Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

A top Wall Street analyst sees Tesla soaring while the rest of the Street keeps slashing estimates and the stock drifts further below its highs. The case for and against that bullish call comes down to one business that Tesla…

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA | TSLA Price Prediction) currently trades at $374.58. The average price target among analysts is $397.83, which implies 6.2% upside.

That consensus gap is small. The headline number comes from the top of the range. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives holds a Street-high $600.00 target, which implies about 60.2% upside, a gap well above 40%. Tigress Financial’s Ivan Feinseth is right behind him at $550.00.

Tesla is valued at about $1.48 trillion. That price reflects an AI and robotics company, but most of the revenue still comes from cars. Its latest quarterly report tested which of those two stories investors believe, and the stock gave a mixed answer.

A Spending Cut Turned Tesla’s Earnings Beat Into a Selloff
The main blow was a surprise cut to capital spending. Tesla cut its annual capital expenditure forecast by a fifth, and shares fell 3.08% in the next session. That came even though adjusted EPS of $0.48 beat the $0.4511 estimate. Direxion’s Ryan Lee put the worry simply: “Lower capex suggests less of an ‘all-in’ approach to the AI arms race than one would expect from Elon.”

The details below were weak. Revenue of $28.05B was essentially flat year over year. GAAP operating income fell to $718M from $1.62B as R&D rose to $2.76B. Battery shortages limited deliveries to 486,532 vehicles, even with the largest order backlog in four years. Analysts have also cut their full-year 2026 EPS consensus to $1.7421, down from $2.1306 90 days ago.

The damage is mostly specific to Tesla. The stock sits 24.9% below its 52-week high of $498.83 and trades under its 200-day moving average of $386.94. The broader market, meanwhile, has kept rising.

Wedbush Is Valuing Tesla as an AI Company
Wedbush’s case is that Tesla is turning from an EV maker into an AI/autonomous software monopoly. The data supports parts of that story. Active FSD subscriptions grew to 1.74M from 1.04M a year earlier. Cybercab has joined the unsupervised Robotaxi fleet in Austin, and total unsupervised miles grew 8x quarter over quarter to nearly 2M.

Ives believes that scaled robotaxi fleets and recurring software revenue could create a $2T+ to $3T ecosystem valuation. He also points to Optimus. Production of the humanoid robot has started on high-volume lines in Fremont, and the Semi has entered volume production in Nevada. Tesla has $45.4B in cash to pay for all of it.

Most of Wall Street is less enthusiastic. Holds are the largest group with 21 ratings. Estimate revisions have mostly gone down, with 4 downward full-year EPS revisions over the past 30 days. Wedbush’s target covers 12 months. At a forward P/E near 159x, Tesla needs every one of those milestones to arrive on time (we reverse-engineered what the biggest tech winners looked like early and turned it into a free playbook you can grab here).

Detroit and Rivian Fell Harder but Offer More Upside
Several peers have posted sharp recent declines.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) lost 7.7% in a week to $77.22. Its average target of $101.22 implies 31.1% upside. No analysts rate GM a Sell, and 13 rate it a Buy.

Ford (NYSE:F) dropped 8.85% over the past month to $11.94. Its target of $15.56 implies 30.3% upside, although Holds (12) are the most common rating.

Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) is down 38.81% this year at $12.06. Its $19 target implies 57.5% upside, but analyst opinion is split.

Rivian has the largest consensus upside in the group. Tesla has the smallest. Like every target in this group, these are estimates that can change.

Tesla Is Lagging the S&P 500 This Year
Tesla is down 16.71% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 12.03%. Over the past year, Tesla has lost 14.67%, even after a 3.35% gain over the past week. Trailing P/E stands near 358x.

Here is how the 44 analysts covering the stock rate it:

Strong Buy: 4
Buy: 15
Hold: 21
Sell: 2
Strong Sell: 2

Tesla’s 60% Case Depends on Robotaxis Scaling Quickly
Tesla earns a closer look here if robotaxi service expands well beyond Austin, FSD subscriptions keep growing and battery supply improves enough to work through the backlog. But caution makes sense if the spending cut means Tesla is slowing down its AI plans, or if operating margins stay near 4.6%.

Jim Cramer has highlighted a structural risk, reasoning that a SpaceX listing would cost Tesla its scarcity value, and that the stock could “keep drifting lower until they either make more progress in robo taxis or the core business finally turns around”. Talk of a merger between Tesla and SpaceX makes that risk harder to judge.

I lean conservative. The consensus target says Tesla is about fairly priced already. Getting to Wedbush’s 60% upside would require nearly perfect execution while earnings estimates are still falling. Until robotaxi revenue shows up in the earnings report, consensus targets for Rivian and Detroit imply more upside than Tesla’s.

Got $1,000? Before You Buy TSLA, Read ThisIf you have cash sitting in your account right now, give this two minutes. After more than two decades of helping investors beat the market, our top analysts at 24/7 Wall St. put together a definitive report on the Top 10 Stocks To Buy Today. And TSLA wasn't one of them.

They combed the entire market. It's not 10 ideas, not 10 stocks everyone is talking about, it's what their research points to as the 10 best stocks to buy right now, and it's free. Read more here and see which stocks made the list -->>

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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Uber is giving all of its corporate employees access to OpenAI's enterprise tool Bloomberg/Getty Images Uber is giving all of its corporate employees access to OpenAI's enterprise tool weeks after laying off thousands.

About 30,000 employees at the ride-hailing service's offices will have access to ChatGPT Work, the two companies said on Thursday.

The tool will connect with other programs that Uber employees use, such as Slack and Gmail, to "research information, prepare meeting briefs, create presentations, analyze data and complete workflows across applications," a statement said.

"As AI transforms how we work, we want to give everyone the tools to innovate, solve problems and help shape Uber's future," Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga said. Uber initially tested the tool among a group of 1,000 employees.

The rollout comes the month after Uber laid off about 10% of its corporate workforce, or about 3,300 people. The company made the job cuts to reduce management layers and reduce the number of small teams, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the time. It didn't cite AI in its announcement.

Some laid-off employees told Business Insider that AI was doing significant parts of their jobs, from answering their questions in Slack to crafting replies to messages from riders and drivers.

Uber cited AI as a reason for an earlier round of layoffs in July, which targeted Uber's customer service employees.

Do you have a story idea about Uber? Contact this reporter at [email protected] or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

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Alex Bitter is a senior retail reporter covering Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and related companies. His coverage ranges from the experiences of gig workers to what's happening inside the world's biggest ride-hailing and delivery companies.Alex has also written about the retail and food industries. Convenience store chain Sheetz ended its "smile policy" after his reporting. Alex lives in the Washington, DC, area, where you can find him studying ancient coins or searching for Civil War artifacts with his metal detector in his free time.Got a tip? Reach out at [email protected] or via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (808) 854-4501.

Uber ride-hailing Layoffs More AI Artificial Intelligence

Suit alleges Alphabet Inc. failed to disclose key facts to investors from May 19, 2026 through July 16, 2026; lead plaintiff deadline is December 1, 2026

, /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith today reported that a securities class action lawsuit is pending against Alphabet Inc. ("Alphabet" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: GOOGL) on behalf of investors who acquired its securities from May 19, 2026 through July 16, 2026. The Alphabet Inc. case, Stewart v. Alphabet Inc. et al., was filed on October 2, 2026 in the U.S. District Court California Northern District (San Jose) (Case No. 5:26-cv-11290).

Investors with losses on Alphabet Inc. securities can contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith about the Alphabet Inc. lawsuit before the December 1, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

Key deadlines and dates for Alphabet Inc. investors

Lead plaintiff deadline: December 1, 2026 Class period: May 19, 2026 through July 16, 2026 Complaint filed: October 2, 2026 What happened?

On July 16, 2026, Bloomberg reported that Alphabet's Google is months behind schedule on delivering Gemini 3.5 Pro, its most powerful flagship AI model, due to the Company's ongoing coding efforts, and that "[l]ate last month, Google updated the data being used to train Gemini in an attempt to improve [its] skills, but the results were disappointing."

On this news, Alphabet's stock price fell $16.40, or 4.4%, to close at $353.81 per share on July 16, 2026, thereby injuring investors.

Then, on July 22, 2026, Alphabet released its second quarter 2026 financial results, announcing a significant expansion of expected full year 2026 capital expenditures to $195 billion to $205 billion, and disclosing a negative free cash flow of $5.9 billion for the quarter. The Company further disclosed that, given the supply-constrained environment, it planned to expand the use of third-party capacity in the third quarter as a bridging strategy, which would create modest margin pressure in the near term.

On this news, Alphabet's stock price fell $24.40 or 7.13%, to close at $317.69 on July 23, 2026, thereby injuring investors further.

What is the Alphabet Inc. lawsuit about?

The Alphabet Inc. securities lawsuit alleges that, between May 19, 2026 and July 16, 2026, defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts about Alphabet Inc.'s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the complaint alleges defendants failed to disclose that: (1) that the Gemini 3.5 Pro was delivering disappointing training results; (2) that, as a result, the launch of Gemini 3.5 Pro would be significantly delayed; and (3) as a result, defendants' positive statements about Alphabet Inc.'s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

"The lawsuit against Alphabet Inc. alleges that, among other things, the Company failed to tell investors that that the Gemini 3.5 Pro was delivering disappointing training results. Alphabet Inc. investors who bought during the class period may be able to pursue their losses, and the December 1, 2026 deadline is where that process begins," said Howard G. Smith of The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith.

Next steps for Alphabet Inc. investors

Alphabet Inc. investors who suffered losses may contact The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to learn about pursuing their claims.

Lead plaintiff motions in the Alphabet Inc. class action are due to the Court by December 1, 2026. For more information, visit the firm's website, email [email protected], or call (215) 638-4847.

If you purchased Alphabet Inc. securities during the class period, you may retain counsel of your choice, or you may take no action and remain an absent class member. No class has been certified in the Alphabet Inc. case so far.

Common questions from Alphabet Inc. investors

Who is eligible? Investors who acquired Alphabet Inc. securities from May 19, 2026 through July 16, 2026 and suffered losses may qualify for the class in the Alphabet Inc. shareholder lawsuit.

What is the deadline? Lead plaintiff motions in the Alphabet Inc. case are due by December 1, 2026.

Can I recover without being lead plaintiff? Yes, Alphabet Inc. investors may take no action and remain absent class members.

Does it cost anything? The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith works on contingency, so investors pay no attorneys' fees unless there is a recovery, and any fees require court approval.

About The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith

The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith has helped injured investors recover their money for more than 15 years. The firm prosecutes securities fraud, takeover, and derivative litigation against public companies and their officers, directors, and advisors in federal and state courts nationwide, and has helped clients recover hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Clients speak directly with a lawyer, who will promptly answer any question.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Related links

Alphabet Inc. case page, The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Complaint: Stewart v. Alphabet Inc. et al., U.S. District Court California Northern District (San Jose) press release Alphabet Inc. SEC filings index, EDGAR The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Contact

Howard G. Smith

The Law Offices of Howard G. Smith

3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112

Bensalem, PA 19020

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: (215) 638-4847

www.howardsmithlaw.com

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

SOURCE Law Offices of Howard G. Smith

On its Q3 2026 results call, held on Oct. 22, 2026, Nokia (NOK +2.73%) announced that net sales grew 9% year over year on a constant-currency basis.

Expanding demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure is driving operational leverage across its networking units. Strategic portfolio refinement and early delivery of cost synergies are supporting profitability. Three things management said stand out.

1. AI Infrastructure Drives Accelerating Growth Across Network UnitsDemand for artificial intelligence connectivity is accelerating across data center networks and telecommunications customers. Management raised Nokia's 2027 combined sales growth expectations for Optical Networks and IP Networks (Internet Protocol networks) to 25%-30%.

In AI and cloud, net sales grew 123% year-over-year and represented 12% of total group net sales in the quarter.
-- Justin Hotard, President and Chief Executive Officer2. Cost Synergies and Operating Leverage Are Expanding Operating MarginsOperating margin expanded 220 basis points year over year as higher revenue yielded groupwide operating leverage. Nokia is realizing synergies ahead of schedule from Infinera, an optical networking provider acquired to strengthen its scale.

The Infinera integration is largely complete, and we are on track to achieve the EUR 200 million synergy target by the end of this year, 1 year ahead of schedule.
-- Justin Hotard, President and Chief Executive Officer3. Artificial Intelligence Radio Access Networks Transform Mobile InfrastructureTransitioning radio networks to general-purpose computing platforms allows mobile operators to deploy software-defined artificial intelligence functions. Nokia's collaboration with technology partners is delivering measurable efficiency improvements during live commercial network tests.

In live environments, we've already demonstrated spectral efficiency gains of more than 20%, increasing capacity and improving network economics against our roadmap of 100% improvement in spectral efficiency gains in 2028.
-- Justin Hotard, President and Chief Executive OfficerLooking AheadRevenue growth is accelerating in target investment areas, and management is tracking above the midpoint of its full-year profit outlook. Market leadership in telecommunications, edge routing, and proprietary optical manufacturing gives Nokia a competitive advantage, while leadership monitors supply chain lead times and pricing discipline.

Overall, quarter 3 was a solid quarter, and we remain focused on both capturing growth and driving the operational rigor required to maximize the long-term value creation potential of the company.
-- Marco Wiren, Chief Financial OfficerThe Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data shows hedge funds leaning bearish at levels rarely seen in five years, yet those same funds are bleeding money daily while a Fed decision and two megacap earnings reports loom over the trade.

Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data first reported on Thursday, October 22, 2026, shows hedge funds have built short positions in stocks to a near five-year high. Major indexes moved in opposite directions that same day.

The S&P 500 fell 93.74 points, or 1.21%, to 7,663.43. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 694 points, or 2.6%, to 26,008.86. The Dow added 11.89 points to 52,867.98, and the Russell 2000 gained 0.1%.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) closed at $763.96, down 1.18%. The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) fell 2.86% to $704.47.

Heavy shorting can mean professionals expect more downside. It also leaves the market full of sellers who will eventually have to buy shares back, and those positions are concentrated in tech stocks.

How Bearish Hedge Funds Have Become
In October, short sales exceeded long purchases across global stocks by about five-to-one. Short leverage in Goldman’s prime book has reached the 99th percentile of its five-year history, “indicating bearish exposure was higher than in almost all of that period.”

Net leverage (longs minus shorts) among fundamental long-short funds is near a three-year low, while gross leverage (longs plus shorts) has risen. That means funds are adding risk on both sides of their books and leaning bearish overall.

Goldman’s Mark Wilson described net equity exposure as historically low amid swings in rates and energy prices. He said higher yields pushed investors to rethink equity risk.

Leaning Short and Still Losing Money
Global fundamental long-short funds lost 2.9% through October 15, “suffering losses every trading day during that stretch.” Asia-focused stock pickers lost 6.8% in the first half of October.

Losses like these are what set up a short squeeze. In a squeeze, rising prices force short sellers to buy back shares, and that buying pushes prices higher still.

Goldman has warned about that risk, but crowded short positions cannot tell you when a rally will start. Some of those shorts also hedge long holdings, so they may stay open as long as the funds keep those holdings. Riding a late-cycle market with this much short interest piled up is its own skill, and we laid out both halves, the staying and the leaving, in a free bubble handbook here.

A Selloff Confined to Megacap Tech
Most stocks rose while tech fell. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped over 6%, its biggest daily percentage drop since June 23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) fell 6.98% to $648.85 after its third-quarter report. NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) lost 4.40% to $212.21, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 4.57% to $250.38, and Microsoft slipped 2.23% to $521.08.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell 19.3 basis points to 4.953%. That was its largest daily drop since March 10, 2023, and the yield closed below 5% for the first time since September 23. Lower yields raise the present value of future profits, and growth stocks benefit most.

Fed Day and Two Megacap Reports Could Decide It
Fundstrat’s Tom Lee said he thinks the selloff is nearly over. He pointed to “a crowded short trade in tech” and a Fed that may be “flipping from hawkish to dovish.” ETF analyst Eric Balchunas posted on X: “Buying the dip here has [a] pretty good record of working.”

The Fed announces its decision on Wednesday, October 28, at 2:00 p.m. ET. Microsoft is expected to report around October 28 and Amazon around October 29, both after the close, although neither company has confirmed its date. The shorts would be proven right by a yield rebound, weak megacap results, or a hawkish Fed.

What SPY and QQQ Investors Should Research Before Fed Day
SPY still holds a 12.03% year-to-date gain. The October 22 losses came from a narrow group of megacaps while most stocks rose.

QQQ, up 14.68% year-to-date, gives you more exposure to the tech stocks at the center of this fight. It would gain the most from a squeeze and lose the most if the shorts win. SPY is the broader fund because it holds stocks that rose as well as those that fell.

Check the October 30 close. If the 10-year yield is back above 5% and SPY is below $763.96 after Amazon reports, the bears have the stronger case.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) does not need to sustain its explosive growth to deliver another major gain for shareholders, according to one investment chief who believes the market may be underestimating how large the chipmaker can become. Her argument challenges a common investor reflex: treating decelerating growth as a warning sign, even when a company continues to expand earnings at a healthy pace.

Nancy Tengler, CEO and chief investment officer of Laffer Tengler Investments, believes Nvidia could double over the next five to 10 years even if its earnings growth eventually cools to 20% or 30%. "If it decelerates to 20% or 30% you are still growing," she said in emailed comments, arguing that slower growth does not necessarily mean the stock has run out of upside.

Slower Growth Isn’t Stalled GrowthTengler cited Nvidia’s earnings growth of 96%, which she expects to decelerate to 70% the following year, before potentially settling at 20% to 30%. Those figures reflect her stated outlook and should not be confused with company guidance.

Her broader argument is that percentage growth naturally becomes harder to sustain as a business gets larger. Even at a slower rate, a company with a substantial earnings base can continue adding significant profits.

Tengler pointed to Microsoft Corp‘s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Azure cloud business as an example of how deceleration need not derail a stock. "We went through that with Azure, and the stock was still able to perform," she said.

The comparison offers a useful lens for Nvidia investors. The question is not simply whether growth slows, but whether demand for its chips and related computing infrastructure remains strong enough to support earnings expansion as the business scales.

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A Value Case for Nvidia?Tengler also challenged the assumption that a large technology company cannot qualify as a value investment. She said Nvidia was trading at a 13.5 earnings multiple when her firm added it to its value portfolio earlier in the summer. That is her historical valuation reference, not a current multiple.

"We put it in our value portfolio," Tengler said of Nvidia. She added that the firm had recently done the same with Meta and had invested in Alphabet two years earlier.

Her reasoning rests on the potential for these companies to keep growing despite their size. "These are really big companies but they can double in size," she said. "There’s nothing that says they can’t."

That remains a thesis, not a guarantee. Nvidia could face slower AI infrastructure spending, stronger competition or weaker returns on customers’ AI investments. Any of those developments could pressure earnings expectations and the valuation investors are willing to pay.

What Investors Should WatchThe central question is whether Nvidia can sustain meaningful earnings growth as its business matures. Investors should watch data-center demand, customer spending and profitability for evidence that expansion remains durable.

Tengler’s case is that Nvidia need not repeat its extraordinary growth rates to reward shareholders—but the stock’s long-term upside still depends on earnings delivering, rather than investors simply believing that it will.

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Nvidia stock NVDA traded down 0.2% on Friday after falling 4.4% in the previous session, as investors weighed contrasting views on the chipmaker's long-term prospects. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a bearish rating, citing competitive pressures and financial commitments, while Laffer Tengler Investments CEO Nancy Tengler argued that Nvidia could still double in value over the next five to 10 years, even if earnings growth slows.

American Airlines issued a warning that airfares are likely to remain elevated even if there's a decline in oil prices after losses the carrier suffered earlier in the year amid surging fuel costs.

The carrier's CFO, Devon May, told the Financial Times that "if fuel comes down, I think airfares probably stay largely where they're at right now."

"If fuel prices go up, we need to generate higher yield, we need to generate higher fares to offset that higher fuel price," May said.

American Airlines on Thursday released its earnings for the third quarter, reporting deeper losses in 2026 and updating its forecast to reflect anticipated losses between $1 and $1.60 a share on an adjusted basis this year. Its July forecast ranged from a loss of 65 cents and a profit of 65 cents.

MAJOR AIRLINES CUT FLIGHTS AS HIGHER JET FUEL PRICES HIT CARRIERS

American Airlines projected deeper losses in 2026 due to the surge in fuel costs. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

May told the FT that airlines' ticket prices hadn't fully recovered in real terms since the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that the price hikes "ideally should have happened back in 2024, but the industry found itself in an oversupply environment."

"This was the first year that everything came together in a way that we were able to push yields back up to where they were seven years ago in real terms," May told the outlet.

AMERICAN AIRLINES ADDS $1,000 TRUMP ACCOUNT MATCH FOR WORKERS' CHILDREN

American Airlines said it expects higher fuel costs to persist into the fourth quarter. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)

The company reported a 19% year-over-year increase in third quarter revenue, which was above the high end of its previous guidance range and was the highest in company history when excluding the years following the pandemic.

However, fuel expenses in the third quarter surged 67.5% compared with the same period a year ago, which translated to $1.9 billion in higher fuel costs based on an average price of $3.85 a gallon.

American also forecast higher fuel prices will continue into the company's fourth quarter, with the carrier expecting to face an average fuel price of about $4.70 a gallon – a figure that would nearly double the price in the fourth quarter of 2025 and increase fuel expenses by $2.8 billion year over year.

AMERICAN AIRLINES BETS BIG ON INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS WITH 7 NEW ROUTES

Ticker Security Last Change Change % AAL NO DATA AVAILABLE - - - Due to the elevated fuel prices, American said that it expects its network growth to slow in 2027 when compared with 2026 levels.

Higher fuel prices have caused airfares to surge, with the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that airline fares were up 22.4% compared with a year ago in September.

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Netflix (NFLX -1.23%) can't catch a break. The company has been lagging the market over the past year, and recent developments have put even more pressure on the stock. On Oct. 20, Netflix reported its third-quarter earnings. The market wasn't impressed, sending shares down significantly post-earnings. Netflix's stock price is now hovering around its 52-week low. Could the company bounce back? Or is it time to give up on the streaming giant?

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Why did Netflix's stock dip?Netflix's third-quarter update didn't look that bad at first glance. The company's revenue of $12.9 billion increased 11.8% year over year. Netflix's operating income of $4.5 billion jumped 37.3% compared to the year-ago period, while its earnings per share came in at $0.87, 47.5% higher than the prior-year quarter.

It's usually a good sign for any company when profits are growing faster than revenue. Meanwhile, Netflix's free cash flow climbed 8.4% year over year to $2.9 billion. So far so good. However, Netflix's revenue and earnings guidance for the fourth quarter missed analysts' projections.

That's one of the reasons the company's shares dropped post-earnings. It's also worth noting that Netflix adjusted its advertising revenue guidance for the year. The company previously expected revenue of $3 billion for this unit, but it reduced that estimate by about $300 million, which Netflix blamed on a slower-than-expected rollout of some ad product capabilities.

For a company that was already in the proverbial doghouse, that's terrible news. Even management highlighted that there is room for the company to improve.

NFLX Netflix$66.23-$0.82 (-1.23%)

NASDAQ · As of 2:09 PM ET 10/23/26

There is hope for a reboundDoes Netflix need a complete shift in strategy? Management doesn't think so and instead plans to lean on what has worked in the past, including the company's original content strategy, especially in its most important market, the U.S. That makes sense.

Many of Netflix's original shows and movies have been very successful and have helped boost the platform's engagement by spreading through word of mouth. This has helped strengthen the company's significant pricing power and supported sales growth through price increases.

Also, Netflix may be underperforming, but that doesn't mean the business is in serious trouble. Right now, Netflix's problem is execution, and it intends to fix it. To that end, Netflix recently appointed Peter Rice, who held major leadership positions at Fox (FOX -1.38%) and Disney (DIS -0.27%), as its chief content officer.

While it's true that Netflix faces more competition than it did when original productions first became the most important aspect of its strategy, at least one thing hasn't changed: The company still boasts the largest number of streaming subscribers in the industry.

That means it can inform its content decisions with data on viewer habits on its platforms, and it arguably has more of it than any of its competitors. The fact that viewing hours are barely growing suggests that the quality of the company's recent productions hasn't been to its subscribers' liking, but fixing that problem will likely improve engagement and sales growth over the medium term.

Of course, Netflix will seek to make progress elsewhere, including in live events, which represent a massive and highly lucrative opportunity, particularly in the sports niche. Netflix significantly trails some of its streaming peers in this corner of the market. Closing that gap somewhat might also be another way for the company to increase revenue growth.

Further, Netflix continues to push in advertising. Netflix intends to introduce its ad tier in 15 new countries in 2027, with the first launches scheduled for March. All these efforts could work wonders down the road, and it wouldn't be the first time Netflix has found a way to overcome significant challenges.

I expect the company to leverage its strengths, including its powerful brand, deep subscriber ecosystem, and pricing power, to capitalize on the vast remaining worldwide opportunity in streaming and advertising. Near its 52-week low, Netflix's stock looks like a buy for investors willing to stay the course.

, /PRNewswire/ -- National securities litigation law firm Hagens Berman alerts investors in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) to a securities class action lawsuit filed in federal court against Bank of America and certain senior executives alleging violations of federal securities laws. The firm urges investors with substantial losses to submit their trading information.

Class Period: Aug. 1, 2025 – Oct. 13, 2026
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Dec. 15, 2026
Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/bac 
Contact Email: [email protected] 
Direct Firm Phone: 844-916-0895

Case Overview & Summary of Allegations

The securities class action lawsuit alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts regarding Bank of America's compliance controls and regulatory risk exposure. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose that:

Deficient AML & BSA Compliance Controls: Bank of America maintained deficient Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) monitoring systems, underresourcing compliance functions in favor of revenue generation.
Underreported Suspicious Transactions: The Bank failed to detect, track, or report over $5 billion in suspicious transactions to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), including over $1 billion tied to high-risk illicit finance.
Regulatory & Financial Exposure: As a result of these failures, Bank of America faced immense regulatory enforcement actions and multi-billion-dollar penalties, making its prior statements regarding regulatory compliance, risk management, and internal controls materially false and misleading.

The Disclosure & Market Impact

On October 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, FinCEN, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced landmark enforcement actions requiring Bank of America to pay over $1.2 billion in penalties for widespread BSA/AML failures and backlog issues.

Following this disclosure, Bank of America's stock price fell sharply by over 4.8%, closing at $51.39 per share on October 14, 2026, wiping out billions of dollars in market value and causing substantial damages to shareholders.

What Can BAC Investors Do?

If you purchased Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) shares during the Class Period (August 1, 2025 – October 13, 2026) and suffered losses, you may move the Court to serve as Lead Plaintiff no later than December 15, 2026. A Lead Plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

Submit your losses now 
Learn More: Visit www.hbsslaw.com or contact Reed Kathrein at (844) 916-0895 or via email at [email protected].

"We're focused on the apparent disparity between the bank's assurances and the Treasury's revelations," said Reed Kathrein, a Hagens Berman partner.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Bank of America should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email [email protected].

About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation firm focusing on corporate accountability. The firm is home to a robust practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and other wrongdoings. Hagens Berman's team has secured more than $2.9 billion in this area of law. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw. 

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case.

SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Investors in Bank Of America Corporation ("Bank of America" or the "Company") (NYSE: BAC) have until December 15, 2026 to ask the Court to appoint them lead plaintiff in a securities fraud class action lawsuit filed on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Bank Of America Corporation securities between August 1, 2025 and October 13, 2026, inclusive. Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP ("Glancy") today reminded investors of the upcoming deadline.

Procter & Gamble (PG -1.97%), one of the world's largest consumer staple companies, has raised its dividend annually for 70 consecutive years. That makes it a Dividend King, an elite company that has raised its payout for at least 50 straight years.

Today, P&G's forward yield of 2.6% might not seem impressive compared to the 10-Year Treasury's 5% yield. But over the past 10 years, P&G delivered a total return of nearly 150% with dividends reinvested. Over the past 30 years, it generated a total return of 1,310%. Let's see why P&G consistently grew and why its resilience will matter during the next market crash.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why is P&G a resilient stock?
Over the past seven decades, the U.S. has experienced ten official recessions. Yet P&G resisted those downturns because it sells essential household and personal care products.

P&G shrunk its portfolio from around 180 brands in 2014 to 65 today. Roughly 20 of those brands -- including Tide, Downy, Dawn, Cascade, Pampers, Luvs, Tampax, Bounty, Charmin, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Olay, SK-II, Crest, Oral-B, Vicks, Pepto-Bismol, and Gillette -- generate more than $1 billion in annual sales.

$161.26-$3.24 (-1.97%)

NYSE · As of 2:12 PM ET 10/23/26

By streamlining its business and focusing on those higher-growth brands, P&G steadily grew its organic sales and core EPS. But over its past few fiscal years (which ended in July of each calendar year), its top- and bottom-line growth cooled off.

Period

FY 2022

FY 2023

FY 2024

FY 2025

FY 2026

Organic Sales Growth

7%

7%

4%

2%

1%

Core EPS Growth

3%

2%

12%

4%

1%

Data source: P&G. (Fiscal year ends in July of the calendar year)

Like many of its industry peers, P&G attributed that slowdown to inflationary headwinds for consumer spending. It's raised its prices to offset slowing volume, but it still struggled to grow in China and North America as macro headwinds intensified.

However, P&G's free cash flow (FCF) still grew 8% to $15.1 billion in fiscal 2026 and easily covered its $10.2 billion in dividend payments. It spent another $5.0 billion on share buybacks during the year, returning over 100% of its FCF to its investors.

For fiscal 2027, P&G expects its organic sales to rise 1%-3% and its core EPS to grow 0%-3%. It plans to pay out over $10 billion in dividends and spend another $5 billion on buybacks. That stabilization should be driven by additional price hikes, the premiumization of its classic brands (Pampers, Pantene, Tide, and Gain), and its growth in China and Latin America.

At $160, P&G trades at 23 times the midpoint of its core EPS forecast for fiscal 2027. That multiple is a bit high relative to its growth potential, but it could maintain that premium valuation as long as rising rates and yields drive investors toward defensive stocks. It should also easily recover from the next market crash.

Bank of America Securities on Friday upgraded Pharvaris N.V. (NASDAQ:PHVS), citing an attractive entry point with clinical risk largely removed.

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Citi sees SpaceX launching national wireless service no earlier than 2029, but its reported interest in 80,000 cell sites raises questions about that timeline.

Bitcoin has been grinding near $80,000 while ETF flows just swung from a $528 million gain to a $636 million loss in back-to-back sessions. We asked ChatGPT where that volatility leaves BTC when October closes out.

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ChatGPT forecasts Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) at around $80,000 on October 31, 2026, within a likely range of $77,000 to $84,000. This target is about 1.5% below Bitcoin’s $81,234 price, reflecting a 2.8% monthly decline, and about 36% below its all-time high of $126,080.

According to the AI model, Bitcoin has a 25% chance of finishing above its October opening price of $83,556. Bitcoin has been trading in a tight range around $80,000, hitting a low of $80,790 the week of October 19 and $79,676 the prior week. So, could Bitcoin recover and surpass its open before the month wraps up?

Bitcoin at $80,000 Would Be Worth About $1.61 Trillion

Market capitalization is calculated by multiplying Bitcoin’s price by its total supply. With roughly 20.1 million BTC currently in circulation, a target of $80,000 would give Bitcoin a market cap of about $1.61 trillion, compared to about $1.68 trillion at the opening figure of $83,600.

ChatGPT’s forecast puts Bitcoin 4.3% below the October open, meaning it would need to gain 2.9% from its current level to reach that opening price.

Furthermore, as miners continue to introduce new coins daily until the maximum supply of 21 million is reached, maintaining the same price results in a higher total valuation each year. Returning to the October 2025 record would put Bitcoin’s market cap at about $2.53 trillion at current supply levels, exceeding the network’s value at that peak.

ETF Flows Carry the Most Weight, and They Just Turned Negative

ChatGPT emphasizes three main influences leading up to October 31: ETF flows (40%), technology stocks (35%), and oil prices (25%). A spot Bitcoin ETF is an investment fund that holds actual Bitcoin on behalf of its investors.

On October 21, ETF flows brought in $528.4 million, but the next day they posted a $635.6 million loss, with the iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT) accounting for $254.1 million of the outflow. Cumulative net inflows since launch fell from $57.96 billion to $57.32 billion, according to SoSoValue, coinciding with Bitcoin’s 3.3% drop to $81,429 on October 22.

Additionally, traders noted a significant transfer of 3,215 BTC, valued at about $261 million, from BlackRock (NYSE: BLK | BLK Price Prediction) ETF wallets to Coinbase Prime, which serves institutional clients. However, ChatGPT warns that a transfer between wallets doesn’t necessarily indicate an immediate sale.

Oil Above $110 Pulls Bitcoin Down While Tech Stocks Pull It Up

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, surged to $112.92 after Houthi attacks targeted Saudi Aramco facilities multiple times in just two days. On October 2, Brent peaked at $135.51 and settled at $115.22 on October 20, while West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, closed at $107.89 that same day.

With oil prices above $100 a barrel, inflation tends to rise, which could keep interest rates high after the Fed’s September hike, putting downward pressure on Bitcoin. Conversely, positive moves in tech stocks could boost Bitcoin; for example, Bitcoin climbed to nearly $84,600 on October 21 after SpaceX’s encouraging quarterly results helped lift tech shares.

Bitcoin Trades Below Its 20-Day and 50-Day Averages

Moving averages help assess market trends by averaging closing prices over a defined period. Currently, Bitcoin’s 20-day average stands at $82,833, while its 50-day average is $81,779. With Bitcoin trading at $81,234, sellers have the short-term advantage.

ChatGPT’s downside scenario suggests there is a 30% chance Bitcoin could drop below $78,000 at some point before October 31. The recent low of $79,676 represents the first key support level that could be breached if the downward trend continues.

Looking ahead, ChatGPT indicates a 50% chance of Bitcoin ending November around $82,000, a 30% chance of hitting $68,000 in a bearish scenario, and a 20% chance of a bullish outcome at $95,000—much shorter than the long-term predictions from other AI models.

Can Bitcoin End October Above Its Opening Price? Bitcoin will likely end October below its opening price of $83,556. ChatGPT’s 25% prediction of a positive outcome seems reasonable, especially given recent negative ETF flows and persistently high oil prices. For Bitcoin holders, this outlook suggests a potentially challenging month ahead, with a 30% chance of prices dipping below $78,000 before the end of October.

For a positive turnaround in October, ETF inflows will need to stabilize after the recent $635.6 million outflow. Bitcoin would also need to reclaim its 20-day average of $82,833. A daily close above $83,600 would signal bullish momentum, while a daily close above $85,000 could confirm it. Conversely, a decline below $80,000 by the end of October would align with the expected forecast.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Whether it's through stocks, bonds, ETFs, or other types of securities, all investors love seeing their portfolios score big returns. But when you're an income investor, your primary focus is generating consistent cash flow from each of your liquid investments.

Cash flow can come from bond interest, interest from other types of investments, and, of course, dividends. A dividend is the distribution of a company's earnings paid out to shareholders; it's often viewed by its dividend yield, a metric that measures a dividend as a percent of the current stock price. Many academic studies show that dividends account for significant portions of long-term returns, with dividend contributions exceeding one-third of total returns in many cases.

Based in Fairfield, Cincinnati Financial (CINF - Free Report) is in the Finance sector, and so far this year, shares have seen a price change of 9.16%. The insurer is currently shelling out a dividend of $0.94 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.11%. This compares to the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry's yield of 0.88% and the S&P 500's yield of 1.33%.

Looking at dividend growth, the company's current annualized dividend of $3.76 is up 8% from last year. Over the last 5 years, Cincinnati Financial has increased its dividend 5 times on a year-over-year basis for an average annual increase of 8.39%. Looking ahead, future dividend growth will be dependent on earnings growth and payout ratio, which is the proportion of a company's annual earnings per share that it pays out as a dividend. Cincinnati Financial's current payout ratio is 39%, meaning it paid out 39% of its trailing 12-month EPS as dividend.

Earnings growth looks solid for CINF for this fiscal year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 is $8.44 per share, representing a year-over-year earnings growth rate of 6.16%.

Investors like dividends for many reasons; they greatly improve stock investing profits, decrease overall portfolio risk, and carry tax advantages, among others. But, not every company offers a quarterly payout.

For instance, it's a rare occurrence when a tech start-up or big growth business offers its shareholders a dividend. It's more common to see larger companies with more established profits give out dividends. During periods of rising interest rates, income investors must be mindful that high-yielding stocks tend to struggle. With that in mind, CINF presents a compelling investment opportunity; it's not only an attractive dividend play, but the stock also boasts a strong Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

American travelers have grown increasingly wary of traveling to Europe as the wars in Ukraine and Iran show no end in sight.

Moderna (MRNA) shares plunged after a partial leak showed results for the company's cancer vaccine trial. As Alison Kosik points out, the results were positive but weren't enough for investors.

Moderna’s MRNA leaked cancer-vaccine trial results looked “promising” on the surface, yet the biotech stock came under intense pressure late on Thursday and was weak on Friday morning too, although the stock regained the losses and was trading higher later in the session.

In fact, MRNA slipped through its 20-day moving average (MA) this week, indicating bears have taken back control of the near-term.

Despite recent weakness, however, Moderna stock remains a blockbuster investment for 2026, currently trading at more than 6x its price at the start of this year.

The Phase 3 leaked trial data showed that “intismeran autogene” – Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine – combined with Merck’s Keytruda reduced the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 42% versus Keytruda alone.

It also lowered the risk of distant metastasis or death by 38%. Those are meaningful clinical gains, and the companies reported no new safety signals.

But the market had already rewarded the study’s success following August’s initial announcement.

The detailed findings therefore needed to improve expectations further.

Bloomberg reported that analysts questioned whether the melanoma results justified confidence in a much broader cancer franchise.

For MRNA shares, that distinction matters – demonstrating that one treatment works supports its development, while supporting a premium valuation requires a credible path to commercial revenue across a larger market.

Another pressure point was the apparent gap with earlier research.

A smaller study showed a 49% reduction in recurrence or death and a 59% reduction in distant metastasis or death, compared with 42% and 38%, respectively, in the larger trial.

However, “different patient populations” and “follow-up periods” mean these are not really direct comparisons.

The latest findings also contain nuance that headline percentages miss.

The companies said the treatment groups performed similarly during the first six months; a prespecified analysis showed stronger benefits afterward. Overall survival data remain immature.

That makes sweeping conclusions premature. The study supports a reduction in recurrence, but it has not yet established an overall survival benefit.

Moderna investors assessing durability, treatment timing, and eventual adoption still have major questions to resolve as follow-up continues.

Moderna’s next challenge is turning clinical progress into an economically attractive product.

The company is preparing to seek US approval and anticipates a potential launch in 2027.

Because the therapy is tailored to each patient’s tumor, investors will need to assess manufacturing capacity, delivery times, reimbursement, and the cost of supplying treatment.

Strong efficacy alone cannot establish the margins or sales volumes the business will ultimately generate.

Friday’s decline therefore raises a practical valuation question: how much future success does MRNA stock already assume at about 50x sales?

Regulatory progress, launch economics and evidence from additional cancer trials could help answer it.

Until then, a positive melanoma study can strengthen Moderna’s scientific credentials while still leaving shareholders vulnerable to falling expectations.

Software giants Adobe (ADBE -1.90%) and Salesforce (CRM -0.75%) are competing for dominance in the enterprise cloud market as businesses shift toward automated workflows. Deciding which stock is a better buy today requires a look at their evolving platforms.

Adobe provides essential tools for creative design and document management, while Salesforce leads the market for customer relationship management software. Both companies have integrated advanced artificial intelligence into their core offerings to drive growth. Investors often compare these two because they represent established leaders within the tech stocks sector with massive recurring revenue.

The case for AdobeAdobe provides an end-to-end platform for creative, marketing, and document productivity professionals. Its solutions, including Adobe Acrobat, Creative Cloud, and the Adobe Experience Platform, are used by consumers and global enterprises. The company says it reaches 1 billion monthly active users across its various productivity and creativity solutions. Adobe leverages an extensive ecosystem of partner-integrated AI models to support its content workflows for students, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

In the fiscal year ended Nov. 28, 2025, revenue reached nearly $23.8 billion, which is a 10.5% increase over the previous year. This growth helped the company achieve a net income of approximately $7.1 billion, supporting its reputation among top tech stocks today. Adobe maintained a healthy net margin of roughly 30% during this period. This metric shows the percentage of each dollar of sales that the company retained as profit after accounting for all expenses.

As of its November 2025 balance sheet, the current ratio is approximately 1.0x, meaning short-term assets are sufficient to cover short-term liabilities. The debt-to-equity ratio is roughly 0.6x, indicating that total debt is about 60% of shareholder equity. In the fiscal year ended Nov. 28, 2025, free cash flow reached nearly $9.9 billion. Free cash flow is calculated as cash from operations minus capital expenditures and represents the cash a business generates after paying for its physical assets.

The case for SalesforceSalesforce provides customer relationship management technology and enterprise cloud solutions through its Agentforce and Customer 360 platforms. The company serves businesses using unified data and autonomous AI agents to connect with their customers. Its customer base spans organizations of all sizes across industries like financial services and retail. Salesforce integrates data management via its recent acquisition of Informatica and enhances its analytics through strategic acquisitions of smaller firms.

In the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2026, revenue reached approximately $41.5 billion, representing an increase of nearly 9.6% year over year. The company reported a net income of roughly $7.5 billion during this period. This resulted in a net margin of about 18% for the fiscal year. This figure helps investors understand how much revenue the company converts into actual earnings after its costs are subtracted.

As of its January 2026 balance sheet, the current ratio is roughly 0.8x, suggesting that total liabilities due within one year exceed its current assets. The debt-to-equity ratio is approximately 0.3x, which indicates a conservative level of debt relative to equity. In the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2026, free cash flow reached nearly $14.4 billion. Note that stock-based compensation accounted for roughly 23.4% of operating cash flow, inflating reported cash generation, since SBC is a non-cash expense added back in the cash flow statement.

Risk profile comparisonAdobe faces rapid innovation pressures from a diverse landscape of AI-native firms and large technology incumbents like Amazon (AMZN -0.67%). Incorporating generative and agentic AI introduces potential liabilities, including content bias and intellectual property infringement. The company also faces regulatory scrutiny regarding consumer protection and privacy. Recent legal developments include a $150 million settlement resolving claims over its online subscription cancellation practices, highlighting the financial and reputational risks associated with these actions.

Salesforce operates in a highly fragmented CRM market and risks losing ground to agile start-ups if it fails to maintain its pace of innovation in AI agents. Integrating complex acquisitions, such as Informatica, and managing organizational changes can strain its personnel and infrastructure. The company also faces significant regulatory risk from potential security breaches or failure to comply with evolving global data sovereignty laws. Furthermore, Salesforce manages a large portfolio of strategic investments that may experience value fluctuations in volatile economic conditions.

Valuation comparisonAdobe appears to be the more attractively valued choice for investors because it trades at lower multiples relative to its sales and future earnings estimates.

MetricAdobeSalesforceForward P/E10.1x14.5xP/S ratio3.7x4.5xValuation metrics include those sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from those of other data providers.

When comparing Adobe and Salesforce, investors should consider a few key factors. Let's have a look at them and see what that tells us about each stock.

To start, there's growth. In truth, both companies have shown an ability to grow at a steady pace, and the difference between the two is slight, at best. Over the last five years, Adobe has averaged year-over-year revenue growth of 11.5%, while Salesforce has averaged 13.5%. Verdict: A very slight edge to Salesforce.

Another factor to consider is each company's profitability. Here, as measured by operating margin, the difference in profitability is more substantial. Adobe has averaged 35.6%, while Salesforce has averaged 13.8%. Granted, Salesforce has improved its margins over the years, and its operating margin now stands at 21.5%. However, Adobe still retains a significant advantage overall.

Last, there's valuation. Both companies have been profitable for years, so price-to-earnings (P/E) is the correct valuation metric to use. And while both stocks have seen their multiples compress in recent years, Adobe has held a small but consistent lead in affordability. Adobe's current P/E multiple is 14.8x, while Salesforce's is 22.4x. If using forward estimates rather than reported earnings, the trend still holds. Adobe has a forward P/E multiple of 10.1x vs. 14.5x for Salesforce. Verdict: Another edge to Adobe.

In summary, these two stocks share many characteristics that will appeal to tech-focused investors. They are both growing, are consistently profitable, and have reasonable valuations. However, in a direct matchup, Adobe comes out ahead in every category aside from growth. Therefore, most investors will likely lean toward Adobe if selecting between these two stocks.

American Express Company (AXP) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Amex Stock Slides on Job Cuts, But the Real Story Is MacroAmerican Express NYSE: AXP reported third-quarter revenue of $20.1 billion, up 9% from a year earlier, as continued spending growth, rising card fees and strong credit performance supported results. The company raised its full-year earnings outlook while reaffirming its expectation for 10% revenue growth.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Squeri said reported earnings per share were $5.42, while adjusted EPS was $4.68. The quarter included several discrete items, including a gain from the closing of the Global Business Travel transaction, a restructuring charge and legal reserve expense.

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Swiping to Record Highs: Why Visa Remains a FortressAmerican Express increased its full-year 2026 reported EPS guidance to between $18.30 and $18.60, from its prior outlook, and set adjusted EPS guidance at $17.60 to $17.90. Squeri said the company remains on track for another year of 10% revenue growth and mid-teen EPS growth.

Global Business Travel Gain and Restructuring
The sale of American Express investments in Global Business Travel Group generated a gain of $1.11 per share during the quarter. The company used part of that gain to fund a $336 million restructuring charge, or $0.37 per share, that is expected to eliminate about 5% of its global positions.

3 Stocks to Watch as Wall Street Wealth Fuels Consumer SpendingSqueri said the restructuring is intended to streamline the organization, reduce management layers and speed decision-making as the company pursues growth and innovation initiatives. Excluding the Global Business Travel gain and restructuring charge, adjusted EPS totaled $4.68, up 13% year over year, according to Chief Financial Officer Christophe Le Caillec.

Adjusted results also included a $0.51-per-share increase in legal reserves, including the unreserved portion of a recently announced Office of the Comptroller of the Currency civil money penalty and a reserve for an anticipated settlement in an unrelated matter. A discrete tax benefit of $0.29 per share and a $0.24-per-share benefit related to CECL reserve-model updates offset those items, Le Caillec said.

Squeri said the OCC orders do not impose an asset cap on the company. He added that the costs associated with remediation are not expected to affect American Express’ 2027 guidance, though he said the deficiencies cited in the consent order should not have occurred.

Spending, Fees and Credit Trends
Overall billed business rose 8% during the quarter, consistent with the prior four quarters. Goods and services spending increased 7%, while travel and entertainment spending rose 10%. Airline spending increased 13%, restaurant spending rose 9%, and U.S. consumer spending grew 9.4%.

Le Caillec said the quarter included an approximately 60-basis-point year-over-year effect from co-brand exits, including the sale of the Amazon co-brand portfolio midway through the period. He also cited the timing of Amazon Prime Day and other promotional retail events as a factor affecting sequential spending comparisons.

Commercial spending rose 3%, or 5% excluding co-brand portfolio exits, while international spend increased 11%. Merchant coverage reached more than 190 million locations globally, compared with 160 million a year earlier. American Express acquired 3.1 million new cards in the quarter, with 76% of new accounts on fee-paying products.

Net card fees increased 17% on an FX-adjusted basis, remaining the company’s fastest-growing revenue line. Le Caillec said the growth reflected strong results from the U.S. Platinum card refresh. One year after the refresh, spend retention for the U.S. Consumer Platinum portfolio stood at 99%.

Total cardmember balances grew 8%, while net interest income increased 10%. Write-off dollars rose 3%, and the delinquency rate remained between 1.2% and 1.3% for the 15th consecutive quarter. Provision expense was $985 million, including a $211 million reserve release driven by CECL model enhancements.

Investment, Returns and Customer Offerings
Marketing expense increased 11% as American Express stepped up customer-acquisition investments following strong first-half performance. The value-creating expense-to-revenue ratio was 44.3%, and Le Caillec said growth in cardmember services expenses should moderate significantly in the fourth quarter as the company laps the Platinum refresh.

American Express returned $2.2 billion of capital to shareholders in the third quarter, including $1.6 billion of share repurchases and $600 million in dividends. Its CET1 ratio ended the quarter at 10.9%.

The company also highlighted new products and partnerships, including an exclusive Airbnb agreement that will bring more than 1 million listings globally into Amex Travel and expand travel benefits for eligible U.S. card members. American Express also cited its Corporate Cashback Card, integrated expense-management capabilities and Business Savings account as initiatives designed to build engagement among business customers.

AI Strategy Focuses on Membership and Payments
Squeri said American Express is using artificial intelligence to improve productivity and internal processes, but emphasized that the company sees AI as a way to make card membership more personalized and valuable. The company is focusing on AI applications across value propositions, customer acquisition, engagement, payments and service.

Examples include the Resy Restaurant Discovery and Reservations experience in ChatGPT, work with OpenAI on an Amex plugin for discovering and enrolling in Amex Offers, and the company’s AI-enabled travel Wishlist Builder. Through a partnership with Perplexity, eligible business card members can access Amex-curated AI tools for activities such as cash-flow forecasting and marketing campaigns.

For agent-driven payments, American Express is developing tools intended to authenticate agents, verify customer authorization and preserve transaction context. Squeri said the company plans to take a risk-based approach to AI-agent access and will not allow assistants to operate freely through its systems.

“Our customer remains the card member,” Squeri said, adding that the company’s objective is to extend American Express protections, service and membership benefits into AI-powered experiences.

About American Express (NYSE:AXP)American Express Company is a global financial services company that provides payment, lending, travel and expense management products and services. Its offerings include consumer and small-business charge and credit cards, corporate payment programs, business financing solutions, deposit products and digital payment services.

The company operates an integrated payments network that connects card members, merchants and financial institutions. American Express also provides merchant acquisition and payment processing services, data and analytics, fraud prevention tools, and customer loyalty programs.

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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On its third quarter of 2026 earnings call, held on Oct. 23, 2026, American Express (AXP -3.77%) reported record quarterly revenues of $20 billion and reaffirmed its full-year revenue growth target of 10%. Expanding total revenue while sustaining high customer retention gives the business predictable cash flow to reinvest in technology and expand global merchant coverage. Three things management said stand out.

1. Eliminating 5% of Positions Globally to Boost Operational AgilityManagement recorded a $336 million corporate restructuring charge to eliminate roughly 5% of global positions, streamlining management layers to accelerate product delivery and fund strategic growth priorities.

With that objective in mind, earlier this year, I asked the senior leadership team to identify ways to streamline their organizations, align their teams on the most critical deliverables, and reduce layers to speed decision-making.
-- Steve Squeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer2. Embedding Membership Assets Into Artificial Intelligence ToolsRather than relying on artificial intelligence solely for operational productivity, the enterprise is integrating its card rewards, travel booking services, and dining reservations into conversational platforms to capture customer spending wherever financial decisions occur.

Our goal is to have membership travel with our card members throughout these new AI-powered experiences, shaping recommendations, securing payments, activating the right value, and supporting the customer afterward.
-- Steve Squeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer3. Premium Customer Base Is Elevating Portfolio Credit QualityFocusing card acquisition on creditworthy customers who pay annual card fees strengthens overall credit performance, keeping delinquent accounts low while stabilizing variable customer engagement, or VCE, which tracks rewards and cardmember service expenses.

As we focus more on fee-paying card members, as we focus more on VCE, we are attracting card members that have a great credit profile, and that slowly improving the credit metrics across the portfolio.
-- Christophe Le Caillec, Chief Financial OfficerLooking AheadCardmember travel spending continues to expand, reflecting steady demand across premium segments. To capitalize on this, American Express formed a partnership with Airbnb.

We know that card members enjoy the exceptional variety and scope of Airbnb's network of unique locations, and we are excited to bring over 1 million listings globally into our Amex Travel program, as well as expanding travel benefits for eligible U.S. card members.
-- Steve Squeri, Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerA proprietary closed-loop network and direct customer relationships provide durable competitive advantages as leadership prioritizes underwriting discipline and global merchant acceptance. Management is combining targeted investments with operational discipline to capture long-term growth opportunities.

We are on track to deliver another year of 10% revenue growth and mid-teen EPS growth, and more importantly, we have momentum to sustain strong results in the years ahead.
-- Steve Squeri, Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerAmerican Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Airbnb and American Express. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

American Express is slashing 5% of its workforce as the credit card giant prepares to automate some of its internal processes using AI – the latest tech-driven layoffs to hit the financial sector.

The company on Friday announced a $336 million restructuring charge as part of the layoffs, which will impact thousands of the firm’s roughly 77,000 workers. 

Christophe Le Caillec, the firm’s chief financial officer, told CNBC after the firm reported its third-quarter earnings that the reorganization will make American Express “leaner, more agile, and also [able] to prepare for AI.”

American Express CEO Stephen Squeri speaks during an event in New York on Nov. 10, 2022. Bloomberg via Getty Images
“You don’t want to automate processes that are not optimally structured,” he added. “So what we’re doing here is to reduce layers and increase spans of controls, so that we can automate and take advantage of AI in the coming quarters and the coming years.”

Shares of American Express slid 3.8% by about 1 p.m. ET as investors took the layoffs as the latest example of AI’s potential to eliminate jobs. 

British lender Barclays on Thursday announced 5,000 planned job cuts in its own AI push.

So far this year through September, AI has been cited in more than 120,000 job cut announcements, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. 

The financial sector and other white-collar professions have been among those most impacted by the new tech.

Despite record-low consumer sentiment readings and stubbornly high inflation, American Express reported a rise in profits as shoppers – especially wealthier ones – have shrugged off sky-high prices and continued to spend.

But during a post-earnings call Friday, CEO Stephen Squeri said the AI push and layoffs were necessary to improve efficiency and prepare for the future.

The company announced planned job cuts that will impact thousands of workers. JHVEPhoto – stock.adobe.com
“We’ve got good momentum, but to accelerate innovation and win over the next few years, we needed to become [a] more agile and efficient organization,” he said.

He added that the company will use AI to personalize customer experiences and offers, but assured investors that American Express is “not going to let assistants run rogue through our system.”

Tech giants have reported a slew of concerning incidents in which AI agents broke out of their restraints or turned off safety systems. 

Industry leaders like Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Sam Altman have called for more regulations and a development pause after a researcher last month sounded the alarm over the potential for AI to wipe out the human race.

The credit card giant also reported strong earnings. REUTERS
“We need to protect our customers [and] merchants, and we’re only going to allow agents to access our systems that are either approved through API or MCP channels,” Squeri said, referencing two external security systems.

On Friday, the credit card company reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.68 – beating expectations of $4.48.

Revenue jumped 9% to $20.06 billion, slightly missing estimates of $20.12 billion. 

American Express also hiked its full-year earnings forecast to $18.30 to $18.60 a share, up from a previous range of $17.30 to $17.90.

Its sale of the company’s stake in Global Business Travel Group helped boost its earnings prediction, according to Le Caillec.