Analyst forecasts and estimates — revised targets and outlooks — and where the Street sees each stock heading.
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Analyst Forecasts12
AAV in talks with Thai marketing tycoon for stake, revamps ticketing to receive funds directly
Reports have emerged that Asia Aviation Public Company Limited, or AAV, is in talks with a well-known Thai marketing tycoon to take a stake in AAV alongside its major Malaysian shareholder. Sources in the capital markets say that if an agreement is reached, it would sharpen AAV's marketing strategy, because this tycoon has a proven ability to build world-class brands and strong relationships with global artists. Currently, AAV holds 100% of Thai AirAsia Company Limited, or TAA, while AirAsia Aviation Group Limited, or AAAGL, holds approximately 40.71% of AAV. If AAAGL sells part of its stake, the proceeds will not flow directly into AAV, so investors must separate AAV's financial position from that of the Malaysia-based AirAsia group. Dittanop Watthanavekin, a senior analyst at Krungsri Securities Public Company Limited, disclosed that current receivables from related parties at the end of the second quarter of 2026 stood at 14.649 billion baht, mainly ticket receivables from sales through online travel agents, or OTAs, together with the AirAsia Group, accounting for roughly 50% of total ticket sales. The credit term is about 30 days, with ticket receivables totaling 13.907 billion baht, of which approximately 7.322 billion baht is more than two months overdue. The estimated impact on share value is about 0.59 baht per share. Meanwhile, AAV is in the process of adjusting its OTA ticketing system so that ticket sale proceeds are transferred directly to AAV, with clarity expected from the end of 2026 onward. Aircraft maintenance receivables stand at 743 million baht. Analysts at Finansia Syrus Securities Public Company Limited assess that AAV's liquidity risk remains limited, with its net interest-bearing debt-to-equity ratio excluding lease liabilities at 1.06 times in the second quarter of 2026, below the bond covenant limit of no more than 3 times. AAV plans to sell about two aircraft and lease them back, expecting to raise roughly 2 billion baht in cash, and is preparing to issue a new bond worth 1.5 billion baht to replace existing bonds that are maturing. Therefore, there is no need for a capital increase under normal conditions. As for earnings, the third quarter of 2026 is expected to remain in loss due to seasonal factors, while the fourth quarter of 2026 should improve on advance bookings entering the high season. However, if jet fuel prices stay high at around 180 to 190 dollars per barrel, AAV may still not return to profit in the fourth quarter, though the loss is expected to narrow from the previous quarter. The brokerage maintains its Buy recommendation with a fair value of 1.36 baht.
ADVANC benefits from iPhone 18, boosting sales and ARPU; court dismisses 1.2 billion baht case
ADVANC shares gained support from demand for the iPhone 18 that exceeded the supply available in the market, lifting handset sales and average revenue per user, or ARPU. Patipark Nawawat, senior director of fundamental equity analysis at Krungsri Securities, said iPhone 18 sales create a structural benefit on two revenue fronts: higher device sales in both volume and average selling price, and the gradual bundling of new service packages with handset sales, which naturally lifts ARPU. He also assessed that any product shortage would not significantly affect revenue, because it stems from demand exceeding inventory rather than a reduction in allocated stock, meaning delayed deliveries merely shift revenue recognition between months. On fundamentals, net profit is expected to grow 15% in 2026, while the Supreme Administrative Court's dismissal of the case brought by Digital Phone Company, or DPC, a subsidiary of ADVANC, against National Telecom, or NT, over 1.2 billion baht in equipment and telecommunications network fees, helps remove concerns and unlock legal risk. The broker recommends a buy with a target price of 430 baht per share and expects a dividend yield of about 5%. Kasikorn Securities gives a base price of 385.34 baht, while Asia Plus Securities gives the ICT sector an overweight rating and notes that two related cases remain, case numbers 918/2558 and 741/2559, with a combined value of 1.98 billion baht, now under consideration by the Supreme Administrative Court. If both cases are lost, the impact on EPS would be only 0.67 baht per share, and the dividend yield for 2026 to 2027 is expected at 5.0% to 5.1%, with a 2027 target price of 428 baht.
HSBC Downgrades Netflix to Hold, Cuts Price Target 21% to $76
HSBC downgraded Netflix to Hold from Buy and cut its price target 21%, to $76 from $96, sending the streaming giant's shares down more than 1% at Tuesday's open. Analyst Mohammed Khallouf said a near-term recovery in engagement looks unlikely, citing a declining reception for Netflix original content and YouTube's growing share of television viewing. YouTube reached a record 14.2% share of U.S. television viewing in July while Netflix accounted for 7.8%, and viewing hours for English-language programs on Netflix's weekly Top 10 lists fell roughly 17% year over year across July and August. HSBC raised its Netflix content spending estimates for 2027 and 2028 by about 2% while cutting EPS forecasts for those years by roughly 6% to 9%, noting YouTube is expected to distribute about $23 billion to creators in 2026 against roughly $20 billion of cash content spending at Netflix. The new target leaves only about 3% upside from current levels.
Meta Shares Rise as Muse AI Agent Outpaces ChatGPT's Early Launch Curve
Wall Street is repricing Meta Platforms as a potential new revenue engine after its Muse AI agent drew 2.8 million downloads in its first 12 days and outpaced ChatGPT's early curve on a comparable-launch basis, according to Apptopia data. Meta shares rose 1.37% intraday, extending a run that has added more than $200 billion in market value since Muse launched September 8. Muse, which can send emails, book travel, and complete transactions on a user's behalf, is free at the basic tier with subscriptions at $20 and $100 a month. Jefferies estimated that if Muse reaches 1 billion users by the end of 2027 and at least 3% convert to paid tiers, it could generate $10.8 billion in annualized revenue, and raised its price target to $875. JPMorgan called Muse potentially the most widely used consumer AI app since ChatGPT, crediting Meta's distribution reach and a free tier that lowers the trial barrier.
Goldman Sachs Sees S&P 500 Reaching 8,700 as Treasury Yields Fall
Goldman Sachs expects the S&P 500 to climb another 13.7% over the next 12 months, reaching 8,700 from roughly 7,651 currently, as Treasury yields retreat. The bank's path is gradual: 8,000 in three months and 8,300 in six months before the 12-month target. Goldman also expects the 10-year Treasury yield to decline from about 5% to 4.8% in three months, 4.7% in six months and 4.5% over the next year, a roughly 50-basis-point drop that could support equity valuations, especially for long-duration growth stocks. Outside the U.S., the bank sees the STOXX Europe 600 rising 9.4%, Japan's Topix gaining 12.4%, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index climbing more than 27%. Its commodity outlook is divided: gold is projected to rise 18.1% to $5,140 an ounce, while Brent crude is expected to fall to $78 from roughly $104 and copper is forecast to decline modestly.
Cantor Fitzgerald Upgrades Omeros to Overweight on Yartemlea Sales Prospects
Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Omeros Corporation to Overweight from Neutral, citing bigger-than-anticipated sales prospects for its newly approved transplant therapy Yartemlea. Analyst Olivia Brayer Saunders also reinstated her price target of $22 on the biotech, whose shares set a new 52-week high on Tuesday. Omeros received FDA approval for Yartemlea in December for hematopoietic stem cell transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy, a complication of stem cell transplantation. Saunders raised her peak sales estimate for the drug to $400M, assuming 35% - 40% U.S. market share and no market share from Europe, and argued that $28.5M in Yartemlea sales recorded for Q2 was a huge number. Despite more than a 90% rally in Omeros shares over the past six months, she said the stock is pricing in no more than $350M in peak sales for the drug, adding that even after the move, investors are not fully giving Yartemlea credit for what this launch could become.
Acadia Healthcare Shares Jump 100% Year to Date on Raised 2026 Outlook
Acadia Healthcare shares have surged 100% year to date, rebounding from a 2025 slump driven by patient-related litigation costs and legal liability concerns. Early this year the company brought back former CEO Debra Osteen, replacing Chris Hunter, while reaffirming its 2025 guidance. Management raised its 2026 adjusted EBITDA and earnings outlook after both the first- and second-quarter results, and after the second quarter increased its operating cash flow guidance to $350-$400 million from $285-$325 million while lowering expected capital expenditures to $235-$255 million from $255-$280 million. The company added 240 licensed beds in the second quarter of 2026 through two newly opened joint-venture facilities, a 144-bed facility with Orlando Health in Florida and a 96-bed facility with Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Iowa, and also opened two new Comprehensive Treatment Center locations. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings stands at $1.55 per share with four upward revisions and no cuts over the past 60 days, while the 2027 EPS consensus implies 14.4% year-over-year growth and 2026 and 2027 revenue consensus of $3.42 billion and $3.61 billion signals increases of 3.4% and 5.4%, respectively.
McDonald's Faces Pivotal Investor Day After 18% Stock Drop
McDonald's will hold a closely watched investor day in Chicago on Wednesday, its final chance this year to reverse an 18% decline in its stock price. Jefferies analyst Andy Barish wrote that the September 23 event could prove a crucial clearing event if management articulates a credible path to reaccelerating same-store sales in the fourth quarter and 2027, protecting and growing operating margins, and still accelerating unit growth despite the tough macro. The company's recent initiatives, including a McValue menu with 10 items under $3, six new caffeinated drinks launched May 6, and a nationwide August 17 rollout of its Red Bull Dragonberry Energizer, failed to generate the incremental traffic McDonald's was banking on in the second quarter. McDonald's US comparable sales rose just 0.8%, far behind the 8.5% year-over-year gain at Restaurant Brands International-owned Burger King US, which beat analyst expectations. Barish said he expects a relatively quick adjustment to the marketing and menu innovation calendars that drove summer execution issues, noting that some digital promos returned August 10, Spicy Chicken McNuggets came back September 1, and a Spongebob x One Piece promo starts September 15.
Eisman Warns 70% of Hyperscaler AI Revenue Hinges on OpenAI and Anthropic
Steve Eisman, the money manager who shorted subprime and was portrayed by Steve Carell in The Big Short, warned on his September 21 podcast that 70% of hyperscaler AI revenue comes from just OpenAI and Anthropic, amounting to roughly 25% to 35% of the hyperscalers' entire cloud revenue, and said the entire ecosystem depends on two companies, with OpenAI the one he thinks is in trouble. The warning came six days after OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC on September 15 that the company's business is a diversified set of revenue streams with strong margins and a diversified chip supply chain, and a day before CNBC reported investors had approached OpenAI about a new funding round at a valuation as high as $1.5 trillion with no active raise underway. Eisman offered no source for the 70% figure. The concentration concern centers on Microsoft, whose market cap stands at $3.68 trillion and whose restructured OpenAI deal gave it a roughly 27% stake valued around $135 billion in exchange for OpenAI contracting $250 billion in incremental Azure services; if OpenAI cannot generate the cash to consume what it promised to buy, that remaining performance obligation becomes uncollectable. NVIDIA sits at the head of the chain with a market cap of roughly $5.52 trillion, fiscal Q2 revenue of $96.22 billion, up 105.8% year over year, data center revenue of $89.02 billion, and Q3 guidance of $108.0 billion. NVIDIA shares are up 23% year to date and 947.6% over five years, while Microsoft is up just 3.02% in 2026 and down 3.62% over the past year.
NetApp Earns Zacks Rank #1 as Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates
NetApp has been assigned a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) as covering analysts sharply raised their earnings estimates for the data storage company. For the current quarter, the company is expected to earn $2.60 per share, a change of +26.8% from the year-ago reported number, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased 21.61% over the last 30 days, with eight estimates moving higher and no negative revisions. For the full year, the earnings estimate of $10.05 per share represents a change of +23.6% from the year-ago number, and that consensus estimate has risen 13.73% over the past month, again with eight estimates moving higher and none lower. NetApp shares have added 6% over the past four weeks. The Zacks Rank system ranges from a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), and Zacks #1 Ranked stocks have generated an average annual return of +25% since 2008.
Vicor Earnings Estimates Rise, Zacks Rank Climbs to Buy
Analysts have raised their earnings estimates for Vicor, pushing the modular power components maker's consensus outlook higher for both the current quarter and the full year. For the current quarter, the company is expected to earn $0.87 per share, a year-over-year change of +38.1%, with one estimate moving higher over the last 30 days and no negative revisions, lifting the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16%. For the full year, Vicor is expected to earn $3.49 per share, representing a year-over-year change of +33.7%, as one estimate moved up over the past month against no downward revisions, pushing the consensus estimate 6.4% higher. The favorable estimate revisions have earned Vicor a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), and the stock has gained 17.9% over the past four weeks.
Constellation Energy's Fleet Forced Outage Factor Rises to 6.2% in Q2 2026
Constellation Energy's Equivalent Forced Outage Factor rose to 6.2% in the second quarter of 2026 from 4.5% in the first quarter, a combined measure across its natural gas, oil and pumped-storage hydro fleet following the January 2026 acquisition of Calpine. The company said the 6.2% figure covers multiple generation technologies and should not be compared directly with benchmarks for a single plant technology. Constellation also reported a 93% nuclear capacity factor in the second quarter of 2026, excluding Salem and South Texas Project, along with a 96% renewable energy capture rate. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 EPS indicates an increase of 29.82% and 8.76%, respectively, year over year, while Constellation's trailing-12-month ROE is 14.89% against an industry average of 7.15%. In the past three months, the company's shares have plunged 2.7% compared with the industry's 8.8% fall, and CEG currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Dollar Tree Raises Fiscal 2026 Earnings Guidance After Q2 Sales Rise 7%
Dollar Tree raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to $7.70-$8.05 per share, including an estimated 60-cent benefit from tariff refunds, after second-quarter net sales rose 7% year over year to $4.89 billion and comparable-store sales increased 3.7%. Adjusted earnings of $1.39 per share, excluding the $1.31-per-share net tariff-refund benefit, rose 80.5% from 77 cents and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.13. Gross margin expanded 850 basis points to 42.9%, but about 680 basis points came from the net impact of tariff refunds; the company received $383 million in refunds and plans to reinvest about $210 million in pricing, marketing, store operations and store conditions. Third-quarter adjusted earnings guidance of 80-95 cents includes an estimated 50-cent negative impact from those reinvestments, while net sales for the year are still expected at $20.5-$20.7 billion with comparable-store sales growth of 3-4%. DLTR shares have fallen 17.9% in the past four weeks and trade at 14.1X forward 12-month earnings, below the Zacks sub-industry at 27.04X and the Zacks sector at 21.5X.
FG Nexus Upgraded to Zacks Rank #2 Buy on Rising Earnings Estimates
FG Nexus Inc has been upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), placing it in the top 20% of the more than 4,000 stocks covered by the Zacks rating system. The upgrade reflects an upward trend in earnings estimates, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company rising 50% over the past three months. For the fiscal year ending December 2026, FG Nexus is expected to earn -$12.62 per share, unchanged from the year-ago reported figure. The Zacks Rank system classifies stocks into five groups, from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), and its top-rated stocks have generated an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The upgrade positions FG Nexus in the top 20% of Zacks-covered stocks on estimate revisions, implying the stock could move higher in the near term.
Meta's Muse Hits 2.8 Million Downloads in First 12 Days
Meta Platforms is testing whether its new Muse AI product can convert rapid early adoption into a subscription business, with shares gaining about 0.5% to $744.80 Tuesday. Reuters cited Apptopia estimates showing 2.8 million Muse downloads in its first 12 days, an unusually fast user-acquisition start for the social-media and AI giant. Muse currently combines free access with $20 and $100 monthly plans, and Jefferies modeled a longer-term scenario of one billion users, a 3% paid-conversion rate and roughly $10.8 billion in annual revenue, which would mean 30 million paying subscribers generating an average of about $360 each per year, or $30 per month. That math sets a high bar, requiring enough users to choose higher-priced plans while Meta builds merchant participation around autonomous AI transactions. At $744.80, the shares sit about 12.86% below GuruFocus' GF Value estimate of $854.73.
Alibaba Cloud AI Revenue Hits Multi-Year High as Qwen 4 Enters Training
Alibaba Group's external cloud revenue growth reached a multi-year high in the June quarter, with AI-related product revenues sustaining triple-digit year-over-year growth for 12 consecutive quarters and now representing more than a third of external cloud revenues. At its September 2026 Apsara Conference, Alibaba outlined its next-generation Qwen roadmap, confirming that its upcoming Qwen 4 model is already in training, with future Qwen 4.5 and Qwen 5 versions projected to scale toward 5-10 trillion parameters, and introduced a new proprietary AI chip alongside an agentic cloud architecture and a mobile AI agent platform. For its first-quarter fiscal 2027, Alibaba reported sharply higher capital expenditure year over year as it continues drawing down a previously announced three-year AI infrastructure investment plan, with a meaningful portion of that multi-year budget already deployed. Management guided that cloud revenue growth is expected to keep accelerating in coming quarters, with EBITDA margins expanding sequentially, and reiterated a longer-term ambition of a much larger external cloud revenue base with materially higher margins by decade's end, while its Model-as-a-Service annualized revenue run rate is targeted to roughly double by fiscal year-end. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 earnings is pegged at $6.87 per share, implying 76.61% year-over-year growth, even as BABA shares have plunged 18.6% year to date, underperforming the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry's 3.4% growth and the Retail-Wholesale sector's 1.4% decline.
RBC's Calvasina Sees S&P 500 at 8150 in 12 Months After Dip to 7000
RBC Capital Markets' head of U.S. equity strategy, Lori Calvasina, laid out a twelve-month S&P 500 target of 8150 on CNBC's Fast Money, while warning the market likely has to chew through a stretch of "indigestion" that could take the index down toward 7000 first. The 8150 figure is a twelve-month rolling target built from five models ranging from roughly 8043 at the low end to around 8350 at the high end, with 8150 as the median; her least constructive valuation and earnings model takes consensus earnings for the second quarter of 2027 on a trailing four-quarter basis and laps 10% off the top, and even with inputs of 3% CPI, two additional hikes and a 10-year yield of 4.75%, it still points to 8043. Calvasina anchors the pullback expectation in interim equity drawdowns delivered by past Fed hiking cycles, framing a garden-variety correction as the neutral expectation. The growth backdrop shows real GDP growth at 1.5% annualized in the second quarter of 2026, down from 4.4% in the third quarter of 2025, core PCE at 130.658 as of July 2026, and the Fed moving the target rate back up to 4.00% on September 21 from 3.75%. SPY's heaviest holdings are NVIDIA at 7.58%, Apple at 6.66% and Microsoft at 4.91%, and with the 10Y-2Y spread narrowed to 0.20% on September 21 and the VIX at 14.81 on September 18, the entry into any correction could be sharp.
Microchip Shares Up 17.3% YTD as Data-Center Revenue Targets $1 Billion
Microchip Technology shares have risen 17.3% year to date, underperforming the Zacks Computer and Technology sector's 19.8% gain, as the company leans on data-center, aerospace and defense growth to offset supply constraints and elevated debt. Microchip expects total data-center revenues to rise roughly 69% from about $591 million in calendar 2025 to approximately $1 billion in 2026, with 14 PCIe Gen6 design wins as of September, comprising 12 PCIe switch wins and two retimer wins, expected to generate meaningful revenues in calendar 2027. The company estimates the longer-term PCIe and retimer addressable markets at roughly $10 billion and $2 billion, respectively, while industrial revenues rose 24.3% year over year and automotive revenues increased 29.3% year over year in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, and aerospace and defense revenues climbed 45.6% year over year to represent 16.7% of sales. Microchip had $5.36 billion of long-term debt as of June 30, 2026, and about 65% of its wafer fabrication is externally sourced, leaving it exposed to foundry, substrate and test capacity constraints. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 earnings is $3.63 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days and indicating 121.34% growth over fiscal 2026, with fiscal 2027 revenues pegged at $6.41 billion, suggesting 35.91% growth, while second-quarter fiscal 2027 net sales are guided to $1.59 billion to $1.618 billion and non-GAAP earnings to 91-95 cents per share. Microchip currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Fed Rate Hike Lifts Investment Income Outlook for Travelers, Selective and RLI
The Federal Reserve's Sept. 16, 2026 rate hike, which raised the federal funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75-4%, stands to benefit U.S. property and casualty insurers with large fixed-income portfolios and meaningful reinvestment opportunities. The Zacks Property and Casualty Insurance industry sits in the top 29% of the 247 Zacks industries, carrying a Zacks Industry Rank #71. Among the names most sensitive to the move are The Travelers Companies, Selective Insurance Group and RLI Corp, each cited for large fixed-income holdings and the ability to reinvest maturing securities at higher prevailing yields. Travelers had $92.9 billion in fixed-maturity investments as of June 30, 2026, with an average effective duration of five years and about 25% of that portfolio maturing over the next three years; its second-quarter 2026 net investment income rose 14% to $1.07 billion, and it expects after-tax fixed-income net investment income of approximately $840 million in the third quarter and $870 million in the fourth quarter of 2026. Selective Insurance, whose fixed-income portfolio including short-term investments had an effective duration of 4.1 years as of Dec. 31, 2025, raised its 2026 after-tax net investment income guidance to $480 million from $465 million after second-quarter after-tax net investment income rose 18% year over year to $119 million. RLI held about $4.87 billion of investments and cash as of June 30, 2026, with bonds at roughly 80% of its target asset allocation and an average fixed-income duration of 4.7 years. The benefit is expected to build gradually as bonds mature and operating cash is reinvested, and higher yields can also cushion earnings as P&C pricing growth moderates.
Fortinet Hits 52-Week High as AI Security Platform Demand Lifts Q2 Billings 33%
Fortinet shares climbed to a fresh 52-week high of $175.23 on Sept. 21, 2026, before closing at $172.78, up roughly 3% on the session, extending a rally built on accelerating demand for its unified security platform. The company rolled out FortiSOC, a cloud-delivered security operations center embedding agentic AI across SIEM, SOAR, threat intelligence and identity-detection functions, and extended FortiEndpoint with AI visibility, governance and data-loss-prevention capabilities, while deepening its FortiAIGate integration with NVIDIA's accelerated computing stack. In the second quarter of 2026, billings rose 33% year over year to $2.37 billion, revenues grew 26% to $2.05 billion, and product revenues surged 52% to $773 million, with non-GAAP operating margin hitting a second-quarter record of 38% and free cash flow more than tripling to $966 million. Management raised full-year 2026 guidance to $8.02-$8.18 billion for revenues, $9.35-$9.55 billion for billings, and $3.41-$3.47 for non-GAAP EPS, with third-quarter guidance calling for revenues of $2.01-$2.10 billion. Fortinet shares have gained 120.7% year to date, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is $3.42 per share, implying year-over-year growth of 23.91%.
Micron Reclaims $1,000 as SCA Floor Pricing Reshapes Memory Cycle
Micron Technology shares have climbed back above $1,000, trading at $1,043.96, after a pullback briefly pushed the stock below that mark. The company's Strategic Customer Agreement framework now covers 16 agreements representing roughly 20% of DRAM volume and a third of NAND volume, locking in $100 billion in cumulative minimum revenue and take-or-pay commitments with floor pricing that management says supports margins significantly above prior peak margins. Fiscal Q3 revenue reached $41.46 billion, up 345.7% year over year, with gross margin of 84.9% and free cash flow of $18.3 billion, while Q4 guidance calls for $50 billion in revenue and EPS near $31. Micron trades at roughly 7x forward earnings against a mean analyst target of $1,513.11, though bears point to a 542.57% one-year surge, about $27 billion in fiscal 2026 capex, and a beta of 2.222 that amplifies any hyperscaler spending pullback. The bull case hinges on the fiscal Q4 report confirming the $50 billion revenue figure and the calendar 2027 HBM4E ramp, with roughly half of company revenue eventually contracted at floor prices above prior peak margins.
JPMorgan and Qatar Investment Authority Sign $20 Billion Investment Framework
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has announced a strategic partnership with Qatar Investment Authority, signing a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a $20 billion investment framework across public and private markets. The framework comprises a $15 billion public equities mandate, under which JPMorgan Asset Management will manage customized global equity portfolios for QIA, and a $5 billion private markets initiative focused on providing senior financing to established middle-market companies in the United States across industrials, services, healthcare and technology. JPMorgan said the mandates should generate incremental fee-based income as assets are deployed and deepen its relationship with a major sovereign investor. Management also said it expects third-quarter investment banking fees to increase in the mid-to-high teens year over year, citing strong client activity, financing demand and M&A opportunities. Over the past six months, JPM shares have gained 21.4% compared with the industry's 18.7% growth.
Analysts Expect SpaceX AI Revenue to Reach $275 Billion by 2030
Wall Street analysts expect SpaceX's artificial intelligence business to generate $275 billion in annual revenue by 2030, up from an annual run rate of about $10.2 billion after the segment posted $2.6 billion in the quarter ended June 30. That AI figure is a sub-component of the company's overall revenue, which SpaceX aims to lift to a $100 billion annualized run rate by the end of this year; by 2027, analysts forecast AI revenue alone will top $67 billion. For now, the connectivity segment that includes Starlink remains the largest piece of the business at $4.3 billion last quarter, while the space business generated $962 million. SpaceX, which went public a few months ago and carries a valuation of around $2 trillion, remains unprofitable, posting a net loss of $541 million last quarter, an improvement from the $1 billion loss a year earlier. CEO Elon Musk has previously projected the company could generate as much as $1 trillion by 2030, a target that appears unlikely unless AI or the other units grow faster than analysts expect.
Analog Devices Expects Double-Digit Growth Into Fiscal 2027 on Data Center and Industrial Demand
Analog Devices Chief Financial Officer Rich Puccio said the company expects demand strength across its portfolio to support double-digit growth into fiscal 2027, citing a broad industrial recovery alongside continued momentum in data centers, aerospace and defense, and automated test equipment. Speaking with JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur at the firm's 2026 U.S. All Stars Conference in London, Puccio said aerospace and defense, automated test equipment, and data centers account for roughly 30% of the company's business and have been growing at high rates. The aerospace and defense business was nearing a $2 billion annualized revenue run rate as of the fiscal third-quarter exit rate, up from approximately $1 billion a year earlier, while the automated test equipment business was operating at an annualized run rate of about $1 billion and the data center business is running at about $2 billion annually, split roughly equally between power and optical products and growing about 100% year over year. Puccio declined to provide a mid-quarter bookings update or formal guidance for the January quarter but said Analog Devices expects to perform better than its normal seasonal pattern, in which the first fiscal quarter is typically down in the mid-single digits sequentially. He said more than half of the company's industrial subsegments remain double digits below the consumption line, that the company guided for a record gross margin in the fourth quarter, and that its pending acquisition of Alif Semiconductor is not expected to be material to revenue or costs in the near term, with the business more likely to ramp beginning around 2028.
Goldman's Snider Sees Double-Digit S&P 500 Earnings Growth Ahead
Goldman Sachs Chief US Equity Strategist Ben Snider expects S&P 500 companies to report double-digit earnings growth starting next week, saying investors should not be anxious about the pace of earnings. Speaking on Bloomberg Open Interest, Snider said Goldman updated its forecast last week and that double-digit earnings growth should be expected again next year, arguing that a bubble would imply an earnings pop that he does not foresee. He noted that Goldman's positioning indicator is now at its lowest level since March, which he said reflects the anxieties he hears from investors every day. Snider added that cash balances have risen among mutual funds and net leverage has declined for hedge funds, while retail positioning is not depressed but has not seen the magnitude of inflows recorded earlier this year. He also said correlation across the market is extremely low by historical standards, and that the earnings tailwind remains the force driving stocks higher.
HSBC Lifts 2026 Net Interest Income Guidance to at Least $46 Billion
HSBC Holdings is sharpening its growth strategy around businesses where it already has scale and competitive advantages, funding expansion through exits and simplification savings. At the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference, chief financial officer Pam Kaur said all four of HSBC's businesses are growing and generating returns above the minimum targets set earlier this year, with near-term investment priorities including Hong Kong, wealth management, data and AI, U.K. small and midsize enterprises, and wholesale transaction banking. Second-quarter net new money in wealth reached $22 billion, an annualized growth rate of 8%, while trade loans rose 30% year over year to $120 billion and trade revenues increased 13% to $800 million. HSBC has announced 15 business or market exits since the start of 2025, representing roughly $1.1 billion of costs and about $2 billion of revenue, and raised its organizational simplification savings target to $2 billion from $1.5 billion. The bank reiterated its target for revenue growth to rise to 5% year over year by 2028 and for return on tangible equity of at least 17% through 2028, excluding notable items, and lifted 2026 banking net interest income guidance to at least $46 billion.
ABM Raises Earnings Outlook as Infrastructure and Cash Flow Strengthen
ABM Industries raised its adjusted earnings outlook to $3.95-$4.10 per share from the earlier expectation of $3.85-$4.15, lifting the midpoint of its full-year guidance. The company also raised its full-year operating cash flow expectation to about $300 million and free cash flow to about $210 million, up $25 million from the prior free cash flow outlook. Organic revenue growth is still expected toward the high end of 3-4%, with total revenue growth toward the high end of 4-5%, while segment operating margin is projected at 7.7% to 7.8% compared with the prior range of 7.8-8%. Through the first nine months of fiscal 2026, semiconductor revenues reached about $300 million and grew 65% organically, microgrid revenues of roughly $300 million increased 17% and data center revenues of about $175 million rose 8%, aided by the recently acquired WGNSTAR and a roughly $20 million Army Corps of Engineers microgrid project planned for 2027. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, operating cash flow reached $146.8 million and free cash flow totaled $128.4 million, while total debt declined to $1.8 billion and leverage improved to 2.9X from 3.2X in the prior quarter, with $605.8 million of available liquidity including $110.5 million of cash.
Target Lifts Fiscal 2026 Margin Outlook Above 2025 Level
Target Corporation now expects its underlying operating profitability for fiscal 2026 to finish above last year's level, guiding to a full-year operating income margin rate, excluding tariff refunds, around 50 basis points above the 2025 adjusted operating margin rate of 4.6%, an upgrade from its earlier guidance of more than 20 basis points above the year-ago level. Including the approximately 90-basis-point benefit from second-quarter tariff refunds, Target foresees a fiscal 2026 operating margin rate in a range around 6%. The company booked $994 million in pretax tariff refunds during the quarter, which lifted its second-quarter operating margin rate to 9.6% from 5.2% a year earlier; tariff refunds added 3.7 percentage points to that quarterly margin, but even without the benefit the operating margin rate was approximately 70 basis points higher year over year. Gross margin also strengthened, with the second-quarter gross margin rate expanding about 100 basis points from the prior-year rate of 29% excluding tariff refunds, helped by a comparison against last year's elevated markdowns and purchase-order cancellation costs and by continued growth in advertising and other non-merchandise revenues. The improvement came despite expense pressure, as Target's SG&A rate rose about 30 basis points to 21.6% on higher compensation costs and planned spending tied to capital projects.
Uber and Lyft Face Mounting Pressure as Waymo, Tesla, and Zoox Scale AV Fleets
Uber and Lyft are underperforming the market as autonomous vehicle platforms from Waymo, Tesla, and Zoox begin deploying at scale, according to a new Bank of America note. Uber has cut 10% of its workforce and its stock is down 13%, while Lyft's market cap sits at a paltry $5.8 billion with shares off 20%. Bank of America analyst Justin Post wrote that Uber and Lyft expect their AV ramps to begin scaling in 2028, giving new AV platforms 18 to 24 months to build volumes without incumbent AV competition. Post estimated Waymo has around 4,000 vehicles operating in the US, Tesla has 420 driverless vehicles in operation based on Texas registration data, and Zoox had 50 AVs in operation in September 2025, mostly in Las Vegas. He projects the competitive AV fleet could scale from around 4,500 vehicles today and approximately $570 million in bookings in 2026 to approximately 118,000 vehicles and $15.3 billion in bookings in 2029, with a base case of $6 billion in competitive bookings by 2028, or 5% of the market. Lyft CEO David Risher is pushing out a robotaxi fleet in markets like Nashville and building an 80,000-square-foot warehouse to service it, while Post noted Uber is ramping partnerships with Nvidia, Lucid, Rivian, Volkswagen, Zoox, WeRide, and Pony.ai, which have committed 120k AVs to Uber.
Heartland Advisors Adds MSA Safety, Sees Margin Expansion From SCBA Cycle
Heartland Advisors added MSA Safety Incorporated as a new portfolio holding in the second quarter of 2026, according to its Heartland Opportunistic Value Equity Strategy investor letter. The firm expects MSA's profit margin to expand in the coming years, driven by its two highest-margin products: portable gas detectors and firefighter self-contained breathing apparatus. MSA's fundamentals have been choppy in recent years, with 2025 sales rising less than 4% while operating profit margin fell 0.8%, as management was slow to raise prices in a volatile inflationary backdrop. Last year, MSA's Fire Service segment sales were hurt by the timing of Federal Assistance to Firefighters Grants and the government shutdown in the fourth quarter of 2025. MSA Safety closed at $177.25 per share on September 21, 2026, down 5.56% over the past month but up 3.00% over the past year, with a market capitalization of $6.83 billion and a 52-week range of $151.11 to $208.92. The strategy returned 12.32% in the quarter, underperforming the Russell 3000 Value Index's 14.02% gain.
Heartland Flags Texas Instruments as AI Data Center Power Revenue Jumps Over 90%
Heartland Advisors' Opportunistic Value Equity Strategy named Texas Instruments a significant contributor to its second-quarter 2026 performance, citing the chipmaker's entry into the AI infrastructure narrative. In its Q2 2026 investor letter, the firm said Texas Instruments, the world's largest analog semiconductor manufacturer, has seen its data center power management revenues rise more than 90% year over year as its chips handle electrical power regulation and management in data centers. The strategy returned 12.32% in the quarter, trailing the Russell 3000 Value Index's 14.02% gain, with negative security selection in Technology offsetting positive selection in nine of eleven sectors. Heartland noted the stock rose more than 70% through late June and closed at $270.87 per share on September 21, 2026, returning 4.16% over the past month and 48.80% over the past 52 weeks, with a market capitalization of $247.37 billion. The firm said Texas Instruments has passed peak capital expenditures in its multi-year fabrication-capacity buildout, and that higher fab utilization should drive incremental profits and cash flow, though the business now trades between its price target and intrinsic value. According to the article, 111 hedge fund portfolios held Texas Instruments at the end of the second quarter, up from 71 in the previous quarter.
Fed's 25-Basis-Point Rate Hike Seen as Modest Tailwind for JPMorgan Banking Revenue
The Federal Reserve's Sept. 16 rate hike could provide a modest tailwind to JPMorgan's banking revenues, though the overall impact will depend on deposit pricing, loan demand and credit quality. The Fed raised its target range by 25 basis points to 3.75-4.00%, prompting major banks, including JPMorgan, to increase lending rates, a move likely to support yields on JPMorgan's loan book and potentially lift net interest income. JPMorgan entered the second half of 2026 with a healthy balance sheet, reporting second-quarter average loans up 10% year over year and average deposits up 7%, with management guiding to roughly $105.5 billion of full-year net interest income. The upside could be partly offset if competition for deposits forces the bank to pay customers more to retain balances, while higher borrowing costs may temper demand across mortgages, cards and commercial lending and prolonged elevated rates could push credit costs higher. Among peers, Bank of America's asset-sensitive balance sheet was estimated as of June 2026 to gain about $1 billion in net interest income over 12 months from a 100-basis-point parallel rate increase, while Citigroup was estimated to gain about $1.2 billion, though higher deposit costs and potential securities valuation losses could temper the upside for both. JPMorgan shares have gained 9.3% so far this year and trade at a 12-month trailing price-to-tangible book of 3.28X, above the industry average, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate points to a 22.7% year-over-year rise in 2026 earnings and 0.4% growth in 2027, with estimates for the two years moving marginally upward over the past 30 days to $24.95 and $25.04, respectively.
Carnival Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates With EPS of $1.36
Carnival is expected to report quarterly earnings of $1.36 per share when it releases results for the quarter ended August 2026 on September 29, a year-over-year decline of 4.9%, on revenues of $8.38 billion, up 2.8% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate has been revised 11.8% lower over the last 30 days, yet the Most Accurate Estimate sits above the Zacks Consensus Estimate, producing an Earnings ESP of +0.80% alongside a Zacks Rank of #3, a combination that indicates Carnival will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. In the last reported quarter, Carnival was expected to post earnings of $0.35 per share and actually produced $0.41, a surprise of +17.14%, and the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times over the last four quarters. Separately, Vail Resorts, another stock in the Zacks Leisure and Recreation Services industry, is expected to report a loss per share of $5.37 for the quarter ended August 2026, a year-over-year change of -5.7%, on revenues of $271.05 million, down 0.1% from the year-ago quarter, with an Earnings ESP of -1.71% and a Zacks Rank of #3.
On Holding Sets CHF 5.6 Billion 2029 Sales Target and First $1 Billion Buyback
On Holding unveiled a CHF 5.6 billion net sales ambition for 2029 and its first-ever share buyback of up to $1 billion at its 2026 Investor Day in Zurich, sending shares up 13% to $30.84 in Tuesday morning trading. The Swiss athletic footwear maker said it targets at least CHF 5.6 billion in net sales by 2029 on high-teens constant currency growth, alongside an adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 22% by 2029, and it entered two new sports categories, football and golf. The board authorized the repurchase of up to $1 billion of Class A ordinary shares through 2029, tying the capital-return window to the same period as the sales and margin ambition. Founder and Co-CEO Caspar Coppetti said top-line expansion and margin expansion are complementary outputs of the company's Premium Playbook, and told CNBC that On Holding carries the highest average selling price and lowest discount rates among its peers. Nike, the largest listed athletic footwear name, rose just 2% to $36.81, a muted move that marks the rerating as specific to On Holding rather than a broad athletic sector rally. On Holding shares remain down 36% year to date despite the bounce.
Federal Agricultural Mortgage Options Signal Big Move as Analysts Raise Estimates
Options on Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation are pricing in a sharp move, with the November 20, 2026 $80.00 Call among the highest implied volatility of all equity options today. The elevated reading suggests traders expect a large swing in either direction or an upcoming event that could trigger a rally or sell-off. On the fundamental side, Federal Agricultural Mortgage holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) in the Financial - Mortgage & Related Services Industry, which ranks in the Bottom 3% of the Zacks Industry Rank. Over the last 60 days, two analysts raised their earnings estimates for the current quarter while none cut theirs, lifting the Zacks Consensus Estimate to $5.22 per share from $4.97 per share. Given that analyst backdrop, the high implied volatility could point to a developing trade, with many seasoned options traders seeking such contracts to sell premium and capture decay, hoping the stock moves less than originally expected.
Goldman Sachs Targets Nearly $70 Billion Revenue Base for 2026
Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO David Solomon said at the Barclays 24th Annual Global Financial Services Conference that the firm expects its revenue base to reach roughly $70 billion this year, up from the mid-$30 billion range when its strategic plan began in 2018-19. The growth is anchored in two franchises: Global Banking & Markets, whose first-half 2026 revenues climbed 35% to $28.26 billion, and Asset & Wealth Management, which is growing faster than its targeted high-single-digit pace with roughly $4 trillion in assets under supervision and alternatives fundraising expected to exceed $125 billion in 2026. Management expects roughly 6% revenue growth to translate into a more than 10% earnings increase, and since Goldman's first Investor Day in 2020 firmwide net revenues have risen about 60% while more durable revenues have doubled, with first-half 2026 firmwide net revenues up 27% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 revenues stands at $71.6 billion, implying 22.9% year-over-year growth, while the consensus for 2026 and 2027 earnings implies rallies of 33.3% and 5.6% respectively, with estimates for both years revised downward over the past month. Peers are also growing: JPMorgan's first-half 2026 revenues rose roughly 19% year over year to $107.2 billion and Morgan Stanley's increased 21% to $41.93 billion, with consensus 2026 revenue growth of 13.2% and 15.9% respectively.
Nvidia valuation falls to decade low despite 90% profit growth
Nvidia stock is trading near its lowest valuation in more than a decade, according to Bloomberg, even as the chipmaker's revenue and net income are each expected to grow by roughly 90% or more in its current fiscal year. At under 17 times forward earnings, the multiple has been cut in half compared with 2025 and has fallen sharply from above 25 times expected profits just this past May. One drag is a squeeze on profitability: gross margin came in at 75% last quarter but analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg show it sliding under 72% by the fourth quarter, with rising costs for components such as memory chips a central factor. Competition is another concern, with TradeStation global head of market strategy David Russell pointing to Meta Platforms and Alphabet designing AI chips internally, a shift he believes will erode Nvidia's pricing power and market share. Nvidia stock has gained 22% so far in 2026, second among the Magnificent Seven behind Apple's 25% advance, yet the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index has surged nearly 76%, with Intel and Advanced Micro Devices both more than tripling. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang has pushed back, calling Nvidia the world's first and only growth value stock and incredibly misunderstood at a Goldman Sachs technology conference earlier this month.
Rosenblatt Initiates Sandisk Coverage With Buy Rating and $2,400 Target
Rosenblatt has initiated coverage of Sandisk with a Buy rating, arguing that AI is transforming NAND flash memory from a commodity into a critical piece of computing infrastructure. Analyst Kevin Cassidy set a $2,400 price target on the shares, saying new AI compute platforms create an opportunity to reposition NAND from a commodity storage medium to a more system-critical component of AI infrastructure as expanding model sizes and data-intensive inference prioritize density, performance, endurance and supply certainty over the lowest price. Cassidy said Sandisk's roadmap, developed with manufacturing partner Kioxia over some 25 years, supports that shift, with its BiCS8 and BiCS10 platforms improving density with fewer 3D layers than some rivals and sustaining a cost and performance advantage in AI-oriented enterprise storage. He pointed to management's fiscal 2028-to-2030 framework calling for mid-to-high-teens revenue growth, roughly 80% non-GAAP gross margin and a 50% adjusted free-cash-flow margin, and said new business model agreements with eight of the largest NAND customers, potentially covering about 65% of fiscal 2028 production, should improve demand visibility and reduce the sector's historical volatility. On that basis, Cassidy conservatively estimated fiscal 2030 non-GAAP earnings of about $300 a share, with his $2,400 target based on 10 times his fiscal 2028 earnings estimate, a multiple he called conservative given the growth outlook while reflecting execution risk and the chance NAND reverts to cyclical, commodity-like pricing.
Vistra Rated Zacks Rank #4 as Q1 EPS Estimate Points to 65.1% Growth
Vistra Corp. is expected to post earnings of $2.89 per share for the current quarter, a year-over-year change of +65.1%, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate edging up +0.2% over the last 30 days. For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $9.04 implies a year-over-year change of +71.9%, though that estimate has slipped -1.9% over the past 30 days, while the next fiscal year's consensus of $10.54 indicates a change of +16.6% and has risen +0.4% over the past month. On revenue, the consensus sales estimate of $7.75 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +55.8%, with $22.59 billion and $25.77 billion projected for the current and next fiscal years, changes of +27.4% and +14.1% respectively. In its last reported quarter, Vistra posted revenues of $4.02 billion, down -5.5% year over year and a -36.17% surprise against the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.29 billion, while EPS of $1.8 compared with $1.01 a year ago for a +16.88% surprise. Based on the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate and three other earnings-related factors, Vistra is rated Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), and the stock carries a Zacks Value Style Score of C.
TSMC Rated Zacks Rank #2 as Earnings Estimates Point to 55.5% Growth
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is rated Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), with consensus estimates pointing to sharply higher earnings and revenue for the current fiscal year. TSMC is expected to post earnings of $4.45 per share for the current quarter, a year-over-year change of +52.4%, while the consensus estimate of $16.56 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +55.5%. For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $21.22 indicates a change of +28.2%. On the revenue side, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $45.54 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +37.6%, and estimates of $167.14 billion and $219.13 billion for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +36.5% and +31.1%, respectively. In the last reported quarter, TSMC reported revenues of $40.2 billion, up +33.7% year over year, and EPS of $4.31 versus $2.47 a year ago, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $39.63 billion by +1.44% on revenue with an EPS surprise of +11.37%.