3 minutes ago

Head of Microsoft’s AI Agents Bets on 2027: AI Will No Longer Wait for Queries, Delivering Work Results Directly via Information Streams

Beating AI News: Nicolas Bustamante, head of Microsoft’s proactive AI Agent team, predicts AI streams will become the mainstream interaction method by 2027. Chat-based models leave too much work to users—requiring them to figure out AI’s capabilities, write prompts, provide context, and repeatedly direct agents. For billions to use agents daily, not everyone can be expected to master these tasks. Bustamante’s envisioned AI stream works like an auto-updated to-do list: AI drafts emails needing responses; when sales data refreshes, team reports are prepped. Users browse it like social media, approving, editing, or ignoring items, only turning to chat for complex issues. Meta’s Muse already proactively suggests and executes tasks. The model also has commercial logic: as users open the stream daily, AI recommends restaurants, goods or services based on their plans, with clearly labeled ads covering the agent’s operational costs.

3 minutes ago

A crypto whale reallocated its UBTC holdings into 16,700 ETH, worth $42.46 million.

According to monitoring by AI Aunt, a crypto whale address swapped its UBTC holdings for 16,704.47 ETH over the past 22 hours, worth approximately $42.46 million, at an average purchase price of around $2,541.89.

3 minutes ago

Microsoft's stock price has hit a nearly one-year high, and the company announced plans to massively deploy its in-house developed AI chips.

According to BIT (Bit.com) market data, Microsoft’s stock price hit a near one-year high, rising 0.8% intraday. On the news front, Microsoft plans to gradually increase the use of its self-developed AI chips in data centers to reduce reliance on NVIDIA GPUs. Microsoft stated that it will mainly rely on its self-developed Maia chip architecture to handle AI model requests in the future, and plans to deploy several gigawatts of computing power on the Maia series chips. Microsoft unveiled its third-generation AI accelerator chip, the Maia 300, on Monday, which is expected to enter production in 2027. Each data center rack can hold 96 Maia 300 chips, double the number of the previous-generation Maia 200; compared with GPUs, its AI token processing capacity per rack can reach up to 7 times higher, and the number of tokens processed per megawatt increases by approximately 40%. Microsoft said the Maia 300 is expected to boost AI service performance and lower data center operating costs. Evercore ISI analysts forecast that by the first quarter of 2027, Maia chips will account for around 10% of Microsoft’s AI chip spending.

3 minutes ago

Is ETH ready to rebound after its recent price pullback?

The second-largest cryptocurrency has retraced 6% over the past week, yet an important development suggests the bullish setup remains intact.

Many market observers believe ETH could soon reach a new all-time high, while one mysterious trader spent millions to open an extremely risky long position in the asset.

The Bullish Perspective
Popular X user Ash Crypto revealed that ETH closed its fourth consecutive week above the 50-week moving average (MA) after bouncing off multi-month support at $2,405. This is considered a major long-term trend indicator and suggests momentum remains on the bulls’ side (despite recent volatility).

“Four consecutive weekly closes above the 50-week MA is an encouraging signal for ETH. Holding this level could strengthen the bullish outlook, but confirmation on the next few candles will be key,” one X user commented on the post.

Many analysts think the asset could be on the verge of an imminent surge. Ali Martinez recently noted that ETH has formed an “Adam and Eve” bottoming pattern, outlining the neckline at $2,520 as the key zone.

“A sustained close above this level could confirm a bullish breakout and open the door for ETH to rally toward $2,640.”

For his part, Ted said ETH is currently facing resistance around the $2,560-$2,570 range. He believes that reclaiming this zone could set the stage for a pump to $2,700. X user BLADE noted the recent price correction but reminded that the asset has historically rallied after such dips.

“It’s a simple dynamic that keeps repeating. Same base as the 2025 bottom, so naturally I’d expect the same run over the months ahead. My target: $5K,” they said.

Meanwhile, investors have become increasingly aggressive on ETH. X user Gerla disclosed that Ethereum longs on Bitfinex have spiked by 266% in just a few weeks, reaching their highest level since 2022. Ash Crypto revealed that an anonymous whale opened a $50 million long position on ETH with 25x leverage and is currently less than $50 away from liquidation.

The Bearish Signals
Despite analysts’ predominant optimism, two key developments suggest the asset could underperform in the near future. The first is the recent performance of the spot ETH ETFs.

You may also like:

BTC, ETH, XRP Crash Sparks Whale Accumulation as Buy Signals Appear

Ethereum (ETH) Correction Deepens, But Binance Withdrawals Tell Another Story

Analyst Warns of Bitcoin Monday Dump After Sunday Gain

As CryptoPotato reported, the investment vehicles recorded total outflows of more than $540 million last week, signaling that pension funds, hedge funds, and other conservative investors have reduced their exposure to the cryptocurrency. More concerning, spot ETH ETFs have posted nine consecutive red days, with September 28 as the last day inflows exceeded outflows.

Next is the rising amount of coins stored on crypto exchanges. According to CryptoQuant, the figure has risen to a one-month high of about 14.9 million units, which doesn’t guarantee a price collapse but increases immediate selling pressure.

ETH Exchange Reserve, Source: CryptoQuant

Tags:

AutoZone (AZO - Free Report) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.

Shares of this auto parts retailer have returned +2.2% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.4% change. The Zacks Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry, to which AutoZone belongs, has lost 0.8% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?

Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.

Earnings Estimate RevisionsRather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company's earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.

Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.

AutoZone is expected to post earnings of $36.41 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +17.3%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -4.2%.

For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $171.5 points to a change of +12.4% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed -2.3%.

For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $194.62 indicates a change of +13.5% from what AutoZone is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed -2%.

Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, AutoZone is rated Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:

12 Month EPS

Projected Revenue GrowthWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.

For AutoZone, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $4.95 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +7%. For the current and next fiscal years, $21.86 billion and $23.44 billion estimates indicate +7.5% and +7.2% changes, respectively.

Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryAutoZone reported revenues of $6.59 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +5.6%. EPS of $56.05 for the same period compares with $48.71 a year ago.

Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.69 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of -1.38%. The EPS surprise was +2.77%.

Over the last four quarters, AutoZone surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates times over this period.

ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.

Comparing the current value of a company's valuation multiples, such as its price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), to its own historical values helps ascertain whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, whereas comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of how reasonable its stock price is.

The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.

AutoZone is graded C on this front, indicating that it is trading at par with its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.

ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about AutoZone. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.