Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

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Tom Yeung here with your Sunday Digest.  

In 1893, America’s railroad boom came to a screeching halt. 

The industry had spent two decades borrowing vast fortunes to lay thousands of miles of track, which the country now had too much of. When the money ran out, the Union Pacific, the Northern Pacific, and the Santa Fe railroads went into receivership. Railroad stocks lost more than 60% of their value, and it would take the industry years to dig out. 

That same September, a former railroad station agent from Minnesota renamed his struggling mail-order business. 

He called it Sears, Roebuck and Co. 

Now, Richard Sears never built a railroad. He didn’t have to. Instead, he used the overbuilt network left behind to ship watches… sewing machines… and eventually entire houses to families across the country. In 1906, Sears became the first major retail IPO in American history, and sales rose 125-fold to $50 million by the following year. 

The men who built the railroads went broke. The man who applied them became a household name. 

I bring this up because InvestorPlace Senior Analyst Eric Fry believes the AI boom is starting to split the same way. 

On one side are the AI Builders. These are the chipmakers, data center firms, and frontier AI labs borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars to lay the “track” of the AI Revolution. Many of these stocks are priced to perfection. 

On the other side are the AI Appliers: companies that never touch a “shovel.” These are companies like Sears that are using what others have built or are supplying them with products they can’t make for themselves. 

Eric calls the coming split the AI Separation, and he expects it to accelerate on November 4, the morning after the midterms. 

He explains exactly how it unfolds, and names his No. 1 AI Applier for free, in his new presentation. You can watch it here. 

In the meantime, I’d like to discuss three AI Appliers that I’m recommending: companies that profit from the AI buildout without paying for it, at prices that still leave room for upside. 

AI Applier Stock to Buy No. 1: Applying AI to Travel  In 2000, Eric recommended shares of Humana Inc. (HUM), a health insurance firm. Many experts were fearful that the internet would bypass the need for health insurers, and investors took the company’s declining earnings as evidence to get out. 

But Eric’s healthcare pick would end up returning more than 10X. Rather than get replaced by the internet, Humana used the technology to lower costs, improve throughput, and mint small fortunes for its remaining investors. 

A similar fear is now rippling through the software industry. People are becoming concerned that AI chatbots could replace vast swaths of the digital economy, and my first pick is a sold-off online travel agent that’s using AI, rather than getting replaced by it: 

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG). 

The owner of Booking.com, Agoda, Priceline, KAYAK, and OpenTable is the largest travel company in the world. It is also one of the most capital-efficient companies in existence, requiring just $0.35 billion of capital expenditure to maintain almost $30 billion of revenue. 

The firm has faced growing fears that chatbots could replace Booking.com. After all, roughly a quarter of Americans now use AI to help plan trips. BKNG shares are down 25% since September. 

But Booking.com is quite difficult for AI to replace.  

Inventory: 90% of its hotel bookings come from independent hotels (which no AI agent can contact individually).  Payments: The company supports payments in 50+ currencies and has existing payment portals with its hotel clients.  Quality Assurance: Booking through a dedicated site reduces the chance of something going wrong (i.e., a chatbot hallucinating and buying the wrong ticket).  That’s why both Google and OpenAI use Booking.com to help power their own agentic booking systems. BKNG already has the necessary systems in place.  

In addition, Booking is using AI to keep growing its business. It is combining AI models with its own proprietary information to convert more searches into reservations, upsell more in each trip, and reduce the cost of serving customers. Analysts expect earnings per share to rise 15% this year and then accelerate to 18% in 2027 as these efforts pay off. 

And so, the recent selloff creates an opportunity to buy shares of this blue-chip AI Applier. Shares are likely worth at least $200, and up to $220 in a bull case. 

AI Applier Stock to Buy No. 2: A Riskier Retailer  Petco Health and Wellness Co. (WOOF) is one of the uglier names in retail. The bricks-and-mortar pet store chain is highly leveraged, relatively slow-growing, and has roughly 20% of its floated shares sold short. 

The company is also facing fears of AI displacement. AI agents make it easier for shoppers to compare online prices and buy from the lowest-cost supplier. That could hurt Petco’s e-commerce operations by forcing the retailer to drop prices at Petco.com. Shares are down 33% in a year, and 78% since ChatGPT was launched in 2022.  

Of course, concerns that chatbots will replace shopping websites aren’t limited to Petco. Online rival Chewy Inc. (CHWY) has fallen 38% in the past year – even more than Petco’s decline. 

However, Petco is making moves to avoid getting further displaced by AI and other tech. First of all, the firm never had a particularly strong internet strategy for chatbots to displace. Analysts believe that just 15% of Petco’s sales come from its e-commerce website – significantly below the 21% to 25% range that other brick-and-mortar names like Target Corp. (TGT) and Walmart Inc. (WMT) command. In addition, Petco has moved toward in-person services at its stores, such as vet care and grooming. These services are far harder for digital chatbots to replace. 

Moreover, Petco is using – applying – AI to make improvements to its finances.  

For instance, Petco began using AI tech from a company called Constructor in 2024 to help predict what its online shoppers would buy. Digital conversions rose 13%. Then in February 2026, Petco selected a new AI-powered merchandising system to help improve sourcing and planning to help cut costs and stock its stores with better-selling products. 

The results have been promising so far. At a September 14 investor conference, CEO Joel Anderson said, “We’re already starting to see efficiency, especially in customer service and chat.” He expects AI to play an even larger role in 2027 as the technology improves. 

These AI benefits are also starting to show up in financial results. Earnings per share are expected to jump 20% this year to $0.23, and to rise another 10% next fiscal year. That will allow Petco to use its profits to pay down roughly $150 million per year in debt, adding roughly $0.45 per year to stock values. 

So, even if the company does nothing from here, shares will be worth 18% more per year simply by converting debt back into equity. Strangely enough, AI could make Petco’s stock worth $4 per share or more. 

Stock to Buy No. 3: The Energy Play  Last week, reports surfaced that Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) was buying billions of dollars of Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) chips with no way to power them.  

Internal emails showed Amazon expected to receive $5 billion worth of Nvidia AI server systems in August, followed by $3 billion more each following month – and many of the chips had nowhere to get plugged in. 

Amazon joins a host of other data center companies that are facing electricity constraints. In fact, a recent study by Goldman Sachs estimates that 40% of all 2026 data center projects will get delayed into 2027 from a lack of electricity. 

That’s why I want to reiterate one energy stock that I recommended here back in September: 

Transocean Ltd. (RIG). 

As I wrote then, the company is the world’s largest leaser of “floater” oil rigs (27 vessels) and owns another seven harsh-environment semisubmersibles. These platforms are used when ocean water is too deep to anchor regular rigs into the seabed.  

Business is booming. 

Energy companies are now looking beyond the Middle East for new sources of hydrocarbons. And they’re finding it in offshore fields in Brazil, West Africa, the Gulf of America, and more.  

They are now turning to companies like Transocean to supply the drilling rigs for these ultra-deep sites. 

 Transocean has already seen revenues surge 40% in the past two years. No new drillships have been ordered since 2014, and a previously oversupplied market is now swinging into deficit. Industry analysts believe that high-end floaters have been fully contracted through late 2027, allowing Transocean to charge fat premiums for renting its ships and achieve utilization rates “well into the 90s,” according to its CEO.  

Shares are already up 12% since I recommended Transocean on September 27. But the prospect of the AI Separation makes it an even more compelling stock. After all, the bankrupt railroads of the 1890s still needed fuel to deliver Richard Sears’ goods; AI data centers will find themselves in the same situation. 

The Other Side of the Separation  The three stocks above are the “buy” side of the AI Separation. But every separation has two halves, and the “sell” part is worth watching too. 

Consider Oracle Corp. (ORCL). Last November, Eric told his readers to exit their positions. At the time, the data center company was one of the most celebrated AI stocks on Wall Street. Oracle was inking 12-figure AI deals, including the ambitious $500 billion Stargate Project with OpenAI and SoftBank. 

Eric saw something else. 

He saw an increasingly indebted firm borrowing money for projects that had no guarantee of paying off. Worst of all, half of Oracle’s future business depended on a single profitless customer, OpenAI. 

Oracle shares have since fallen more than 30%, and its bonds have been downgraded to one notch above junk. 

That’s the Builder side of the AI Separation. These companies are acting like the railway magnates of the late 1800s: borrowing enormous sums of cash to build infrastructure that no one is sure will all be needed. 

Plus, he also shows us his No. 1 AI Applier, including its name and ticker symbol. You don’t need to buy anything to get that recommendation.  

Click here to watch Eric’s new presentation and get his No. 1 AI Applier stock pick for free. 

I’ll see you back here next Sunday. 

Thomas Yeung, CFA 

Market Analyst, InvestorPlace 

Thomas Yeung is a market analyst and portfolio manager of the Omnia Portfolio, the highest-tier subscription at InvestorPlace. He is the former editor of Tom Yeung’s Profit & Protection, a free e-letter about investing to profit in good times and protecting gains during the bad.

Bloom Energy (BE -11.24%) had lots of good news on Oct. 22. The fuel cell maker's third-quarter revenue grew 138% year over year to a record $1.24 billion, and management raised its 2026 forecast for the third time this year.

The stock still fell. Shares finished Oct. 22 at $217.77, down about 9% on the day, ahead of results released after the market closed. Then they dropped to roughly $203 in after-hours trading.

Even that $217.77 close is about 37% under the stock's record close of $345.85 on June 22.

Before the report, I said I'd look again if the new forecast put second-half revenue clearly over the second quarter's $1.07 billion. It did. Does that make the stock a buy?

Image source: Getty Images.

A third raiseManagement now sees 2026 revenue landing between $4.4 billion and $4.6 billion. That compares to a July range of $3.9 billion to $4.2 billion. The forecast's low end is over double the $2.02 billion Bloom took in during 2025.

Showing how fast the company has grown, Bloom's revenue was $751 million in the first three months of 2026. It then hit $1.07 billion in the second quarter and $1.24 billion in the third. With around $3.05 billion booked through September, the latest forecast implies fourth-quarter revenue between $1.35 billion and $1.55 billion. Profits, of course, are growing even faster. Bloom's non-GAAP (adjusted) operating margin rose to 23.1% of revenue, up from 8.9% a year ago, and adjusted earnings per share climbed more than sixfold to $0.94.

The full-year profit forecast went up, too. Management now sees $3.10 to $3.40 in adjusted earnings per share, up from $2.55 to $2.85 in July.

Growth, though, is set to slow. Fourth-quarter revenue in this range would be up around 73% to 99% from the $778 million Bloom posted a year earlier. Growth like that is still strong. But it's under the 130%, 166%, and 138% growth rates for 2026's first three quarters. Some of that's a harder comparison, because Bloom's revenue climbed around 50% from the third quarter of 2025 to the fourth.

Management said the timing of a few deliveries near year-end will decide where in the range Bloom lands. For the artificial intelligence data centers it supplies, CEO KR Sridhar added that customers bring capacity online block by block, so the pace is up to them. Management also said its backlog is still growing faster than revenue, but it didn't share a new number.

Cash didn't keep upThe weak point in the report was cash. Bloom's operations used $27 million in the third quarter, a sharp swing from the $226 million they generated in the second quarter.

And with capital expenditures up to $153 million, free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capital spending) was negative $181 million.

The largest drain was a balance sheet line called contract assets, which is revenue Bloom has booked but can't bill yet. Current contract assets were $179 million as 2025 ended. They hit $243 million by March and $365 million by June, then $793 million at the end of September. Put simply, they more than doubled in one quarter.

"Billing follows contract milestones and can occur in a different quarter," CFO Simon Edwards said during the third-quarter earnings call.

The explanation sounds reasonable to me. After all, Bloom's operations have still generated around $273 million in cash so far this year, and the business finished September with $2.5 billion in cash. But for now, Bloom is recording revenue a lot faster than it's collecting cash.

$193.30-$24.47 (-11.24%)

NYSE · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

The price tag has dropped a lotAt the $217.77 close, Bloom trades at around 67 times earnings, using the midpoint of management's latest adjusted forecast for 2026.

At the Oct. 20 close of $222.65, before the results, the stock cost around 82 times earnings on the old forecast. And at the June record, against April's forecast, it was roughly 170 times earnings. Using next year's expected earnings, shares now sell for around 44 times earnings.

Sure, 67 times earnings is still pricey. It assumes Bloom keeps growing fast well past this year. But management's adjusted earnings forecast for 2026 has more than doubled since February, and the stock now costs far less relative to the forecast than it did in June.

Is Bloom stock a buy after its third raise of the year?

I think it's worth considering here, maybe buying bit by bit. A stock that can lose 7% after hours on a record quarter can swing hard both ways. And I'd like to see the contract assets turn into cash before buying more aggressively.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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A blowout third-quarter earnings report driven by record card-game sales sent Hasbro (HAS +0.18%) surging 18.9% this week.

Hasbro stock changed hands at $117.44 as of the close on Friday, Oct. 23, up 18.9% from Friday, Oct. 16's close. Across those five sessions, the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.52%) was down 0.5%, and the Nasdaq-100 was down 0.8%.

Magic: The Gathering and guidance expansion drive the rallyHasbro delivered a strong third quarter, posting revenue of $1.60 billion, up 15% year over year beating consensus estimates of $1.48 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) hit $2.90, comfortably beating the $1.86 Wall Street expectation. Robust operating cash flow of $907.3 million through nine months prompted management to double its annual share repurchase goal from $200 million to $400 million.

Hasbro designs, manufactures, and licenses play assets, tabletop games, and digital entertainment, selling globally to mass-market retailers, specialty hobby shops, and digital platforms. The company owns major brands like Monopoly and Transformers, but tabletop card franchise Magic: The Gathering served as the main engine this quarter. Magic revenue jumped 34% year over year to exceed $600 million for the first time, while tabletop gaming sales grew sharply.

High-margin licensing and cost discipline added extra momentum, contributing $105 million in savings through the first nine months toward a $150 million annual goal. This week's guidance raise confirms that high-margin digital and tabletop gaming licenses are successfully shifting Hasbro's profit engine away from lower-margin traditional toy manufacturing.

Image source: Getty Images.

What's next for HasbroHasbro trades at a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.3, reflecting investor optimism around expanding profitability. Management raised its full-year constant-currency revenue growth target from a midpoint of 6% to a new range of 7%-9%, and increased operating margin expectations.

Looking ahead, investors will watch how the holiday shopping season impacts traditional consumer toy sales. Management noted that fourth-quarter Magic revenue could dip in the low- to mid-single-digit range due to product release timing. However, two major digital video game launches remain slated for 2027. Hasbro expects to report its next quarterly earnings in early February 2027.

HAS Hasbro$117.44+$0.21 (+0.18%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

Is Hasbro Stock a Buy?While a P/E of about 17 doesn't seem excessive, it does represent the highest level for Hasbro stock in the last year. That's because the company is firing on all cylinders. Magic: The Gathering revenue surged 34% year over year in Q3, breaking last quarter's record. The company also plans to launch two more digital games in 2027, Exodus and Warlock.

Hasbro's strong cash flow enabled it to double its yearly share buyback plans. Investors could do well to follow management's lead.

There are risks, of course. Hasbro depends on Magic: The Gathering for nearly 90% of its operating profits. That's a lot of single-franchise risk. Its core toy and consumer products business is also vulnerable to economic downturns or weak consumer spending.

For long-term investors, though, Hasbro should be a good stock to own. It's particularly suited to helping young adults learn more about investing, by owning a stock they may be familiar with. Parents who want to give a stock to a child or a teen who is just starting to invest could do well to choose Hasbro.

AI data centers consume enough power to light entire cities, and the landlords collecting rent on those facilities are quietly growing their dividends. Four REITs sit at the center of this buildout, but their payout safety and growth outlooks differ…

A report from Colorado Legislative Council Staff notes that a single data center, when operating, can consume over a gigawatt of power, enough to power about 750,000 homes. Someone has to own the buildings, land, fiber, and power hookups behind that load, and four US-listed REITs collect rent on them. These names offer dividend growth with modest starting yields. Each pays a quarterly dividend covered by operating cash flow, and each is seeing demand from AI and cloud customers. Here is how safe each payout looks and what could slow it down.

American Tower: Tower Rent Today, CoreSite Growth Tomorrow American Tower (NYSE:AMT) owns over 148,000 communications tower sites, which it leases to wireless carriers under long-term, non-cancellable contracts. Through its CoreSite subsidiary, it also runs heavily interconnected US data centers. Towers still make up most of the business, but data centers are growing faster: Data Centers revenue rose 13.4% year over year to $297M in Q2, while US & Canada property revenue fell 2.5%.

At $188.97, the stock yields 3.93%, the highest in this group. The quarterly payout is $1.79, or $7.16 annualized.

Dividend safety: Management raised its full-year AFFO per-share guidance to $11.00-$11.17, well above the annual dividend. In Q2, free cash flow came to $1.158B, up 18.5%, against a quarterly distribution of about $834.1M. Net leverage of 4.9x sits within its 3 to 5x target range. The chief financial officer named supporting a growing dividend as the first capital priority. The quarterly payout dropped from $1.70 to $1.62 at the start of 2024. It then rose to $1.70 in 2025 and $1.79 in 2026.

Bull case: Chief executive Steven Vondran said “CoreSite’s campuses have become critical destinations for AI traffic and data exchange,” with nine of the top ten AI companies already in its facilities. The company raised its 2026 data center growth outlook to about 15% and expects “mid-teens or better stabilized yields” on new CoreSite investments. Its next earnings report comes October 27 before the open.

Risk: DISH-related cancellations cut $63M from US & Canada property revenue in Q2, and that turnover is still weighing on the largest segment.

Iron Mountain: Records Boxes Help Fund an AI Data Center Buildout Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM) stores more than 735 million cubic feet of physical records across about 1,300 facilities, and the average box stays for about 14.5 years. That steady storage rent funds its newer businesses: 31 data centers in 21 markets with about 1.4 gigawatts of potential capacity, plus IT asset lifecycle management. Data centers, digital solutions and asset lifecycle management together now make up about 35% of revenue. Total revenue grew 18.5%, and data center revenue rose 38.8% to $262.9M.

The shares yield 2.94% at $109.94 per share. The quarterly dividend is $0.864, or $3.456 a year.

Dividend safety: The trailing four-quarter AFFO payout ratio was 60%, in line with management’s target in the low 60s. Full-year AFFO per share guidance was raised to $5.87 to $5.93. The company calls its latest 10% raise its fourth consecutive year of dividend increases, and the quarterly rate has risen from $0.65 to $0.715, then $0.785, then $0.864. Net lease-adjusted leverage ended Q2 at 4.8x.

Bull case: Data center leasing reached 110 MW year to date through July, and the backlog supports an additional $370 million of revenue beyond 2026. Chief executive William Meaney said recent London and Amsterdam deals were “a direct result of the large and expanding pipeline we have around AI inference.” Records retention held at 93.4%.

Risk: The company’s finances are extended. Shareholders’ equity is negative at $(955M), net debt is about $17.3B, and the newest bond carries a 6.25% coupon, so interest costs are rising.

Digital Realty: Pure-Play Scale With a Dividend Due for a Raise Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR) owns only data centers: 309 of them across 55+ markets and 30+ countries, with about 3.0 gigawatts of IT capacity in place and about 6.3 gigawatts planned. It reports one Data Center Services segment covering colocation, interconnection, and hyperscale leases for more than 5,500 customers. Quarterly revenue grew 29.9% year over year, the fastest pace in this group.

The stock yields 2.77% at $172.38 on a $1.22 quarterly dividend, or $4.88 a year.

Dividend safety: Q2 Core FFO excluding promote income was $2.13 per share, up 14%, and well above the $1.22 quarterly payout. Debt-to-adjusted EBITDA is 4.7x, below the company’s long-term 5.5x ceiling, and liquidity stands near $6 billion. The dividend record dates back to 2004 and trended higher over that period, but the payout has stayed at $1.22 per quarter since 2022. With FFO growing and the dividend flat, coverage continues to expand.

Bull case: Total backlog hit a record $1.9 billion at 100% share. Chief executive Andy Power said strong hyperscale leasing “drove our backlog to a new all-time high, derisking future growth.” That backlog adds visibility to future cash flow.

Risk: Quarterly earnings fell 58.7% year over year. FFO is the better measure of REIT coverage, but a drop that large in reported earnings is worth tracking as development costs and depreciation build.

Equinix: Smallest Yield, Strongest Dividend Growth Commitment Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) operates more than 270 data centers in more than 70 markets. It makes money from colocation (space, power, and cooling), interconnection (direct connections between customers), managed infrastructure, and its hyperscale xScale joint ventures. Quarterly revenue grew 16.7%, and Q2 brought a record 9,700 net interconnections.

At $955.03, the yield is 1.98%. The quarterly dividend is $5.16, or $20.64 annualized.

Dividend safety: Management set the payout ratio at 50%, the most conservative in this group. AFFO per share guidance is $42.69 to $43.29. Net leverage is 3.6x adjusted EBITDA, with about $7.7 billion in liquidity. The regular quarterly dividend has gone up every year in the record, from $1.69 in 2015 to $5.16 in 2026.

Bull case: Management expects dividend per share growth to about match AFFO per share growth, which it projects at 9-12% a year from 2027 through 2029. Chief executive Adaire Fox-Martin said, “Eight of the top ten model providers as well as eight of the top ten neo clouds are already running their key networking workloads on Equinix today.” Equinix reports October 28 after the close.

Risk: Spending is rising fast. Capex is guided at $5.0 to $6.0 billion for 2026 and $5.0 to $7.0 billion a year through 2029, with leverage projected to rise by about one turn over that period.

Which Income Investors This Group Fits These four REITs fit dividend-growth investors with a long horizon who will take a smaller check today for one that grows. American Tower pays the most up front. Iron Mountain has the strongest recent run of increases. Equinix has the clearest link between dividend growth and AFFO growth.

Digital Realty has the widest gap between rising FFO and a flat payout. Investors focused on maximum current income can find higher starting yields elsewhere, while these four REITs collect rent as landlords in the AI expansion. (For readers who want to look past the landlords to the power, cooling, and networking suppliers feeding the same expansion, we rounded up seven of them in a free report here.)

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

PZZA Deadline: Rosen Law Firm Urges Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) Stockholders to Contact the Firm for Information About Their Rights
Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds investors about a class action on behalf of purchasers of common stock of Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) between August 7, 2025 and August 5, 2026. Papa Johns describes itself as a “global chain pizza company that both operates and franchises restaurants in North America and various international markets.”

For more information, submit a form, email attorney Phillip Kim, or give us a call at 866-767-3653.

The Allegations: Rosen Law Firm is Investigating the Allegations that Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) Misled Investors Regarding its Business Operations.

According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements and/or concealed material adverse facts concerning the true state of Papa Johns’ transformation; notably, that it was “taking longer than expected,” and ultimately was unable to prevent further market share losses. Papa Johns ultimately required a significant shift in strategy toward a sharp increase in promotional efforts to abate Papa Johns’ declining competitive position. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

What Now: You may be eligible to participate in the class action against Papa John’s International, Inc. Shareholders who want to serve as lead plaintiff for the class must file their motions with the court by November 2, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. You do not have to participate in the case to be eligible for a recovery. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member. For more information, click here.

All representation is on a contingency fee basis. Shareholders pay no fees or expenses.

About Rosen Law Firm: Some law firms issuing releases about this matter do not actually litigate securities class actions. Rosen Law Firm does. Rosen Law Firm is a recognized leader in shareholder rights litigation, dedicated to helping shareholders recover losses, improving corporate governance structures, and holding company executives accountable for their wrongdoing. Since its inception, Rosen Law Firm has obtained over $1 billion for shareholders.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261024922059/en/

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

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Hedge fund Conifer Management L.L.C. disclosed a purchase of 65,650 shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI +0.90%) for $16.9 million in a series of transactions on Sept. 17 and 18, 2026. SEC Form 4 filing.

$244.97+$2.18 (+0.90%)

NYSE · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

Transaction summaryMetricValueTransaction value$16.9 millionShares purchased (indirectly held)65,650Post-transaction shares (indirectly held)1,512,290Post-transaction value$372.66 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($256.78); post-transaction value based on Sept. 18, 2026 market close ($246.42).

Key questionsWhat is the nature of the entity's equity position?
Conifer Management manages various commingled investment vehicles that directly own the common stock, and the firm disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities except to the extent of its pecuniary interest.How does the execution price compare to recent market levels?
The firm executed its purchase at a weighted average price of $256.78, while the stock was priced at $250.87 as of the Sept. 21, 2026 market close.What is the total scale of the firm's exposure following this transaction?
The acquisition increases the firm's indirect holdings to ~1.5 million shares, contributing to a total insider ownership level of 13% for the automotive retail company.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-09-21)$250.87Market Capitalization$3.0 billionRevenue (TTM)$22.2 billionNet Income (TTM)$289.6 millionCompany SnapshotGroup 1 Automotive operates as a diversified automotive retailer, generating revenue through the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and automotive components, while supplementing core revenues with service contracts, insurance products, and financing arrangements.The company's business model centers on multi-franchise dealership operations across 17 states, leveraging scale and operational efficiency to capture margins across vehicle sales, aftermarket services, and ancillary financial products.The company serves retail and commercial customers seeking vehicle purchases, maintenance services, and related financial solutions, with a primary focus on the North American automotive consumer market.Group 1 Automotive is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States, operating a substantial network of dealerships and employing approximately 20,452 people. The company's diversified revenue streams across new vehicle sales, used vehicle inventory, service operations, and financial products provide operational resilience within the consumer cyclical sector. As a vertically integrated automotive retailer, GPI maintains competitive advantages through scale, multi-brand franchise relationships, and comprehensive service capabilities that enhance customer retention and lifetime value.

What this transaction means for investorsConifer Management's sizable buy is a bullish signal.

Why?

Consider the dynamics of insider buying and selling. There are many reasons an insider may sell shares, some of which have no bearing on their belief in the stock's direction, such as having to pay a large personal expense or diversifying their holdings.

Then consider that there is only one reason an insider buys shares: they believe the stock price will rise.

By that rule of thumb alone, Conifer's purchase of almost $17 million worth of Group 1 shares is a bullish signal. That signal is further bolstered by studies showing that, more often than not, an insider purchase predicts a higher share price 30 days later, although that hasn't been the case with this purchase.

It is worth noting that insider buying by an executive, or individual, is more straightforwardly bullish for outsiders. The purchase of a block of shares by a hedge fund like Confier, which is an insider by virtue of its greater-than-5% active stake in the company (there are occasional instances where a passive owner of up to 10% is not considered an insider), could have some long-term not-as-bullish qualities to it. Perhaps the fund is seeking to eventually take the company private in a transaction that would buy out other shareholders at a price below its long-term value. Or perhaps market conditions may force the fund to sell Group 1 shares to redeem its investors, which would weigh on the stock.

But generally, speaking, the buying is still bullish: a hedge fund like Conifer does want to see its shares appreciate.

In the long term, there are reasons to be bullish. In July, Group 1 announced the acquisition of Hennessy Automobile, a family-owned Atlanta, Georgia, luxury dealer group with 12 franchises and about $1.7 billion in annual revenue. The transaction is valued at approximately $1.3 billion, which will be financed with $1.25B of new debt. That's a negative in the short term. But long term, the deal would expand Group 1's U.S. luxury revenue mix from 29% to around 42%. If you believe the wealthy are more insulated from the economy, which is a very reasonable assumption in the U.S., then having a larger base of luxury sales is a plus for the company and the stock over the long term.

If you've never heard of MPLX LP (MPLX +1.63%), you might want to get to know the company a little -- perhaps primarily because of its dividend yield, which was recently a whopping 7.4%.

With a 7.4% dividend yield, a $10,000 investment will kick out about $740 in passive income in a single year. Park $25,000 in the stock, and you'll collect $1,850 for the year.

Better still, healthy and growing dividend payers tend to increase their payouts over time, and MPLX is no exception. Its total annual payout of $4.31 per share currently is up from $2.82 in 2022 and $2.04 in 2016. Its last increase was its 19th consecutive one, bumping its payout by more than 3%.

Image source: Getty Images.

MPLX is part of the Marathon Petroleum universe, and MPLX's stock has been a solid performer, averaging annual gains of 10.9% over the past 10 years, 19.4% over the past five years, and 26.4% over the past year.

$59.13+$0.95 (+1.63%)

NYSE · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

If you're worried about volatile energy prices these days, know that MPLX is more insulated from that than many energy companies because much of its business is merely transporting oil and gas, via relatively long-term contracts. The company's balance sheet is solid, with manageable debt and the ability to cover its dividend obligations.

At recent levels, MPLX's stock seems reasonably valued to slightly overvalued, with a recent forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12, a bit above the five-year average of 11.

Note too that MPLX is a master limited partnership (MLP), so if you own it, you'll need to deal with an extra K-1 form come tax time. If your interest is piqued, give it a closer look.

Selena Maranjian has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

GE Vernova heads into its October 28 earnings report with a $176 billion backlog and freshly raised guidance, yet the stock just shed more than 14% in a month as Wall Street grows uneasy about how AI spending gets financed.…

GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV | GEV Price Prediction) reports third-quarter results before the open on Oct. 28. The stock fell 11.53% last week on fears about how AI spending will be financed. This report needs to show that the record backlog is still turning into revenue and cash.

Record Backlog Meets a Nervous Market Last quarter, revenue of $11.10B rose 21.8% year over year and beat the $10.77B consensus. Orders jumped 88% organically to $24.20B, which lifted backlog to a record $176 billion. That was up $13 billion from the prior quarter. Free cash flow of $5.10B was more than the company generated in all of 2025.

In July, management raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $45.5B-$46.5B. It also lifted the free cash flow target to $11.5B-$12.5B from $6.5B-$7.5B. CEO Scott Strazik expects at least 125 GW of gas equipment under contract by year-end, up from 116 gigawatts at the end of Q2.

Since then, the mood has turned. Shares closed Friday at $814.58, down 14.37% over the past month. Barron’s linked the drop to Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), mentioning AI financing fears triggered by Meta. The stock is still up 24.93% year to date.

Analysts Expect About 20% Revenue Growth Metric Consensus Year-Ago Actual Implied YoY Growth Q3 2026 EPS $4.0219 N/A N/A Q3 2026 Revenue $11.997B $10.00B 20.0% FY2026 EPS $30.4293 N/A N/A FY2026 Revenue $46.32B $38.10B 21.6% Analysts have trimmed the Q3 EPS estimate from $4.3269 90 days ago to $4.0219 now.

Turbine Output, Pricing and Data Center Orders Take Center Stage Gas Power comes first on my watch list. Management said quarterly output rises from about three gigawatts to five gigawatts starting in Q3. It expects Power revenue to grow 17%-19% with margins of about 17%-18%. Equipment orders in the first half were priced more than 20% above Q4 2025 levels.

You should also look at what makes up the backlog. Slot reservations made up 63 gigawatts of the gas pipeline, while firm Gas Power backlog was at 53 gigawatts. How quickly reservations become firm orders shows how durable that demand is.

In Electrification, data center orders exceeded $5 billion in the first half, more than double the total for all of 2025. The segment’s margin rose 700 basis points to 18.4%, and Prolec GE added nearly $900 million in revenue. Management expects Q3 Electrification revenue of $3.8 billion to $4 billion.

Wind is still a drag. After a $275 million EBITDA loss in Q2, management expects Q3 to come in near break-even. It is counting on firmer onshore service profits and lower offshore costs. Positive free cash flow is also expected in Q3, though first-half cash flow should run well ahead of the second half.

Cash Conversion Will Show Whether the AI Selloff Sticks GE Vernova’s growth story depends on how much power AI data centers will need. The Department of Energy projects data centers will use up to 12% of U.S. electrical demand by 2028. The recent selloff raises the question of how hyperscalers will pay for that expansion (GE Vernova is one of seven power, cooling, and networking suppliers we profiled in a free report on the AI infrastructure buildout). A larger backlog, firm turbine pricing and cash flow on pace with July’s raised targets would show that customers are sticking with their commitments.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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The argument could be made that IonQ (IONQ +0.35%) is the most valuable quantum computing stock in the world right now, given that it is worth about $12.5 billion. The argument could also be made that there are at least a few other start-ups out there that could soon be worth even more.

For instance, I think a satellite imaging company and a nuclear start-up that has never sold a kilowatt of power will both be worth more than IonQ's current valuation in 2031. Not because IonQ is a bad company, but because that market cap is a much lower bar than most investors realize, and these two have clearer paths to topping it.

$31.27+$0.11 (+0.35%)

NYSE · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

IonQ has done real things. It bought the chipmaker SkyWater Technology for about $1.08 billion in July to own its own manufacturing; it has $3 billion in cash; and it has partnerships with several major cloud providers. 

Image source: Getty Images.

But IonQ's stock has lost half its value in a year, trailing revenue is about $246 million against a net loss north of $1.4 billion, and the business still depends on quantum computers becoming commercially useful on a timeline nobody can promise. A company like that can be worth $12.5 billion or $40 billion in 2031 depending on physics. The two companies below do not need physics to cooperate. They need to keep doing what they are already doing.

1. Planet Labs PBC: IonQ bought a satellite company. This is a real one. I thought this was a fun pick because it's somewhat of a coincidence: IonQ's own business description now includes a satellite data platform, because it bought its way into radar imaging. Planet Labs (PL +2.52%) has been doing the real version of that for a decade. It operates more than 100 satellites that photograph every point on Earth's landmass every day and sells that imagery as a subscription to governments and companies.

The business has quietly changed shape this year. Revenue in the quarter ended July 31 grew 58%, the net loss shrank to under $10 million, and backlog reached $815 million, which is more than two years of revenue already under contract. Net dollar retention was 109%, meaning existing customers are spending more, not less. Planet Labs also secured major expansions of defense and intelligence contracts in 2026, and it has begun building satellites for specific customers rather than only renting out its own fleet.

A company with $5 billion of market value, 58% growth, a path to profitability, and the only daily map of the planet needs to grow about 2.5x in five years to pass IonQ. At its current pace, that is a question of whether the stock keeps up with the business, not whether the business gets there.

PL Planet Labs PBC$13.41+$0.33 (+2.52%)

NYSE · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

2. Oklo: The first reactor changes everything Oklo (OKLO -2.44%) is the riskier pick and the more interesting one. It designs small fast-fission reactors it calls Aurora powerhouses, and its stock has collapsed over 75% in a year as investors grow impatient among repeated stock sales (including another $1 billion offering this month). What the sell-off ignores is the calendar. Site work is underway at Oklo's first plant at Idaho National Laboratory, with a planned start-up in 2028. In January, Oklo signed a prepayment agreement with Meta Platforms (META -0.96%) for a 1.2-gigawatt campus in Pike County, Ohio, with the first phase targeted to come online as early as 2030.

By 2031, then, Oklo could be an operating utility selling power to one of the largest companies on earth under long-term contracts, with a pipeline behind it. Companies that own power plants with 20-year customers are valued very differently from companies with slide decks. A $5 billion start-up becoming a $13 billion operator with a Meta contract is not a stretch; it is roughly what happens when a reactor turns on.

OKLO Oklo$26.35-$0.66 (-2.44%)

NYSE · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

That being said, IonQ could win this race anyway. If quantum computing hits a commercial inflection, a $12.5 billion starting point will look cheap. Planet Labs depends heavily on government budgets and carries about $450 million in debt it did not have a year ago, and Oklo could slip its 2028 date or keep diluting shareholders until the math stops working.

Google Cloud's backlog just crossed $500 billion while free cash flow turned negative for the first time ever, and Wednesday's earnings report will reveal whether Alphabet's historic spending spree is pulling ahead of its own ability to pay for it.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL | GOOGL Price Prediction, NASDAQ:GOOG) reports third-quarter results after the close on Wednesday, October 28. Google Cloud’s backlog stands at $514 billion, and 2026 CapEx guidance runs $195 billion to $205 billion. This report shows which one is growing faster.

Record Cloud Growth Meets Negative Free Cash Flow
Last quarter, revenue rose 24.2% to $119.80 billion, ahead of the $116.91 billion consensus. Google Cloud led again. Revenue there rose 82% to $24.77 billion, speeding up from 63% in Q1 and 34% a year ago, while Cloud operating margin expanded to 35.6% from 20.7%.

Costs grew just as fast. CapEx rose 100% to $44.92 billion, free cash flow came in at negative $5.86 billion — the first time ever — and management raised its 2026 CapEx range from $180 billion to $190 billion. To pay for it, Alphabet raised about $70 billion in equity and debt and suspended buybacks.

Reported EPS of $9.11 included a $99.03 billion equity securities gain, yet shares fell 6.89% on the day of the report. GOOG closed Friday at $317.28, down 5.83% over the past week.

Consensus Calls for Nearly 25% Revenue Growth

Metric
Consensus
Prior-Year Actual
YoY Growth

Q3 2026 Normalized EPS
$3.0047
$2.87
4.69%

Q3 2026 Revenue
$127.85B
$102.35B
24.92%

FY2026 EPS
$20.595
$10.81
90.52%

FY2026 Revenue
$500.15B
$402.84B
24.15%

The full-year EPS figure includes the first half’s equity gains, which makes the quarterly estimate the cleaner gauge of operating profit.

Backlog Conversion and Margins Will Set the Tone
My first focus will be the backlog. It rose by more than $50 billion sequentially last quarter, and management expects to recognize just over 50% of it within 24 months. Sundar Pichai said in July, “We are still in a supply-constrained environment.”

Margins come next. Alphabet planned to lean on third-party capacity in Q3 as a bridge, which management said would create “modest margin pressure,” on top of Wiz integration costs and rising depreciation. You should compare Cloud margin against 35.6% and consolidated operating margin against 34%.

On spending, any change to the 2026 range matters, as does early color on 2027, when management expects CapEx to “increase significantly.” TPU system sales add another variable. That revenue ramps as Alphabet leaves 2026, with the “vast majority” arriving in 2027.

All that CapEx has to be powered, cooled, and connected by somebody, which is the entire point of a free report we put together on seven AI infrastructure suppliers that aren’t the chipmakers: you can grab it here.

Search still has to fund the expansion. Revenue there grew 17% to $63.3 billion, and AI Mode passed 1 billion monthly users. A court has already rejected a forced breakup of Google’s ad-tech business, so any detail on the remaining behavioral remedies could also move opinion.

A $514 Billion Backlog Has to Turn Into Cash
Alphabet beat estimates in all 8 of its last reports. Even so, the stock’s moves on report day ranged from a 9.97% gain to a 6.89% drop, and the market now cares most about how efficiently that capital gets spent. If the backlog turns into revenue fast enough to steady free cash flow while CapEx keeps rising, the spending case gets easier to defend heading into a greater 2027.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Microsoft just guided quarterly capital spending above $50 billion while promising flat operating margins, and Azure has to grow 45% to make those numbers add up. Wednesday's earnings will show whether the math actually works.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) reports fiscal first-quarter results on Wednesday, October 28, after the close. Management guided quarterly capital spending above $50 billion, so this report will show whether Azure growth can keep pace with the AI bill.

Record Azure Quarter Raised the Stakes
Microsoft closed fiscal 2026 strongly. Fourth-quarter revenue reached $90.01 billion, up 17.8%, ahead of the $87.63 billion consensus. EPS of $4.74 exceeded the $4.2397 estimate, helped by a $3.2 billion gain on its Anthropic stake.

Azure grew 43% and crossed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time. Commercial remaining performance obligations (RPO) jumped 84% to $678 billion.

Costs rose just as fast. Quarterly capex hit $41 billion, with about two-thirds going to short-lived CPUs and GPUs, and free cash flow fell 23.19% to $19.6 billion. Shares have gained 9.14% year to date and 4.78% over the past month.

Wall Street Expects Double-Digit Growth Across the Board
The revenue consensus sits inside management’s guided range of $89.85 billion to $90.95 billion.

Metric
Consensus
Prior Year
YoY Growth

Q1 FY2027 EPS
$4.7184
$4.13
14.2%

Q1 FY2027 Revenue
$90.71 billion
$77.67 billion
16.8%

FY2027 EPS
$19.7784
$17.28
14.5%

FY2027 Revenue
$391.35 billion
$331.84 billion
17.9%

Azure’s 45% Target Meets a $50 Billion Bill
Azure is the first number I’ll check. Management guided growth of about 45% in constant currency, and Amy Hood said on the July call that “demand continues to exceed available supply.” Microsoft added another gigawatt of capacity last quarter, so watch how quickly that capacity turns into revenue.

Spending is the other side of the equation. First-quarter capex is guided above $50 billion including lease reclassification, compared with $19.39 billion a year ago. Management still expects operating margins to stay relatively flat year over year, even with cost of revenue guided up 23% to 24%.

All that capex has to be powered and cooled by somebody, which is why the picks-and-shovels names behind the data-center expansion keep showing up in our free AI infrastructure report, available here.

I’m also watching three other items:

Copilot monetization: Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats, and net seat additions more than doubled sequentially. Pricing is changing toward a seat-plus-consumption model.
OpenAI exposure: RPO rose 25% excluding OpenAI, and all sequential RPO growth came from customers outside frontier model companies. Questions about OpenAI’s finances and IPO timing keep this in focus.
New reporting structure: Microsoft is combining into “Agents and Infra” and “Devices and Consumer” units. That should make its enterprise AI revenue easier to see.

Spending Needs a Visible Payoff This Quarter
Microsoft has beaten EPS estimates six straight quarters, so another beat is largely expected. The bigger question is whether 45% Azure growth and a $678 billion backlog can justify more than $50 billion of quarterly capex. Management has promised to stay free-cash-flow positive in fiscal 2027, with full-year operating margins declining by less than 1 point. If Microsoft hits those marks while Azure speeds up, the spending story becomes much easier to defend.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Amazon (AMZN -0.95%) recently launched a new software tool that will allow its custom Trainium AI chips to run code written in the most popular AI coding language without modification. It's a move aimed at boosting the potential for Amazon's custom application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to take market share away from Nvidia's (NVDA -0.59%) widely used graphics processing units as demand for AI chips continues to swell.

Amazon isn't the only tech giant working on its own AI chips for commercial use. Alphabet recently began making its custom AI chips available for sale directly to enterprises, rather than limiting them to being leased through Google Cloud. However, investors shouldn't expect these developments to have a meaningful effect on Nvidia's financial results.

Image source: Getty Images.

Amazon has a relatively small chip business Amazon's AI chip business wrapped up the second quarter with a $25 billion annual revenue run rate. That's not small, but it pales in comparison to the $96.2 billion in revenue Nvidia booked in its fiscal 2027 second quarter alone, or the more than $300 billion it booked over the past four quarters.

AMZN Amazon$248.00-$2.38 (-0.95%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26

While Amazon's push to commercialize its custom chips could boost sales, the largest tech companies are still rushing to buy Nvidia chips. That's how Nvidia managed to produce 106% year-over-year revenue growth in its most recent quarter, and CEO Jensen Huang says that AI demand is still accelerating.

If anything, Amazon's AI chips can become niche hardware in the industry. Since the AI build-out has been so expansive, it may provide enough room for high, sustained revenue growth rates. If Amazon's chip business can generate net profit margins similar to Nvidia's, that should be enough to boost Amazon's stock price.

Amazon is still buying Nvidia chips Another point supporting the view that Amazon's AI chips won't significantly impact Nvidia's business is that Amazon is still buying Nvidia chips. In fact, it has built up a stockpile of billions of dollars' worth of them that it doesn't yet have the data center infrastructure and connected electricity supply to power up.

Nvidia's processors have become the most reliable option for providing high-end compute in an industry that values speed and will pay a premium for flawless execution. Even as Amazon touts the value of its own chips for the narrower workloads they are designed to handle, for flexible compute power, the tech leader still turns to Nvidia.

Notably, those stockpiled supplies of chips and data center servers highlight that electrical supplies will remain a major bottleneck for AI infrastructure expansion. Still, hyperscalers aren't waiting for that problem to be resolved completely, and continue to accelerate their capital expenditures.

Nvidia's guidance implies that its business is still growing at a substantial rate despite the intensifying competition. Its fiscal 2027 third-quarter guidance calls for $108 billion in revenue at the midpoint, which would amount to 12.3% sequential growth. That guidance supports Huang's claim that AI demand is accelerating.

While more rivals are likely to enter the expanding AI chip market, Nvidia remains the clear leader in data center chips. 

Royal Caribbean heads into its Oct. 27 earnings call with shares up 20% in a month but carrying billions in looming debt payments, a flat-yield quarter, and a $3 billion resort acquisition that raises urgent questions about how the company…

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL | RCL Price Prediction) reports third-quarter results on Oct. 27. Shares rose 20.05% over the past month but sit 10.98% below year-ago levels. This report tests whether cruise demand can outrun fuel costs, debt and a flat-yield quarter.

Record Pricing Meets a Flat-Yield Quarter
Last quarter, adjusted EPS of $4.21 beat the $3.98 consensus and extended a six-quarter beat run. Revenue rose 6.5% to $4.83 billion, and net yields finished 100 basis points above guidance on stronger close-in demand. Management said it can now often raise prices on late bookings instead of discounting.

Margins told a softer story. Adjusted EBITDA margin slipped to 37.9% from 40.8% a year earlier. For Q3, management guided adjusted EPS of $6.26 to $6.36 on 8.5% capacity growth with about flat net yields, citing a 200 basis point deployment and dry-dock drag that should switch to a Q4 boost.

Since then, Royal Caribbean agreed to pay $3 billion for a 50% stake in Sandals Resorts, a deal expected to close in early 2027.

Consensus Calls for Double-Digit EPS Growth

Metric
Consensus
Year-Ago Actual
Implied YoY Growth

Q3 2026 EPS
$6.3755
$5.75
10.9%

Q3 2026 Revenue
$5.61B
$5.14B
9.2%

FY 2026 EPS
$17.8318
$15.64
14.0%

FY 2026 Revenue
$19.58B
$17.935B
9.2%

Fuel, Yields, and Debt Will Drive the Reaction
Fuel comes first. WTI crude hit $107.89 on Oct. 20, up 13.1% in a week. Management guided $1.3 billion in full-year fuel expense, with remaining 2026 consumption 58% hedged below market rates. We will see if that figure holds.

Yields come next. Flat yields on higher capacity mean growth is coming from more beds. Europe makes up 28% of Q3 capacity, and Middle East conflict weighed on Mediterranean cruises this summer. Watch for proof that onboard spending and close-in pricing offset that drag.

Then the balance sheet. Liquidity stood at $6.9 billion with leverage below 3x, but debt due dates rise to $2.7 billion in 2027 and $3.4 billion in 2028, alongside about $4.7 billion of 2026 capex and the Sandals payment. Following a recent $1.25 billion refinancing, I want clear commentary on interest costs and how the company funds Sandals.

Finally, 2027 bookings were “pacing ahead of historical levels” at higher prices. Any early yield framework could move the stock more than the Q3 numbers.

A Fair Multiple Still Requires a Clean Q4 Handoff
At $276.51, the stock trades at about 16 times 2026 consensus EPS and 14 times 2027 estimates. Beating estimates hasn’t guaranteed gains. After a Q3 2025 beat, shares fell 8.53% on the day. If management confirms that Q4 yields reaccelerate and fuel stays contained, the debt load becomes manageable background noise.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

American Express beat earnings expectations and lifted its profit forecast, then disclosed plans to eliminate thousands of jobs on the same call. What spooked investors had less to do with the cuts themselves and more to do with what the…

On October 23, 2026, American Express (NYSE:AXP | AXP Price Prediction) raised its full-year profit forecast. On the earnings call that same morning, it said it would cut about 5% of its global workforce.

Full-year 2026 GAAP earnings per share guidance rose to $18.30 to $18.60, from a prior range of $17.30 to $17.90. The cuts come to roughly 3,500 jobs out of about 78,000 workers worldwide.

Investors weighted the cuts and slower spending growth more than the higher forecast. Shares fell 3.68%, or $11.95, to $313.22. That leaves the stock down 14.39% for the year, with a market cap of $211.52 billion.

What AmEx Put in Writing and What It Held Back
The signed and disclosed part is a $336 million pretax restructuring charge, or $0.37 per share. AmEx did not say which units or countries will lose jobs, or when the cuts will be finished. It also did not say how much the cuts will save or whether those savings are already in its plans for next year. At year-end 2025, about 50,900 of its employees worked outside the U.S. and about 25,900 worked inside it.

A nonrecurring item drives much of the GAAP raise: a $982 million pretax gain on selling AmEx’s stake in Global Business Travel Group (NYSE:GBTG), worth $1.11 a share. The adjusted range of $17.60 to $17.90 moved only at the low end.

Chief executive Stephen Squeri said, “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.” Chief financial officer Christophe Le Caillec said the goal is to make the company “leaner, more agile, and also to prepare for AI” by removing layers of management before more work is automated.

How Much the Cuts Matter to Earnings
Third-quarter revenue net of interest expense was a record $20.06 billion, up 9%. Adjusted EPS rose 13% to $4.68. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expected $4.48 and $20.12 billion, so AmEx beat earnings expectations but missed revenue expectations.

Billed business, the total spent on AmEx cards, rose 8% to $454.0 billion, down from a 9% rate in the first half, while marketing expense grew 11%. Provisions for credit losses fell to $1.0 billion from $1.3 billion because AmEx released some of its loan-loss reserves, a boost it cannot count on every quarter.

Why the Market Sold an Earnings Beat
Barclays (NYSE:BCS) announced about 5,000 job cuts on October 22 and pointed to productivity gains from AI. Large lenders are increasingly cutting staff ahead of automation, so AmEx’s cuts fit a wider pattern.

Visa (NYSE:V) slipped 1.55%, and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) slipped 1.52%. Both are still up for the year, Visa by 17% and Mastercard by 9.93%. They earn fees on spending without lending funds, while AmEx both issues the cards and runs the network, so if spending slows, it loses fee income and faces higher credit losses at the same time.

What the Results Mean for AXP Shares Into Year-End
Credit remains healthy, with the net write-off rate declining to 1.8% from 1.9%. Squeri said AmEx is “on track to deliver another year of 10 percent revenue growth.”

The shares trade well below the $372.47 average price target in the TipRanks analyst consensus before the report. The $3.80 annual dividend, a 1.21% yield, provides some income while the job cuts take effect.

Check billed business growth in the fourth-quarter report. If it falls below 8%, or the shares close under the 52-week low of $290.97, the outlook for the shares would weaken.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Newmont's Q3 earnings report did little to alleviate growing fears of cost pressures in 2027. Falling gold prices, rising costs, and record-low trading volume signal a potential period of elevated volatility going forward. At the same time, NEM is priced at levels that do not suggest any material change to the business going forward.

On its third-quarter 2026 earnings call, held on Oct. 21, 2026, SAP (SAP -1.02%) announced that quarterly revenue surpassed 10 billion euros for the first time in the company's history. The enterprise software provider is converting existing clients to higher-margin recurring cloud subscriptions by embedding artificial intelligence directly into core business operations.

Three takeaways from management explain how this strategy is driving long-term value.

1. Artificial Intelligence Is Accelerating the Transition to Cloud ContractsManagement reported a 26% increase in current cloud backlog, representing unfulfilled contract obligations expected within 12 months, to 24.1 billion euros. Customers migrating through the RISE with SAP program, an enterprise resource planning software modernization package, are adopting artificial intelligence features at high rates to improve operational efficiency.

In Q3, AI was the main driver behind our customers' move to the cloud. There are 3 key reasons. First, AI accelerates the RISE with SAP cloud migration. Second, AI makes the business case for our suite more attractive. And finally, our customers embrace our Business AI platform with RISE with SAP.
-- Christian Klein, CEO2. Services Revenue Is Being Sacrificed to Drive High-Margin Cloud AdoptionServices revenue fell 5% year over year as the company intentionally shifted consulting resources away from billable hourly work toward software adoption support. Management expects artificial intelligence automation to disrupt traditional hourly consulting models, favoring scalable, higher-margin software subscriptions instead.

We want to leverage services more intentionally to promote the adoption of our AI solutions and build critical mass. This strategy has served SAP well to date. And as we are seeing positive return on investment, we will continue to double down on delivering even stronger adoption support to our cloud and AI customers, which will likely put more downward pressure on billable hours and services revenue also next year.
-- Dominik Asam, CFO3. Data Privacy Commitments Provide a Structural Competitive AdvantageThe company protects proprietary customer data by processing information locally through its Business Data Cloud platform rather than feeding public artificial intelligence models. This strict data isolation policy encourages risk-averse enterprise clients to integrate automated AI agents across critical business functions.

And one key principle is very important. At SAP, the customer's data remains the customer's data. We never upload customer data or process IP into large language models. Not for training, not for model improvement, not for any purpose.
-- Christian Klein, CEOLooking AheadCloud expansion is driving operational momentum, converting top-line growth into bottom-line profits.

The second half is off to a strong start, and we remain committed to investing in growth by preserving our bottom line in lockstep with the operational framework we have put in place for balancing expense versus revenue growth.
-- Dominik Asam, CFODeep software integration and proprietary data structures create high switching costs, while management prioritizes execution discipline entering the final quarter.

While we have been able to maintain steady momentum year to date, we will put our full focus on the decisive fourth quarter bookings required to maintain our growth acceleration against, now, even more challenging comparables in 2027.
-- Dominik Asam, CFOThe Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Four high-yield giants are heading into year-end with payouts their own profits can cover, but each one carries a specific risk that could change the math fast.

Four of the market’s biggest income payers are heading into year-end with yields their businesses can actually support. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ | VZ Price Prediction) yields 6.18%, and it sits alongside Realty Income (NYSE:O), Altria Group (NYSE:MO) and PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) in a basket where profits or cash flow exceed the dividend every time. Here is what supports each payout, and the one risk to watch with each.

Verizon Communications: An Ultra-High Yield Funded by Record Cash Flow Dividend safety: Verizon earned $3.84 per diluted share over the trailing twelve months, against an annual dividend of $2.795 per share. That gives it the highest yield on this list at 6.18%, putting it in ultra-high-yield territory with earnings left over after the payout. Cash flow tells the same story. First-half free cash flow reached $10.2 billion, while dividends over the same period cost $5.9 billion. In July, management raised its full-year FCF growth outlook to 9%-10%.

Debt metrics are moving improving as well. Verizon paid off substantially all of Frontier’s debt 6 months ahead of schedule, and net unsecured debt to adjusted EBITDA stood at 2.5x, with management on track to reach its target leverage range in the 2027 time frame. Verizon’s dividend record shows a raise every year since 2007, most recently to a quarterly $0.7075. As CEO Dan Schulman put it on the July call: “We are growing our dividend, and we are paying down our debt.”

Bull case: The wireless turnaround has started. Verizon added 184,000 postpaid phones in the second quarter, the adjusted EBITDA margin rose to a record 40.1%, and broadband subscribers now total over 17.1 million. A dark fiber deal with Google worth over $1 billion opens an AI infrastructure revenue stream, and the buyback target was raised to up to $4.5 billion. Shares closed at $44.63, up 17.12% year to date, after slipping 1.26% Friday as telecom stocks sold off on news of Elon Musk pushing into the industry (Barron’s).

Risk: Reported profit is moving backward. Verizon’s quarterly earnings fell 22% from a year ago, a reminder that Frontier deal costs and promotional spending still weigh on GAAP results even as adjusted EPS of $1.30 beat estimates.

Realty Income: Monthly Checks Backed by Rising AFFO Dividend safety: Realty Income is a real estate investment trust, so earnings per share understate its cash generation because of heavy depreciation charges. The right metric is AFFO, a REIT’s measure of recurring cash available for distribution. Management raised 2026 AFFO guidance to $4.44-$4.45 per share, compared with an annualized forward dividend of $3.258. That shock lets the company keep raising payouts while still funding growth.

The stock yields 5.84%, and Realty Income pays monthly. Its latest declared payment is $0.2715 per share, with an ex-dividend date of October 30 and payment on November 13. To collect that November check, you must own the shares before the ex-dividend date. Anyone buying on October 30 or later collects the following monthly payment instead. (If a 30-day paycheck appeals, we rounded up six more names that pay on the same schedule in a free report on monthly dividend stocks.)

Realty Income has declared 673 consecutive monthly dividends and belongs to the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index with over 31 consecutive years of increases. Occupancy is at 98.8%, credit ratings are A3/A-/A from Moody’s, S&P and Fitch, and pro forma liquidity tops $5.7 billion.

Bull case: Realty Income is diversifying away from pure retail. Industrial made up about 65% of global real estate investments in the second quarter, deals closed at a 7.3% initial cash yield, and full-year investment guidance rose to $10 billion. A $6 billion hyperscale data center joint venture adds AI-era exposure. CEO Sumit Roy called it “a once-in-a-generation demand for a particular asset type with attractive clients and locations.”

Risk: Interest rates set the ceiling. Management said that if the 10-year Treasury stays in the 4.6% to potentially 5% range, acquisition cap rates will have to adjust, which contracts the spread Realty Income earns on new deals. That pressure shows in the stock, which is down 0.34% over the past year at $56.89.

Altria: A Fresh Dividend Hike Covered by Tobacco’s Pricing Power Dividend safety: Altria earned $4.89 per diluted share over the trailing twelve months, against an annual dividend of $4.24. Full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $5.61 to $5.72 adds more buffer. In August, the board raised the quarterly payout to $1.11 from $1.06, for an annualized forward rate of $4.44. Altria’s dividend record shows a raise every year from 2017 through 2026. The stock yields 5.74%.

Cash flow carries the load. Altria paid about $3.6 billion in dividends in the first half, and CFO Heather Newman said, “Historically, after we have the dividend, we have about $1 billion excess in cash.” Its finances are unusual: shareholders’ equity was negative at -$2.6B in the second quarter, a product of years of aggressive capital returns. Management says it is “really well positioned to manage those debt maturities in ’26 and ’27.”

Bull case: Pricing power keeps profits rising even as volumes shrink. Smokeable price realization reached 4.5%, Marlboro’s retail price rose about 7%, and smokeable adjusted margins expanded to 64.8%. On the smoke-free side, on! expanded to 120,000 stores and its retail share climbed to 8.6% behind on! PLUS. Investors have noticed: shares are up 35.13% year to date at $74.33.

Risk: Earnings momentum is fading. Quarterly earnings slipped 2.7% from a year ago, and second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.48 came in below the $1.50 estimate, missing expectations. With adjusted cigarette industry volumes down an estimated 5%, price hikes have to keep doing the heavy lifting.

PepsiCo: A Dividend Growth Machine Trading Below Its 200-Day Average Dividend safety: PepsiCo earned $7.95 per diluted share over the trailing twelve months, against an annual dividend of $5.80. The company plans to return $8.9B to shareholders this year, including $7.9B in dividends, while targeting free cash flow conversion of at least 80%. Interest coverage of 10.26x and net debt to EBITDA of 2.60x leave plenty of room. Its dividend record shows a raise every year since 1999, most recently to a quarterly $1.48 from $1.4225. The stock yields 4.31%.

Bull case: International is now a real growth engine. Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.34 beat the $2.30 estimate, revenue rose 5.6% to $25.27B, and international organic revenue grew 8%. International accounted for 45% of profit year to date, and CEO Ramon Laguarta called that momentum “much more structural.” North American snacks shifted to low-single-digit positive volume growth, and structural cost cuts should start helping “as we turn the calendar year.”

Risk, and the opportunity: Shares trade at $135.77, below the 200-day moving average of $146.18 though just above the 50-day at $134.21. The stock is down 6.76% over the past year because PepsiCo lowered core EPS growth guidance to 2.5%-3.5% on rising input costs. CFO Steve Schmitt was blunt: “It’s the margin piece that’s driving the guide down in EPS.” That gap shows how far sentiment has fallen below the longer-term trend. At roughly 22 times earnings, the stock prices in a dividend raiser with annual increases since 1999 while margin worries keep the price down.

A Core Income Basket Built on Coverage Together, these four give income investors telecom cash flow, monthly real estate rent, tobacco pricing power and global snack and beverage demand, with yields running from 4.31% to 6.18%. Each pays out less than it earns, or in Realty Income’s case less than its AFFO, and each has years of dividend increases behind it. That combination of coverage and track record supports each yield heading into November.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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Nearly 80% of Patients Were Alive at One Year Versus 53% with IMFINZI Alone and Progression-Free Survival More Than Tripled

Late-Breaking Phase 3 DeLLphi-305 Results Presented in ESMO Presidential Symposium and Simultaneously Published in The New England Journal of Medicine

Longer DeLLphi-303 Follow-Up Data Showed Median Overall Survival Exceeded 37 Months in First-Line Maintenance with IMDELLTRA and Either IMFINZI or TECENTRIQ® 

, /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced landmark interim Phase 3 results showing that IMDELLTRA® (tarlatamab-dlle) in combination with AstraZeneca's IMFINZI® (durvalumab) reduced the risk of death by 58% as a first-line maintenance treatment for extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.32, 0.54; P < 0.001) at a median follow-up of approximately 16 months. The DeLLphi-305 study found that IMDELLTRA in combination with durvalumab extended median overall survival (OS) by more than eight months to 21.1 months compared with 12.7 months with durvalumab alone for patients with ES-SCLC who had not progressed following initial treatment with durvalumab, platinum-based chemotherapy and etoposide. The clinical implications of these findings are substantial and suggest that earlier use of IMDELLTRA could markedly alter the trajectory of a disease previously considered extremely difficult to control. The data are being presented during a Presidential Symposium (abstract LBA3) at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2026 and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.1

"These results represent an unprecedented advance for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, demonstrating a magnitude of survival benefit rarely seen in this aggressive disease," said Jay Bradner, M.D., executive vice president, Research and Development, Artificial Intelligence and Data at Amgen. "Extending median overall survival beyond 21 months while reducing the risk of death by 58% reinforces the potential to revolutionize the standard of survival and redefine expectations for patients by introducing IMDELLTRA earlier in the course of treatment. These findings underscore our ambition to fundamentally change the trajectory of small cell lung cancer, and we are moving with urgency to share these results with regulatory authorities worldwide."

"For a disease where durable survival has remained extremely difficult to achieve, the magnitude and consistency of benefit in DeLLphi-305 are striking," said Jacob Sands, M.D., Associate Chief of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "Importantly, the benefit was seen across clinically relevant groups, including patients with brain metastases. Today's remarkable results demonstrate substantial progress in our work to achieve meaningfully longer disease control and survival for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, further highlighting the importance of effective treatment at the earliest possible opportunity."

The DeLLphi-305 study showed:

At one year, nearly 80% of patients treated with IMDELLTRA in combination with durvalumab remained alive compared to 53% with durvalumab alone (95% CI: 74.2, 83.7 vs. 47.3, 59.0).
At a median follow-up of 13.9 months, IMDELLTRA in combination with durvalumab reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 66% compared to durvalumab alone (HR: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.42; P < 0.001), with a median progression-free survival of 7.4 months versus 1.9 months.
IMDELLTRA in combination with durvalumab demonstrated substantial anti-tumor activity, with more than six times as many patients achieving an objective response (26.4%; 95% CI: 20.9, 32.5) compared with durvalumab alone (4.1%; 95% CI: 2.0, 7.4) (P < 0.001).
Overall and progression-free survival benefits were observed across prespecified subgroups, including patients with brain or liver metastases, populations historically associated with poorer outcomes.
Overall, the safety profile of IMDELLTRA in combination with durvalumab was consistent with the known safety profiles of the individual medicines.

In DeLLphi-305, Grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 20.9% of patients treated with IMDELLTRA in combination with durvalumab and 10.8% of patients treated with durvalumab alone. The most common Grade 3 or greater TRAEs with IMDELLTRA in combination with durvalumab were decrease in neutrophil count (3.2%), decreased appetite (2.1%), neutropenia (2.1%), asthenia (1.8%) and weight loss (1.8%). The study design included monitoring in a healthcare setting for 1 to 2 hours (6 to 8 hours in certain regions including Europe) following IMDELLTRA infusion on Cycle 1 Day 1 and Cycle 1 Day 8. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was reported in 49.6% of patients who received IMDELLTRA and was predominantly Grade 1 (41.8%) or Grade 2 (7.4%) with only one Grade 3 event (0.4%) and no Grade 4 or greater events. Immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) occurred in 1.1% of patients treated with IMDELLTRA, and there were no Grade 3 or higher ICANS events.

Growing IMDELLTRA Evidence Across the SCLC Treatment Continuum
Additional data presented at ESMO reinforce sustained outcomes with IMDELLTRA across multiple lines of ES-SCLC treatment.

Sustained Survival in First-Line Maintenance: Updated OS data with a median follow-up of 30.8 months in the Phase 1b DeLLphi-303 trial (abstract 3821P) showed median OS was 37.9 months from the start of first-line maintenance therapy with IMDELLTRA plus standard-of-care anti-PD-L1 therapy (95% CI: 22.5-NE). At two years, 58.1% of patients remained alive. The safety profile remained consistent with the known profile of IMDELLTRA, with no new safety signals observed.

Durable Benefit in Previously Treated ES-SCLC: Updated data from the Phase 3 DeLLphi-304 trial (abstract 3808O) demonstrated that the survival benefit with IMDELLTRA was sustained with 23 months of follow-up. Patients receiving IMDELLTRA lived approximately five months longer than those receiving chemotherapy (13.6 versus 8.4 months), with a 38% reduction in the risk of death (HR 0.62; 95% CI, 0.51–0.76). No new safety signals were observed during extended follow-up.

"For too long, patients with small cell lung cancer have had too few treatment advances and too little time," said Andrea Ferris, MBA, President and CEO of LUNGevity Foundation. "For the patients we serve, today's results represent not only the potential to substantially improve outcomes for patients before they progress on first-line treatment, but also a tangible source of hope – hope for more life milestones, more moments of joy, and, ultimately, more time."

Amgen will host a virtual event with the investment community on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 8:30 p.m. CEST / 2:30 p.m. EDT / 11:30 a.m. PDT in conjunction with the ESMO Congress 2026. The call will be accessible via investors.amgen.com and will discuss Amgen's oncology portfolio and selected data being presented at ESMO 2026.

About the Phase 3 DeLLphi-305 Study
The DeLLphi-305 trial is sponsored by Amgen, with partial funding and durvalumab provided by AstraZeneca. It is a global Phase 3, randomized, open-label clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of IMDELLTRA in combination with durvalumab compared to durvalumab alone as first-line maintenance treatment for patients with ES-SCLC who had not progressed following treatment with durvalumab, platinum-based chemotherapy and etoposide. Five hundred and sixty-three patients who completed initial treatment with durvalumab, platinum-based chemotherapy and etoposide were randomized 1:1 to receive either IMDELLTRA in combination with durvalumab or durvalumab alone until progression or unacceptable toxicity. Following IMDELLTRA infusion on Cycle 1 Day 1 and Cycle 1 Day 8, patients were monitored in a healthcare setting for 1 to 2 hours (6 to 8 hours in certain regions including Europe). The trial included patients with both treated and untreated asymptomatic brain metastases at baseline. The primary outcome measure of the trial is OS. Secondary endpoints include progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR).2

About Tarlatamab Clinical Trials 
Tarlatamab is being investigated in multiple studies including DeLLphi-303, a Phase 1b study investigating tarlatamab in combination with standard-of-care (SOC) therapies in first-line ES-SCLC; DeLLphi-304, a randomized Phase 3 study comparing tarlatamab monotherapy with SOC chemotherapy in second-line treatment of SCLC; DeLLphi-305, a randomized Phase 3 study comparing tarlatamab in combination with durvalumab vs. durvalumab alone as first-line maintenance treatment in ES-SCLC; DeLLphi-306, a randomized placebo-controlled Phase 3 study of tarlatamab following concurrent chemoradiotherapy in limited-stage SCLC; DeLLphi-308, a Phase 1b study evaluating subcutaneous tarlatamab in second-line or later ES-SCLC; DeLLphi-309, a Phase 2 study evaluating alternative intravenous dosing regimens with tarlatamab in second-line ES-SCLC; DeLLphi-310, a Phase 1b study of tarlatamab in combination with YL201 with or without durvalumab in patients with ES-SCLC; DeLLphi-311, a Phase 1b study of tarlatamab in combination with etakafusp alfa (AB248), a novel CD8+ T-cell selective interleukin-2 (IL-2), in patients with ES-SCLC; DeLLphi-312, a randomized Phase 3 study evaluating tarlatamab in combination with durvalumab, carboplatin and etoposide as an induction and maintenance therapy in first-line treatment of ES-SCLC; DeLLphi-313, a Phase 1b study of tarlatamab in combination with zocilurtatug pelitecan, a DLL3 targeting antibody drug conjugate, with and without durvalumab in patients with ES-SCLC, and DeLLphi-315, a Phase 3 study of subcutaneous tarlatamab in patients with second-line ES-SCLC.3

For more information, please visit www.tarlatamabclinicaltrials.com. 

About Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)
SCLC is one of the most aggressive and devastating forms of solid tumor cancers. Each year, SCLC accounts for approximately 13-15% of the more than 2.6 million cases of lung cancer diagnosed worldwide.4-6 Despite advances in the treatment of ES-SCLC, outcomes remain poor, with a median survival of approximately one year from the start of first-line maintenance treatment and only about 40% of patients receiving second-line therapy.7-10

About IMDELLTRA® (tarlatamab-dlle)
IMDELLTRA is a first-in-class targeted immunotherapy engineered by Amgen researchers to bind to both DLL3 on tumor cells and CD3 on T cells, thereby activating T cells to kill DLL3-expressing SCLC cells. This results in the formation of a cytolytic synapse with lysis of the cancer cell.11,12 DLL3 is a protein that is expressed on the surface of SCLC cells in ~85-96% of patients with SCLC, but is minimally expressed on healthy cells, making it an exciting target.13,14

U.S. INDICATION
IMDELLTRA® (tarlatamab-dlle) is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.

IMDELLTRA IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: CYTOKINE RELEASE SYNDROME and NEUROLOGIC TOXICITY including IMMUNE EFFECTOR CELL-ASSOCIATED NEUROTOXICITY SYNDROME

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS), including life-threatening or fatal reactions, can occur in patients receiving IMDELLTRA®. Initiate IMDELLTRA® using the step-up dosing schedule to reduce the incidence and severity of CRS. Withhold IMDELLTRA® until CRS resolves or permanently discontinue based on severity.
Neurologic toxicity and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), including life-threatening or fatal reactions, can occur in patients receiving IMDELLTRA®. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of neurologic toxicity, including ICANS, during treatment and treat promptly. Withhold IMDELLTRA® until ICANS resolves or permanently discontinue based on severity.

WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS): IMDELLTRA® can cause CRS including life-threatening or fatal reactions. In the pooled safety population, CRS occurred in 57% (268/473) of patients who received IMDELLTRA®, including 39% Grade 1, 15% Grade 2, 1.7% Grade 3 and 0.2% Grade 4. Recurrent CRS occurred in 24% of IMDELLTRA®-treated patients including 20% Grade 1 and 3.4% Grade 2; one patient experienced recurrent Grade 3. Among the 268 patients who experienced CRS, 73% had CRS after the first dose, 60% had CRS after the second dose, and 15% had CRS following the third or later dose. Following the Cycle 1 Day 1, Day 8, Day 15 infusions, 24%, 8%, and 1% of patients experienced Grade ≥ 2 CRS, respectively. From Cycle 2 onwards, 1.5% of patients experienced Grade ≥ 2 CRS. Of the patients who experienced CRS, 31% received steroids and 10% required tocilizumab. The median time to onset of all grade CRS from most recent dose of IMDELLTRA® was 16 hours (range: start of infusion to 15 days). The median time to onset of Grade ≥ 2 CRS from most recent dose of IMDELLTRA® was 15 hours (range: start of infusion to 15 days).

Clinical signs and symptoms of CRS included pyrexia, hypotension, fatigue, tachycardia, headache, hypoxia, nausea, and vomiting. Potentially life-threatening complications of CRS may include cardiac dysfunction, acute respiratory distress syndrome, neurologic toxicity, renal and/or hepatic failure, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).

Administer IMDELLTRA® following the recommended step-up dosing and administer concomitant medications before and after Cycle 1 Day 1 and Cycle 1 Day 8 IMDELLTRA® infusions as described in Table 3 of the Prescribing Information (PI) to reduce the risk of CRS. Administer IMDELLTRA® in an appropriate healthcare facility equipped to monitor and manage CRS. Ensure patients are well hydrated prior to administration of IMDELLTRA®.

 Closely monitor patients for signs and symptoms of CRS during and after treatment with IMDELLTRA®. At the first sign of CRS during treatment, immediately discontinue IMDELLTRA® infusion. If CRS occurs during or after treatment, evaluate the patient for hospitalization and manage based on severity. Withhold or permanently discontinue IMDELLTRA® based on severity. Counsel patients and caregivers to seek immediate medical attention should signs or symptoms of CRS occur after discharge.

Neurologic Toxicity, Including ICANS: IMDELLTRA® can cause life-threatening or fatal neurologic toxicity, including ICANS. In the pooled safety population, neurologic toxicity occurred in 65% of patients who received IMDELLTRA®, with Grade 3 or higher events in 7% of patients including fatal events in 0.2%. The most frequent neurologic toxicities were dysgeusia (34%), headache (17%), peripheral neuropathy (9%), dizziness (9%), and insomnia (8%). The incidence of signs and symptoms consistent with ICANS was 10% in IMDELLTRA®-treated patients including events with the preferred terms: ICANS (4.7%), muscular weakness (3.2%), cognitive disorder (0.6%), aphasia (0.6%), depressed level of consciousness (0.4%), seizures (0.4%), encephalopathy (0.4%), and leukoencephalopathy (0.2%). There was one fatal reaction of ICANS. Recurrent ICANS occurred in 1.5% of patients. Of the patients who experienced ICANS, most experienced the event following Cycle 1 Day 1 (2.5%) and Cycle 1 Day 8 (3.6%). Following Day 1, Day 8, and Day 15 infusions, 1.3%, 1.3% and 0.4% of patients experienced Grade ≥ 2 ICANS, respectively. ICANS can occur several weeks following administration of IMDELLTRA®. The median time to onset of ICANS from the first dose of IMDELLTRA® was 16 days (range: 1 to 862 days). The median time to resolution of ICANS was 4 days (range: 1 to 40 days). The onset of ICANS can be concurrent with CRS, following resolution of CRS, or in the absence of CRS. Clinical signs and symptoms of ICANS may include but are not limited to confusional state, depressed level of consciousness, disorientation, somnolence, lethargy, and bradyphrenia.

 Patients receiving IMDELLTRA® are at risk of neurologic adverse reactions and ICANS resulting in depressed level of consciousness. Advise patients to refrain from driving and engaging in hazardous occupations or activities, such as operating heavy or potentially dangerous machinery, until neurologic symptoms resolve.

 Closely monitor patients for signs and symptoms of neurologic toxicity and ICANS during treatment with IMDELLTRA®. At the first sign of ICANS, immediately discontinue the infusion, evaluate the patient and provide supportive therapy based on severity. Withhold IMDELLTRA® or permanently discontinue based on severity.

Cytopenias: IMDELLTRA® can cause cytopenias including neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia. In the pooled safety population, based on laboratory data, decreased neutrophils occurred in 16% of patients, including 9% Grade 3 or 4. The median time to onset for Grade 3 or 4 decreased neutrophil count was 41 days (range: 2 to 306 days). Decreased platelets occurred in 30% including 2.2% Grade 3 or 4. The median time to onset for Grade 3 or 4 decreased platelets was 67 days (range: 3 to 420 days). Decreased hemoglobin occurred in 56% of patients, including 4.7% Grade 3 or 4. Febrile neutropenia was reported as an adverse event in 1.5% of patients treated with IMDELLTRA®.

 Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of cytopenias. Perform complete blood counts prior to treatment with all doses of IMDELLTRA®, up through Cycle 5 Day 15 and then prior to administration on Day 1 of each cycle starting with Cycle 6. Based on the severity of cytopenias, temporarily withhold, or permanently discontinue IMDELLTRA®.

Infections: IMDELLTRA® can cause serious infections, including life-threatening and fatal infections. In the pooled safety population, infections, including opportunistic infections, occurred in 43% of patients who received IMDELLTRA®, including 14% Grade 3 or 4. The most frequent infections were pneumonia (11%), urinary tract infection (9%), COVID-19 (6%), upper respiratory tract infection (4.7%), respiratory tract infection (4%), candida infection (2.1%), oral candidiasis (2.1%), and nasopharyngitis (2.1%).

 Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of infection prior to and during treatment with IMDELLTRA® and treat as clinically indicated. Withhold or permanently discontinue IMDELLTRA® based on severity.

Hepatotoxicity: IMDELLTRA® can cause hepatotoxicity. In the pooled safety population, based on laboratory data, elevated ALT occurred in 39% of patients who received IMDELLTRA®, including 2.5% with Grade 3 or 4 ALT. Elevated AST occurred in 43% of patients, including 3.2% Grade 3 or 4. Elevated bilirubin also occurred in 16% of patients, including 1.3% Grade 3 or 4. Liver enzyme elevation can occur with or without concurrent CRS. Monitor liver enzymes and bilirubin prior to treatment with IMDELLTRA®, and as clinically indicated. Withhold IMDELLTRA® or permanently discontinue based on severity.

Hypersensitivity: IMDELLTRA® can cause severe hypersensitivity reactions. Clinical signs and symptoms of hypersensitivity may include, but are not limited to, rash and bronchospasm. Monitor patients for signs and symptoms of hypersensitivity during treatment with IMDELLTRA® and manage as clinically indicated. Withhold or consider permanent discontinuation of IMDELLTRA® based on severity.
 
Embryo-Fetal Toxicity: Based on its mechanism of action, IMDELLTRA® may cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Advise patients of the potential risk to a fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with IMDELLTRA® and for 2 months after the last dose.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

The pooled safety population reflects exposure to intravenous IMDELLTRA®, as a single agent, at the recommended dosage of IMDELLTRA® 1 mg on Cycle 1 Day 1 followed by 10 mg on Days 8 and 15, and then every 2 weeks until disease progression or intolerable toxicity in 473 patients with small cell lung cancer enrolled in three clinical trials: DeLLphi-300, DeLLphi-301 and DeLLphi-304. Among 473 patients who received IMDELLTRA®, 40% were exposed for 6 months or longer and 19% were exposed for greater than one year.
The most common (≥ 20%) adverse reactions were CRS (57%), fatigue (48%), decreased appetite (38%), dysgeusia (34%), pyrexia (33%), constipation (31%), musculoskeletal pain (31%), and nausea (25%).
The most common (≥ 5%) Grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities were decreased lymphocytes (43%), decreased sodium (12%), decreased total neutrophils (9%), and increased uric acid (6%).

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION: Important Dosing Information

Administer IMDELLTRA® as an intravenous infusion over 1 hour.
Administer IMDELLTRA® according to the step-up dose in the IMDELLTRA® PI (Table 1) to reduce the incidence and severity of CRS.
Evaluate complete blood count, liver enzymes and bilirubin prior to administration of all doses of IMDELLTRA® up through Cycle 5 Day 15 and then prior to administration of IMDELLTRA® on Day 1 of each cycle starting with Cycle 6. More frequent evaluation may be necessary if clinically indicated.
For Cycle 1, administer recommended concomitant medications before and after Cycle 1 Day 1 and Cycle 1 Day 8 IMDELLTRA® infusions to reduce the risk of CRS reactions as described in the PI (Table 3).
IMDELLTRA® should only be administered by a qualified healthcare professional with appropriate medical support to manage severe reactions such as CRS and neurologic toxicity including ICANS.
Due to the risk of CRS and neurologic toxicity, including ICANS, monitor patients from the start of the IMDELLTRA® infusion for 6 to 8 hours following Cycle 1 Day 1 and Cycle 1 Day 8 in an appropriate healthcare setting.
Perform patient assessment including vital signs check on Cycle 1 Days 2 and 9.
Recommend that patients remain within 1 hour of an appropriate healthcare setting for a total of 48 hours from the start of the infusion with IMDELLTRA® following Cycle 1 Day 1 and Cycle 1 Day 8 doses, accompanied by a caregiver.
Inform both the patient and the caregiver on the signs and symptoms of CRS and ICANS prior to discharge.
Ensure patients are well hydrated prior to administration of IMDELLTRA®.

Please see IMDELLTRA® full Prescribing Information, including BOXED WARNINGS.

About Amgen 
Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative medicines to fight some of the world's toughest diseases. Harnessing the best of biology and technology, Amgen reaches millions of patients with its medicines.

More than 45 years ago, Amgen helped establish the biotechnology industry at its U.S. headquarters in Thousand Oaks, California, and it remains at the cutting edge of innovation, using technology and human genetic data to push beyond what is known today. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline and portfolio of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, inflammatory conditions, rare diseases and obesity and obesity-related conditions.

Amgen has been consistently recognized for innovation and workplace culture, including honors from Fast Company and Forbes. Amgen is one of the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average®, and it is also part of the Nasdaq-100 Index®, which includes the largest and most innovative non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization.

For more information, visit Amgen.com and follow Amgen on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Threads.

Amgen Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current expectations and beliefs of Amgen. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any statements on the outcome, benefits and synergies of collaborations, or potential collaborations, with any other company (including BeOne Medicines Ltd.), the performance of Otezla® (apremilast), our acquisitions of ChemoCentryx, Inc., Dark Blue Therapeutics, Ltd. or Horizon Therapeutics plc (including the prospective performance and outlook of Horizon's business, performance and opportunities, and any potential strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities expected as a result of such acquisition), as well as estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial metrics, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or clinical results or practices, customer and prescriber patterns or practices, reimbursement activities and outcomes, effects of pandemics or other widespread health problems on our business, outcomes, progress, and other such estimates and results. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed below and more fully described in the Securities and Exchange Commission reports filed by Amgen, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Unless otherwise noted, Amgen is providing this information as of the date of this news release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those we project. Discovery or identification of new product candidates or development of new indications for existing products cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any particular product candidate or development of a new indication for an existing product will be successful and become a commercial product. Further, preclinical results do not guarantee safe and effective performance of product candidates in humans. The complexity of the human body cannot be perfectly, or sometimes, even adequately modeled by computer or cell culture systems or animal models. The length of time that it takes for us to complete clinical trials and obtain regulatory approval for product marketing has in the past varied and we expect similar variability in the future. Even when clinical trials are successful, regulatory authorities may question the sufficiency for approval of the trial endpoints we have selected. We develop product candidates internally and through licensing collaborations, partnerships and joint ventures. Product candidates that are derived from relationships may be subject to disputes between the parties or may prove to be not as effective or as safe as we may have believed at the time of entering into such relationship. Also, we or others could identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our products, including our devices, after they are on the market.

Our results may be affected by our ability to successfully market both new and existing products domestically and internationally, clinical and regulatory developments involving current and future products, sales growth of recently launched products, competition from other products including biosimilars, difficulties or delays in manufacturing our products and global economic conditions, including those resulting from geopolitical relations and government actions. In addition, sales of our products are affected by pricing pressure, political and public scrutiny and reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers, including governments, private insurance plans and managed care providers and may be affected by regulatory, clinical and guideline developments and domestic and international trends toward managed care and healthcare cost containment. Furthermore, our research, testing, pricing, marketing and other operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and foreign government regulatory authorities. Our business may be impacted by government investigations, litigation and product liability claims. In addition, our business may be impacted by the adoption of new tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities. Further, while we routinely obtain patents for our products and technology, the protection offered by our patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by our competitors, or we may fail to prevail in present and future intellectual property litigation. We perform a substantial amount of our commercial manufacturing activities at a few key facilities, including in Puerto Rico, and also depend on third parties for a portion of our manufacturing activities, and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of our current products and product candidate development. An outbreak of disease or similar public health threat, and the public and governmental effort to mitigate against the spread of such disease, could have a significant adverse effect on the supply of materials for our manufacturing activities, the distribution of our products, the commercialization of our product candidates, and our clinical trial operations, and any such events may have a material adverse effect on our product development, product sales, business and results of operations. We rely on collaborations with third parties for the development of some of our product candidates and for the commercialization and sales of some of our commercial products. In addition, we compete with other companies with respect to many of our marketed products as well as for the discovery and development of new products. Further, some raw materials, medical devices and component parts for our products are supplied by sole third-party suppliers. Certain of our distributors, customers and payers have substantial purchasing leverage in their dealings with us. The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of our products that implicate an entire class of products could have a material adverse effect on sales of the affected products and on our business and results of operations. Our efforts to collaborate with or acquire other companies, products or technology, and to integrate the operations of companies or to support the products or technology we have acquired, may not be successful, and may result in unanticipated costs, delays or failures to realize the benefits of the transactions. A breakdown, cyberattack or information security breach of our information technology systems could compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems and our data. Our stock price is volatile and may be affected by a number of events. Our business and operations may be negatively affected by the failure, or perceived failure, of achieving our sustainability objectives. The effects of global climate change and related natural disasters could negatively affect our business and operations. Global economic conditions may magnify certain risks that affect our business. Our business performance could affect or limit the ability of our Board of Directors to declare a dividend or our ability to pay a dividend or repurchase our common stock. We may not be able to access the capital and credit markets on terms that are favorable to us, or at all.

The scientific information discussed in this news release related to our product candidates is preliminary and investigative. Such product candidates are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and no conclusions can or should be drawn regarding the safety or effectiveness of the product candidates. Further, any scientific information discussed in this news release relating to new indications for our products is preliminary and investigative and is not part of the labeling approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the products. The products are not approved for the investigational use(s) discussed in this news release, and no conclusions can or should be drawn regarding the safety or effectiveness of the products for these uses.

CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand Oaks
Brianna Wilkins, 513-284-9807 (media)
Elissa Adair, 609-251-1407 (media)
Casey Capparelli, 805-447-1746 (investors) 

REFERENCES

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ClinicalTrials.gov. DeLLphi-305 clinical trial listing. Accessed July 16, 2026. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06211036.
ClinicalTrials.gov. Tarlatamab clinical trial listings. US National Library of Medicine. Accessed September 2026. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov.
Oronsky B, Abrouk N, Caroen S, et al. A 2022 update on extensive stage small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). J Cancer. 2022;13(9):2945-2953. doi:10.7150/jca.75622.
International Agency for Research on Cancer. Trachea, bronchus and lung fact sheet. Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Today. Published 2024. Accessed September 2, 2026. https://gco.iarc.who.int/today/en/fact-sheets-cancers/15/trachea-bronchus-and-lung.
Sabari JK, Lok BH, Laird JH, et al. Unravelling the biology of SCLC: implications for therapy. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2017;14(9):549-561. doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2017.71.
Cramer-van der Welle CM, Schramel FMNH, van Leeuwen AS, Groen HJM, van de Garde EMW; Santeon SCLC Study Group. Real-world treatment patterns and outcomes of patients with extensive disease small cell lung cancer. Eur J Cancer Care (Engl). 2020;29(5):e13250. doi:10.1111/ecc.13250.
Shaw J, Pundole X, Balasubramanian A, et al. Recent treatment patterns and real-world survival following first-line anti-PD-L1 treatment for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. Oncologist. 2024;29(12):1079-1089. doi:10.1093/oncolo/oyae234.
Paz-Ares L, Borghaei H, Liu SV, et al. Efficacy and safety of first-line maintenance therapy with lurbinectedin plus atezolizumab in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (IMforte): a randomised, multicentre, open-label, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2025;405(10495):2129-2143. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01011-6.
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Giffin MJ, Cooke K, Lobenhofer EK, et al. AMG 757, a half-life extended, DLL3-targeted bispecific T-cell engager, shows high potency and sensitivity in preclinical models of small-cell lung cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2021;27(5):1526-1537. doi:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-2845.
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SOURCE Amgen

Income seekers and growth investors often choose between biotech pioneers and diversified pharmaceutical giants. Comparing Amgen (AMGN -1.79%) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -1.42%) reveals two distinct paths for healthcare investing in 2026.

Amgen leverages its expertise in biological medicines to target complex diseases while expanding into rare treatments. Johnson & Johnson provides a broader foundation by combining massive drug development with its leading medical technology division. Both companies aim to provide long-term value, but their risk profiles and financial structures differ significantly.

The case for AmgenAmgen develops and delivers biological medicines for serious illnesses, focusing on inflammation, oncology, and rare diseases. In its latest annual report, filed for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2025, the company noted that it distributes products primarily through pharmaceutical wholesale distributors. McKesson Corp. (MCK -1.14%), Cencora (COR -2.21%), and Cardinal Health (CAH -2.37%) collectively accounted for 77% of gross revenues in 2025. Customer concentration like this adds a layer of risk to the business.

In FY 2025, revenue reached about $36.7 billion, representing a growth rate of approximately 10% compared to the prior year. Net income for the period was around $7.7 billion, yielding a net margin of roughly 21%. This growth reflects a significant improvement over the prior year, where net income was closer to $4.1 billion.

As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio was nearly 6.3x, showing total debt is over six times the value of shareholder equity. The current ratio, which measures the ability to cover short-term liabilities with short-term assets, was approximately 1.1x. Free cash flow for the year was roughly $8.1 billion, providing the capital necessary to fund research and development.

The case for Johnson & JohnsonJohnson & Johnson operates through two primary segments: Innovative Medicine and MedTech. This structure makes it a heavyweight among healthcare stocks because it captures both drug discovery and surgical hardware sales. The company maintains a massive global presence, distributing products to hospitals, wholesalers, and healthcare professionals in virtually every country.

In FY 2025, revenue for the company climbed to roughly $94.2 billion, which was a 6% increase over the previous fiscal year. Net income was approximately $26.8 billion, resulting in a net margin of 28.5%. These figures show the company remains highly profitable while steadily growing its massive top-line sales.

As of its December 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio was approximately 0.6x, indicating a conservative use of debt relative to equity. Its current ratio was nearly 1.0x, showing the company has enough short-term assets to meet its immediate obligations. Free cash flow was very strong at roughly $19.7 billion for the fiscal year.

Risk profile comparisonAmgen faces risks from intense scrutiny on drug prices, including mandatory price setting for Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act. The company also deals with manufacturing concentration, as its production is heavily dependent on facilities in Puerto Rico and California. Furthermore, it faces an ongoing tax dispute with the IRS regarding profit allocations that could result in a significant financial liability.

Johnson & Johnson deals with significant pricing and reimbursement headwinds from global healthcare reforms. The company also faces extensive legal proceedings, including product liability claims related to talc-based products and patent challenges. It must also compete for market share against other pharmaceutical leaders like Pfizer Inc. (PFE -1.28%) and AbbVie Inc. (ABBV +0.16%) while managing a complex global supply chain.

Valuation comparisonAmgen appears to be the more affordable option based on future earnings, though Johnson & Johnson carries significantly less debt relative to its equity base.

MetricAmgenJohnson & JohnsonForward P/E19.4x24.1xP/S ratio6.3x6.5xValuation metrics include those sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from those of other data providers.

Which stock would I buy in 2026?Amgen is not a fast-growing company by sales, as reflected in its ratios in the table above. Given its scale, it should be able to achieve a roughly 3% revenue increase in 2026, to around $37.8 billion. But size forgives a lot in pharmaceuticals. For one, its billions in net income could enable Amgen to pursue future growth by acquiring other drugmakers. The business also has six drug franchises that generate $1 billion-plus in annual revenue. There is real value there.

Late last year, Amgen became one of nine companies to reach a deal with the U.S. government to lower drug prices (Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY -2.41%), Merck & Co. (MRK -1.34%), and Gilead Sciences (GILD -0.73%) are also among the companies that signed a deal). Based on this agreement, Amgen will be exempt from Trump's pharmaceutical tariffs for three years, a positive, in exchange for the company reducing prices on its key migraine drug Aimovig and rheumatoid arthritis medicine Amjevita by about 60% and 80%, respectively, in a direct-to-consumer platform launched this month.

Johnson & Johnson, meanwhile, is an overlooked behemoth compared with faster-growing biotech companies. The business has 28 products and platforms that generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Its pharmaceuticals arm, Innovative Medicine, has received two FDA approvals this year and has two more approved drug product launches in the E.U. and the U.S. The Innovative Medicine division accounts for 65% of JNJ's annual revenue and appears to have a robust pipeline beyond the pending products. MedTech, its other arm, sells a wide range of healthcare products, including wound care, surgical instruments and implants, hip and knee replacements, and spinal implants. The recent buy of Atraverse Medical bolsters that business. Revenue for Johnson & Johnson is expected to rise to $101 billion in the current fiscal year.

These are both pharma stalwarts and could make a nice addition to a portfolio. The key differentiator right now is the cheapness of the stock. under the philosophy of buying good stocks at good prices. That gives the nod to Amgen, which has a lower forward P/E and P/S than J&J.

Booking maintains a dominant position in the global travel market with high net margins and strong cash flow generation. Home Depot continues to leverage its massive scale and professional contractor services to navigate a volatile housing market.

Franklin Templeton just moved a massive tokenized fund position onto the XRP Ledger, yet XRP barely flinched. The reason why reveals something uncomfortable about what blockchain adoption actually does for a coin's price.

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Franklin Templeton (NYSE: BEN | BEN Price Prediction) recently allocated $150 million in shares of its tokenized money market fund to the XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) Ledger, with ledger records showing all new shares stored in a single wallet. A money market fund is a low-risk investment that holds short-term debt and offers a yield, while “tokenized” means that each fund share exists as a digital token on a blockchain.

The token in question is called sgBENJI, and this latest addition raises Franklin’s tokenized fund assets on the XRP Ledger to around $200 million. These details come from on-chain data and media reports, as Franklin has not yet formally announced the deposit.

Despite this large deposit, XRP’s price did not surge. It trades at $1.28, down 2.7% over the past 24 hours, 16.2% over the last month, and 30.1% year to date. So far, Franklin’s deposit has not noticeably impacted XRP’s price.

Each sgBENJI Token Is a Share of Franklin’s Money Market Fund

Each sgBENJI token is equivalent to a share of Franklin’s Singapore-domiciled OnChain U.S. Dollar Short-Term Money Market Fund. The fund invests in short-term dollar debt, including government securities, commercial paper, and bank deposits, and returns through share price appreciation rather than issuing new tokens.

This XRP Ledger version stems from a collaboration Ripple, DBS, and Franklin announced in September 2025. Under this arrangement, the DBS Digital Exchange agreed to list sgBENJI alongside Ripple USD (CRYPTO: RLUSD), Ripple’s dollar-pegged stablecoin. This setup lets accredited and institutional clients exchange the stablecoin for fund shares 24/7, enabling them to earn yields as crypto prices fluctuate.

Additionally, DBS plans to explore allowing clients to use sgBENJI as collateral for loans, including repurchase agreements (repos). In a repo, the borrower provides an asset as collateral and agrees to buy it back later at a slightly higher price, with the bank holding the pledged tokens for the lender.

Franklin generates income from sgBENJI in the same way it does with any fund, through a management fee on the assets. The token facilitates distribution while the fund earns, and Franklin retains control of its XRP Ledger holdings. It can approve, freeze, or recover the fund’s assets, although the shares are hosted on a public blockchain.

Why Franklin Keeps Every sgBENJI Share in One Wallet

Ledger records indicate that the receiving wallet utilizes the same authorized signers as Franklin’s issuing account. However, it is unclear whether this wallet represents a single investor or multiple clients, as Franklin has not disclosed the number of holders.

Storing all shares in one wallet is a common practice for tokenized funds at this stage. Typically, the issuer or its transfer agent — the company responsible for maintaining official records of share ownership — mints shares into a wallet under its control. The shares remain there until investors request subscription or delivery to their personal wallets, meaning one wallet can hold shares for multiple investors.

This arrangement creates two separate figures: the on-chain balance shows the fund’s total value staged on the XRP Ledger, but it does not reveal the number of actual shareholders or how many shares have reached end investors. Regulatory scrutiny is also a factor, as the SEC has highlighted tokenization as an area of heightened examination for 2027, which may explain an issuer’s choice to keep shares in a tightly controlled wallet.

Franklin’s Fund Shares Create Little Direct Demand for XRP

Franklin’s fund shares do not create significant direct demand for XRP. In the competitive XRP Ledger landscape, RWA.xyz ranks Franklin as the second-largest tokenized asset platform, behind Ripple USD and ahead of Ondo. Ripple’s 2025 release noted that Franklin has now included the XRP Ledger in its existing roster of blockchains, indicating competition with other networks for the same fund shares.

Moreover, XRP does not play a role in facilitating sgBENJI trades. The DBS framework pairs the fund directly with Ripple USD, allowing investors to buy and redeem shares using dollars or dollar tokens. This approach relegates XRP to network fuel.

The cost associated with using XRP is minimal. Each XRP Ledger account requires a small XRP reserve, and each transaction burns a fraction of XRP. Transferring millions of dollars in fund shares incurs about the same cost as moving just one dollar, which means that sgBENJI creates little direct demand for XRP.

Nevertheless, Ripple’s corporate profile continues to grow. Notable attendees at Ripple’s upcoming Swell 2026 conference in New York, scheduled for October 27 to 29, include BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and the IMF. While big names may boost Ripple’s appeal, they don’t obligate anyone to hold XRP.

Does Franklin Templeton’s XRP Ledger Deposit Help XRP’s Price?
For now, it appears that all shares remain in one wallet since an account controlled by Franklin’s authorized signers holds the entire supply. This deposit benefits both companies: Franklin expands its fee-generating fund assets while providing a functional product through the XRP Ledger. However, XRP gains little directly, since the fees and reserves are too small to move its price.

XRP’s 2.7% slide on the day of the report suggests traders saw the deposit as Franklin news, not XRP news. Shares moving into wallets with different signers could show investor distribution, and a Franklin filing naming XRP for settlement could mean more. If the balance stays in that one wallet through December, the deposit looks more like unsold inventory than investor demand.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.