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NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 422,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,070 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.7% of NewEdge Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $237,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Meta Platforms News Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded Muse for Small Business, adding integrations with Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Dropbox and Slack. The initiative could create subscription, transaction and enterprise-software revenue streams while reducing the company’s reliance on digital advertising. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Muse’s rapid adoption and potential to become a multibillion-dollar growth catalyst. Its integration with Meta’s large Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp user base may support future subscriptions, commerce fees, advertising improvements and AI-api revenue. Beyond advertising: analysts align on Meta Muse Positive Sentiment: Meta’s push into business AI was reinforced by its new Meta Enterprise Platform and the hiring of former MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the effort. The move signals an attempt to monetize substantial AI infrastructure spending through corporate customers. Meta launches enterprise AI platform Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its META price target to $830 from $730 and maintained a Buy rating. Analysts also point to AI-driven increases in advertising engagement, clicks and conversions as evidence that current investments may strengthen Meta’s core business. Meta Platforms price target raised Neutral Sentiment: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares for approximately $21.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook. Mark Zuckerberg sells Meta shares Negative Sentiment: OpenAI unveiled its always-on Dots agents, creating a direct competitive threat to Muse in consumer and enterprise AI. Reports that Muse exposed private information, including a user’s address, also raise privacy, safety, regulatory and reputational risks. OpenAI unveils Dots agents Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Meta’s sharply higher AI and data-center expenses against uncertain returns. The company also faces scrutiny over teen safety, data practices and potential regulation, which could increase costs or constrain monetization. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $815.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Roth Capital lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $787.86. View Our Latest Stock Report on META

Insider Buying and Selling In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 150,307 shares of company stock worth $101,851,357. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.3% Meta Platforms stock opened at $739.43 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $618.47 and its 200 day moving average is $613.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.

About Meta Platforms (Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.

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Tesla keeps setting bold product deadlines, and the stock keeps rallying on the reveal before the date quietly disappears. With several major 2026 targets now on the clock, investors face a question of whether this time is different or the…

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Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) trades at $352.84, and the setup looks poor. The long-delayed Roadster shows a pattern: Tesla announces products faster than it ships them. Shares are down 21.54% this year as the market prices in that credibility gap.

Tesla revealed the next-generation Roadster in 2017 and promised deliveries by 2020. Its latest annual filing still lists the car as “in design development” with no timeline. Cybertruck was promised for 2021 and arrived in late 2023. The Semi, also unveiled in 2017, is still listed as starting production in 2026.

Record Deliveries and a $43.5 Billion Cash Pile Power the Robotaxi Pitch Second-quarter revenue rose 25.5% to $28.24 billion, beating estimates. Record deliveries reached 480,126 vehicles. Energy storage installations grew 41% to 13.5 GWh. FSD (Tesla’s paid driver-assistance software) rose to 1.48 million active subscriptions.

Robotaxi operates in seven U.S. markets after logging “more than 380,000 miles of unsupervised Robotaxi” with “zero notable incidents.” FSD also won approval in Croatia. With $43.5 billion in cash, Tesla can fund its AI ambitions for years.

A 344x Earnings Multiple Sits on Shrinking Profits Tesla is priced at 344 times trailing earnings and 159 times forward earnings. Second-quarter EPS of $0.33 missed expectations of $0.54. Operating margin fell to 1.4%, and free cash flow came in at negative $1.09 billion.

Management expects 2026 capex above $25 billion and is lining up debt facilities of up to $30 billion. Energy gross margin dropped from 39.5% to 20.4%.

Optimus and Cybercab Deadlines Decide Whether Patience Pays Tesla finished the quarter with its largest order backlog since 2023. The CEO described Optimus as “the hardest product to scale manufacturing that we’ve ever made at Tesla,” with an early ramp that will be “quite flat and long.” Whether Cybercab, Semi, and Megapack 3 reach volume production in 2026 as planned will determine which side wins.

Wall Street Sees Upside While Tesla Lags the Market Badly The 46 analysts covering Tesla have an average target of $395.83, indicating 12.2% upside. Ratings break down as follows:

Strong Buy: 6 Buy: 16 Hold: 19 Sell: 3 Strong Sell: 2 Over the past year, Tesla fell 20.39% while the S&P 500 gained 15.16%. The stock also trades below its 200-day moving average of $395.18.

Credibility Gap Weighs on Tesla Until Deadlines Turn Into Deliveries The risk/reward looks poor at $352.84.

Tesla announces products with firm dates, the stock rallies on the reveal, and the deadline slips out of sight. The Roadster is the clearest case. Hype moves the price while promises keep falling through.

The biggest risk comes over the next few quarters. Tesla has several 2026 production targets due and capex that keeps growing. If Cybercab or Semi volumes slip into next year while margins stay near 1.4%, the multiple has room to compress. Operating expenses are also expected to keep growing.

Two things would force a rethink: free cash flow turning positive again and Semi shipping in real volume on schedule. Until either happens, watch the stock but stay skeptical of each new reveal.

At $352.84, Tesla’s valuation appears to price in more credibility than its delivery record has earned.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

After becoming the company that turned artificial intelligence (AI) from a research project into a generational spending boom, Nvidia (NVDA -0.72%) has delivered one of the greatest wealth-creation runs in recent market history.

This year, however, the company's earnings estimates have raced ahead of the share price. As a result, Nvidia's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple has compressed to levels last seen about 10 years ago. While investors treat the $5.6 trillion behemoth like it is already fully priced, history suggests this is precisely when the next leg up starts to form.

Image source: Nvidia.

How Nvidia became the king of AI It wasn't long ago that Nvidia was primarily known for making graphics cards that visually enhanced video games. In the background, however, CEO Jensen Huang and his team were quietly laying the foundation for something bigger: a software and hardware stack that lets researchers train massive models.

After ChatGPT was publicly released, hyperscalers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms quickly realized they needed more compute. This put Nvidia in a first-mover position, as its GPUs were available as the default tool for generative AI development. The company complemented its hardware with CUDA, a software layer built around the chips, which helped create a moat that competitors are still struggling to penetrate.

Nvidia's data center revenue went from a side hustle to the core engine of the company. This underscores that customers are not just buying chips; they are building entire AI factories around Nvidia's architecture. This is how an ordinary semiconductor company evolved into the public face of the AI infrastructure build-out.

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Breaking down Nvidia's valuation As of Sept. 29, Nvidia stock has gained 24% this year. While this is a respectable return, it drastically lags that of its core rival, the much-smaller Advanced Micro Devices, which has rocketed 188% on the year.

Let's dive into why Nvidia's valuation profile is so attractive right now. The forward P/E ratio simply divides the current share price by the earnings Wall Street expects over the next 12 months. The table below includes Nvidia's consensus earnings estimates for the next four quarters:

MetricFiscal Q3 2027Fiscal Q4 2027Fiscal Q1 2028Fiscal Q2 2028Next 12 Months EPSEPS estimate$2.47$2.73$3.17$3.63$12 Data source: Business Insider.

Given Nvidia stock hovers around $230 and analysts expect $12 in combined earnings over the next four quarters, the math implies a forward P/E of 19. Note that the multiple has expanded a bit over the last couple of days, as Nvidia stock rallied following the announcement of a record $150 billion share repurchase.

When profits rise faster than the stock price, valuation multiples fall even if the price goes up. This is exactly what is happening with Nvidia this year. The takeaway here is that this is the lowest forward earnings reading for Nvidia in a decade and well below the company's longer-term average near 32.

The multiple is compressing because investors are questioning how long the AI boom can last at this scale. Meanwhile, rising memory costs are squeezing near-term margins, and competition from custom silicon is getting louder. While these worries are fair, they are also the same kind of concerns that appeared the last few times Nvidia's valuation hit a floor.

Why Nvidia stock looks poised for a rally Historically, when Nvidia's forward P/E multiple hovered around the mid to high teens, the stock did not stay that cheap for long. The floor has generally sat near the 17-to-20 range. The next stop is not necessarily a return to the 40 or 50 times peaks seen in earlier cycles of the AI revolution. Instead, I think a reasonable expansion would be toward 25 times. Based on the same estimate for $12 in earnings over the next 12 months, this would imply a share price around $300, or about 30% above today's level. A return toward the longer-term average of 32 times would imply something closer to $384, or a gain of roughly 67%.

This setup is why the current quiet stretch could be a compelling entry rather than a warning signal. With Nvidia, you are not buying a stock trading at unsustainable multiples based on a story. Rather, you are buying the dominant AI infrastructure company at a decade-low multiple while it is still guiding for explosive growth over the next year.

For investors thinking in terms of years instead of quarters, Nvidia is a straightforward buy-and-hold opportunity. The hardware and software moat, the customer lock-in, and the next product cycles are not disappearing just because the multiple took a breather. History says this is usually the time you want to pounce and own the stock.

Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Netflix has shed more than 40% in a year while one top Wall Street analyst holds a target that towers above the crowd. The question is whether the bull case rests on a real inflection or wishful thinking about ads…

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Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX | NFLX Price Prediction) is priced at $70.30. Wall Street’s average price target is $92.93, which puts the stock about 32.19% below where analysts think it belongs.

Netflix is the world’s largest subscription streamer with an audience approaching “a billion people”. Investors now judge the company on advertising, live events, and pricing power, all three growing despite the stock’s slide.

The gap is widest at the top of the Street. BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Pitz holds the Street-high $135.00 target and an Outperform rating. That target implies roughly 92.03% upside, far past the 40% mark where a target becomes a strong statement of conviction.

Slowing Engagement Has Dragged Netflix Toward Its 52-Week Low The core worry is engagement growth lagging rising content costs. View hours grew just 2% in the first half of 2026, while content expense is set to rise about 10% this year.

Q2 revenue of $12.56B missed expectations of $12.58B. EPS of $0.80 came in just above the $0.79 estimate. Free cash flow fell to $1.53B from $2.27B. In Q1, EPS of $1.23 missed the $1.34 estimate.

Shares are down 41.73% over the past year and 13.97% in the last month. The stock sits near its 52-week low of $65.08, far from the $124.86 high.

BMO’s $135 Case Rests on Ads, Mindshare and Live Events BMO’s first focus is ad-tier growth. Pitz expects the ad-supported tier to drive net additions while generating high-margin advertising revenue per user. Management says the pricing gap between the ad tier and the standard plan “is narrowing,” and expects ad revenue to roughly double to about $3B this year.

The second focus is mindshare. BMO’s survey shows roughly 75% US consumer penetration, with Netflix ranked as the most preferred streaming platform. The third focus is live content. Six of the top 10 new-member sign-up days over the past five years came from live events, though live programming accounts for only 1% of view hours.

Of 51 analysts, 7 rate Netflix Strong Buy, 28 Buy and 16 Hold, with zero Sells. The 2026 EPS estimate has slipped to $3.5836 from $3.5921 90 days ago.

Third-quarter guidance calls for revenue of $12.86B and EPS of $0.82. Netflix bought back $4.7B of stock in Q2 with $27.1B in authorization remaining.

Netflix Fell Much Harder Than Its Streaming Rivals Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) trades at $105.47, down 6.63% year to date. Its average target of $126.61 implies 20.04% upside. Analysts are firmly bullish, with 6 Strong Buy, 24 Buy, 2 Hold and 1 Sell. Even so, Wall Street sees less upside in Disney than in Netflix.

Netflix Has Badly Lagged the S&P 500 This Year At $70.30, Netflix sits 32.19% below the $92.93 consensus target, based on coverage from 51 analysts. It also trades below both its 50-day moving average of $75.54 and its 200-day moving average of $84.58.

Netflix is down 25.02% year to date versus the S&P 500’s 12.08% gain. Over one year, Netflix has fallen 41.73% against the index’s 15.16% gain. At a forward P/E of about 19, the stock is priced for slower growth than its 13.4% revenue expansion suggests.

Ad Revenue Has to Carry the Netflix Rebound Netflix’s upside depends on advertising closing the pricing gap and the 2026 ad revenue target holding, coupled with steady pricing gains and cash flow recovery toward the roughly $12.5B full-year guide. Risks include flat engagement while content costs rise, the ad market softens, and estimates drift lower.

The consensus target is more credible than BMO’s $135.00 call. Third-quarter results will show which case the market prices.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

 | Source: Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

MIAMI, Sept. 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NCL Corporation Ltd. (“NCLC”), a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) (“NCLH”), announced today that it is proposing to sell $750.0 million aggregate principal amount of its senior notes due 2031 (the “Notes”) in a private offering (the “Offering”) that is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

NCLC intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering, together with cash on hand, (i) to redeem all of the outstanding 6.125% Senior Notes due 2028 issued by NCL Finance, Ltd., a subsidiary of NCLC (the “2028 Notes”), (ii) to repay approximately $176.3 million of outstanding borrowings under NCLC’s existing senior secured revolving loan facility and (iii) to prepay approximately $42.2 million of outstanding borrowings under our export-credit backed financing facilities, in each case, together with any accrued and unpaid interest thereon, and to pay any related transaction premiums, fees and expenses. The redemption of the 2028 Notes will be conditioned upon the consummation of the Offering.

The Notes are being offered only to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act, and outside the United States, only to non-U.S. investors pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Notes will not be registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any state and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state laws.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This press release also shall not constitute an offer to purchase, a solicitation of an offer to sell, or a notice of redemption with respect to the 2028 Notes.

About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is a leading global cruise company which operates Norwegian Cruise Line®, Oceania Cruises® and Regent Seven Seas Cruises®. NCLH has a combined fleet of 33 ships and approximately 72,000 berths, excluding two ships under long-term charter to third parties, and offers itineraries to nearly 700 destinations worldwide. NCLH expects to add 16 additional ships across its three brands through 2037, which will add approximately 43,000 berths to its fleet.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements, estimates or projections contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding the Offering and the use of proceeds therefrom, may be forward-looking statements. Many, but not all, of these statements can be found by looking for words like “expect,” “anticipate,” “goal,” “project,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “will,” “may,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “intend,” “future” and similar words. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance and may involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. For a discussion of these risks, uncertainties and other factors, please refer to the factors set forth under the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors are not exhaustive and new risks emerge from time to time. There may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections regarding our present and future business strategies and the environment in which we expect to operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change of events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement was based, except as required by law.

Investor Relations & Media Contact

Sarah Inmon
(786) 812-3233
[email protected]

Juan Andres to Return to Moderna as Chief Operating Officer

Jerh Collins to Retire Following Four Years of Leadership at Moderna

CAMBRIDGE, MA / ACCESS Newswire / September 30, 2026 / Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) today announced the addition of a Chief Operating Officer role to support the increasing scale and diversification of the Company.

The new role comes as Moderna prepares for the potential launch and scale-up of intismeran autogene following positive Phase 3 results and continues to advance a broader oncology portfolio. The Company has also expanded the infectious disease franchise, which now includes five approved vaccines following the recent U.S. FDA approval of Moderna's seasonal flu vaccine and the European Commission marketing authorization of the Company's seasonal flu plus COVID combination vaccine.

Juan Andres will return to Moderna as Chief Operating Officer, effective October 5, 2026. Mr. Andres will report to Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel and serve on the Company's Executive Committee. As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Andres will work across the Company to help drive focus, prioritization and execution while leading the manufacturing organization.

Moderna also announced that Jerh Collins, Ph.D., Chief Technical Operations and Quality Officer, has decided to retire from the Company.

"I am very pleased to welcome Juan back to Moderna as our Chief Operating Officer," said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. "As we enter the next chapter of Moderna, Juan's experience leading complex global operations will be invaluable. He knows Moderna deeply and was an extraordinary partner to me as we built and scaled the Company. I look forward to working with him again as we execute on our strategy."

Mr. Andres previously spent nearly six years at Moderna, joining the Company in 2017 and serving as Chief Technical Operations and Quality Officer from 2018 through 2022. He later served as President, Strategic Partnerships and Enterprise Expansion before retiring from Moderna in 2023. During his tenure, he led the build-out and unprecedented scale-up of Moderna's manufacturing capabilities, including the rapid expansion of the Company's global manufacturing network to support the production and supply of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.

"I am excited to return to Moderna at such an important moment for the Company," said Mr. Andres. "Moderna has always been a special place to me, and the opportunity ahead is tremendous. I look forward to working with Stéphane and colleagues across the Company to execute on our priorities and deliver more mRNA medicines to patients around the world."

"I am also deeply grateful to Jerh for his leadership, partnership and commitment to Moderna over the past four years," said Mr. Bancel. "He has made significant contributions to our Company and built a very strong team that will carry forward the important work of manufacturing and technical operations. I wish Jerh and his family all the best in his retirement."

"It has been a privilege to be part of Moderna and to lead our Technical Operations and Quality organization," said Dr. Collins. "I am incredibly proud of what our teams have accomplished together for patients, and grateful to the many colleagues I have had the opportunity to work alongside. As I look ahead to retirement, I have great confidence in the team and in Moderna's future."

Dr. Collins joined Moderna in October 2022 and became Chief Technical Operations and Quality Officer in January 2023. During his tenure, he helped transition Moderna's manufacturing footprint for an endemic vaccine market, advanced the Company's manufacturing capabilities in the UK, Canada and Australia, and established the manufacturing model to support intismeran autogene. Prior to Moderna, he spent nearly 30 years at Novartis in roles of increasing responsibility across pharmaceutical production and manufacturing.

Intismeran autogene is jointly developed by Moderna and Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada.

About Moderna

Moderna is a pioneer and leader in the field of mRNA medicine. Through the advancement of its technology platform, Moderna is reimagining how medicines are made to transform how we treat and prevent diseases. Since its founding, Moderna's mRNA platform has enabled the development of vaccines and therapeutics across infectious diseases, cancer, rare diseases and more.

With a global team and a unique culture, driven by the company's values and mindsets, Moderna's mission is to deliver the greatest possible impact to people through mRNA medicines. For more information about Moderna, please visit modernatx.com and connect with us on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including regarding the Company's appointment of Mr. Andres as Chief Operating Officer, the potential launch and scale-up of intismeran autogene, the advancement of Moderna's business and oncology portfolio, and the Company's strategy, priorities and plans to deliver mRNA medicines. The forward-looking statements in this press release are neither promises nor guarantees, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond Moderna's control and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include those other risks and uncertainties described under the heading "Risk Factors" in Moderna's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and in subsequent filings made by Moderna with the SEC, which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, Moderna disclaims any intention or responsibility for updating or revising any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the event of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are based on Moderna's current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof.

Moderna Contacts

Media:
Chris Ridley
Vice President, Global Head of Communications
+1 617-800-3651
[email protected]

Investors:
Lavina Talukdar
Senior Vice President & Head of Investor Relations
+1 617-209-5834
[email protected]

SOURCE: Moderna, Inc.

Acquisition Will Strengthen Hormel Foods' Position in a Growing Protein Category and Enhance its Leading Foodservice Capabilities

, /PRNewswire/ -- Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a Fortune 500 global branded food company, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Brakebush Brothers, LLC, a leading value-added chicken company, from the Brakebush family.

The purchase price is approximately $1.055 billion, and the transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of Hormel Foods' fiscal 2027, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

The acquisition advances Hormel Foods' strategy of investing in growing protein categories, will meaningfully expand the company's position in value-added chicken and is expected to strengthen its leading Foodservice platform through enhanced operator relationships, category expertise and an expanded direct sales organization.

"Brakebush is a highly respected leader in value-added chicken and has earned the trust of customers for more than 100 years through innovation, quality and exceptional relationships," said Jeff Ettinger, interim chief executive officer. "The company's talented team, strong culture and differentiated capabilities make it an excellent fit for Hormel Foods. Our industry-leading Foodservice business has been a source of growth, and we are excited to meaningfully expand our presence in value-added chicken."

"Chicken has been one of the most attractive growth categories in protein, and Brakebush has built an exceptional platform to serve that demand," said John Ghingo, president and chief executive officer-elect. "Hormel Foods has built a strong Foodservice business by helping operators succeed through innovation, service and value-added solutions. We believe that Brakebush will bolster our capabilities, bringing additional scale, expertise and customer reach, in support of our long-term growth strategy."

"Brakebush has always been a people-first company, built on strong relationships, shared values and a commitment to doing business the right way," said Carey Brakebush, chairman of the board, Brakebush. "We see those same qualities in Hormel Foods. Their culture, integrity and long-term approach to growth give us great confidence that Brakebush will continue to thrive for our employees, customers and communities in the years ahead."

Founded in 1925 and headquartered in Westfield, Wisconsin, Brakebush has established itself as a leading, value-added, non-vertically integrated chicken provider, serving a diverse foodservice customer base across national and regional operators. Brakebush generated approximately $1.2 billion in net sales over the last 12 months and operates five production facilities and two research and development labs.

Hormel Foods expects the acquisition to generate growth, unlock operational synergies, and enhance cash flows. The company expects the acquisition to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share beginning in fiscal 2028. The company expects to report the results of Brakebush's operations primarily in its Foodservice segment.

ADVANCING HORMEL FOODS' GROWTH STRATEGY

Hormel Foods expects the acquisition to provide the following strategic benefits:

Strengthens Hormel Foods' Position in a Growing Protein Category: The addition of Brakebush will significantly expand Hormel Foods' presence in value-added chicken, positioning the company to participate more meaningfully in one of the most attractive segments of protein. Creates a Broader Platform for Foodservice Segment Growth: Brakebush's established direct sales organization, deep relationships and category expertise are expected to enhance Hormel Foods' existing Foodservice capabilities and customer reach. Together, the businesses are expected to be better positioned to serve national and regional operators with high-quality, value-added protein solutions. Adds a Reputable, Scaled Asset: Opportunities to acquire a leading value-added chicken business with Brakebush's scale, reputation and customer loyalty are uncommon. Hormel Foods believes the company brings a solid asset base, strong innovation capabilities and deep customer relationships built over more than 100 years. Aligns with Hormel Foods' Long-Term Growth Strategy: The acquisition reflects Hormel Foods' disciplined approach to portfolio management and capital allocation, and reinforces its focus on categories, channels and capabilities with long-term growth potential. Wells Fargo is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Hormel Foods and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath is serving as legal counsel. William Blair is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Michael Best & Friedrich LLP is serving as legal counsel for Brakebush.

CONFERENCE CALL
A conference call will be webcast at 7 a.m. CT on Sep. 30, 2026. Access is available at hormelfoods.com by clicking on "Investors." The call will also be available via telephone by dialing 833-461-5787 (toll free) or 585-542-9983 (international) and providing the conference ID 284 105 358. A webcast replay will be available at investor.hormelfoods.com following the call and will remain on the website for one year.

ABOUT HORMEL FOODS
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minnesota, is a global branded food company with over $12 billion in annual revenue. Its brands include Planters®, Skippy®, SPAM®, Hormel® Natural Choice®, Applegate®, Wholly®, Hormel® Black Label®, Columbus®, Jennie-O® and more than 30 other beloved brands. The Company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of the best companies to work for by U.S. News & World Report and one of America's most responsible companies by Newsweek, was recognized by TIME magazine as one of the World's Best Companies and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. For more information, visit hormelfoods.com.

ABOUT BRAKEBUSH BROTHERS, LLC
Family-owned and operated since 1925, Brakebush Brothers, LLC, offers a wide variety of further processed chicken for foodservice establishments nationwide. The company is headquartered in Westfield, WI with additional facilities in Mocksville, NC; Irving, TX; Wells, MN; and Hartwell, GA. Visit www.brakebush.com for more information.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains forward-looking statements, which are based on the current assumptions and expectations of Hormel Foods Corporation (the "Company"). These statements are typically accompanied by the words "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "project," "seek," "target," "will," "would," or similar words or expressions. The principal forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the pending acquisition of Brakebush and the anticipated benefits of, and the Company's plans, strategies, and objectives relating to, such acquisition.

All such forward-looking statements are intended to enjoy the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Although the Company believes there is a reasonable basis for the forward-looking statements, actual events or results could be materially different. The most important factors that could cause actual future results or events to differ from its forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risks relating to completing the acquisition in the anticipated timeframe, or at all; risks related to the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisition; the possibility that unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, charges, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses, future prospects, and strategies resulting from the acquisition or otherwise could adversely impact the value or expected benefit of the acquisition; the expected financial and operating performance and future opportunities following the acquisition; risks relating to the receipt of regulatory approvals without unexpected delays or conditions and possibility of regulatory action; the risks and costs of the pursuit and/or implementation of the acquisition; risks related to the Company's access to available financing to consummate the acquisition upon acceptable terms and on a timely basis or at all; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the acquisition on the Company's or Brakebush's business relationships, competition, business, financial condition, and operating results, including risks that the acquisition disrupts current plans and operations of the Company or Brakebush, the ability of the Company or Brakebush to retain and hire key personnel, and risks related to diverting either management team's attention from ongoing business operations; the ability of the Company to successfully integrate Brakebush's operations and implement its plans, forecasts, and other expectations with respect to Brakebush's business or the combined business after the closing of the acquisition; the ability of the Company to manage any additional debt and successfully de-lever following the acquisition; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company or Brakebush related to the acquisition; and the other risks and uncertainties described in Item 1A – Risk Factors of the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which can be accessed at hormelfoods.com in the "Investors" section. Though the Company has attempted to list comprehensively these important cautionary risk factors, the Company cautions that other factors may in the future prove to be important in affecting the Company's business or results of operations. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement except as otherwise required by law.

SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation

Bank of America just raised price targets on two pharma giants facing patent cliffs, but its conviction level differs sharply between them, and the valuation gap may explain which one belongs in a long-term portfolio right now.

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BofA raised its price target on AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV | ABBV Price Prediction) to $289 from $282 and kept its Buy rating. It also lifted its Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) target to $278 from $263 and kept a Neutral rating.

Both targets went up, but the firm’s conviction clearly leans toward AbbVie stock. For dividend-focused investors, the moves point to growing confidence that big pharma can grow through its patent cliffs.

Ticker Company Firm Action Old Rating New Rating Old Target New Target ABBV AbbVie BofA Price Target Raised Buy Buy $282 $289 JNJ Johnson & Johnson BofA Price Target Raised Neutral Neutral $263 $278 BofA’s Case: Patent Flexibility and a Bigger Icotyde Forecast Analyst Tim Anderson says AbbVie is well positioned for its next decade of growth. In his view, a “favorable” loss of exclusivity profile (the timeline on which patents expire) gives the company room to invest in potentially transformative programs in immunology, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and neuroscience.

He adds that recent M&A has strengthened the late-stage pipeline. The pending Apogee acquisition, valued at about $10.9B, brings in an anti-IL-13 candidate for atopic dermatitis.

The J&J revision came after a physician dermatology survey. BofA raised its peak psoriasis sales forecast for Icotyde to $4.5B on 18% share, up from $2.4B on 10% share. Early demand supports that view. On the second-quarter call, management reported “over 18,000 prescriptions have been written for a total of now 11,000 patients”.

Company Snapshot: Two Pharma Giants Growing Through Patent Losses J&J’s second-quarter worldwide sales reached $25.3 billion, with operational growth of 5.6%. Tremfya generated $2 billion in sales, helping offset a 55.7% drop in Stelara. The company has raised its dividend for 64 consecutive years, putting it firmly in the rare club we ranked by valuation in a free Dividend Kings report.

AbbVie’s second-quarter revenue grew 10.2% to $16.99B. Adjusted EPS of $3.65 beat the $3.6084 consensus. Skyrizi rose 24.4% to $5.51B and Rinvoq climbed 24.5%, more than offsetting Humira’s slide to $756M.

Why the Move Matters Now for Pharma Investors Valuations help explain why BofA rates the two stocks differently. AbbVie trades at 16 times forward earnings, compared with 21 times for J&J. J&J stock has also run harder this year, up 31.14% year to date to $267.10. AbbVie is up 18.1% to $263.61.

Several catalysts are coming up. J&J holds an Enterprise Business Review on Dec 8, 2026 while it works on separating its Orthopaedics business. AbbVie expects a U.S. decision this fall on subcutaneous Skyrizi induction dosing in Crohn’s disease.

What It Means for Your Retirement Portfolio Both companies pay meaningful dividends. J&J pays $5.24 per share a year and AbbVie pays $6.83. Their revenue mixes keep moving away from older blockbusters. Still, biosimilar erosion continues, and AbbVie’s 2026 guidance of $13.87 to $14.07 includes $0.14 of dilution from the Apogee deal.

BofA’s revised outlook is worth a closer look for long-term investors. AbbVie gets the firm’s stronger endorsement. J&J’s Neutral rating suggests much of the Icotyde optimism may already be reflected in the stock.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) remains the biggest beneficiary of the artificial intelligence semiconductor boom, with analysts at Counterpoint Research expecting its growth to accelerate through the second half of 2026 as advanced-node demand and packaging capacity remain tight.

Counterpoint said Taiwan Semiconductor’s revenue rose 34% year over year and 12% sequentially to $40.2 billion in the second quarter.

That gave the company about 42% of the broader Foundry 2.0 market, up from 38% in 2025. The research firm expects Taiwan Semiconductor’s full-year 2026 revenue to grow about 43%, implying growth of nearly 50% in the second half.

AI Demand Keeps Taiwan Semiconductor at the CenterCounterpoint Associate Director Brady Wang said the AI investment cycle has broadened across pure-play foundries, non-memory chipmakers and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test companies. However, he said Taiwan Semiconductor remains the “central beneficiary.”

The firm estimates Taiwan Semiconductor’s CoWoS advanced-packaging supply-demand gap at about 20% in 2026. It expects the shortfall to narrow to roughly 10% in 2027 as in-house capacity expands toward 185,000 wafers per month.

Counterpoint said Taiwan Semiconductor’s second-half growth will depend on the ramp of its N2 process, wafer price increases and planned CoWoS capacity additions.

Tight packaging capacity is currently limiting AI product shipments, prompting Taiwan Semiconductor to increase back-end investment while customers develop alternative packaging options.

Samsung, Intel Gain As Customers Seek AlternativesSenior Analyst William Li said Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTC:SSNLF) and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) are also benefiting as customers look for additional manufacturing sources.

Samsung held the No. 2 foundry position with about 4% market share during the quarter, supported by SF4 and SF5 demand and higher wafer prices.

Intel, meanwhile, has gained traction with its EMIB-T packaging technology, which has been adopted for Google’s next-generation TPU, according to Counterpoint.

Still, Li said neither company currently matches Taiwan Semiconductor’s combination of advanced-node scale, manufacturing yields and packaging execution.

AI Boom Broadens Across Chip Supply ChainThe broader Foundry 2.0 market reached a record $96.6 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 25% from a year earlier and 11% sequentially.

Counterpoint attributed the growth to demand for AI GPUs, custom ASICs, server CPUs, networking chips and power-management semiconductors.

Non-Taiwan Semiconductor pure-play foundry revenue rose 18% year over year. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. led that group with 36% growth, helped by demand for domestic AI chips in China. Hua Hong and Nexchip posted growth of 17% and 21%, respectively.

Meanwhile, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test revenue rose 22% to $12.6 billion. ASE Technology posted 24% growth, while Amkor Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMKR) grew 26%, as advanced packaging, wafer probing and AI processor testing demand strengthened.

Counterpoint expects the Foundry 2.0 market to maintain double-digit growth through the second half of 2026. However, it flagged CoWoS and substrate shortages, higher wafer and packaging costs, weak consumer demand and trade-policy uncertainty as key risks.

TSM Price Action: Taiwan Semiconductor shares were down 0.49% at $454.72 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo via Shutterstock

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

, /PRNewswire/ -- Yiren Digital Ltd. (NYSE: YRD) ("Yiren Digital" or the "Company"), a leading company specializing in financial technology and artificial intelligence innovation across multiple industries in China and global markets, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.

Second Quarter 2026 Highlights

Later-stage delinquency rates continued to improve with 31–60 day and 61–90 day delinquency rates declining to 2.0% and 2.4% as of June 30, 2026, respectively, from 2.7% and 3.2% as of March 31, 2026. Repeat borrowers accounted for 82% of total loans facilitated, compared with 78% in the first quarter of 2026 and 77% in the same period of 2025, reflecting the Company's continued focus on serving established borrowers. Insurance client growth remained strong, with the number of clients increasing 281% year over year and new policies increasing 177% year over year. Insurance brokerage revenue increased 16% year over year. AI deployment continued to generate measurable efficiency gains across key operating functions, including lower human handling rates in asset recovery and higher autonomous resolution rates in customer operations. On July 2, 2026, the Company's board of directors authorized a new share repurchase program of up to US$20.0 million over the following 12 months. Second Quarter 2026 Operational Results

Credit Solution Business

Total loans facilitated in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB6.3 billion (US$0.9 billion), representing a decrease of 29% compared to RMB8.9 billion in the first quarter of 2026, and a decrease of 69% compared to RMB20.3 billion in the same period of 2025. Average loan size was RMB11,610 during the second quarter of 2026, a decrease of 3% from RMB11,991 in the first quarter of 2026, and an increase of 57% from RMB7,398 in the same period of 2025. Number of borrowers served in the second quarter of 2026 was 424,489, representing a decrease of 20% compared to 531,500 in the first quarter of 2026, and a decrease of 74% compared to 1,637,912 in the same period of 2025. Repeat borrowers' loan amount[1] accounted for 82% of total loans facilitated in the second quarter of 2026, compared to 78% in the first quarter of 2026 and 77% in the same period of 2025. Cumulative number of borrowers served reached 14,667,379 as of June 30, 2026, representing an increase of 1% from 14,518,023 as of March 31, 2026, and an increase of 8% from 13,536,838 as of June 30, 2025. Outstanding balance of performing loans facilitated was RMB15.1 billion (US$2.2 billion) as of June 30, 2026, representing a decrease of 30% from RMB21.6 billion as of March 31, 2026, and a decrease of 52% from RMB31.2 billion as of June 30, 2025. Insurance Brokerage Business

Number of insurance clients during the second quarter of 2026 was 452,962, representing an increase of 14% from 397,854 in the first quarter of 2026, and a 281% year-over-year increase from 118,747 in the same period of 2025. Cumulative number of insurance clients was 2,712,793 as of June 30, 2026, representing an increase of 15% from 2,357,951 as of March 31, 2026, and a 61% year-over-year increase from 1,681,888 as of June 30, 2025. Number of new insurance policies in the second quarter of 2026 was 918,150, representing a decrease of 8% from 999,575 in the first quarter of 2026, and a 177% year-over-year increase from 331,281 in the same period of 2025. Gross written premiums were RMB838.9 million (US$123.6 million), representing an increase of 2% from RMB823.0 million in the first quarter of 2026 and a decrease of 1% from RMB850.1 million in the same period of 2025. First-year premiums were RMB532.9 million (US$78.5 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared with RMB536.3 million in the first quarter of 2026 and RMB440.4 million in the same period of 2025. Renewal premiums were RMB305.9 million (US$45.1 million) in the second quarter of 2026, compared with RMB286.7 million in the first quarter of 2026 and RMB409.7 million in the same period of 2025. Recent Developments

All-in-AI Strategic Updates

Enterprise AI Deployment and Operating Efficiency: The Company continued to advance its enterprise AI operating model, supported by its proprietary Zhiyu and Yizhi large language models, MagiCube 2.0 multi-agent platform, XuanJi workflow execution and ZhiNao orchestration capabilities. AI deployment is increasingly translating into measurable efficiency gains and higher levels of automation across core operating functions. As disclosed in the Company's 2025 ESG Report, which was published in July 2026, the autonomous resolution rate of text-based agents in customer operations increased from approximately 60% to nearly 80%, while automated quality inspection covered more than two million service records daily. AI-Enabled Risk Management: The Company continued to expand the application of AI across risk management and borrower fraud detection. As disclosed in the Company's 2025 ESG Report, its Hawkeye fraud detection system and DiTing multimodal verification engine helped avoid approximately RMB165 million (US$23 million) in potential fraud-related losses during 2025, demonstrating the potential for AI capabilities to enhance risk identification and operational efficiency. AI Application-Layer Expansion: In July 2026, the Company entered into a warrant agreement with a private AI-native company focused on immersive AI entertainment and emotional wellness, marking the fourth AI company with which Yiren Digital has entered into a warrant agreement. The transaction reflects the Company's disciplined approach to selectively expanding its AI application-layer portfolio and developing new growth opportunities beyond its core financial services businesses. Share Repurchase Program

On July 2, 2026, the Company's board of directors authorized a new share repurchase program, under which the Company may repurchase up to 10% of its total issued and outstanding ordinary shares and/or American depositary shares ("ADSs") for an aggregate amount of up to US$20.0 million over the following 12 months. The timing and amount of any repurchases will be subject to market conditions and other applicable factors. 2025 ESG Report

In July 2026, the Company published its 2025 Environmental, Social and Governance Report, its third annual ESG report, prepared with reference to the GRI Standards and benchmarked against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. During 2025, the Company facilitated RMB19.5 billion of unsecured credit to more than 596,500 small business owners, established a three-tier ESG governance structure led by the Board's ESG Committee, and reduced total greenhouse gas emissions by 6% year over year. "During the second quarter of 2026, we maintained a disciplined approach to our credit solution business, prioritizing portfolio quality and risk-adjusted returns while moderating near-term loan facilitation volume. Under this approach, we saw an improvement in later-stage delinquency rates and a higher contribution from repeat borrowers. We continue to refine our service model to leverage our AI innovation to deliver our services that are less capital intensive and more technology focused," said Mr. Ning Tang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yiren Digital. "At the same time, our insurance client base continued to expand, and our All-in-AI strategy generated measurable efficiency gains across asset recovery, customer operations and risk management. Looking ahead, we remain focused on strengthening our core operations, advancing our AI-native capabilities and building a more diversified growth platform."

"Our operating performance improved in the second quarter. However, our results were also affected by the impairment and adjustments related to legacy receivables and contract assets," said Mr. William Hui, Chief Financial Officer of Yiren Digital. "Net loss nevertheless narrowed by 9% sequentially compared with the first quarter of 2026, primarily reflecting an improved credit environment, greater efficiency in credit analysis and reduced reliance on the risk-taking model."

Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results

Total net revenue in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB890.0 million (US$131.2 million), representing a decrease of 3% from RMB915.1 million in the first quarter of 2026 and a decrease of 46% from RMB1,652.1 million in the same period of 2025.

Within this, revenue from the credit solution business was RMB777.6 million (US$114.6 million), representing a decrease of 2% from RMB795.7 million in the first quarter of 2026 and a decrease of 48% from RMB1,489.6 million in the same period of 2025.

Revenue from the credit solution business accounted for 87% of total net revenue in the second quarter of 2026. The year-over-year decrease primarily reflected lower loan facilitation volume amid the industry's implementation of revised regulatory requirements for online loan facilitation. The revised framework introduced lower borrower all-in financing cost limits and more stringent funding-partner requirements relating to pricing and risk-adjusted returns. Against this backdrop, the Company moderated loan facilitation activity and increasingly concentrated originations among established repeat borrowers.

Revenue from the insurance brokerage business was RMB67.3 million (US$9.9 million), representing a decrease of 23% from RMB87.2 million in the first quarter of 2026 and an increase of 16% from RMB58.1 million in the same period of 2025. The year-over-year increase was primarily driven by the continued expansion of the Company's internet distribution business, which maintained strong momentum, together with steady growth in its traditional insurance operations. The sequential decrease mainly reflected lower estimated renewal rates for certain internet insurance products and the resulting adjustment to revenue from the existing portfolio.

Revenue from other businesses was RMB45.0 million (US$6.6 million), representing an increase of 40% from RMB32.2 million in the first quarter of 2026 and a decrease of 57% from RMB104.4 million in the same period of 2025. The year-over-year decrease mainly reflected the continued scaling down of the e-commerce business.

Sales and marketing expenses in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB126.9 million (US$18.7 million), representing an increase of 12% from RMB113.6 million in the first quarter of 2026 and a decrease of 63% from RMB345.2 million in the same period of 2025. The year-over-year decrease was primarily attributable to lower customer acquisition spending for the credit solution business as loan facilitation volume declined and the repeat-borrower mix increased. The sequential increase mainly reflected higher internet-based promotion service fees for customer acquisition in the internet insurance business.

Origination, servicing and other operating costs in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB189.6 million (US$27.9 million), representing a decrease of 4% from RMB197.6 million in the first quarter of 2026 and an increase of 18% from RMB160.9 million in the same period of 2025. The sequential decrease primarily reflected lower credit solution operating costs as loan facilitation volume and the outstanding loan balance declined. The year-over-year increase was mainly attributable to higher collection costs resulting from strengthened collection efforts, as well as higher operating costs associated with increased new business volume in the traditional insurance business.

Research and development expenses in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB113.1 million (US$16.7 million), representing an increase of 4% from RMB108.9 million in the first quarter of 2026 and an increase of 5% from RMB107.7 million in the same period of 2025. The modest increases reflected continued investment in AI-related research and development, including personnel and engineering capabilities.

General and administrative expenses in the second quarter of 2026 were RMB75.8 million (US$11.2 million), representing an increase of 8% from RMB70.5 million in the first quarter of 2026 and a decrease of 4% from RMB78.9 million in the same period of 2025.

Allowance for contract assets, receivables and others in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB502.8 million (US$74.1 million), compared with RMB176.4 million in the first quarter of 2026 and RMB214.7 million in the same period of 2025. The increase primarily reflected a provision for credit loss recognized on certain related-party loan receivables following a reassessment of their recoverability, as well as higher expected credit loss allowances on longer aging accounts receivable. These increases were partially offset by lower credit losses on financing and guarantee receivables.

Provision for contingent liabilities in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB233.3 million (US$34.4 million), representing a decrease of 63% from RMB632.2 million in the first quarter of 2026 and a decrease of 40% from RMB385.7 million in the same period of 2025. The decrease primarily reflected lower loan facilitation volume under the risk-taking model, which reduced expected future guarantee payouts, as well as a net reversal of provisions associated with the existing loan portfolio following updated credit assessments. The quarter-to-quarter decrease was further supported by lower expected net charge-off rates for newly originated loans.

Fair value adjustments loss in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB97.8 million (US$14.4 million), compared with a loss of RMB89.0 million in the first quarter of 2026 and a gain of RMB28.0 million in the same period of 2025. The fair value loss was primarily attributable to declines in the market value of the Company's digital assets and related investments, partially offset by fair value gains on trust investments.

Income tax expense in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB25.1 million (US$3.7 million).

Net loss for the second quarter of 2026, due to the foregoing, was RMB449.6 million (US$66.3 million), compared with a net loss of RMB494.7 million in the first quarter of 2026 and net income of RMB357.5 million in the same period of 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA [2] (non-GAAP) in the second quarter of 2026 was a loss of RMB340.7 million (US$50.2 million), compared with a loss of RMB336.8 million in the first quarter of 2026 and a gain of RMB351.4 million in the same period of 2025.

Basic and diluted loss per ADS in the second quarter of 2026 were both RMB5.1068 (US$0.7526), compared with basic and diluted loss per ADS of RMB5.6420 in the first quarter of 2026; and basic and diluted income per ADS of RMB4.1356 and RMB4.1072, respectively, in the same period of 2025.

Net cash used in operating activities in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB1,029.1 million (US$151.7 million), compared with RMB655.6 million used in the first quarter of 2026 and RMB411.2 million generated in the same period of 2025. The higher net operating cash outflow primarily reflected lower service fee collections amid reduced business volume, increased prepayments for collection, system support and marketing services, and continued indemnity payments under risk-taking model.

Net cash provided by investing activities in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB454.0 million (US$66.9 million), compared with RMB24.8 million used in the first quarter of 2026 and RMB752.2 million used in the same period of 2025. The change was primarily attributable to repayments from trust lending arrangements and proceeds from redemptions of funds and wealth management products, partially offset by new trust lending and other investment outflows.

Net cash used in financing activities in the second quarter of 2026 was RMB469.9 million (US$69.3 million), compared with RMB345.6 million used in the first quarter of 2026 and RMB447.6 million provided in the same period of 2025. The net financing cash outflow primarily reflected distributions of principal upon the liquidation of certain trust plans.

As of June 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were RMB1,696.7 million (US$250.1 million), compared with RMB2,453.1 million as of March 31, 2026. As of June 30, 2026, financial investments were RMB252.0 million (US$37.1 million), compared with RMB507.5 million as of March 31, 2026. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents primarily reflected net cash used in operating and financing activities, partially offset by net cash provided by investing activities. The decline in financial investments mainly reflected redemptions of funds and wealth management products and negative fair value movements.

As of June 30, 2026, delinquency rates [3] for loans that were past due for 1-30 days, 31-60 days and 61-90 days were 2.5%, 2.0% and 2.4%, respectively, compared with 2.5%, 2.7% and 3.2%, respectively, as of March 31, 2026.

Dividend Policy

The Board is evaluating a range of capital-allocation initiatives, including cash dividend payments and/or the recently announced share repurchase program, with a view to enhancing long-term shareholder value while maintaining a disciplined balance sheet and adequate financial flexibility.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In evaluating the business, the Company considers and uses several non-GAAP financial measures, such as adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure to review and assess operating performance. We believe such non-GAAP measure provides useful information about our core operating results, enhances the overall understanding of our past performance and prospects and allows for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by our management in our financial and operational decision making. The presentation of non-GAAP financial measure is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP"). The non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as analytical tools. Other companies, including peer companies in the industry, may calculate the non-GAAP measure differently, which may reduce their usefulness as a comparative measure. The Company compensates for these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the nearest U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance. See "Operating Highlights and Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP measures" at the end of this press release. The Company's non-GAAP financial measure excludes share-based compensation expenses, depreciation and amortization expenses, interest income and investment income, net, fair value adjustments related to digital assets and financial investments, and income tax benefit / (expense).   

Currency Conversion

This announcement contains currency conversions of certain RMB amounts into US$ at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to US$ are made at a rate of RMB6.7851 to US$1.00, the effective noon buying rate on June 30, 2026, as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board.

Conference Call

Yiren Digital's management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time on September 30, 2026 (or 8:00 p.m. Beijing/Hong Kong Time on September 30, 2026).

Participants who wish to join the call should register online in advance of the conference at:
https://dpregister.com/sreg/10211298/104ad33bf36

Once registration is completed, participants will receive the dial-in details for the conference call.

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at:
https://ir.yiren.com

[1] "Repeat borrowers' loan amount" refers to the proportion of total loan facilitation and origination volume through the Yixianghua platform in a given period that is generated by borrowers who have previously completed at least one successful drawdown during that period.

[2] "Adjusted EBITDA" is a non-GAAP financial measure. For more information, please see the final section and table captioned "Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA" at the end of this press release.

[3] "Delinquency rates" refers to the outstanding principal balance of loans that were 1-30 days, 31-60 days and 61-90 days past due as a percentage of the total performing outstanding principal balance of loans as of a specific date. Loans originating outside mainland China are not included in the calculation. A performing loan is one that is being repaid according to the agreed terms and has not become delinquent for more than 90 days.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "hope," "going forward," "intend," "ought to," "plan," "project," "potential," "seek," "may," "might," "can," "could," "will," "would," "shall," "should," "is likely to" and the negative form of these words and other similar expressions. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target," "confident," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, assumptions, and assessments of current market and operating conditions. These statements involve inherent risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors and other risks described in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no, and expressly disclaims any, obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

About Yiren Digital

Yiren Digital Ltd. is a leading company specializing in financial technology and artificial intelligence innovation across multiple industries in China and global markets. The Company leverages advanced artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to enhance customer experience, optimize capital efficiency, and expand financial inclusion. Following the regulatory filing of its in-house developed Large Language Model Zhiyu and the significant enhancement of its MagiCube Agent platform, Yiren Digital is establishing a new growth engine to accelerate its evolution into an AI-native, multi-industry operating platform extending beyond traditional financial services. For more information, please visit https://ir.yiren.com.

For further information:

Investor Relations, Email: [email protected]

Piacente Financial Communications, Email: [email protected]

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

 (in thousands)

As of

December 31,
2025

March 31,
2026

June 30,
2026

June 30,
2026

RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

        Cash and cash equivalents

3,348,126

2,453,140

1,696,719

250,065

        Restricted cash

522,708

383,363

85,183

12,554

        Accounts receivable

826,141

911,368

900,116

132,661

        Guarantee receivable

832,905

868,827

769,228

113,370

        Contract assets, net

619,291

305,106

137,000

20,191

        Contract cost

4,287

2,149

1,429

211

        Prepaid expenses and other assets

1,776,019

1,756,162

2,217,743

326,855

        Loans at fair value

342,895

156,134

47,406

6,987

        Financing receivables

909,182

938,958

773,807

114,045

        Amounts due from related parties

2,974,080

3,429,417

2,005,406

295,560

        Financial investments

483,700

507,528

251,962

37,135

        Equity investments

11,528

23,455

23,005

3,390

        Property, equipment and software, net

50,403

84,630

81,787

12,054

        Digital Assets

391,267

287,228

225,413

33,222

        Deferred tax assets

325,094

361,981

334,818

49,346

        Right-of-use assets

37,329

33,891

29,989

4,420

Total assets

13,454,955

12,503,337

9,581,011

1,412,066

        Accounts payable

79,630

93,759

61,289

9,033

        Amounts due to related parties

44,179

14,982

36,491

5,378

        Guarantee liabilities-stand ready

989,701

1,025,763

917,803

135,267

        Guarantee liabilities-contingent

1,300,097

1,172,209

815,618

120,207

        Deferred revenue

227

150

107

16

        Payable to investors of consolidated ABFE

1,294,792

941,068

470,067

69,279

        Accrued expenses and other liabilities

404,680

406,222

351,173

51,757

        Deferred tax liabilities

29,854

34,197

32,595

4,804

        Lease liabilities

39,758

35,289

33,252

4,901

Total liabilities

4,182,918

3,723,639

2,718,395

400,642

        Ordinary shares

133

134

133

20

        Additional paid-in capital

5,239,550

5,242,914

5,251,402

773,961

        Treasury stock

(170,686)

(170,686)

(170,686)

(25,156)

        Accumulated other comprehensive income

(2,517)

(17,369)

(36,659)

(5,403)

        Retained earnings

4,205,557

3,710,721

3,257,264

480,061

        Prepayment of acquisition costs to a related party under common
control *

-

-

(1,450,000)

(213,704)

Total Yiren Digital Ltd shareholders' equity

9,272,037

8,765,714

6,851,454

1,009,779

        Non-controlling interests

-

13,984

11,162

1,645

Total equity

9,272,037

8,779,698

6,862,616

1,011,424

Total liabilities and equity

13,454,955

12,503,337

9,581,011

1,412,066

* This balance represents the prepaid acquisition consideration made to a related party under common control for the Company's proposed
acquisition and was reclassified from amounts due from related parties to equity account because there is uncertainty on the completion of
the acquisition as well as the net assets of the acquisition target upon completion. The Company targets to close the acquisition during 2026,
subject to regulatory approval.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

 (in thousands, except for share, per share and per ADS data, and percentages)

For the Three Months Ended 

For the Six Months Ended

June 30,
2025

March 31,
2026

June 30,
2026

June 30,
2026

June 30,
2025

June 30,
2026

June 30,
2026

RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

RMB

RMB

USD

Net revenue:

Loan facilitation services

874,584

(3,909)

31,120

4,587

1,616,978

27,211

4,010

Post-origination services

10,463

(41)

814

120

12,207

773

114

Guarantee services

316,942

519,155

493,806

72,778

635,339

1,012,961

149,292

Financing services

65,821

66,145

68,136

10,042

107,708

134,281

19,790

Insurance brokerage services

58,137

87,160

67,296

9,918

129,597

154,456

22,764

Electronic commerce services

93,962

921

1,908

281

278,036

2,829

417

Network and marketing services *

138,268

145,697

122,633

18,074

262,626

268,330

39,547

Technology services *

90,532

98,129

95,896

14,133

159,122

194,025

28,596

Others *

3,391

1,883

8,370

1,234

5,013

10,253

1,511

Total net revenue

1,652,100

915,140

889,979

131,167

3,206,626

1,805,119

266,041

Operating costs and expenses:

Sales and marketing

345,166

113,569

126,863

18,697

622,118

240,432

35,435

Origination,servicing and other operating costs

160,859

197,552

189,608

27,945

385,597

387,160

57,060

Research and development

107,693

108,933

113,109

16,670

193,647

222,042

32,725

General and administrative

78,862

70,504

75,816

11,174

174,699

146,320

21,565

Allowance for contract assets, receivables and others

214,698

176,424

502,821

74,107

367,503

679,245

100,109

Provision for contingent liabilities

385,674

632,219

233,289

34,382

796,437

865,508

127,560

Total operating costs and expenses

1,292,952

1,299,201

1,241,506

182,975

2,540,001

2,540,707

374,454

Other income/(loss):

Investment income

2,245

1,318

12,417

1,830

4,217

13,735

2,024

Interest income

22,353

12,498

12,310

1,814

44,587

24,808

3,657

Fair value adjustments gain/(loss)

28,018

(89,036)

(97,815)

(14,416)

(30,358)

(186,851)

(27,538)

Others, net

14,084

1,591

429

63

14,758

2,020

298

Total other income/(loss)

66,700

(73,629)

(72,659)

(10,709)

33,204

(146,288)

(21,559)

Income/(loss) before provision for income taxes

425,848

(457,690)

(424,186)

(62,517)

699,829

(881,876)

(129,972)

Share of results of equity investees

(4,431)

-

(371)

(55)

(4,560)

(371)

(55)

Income tax expense/(benefit)

63,877

37,024

25,058

3,693

90,223

62,082

9,150

Net income/(loss)

357,540

(494,714)

(449,615)

(66,265)

605,046

(944,329)

(139,177)

Net loss/(income) attributable to non-controlling interests

-

1,173

2,823

416

-

3,996

589

Net income/(loss) attributable to ordinary shareholders of
the Company

357,540

(493,541)

(446,792)

(65,849)

605,046

(940,333)

(138,588)

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares used in
computing basic net income/(loss) per share

172,907,793

174,951,573

174,976,922

174,976,922

172,854,331

174,964,318

174,964,318

Basic net income/(loss) per share attributable to
ordinary shareholders of the Company

2.0678

(2.8210)

(2.5534)

(0.3763)

3.5003

(5.3744)

(0.7921)

Basic diluted net income/(loss) per ADS attributable to
ordinary shareholders of the Company

4.1356

(5.6420)

(5.1068)

(0.7526)

7.0006

(10.7488)

(1.5842)

Weighted-average number of ordinary shares used in
computing diluted net income/(loss) per share

174,102,643

174,951,573

174,976,922

174,976,922

174,019,493

174,964,318

174,964,318

Diluted net income/(loss) per share attributable to
ordinary shareholders of the Company

2.0536

(2.8210)

(2.5534)

(0.3763)

3.4769

(5.3744)

(0.7921)

Diluted net income/(loss) per ADS attributable to
ordinary shareholders of the Company

4.1072

(5.6420)

(5.1068)

(0.7526)

6.9538

(10.7488)

(1.5842)

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Cash Flow Data

Net cash generated from/(used in) operating activities

411,224

(655,588)

(1,029,107)

(151,672)

889,874

(1,684,695)

(248,293)

Net cash used in/(provided by) investing activities

(752,200)

(24,764)

454,017

66,914

(897,790)

429,253

63,264

Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities

447,588

(345,590)

(469,907)

(69,256)

367,012

(815,497)

(120,190)

Effect of foreign exchange rate changes

(9,412)

(8,389)

(9,604)

(1,415)

(7,045)

(17,993)

(2,652)

Net increase/(decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

97,200

(1,034,331)

(1,054,601)

(155,429)

352,051

(2,088,932)

(307,871)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of
period

4,356,408

3,870,834

2,836,503

418,048

4,101,557

3,870,834

570,490

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period

4,453,608

2,836,503

1,781,902

262,619

4,453,608

1,781,902

262,619

* Given the Company's diversified revenue streams, Network and marketing services and Technology services are now separately presented from Other revenue, with the remaining balance classified as Others. Comparative figures for the prior period have been restated.

Operating Highlights and Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures

(in thousands, except for number of  borrowers, number of insurance clients, cumulative number of insurance clients and percentages)

For the Three Months Ended 

For the Six Months Ended

June 30,
2025

March 31,
2026

June 30,
2026

June 30,
2026

June 30,
2025

June 30,
2026

June 30,
2026

RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

RMB

RMB

USD

Operating Highlights

Amount of loans facilitated 

20,347,799

8,910,760

6,302,596

928,888

35,585,722

15,213,356

2,242,171

Number of borrowers

1,637,912

531,500

424,489

424,489

2,466,710

832,248

832,248

Remaining principal of performing loans 

31,220,078

21,603,502

15,107,343

2,226,547

31,220,078

15,107,343

2,226,547

Cumulative number of insurance clients

1,681,888

2,357,951

2,712,793

2,712,793

1,681,888

2,712,793

2,712,793

Number of insurance clients

118,747

397,854

452,962

452,962

187,833

789,960

789,960

Gross written premiums

850,080

822,991

838,859

123,633

1,651,878

1,661,850

244,926

First year premium

440,353

536,332

532,946

78,547

852,850

1,069,278

157,592

Renewal premium

409,727

286,659

305,913

45,086

799,028

592,572

87,334

Segment Information

Credit solution business:

Revenue

1,489,587

795,746

777,638

114,610

2,784,067

1,573,384

231,888

Sales and marketing expenses

332,405

80,760

82,462

12,154

593,308

163,222

24,056

Origination, servicing and other operating costs

105,617

140,143

116,554

17,178

246,240

256,697

37,832

Allowance for contract assets, receivables and others

216,260

174,866

502,956

74,127

368,372

677,822

99,899

Provision for contingent liabilities

385,674

632,219

233,289

34,382

796,437

865,508

127,560

Insurance brokerage business:

Revenue

58,137

87,160

67,296

9,918

129,597

154,456

22,764

Sales and marketing expenses

2,731

2,388

20,922

3,083

5,526

23,310

3,435

Origination, servicing and other operating costs

52,683

54,475

69,044

10,176

134,123

123,519

18,205

Allowance for contract assets, receivables and others

564

(117)

107

16

(14)

(10)

(1)

Others:

Revenue

104,376

32,234

45,045

6,639

292,962

77,279

11,389

Sales and marketing expenses

10,030

30,421

23,479

3,460

23,284

53,900

7,944

Origination, servicing and other operating costs

2,559

2,934

4,010

591

5,234

6,944

1,023

Allowance for contract assets, receivables and others

45

188

107

16

(1,949)

295

43

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA

Net income/(loss)

357,540

(494,714)

(449,615)

(66,265)

605,046

(944,329)

(139,177)

Interest income and investment income, net

(24,598)

(13,816)

(24,727)

(3,644)

(48,804)

(38,543)

(5,681)

Income tax expense/(benefit)

63,877

37,024

25,058

3,693

90,223

62,082

9,150

Depreciation and amortization

2,643

3,561

3,711

547

4,940

7,272

1,072

Share-based compensation

6,932

2,071

1,821

269

9,119

3,892

574

Fair value adjustments related to digital assets and
financial investments

(54,979)

129,059

103,064

15,190

15,845

232,123

34,210

Adjusted EBITDA

351,415

(336,815)

(340,688)

(50,210)

676,369

(677,503)

(99,852)

Adjusted EBITDA margin

21.3 %

-36.8 %

-38.3 %

-38.3 %

21.1 %

-37.5 %

-37.5 %

Delinquency Rates

1-30 days

31-60 days

61-90 days

December 31, 2022

1.7 %

1.2 %

1.1 %

December 31, 2023

2.0 %

1.4 %

1.2 %

December 31, 2024

1.6 %

1.2 %

1.1 %

December 31, 2025

3.4 %

3.0 %

2.8 %

March 31, 2026

2.5 %

2.7 %

3.2 %

June 30, 2026

2.5 %

2.0 %

2.4 %

90+ Days Delinquency Rates by Vintage

Loan Issued
Period

Month on Book

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

2022Q1

0.6 %

2.0 %

3.1 %

3.9 %

4.5 %

4.7 %

4.6 %

4.6 %

4.5 %

4.5 %

4.4 %

2022Q2

0.5 %

1.7 %

2.9 %

3.7 %

4.2 %

4.4 %

4.3 %

4.3 %

4.2 %

4.2 %

4.1 %

2022Q3

0.5 %

2.1 %

3.4 %

4.2 %

4.7 %

5.0 %

4.9 %

4.9 %

4.8 %

4.7 %

4.7 %

2022Q4

0.7 %

2.5 %

3.8 %

4.8 %

5.5 %

5.8 %

5.8 %

5.7 %

5.6 %

5.5 %

5.4 %

2023Q1

0.5 %

2.3 %

3.9 %

5.0 %

5.8 %

6.1 %

6.0 %

5.9 %

5.8 %

5.7 %

5.6 %

2023Q2

0.6 %

2.8 %

4.7 %

6.1 %

6.8 %

7.1 %

7.0 %

6.9 %

6.8 %

6.7 %

6.6 %

2023Q3

0.8 %

3.5 %

5.6 %

7.0 %

7.7 %

7.9 %

7.9 %

7.7 %

7.6 %

7.5 %

7.5 %

2023Q4

0.7 %

3.4 %

5.6 %

6.8 %

7.4 %

7.6 %

7.6 %

7.4 %

7.3 %

7.3 %

7.2 %

2024Q1

0.6 %

3.0 %

4.8 %

5.9 %

6.6 %

6.8 %

6.8 %

6.7 %

6.6 %

6.6 %

6.5 %

2024Q2

0.6 %

2.4 %

4.0 %

5.1 %

5.8 %

6.1 %

6.1 %

6.0 %

5.9 %

5.8 %

5.8 %

2024Q3

0.5 %

2.2 %

3.7 %

4.7 %

5.4 %

5.8 %

5.8 %

5.7 %

5.7 %

5.5 %

2024Q4

0.6 %

2.2 %

3.8 %

4.9 %

5.9 %

6.4 %

6.4 %

6.3 %

6.0 %

2025Q1

0.6 %

2.3 %

4.2 %

6.0 %

7.2 %

7.8 %

7.4 %

2025Q2

0.8 %

3.5 %

6.6 %

8.9 %

10.0 %

9.4 %

2025Q3

1.1 %

4.8 %

8.0 %

10.0 %

2025Q4

1.1 %

4.3 %

7.6 %

2026Q1

0.7 %

*The 90+ days delinquency rate by vintage refers to the outstanding principal balance of loans facilitated over
a specified period that are more than 90 days past due, as a percentage of the total loans facilitated during that
same period. Loans originating outside mainland China are excluded from the calculation.

SOURCE Yiren Digital Ltd.

Potential Southern Extension of Leviathan: 3D modelling suggests the new Southern Flats zone may be an approximate 1 km southern extension, and therefore potentially continuous with, the Leviathan copper porphyry system defined to the north.Drilling to Fill the Gap: Assays are currently pending for drill hole HER-26-04. Two drill rigs are currently drilling holes HER-26-05 and HER-26-06, focused on expanding Leviathan to the south and infilling the 1-kilometer gap in drilling towards Southern Flats.Significant Scale Potential: Mineralization at both Southern Flats and Leviathan is centered on a large magnetotelluric ("MT") and induced polarization ("IP") anomaly that continues several kilometers south into the largely untested "Pegasus" target. The Hook target 3 km to the east appears to be a parallel structure with a similar geophysical anomaly.Vertically Extensive: Drilling at Southern Flats shows strong vertical continuity. HER-26-01 was terminated in a late porphyry intrusion. Mineralization is interpreted to occur on either side of the late porphyry however the hole was terminated due to depth.Enrichment Potential: The strong copper enrichment that occurs in the upper portion of Leviathan has not yet been located at Southern Flats, with potential for a higher-grade subzone elsewhere within the target area. Bornite mineralization below the leach cap in 26-01 suggests that this style of mineralization may be present in Southern Flats.Shallowing Potential: 3D modelling suggests the cover rocks thin to the south, toward the Pegasus target (see Figure 3 long-section).Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 30, 2026) - Hercules Metals Corp. (TSXV: BIG) (OTCQB: BADEF) ("Hercules" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a 200 m step-out drill hole HER-26-01 ("26-01") has extended mineralization west of the Southern Flats discovery hole HER-25-25 (see PR dated May 26, 2026). The Southern Flats zone represents the second copper porphyry centre discovered at the Company's Hercules Project in western Idaho (the "Property") since 2023, when the Leviathan copper porphyry system was initially discovered.

HER-26-01 encountered transitional phyllic to outer potassic alteration, hosting a unique style of porphyry copper mineralization grading:

287 m of 0.58% CuEq (0.43% Cu, 158 ppm Mo, 4.0 g/t Ag, 0.03 g/t Au)incl. 66 m of 0.80% CuEq (0.61% Cu, 89 ppm Mo, 11.3 g/t Ag, 0.04 g/t Au)Unlike at the Leviathan centre, porphyry intrusions in HER-26-01 appear steeply dipping to subvertical. The hole ended in a lower grade late-stage porphyry intrusion interpreted to be steeply dipping.

Both Southern Flats and Leviathan are interpreted to have been emplaced along a major regional fault structure. MT geophysics shows potential for the same copper porphyry mineralization to continue further along the same structure, into the largely untested Pegasus target.

Geological mapping and drilling indicate that Southern Flats may be located within a "down-dropped" fault block, resulting in increased cover thickness. However, 3D modelling also indicates that cover thickness decreases again to the south, and mineralization may occur closer to surface within the Pegasus Zone.

Ongoing drilling has two rigs focused on the high-priority Leviathan copper porphyry system at 200 m drill spacing. Leviathan's mineralization has currently been traced to over 1.35 km in strike, up to 750 m in width, and approximately 500 m vertical extent. Mineralization remains open to the north, south, and at depth. Assays are now pending for drill hole HER-26-04, while two in-progress drill holes, HER-26-05 and HER-26-06, are expanding Leviathan to the south, infilling a large 1-kilometer gap in drilling between Leviathan and Southern Flats.

An extensive higher-grade copper hypogene enrichment blanket, containing secondary bornite, occurs within the shallowest portions of the Leviathan system. Drilling will continue to prioritize expansion of this high-priority target at Leviathan.

Figure 1: Drill plan showing MT conductivity and IP chargeability targets defining four key zones across the Hercules Property. Warmer colours are more conductive. As part of the current program, drill holes HER-26-04, 26-05, and 26-06 are extending Leviathan to the south and filling a large gap toward newly discovered mineralization in holes HER-25-25 and HER-26-01. 

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9425/316699_9805cff36454e9c5_002full.jpg

Figure 2: Cross-section (±250 m, looking north) showing Southern Flats holes HER-25-25 (see PR dated May 26, 2026) and HER-26-01 (this release). Interpreted geology and alteration shown for context. Select samples for silver, lead and zinc in the Jurassic cover were taken from a depth of 611.12 m and continued to the end of the hole, as indicated in the figure above.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9425/316699_9805cff36454e9c5_003full.jpg

Figure 3: Long-section, facing east, showing the Leviathan copper porphyry system and overlying epithermal silver mineralization, with the new Southern Flats discovery and the largely untested Pegasus target along strike to the south. The section is approximately coincident with the major regional structure along which MT conductivity anomalies are associated with copper porphyry mineralization. The unconformity in red represents the boundary between underlying copper porphyry mineralization and an overlying epithermal silver system.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9425/316699_9805cff36454e9c5_004full.jpg

Chris Paul, SVP Exploration for Hercules Metals commented, "Modern systematic exploration has led to two significant porphyry copper discoveries at Hercules since 2023, and, importantly, has provided us with a repeatable methodology for identifying and vectoring toward new porphyry centres across the district. Our approach begins with district-scale MT surveys at progressively tighter-spacing, followed by deep-penetrating IP surveys to refine discrete targets and, ultimately drill, vectoring toward the centres of new porphyry systems using well-established alteration zoning patterns within the Hercules Project porphyry district.

The Southern Flats discovery provides a proof of concept which can now be applied at other high-priority targets on the Property, including Hook and Pegasus. The first reconnaissance drill hole at the Hook target has already intersected key alteration and geological features consistent with the periphery of a porphyry system. With the anomaly beginning 100 meters from surface, Hook has emerged as our new highest-priority exploration target outside of Leviathan.

To date, systematic exploration has only been applied to approximately 20% of our 100,000-acre land position, leaving substantially more opportunities to continue identifying additional porphyry centres across the broader 73 km Olympus copper belt while drilling at Leviathan continues to aggressively expand our flagship discovery on 200 meter centres."

Table 1: Highlight Intervals

Hole IDFrom 
(m)To (m)Interval 
(m)1Cu (%)Mo 
(ppm)Ag 
(g/t)Au 
(g/t)CuEq 
(%)2HER-26-01862.581149.10286.520.431584.00.030.58including862.58928.1265.540.618911.30.040.80Table 2: Drill Collar Location

Hole IDEastingNorthingElevationDepth (m)AzimuthDipHER-26-01511250495490012461258.82270-87.48Olympus Option Payment

The Company has completed its second C$2.0 million anniversary payment to Barrick Mining Corporation under the option agreement (see PR dated August 18, 2025). This is the second of four payments made by Hercules to complete the ownership of a 73 km belt of claims known as the "Olympus Project." Upon the final $2 million payment in 2028, the Company will own over 100,000 acres in America's newest copper porphyry belt. At the Company's election, the payment was made entirely in cash rather than common shares.

Sample Analysis and QAQC

All drill core samples were prepped at MSA Labs in Elko, Nevada and analyzed at MSA Labs in Langley, British Columbia, an ISO 17025 and ISO 9001 certified laboratory. Samples were dried and crushed to 2 mm, from which a 250 g sub-sample split was then pulverized to 85% passing a 75 micron sieve. Following preparation, assays were determined by the IMS-230 method. A 0.25 g aliquot of the prepared pulp was digested in a 4-acid solution consisting of hydrochloric, nitric, perchloric and hydrofluoric acids. 4-acid is a near total digest and only the most highly resistant minerals are not dissolved. The resulting solution was analyzed via ICP-MS and ICP-ES for 48 elements and was corrected for inter-element spectral interferences. Lower detection limits for this procedure are 0.01 ppm for silver, 0.5 ppm for lead, 2 ppm for zinc, and 0.2 ppm for copper. Mercury is not reported due to volatilization in reaction with hydrofluoric acid and gold is not reported due to the small, 0.25 g aliquot size being insufficient to overcome the nugget effect.

Samples with initial results beyond the upper detection limit of the IMS-230 method were analyzed by procedures ICF-6Ag, ICF-6Cu, ICF-6Pb and ICF-6Zn. The thresholds are 100 ppm for silver, and >1% for copper, lead and zinc.

A 50 g split from the crushed and pulverized samples are composited into larger 500 g composite samples (consisting of ten continuous samples) and analyzed for gold utilizing CPA-Au1 photon assay method. Certain material gold results from the composite samples are then selected for re-analysis, by individual sample, as a 30 g fire assay (FAS-111 Method). Gold assays below detection limit are treated as zero values for composite calculations.

MSA Labs employs internal quality control standards, duplicates and blank samples at set frequencies.

Blind certified reference materials (CRMs) and blank samples were systematically inserted by the Company into the sample stream and analyzed as part of the Company's quality assurance/quality control protocol.

For further details regarding holes HER-25-25, HER-26-02 and HER 26-03 including applicable scientific and technical information and cautionary statements, see PR's dated May 26, 2026, June 16, 2026 and September 14, 2026, respectively.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed, verified and approved for disclosure by Dillon Hume, P.Geo. and Vice President, Exploration for the Company. Mr. Hume is a "Qualified Person" for Hercules Metals within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Hercules Metals Corp.

Hercules Metals Corp. (TSXV: BIG) (OTCQB: BADEF) is an exploration Company focused on developing America's newest porphyry copper district, in Idaho.

The 100% owned Hercules Project, located northwest of Cambridge, hosts the Leviathan porphyry copper system, one of the most important new discoveries in the country to date. The Company is well positioned for growth through continued drilling, supported by a strategic investment from Barrick Mining Corporation.

With the potential for significant scale, the Company's management and board of directors aims to deliver value to shareholders through proven discovery success.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. Any securities referred to herein have not and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws of an exemption from such registration is available.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained or incorporated by reference in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipated", "appears", "assumption", "believe", "concept", "confidence", "developing", "estimate", "exploration", "focused", "forward", "future", "growth", "if", "indicates", "initial", "intended", "mapping", "may", "modelling", "ongoing", "opportunities", "option", "pending", "plan", "positioned", "potential", "priority", "progress", "project", "suggests", "target", "toward", "untested", "vectoring", and "will", or variations of such words, and similar such words, expressions or statements, that certain actions, events, conditions or results "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" (or not) be achieved, occur, provide, result or support in the future, or which, by their nature, refer to future events. In some cases, forward-looking information may be stated in the present tense, such as in respect of current matters that may be continuing, or that may have a future impact or effect. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding: indications, interpretations or suggestions from completed drilling and other exploration programs and other work (including mapping, modelling and similar activities), ongoing, planned or other future drilling or other exploration programs and work (including the objectives or targets therefor, and the targeted, expected or potential results thereof, including any identification and vectoring toward new porphyry centres, any expansion of targets at Leviathan, Pegasus, Southern Flats or Hook, and any openness of the Leviathan system north, south or otherwise; style of mineralization that may be present in Southern Flats, location of Southern Flats within a "down-dropped" fault block and implications thereof (including cover thickness), style of mineralization may be present in Southern Flats, any higher grade sub-zone represented by the Southern Flats, and cover thickness to the south of Leviathan (including increasing, or decreasing or thinning thereof); exploration targets including Pegasus and Hook; scale potential (including at Leviathan and Southern Flats, and magnitude thereof); any extension of Leviathan at Southern Flats or otherwise; Hook appearing to be a parallel structure with a similar geophysical anomaly to Leviathan; and pending or other future assay results.

Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that those forward-looking statements will prove to be correct, and any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future actions, results or performance. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, estimates, expectations, information and opinions, which are considered reasonable and represent best judgment based on available facts, as of the issuance of this press release. If such assumptions, estimates, expectations and opinions prove to be incorrect, actual and future results may be materially different than expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. The assumptions, estimates, expectations and opinions, which may prove to be incorrect, include those contained or incorporated by reference in this press release, as well as those stated in the Company's other public disclosure in 2026, including the prior press releases referenced in this press release, the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis (together with the accompanying financial statements) for the year ended December 31, 2025 and the quarters already ended and reported in 2026 (collectively, "2026 Disclosure"), available on the Company's website at www.herculesmetals.com and under its issuer profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are inherently subject to assumptions, estimates, expectations, opinions, and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors, which may cause actual results, activity, performance, developments or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, activity, performance, developments or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Examples of such assumptions, estimates, expectations, opinions, risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors include those identified herein as well as those associated with general economic conditions; any mineralization at targets (including Southern Flats, Pegasus and Hook), if present, may differ materially from that observed at the Leviathan porphyry system; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments in the mining sector; the Company's ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favorable terms; mining industry and markets in Canada and generally; the ability of the Company to implement its business strategies; competition; interpretations, indications, expectations and assumptions prove not to be valid or reliable, which could result in delays, or cessation in planned work; risks associated with the interpretation of data, geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, as well as other assumptions risks and uncertainties applicable to mineral exploration and development activities and to the Company, and those set forth in the Company's other 2026 Disclosure, available on the Company's website at www.herculesmetals.com and/or documents filed under its issuer profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the issuance of this press release (or as otherwise expressly specified) and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements referenced or contained in this press release are expressly qualified by these Cautionary Statements as well as the cautionary statements and/or notes in the Company's other 2026 Disclosure.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

1 The intervals reported represent drill intercepts and insufficient data are available at this time to state the true thickness of the mineralized intervals.
2 Copper equivalent (CuEq) for drill intersections is calculated using a three-year trailing average for each commodity, which equates to US$ 4.20/lb Cu, US$ 2,600/oz Au, US$ 30.50/oz Ag and US$ 21.50/lb Mo, with 80% metallurgical recoveries assumed for all metals. The formula is: CuEq % = Cu % + (0.000512 * Mo ppm) + (0.010591 * Ag g/t) + (0.902879* Au g/t).

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/316699

Source: Hercules Metals Corp.

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Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX – Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $213.95.

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $238.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equifax from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $195.00 to $179.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Equifax

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax In related news, EVP John Gamble sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total transaction of $845,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,979,577.80. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $6,506,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,808,582.40. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equifax A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 630.8% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Stock Down 3.6% Shares of Equifax stock opened at $140.60 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Equifax has a 1-year low of $138.15 and a 1-year high of $258.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $175.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.08. The company has a market capitalization of $16.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.31.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 10.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Equifax will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.37%.

About Equifax (Get Free Report)

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that helps businesses, government agencies and consumers make informed decisions about credit, identity, employment and financial risk. The company collects and analyzes information from a broad range of sources to provide insights and decisioning tools for lenders, employers, insurers, telecommunications providers and other organizations.

Its products and services include consumer and commercial credit reports, credit scores, fraud and identity-management solutions, marketing and customer-acquisition analytics, and income and employment verification through The Work Number.

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Gold has recovered towards $4,200, but UBS’s December forecast of $4,600 still requires a gain of almost 10% from current levels. Gold’s sharp September retreat has left a much steeper climb to UBS’s $4,600 year-end forecast, even as bullion recovers some of Monday’s losses.

The Gold price (XAU/USD) edged up 0.20% to around $4,195 an ounce on Wednesday morning, following Tuesday’s 1.49% rebound.

Monday’s 3.20% decline had taken the closing price to roughly $4,125, and bullion remained nearly 6% lower for September through Tuesday.

Rising yields and a stronger Dollar drove the selloff, increasing the opportunity cost of holding an asset that pays no interest.

Wednesday brought some relief as Treasury yields eased and investors scaled back expectations for an October Federal Reserve hike.

UBS’s forecasts, dated 24 September, put gold at $4,600 in December 2026, $5,000 in March 2027, $5,200 in June and $5,400 in September.

That implies gains of approximately 9.7% by year-end and 28.7% by September 2027 from today’s price.

Those projections predate Monday’s slide, rather than representing a fresh response to it.

Image: Gold price chart vs USD shows recovery over last 2 days UBS’s earlier argument gives more weight to reserve diversification and investment demand than to the next interest-rate decision alone.

In its earlier September assessment, the bank said: “We view gold as a strategic portfolio hedge and diversifier, rather than as a tactical expression of the next Fed decision.”

UBS strategist Giovanni Staunovo also wrote on 17 September: “We believe the long-term investment case for gold remains positive,” pointing to central-bank purchases as structural support.

The immediate test is whether softer rate expectations persist through the next US inflation and employment releases.

Stronger figures could lift yields again and test whether central-bank and investment demand can offset renewed pressure on bullion.

Exchange Rates UK Research Our currency coverage draws on live market data, official economic releases and published bank research.

United Kingdom nuclear site operator Sellafield Ltd has selected an Amentum (NYSE: AMTM) joint venture as preferred supplier for an asset care and asset creation program valued at up to $2.78 billion (£2.1 billion).

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260930996796/en/

Image courtesy of Sellafield Ltd.

Under the Projects and Asset Care Execution (PACE) framework contract, Amentum and its supply chain partners will support Sellafield Ltd’s spent fuel management and retrievals mission by providing full lifecycle capabilities including engineering and design, procurement, installation and plant modification, project management and controls, commissioning, dismantling, removal and ongoing asset care.

“Sellafield Ltd has selected us and our trusted suppliers because of our record of excellent delivery performance, collaborative behaviors and constant innovation and improvement, driven by application of technologies such as digital visualization and advanced robotics,” said John Heller, Chief Executive Officer of Amentum. “PACE provides a significant, long-term growth opportunity for Amentum at Sellafield, building on our existing capability and relationships while also enabling us to deliver a broader, integrated full lifecycle scope on higher value projects across engineering and asset care.”

"Our mission is to create a clean, safe and secure environment for future generations. To do this we must ensure our assets remain safe, reliable and fit for the future,” said Matthew Johns, Chief Engineer, Sellafield Ltd. “The PACE agreement is an important step to strengthen our asset care capability. It will provide the expertise we need to maintain a high standard of safe and efficient delivery.”

Formal award of the framework agreement will follow when final contractual arrangements are concluded.

Lot 1 of PACE will be delivered by OneAxIoM, a joint venture between Amentum and Mitie Plc, supported by key supply chain partners Assystem and Mott MacDonald. The initial contract duration is nine years, with an optional six-year extension.

About Amentum

Amentum is a global leader in advanced engineering and innovative technology solutions, trusted by the United States and its allies to address their most significant and complex challenges in science, security and sustainability. Our people apply undaunted curiosity, relentless ambition and boundless imagination to challenge convention and drive progress. Our commitments are underpinned by the belief that safety, collaboration and well-being are integral to success.Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, we have approximately 50,000 employees in more than 70 countries across all 7 continents.

Visit us at amentum.com to learn how we advance the future together.

Follow @Amentum_corp on X

Follow Amentum on LinkedIn

About Amentum in the UK

With more than 6,000 people in the UK, Amentum is the delivery partner for project and construction management services at Hinkley Point C; sole program and project management delivery partner at Sizewell C; and supports the UK’s existing nuclear power stations under a Lifetime Enterprise Agreement with EDF. It is a major supplier of engineering design, safety case and project management at Sellafield and other UK nuclear decommissioning sites and operates the country’s largest private sector complex of nuclear laboratories and engineering test facilities in Warrington.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains or incorporates by reference statements by Amentum Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) that relate to future events and expectations and, as such, constitute “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements may be characterized by terminology such as “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “target,” “endeavor,” “seek,” “predict,” “intend,” “strategy,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements, other than historical facts, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated work and revenue under the awarded contract, and the Company’s objectives, expectations and intentions, applicable legal, economic and regulatory conditions, and any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, are forward-looking statements.

A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by these forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including, among others: the occurrence of an accident or safety incident; the ability of the Company to control costs, meet performance requirements or contractual schedules; and other factors set forth under Item 1A, Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, which can be found at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or the Investor Relations portion of our website at www.amentum.com. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise such statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom has approved a package of ethics and consumer protection measures that includes a first-of-its-kind state ban on public officials issuing memecoins.

The announcement from his office on September 27, 2026, was framed in blunt political terms as “THE OPPOSITE OF TRUMP,” pairing the new restrictions with criticism of President Donald Trump’s own 2025 memecoin launch.The centerpiece is Assembly Bill 2409, authored by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia.

It bars California public officers and certain public employees from issuing a memecoin.

The statute defines a memecoin as a digital asset marketed mainly around internet jokes, celebrities, fictional characters, current events, or social trends, with value driven more by hype and community speculation than by a working product or business.

The same law stops digital asset platforms from listing, for California residents, newly issued memecoins offered by or in partnership with federal, state, or local officials.

That listing restriction applies to tokens created on or after January 1, 2027.

Newsom presented the measure as a safeguard against officials cashing in on public office.

In remarks released with the signing, he said no official should profit from their position and that California was putting stronger protections in place.

His office contrasted that stance with Trump’s token, citing reports that nearly one million buyers lost more than $3 billion while the president realized hundreds of millions of dollars in related gains.

The governor’s statement also described the Trump administration as marked by self-dealing.AB 2409 does not outlaw memecoins in general.

Tokens such as Dogecoin remain legal.

The target is issuance and promotion tied to public officials. Enforcement is civil rather than criminal.

The attorney general, district attorneys, city attorneys, and county counsel may sue.

Courts can issue injunctions and order disgorgement of profits.

The memecoin bill was one of several signed the same day.

Senate Bill 1208 expands money-laundering laws to cover digital assets and gives law enforcement clearer authority to freeze, seize, and forfeit crypto linked to crime.

Other measures address ticket refunds and speculative resale, unauthorized resale of restaurant and golf reservations, privacy settings on operating systems and apps, lobbyist ethics, and related consumer and government-accountability rules.

Legislators had already approved AB 2409 without recorded opposition in the final floor votes.

Supporters argued that official-linked tokens create conflicts of interest, pay-to-play risks, and openings for outside influence.

Critics of the political framing may see the announcement as a partisan swipe more than a narrow ethics reform.

Either way, California is now the first state with a statutory ban of this kind, and platforms serving its large market will have until early 2027 to decide how they handle new official-linked tokens.

The law adds another layer to an already fragmented US approach to digital assets.

It does not resolve whether existing tokens such as $TRUMP fall under the new listing rules, and it leaves nationwide policy to Congress and federal regulators. What it does establish is a clear state line: California public officials may not launch memecoins, and platforms face limits on selling certain official-tied tokens to residents after the 2027 cutoff.

Bill Gates handed over the reins of Microsoft (MSFT -0.05%) to Steve Ballmer in early 2000. Gates had built the software business into the world's largest company by market cap, perhaps with a little help from dot-com stock enthusiasm.

To be sure, Ballmer took over the company in a precarious position. Not only were tech stock valuations extremely frothy, but Microsoft was also fighting its antitrust lawsuit. The stock dropped more than 70% as the dot-com bubble popped, but Ballmer never recovered the company's old highs.

The 2008 financial crisis took another bite out of the stock. And while it recovered somewhat with the rest of the market in the early 2010s, Microsoft's stock price was still down more than 32% from when Ballmer took over to when he departed.

His successor and current Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, has had much greater success. The stock has risen more than 14-fold since he took over, producing an annualized return for shareholders exceeding 23%.

Nadella has transformed Microsoft into a cloud computing business across both its enterprise software and Azure cloud platform. The latter is now driving significant overall growth, fueled by AI investments. Microsoft is spending heavily to keep up with demand, and some investors may be wondering whether it can continue to grow its value by around 20% annually after such a tremendous run.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Image source: Microsoft Corp.

Can Microsoft stock keep climbing from here? Microsoft's stock has been under pressure over the past year since the share price peaked in October. While it's mostly recovered from a drop of 35% at one point, the stock still trades about 5% below its all-time high. The drop in the stock price is due to fears regarding artificial intelligence (AI).

AI could impact Microsoft in two ways. First, its enterprise software business, anchored by its Microsoft 365 suite, could be disrupted by AI. Many argue that AI-developed software could displace much of the functionality of, and the need for, existing software solutions. The second way is that Microsoft is spending hundreds of billions to build out AI data centers, pushing its free cash flow lower.

The first situation is unlikely to have a real impact on Microsoft's software business. Microsoft's suite is a workplace standard. An enterprise moving away from it would incur significant switching costs and interoperability challenges that are probably not worth any cost savings on the software itself.

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The second challenge is more real, but the risks may be overblown. Microsoft is investing in AI compute capacity with highly predictable returns on investment thanks to long-term contracts with several customers. Microsoft ended last quarter with $678 billion in contracted revenue across Azure and its software business.

The risk that it will spend too much on compute is unlikely to materialize, especially given that Microsoft uses Azure compute capacity for its own AI development. Further mitigating that risk is management's commitment to maintain positive free cash flow.

Over the long run, Microsoft should be a net beneficiary of increased spending on AI for both compute used by developers and software used by enterprises. That should lead to sustained earnings growth around that 20% target rate. If Microsoft maintains its earnings multiple, the stock will climb at the same pace. That's not quite as fast as the first 12 years of Nadella's tenure, but it's close enough to make it a great investment.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE – Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $276.07.

Several research firms have recently commented on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Nucor from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nucor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $274.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $272.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on NUE

Nucor Price Performance NUE stock opened at $236.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.87. The company’s 50-day moving average is $256.37 and its 200-day moving average is $230.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Nucor has a 1 year low of $131.32 and a 1 year high of $280.11. Nucor (NYSE:NUE – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $10.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The firm’s revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Nucor will post 18.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Trending Headlines about Nucor Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

Positive Sentiment: Nucor is seeking to join a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceeding concerning MISO power-market rules. The effort could potentially improve power-cost visibility or protect the competitiveness of the company’s electric-arc-furnace operations. Nucor Moves To Join FERC Fight Over MISO Power Rules Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimates still anticipate roughly a 60% earnings rebound, while Nucor’s longer-term performance has benefited from higher steel prices, capacity expansion and acquisitions. However, those positives were overshadowed by the near-term outlook. Nucor Stock Estimates and Q3 Guidance Negative Sentiment: Nucor’s third-quarter earnings guidance of $5.55 to $5.65 per diluted share fell short of market expectations. Although steel mills and steel products were expected to improve sequentially, raw-material results were projected to weaken. The comparison is also pressured by nonrecurring second-quarter benefits, including a $61 million Helion investment gain and $130 million in raw-material procurement refunds. Nucor Falls on Softer Third-Quarter Guidance Negative Sentiment: A planned $15 billion foreign-owned steel mill in Iowa, expected to begin shipping steel in 2030, raises longer-term concerns about additional domestic capacity and competitive pressure for Nucor and other U.S. steelmakers. Iowa Steel Mill’s Impact on Nucor Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity shows 26 open-market sales and no purchases during the past six months, which may reinforce investor caution, although the transactions may reflect compensation or portfolio decisions rather than a fundamental change in outlook. Insider Transactions at Nucor In other Nucor news, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total transaction of $1,044,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,212,340.76. The trade was a 19.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,008,704.32. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the second quarter worth $247,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,787 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,076,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its stake in Nucor by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 56,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,515,000 after acquiring an additional 15,833 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA boosted its holdings in Nucor by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 14,393 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Talon Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile (Get Free Report)

Nucor Corporation is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based steel producer and one of the largest steel companies in North America. The company operates electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills that use recycled scrap steel as a primary raw material, along with facilities that manufacture and process steel products for construction, manufacturing, transportation, energy and other industrial markets.

Nucor’s product portfolio includes carbon and alloy steel in sheet, plate, bar and structural forms, as well as reinforcing steel, wire and wire mesh.

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Financial analyst Levi described the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s latest crypto guidance as a major milestone for the industry, stating that the recent update is “massively bullish for crypto and $XRP.” Levi made his remarks after the SEC published new guidance and FAQs on September 25, 2026, covering several aspects of the digital asset sector.

SEC guidance expands on previous XRP classificationThe latest document builds directly on the March Interpretive Release that the SEC issued jointly with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That earlier release explicitly classified XRP as a digital commodity, marking a pivotal moment in the asset’s regulatory history.

Levi responded to the new guidance on X, writing, “BIG WIN FOR CRYPTO!!” He suggested that the SEC’s clarifications on how securities laws apply to digital assets could create industry-wide benefits and strengthen the position of XRP. The remarks highlighted positive sentiment among segments of the crypto community.

Levi declared, “BIG WIN FOR CRYPTO!! SEC issues new guidance clarifying securities laws on crypto. This is massively bullish for crypto and $XRP.”

The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance released the updated material to offer deeper insight into digital asset transactions. However, the agency stated that the document only provides staff interpretation, not new binding rules.

Functional networks, token buybacks, and liquid staking addressedThe SEC guidance clarifies the regulatory status of crypto networks that have achieved full functionality. According to the document, routine operations related to the security, maintenance, or improvement of a network do not automatically meet the “essential managerial efforts” required for a securities law analysis under the Howey test.

In addition, staff addressed the issue of token buybacks in fully functional and decentralized networks, stating that such buybacks do not inherently constitute investment contracts. The characterization, the SEC explained, depends on transaction structure and profit expectations related to managerial actions.

The guidance also provided details on liquid staking receipt tokens. The SEC outlined situations where these tokens may represent interests tied to underlying digital commodities, but do not automatically result in an investment contract.

These points are intended to give developers and market participants greater clarity regarding several digital asset activities that previously faced regulatory uncertainty.

Mini dictionary: Howey test – A US legal standard from a 1946 Supreme Court case, used to determine whether a transaction qualifies as an investment contract and therefore falls under securities regulation.

Guidance offers clarity but does not change securities lawWhile Levi viewed the guidance as a “BIG WIN,” the SEC clarified that the material reflects staff views and does not carry the force of law. The Division of Corporation Finance emphasized that the FAQs do not amend US securities regulations or supersede existing legal precedent.

The agency indicated that each case involving digital assets continues to be reviewed individually based on specific facts and circumstances. The update aims to provide market participants with additional regulatory insight but does not grant blanket exemptions for cryptocurrencies or related businesses.

The Division of Corporation Finance emphasized, “Staff guidance does not have the force or effect of law and does not alter the application of federal securities laws.”

XRP’s legal position and prior court decisionsAlthough the new SEC guidance addresses several crypto activities in general terms, it does not create new rules specifically for XRP. The current regulatory treatment of XRP remains influenced by previous court cases. On July 13, 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP on digital exchanges did not meet the conditions of the Howey test. However, the court reached a different conclusion for some institutional sales.

This legal distinction is important in evaluating the significance of the SEC’s guidance for XRP holders and investors. Levi’s remarks place the latest update within an overall positive regulatory climate for both the crypto market and XRP, but do not signal a new legal determination for the asset itself.

The recent SEC release adds to the available regulatory information for the crypto industry while maintaining individualized assessments for each asset according to its unique circumstances.

Solana held steady above $120 on Tuesday, maintaining a firm technical stance after a brief rally toward $125 the previous week. The cryptocurrency’s resilience at the $116 to $120 zone coincides with broad strength in digital asset markets, as total crypto capitalization approached $2.9 trillion over a 24-hour period. Market leaders Bitcoin and Ethereum also remained robust, trading near $84,000 and above $2,700 respectively.

Sustained ETF inflows highlight institutional demandFor 11 consecutive weeks, US-based spot Solana ETFs have reported persistent positive net inflows. Analyst Ali Charts confirmed that, since July 13, these funds have accumulated around 4.37 million SOL, currently valued at approximately $450 million. His analysis suggests this accumulation phase extends through September 25, covering the latest completed trading week.

Ali Charts outlined that institutional demand for SOL remains strong, with significant absorption of available tokens by ETF products. He set a $150 upside target for the asset, citing ongoing capital inflows as a critical supporting factor for further price appreciation.

With institutional demand continuing to absorb Solana, the analyst expects the next price move upward toward $150 as SOL ETFs reach $450 million in holdings over an 11-week period.

This development underlines Solana’s mounting appeal among institutional investors, who continue to increase their exposure despite recent market volatility.

Weekly ETF inflows reach year-highDuring the week ending September 27, spot Solana ETF products in the United States collected $188.21 million in net inflows, according to SolanaFloor. This stands as the highest single-week inflow in the past 10 months and reflects growing confidence from market participants.

Bitwise’s BSOL led the pack, drawing in $128.46 million in new assets. Grayscale’s GSOL contributed $28.06 million, while Fidelity’s FSOL added $17.59 million over the same period. Additional figures from SoSoValue revealed another $12.70 million in SOL ETF inflows on September 28, bringing the cumulative total across all US-listed Solana ETFs to $1.62 billion. These products now collectively manage $1.93 billion in assets, representing about 2.76% of Solana’s total market capitalization.

In related activity, DeFi Development Corp expanded its Solana holdings by approximately 47,706 tokens since September 21, now holding nearly 2.54 million SOL in total.

Dominance in tokenized commodities and technical outlookSolana’s ecosystem is also strengthening in the tokenized commodities sector. Between September 21 and 27, decentralized exchanges built on Solana processed $91.1 million in tokenized commodities trades. This figure accounts for 28% of the $322.7 million total market, up markedly from just 5% four weeks earlier. Competitors such as Robinhood Chain and Ethereum lagged behind with $81.3 million and $62.6 million in transaction volumes, respectively, while Canton Network registered $67.4 million.

The stablecoin supply on Solana reached $17.3 billion as of September 25, based on network data, with DeFiLlama reporting a slightly more conservative estimate of $16.37 billion.

Analysts pointed to technical indicators showing momentum is building. The four-hour Relative Strength Index stood at 55.99, while the MACD remained below its signal line, with a negative histogram still present. Analysts and investors continue to watch the $120 zone as primary support, with additional levels at $115 and $110. A successful close above $125 could open the way to $130, with the $150 target remaining a longer-term focal point.

Given the potential for rapid market change driven by key macro events, technical breakouts, or surprises such as new altcoin listings, many investors face challenges managing their positions across various platforms. In response, privacy-focused applications like CryptoAppsy are gaining traction among traders seeking efficiency. These tools provide real-time charts, price alerts, and crypto news without account registration, consolidating essential trading information on one screen.

Spot Solana ETF inflows for the latest full week totaled $188.21 million, marking the strongest capital influx for the asset class in nearly a year and underlining increasing institutional adoption.

The Pound-Australian Dollar could remain supported after Australian inflation failed to materially revive near-term RBA hike expectations, while stronger UK GDP offered Pound Sterling some support. The Pound to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate remained supported on Wednesday after the latest Australian inflation data failed to trigger a sustained recovery in the 'Aussie'.

GBP/AUD had already advanced after Tuesday's Reserve Bank of Australia decision, when the central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.60% but struck a less hawkish tone than markets had expected.

DAILY RECAP:

The Australian Dollar (AUD) struggled for traction on Wednesday despite headline inflation accelerating sharply.

Australian consumer prices increased by 0.4% in August, while annual inflation rose from 3.5% to 4.0%.

However, underlying price pressures were less concerning.

Trimmed-mean inflation held at 3.6%, while the monthly underlying increase came in slightly below market expectations.

This prompted investors to reduce expectations for another RBA rate increase in November, with markets pricing only a partial chance of further tightening before the end of the year.

The data followed Tuesday's RBA decision, when policymakers raised rates to 4.60%, their highest level in 15 years.

RBA Governor Michele Bullock said the Board had also considered leaving rates unchanged and suggested that the four hikes delivered this year may already be exerting sufficient restraint on inflation.

This relatively cautious guidance left the Australian Dollar vulnerable to profit-taking and reduced expectations that the RBA will need to tighten policy aggressively again in the near term.

The Pound (GBP), meanwhile, received some support from stronger-than-expected UK growth data.

Final figures showed that the UK economy expanded by 0.5% during the second quarter, revised higher from the previous estimate of 0.4%.

Real household disposable income per head increased by 1.0%, while business investment was also revised sharply higher.

The figures reinforced evidence that the UK economy performed relatively strongly during the first half of 2026.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Labour conference speech also attracted attention after he signalled that the government would explore a closer future relationship with the European Union.

Near-Term GBP/AUD Forecast: RBA Hike Bets Remain Key Looking ahead, GBP/AUD could remain supported if investors continue to scale back expectations for another near-term RBA rate increase.

Headline Australian inflation remains uncomfortably high, but the stability in underlying inflation suggests that Tuesday's rate hike may be given time to work through the economy before policymakers act again.

A renewed increase in energy prices or another strong inflation release would still revive the case for further RBA tightening and could provide the Australian Dollar with support.

For the Pound, the stronger final UK GDP figures should provide some protection, although wider market movements and expectations surrounding the October Budget are likely to remain important drivers.

If RBA tightening expectations continue to fade while UK growth sentiment remains resilient, GBP/AUD could retain an upward bias in the near term.

4 Buy-and-Hold-Forever Stocks Available at a BargainAlaska Air Group NYSE: ALK used its 2026 Investor Day to outline the next phase of its Alaska Accelerate strategy, emphasizing premium travel, international expansion, loyalty, cargo and its combined Alaska-Hawaiian network as drivers of more durable earnings growth.

President and CEO Ben Minicucci said the company is moving from a foundation-building phase into an “activation phase,” following the integration of Hawaiian Airlines, the unification of its loyalty platform and the launch of international service from Seattle. He said the company has captured roughly two-thirds of the $1 billion in incremental profit targeted under its 2024 Alaska Accelerate plan and expects to realize the remainder in 2027.

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Boeing Gets $50B in March Orders—Is BA Stock a Buy Now?Management maintained long-term financial objectives of 11% to 13% pretax margins over the cycle, earnings above $10 per share, net leverage of about 1.5 times, double-digit returns on invested capital and positive, growing free cash flow. Minicucci said the company’s results have not yet fully reflected its strategic progress because of domestic-demand weakness in 2025 and higher fuel costs.

Revenue Diversification and Premium Investment Shane Tackett, president and CFO of Alaska Airlines, said the company expects diversified revenue streams—including premium cabins, international service, loyalty and cargo—to approach 60% of total revenue by 2030, compared with 53% currently. He said those initiatives are expected to add two to three points of margin beyond the original $1 billion Alaska Accelerate earnings unlock.

Despite Bad Headlines, Boeing Still Wins Billion Dollar ContractsThe airline plans to introduce premium economy on its wide-body aircraft, deploy a premium-oriented Boeing 737 MAX 10 configuration on transcontinental and other high-demand routes, expand its Seattle international hub, grow Atmos Rewards remuneration at a double-digit annual rate and more than double its cargo business.

Alaska expects capital expenditures to average $1.75 billion annually through 2030 and anticipates approximately 4% annual growth, with aircraft upgauging and international expansion serving as major contributors. Tackett said the company expects ex-fuel earnings to rise by $3 to $4 per share next year as it completes the remaining Alaska Accelerate initiatives. He said that, under a $2.50 fuel-price assumption used at the company’s 2024 Investor Day, the business would have a path to $10 per share in earnings.

Seattle Global Gateway and Product Expansion Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Harrison said Alaska intends to expand Seattle’s international network from seven destinations currently to 10 by 2028 and 15 by 2030. The company expects long-haul capacity to increase to 15% of total capacity by 2030 from 8% today, and said it aims to become Seattle’s largest international carrier by that year.

Alaska plans to seek entry into Oneworld’s transatlantic joint venture and Pacific joint businesses. Minicucci said the international strategy works on a standalone basis but would be strengthened by joint-venture participation. Harrison added that restrictions related to Alaska’s 2016 Virgin America acquisition, including limits involving American Airlines in certain markets, are expected to expire in summer 2027.

The company also announced new premium products across its fleets. Aurora and Leihōkū Suites will provide lie-flat business-class seating on Alaska’s Boeing 787s and Hawaiian’s Airbus A330s, while Premium Reserve will become the company’s long-haul premium-economy offering. A dedicated four-cabin MAX 10 configuration will include at least 45% premium seating and 12 lie-flat suites, initially across at least 25 aircraft.

Alaska said it plans to expand premium facilities in Seattle, including a new 41,000-square-foot lounge with 14,000 square feet for international travelers. Total Seattle lounge space is projected to exceed 73,000 square feet across five lounges by 2030.

Hawaii, Loyalty and Cargo Opportunities Hawaiian Airlines CEO Diana Rakow said the combined company is now the largest carrier serving Hawaii from the U.S. continent and in neighbor-island service, while ranking third internationally. She said the company has increased its share between Hawaii and the western U.S. by three points and has improved one-stop utility across its hubs to a range of 90% to 94%.

Rakow described Hawaii as an $8 billion market with roughly 10 million annual visitors and 1.4 million residents. She said storms associated with a strong El Niño created headwinds this year, but management remains confident in the market’s long-term fundamentals. The company plans to refurbish all A330 interiors, introduce Premium Reserve and open a 13,000-square-foot Honolulu lounge in early 2028.

Brett Catlin, senior vice president of network, partnerships and loyalty, said Atmos Rewards active membership has compounded at 13% since its August 2025 launch, compared with approximately 3% annual growth from 2019 through 2024. Alaska is targeting 25 million active members by 2030, more than double its 2024 member count.

The company raised its 2027 loyalty cash-remuneration target to $3.1 billion from $2.9 billion and expects loyalty remuneration to approach $4 billion by 2030. Planned additions include Bank of America points transfers, a no-annual-fee credit card and a debit card expected to launch in early 2027.

Meanwhile, cargo revenue has grown 60% since 2024, according to Ian Morgan, vice president of cargo. Alaska targets $750 million in cargo revenue by 2030, supported by dedicated freighters, international belly capacity and ACMI operations. Morgan said cargo can account for as much as 20% of revenue on transpacific flights and that the company sees a path toward 50% inter-island cargo share in Hawaii from roughly 6% currently.

About Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK)Alaska Air Group, Inc is an airline holding company whose principal subsidiaries include Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and regional carrier Horizon Air. The company provides scheduled passenger and air cargo transportation, along with related services such as aircraft maintenance and ground handling through affiliated businesses.

Alaska Airlines serves destinations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and other parts of North America, while Hawaiian Airlines connects the Hawaiian Islands with the U.S.

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

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A Doordash delivery bag is seen in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Sept 30 (Reuters) - US food delivery firm DoorDash (DASH.O), opens new tab will create 3,000 jobs in India over the next ​two years through a global technology hub ‌it opened in the southern city of Hyderabad on Wednesday, the Telangana state government said.

The centre will initially ​house teams handling customer support and general ​and administrative functions, the release added.

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The hub ⁠is DoorDash's second tech office in India after ​Pune, where it has software, data and analytics ​operations acquired through its 2021 purchase of robotics startup Chowbotics for an undisclosed sum.

Companies are exploring alternative avenues in ​offshore tech hubs, called global capability centres (GCCs), ​to cut costs and reduce their dependence on external IT ‌contractors.

The ⁠new customer support-based operations centre will be DoorDash’s third such service hub globally, alongside Tempe, Arizona, and Mexico City, and will add 500 professionals ​initially.

DoorDash joins ​companies such ⁠as Costco (COST.O), opens new tab, McDonald's (MCD.N), opens new tab, Charles Schwab (SCHW.N), opens new tab, Marriott (MAR.O), opens new tab and Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), opens new tab that have opened ​offshore centres in Hyderabad over the past ​few ⁠months.

India has emerged as the world's largest GCC hub, with more than 2,100 centres employing about ⁠2.36 ​million people and generating nearly $100 ​billion in revenue, according to a 2026 report by Nasscom-Zinnov.

Reporting by Sai ​Ishwarbharath B in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Robinhood Chain generated $50.2M in transaction fees through September 23. Stock tokens recorded $10.4B in 30-day decentralized exchange volume. Only 1%–2% of early transactions were attributed to Robinhood users. Robinhood Chain is beginning to reveal a less obvious side of tokenized equities: the brokerage may bring the assets onchain, but independent DeFi protocols can capture a meaningful share of the resulting economics.

Since its July launch, the Ethereum Layer 2 has developed a sizable market for tokenized stocks, with trading activity accelerating sharply in September. Uniswap has emerged as the dominant DeFi venue for those assets, creating an early test of what happens when Robinhood’s financial products enter infrastructure that Robinhood does not exclusively control.

Stock Tokens Are Finding a Market Outside the Brokerage Robinhood launched its public Chain mainnet on July 1 as an Ethereum Layer 2 built using Arbitrum technology.

Unlike a closed brokerage environment, the permissionless network allows outside applications to build markets around assets issued on the chain.

Tokenized equities have quickly become a significant part of that activity.

Over the 30 days through September 23, Robinhood stock tokens generated approximately $10.4 billion in spot DEX volume, according to Token Terminal data. Nvidia alone accounted for about $2.1 billion in cumulative trading volume.

4/ That activity is already generating meaningful revenue for both Robinhood & Uniswap

Robinhood Chain generated $50.2M in transaction fee revenue from launch through Sep 23

In Sep 1–23, Robinhood Chain also accounted for $7.1M, or 57.3%, of Uniswap protocol revenue pic.twitter.com/Ows6dEbyvY

— Token Terminal 📊 (@tokenterminal) September 29, 2026

The activity has also translated into network economics. Transaction-fee revenue increased from $3.6 million in July to $6.7 million in August and $39.9 million during September 1–23.

Those figures do not prove stock-token trading caused the September increase. Available data does not provide enough attribution to isolate the fee contribution of individual assets or applications.

What they establish is that a large decentralized market for Robinhood-issued assets was developing alongside the network’s sharp increase in fee generation.

Uniswap Has Become the Liquidity Center Liquidity is even more concentrated than trading activity.

By September 23, approximately $53 million of Robinhood stock-token DeFi deposits were held through Uniswap v4, with another $25 million in v3 and about $174,000 in v2. Combined, Uniswap represented more than 99% of tracked stock-token DeFi deposits.

The distribution is notable because v4 has accumulated the largest deposit base while v3 remains heavily used for trading.

A September 17 market snapshot recorded approximately $758.5 million of 24-hour DEX volume through Uniswap v3, compared with $326.5 million through v4. Together, the two versions accounted for roughly 81% of the $1.33 billion captured by that dataset.

Rather than merely deploying contracts on another Layer 2, Uniswap has become core trading infrastructure for Robinhood Chain’s emerging tokenized-equity market.

One Market, Two Revenue Layers The economics are easier to understand when network activity and application revenue are separated.

ROBINHOOD CHAIN

MARKET RECEIPT

SEPTEMBER
2026

NETWORK LAYER

Robinhood Chain
Transaction fees · Sep. 1–23

$39.9M

APPLICATION LAYER

Uniswap
Protocol revenue · Sep. 1–23

$7.1M

SHARE OF UNISWAP PROTOCOL REVENUE

57.3%

came from Robinhood Chain during the period.

Network transaction fees and protocol revenue are separate economic layers and should not be added together.

The structure shows how a single ecosystem can generate revenue for companies occupying different positions in the stack.

Robinhood supplies the blockchain infrastructure and tokenized assets. Uniswap operates decentralized markets on top of that infrastructure. Once those assets enter permissionless markets, Robinhood no longer has exclusive control over who monetizes their trading activity.

That is a meaningful departure from the economics of its conventional brokerage.

Robinhood’s 28 Million Customers Are Still Mostly Missing The early growth becomes more interesting when compared with who appears to be using the network.

Early September that existing Robinhood users represented only around 1%–2% of Robinhood Chain transactions.

If that estimate broadly reflects current participation, the chain’s initial liquidity boom is primarily a crypto-native phenomenon rather than a mass migration of Robinhood brokerage customers.

That leaves Robinhood’s existing distribution network largely untapped.

The company reported nearly 28 million customers across 38 countries when the public mainnet launched.

Bringing even part of that audience into an ecosystem that already has functioning decentralized liquidity would represent a different growth phase from the one visible today.

It would also test whether mainstream investors actually want to use tokenized equities beyond the familiar brokerage interface.

The Next Test Is Distribution, Not Another Token Launch Robinhood Chain has already answered one question: crypto-native markets are willing to trade tokenized traditional assets at substantial scale.

The unresolved issue is whether Robinhood can connect that activity with the customer base that made its brokerage business valuable in the first place.

If more brokerage customers migrate onchain, Uniswap and other permissionless applications could gain access to investors who previously interacted with financial markets through centralized platforms. Robinhood’s distribution advantage would effectively become an acquisition channel for an open ecosystem.

If participation remains dominated by existing crypto traders, Robinhood Chain could still succeed as a tokenized-asset venue, but its growth would be driven by a different audience than the company’s traditional retail base.

That makes the early revenue data particularly revealing.

Robinhood has created the network and supplied the assets. Uniswap is already proving that once those assets enter open markets, somebody else can build a substantial business around them.

Alex is a financial markets journalist and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, and he's spent close to ten years trying to answer one stubborn question: what's really driving this? It started in 2016, when Bitcoin refused to make sense to him - and rather than shrug, he stayed with it until it did. That patience became his method. He's less interested in what an asset is doing today than in the plumbing behind it: how liquidity flows, where risk hides, what a chart is quietly telling you that the headline isn't. That lens eventually stretched well past crypto into traditional markets, because the same forces - fear, leverage, incentives, timing - show up everywhere once you know how to look. Most coverage, in his view, insults the reader by stopping at the surface. Price up, price down, moving on. He'd rather leave someone genuinely understanding a move than merely informed that it happened. His path into markets ran through a Tourism degree at New Bulgarian University - proof, maybe, that curiosity beats credentials. With more than 200 deep analyses and over 10,000 articles behind him, he still walks away from most trading days having learned something he didn't know that morning.

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Bitwise has opened the first US spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) for NEAR Protocol (NEAR). The fund began trading on NYSE Arca on Tuesday under the ticker NRR.

The product’s debut comes amid a time when NEAR nearly tripled in value.

The Rally Ran Ahead of the Opening BellNEAR trades at $5.04, according to BeInCrypto Markets data. That price reflects a 175.24% gain over 30 days, from below $2 at the start of September.

NEAR Protocol (NEAR) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto MarketsThat gain ranks fourth among the 100 largest crypto assets by monthly performance, according to CoinGecko.

Much of the climb came in the second half of September, as the listing cleared its final steps. NYSE Arca certified the fund’s registration with the SEC on September 28, one day before trading began.

The rally has also lifted Bitwise’s European NEAR product. Its assets passed $100 million this month, although rising token prices drove most of that growth.

Grayscale filed in January to convert its own NEAR trust into an ETF. That fund has not listed yet, so Bitwise reached US investors first.

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What Bitwise Is Selling to US InvestorsNRR charges a 0.75% management fee. Bitwise plans to stake the fund’s NEAR in-house, giving shareholders exposure to the network’s average staking reward of about 5%.

Beyond the yield, Bitwise pitches NEAR as a settlement layer for AI agents that book, pay, and swap for users.

“NEAR sits at the intersection of two of the biggest trends in technology: AI and crypto. As AI agents start transacting on our behalf—booking, paying, swapping, and more—the world is going to need settlement infrastructure that’s fast, trustworthy, and doesn’t depend on a single custodian,” Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, said.

The launch announcement points to NEAR Intents, its flagship product, as early evidence. The protocol has processed over $32 billion, up from under $1 billion a year ago.

The asset manager laid out what that bet could be worth in a previous research report. Its base case sees NEAR at $155.85 by the end of 2030, about 31 times today’s price.

The bear case puts NEAR at $1.63 by 2030, well below today’s $5.04. It assumes centralized AI firms such as OpenAI end up dominating. The max case reaches $562.81.

Meanwhile, the launch coincides with a retreat elsewhere in Bitwise’s lineup. The firm is winding down BWOW, its Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF, which stops trading on October 14. 

BWOW’s closure shows that a low fee alone did not draw US investors to a single-token fund. NRR’s first weeks of flow data will show whether demand for NEAR extends beyond the price rally.

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Avalanche Treasury Corp (NASDAQ: AVAT) has offloaded a portion of its locked $AVAX holdings back to the Avalanche Foundation, raising $15 million in the process and signalling a measured shift in how the company manages its balance sheet.

The Transaction at a Glance

By disposing of its furthest-maturity holdings first, the company has effectively shortened the overall lock-up profile of its remaining position.

What the Proceeds Are For The move reflects a broader effort to manage leverage while keeping the company operationally funded.

The deal was disclosed through a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, giving the transaction formal regulatory visibility. Avalanche Treasury's exclusive relationship with the Avalanche Foundation has been a defining feature of its structure since its formation.

The September 23 sale does not represent a full exit from $AVAX. Rather, it trims the tail end of the company's lock-up schedule and frees up capital at a time when many crypto treasury vehicles are facing pressure to demonstrate financial discipline alongside their token holdings.

Sources:
Investing.com: Avalanche Treasury completes $15 million AVAX token sale to Avalanche Foundation
SEC Filing: Avalanche Treasury Corporation 10-Q (June 30, 2026)