Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

The Ethereum Foundation and the Open Anonymity Project have launched zkAPI, a system on Ethereum mainnet that lets people pay for API access without leaving a trail back to who they are.

The launch went live on October 1, 2026. The setup centers on a smart contract vault deployed on Ethereum mainnet.

Users deposit ETH or USDC into that vault. Those deposits become credits, and the vault contract holds them as USDC credits.

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When a user wants to call an API, such as an AI model, they generate a cryptographic proof authorizing the payment. The service gets paid, and the user gets their response. The authorization is designed to be unlinkable to any specific deposit or identity.

Under the hood, zkAPI relies on three cryptographic building blocks:

Groth16 proofs: a type of zero-knowledge proof that lets someone prove a statement is true without revealing the underlying data. Baby-JubJub commitments: a way of locking in a value, like a deposit, so it can be referenced later without being exposed. A 32-level Merkle tree: a data structure that bundles many commitments into a single fingerprint, which a user can prove membership in without pointing to their specific entry. User funds sit in contracts controlled on Ethereum itself, not on a company server. That means users can withdraw their funds independently, without relying on any server to cooperate.

The proposal traces back to a February 11, 2026 research post by Vitalik Buterin and Davide Crapis. That puts the timeline from idea to mainnet deployment at under eight months.

The Open Anonymity Project, the Ethereum Foundation’s partner on the launch, had secured over $100,000 in grants from the Ethereum Foundation and the Human Rights Foundation as of May 2026.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Investment firms Petersen Energia and Eton Park petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ​to reinstate a $16.1 billion judgment against Argentina in the long-running ‌YPF litigation.

The petition seeks to overturn a March decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which held the claims belonged in Argentine courts rather than the United ​States. That decision overturned a judgment entered after more than a ​decade of litigation. The investors argue the ruling improperly allows a ⁠foreign nation to rely on its own laws to avoid liability ​in U.S. courts.

BACKGROUND

The dispute centers on Argentina's 2012 nationalization of a controlling stake in ​YPF. Petersen and Eton Park allege Argentina violated YPF's bylaws by failing to launch a tender offer to minority shareholders after seizing a 51% stake from Spain's Repsol.

Argentina amended ​YPF's bylaws prior to its 1993 New York Stock Exchange listing to ​require a mandatory tender offer to all shareholders if the government ever regained majority ‌control.

A ⁠U.S. district court had previously entered a $16.1 billion judgment — described in the petition as the largest commercial award in U.S. history — after a three-day damages trial.

KEY ARGUMENTS

The petition asks whether a foreign sovereign can use its own law ​to require claims ​to be brought ⁠to its domestic courts despite jurisdiction established under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

It also questions whether U.S. courts should ​defer to a sovereign's interpretation of its own law ​when that ⁠interpretation is first advanced on appeal.

The petition, filed by former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, argues the 2nd Circuit decision conflicts with Supreme Court precedent and ⁠creates ​a split among federal appellate courts.

Argentina's presidential ​office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. YPF declined to comment.

Sixty-five consecutive quarters of quarterly common stock dividend increases  | Source: Bank OZK

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bank OZK (the “Bank”) (Nasdaq: OZK) announced its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on the Bank’s common stock of $0.49 per share, up $0.01, or 2.08% from the prior quarter. The common stock dividend is payable on October 20, 2026 to shareholders of record as of October 13, 2026. This marks the Bank’s 65th consecutive increase in its quarterly common stock dividend.

The Board of Directors also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.28906 per share on the Bank’s 4.625% Series A Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock (“Series A Preferred Stock”) (Nasdaq: OZKAP) for the period covering August 15, 2026 through, but excluding November 15, 2026. The Series A Preferred Stock dividend is payable on November 16, 2026, to holders of record of the Series A Preferred Stock at the close of business on November 2, 2026.

Bank OZK’s consistent track record of increasing its common stock dividend has led to it being included in the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats® index (Ticker: SPHYDA) since January 2018. The index consists of members of the S&P Composite 1500® that have followed a managed-dividends policy of consistently increasing common stock dividends every year for at least 20 years, and that meet minimum float-adjusted market capitalization and liquidity requirements. For more information on the index, visit www.spglobal.com/spdji.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Bank OZK (Nasdaq: OZK) is a regional bank providing innovative financial solutions delivered by expert bankers with a relentless pursuit of excellence. Established in 1903, Bank OZK conducts banking operations in 267 offices in nine states including Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, New York, California and Mississippi and had $41.7 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2026. For more information, visit ozk.com.

Investor Relations Contact:Jay Staley (501) 906-7842Media Contact:Michelle Rossow (501) 906-3922  

St. Louis, Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ESE) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Megger Group Limited (Megger) business of TBG AG (TBG). Under the terms of the transaction, TBG has agreed to certain lock-up provisions with respect to its equity ownership in ESCO common stock and has nomination rights for one seat on ESCO’s Board of Directors. 

The acquisition of Megger supports ESCO’s long-term objective of expanding our leadership positions in high-growth end-markets. Megger is a leading global provider of testing, monitoring, and data-driven solutions for utilities and critical electric infrastructure and will become a part of our Utility Solutions Group segment. Megger adds a well-respected and differentiated product portfolio, with highly complementary capabilities, deep technical expertise, and strong customer and supplier relationships.   The addition of Megger expands the scale and international reach of ESCO’s utility product offerings, further strengthening our position as a valued partner to utilities worldwide.

The Company’s FY 2027 financial guidance and outlook, inclusive of impacts from the Megger acquisition, will be announced in November when Q4 2026 earnings are released.

ESCO is a global provider of highly engineered products and solutions serving diverse end-markets. It manufactures filtration and fluid control products, advanced composites, as well as signature and power management solutions for aviation, Navy, space, and industrial customers. ESCO is an industry leader in designing and manufacturing RF test and measurement products and systems; and provides diagnostic instruments, software and services to industrial power users and the electric utility and renewable energy industries. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, ESCO and its subsidiaries have offices and manufacturing facilities worldwide. For more information on ESCO and its subsidiaries, visit ESCO’s website at www.escotechnologies.com.

SOURCE ESCO Technologies Inc.
Kate Lowrey, Vice President of Investor Relations, (314) 213-7277

@Ondo Finance has expanded its Intelligent Portfolios lineup by releasing four new programmatic index tokens simultaneously on the @Ethereum and @BNBChain networks, broadening a product suite that first launched with three BlackRock-powered strategies in late September 2026.

Four New Tokens, Four Distinct Strategies The newly added tokens each target a specific investment theme. $MAG7Xon blends mega-cap technology stock exposure with crypto holdings, while $BRAINon focuses on high-growth artificial intelligence companies. The two fixed income tokens, $YLD5on and $YLD8on, are designed to generate returns of 5% and 8% respectively, giving yield-focused investors an onchain alternative to traditional fixed income instruments.

Like the rest of the Intelligent Portfolios range, the new tokens are structured as single transferable onchain instruments. Rebalancing executes automatically at the smart contract level, and the portfolios are fully programmable and composable with the broader onchain economy. Constituents, weights, and every rebalance are visible onchain, and the tokens are freely transferable peer-to-peer across wallets, exchanges, and DeFi protocols.

Building on the BlackRock Partnership The expansion follows the initial Intelligent Portfolios launch on September 24, 2026, when Ondo introduced three tokens built around strategies developed by BlackRock. The portfolio tokens are based on strategies powered by BlackRock, developed by BlackRock for Ondo, marking the first time eligible onchain investors could access exposure to such strategies through a single token. Diversified, professionally constructed portfolios have historically required brokerage accounts and traditional fund structures, but by incorporating BlackRock's portfolio construction experience into tokenized structures, eligible investors in supported jurisdictions can now obtain that exposure through a single token.

The launch builds on BlackRock's foray into tokenization, having previously launched its BUIDL tokenized money market fund with Securitize in March 2024. Ondo subsequently moved $95 million of OUSG assets into BUIDL. The addition of four further tokens deepens that relationship and signals that Ondo intends to build out a comprehensive onchain portfolio offering across multiple asset classes and risk profiles.

Ondo Stocks had already reached $1 billion in total value locked within eight months , underscoring the appetite for tokenized real-world assets among eligible non-US investors. The new Ethereum and BNB Chain deployments position Ondo to capture demand from two of the largest smart contract ecosystems simultaneously.

Sources:
Ondo Finance Official Press Release via PR Newswire
The Block: Ondo launches onchain portfolio tokens based on BlackRock-developed strategies
Morningstar: Ondo Launches Intelligent Portfolios, Powered by BlackRock

Chainlink has built a system that automates dividend payments for tokenized equities across four blockchains, and it showcased the work at the Swift Hackathon.

The project focuses on corporate actions, the umbrella term for events a company initiates that change something for its shareholders. Dividends are the most familiar example. Stock splits and mergers are others.

In traditional markets, these events flow through a chain of custodians, transfer agents and data vendors. Each one reads the announcement, interprets it and passes it along. Errors creep in at every handoff.

Chainlink’s solution takes one piece of that process, dividend payments, and automates it across four separate blockchains. That multi-chain angle matters. Tokenized assets do not live on one network. If an issuer puts the same equity token on several chains, every holder needs to get paid correctly, no matter where their token sits.

Chainlink’s tokenized equity data feeds already handle part of this puzzle. The feeds adjust for events like dividends and mergers so that tokenized versions of traditional assets carry accurate prices. They rely on a mechanism called a uiMultiplier for dividend adjustments, which affects how the token is priced after a payout.

A track record at Swift’s hackathons This is not Chainlink’s first appearance at Swift’s competition. The oracle network won the 2025 Swift Hackathon Business Challenge, announced on October 2, 2025, from a record field of 104 participants.

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That winning entry tackled a different problem: compliant cross-border and cross-chain settlement of digital assets, with a particular focus on tokenized funds. It combined Chainlink’s Automated Compliance Engine (ACE) and its Runtime Environment (CRE) with GLEIF’s verifiable Legal Entity Identifier framework, known as vLEI, plus Swift messaging.

The goal was to streamline identity verification, sanctions screening and KYC checks. The system enforced policies on-chain while fiat processing happened off-chain. According to the research findings, it cut compliance onboarding times from days to minutes.

Chainlink Labs also placed runner-up in the 2026 Swift Hackathon Business Challenge.

The 2025 architecture was also designed to stretch. It can be applied to tokenized deposits, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies and digital securities, not just funds.

The $58 billion headache The dividend automation fits into a larger Chainlink effort aimed at corporate actions processing as a whole. That initiative announced results on September 29, 2025.

It involved 24 institutions, including Swift, DTCC, Euroclear and UBS. The problem they targeted is estimated to cost the industry around $58 billion annually. That is the price tag on manual processing, reconciliation and mistakes in how corporate action data gets handled.

The initiative used AI alongside blockchain technology to reach nearly complete data consensus.

Chainlink’s relationship with Swift goes back to at least 2016. Over that time, the collaboration has expanded to support tokenized fund workflows.

What this means for tokenization Every dividend, split or merger is a moment where a tokenized stock can drift away from its underlying asset. Automating dividends across multiple chains addresses one of the most frequent of those moments.

There are caveats worth keeping in mind. Hackathon projects are demonstrations, not production systems handling live capital at scale.

The thing to watch is whether any of the 24 institutions in the corporate actions initiative, or others in Swift’s orbit, move these tools from demonstration into live workflows.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Circle has called on EU policymakers to adjust certain provisions in MiCA, noting that the majority of the largest global stablecoins are not included. According to Patrick Hansen, EU strategy and policy director at Circle, only three of the world’s top 30 stablecoins are MiCA-compliant.

Circle Pushes for Wider Stablecoin Recognition According to Circle, MiCA has already established a significant regulated stablecoin ecosystem, featuring approximately 30 e-money tokens approved in Europe. However, the company believes the framework still captures only a small share of the largest global stablecoins.

Hansen said “only 3 of the top 30 are MiCA-compliant today,” referring to USDC, USDG, and EURC. Circle’s accompanying policy post used a top-25 comparison, but it identified the same three regulated stablecoins.

Circle has thus requested the EU to maintain multi-issuance, which would enable a MiCA-licensed entity to issue a token alongside an affiliate in a different jurisdiction. The company stated that limiting that model could shift the European stablecoin market to the offshore market.

Circle Calls for Changes to MiCA Reserve Rules Circle also sought regulators to review MiCA requirements for e-money token issuers regarding reserves. The rules require at least 30% of reserves in commercial bank deposits, rising to 60% for significant issuers.

The company has agreed with the European Central Bank that those thresholds are too strict and may lead to higher risk of banking counterparty exposure. Circle, on the other hand, suggested a liquidity-based rule that takes into account the quality and availability of reserve assets.

This comes on the heels of Circle’s euro-backed stablecoin, which is expanding under MiCA. As we reported, use of EURC grew in payments and settlement, and supply has more than doubled year over year to approximately €400 million. Recently, Revolut has also introduced EURR as a further euro stablecoin in Europe’s regulated market.

Hyperliquid Also Seeks Changes During MiCA Review Circle’s submission coincided with other cryptocurrency firms reacting to the European Commission’s MiCA consultation. The Hyperliquid Policy Committee concentrated its submission on the treatment of perpetual futures.

The committee recommended that perpetual futures continue to be subject to MiFID II as they are derivatives regardless of how trades are recorded. It also opposed applying bilateral CFD restrictions to transparent central limit order books.

Hyperliquid also urged regulators to acknowledge public blockchain data on its reporting obligations when data is already accessible on the chain. Circle, on the other hand, suggested an alternative approach that would extend over a longer period of time and empower recognized foreign stablecoin issuers to function through locally licensed European institutions.

Combination Creates Global Market Leader of Thermal and Precision Flow Management Technologies

Announces Appointment of Paul Mascarenas to its Board of Directors

NOVI, Mich., Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gentherm (NASDAQ:THRM) (the “Company” or “Gentherm”), a global market leader of thermal and precision flow management technologies, today announced it has completed the previously announced combination with Modine’s Performance Technologies business (the “Business”). The transaction was first announced on January 29, 2026.

"Today marks the start of the next phase for Gentherm. Together, we have created a global leader in thermal and precision flow management solutions serving multiple end markets, combining complementary technologies, deep expertise and strong customer relationships,” said Bill Presley, the Company's President and CEO. "We are proud to continue the Modine legacy of innovation as part of Gentherm while building an even stronger future for our employees, customers and shareholders and welcome the Modine Performance Technologies team to Gentherm."

As part of the transaction, Gentherm acquired the Modine brand, domains, and trademarks and will continue to go to market as Modine. Modine (NYSE: MOD) intends to operate as Modexus Solutions (following shareholder approval of the proposed name change) and will continue using the Modine brand in certain businesses (the Heat Transfer Solutions and HVAC Technologies businesses in its Commercial HVAC segment) under a license with Gentherm. The arrangement preserves customer continuity after the separation and allows customers to continue to access Modine products, solutions, and resources through Modine-branded channels.

Transaction information
The transaction was structured as a Reverse Morris Trust transaction (the “Transaction”), pursuant to which the Business was spun off as a separate subsidiary entity of Modine (“SpinCo”) and then merged with a wholly owned subsidiary of Gentherm. The Transaction is intended to be tax-free to Modine and its shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes, except that Modine shareholders will generally recognize gain or loss on any cash received in lieu of fractional shares of Gentherm common stock.

In the Transaction, Modine shareholders received 0.44619 shares of Gentherm common stock for each share of Modine common stock they held as of the close of business on September 28, 2026, the record date for the spin-off, with cash in lieu of any fractional shares of Gentherm common stock. As of the closing of the Transaction, Modine’s shareholders owned shares of Gentherm common stock representing approximately 43.62% of the outstanding shares of the combined company, and Gentherm shareholders prior to the closing of the Transaction owned shares of Gentherm common stock representing approximately 56.38% of the outstanding shares of the combined company, without taking into account any overlapping shareholder ownership. In addition to their shares of Gentherm common stock, Modine shareholders continue to hold the same number of shares of Modine common stock they held prior to the transaction.

Modine received a cash distribution from SpinCo of approximately $156 million in the Transaction that was used to repay outstanding indebtedness. In addition, following adjustment to the exchange ratio, the Gentherm Board of Directors declared a special dividend of $2.07 per share to be paid on October 7, 2026 to Gentherm shareholders as of September 28, 2026, the record date for the special dividend, in accordance with the Merger Agreement.

Leadership Update
Bill Presley and Jon Douyard will continue leading the combined Company as CEO and CFO, respectively. Katrin Schatz will serve as the Interim President of Modine Performance Technologies, which will operate as a division of Gentherm. Ms. Schatz has more than 25 years' experience spanning finance, engineering, and operations at Modine, most recently serving as the Vice President and General Manager of the Global Automotive Business.

"Since we first began discussions with Modine, I have been impressed with the team's strategic vision and operational discipline. They are highly skilled and bring a relentless focus on quality and execution,” said Bill Presley, the Company's President and CEO. "I look forward to spending more time with Performance Technologies' highly capable and long-tenured segment leaders."

Board of Directors
Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, Paul Mascarenas has been appointed to the Gentherm Board of Directors effective upon the closing of the Transaction. The result is an increase in the size of the Gentherm Board to a total of 10 members.

Mr. Mascarenas is the former Chief Technical Officer of Ford Motor Company, where he led worldwide research and advanced engineering activities and oversaw the development and implementation of Ford’s technology strategy. During his tenure with Ford, which began in 1982, Mr. Mascarenas held various development and engineering positions both in the U.S. and Europe. He is currently a Venture Partner with Fontinalis Partners and serves on the Board of Directors of ON Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: ON) and Neo Performance Materials Inc. (TSX: NEO). He has previously served on the Board of Directors at several public companies including Mentor Graphics (n/k/a Siemens EDA), BorgWarner, United States Steel Corporation, and Aebi Schmidt Group (formerly Shyft Group and Spartan Motors). He also served as President and Chair of the board of SAE International. Mr. Mascarenas holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of London, King’s College and an honorary doctorate degree from Chongqing University.

“We are pleased to welcome Paul to Gentherm’s Board of Directors,” said Ronald Hundzinski, Chair of the Board of Gentherm. “Paul is an accomplished executive with many years of deep board experience. He has served across a wide range of committees for companies in various industries that will be a valuable asset as we execute Gentherm's strategy and deliver shareholder value.”

Investor Contact 
Gregory Blanchette
[email protected]
248.308.1702 

Media Contact 
Haley Baur 
[email protected]
248.289.9711

About Gentherm
Gentherm (NASDAQ: THRM) is a global leader of innovative thermal and precision flow management technologies. The Company brings together industry leading products from Gentherm’s climate, comfort and valves businesses serving the light vehicle, medical, and home and office markets, with Modine’s highly engineered, mission-critical thermal solutions serving commercial vehicle, off-highway equipment, light vehicle and power generation markets. Gentherm has more than 18,000 employees in facilities across 17 countries. For more information, go to www.gentherm.com.

Forward-Looking Statements 
Except for historical information contained herein, statements in this release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements represent Gentherm Incorporated's goals, beliefs, plans and expectations about its prospects for the future and other future events. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made as of the date hereof or as of the date specified herein and are based on management's reasonable expectations and beliefs. In making these statements we rely on assumptions and analysis based on our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, third party information and projections from sources that management believes to be reputable, as well as other factors we consider appropriate under the circumstances. Such statements are subject to a number of important assumptions, significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and other factors that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from that described in or indicated by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to:

uncertainty of the expected financial performance of the combined company following completion of the acquisition of the Modine Performance Technologies business (the “Transaction”);failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the Transaction, including as a result of delay in or integrating the businesses of Gentherm and Modine’s Performance Technologies on the expected timeframe or at all;the ability of the combined company to implement its business strategy;difficulties and delays in the combined company achieving revenue and cost synergies;inability of the combined company to retain and hire key personnel;evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes;changes in general economic and/or industry specific conditions or any volatility resulting from the imposition of and changing policies, including those policies with respect to tariffs;actions by third parties, including government agencies;the risk of greater than expected difficulty in separating the business of the Performance Technologies business from the other businesses of Modine; andrisks related to the effects of the pendency of the Transaction on the relationship of any of the parties to the Transaction with their employees, customers, suppliers, or other counterparties.macroeconomic, geopolitical and similar global factors in the cyclical Automotive industry;the impact of, and our ability to mitigate the effects of, global economic and trade policies, including increases in duties, tariffs and taxation on the import or export of our products related to U.S. trade disputes;increasing U.S. and global competition, including with non-traditional entrants;our ability to effectively manage new product launches and research and development, and the market acceptance of such products and technologies;the evolution and challenges of the automotive industry towards electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles and mobility on demand services, and related consumer behaviors and preferences;our ability to convert automotive new business awards into product revenues;the constraints in the supply chain environment, and inflationary and other cost pressures;the production levels of our major customers and OEMs in our relevant markets and sudden fluctuations in such production levels;our business in China, which is subject to unique operational, competitive, geopolitical, regulatory and economic risks;the impact of our global operations, including our cost structure and global manufacturing footprint, operations within Ukraine, and foreign currency and exchange risk;our product quality and safety and impact of product safety recalls and alleged defects in products;our ability to attract and retain highly skilled employees and wage inflation;a tightening labor market, labor shortages or work stoppages impacting us, our customers or our suppliers, such as recent labor strikes among certain OEMs and suppliers;our achievement of product cost reductions to offset customer-imposed price reductions or other pricing pressures;our ability to execute efforts to optimize our global supply chain and manufacturing footprint, including opening new facilities and transferring production;our ability to source, consummate, integrate and achieve planned benefits of strategic acquisitions, investments and, as applicable, exits;any security breaches and other disruptions to our information technology networks and systems, as well as privacy, data security and data protection risks, including risks associated with use of artificial intelligence capabilities in our business operations;any loss or insolvency of our key customers and OEMs, or key suppliers;our ability to project future sales volume based on third-party information, based on which we manage our business;the protection of our intellectual property in certain jurisdictions;our compliance with global anti-corruption laws and regulations;legal and regulatory proceedings and claims involving us or one of our major customers;the extensive regulation of our patient temperature management business;risks associated with our manufacturing processes;the effects of climate change and regulatory and stakeholder-imposed requirements to address climate change and other sustainability issues;our product quality and safety;our borrowing availability under our revolving credit facility, as well as the ability to access the capital markets, to support our planned growth; andour indebtedness and compliance with our debt covenants. The foregoing risks should be read in conjunction with the Company's reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including “Risk Factors,” in its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. In addition, with reasonable frequency, we have entered into business combinations, acquisitions, divestitures, strategic investments and other significant transactions. Such forward-looking statements do not include the potential impact of any such transactions that may be completed after the date hereof (except the Proposed Transaction to the extent specified), each of which may present material risks to the Company’s future business and financial results. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment and new risks emerge from time to time.

Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its strategies or expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. 

Key Takeaways NVIDIA posted 106% revenue growth and expects fiscal third-quarter revenues of about $108 billion.Quanta Services' revenues rose 41.1%, while adjusted EPS jumped 71% in the second quarter.Both companies have favorable earnings trends, with Quanta Services backed by a $53.4 billion backlog. The month of October kicks off the fourth quarter with a mixed backdrop for investors. The U.S. economy remains stable, with the Commerce Department’s latest estimate showing real GDP expanded at a 2.2% annualized rate in the second quarter, while consumer spending rose 3.8%. At the same time, elevated inflation is making it difficult for the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy aggressively, while higher interest rates continue to put pressure on stock valuations. The Federal Reserve’s September projections put 2026 PCE inflation at 3.7% and the federal funds rate at 4.1% at year-end, underscoring the possibility of higher rates for longer.

Against this backdrop, investors entering October may want to emphasize companies capable of delivering above-market revenue and earnings growth rather than relying solely on multiple expansion. This approach is particularly relevant as the market moves into the third-quarter earnings reporting cycle shortly.

Here, we suggest investors buy NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) and Quanta Services (PWR - Free Report) in October to boost portfolio growth, as both companies combine strong earnings growth prospects with favorable estimate trends and long-term business drivers.

Rising Earnings Estimates Support Growth OutlookEarnings estimate trends also remain supportive heading into October. As shown in the chart below, the December 2026 EPS estimate for the S&P 500 has climbed to $8.45 as of September 2026 from $6.92 a year earlier, representing a 22.1% increase. Estimates have moved steadily higher through much of 2026, indicating improving earnings expectations.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Against this backdrop, companies with strong fundamental growth and positive estimate revisions could remain particularly attractive as investors become increasingly selective heading into the third-quarter earnings season.

The opportunity, however, calls for selectivity rather than simply chasing stocks that have already rallied. September's sharp rise in Treasury yields and higher energy prices have increased concerns about inflation and borrowing costs, while the S&P 500 still posted a gain for the third quarter. Higher yields can create valuation pressure for rate-sensitive growth stocks, making earnings delivery increasingly important.

For investors looking to strengthen portfolios in October, growth stocks with visible earnings drivers, strong fundamentals and favorable estimate revision trends could therefore offer a way to participate in corporate profit expansion while maintaining greater focus on underlying business performance.

2 Growth Stocks to Buy in OctoberNVIDIA: It stands out as a growth candidate heading into October, supported by exceptionally strong demand for accelerated computing and AI infrastructure. The company reported fiscal 2027 second-quarter revenues of $96.2 billion, up 106% year over year, while guiding for fiscal third-quarter revenues of about $108 billion.

For growth investors, the Zacks Consensus Estimate as of late September called for fiscal 2027 revenues of $406.05 billion, up 88.04% year over year, while EPS was projected to increase 93.92%. The fiscal third-quarter consensus called for revenues of $109.02 billion and EPS of $2.47, implying year-over-year growth of 91.24% and 90%, respectively. NVDA carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with an impressive five-year historical growth rate of 77.1%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Quanta Services: Beyond technology, Quanta Services offers exposure to growing investment in electricity transmission, grid modernization, power generation and other critical infrastructure. The company reported second-quarter 2026 revenues of $9.56 billion, up 41.1% year over year, while adjusted EPS jumped 71% to $4.24. Its backlog reached $53.4 billion at the end of the second quarter, up about 49% year over year, providing visibility into future project activity.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for 55.3% EPS growth in 2026, well above the 19.4% industry average. Meanwhile, PWR's current year-over-year cash-flow growth stands at 21.2%, compared with 10.3% for the industry, according to Zacks. PWR carried a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of A. Our research shows that stocks with a Growth Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1, 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), offer the best upside potential. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Matador Resources Company (NYSE: MTDR) (“Matador” or the “Company”) today announced the closing of the previously announced acquisition of Paloma Permian LLC (“Paloma”), a portfolio company of EnCap Investments L.P. (“EnCap”), for cash consideration of $1.255 billion, which amount is subject to customary post-closing adjustments (the “Paloma Acquisition”). Highlights of the Paloma Acquisition include:

Adds over 156 net locations (normalized to two-mile laterals) across nine or more potential targeted benches; 59 approved drilling permits on Paloma acreage; Matador expects to commence drilling operations on up to 25 wells associated with Paloma acreage by year-end 2027; and Adds approximately 16,500 net primarily undeveloped acres in Eddy and Lea Counties, New Mexico, the majority of which is held by production. Joseph Wm. Foran, Matador’s Founder, Chairman and CEO, commented, “On behalf of the Board and executive committee, I would like to acknowledge the extra effort and assistance of everyone at Paloma, EnCap and Matador to close this important transaction as agreed. We believe the Paloma assets hold some of the highest hydrocarbon resources per acre in the Lower 48. This acreage also provides Matador with great value creation opportunities for upstream capital efficiencies, for its wholly-owned midstream system and for its 51%-owned San Mateo Midstream system.

“While most of the acquisition’s current value stems from its undeveloped drilling locations, we are encouraged by the continued strong performance of the acquired producing wells. Largely attributable to Paloma’s newest wells in Eddy County, New Mexico, since June 1, 2026, production associated with the acquisition has outperformed Matador’s underwriting estimates by approximately 10%.

“With the addition of the Paloma Acquisition closed today, and the expected acreage additions from the recently announced Ridge Runner Resources II, LLC (“Ridge Runner”) acquisition (expected to close later this month), Matador will have approximately 240,000 net acres in the core of the Delaware Basin in the fourth quarter of 2026. Together with the May 2026 Federal lease sale, these acquisitions increase Matador’s net acreage position by almost 20% above its October 2025 position of 203,000 net acres.”

Mr. Foran continued, “We are excited about Matador’s positive outlook for the remainder of 2026 and as we look ahead to 2027. We look forward to further discussion of the Paloma assets, including our plans for the fourth quarter of 2026, in our third quarter 2026 earnings release and conference call in early November. We especially want to express our respect and appreciation for Paloma’s and EnCap’s professionalism and cooperation during the transition process from Paloma’s management team and field and office staff.

“Similar to previous successful transactions between Matador and EnCap, and its portfolio companies, we anticipate this acquisition will be integrated efficiently into Matador’s operating plans and contribute to Matador’s free cash flow generation and to its planned debt repayments. In that regard, Matador expects to pay down its reserves-based lending credit facility led by PNC Bank by approximately $350-400 million following the closings in the fourth quarter, depending on commodity prices.”

Advisors

Baker Botts L.L.P. served as legal advisor to Matador for the Paloma Acquisition. Vinson & Elkins LLP served as legal advisor and RBC Richardson Barr served as financial advisor to Paloma and EnCap.

About Matador Resources Company

Matador is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States, with an emphasis on oil and natural gas shale and other unconventional plays. Its current operations are focused primarily on the oil and liquids-rich portion of the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. Matador also operates in the Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley plays in Northwest Louisiana. Additionally, Matador conducts midstream operations in support of its exploration, development and production operations and provides natural gas processing, oil transportation services, natural gas, oil and produced water gathering services and produced water disposal services to third parties.

For more information, visit Matador Resources Company at www.matadorresources.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. “Forward-looking statements” are statements related to future, not past, events. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and include any statement that does not directly relate to a current or historical fact. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “could,” “believe,” “would,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “continue,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “project,” “hypothetical,” “forecasted” and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the Paloma Acquisition and the consummation and timing of the acquisition of primarily undeveloped acreage from Ridge Runner (the “Ridge Runner Acquisition” and collectively with the Paloma Acquisition, the “Acquisitions”), the anticipated benefits, opportunities and results with respect to the Acquisitions, including the expected value creation, reserves additions, inventory additions, midstream opportunities and other anticipated impacts from the Acquisitions, guidance, projected or forecasted financial and operating results, future liquidity, the repayment of debt, the payment of dividends, results in certain basins, objectives, project timing, expectations and intentions, regulatory and governmental actions and other statements that are not historical facts. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements, and such forward-looking statements may not prove to be accurate. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the ability of the parties to consummate the Ridge Runner Acquisition in the anticipated timeframe or at all; risks related to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to closing the Ridge Runner Acquisition in the anticipated timeframe or at all; risks related to obtaining the requisite regulatory approvals; disruption from the Acquisitions making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; significant transaction costs associated with the Acquisitions; the risk of litigation and/or regulatory actions related to the Acquisitions, as well as the following risks related to financial and operational performance: general economic conditions including the effects of inflation; interest rates; tariffs and trade tensions; the Company’s ability to execute its business plan, including whether its drilling program is successful; changes in oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids prices and the demand for oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids; its ability to replace reserves and efficiently develop current reserves; the operating results of the Company’s midstream oil, natural gas and water gathering and transportation systems, pipelines and facilities, the acquiring of third-party business and the drilling of any additional salt water disposal wells; costs of operations; delays and other difficulties related to producing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids or the construction, expansion or operation of the Company’s midstream assets; delays and other difficulties related to regulatory and governmental approvals and restrictions; impact on the Company’s operations due to seismic events; its ability to make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms; its ability to integrate acquisitions; disruption from the Company’s acquisitions making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; significant transaction costs associated with the Company’s acquisitions; the risk of litigation and/or regulatory actions related to the Company’s acquisitions; availability of sufficient capital to execute its business plan, including from future cash flows, capital markets, available borrowing capacity under its revolving credit facilities and otherwise; the operating results of and the availability of any potential distributions from our joint ventures; weather conditions, environmental conditions and natural disasters; evolving cybersecurity risks; and the other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. For further discussions of risks and uncertainties, you should refer to Matador’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the “Risk Factors” section of Matador’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Matador undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release, except as required by law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Revised Terms to Deliver Higher onsemi Shareholder Value through Immediate EPS Accretion 

Amended Agreement Follows Thorough Review of Unsolicited Competing Proposal

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. and SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- onsemi (NASDAQ: ON) and Synaptics Incorporated (NASDAQ: SYNA) ("Synaptics") today announced they have amended their June 25, 2026 merger agreement. The amendment follows an unsolicited competing proposal received from a third party.

Under the revised agreement, onsemi will acquire Synaptics for $123 per share in cash for an aggregate value of approximately $5.7 billion as compared to approximately $7 billion for the prior agreement. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to onsemi’s non-GAAP earnings per share and provides value certainty for Synaptics’ shareholders.

“As was the case when we initially announced the acquisition, Synaptics addresses an important aspect of our strategic direction, and we believe the revised merger agreement represents a more financially attractive transaction for our shareholders,” said Hassane El-Khoury, President and CEO of onsemi. “The all-cash transaction delivers higher value to our shareholders through lower total cost consideration, and we now expect the transaction to be immediately accretive to non-GAAP EPS upon closing. In addition, we have identified incremental opportunities to create shareholder value beyond the previously announced $200 million of annual run-rate synergies. These additional benefits from revenue synergies and insourcing of a portion of Synaptics’ production are expected to be realized after the initial 18 months post-close, further strengthening the long-term earnings and cash flow profile of the combined company.”

El-Khoury continued, “Synaptics is accretive to our long-term model, with a strong growth outlook and attractive gross margin profile that will help accelerate onsemi’s evolution. Additionally, Synaptics complements growth in our AI data center business, and brings to onsemi its highly profitable human-machine interface, and sensing products businesses that generate strong and predictable cash flows, providing the combined company with a durable funding engine to accelerate its connected compute capabilities.”

After careful review with its financial and legal advisors, the Synaptics Board unanimously determined that the onsemi transaction, as amended, continues to be in the best interests of Synaptics and its shareholders.

"Our Board has been singularly focused on delivering the best outcome for our shareholders, and today's amended agreement reflects that commitment," said Rahul Patel, Synaptics President and CEO. “By transitioning to an all-cash structure, we are providing value certainty at a meaningful premium as compared to current value. We are confident this path is the right choice for our shareholders."

The transaction will be financed through a combination of cash on hand and committed financing. onsemi has obtained fully committed debt financing from Morgan Stanley. The amended merger agreement does not include a closing condition related to onsemi’s financing.

The transaction is still expected to close by mid-2027, subject to approval by Synaptics shareholders, the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction has been approved by the United States Federal Trade Commission, and regulators in other jurisdictions are reviewing the transaction.

More Information:

Investor Presentation: onsemi & Synaptics Revised Merger Terms About onsemi
onsemi (Nasdaq: ON) delivers intelligent power and sensing technologies that enable electrification, energy efficiency, safety, and automation across automotive, industrial, and AI data center end-markets. With a highly differentiated and innovative product portfolio, onsemi helps customers solve complex challenges to achieve higher efficiency, improved performance, and lower system cost, while supporting a safer, cleaner, and more energy-efficient world. The company is part of the S&P 500® index. Learn more at www.onsemi.com.

About Synaptics Incorporated
Synaptics (Nasdaq: SYNA) is driving innovation in AI at the Edge, bringing AI closer to end users and transforming how we engage with intelligent connected devices, whether at home, at work, or on the move. As a go-to partner for forward-thinking product innovators, Synaptics powers the future with its cutting-edge Synaptics Astra™ AI-Native embedded compute, wireless connectivity, and multimodal sensing solutions. We’re making the digital experience smarter, faster, more intuitive, secure, and seamless. From touch, display, and biometrics to AI-driven wireless connectivity, video, vision, audio, speech, and security processing, Synaptics is a force behind the next generation of technology enhancing how we live, work, and play.

Contact Information

onsemi

Parag Agarwal
Vice President - Investor Relations & Corporate Development
onsemi
(602) 244-3437
[email protected]

Krystal Heaton
Director, Head of Public Relations
onsemi
(480) 242-6943
[email protected] 

Synaptics

Munjal Shah
Vice President – Investor Relations
Synaptics
(408) 518-7639
[email protected]

Neeta Shenoy
Vice President, Marketing
Synaptics
(408) 518-7826
[email protected] 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

¹ The presentation available on onsemi’s website does not constitute a part of, and is not incorporated by reference into, this press release.

This press release relates to onsemi’s proposed acquisition of Synaptics and includes “forward-looking statements,” as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included or incorporated in this press release could be deemed forward-looking statements, particularly statements about the future financial performance of onsemi. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “seeks,” “should,” “strategy,” “targets,” “will,” or “would,” or similar expressions or by discussions of strategy, plans, expectations, projections or intentions. All forward-looking statements in this document are made based on onsemi’s and Synaptics’ current expectations, forecasts, estimates and assumptions, all of which are subject to change, and involve risks and uncertainties, which, along with other factors, could cause results and events to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the risk that the conditions to the closing of the transaction are not satisfied, including the risk that required approvals from regulators or the stockholders of Synaptics for the transaction are not obtained; litigation relating to the transaction; uncertainties as to the timing of the consummation of the transaction and the ability of each party to consummate the transaction; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts the current plans and operations of onsemi or Synpatics, including restrictions during the pendency of the transaction that may impact the ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; the ability of onsemi or Synaptics to retain and hire key personnel; competitive responses to the proposed transaction; unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from the transaction; potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the transaction; legislative, regulatory and economic developments; and unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as onsemi’s or Synaptics response to any of the aforementioned factors. Certain additional factors that could affect onsemi’s future results or events are described under Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in the 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 9, 2026 (the “2025 Form 10-K”) and from time to time in onsemi’s other SEC reports. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither onsemi nor Synaptics assumes any obligation to update such information, which speaks only as of the date made, except as may be required by law.

Investing in onsemi’s or Synaptics’ securities involves a high degree of risk and uncertainty, and you should carefully consider the trends, risks and uncertainties described in this press release, onsemi’s 2025 Form 10-K, Synaptics' 2026 Form 10-K and other reports filed with or furnished to the SEC before making any investment decision with respect to onsemi’s or Synaptics' securities. If any of these trends, risks or uncertainties actually occurs or continues, onsemi’s or Synaptics' business, financial condition or operating results could be materially adversely affected, the trading price of onsemi’s securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. All forward-looking statements attributable to onsemi, Synaptics or persons acting on onsemi’s or Synaptics' behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Important Additional Information about the Transaction and Where to Find It

The proposed transaction will be submitted to the stockholders of Synaptics for their consideration. In connection with the proposed transaction, Synaptics will file with the SEC a preliminary proxy statement on Schedule 14A. Promptly after filing its definitive proxy statement with the SEC, Synaptics will send the definitive proxy statement to each stockholder entitled to vote at the special meeting relating to the transaction. Synaptics also plans to file other documents with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction. This document is not a substitute for the proxy statement or any other document which Synaptics may file with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. You may obtain copies of all documents filed with the SEC regarding this transaction, free of charge, at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). In addition, investors and stockholders will be able to obtain free copies of the definitive proxy statement, preliminary proxy statement and other documents filed with the SEC by Synaptics on the Synaptics Investor Relations website at https://investor.synaptics.com/.

Participants in the Solicitation

Synaptics, onsemi, and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and other members of management and employees, under SEC rules may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Synaptics stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of Synaptics stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction, and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the proxy statement when it is filed with the SEC. You can find more detailed information about Synaptics’ executive officers and directors under the headings “Proposal 1 – Election of Directors,” “Director Compensation,” “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Named Executive Officer Compensation Tables,” “CEO Pay-Ratio Disclosure,” “Pay Versus Performance Disclosure” and “Beneficial Ownership of Certain Stockholders” in its definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on September 15, 2026. To the extent holdings of Synaptics common stock by the directors and executive officers of Synaptics have changed from the amounts of Synaptics common stock held by such persons as reflected therein, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC, which are available at https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=817720&owner=exclude under the tab “Ownership Disclosures”. You can find more detailed information about onsemi’s executive officers and directors under the headings “The Board of Directors and Corporate Governance,” “Compensation of Executive Officers” and “Stock Ownership” in its definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 2, 2026. To the extent holdings of onsemi common stock by the directors and executive officers of onsemi have changed from the amounts of onsemi common stock held by such persons as reflected therein, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC, which are available at https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1097864&owner=exclude under the tab “Ownership Disclosures”. Additional information about Synaptics’ executive officers and directors and onsemi’s executive officers and directors can be found in the above-referenced proxy statement when it becomes available.

@near_intents is back online following a $3.8 million exploit on October 1, 2026, though several chains remain under restricted service while repairs continue. The incident has prompted @NEARProtocol co-founder @ilblackdragon to lay out a set of measures aimed at hardening the protocol against future attacks.

How the exploit unfolded According to the NEAR Intents team, the breach stemmed from a bug in the way the NEAR Intents smart contract interacted with the Omni deposit and withdrawal infrastructure. The team confirmed a total loss of roughly $3.8 million and pledged to reimburse every affected user in full. The NEAR token fell sharply in the immediate aftermath, sliding from around $5.50 to $4.70 as investors digested the news.

Before the protocol was paused, SHIELD, an AI-powered monitoring layer built into NEAR Intents, flagged the unusual activity. SHIELD works by pulling signals from know-your-transaction providers, independent researchers, and industry partners to identify transactions linked to known exploits or suspicious behavioral patterns. The system had already demonstrated its value days earlier, when it intercepted more than $50 million in attempted laundering flows tied to the separate Bitget breach.

What comes next for NEAR Protocol security Illia Polosukhin said the @NEARProtocol ecosystem will add formal verification to its release process. Formal verification uses mathematical logic to prove that code behaves correctly for every possible input, offering a stronger guarantee than conventional testing or manual audits alone. As security firm Nethermind notes, it provides "the strongest possible correctness and security guarantees" for protocols that handle significant on-chain value, where exploits can lead to immediate and irreversible losses.

Polosukhin also invited other development teams to join the SHIELD network and contribute threat intelligence, with the goal of shortening the time between detection and response across the wider ecosystem. The call reflects a broader push in the industry to treat security monitoring as a shared resource rather than a competitive advantage held by individual protocols.

With more than $25 billion in lifetime trading volume processed through NEAR Intents, the protocol's scale makes robust security infrastructure a necessity rather than an optional addition.

Sources:
NEAR Intents Exploit Drains $3.8 Million as 11 Networks Face Restrictions (Cryptometer)
NEAR Intents Exploit: $3.8M Drained, Full Refund Promised (Airdrop Alert)
Formal Verification for Blockchain and Smart Contracts (Nethermind)

Pharaoh Exchange, the leading decentralized exchange on Avalanche, just had its busiest month on record. Both monthly trading volume and monthly fees hit all-time highs.

According to DefiLlama data, the protocol processed around $2.866 billion in 30-day volume and collected approximately $2.48 million in fees.

The numbers behind the record Pharaoh’s cumulative DEX volume has passed $34 billion, and its lifetime fees exceed $32 million.

For a historical benchmark, the exchange reported $4.90 billion in trading volume across all of Q3 2025. The latest 30-day total alone is more than half of that full quarter.

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Pharaoh has set multiple all-time highs, including $284K in daily fees in November 2025.

Pharaoh’s total value locked sits somewhere between $47 million and $53 million.

As of late September 2026, the DEX’s revenue-to-market-cap ratio stood at 792%.

How Pharaoh works Pharaoh uses concentrated liquidity, a design similar to Uniswap v3. Liquidity providers choose a specific price range where their capital is active, which helps explain how a DEX with a TVL around $50 million can handle billions in monthly volume.

Pharaoh directs 100% of its token emissions according to how governance participants vote. Protocol revenue flows directly to holders of xPHAR, the protocol’s governance token.

Pharaoh V3 is already live, and the migration away from V2 is in its final phase. That transition is set to close on October 31, 2026.

What this means for Avalanche DeFi For xPHAR holders, approximately $2.48 million in 30-day fees is the raw material for those payouts, and record fees translate directly into a record revenue pool for voters.

The 792% revenue-to-market-cap ratio suggests the token trades at a low valuation relative to the cash the protocol produces.

The V2 wind-down closes October 31, 2026. A clean close would consolidate liquidity onto V3. Pharaoh’s model of handing 100% of revenue to voting token holders is a clear contrast with DEXs that keep a cut for a treasury or team.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Solana just had its busiest three months on record. The network processed more than 14 billion transactions in the third quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly total it has ever posted.

Research data puts the figure at approximately 14.2 billion, a 45% jump from the previous quarter.

The numbers behind the record Daily active addresses averaged about 4.1 million in Q3, a 12% increase over Q2. Average daily transactions came in at 120 million, up 8% quarter-over-quarter.

On its busiest days, the network handled more than 169 million transactions.

Wallets holding SOL climbed to 8.38 million, a 20.5% increase from the prior quarter.

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The number of stablecoin holders on Solana rose to 13.07 million, up 16% over the same period.

On-chain card payment volume reached $262.7 million in Q3, already surpassing the entire total for Q2.

Upgrades did some of the heavy lifting In late July, Solana rolled out SIMD-0286, a compute limit increase. In mid-September, the network transitioned to a new transaction format. Through both changes, block times held steady near 400 milliseconds.

The research also tracked successful non-vote transactions, which strip out the consensus messages validators send to keep the network in sync. September recorded approximately 3.2 billion successful non-vote transactions, the third consecutive monthly record.

What this means for SOL and the wider ecosystem SOL was trading around $117 in early October 2026, with an estimated circulating market cap between $60 billion and $70 billion.

Daily trading volumes also declined during the period, even as on-chain activity climbed.

Wallet counts up 20.5% alongside lower trading volume could point toward holders settling in for the longer term rather than flipping tokens.

Stablecoin holders grew to 13.07 million, positioning Solana as a serious settlement layer for dollar-pegged tokens. Card payment volume of $262.7 million surpassed the prior quarter’s total before Q3 even wrapped.

Risks remain. Higher compute limits and a new transaction format put more strain on validators, and sustaining 400-millisecond block times under heavier loads is an ongoing test.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Subgraphs made The Graph the standard for querying blockchain data. The Graph Network is what keeps them running: independent Indexers around the world who sync Subgraphs, serve their queries and stand behind the data.

For a long time, the network's traffic and economics did not fully reflect that. A large share of developer queries ran through a centralized staging environment that network Indexers never saw. Indexing rewards followed stake and signal rather than the quality of service provided to consumers.

In Q3, The Graph started putting its growth behind the network more than ever before. The Graph Foundation changed its job to make that happen. It stepped in as an operator, funded by the Innovation Allocation. In its new role, The Foundation supports chains, Delegators and a newly reinvigorated Graph Office Hours. It coordinates between the developers and data consumers who need data and the Indexers and Delegators who serve and secure it. But, more than anything, that team aims to empower its providers and consumers to grow.

Here is what happened in Q3 2026 in The Graph ecosystem.

1. Developer Traffic Belongs on the NetworkSubgraph Studio has historically given developers a staging environment. Over time, production traffic also settled there, served by a centralized Upgrade Indexer instead of the network. The traffic that most needed redundancy was the traffic least likely to have it.

That traffic is now moving to The Graph Network in stages, starting with BNB Smart Chain and Polygon, where Studio staging queries end on October 8, 2026. There, Indexers serve those queries and collect the query fees.

For developers, the steps are straight-forward:

Already published to the Network: nothing changes.Still on the Studio staging endpoint for these chains: publish before October 8th, set up billing and an API key in Studio, and switch to a Gateway endpoint.The Foundation will curate newly published Subgraphs on those chains with an automated bot until October 8th, ensuring Indexers have a clear signal of which Subgraphs are important during the transition. At Indexers' request, it will also publish the full list of Subgraphs it curates. Studio remains the place to manage Subgraph versions, billing, and API keys. Subgraphs on other chains are expected to follow, starting with chains already supported by protocol issuance.

Read more: Bringing Subgraph Studio Traffic to The Graph Network

2. Indexers Who Serve Now EarnBringing traffic to the network matters only if the network pays the people who serve it. Indexing rewards used to be distributed by curation signal and allocated stake, and neither measured whether an Indexer served any queries – let alone with sufficient quality. In 2025, 15.2% of indexing rewards went to Indexers that were not delivering value to the network.

The Rewards Eligibility Oracle (REO) changes the condition. An Indexer stays eligible by serving at least one qualifying query on five or more days in a rolling 28-day window. A qualifying query:

returns HTTP 200 in under 5,000 mscomes from an Indexer within 50,000 blocks of chainheadhits a Subgraph with at least 500 GRT in curation signalEligibility renews on-chain daily and lasts 14 days. Total issuance does not change. What changes is who receives it.

At this point, the bar is low on purpose, but that will be short-lived. When the dashboard was first published, 49 of the 97 listed Indexers were already eligible (as of the REO launch post). An Indexer serving real traffic clears the standard without noticing it.

The design also protects the people it measures. Rewards are withheld, not confiscated. The rules are published, the code is open, and changes come with roughly 14 days' notice. If the oracle stops posting for seven days, every Indexer is treated as eligible.

Announced on September 22nd, the first round of tightening, which requires Indexers to begin indexing at least five qualifying Subgraphs per active day, went to Indexers with full notice.

For Delegators, stake follows its Indexer. The REO eligibility dashboard shows every Indexer's status and streak, updated daily. If your Indexer has been impacted by REO, your rewards will also be impacted. You can move your delegation to another Indexer or learn more about The Graph’s new Liquid Staking Initiative below.

Read more: A New Service Standard for Subgraph Indexing Rewards

3. The Graph Foundation Has a New MandateBoth changes above needed someone to own the parts of the network that sat between teams. The Graph Foundation has moved from coordinating and funding third-party roadmaps to operating the network directly. It now runs the Subgraph Gateway, Subgraph Studio, and Graph Explorer with new engineers from GraphOps and Edge & Node joining the Foundation to run network infrastructure and own the protocol work.

The shift is in what the Foundation treats as the product. The network comes first. The Foundation's role is to keep four groups pointed at the same place:

Developers who build on the networkData consumers who query itIndexers who serve itDelegators who secure itIn practice, that means playing a more active role in running network components, curating so Indexers pick up new demand, setting service standards so rewards follow the work, and talking to all four groups in the open every week.

Read more: A New Mandate for The Graph Foundation

4. The Innovation Allocation Funds the OperatorAlongside the Foundation’s new role comes a new approach to budgeting for protocol innovation. GIP-0089, approved by The Graph Council, directs 20% of protocol issuance to a Foundation-managed Innovation Allocation. That funds the work of running and growing the network including:

operational continuitya unified product experienceonboarding new data service providerschain integrationsThe Foundation and its budget remain accountable to The Graph Council.

Read more: The Graph Council Has Approved GIP-0089 & GIP-0089 is Live

5. More Chains Coming to The GraphChain support is one of the clearest places the operator role shows up. Chain integration deals moved to the Foundation this quarter, and new support landed. All of it is verified against a newly-implemented Supported Networks page with dedicated landing pages for each chain:

Anubis: Subgraphs, with InfraDAO as backstop Indexer for published Subgraphs with 500+ GRT in signal.Arc: Firehose and Substreams with extended blocks, alongside Subgraphs.HyperEVM: Firehose and Substreams upgraded to extended blocks.Ink: Firehose and Substreams with extended blocks.Robinhood Chain: additional Firehose and Substreams providers with testnet support.Extended blocks carry what a standard RPC endpoint leaves out: internal calls, balance changes, storage diffs, and code changes. A router that moves funds through an internal call, or a contract that changes state without emitting an event, becomes visible. Pinax operates the Arc, HyperEVM, and Ink endpoints while also handling the Extended Blocks integrations.

Read more: Substreams Extended Blocks Data: Data Your RPC Provider Can't Give You

6. Graph Office Hours is Where Coordination HappensIndexer Office Hours was rebranded as Graph Office Hours. It is one weekly call where Indexers, Developers, Delegators and the Foundation work through changes in the open, getting feedback from the ecosystem’s most dedicated stakeholders. GOH runs every Tuesday at 1700 UTC in The Graph Discord. This quarter's calls covered the new mandate, the Studio migration, REO criteria and chain integrations. The quarter's recordings are on YouTube:

IOH #272: The Graph Foundation's new mandateIOH #273: Q&A on The Foundation's new mandate, last session of Indexer Office HoursGOH #274: New format with new Foundation team announcement, Studio migration plans, REO criteria, and DIPs updateGOH #275: Chain integrations, Studio updates, REO discussion, Liquid Staking plansGOH #276: Chain integrations, BSC/Polygon announcement, REO discussionGOH #277: Chain integrations, BSC/Polygon Curation plans, REO impacts so far7. A Liquid Option for DelegatorsDelegators secure the network, but staked GRT has historically sat idle for other purposes. The GRT Liquid Staking Initiative turns a staked position on The Graph protocol into stGRT, a liquid token that represents the stake and its accrued rewards.

The vault was deployed by Avantgarde Finance on Enzyme vault tooling, and the Foundation manages it.Phase 1 includes a small soft launch for existing holders.A wider rollout for Delegators is slated to follows in the coming weeks.Early access requests go to [email protected].Informational only. This is not financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Rewards are variable, and features are subject to governance.

Read more: Introducing GRT Liquid Staking: Phase 1

8. Hosted Sinks & Hosted Stores: Data Where Consumers Need itData consumers want indexed data in their own systems, without running infrastructure to get it there. Two managed Substreams services on The Graph Market now cover both directions.

Hosted Stores (beta) is a managed, block-aware key/value store. Data goes in over gRPC from your own service or from a Substreams package. Any module can look up a value at any block height. That covers the lookups most pipelines end up hand-building:

resolving token metadatamapping an address to its owner or protocolchecking an allowlistattaching an off-chain price to an on-chain eventHosted Sinks (beta) now offers users GraphQL. A sink can expose a read-only GraphQL API and console over the database it writes into, turned on with one checkbox. Teams moving from a Subgraph to Substreams keep the GraphQL interface they already use.

Other developer tools shipped alongside:

Substreams Skills: nine guided skills for AI coding assistants. substreams-convert maps a Subgraph's entities and handlers to Substreams modules. GitHubSubstreams v1.21.0 to v1.23.0: the SQL sink moved into the main CLI, Postgres sink fixes landed, and a new setting ends long-running requests gracefully. Release notesgraph-node v0.45.0: background index builds and a new ethereum.decodeParams host function. It also includes one breaking environment-variable rename for Indexers. Release notesRead more: Hosted Stores & GraphQL for Hosted Sinks

9. Builders Took Their Tools to New HeightsAt ETHOnline 2026, builders sent 354 submissions into The Graph's three tracks, and nine projects shared $15,000. Several winners built things the next team can use:

Composable or Standardized Graph Products

Alpha Markets: a prediction market for DeFi fundamentals with one query across 28 lending deployments.Sentinel: joins nine Subgraph deployments inside a TEE to surface hidden cross-protocol leverage.OpenBook: a data marketplace for agents that refunds the buyer when data is stale.AI Tooling, From Scratch

Covenant: a bonded watch over a lending position across 13 protocols.Turnstile: pay-per-call on-chain analysis for agents built on an ERC-8004 Substreams module.presign: a risk verdict before an agent signs with the age of the evidence behind it.TrueTick: fair prices for tokenized stocks across five venues and four chains.AI Tooling, Continuity

Aqua0: agent-run stablecoin FX strategies on Arc, benchmarked against 12 Subgraphs.Hermes v2: encrypted agent messaging, grounded in standardized DEX Subgraphs.What to Watch for Next in The Graph EcosystemMore chains leaving Studio staging and moving onto the network.Direct Indexer Payments: The contracts are deployed and dormant. When activated, the Foundation and Gateway Operators can pay Indexers directly to index specific data.REO criteria: Each step will come with published criteria and notice.Liquid Staking: A wider rollout to Delegators.Graph Office Hours: Every Tuesday at 1700 UTC and the fastest way to be heard on all of the above.About The GraphThe Graph is a suite of blockchain data infrastructure products that extract, process, and deliver scalable blockchain data solutions across 60+ networks. The Graph enables application developers, data analysts, AI agents, and enterprise teams that need structured, real-time access to blockchain data. Products include Subgraphs, Firehose, Substreams, and Amp. As of early 2026, The Graph has served over 1.27 trillion queries to more than 75,000 projects, powered by a network of independent Indexers around the world.

Follow The Graph on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Reddit. Join the community on The Graph’s Telegram, join technical discussions on The Graph’s Discord.

-

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) will announce third-quarter 2026 earnings results before the U.S. market open on Monday, October 19, 2026.

The Company invites interested parties to listen to a live broadcast of a conference call with securities analysts and institutional investors to discuss the results on the same morning, October 19, 2026, at 8:30 am ET. The call can be accessed at www.clevelandcliffs.com and will also be archived and available for replay at that address.

About Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

Cleveland-Cliffs is a leading North America-based steel producer with focus on value-added sheet products, particularly for the automotive industry. The Company is vertically integrated from the mining of iron ore, production of pellets and direct reduced iron, and processing of ferrous scrap through primary steelmaking and downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubing. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs employs approximately 25,000 people across its operations in the United States and Canada.

More News From Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.

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Stacks founder Muneeb Ali is returning as Stacks Labs CEO, opening a new leadership chapter centered on growing Bitcoin-based financial infrastructure.

Muneeb will be replacing interim CEO Alex Miller, who is shifting into an advisory role following his role in establishing Stacks Labs.

This leadership transition comes as Stacks shifts its focus towards adoption after completing various key infrastructure milestones.

Ali returns with institutional expansion in focus The Stacks network already collaborates with 21Shares, UTXO Management, HashKey Cloud, Anchorage Digital, and Fireblocks as far as Bitcoin staking is concerned.

Additionally, the Genesis Bond was launched with 250 BTC from four institutions, reinforcing Stacks’ push into institutional Bitcoin products.

Anchorage Digital furthermore recently introduced custody infrastructure in support of BTC-denominated rewards while the principal remains on Bitcoin L1.

Beyond institutional adoption, the incoming CEO also identified 100x capacity, institutional-grade privacy, and post-quantum development among his top priorities as he took over his new position.

Ali noted on an X post that he will be working alongside CTO Adriano Di Luzio and the wider team on these important initiatives.

Stacks is also extending institutional engagement across Hong Kong, Korea, and the larger Middle East with the broader objective of bringing more Bitcoin capital into applications built around Stacks.

Source: X STX surges 28.8% after Ali’s return Stacks’ [STX] price responded sharply after news emerged that Ali would return to lead Stacks Labs. Notably, the token surged 28.8% over 24 hours, reaching approximately $0.4039 during the rapid rally.

The rapid move was majorly centered on the renewed attention surrounding Ali’s leadership and Stacks’ plans for its next major development phase.

Additionally, the response was also attributed to the discussion around Bitcoin’s expanding application layer, which renewed attention across the market.

Ultimately, the new leadership transition now puts the institutional expansion, greater network capacity, and Bitcoin-native applications at the center of STX’s next chapter.

Source: CoinGecko Final Summary Muneeb Ali’s return puts institutional expansion and Bitcoin infrastructure back at Stacks’ center. STX jumped 28.8% as investors responded to the renewed leadership and development roadmap.

 | Source: Rogers Communications, Inc.

Will invest to build championship-calibre teams
Will invest to deliver world-class experiences to fans and customers
Becomes global communications, sports and entertainment leader

TORONTO, Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rogers Communications Inc. announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), increasing its ownership of MLSE to 100%. Rogers acquired the remaining 25% ownership stake in MLSE from Kilmer Sports Inc. for C$4.35 billion.

“We’re proud to bring these beloved teams together with the rest of Rogers to deliver more for fans, audiences, and customers,” said Tony Staffieri, President and CEO, Rogers. “We know how much these teams mean to fans and we are fully committed to investing to build championship-calibre teams, to enhancing the fan experience, and to delivering compelling experiences for our customers,” added Staffieri.

MLSE includes the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), Toronto Raptors (NBA), Toronto FC (MLS), Toronto Argonauts (CFL), the development teams affiliated with Toronto's NHL and NBA franchises, Scotiabank Arena, and its partnership with Live Nation. Rogers current sports and entertainment portfolio includes the Toronto Blue Jays, Rogers Centre, Sportsnet, along with over 30 television networks and over 40 radio stations.

“MLSE has some of the most iconic sports teams, they are part of the fabric of our communities and our country,” said Edward Rogers, Executive Chair, Rogers. “Sports fans invest more than their money into their teams, they invest their time, passion and dreams. Their investment is personal and so is our responsibility.”

Rogers will create a new business unit, Rogers Sports, that brings Rogers sports, media and entertainment businesses together including MLSE and the Toronto Blue Jays.  Now that we have completed the acquisition, Rogers will now build the best operating model for Rogers Sports.

During the interim, it remains business as usual. Keith Pelley will remain President and CEO of MLSE and Mark Shapiro will remain President and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays. Pelley will take on additional accountability for Rogers Media effective immediately.

“Individually, these are extraordinary teams, brands and businesses. With communications, sports and entertainment together, it makes Rogers a truly world-class company that cannot be replicated,” added Staffieri.

About Rogers Communications Inc.
Rogers is Canada’s communications, sports and entertainment company and its shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). For more information, please visit rogers.com or about.rogers.com/investor-relations.

For further information:

Media Relations
[email protected]
1-844-226-1338

Investor Relations
[email protected]
1-844-801-4792

Most investors understand that you typically have to pay a premium price to buy good growth stocks. But shares of electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla (TSLA +0.64%) are taking the premise to an extreme. The stock's currently priced at 200 times this year's projected earnings of $1.75 per share, and over 160 times next year's expected earnings of $2.16 per share. That's expensive by any standard, including in the technology sector.

The valuation (sort of) makes sense, though, when you understand what Tesla is in the process of becoming. Soon, it will no longer be an EV company that also makes and markets solar panels and energy-storage batteries. Instead, the plan is for it to be a robotics and robotaxi outfit that also manufactures electric vehicles. Investors are pricing the stock based on this hoped-for future rather than what the business is doing in the present. Here's what they need to know.

Comparing and contrasting Although the company is winding down its solar roof tile business, it still makes and markets its own solar panels, as well as the energy storage equipment that makes these panels practical power sources. Moreover, EVs remain Tesla's biggest business -- accounting for $20.5 billion of its $28.2 billion in Q2 revenue -- and Tesla is still the second-biggest name in the global EV market, right behind China's BYD. Moreover, last quarter's year-over-year top-line growth of 26% suggests the company still has a little bit of magic left.

Its stock's price, however, has left the organization's fiscal results in the rear-view mirror.

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Shares aren't expensive simply because Tesla is struggling to turn its revenues into profits, to be clear. The stock's also expensive by revenue standards, trading at 13 times trailing-12-month sales versus the S&P 500's trailing price-to-sales ratio of 3.7. For further comparison, the S&P 500 is currently trading at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 23.5 and a forward P/E of just under 20. Based on these numbers, Tesla trades at valuations between 4 and 10 times those of the average publicly traded company.

It's not like we've never seen something like this before, though. Sometimes, a company eventually grows into such steep valuations. Think Amazon, for example.

The market's pricing in growth that hasn't even started yet Getting straight to the point, investors are pricing in a large amount of the future growth they expect from Tesla, as opposed to pricing the stock based on the business's current results. And there are two key components to this highly anticipated future. One of them is robotaxis.

Tesla's robotaxi ride-hailing venture, which at this early stage still relies largely on its Model Y vehicles, is up and running in a handful of markets. Its purpose-built Cybercab, however, represents the next generation of this venture's tech. Although the company has only rolled out a small fleet of Cybercabs in one market so far-- Austin, Texas -- it's reportedly planning to launch Cybercab-supported robotaxi services in a dozen states before the end of this year.

Although the development of these autonomous taxis has been agonizingly slow, once they're ready for wider-spread commercialization, the deployment is apt to happen fast. This will plug Tesla into a robotaxi market that Goldman Sachs expects to grow from nearly nothing now to $415 billion globally by 2035, with $48 billion of that being generated within the United States alone.

Image source: Tesla.

The other factor pumping up Tesla stock's premium valuation is arguably even more exciting. That's Tesla's entry into the AI-enabled humanoid robotics space. CEO Elon Musk suggested early this year that the company would be commercially selling its humanoid Optimus robots at scale by the end of 2027, and he hasn't said anything since to suggest that the timeline will have to be pushed back.

The commercial debut of these robots could be game-changing for the company -- not to mention the world -- in light of Musk's assessment that "Optimus will be not just Tesla's biggest product ever, but probably the biggest product ever." Although that remains to be seen, Barclays believes the market for humanoid work robots will grow to $200 billion annually by 2035. While even Musk concedes his company is facing stiff robotics competition from China, just capturing a healthy fraction of this potential business could be a boon for Tesla and its shareholders.

The growth Tesla needs from robots and robotaxis So how much optimism about the robotics and robotaxi businesses are investors pricing in here? It's difficult to say for sure. But we can come up with a rough idea.

As it stands right now, Tesla is on pace to do on the order of $106 billion worth of EV, solar panel, and battery-storage business this year, en route to a top line of over $120 billion next year. How much more revenue would the company need to generate with robotaxis and Optimus to make its current $1.4 trillion market cap make sense? Even allowing for the type of premium valuation that many technology stocks achieve, Tesla would need a top line on the order of $300 billion to $400 billion for its current stock price to reflect a valuation in line with its peers. That's about 3 times its current sales, and most of that growth will need to come from robots and robotaxis rather than EVs and solar, as both of those businesses are now running into competitive headwinds.

Or if you want to look at the matter through the lens of earnings, Tesla's earnings per share would arguably need to quintuple -- at a minimum -- to justify the stock's current price. That would put its annual bottom line in the ballpark of $10 per share (or hopefully more) to bring the stock to a valuation that's closer to that of a typical technology company. It's likely that to deliver that type of earnings growth will take improving contributions from all of the businesses it's going to be in for the foreseeable future.

And that's just to justify the stock's price today. For Tesla shares to validly grow in value, the company will need even more top- and bottom-line growth than that.

The thing is, if the outlooks for the worldwide robotaxi and humanoid AI robot businesses are anywhere near on target, Tesla may well reach these lofty sales and earnings numbers -- eventually.

The difficult part for current shareholders and interested investors will be the waiting and the volatility stemming from the uncertainty. While Cybercab is reportedly almost ready for widespread commercialization and Tesla's Optimus robots are supposed to go into scaled-up commercial production before the end of 2027, don't forget that Musk has something of a penchant for underestimating time frames. That could leave things very unpredictable for this stock in the meantime.

Goldman Sachs has eyes on five new stocks. On Thursday, the Wall Street bank updated its monthly Director's Cut list, better known as the Conviction List, to include Amazon (AMZN), Burlington Stores (BURL), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Johnson Controls International (JCI), and the shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII).

The Director's Cut is a list of 20 to 25 stocks Goldman Sachs recommends to investors every month from among the stocks it rates a buy.

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After A Resilient First Half, Can Bullish Sentiment Keep Stocks Rising?

Stocks shrugged off interest rate volatility and conflict in the Strait of Hormuz to post big gains in the first half of 2026. But can the bullish momentum last? IBD deputy markets editor David Saito-Chung reviews the market action so far this year and forecasts what’s next for investors.

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Huntington Ingalls Industries
Of the five new additions, Huntington Ingalls is by far the worst performer, having fallen more than 20% year to date. Huntington Ingalls is the largest military shipbuilder in the U.S. Late last year, HII stock broke out from a buy point of 330 when the U.S. Navy announced plans to build a new class of battleship. The new warships raised the prospect of hefty orders for Huntington Ingalls.

Best IBD 50 Stocks To Buy

The stock rose as much as 40% from that mid-December breakout, MarketSurge charts show. It then turned and dropped 40% from its February high. Huntington Ingalls rose about 1.5% on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs analyst Noah Poponak now rates the stock a buy. A White House release in August effectively aims to restructure and streamline the U.S. military shipbuilding industry.

The order stabilizes design directives in order to cut costs and delays, enables limited foreign competition under strict guidelines and initiates plans for a fifth U.S. Naval shipyard. Newport News, Va.-based Huntington Ingalls, the largest builder of U.S. military ships and the sole builder of U.S. aircraft carriers, is generally seen as a direct beneficiary.

Poponak raised his price target on HII stock to 439, from 431, in August, which implies a 63% gain from Thursday's opening price of 269.09.

Amazon To Put Slump Behind
Among the other additions to Goldman Sachs' list, Amazon is also having a lackluster year. Amazon's 7% gain in 2026 lags the S&P 500's more than 11% increase. Goldman Sachs has a 375 price target on Amazon stock, which points to a 52% increase from Thursday's open. The stock is forming a flat base with a 287.20 buy point.

Stocks To Buy And Watch: Top IPOs, Big And Small Caps, Growth Stocks

Amazon's bullish outlook is due to a strong forecast for revenue growth and margin expansion because of rising demand for the computing space it sells to AI developers, according to analyst Eric Sheridan. Like other hyperscalers, Amazon's stock suffered when investors got spooked that huge capital spending on AI might not yield commensurate returns.

Among analysts, Amazon has a consensus buy rating with a mean price target of 331.35, according to FactSet.

Burlington, Occidental Petroleum and Johnson Controls
Burlington Stores joins Amazon and Huntington Ingalls in making the list as a turnaround story.

The retailer is down about 6% in 2026. The stock had been on a solid win streak before tanking in August when investors fled as weak near-term guidance raised concerns that the rising cost of living was finally catching up to its budget-conscious shoppers.

Goldman Sachs was undeterred. The dip is a buying opportunity because Burlington still deliver revenue growth above 10% through 2028, according to Goldman analyst Brooke Roach.

The last two additions to Goldman Sachs' list — Johnson Controls International and Occidental Petroleum — have had excellent years so far. Johnson Controls, which designs HVAC and fire sprinkler systems for commercial buildings, is up 25% this year. Meanwhile, Occidental Petroleum, which counts Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) as a major investor, rose close to 40%. Both stocks benefited from macroeconomic trends: Johnson Controls from the data center buildout, and Occidental Petroleum from rising energy prices.

OXY has been consolidating since March, showing consistent support at its 40-week moving average. Aggressive investors could plot an early entry at 63.77. Meanwhile, JCI is less than 5% below a cup-base buy point of 157.06, according to MarketSurge.

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Boeing's (BA.N) largest white-collar union said on Thursday its members approved a sweetened contract offer, easing fears ​of a strike that could have stalled work on two ‌long-delayed jetliners and slowed the pace of aircraft deliveries.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which represents about 17,000 Boeing workers, said both its ​bargaining units voted to approve the new four-year offer.

The proposal included ​a guaranteed 10% wage increase upon ratification, along with ⁠annual raises of 4% and the possibility of an additional 2% ​hike based on performance.

About 68% of the professional unit, which represents ​roughly 13,000 engineers and scientists, voted in favor of the deal, as did over 53% of the technical unit, representing about 4,000 designers, analysts and technicians. ​The two units bargain together but vote separately.

The ratification provides much-needed ​relief for Boeing, easing concerns over a potential strike as early as October ‌7, ⁠the day after current contracts expire.

A work stoppage could have delayed critical certification efforts for the 737 MAX 10 narrowbody and 777X widebody, while also disrupting the company's plans to increase production and ​accelerate deliveries.

Members of both ​the professional ⁠and technical units had previously rejected Boeing's initial offer, which linked guaranteed raises to inflation, capped at 3%, ​with up to an additional 2.5% based on ​performance.

SPEEA's last ⁠strike against Boeing was in 2000, when engineers and technical workers walked out for 40 days in a dispute over pay and benefits.

The ⁠stoppage, ​which affected commercial-aircraft production and deliveries, was ​one of the largest white-collar strikes in US history.

United Airlines wants you to defect from your airline.

The carrier is in the middle of an unusually pointed status-match campaign to woo travelers who have earned a spot in elite frequent flyer tiers with Delta Air Lines and American Airlines by offering similar treatment at United.

Here's how it works: Travelers with any tier of elite status on Delta or American will be granted United status for 90 days.

To keep it through Jan. 31, 2028, they'll have to take a flight and spend a certain amount on United mainline or regional flights within those 90 days.

For example, if a traveler has the lowest level Delta Medallion status, silver, or the same on American, which is gold, they would have to spend $1,500 on United in the roughly three months.

To get a status match of United's 1K, its highest level before invitation-only Global Services, the person would have to spend $7,000.

Delta and American have their own status matches for a host of other airlines, but United's call-out of rivals and social media campaign shows how heated the battle for big-spending customers has become, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consulting firm Atmosphere Research Group.

"This is war, airline style," he said. "It's very rare for an airline to be as blatant as United is being" with Delta and American.

Airlines have been adding new lounges, extra premium seats and more international routes to lure those high-spenders.

Read more about United, Delta and AmericanAmerican Airlines to add seatback screens, bigger first class in race to catch up to Delta and UnitedCompanies spurn airlines’ cheapest business class tickets‘Bring ‘em on’: Delta wants United’s crown over the Pacific, tooUnited CEO brushes off airline mergers after American rejection: ‘There’s nothing’How Delta made itself America's luxury airline — and what United wants to do about itIn this push, United is using its new Starlink Wi-Fi from SpaceX as a hook for customers looking to potentially defect from their airlines.

The carrier is in the process of outfitting its aircraft with the satellite Wi-Fi, which is free for frequent flyer program members, though it is not available across the fleet yet, and customers still have to pay at least $8 per flight with current providers. American Airlines also signed with Starlink for hundreds of its narrow-body jets, while Delta is planning to change the provider of its free, in-flight Wi-Fi to Amazon's Leo.

"Our long-term strategic partnership with Amazon Leo will provide high-bandwidth connectivity while creating opportunities to bring their broad ecosystem of entertainment and digital services to the skies," Delta said in a statement.

American, where United's CEO Scott Kirby worked until a decade ago, didn't immediately comment.

HPE just shattered its 52-week high on a single session surge, yet its forward multiple still sits far below every major competitor building the same AI infrastructure boom. Something in the valuation math does not add up.

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE | HPE Price Prediction) trades at $66.93 this morning. That is up 8.85% on the session as AI demand keeps raising its networking business. Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for HPE is $73.07 over the next 12 months. The model rates it a buy with high confidence.

Metric Value Current Price $66.93 Price Target from 24/7 Wall St. $73.07 Upside 9.2% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% We ran the model off Tuesday’s close of $61.49, showing to 18.84% upside. Today’s jump cuts the remaining gap to 9.2%. Our confidence rests on five straight EPS beats, guidance raised through fiscal 2027, and zero Sell ratings on the Street.

Record Q3 Results Pushed HPE Past Its Prior 52-Week High HPE is up 9.67% over the past week, 28.25% over the past month and 181.79% year to date. Today’s price sits above its prior 52-week high of $65.65 and far above the $19.57 low.

Fiscal Q3 revenue hit $12.21B, up 32.7%, exceeding the $11.91B consensus. Non-GAAP EPS of $1.11 cleared the $0.93 estimate. Networking revenue rose 74.9% to $2.89B, and routing went up 270%. HPE announced a $3.5 billion inferencing server deal with a hyperscaler and expanded work with Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) on gigawatt-scale AI networking.

The AI expansion keeps pulling in suppliers well beyond the chipmakers, and networking gear like HPE’s is a big part of the plumbing (we covered seven of these non-chip AI infrastructure names in a free report available here: 7 Stocks Powering the AI Boom).

  Why Bulls See $83 and Beyond In the model’s bull case, HPE reaches $83.23. Management’s fiscal 2027 framework calls for EPS of $4.40 to $4.60 and free cash flow of at least $5 billion. That framework leaves out the AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) Helios opportunity, which the CEO sized at “tens of billions of dollars” across the market.

Networks for AI orders reached $700 million in the quarter. Juniper synergies are on track for $600 million in annual run-rate savings by FY28.

The Street is supportive, with 5 Strong Buy ratings, 10 Buys and 8 Holds. The stock already trades above the $68.08 consensus target, so analysts may raise their numbers.

Margin Normalization Is the Risk Worth Watching Under a downside scenario, HPE slips to $56.43. Management expects gross margin to normalize as AI systems grow. Operating margin guidance of 14-15% for FY27 trails Q3’s 16.2%. Stripping out Juniper, networking grew just 10%.

DDR5 and NAND shortages slow shipments. Orders outpace revenue: networking orders rose 36% with record backlog, suggesting supply delays revenue rather than kills demand.

HPE Trades at a Steep Discount to Dell and Arista Company Forward P/E Quarterly Revenue Growth (YoY) HPE 14x 33.7% Dell 21x 57.7% Arista 39x 37.7% Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) competes directly for AI server spending. Dell grows faster, earning a higher forward multiple. HPE’s larger networking mix yields higher margins that its 14x forward P/E does not reflect.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) competes head-on in data center switching. Arista’s operating margin is 45.4% versus 12.6% for HPE, explaining most of its premium. HPE’s networking margin is guided to the mid to high 20% range, so part of that gap should close. Our target of about 15x forward earnings looks conservative.

HPE’s Backlog Tips the Scale Toward Upside Our $73.07 target carries a buy rating with 90% confidence. A record backlog priced at a valuation well below peers tips the scale toward upside.

The case strengthens if supply eases and backlog turns to revenue in Q4. It weakens if gross margins contract faster than networking growth can offset. HPE’s valuation still falls behind its fundamentals.

Year Price Target from 24/7 Wall St. 2026 $63.11 2027 $77.21 2028 $85.24 2029 $93.56 2030 $102.38 These projections assume HPE keeps executing on its networking-led strategy. A strong Helios ramp could drove results higher, while long-running memory shortages could hold them back.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Key Takeaways Clorox is expanding its health and hygiene portfolio through the GOJO acquisition.Clorox completed its digital transformation, with productivity benefits expected from fiscal 2027.Clorox is increasing innovation spending to improve brand relevance and regain market share. The Clorox Company (CLX - Free Report) is strengthening its business through strategic portfolio actions, innovation, productivity initiatives and improved execution as it navigates a challenging consumer environment. The company’s strategy is increasingly focused on rebuilding market share, enhancing brand superiority and creating a stronger operating platform for sustainable growth. Portfolio expansion is also playing an important role, with the acquisition of GOJO Industries significantly broadening Clorox’s presence in the health and hygiene market.

Clorox has completed its five-year digital transformation program, including the rollout of its U.S. enterprise resource planning system. The company is now shifting its focus from implementation to optimization. Better demand planning, lower inventory, automation and improved order-to-cash processes are expected to generate productivity benefits beginning in the latter part of fiscal 2027 and building into fiscal 2028. The enhanced digital infrastructure should also support stronger e-commerce execution and improve collaboration with retail partners.

Innovation remains a key pillar of Clorox’s growth strategy. The company has increased innovation spending and plans further investment focusing on areas such as health and wellness, pet care, convenience and value. Clorox is also combining product innovation with packaging improvements, targeted promotions, stronger advertising and optimized price-pack architecture to improve brand relevance and regain market share.

The GOJO acquisition has further strengthened Clorox’s health and hygiene portfolio, which now accounts for more than half of net sales on a combined basis. GOJO is expected to contribute significantly to fiscal 2027 sales growth, while Clorox sees opportunities to generate revenue synergies over time. The company is taking a disciplined approach to integration while leveraging GOJO’s capabilities and market position to expand its presence in attractive health and hygiene categories.

Overall, Clorox is concentrating on strengthening its brands, accelerating innovation, expanding its health and hygiene portfolio, improving digital capabilities and driving productivity. These initiatives are designed to enhance consumer value, support market-share recovery and create a more efficient operating platform for long-term growth.

CLX’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of Clorox have lost 19.4% in the past six months against the industry’s growth of 3.9%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, CLX trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62X compared with the industry’s average of 18.11X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLX’s fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 6% and 8.9%, respectively. The company’s EPS estimate for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 has been stable in the past 30 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Clorox stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Stocks to Consider in the Consumer Staples Space The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF - Free Report) , which is a distributor of specialty food products in the United States, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Chefs' Warehouse's current financial-year sales indicates growth of 10.8% from the prior-year level. CHEF delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 30.4%, on average.

Lamb Weston (LW - Free Report) , which is a global manufacturer, marketer and distributor of value-added frozen potato products, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The consensus estimate for Lamb Weston’s current financial-year sales is expected to drop 1.8% from the year-ago reported figure. LW delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 24.6%, on average.

Medifast, Inc. (MED - Free Report) , which is a leading manufacturer and distributor of clinically-proven healthy living products and programs, currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. MED delivered an average earnings surprise of 58.2% in the last reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Medifast’s current financial-year sales indicates a decline of 27.3% from the year-ago number.

, /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) today declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $1.085 per share. This dividend is payable on Dec. 16, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 13, 2026.

The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend on its Series A preferred stock of $359.375 per share payable on Dec. 16, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 13, 2026. This is equivalent to $0.359375 per depositary share.

Duke Energy has paid a cash dividend on its common stock for 100 consecutive years.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 55,700 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an energy modernization strategy, keeping customer value at the forefront as it invests in electric grid upgrades and efficient generation resources to strengthen the system and serve growing energy needs.

More information is available at duke-energy.com. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook for stories about the people and innovations powering its communities.

Media Contact: Gillian Moore
24-hour: 800.559.3853

Analyst Contact: Mike Switzer
Office: 704.382.6473

SOURCE Duke Energy