Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail

Amazon.com plans to transition its air cargo fleet from Boeing 767 aircraft to Airbus A330 freighters, with Air Transport Services Group set to acquire and convert 30 Airbus A330 jets to support Amazon's air network. ATSG expects to begin operating the Airbus A330 cargo aircraft for Amazon in 2027 as part of the refreshed fleet. The switch gives Amazon access to larger, more modern cargo aircraft that can carry more volume per flight than the 767s they replace, potentially reshaping how the retailer positions inventory for Prime and marketplace orders, especially on longer domestic and transcontinental routes where aircraft range and payload matter most. The move marks a key shift in Amazon's air logistics strategy and lines up with the company's broader thesis of heavy capital spending on logistics and data centers as a trade off for efficiency and future return potential. The clearest proof point will arrive as ATSG starts flying the A330s in 2027, when Amazon discloses how much of its parcel volume flows through the new jets versus legacy aircraft and third party carriers, along with any commentary on unit costs per package or delivery speed.

Kasikorn Securities holds a positive view on PLANB and COM7 shares after COM7's extraordinary general meeting of shareholders resolved to approve the appointment of two new directors nominated by PLANB, namely Mr. Prin and Dr. Pinitjorn, to COM7's board. As a result, PLANB is highly likely to begin recognizing its share of profits from COM7 starting September 17, which should support profit growth in the fourth quarter of 2026 and continue into 2027. The research team maintains a buy recommendation on both stocks, setting a target price of 6.68 baht for PLANB, supported by its well-performing OOH media business, growth in its higher-margin non-OOH business, and full-year recognition of its share of COM7 profits in 2027. The stock also continues to trade below its historical average and below global peer comparisons. For COM7, the research team notes that the response to iPhone 18 Series pre-orders has been relatively good, and therefore expects third-quarter 2026 sales to grow both year on year and quarter on quarter. It maintains a buy recommendation with a target price of 34.12 baht, and views PLANB's average purchase price of 27.44 baht as potentially a suitable level for re-entering an investment.

JD.com, Inc. closed up 1.05% at $26.92, outpacing the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.17%, while the Dow lost 0.18% and the Nasdaq gained 0.4%. Ahead of its upcoming earnings release, JD.com is projected to report earnings of $1.05 per share, representing year-over-year growth of 101.92%, on revenue of $46.07 billion, up 9.66% from the year-ago period. For the full fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $3.34 per share and revenue of $202.54 billion, changes of +30.98% and +10.28% respectively. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 6.71% higher, and JD.com currently holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). The stock trades at a Forward P/E ratio of 7.97, a discount to its industry's average Forward P/E of 16.46.

Amazon Web Services posted $42.23 billion in revenue, growing 37% year over year, the segment's fastest growth in 18 quarters, with a 39.4% operating margin and a $496 billion contracted backlog. Amazon's chips and AI businesses each eclipsed run rates of more than $25 billion in the second quarter, both growing at triple-digit percentages year over year, while 98% of Amazon's top 1,000 EC2 customers use Graviton and Anthropic and OpenAI have made multi-year, multi-gigawatt commitments to Trainium. Q2 operating income landed at $27.46 billion, up 43.2% year over year, and advertising is a $70 billion-plus trailing-twelve-month business growing 26%. Capex reached $54.21 billion in a single quarter, up 68.4% year over year, and free cash flow swung to negative $7.6 billion on a trailing-twelve-month basis, though most AI capacity is contracted for at least five-year terms. Since Amazon reported Q2 on July 30, 2026, AMZN moved from $230.08 to $251.19, while SPY went from $747.03 to $762.70 and QQQ went from $687.99 to $716.92. Andy Jassy said AWS could become a few hundred billion dollar revenue business and now believes it will be at least double that and very possibly a trillion dollar annual revenue business in time.

Five Below reported second-quarter net sales up 22.9% year over year to $1.26 billion, with comparable sales rising 14.1% and adjusted earnings more than doubling to $1.68 per share. Adjusted operating income increased 105.3% to $113.2 million, and adjusted operating margin expanded about 360 basis points to 9%, helped by higher merchandise margins and fixed-cost leverage. The stock trades at 21.84X forward 12-month earnings, above 14.41X for its Zacks sub-industry and 19.54X for the S&P 500, though below its five-year median of 27.55X, while adjusted earnings are projected to rise 51.7% in fiscal 2026. Inventory reached $941.2 million at the end of the second quarter, up 17.7% year over year, and the company faces tariff, freight, competition and litigation risks. Competitors Dollar General and Dollar Tree posted same-store sales growth of 3.5% and 3.7%, respectively, in their fiscal second quarters. Five Below carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), a VGM Score of B and a Growth Score of B, alongside a Value Score of D and Momentum Score of C.

Five Below raised its fiscal 2026 outlook after second-quarter results exceeded expectations, lifting both its sales and earnings guidance. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.68 per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.34, while net sales rose 22.9% year over year to $1.26 billion, above the consensus estimate of $1.192 billion. Comparable sales increased 14.1%, marking a fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. The company now expects fiscal 2026 net sales of $5.63-$5.71 billion, up from $5.40-$5.48 billion, with comparable-sales growth of 10%-12% versus the prior 6%-8%, and adjusted earnings per share of $9.83-$10.31, up from $8.65-$9.05. Adjusted operating margin is expected to rise about 250 basis points year over year to roughly 12.5% at the midpoint, helped by merchandise-margin gains, fixed-cost leverage and lower tariff costs, though the guidance assumes tariff rates currently in place and faces higher outbound transportation fuel costs and a tougher shrink comparison.

Five Below shares have gained 26.9% over the past three months, helped by improving operating momentum, rising earnings expectations and management's upgraded fiscal 2026 outlook. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings has increased 15.2% in the past four weeks. Comparable sales rose 14.1% in the fiscal second quarter, a fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, driven by a 13.6% rise in transactions and a 0.4% increase in average transaction value, while the two-year comparable-sales stack reached 26.5%. Adjusted gross margin expanded about 220 basis points to 35.6%, adjusted operating margin rose about 360 basis points to 9%, and adjusted operating income increased 105.3% to $113.2 million. Management raised fiscal 2026 net sales guidance to $5.63-$5.71 billion and comparable-sales growth guidance to 10%-12%, and lifted adjusted earnings per share guidance to $9.83-$10.31 from $8.65-$9.05 previously, with adjusted operating margin expected to expand about 250 basis points to roughly 12.5% at the midpoint. FIVE trades at 21.8X forward 12-month earnings, above 14.3X for its Zacks sub-industry and 19.5X for the S&P 500, while inventory stood at $941.2 million, up 17.7% year over year, and the stock carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

RH announced the opening of RH Estates, The Gallery on Greenwich Avenue, marking the North American debut of its RH Estates concept and the brand's first freestanding Gallery in the world. The concept was previewed at RH Milan during Salone del Mobile and introduced with the opening of RH London. RH said RH Estates will significantly expand its retail presence across the globe this year, followed by a second freestanding RH Estates Gallery on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles opening in 2027. RH operates across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe, offering collections through its retail galleries, sourcebooks and online at RH.com, with integrated hospitality experiences in galleries throughout the United States and internationally.

COM7 disclosed that overall pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Series grew well above the previous generation, with the iPhone 18 Pro Max in Burgundy seeing the highest number of pre-orders, followed by the Glacier color. Kaewjiranai Kemasit, Senior Director of the Apple Product Group at Comseven Company Limited, or COM7, said that the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max come with the A20 Pro chip, a new-generation Vapor Chamber, and a dual 16-core Neural Engine, while the Trade IN+ campaign has drawn more than 100% more registrations from customers interested in trading in old devices for new ones compared with the previous generation. Thakol Niyomthai, Investor Relations at COM7, said the company offers a 0% installment program through credit cards for up to 36 months and UFUND loans with installments of up to 48 months, along with offers and privileges worth up to 10,000 baht, and will deliver the iPhone 18 Series through a network of more than 1,300 branches nationwide. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at 48,900 baht and the iPhone 18 Pro Max starts at 52,900 baht. COM7 will officially open advance pre-orders for the iPhone Duo on October 16, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., with sales beginning on October 23, 2026, at a starting price of 79,900 baht. At the same time, Apple is preparing to launch the Apple Watch Series 12 starting at 14,900 baht, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 starting at 29,900 baht, the Apple Watch SE 3 starting at 8,500 baht, and the AirPods 5 starting at 4,790 baht.

Finansia Syrus Securities maintains a Buy rating on Comseven, or COM7, with a target price of 35 baht, after shareholders approved the appointment of two additional directors as expected: Mr. Parin Lojanagosin, Chief Executive Officer of Plan B Media, or PLANB, and Mr. Phinijsorn Luechaikhajornphan, a PLANB director. The move raises COM7's board to nine members from seven. The research team sees COM7 benefiting from its strategic alliance with PLANB, a major Thai out-of-home advertising operator, and is watching for further media collaboration, such as advertising inside Banana stores and on EV7 vehicles, which is initially expected to add roughly 1-2% upside to 2027 earnings. A key near-term catalyst is pre-orders for the new iPhone models. An initial check with COM7 found that pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, in unit terms, exceeded total pre-orders for all models in the iPhone 17 series, which the team views as positive for COM7's share sentiment. This is consistent with SIS Distribution (Thailand), or SYNEX, which saw pre-orders for those iPhone models rise from the same period a year earlier, with part of the increase likely due to a larger allocation of units compared with the iPhone 17 series. However, actual sales from the first day of availability on September 18, 2026 through the fourth quarter of 2026 still need to be monitored, along with the adequacy of supply of the new iPhone models going forward. The research team sees the trend as a supporting factor for Apple-related stocks and better than it and the market had previously expected, and reiterates its Buy rating on COM7 with a 35 baht target price and on SYNEX with a target price of 12.50 baht.

Asia Plus Securities has assessed COM7 shares after yesterday's shareholders' meeting approved the appointment of two additional directors, expanding the board from seven to nine members. Both are executives from Plan B Media Public Company Limited, or PLANB: Mr. Parin Lojanagosin, a major shareholder and Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Phinijsorn Luechaikhajornphan, Chief Marketing Officer. PLANB previously invested in COM7 shares and currently holds 11.01% of the company's paid-up registered capital. Today COM7 begins selling the iPhone 18 on its first day, following strong reception and pre-orders. Starting prices for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are about 8% to 11% higher than the launch prices of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the company will begin recognizing revenue from September. The foldable-screen iPhone Duo, the most expensive model, starts at 79,900 baht and will go on sale in October. The research team views the addition of two PLANB directors as positive for both COM7 and PLANB, expecting synergies in the fourth quarter of 2026 through management of advertising space at COM7's nearly 1,400 branches, as well as advertising media on roughly 5,000 EV7 taxis this year. However, this upside is not yet included in estimates. For third-quarter 2026 earnings trends, the research team expects a slight decline quarter-on-quarter due to the low season and the fact that not all iPhone 18 models have launched, with the Standard model likely to debut in late first-quarter 2027. Still, profit is expected to grow strongly year-on-year, driven by the UFUND business, lending, and iCare electronic device insurance, which benefit from iPhone sales. The research team maintains its conservative net profit forecast for 2026 at 4.8 billion baht, up 18% year-on-year, and keeps its Trading recommendation with a 2027 target price of 33.00 baht, based on a PER of 14.9 times, the long-term average. It also expects strong year-on-year profit growth in the third quarter of 2026, accelerating in the fourth quarter of 2026 during the high season.

Krungsri Securities Public Company Limited said COM7 is a Conviction Call in the IT retail sector, taking a more positive view on normal profit momentum in 2H26F continuing into 2027F after 3QTD sales grew more than 20% y-y, above the company's assumption of 16% y-y, while bookings for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max remain strong even though average selling prices rose 8–11% y-y. This gives normal profit in 3Q26F a chance of upside from the current estimate of 1.1 billion baht to 1.3–1.4 billion baht. On the lending business, Ufund Capital plans a private placement capital increase for some alliance partners, raising registered capital from 600 million baht to 2.04 billion baht, which is expected to ease D/E constraints that are currently close to the loan covenant of 2.5 times and to increase capacity to support the next phase of UFUND loan portfolio expansion. The company is also considering revising up its 2026–27F profit estimates from the current forecast growth of 13% and 9% y-y, with every 1% of sales above assumption adding about 2% to normal profit and about 0.75 baht per share to the target price, while maintaining a Buy recommendation and a 2027F target price of 35.0 baht.

Delivery Hero's management and supervisory boards formally recommended on September 2, 2026, that shareholders accept Uber Technologies' takeover offer, moving the roughly $15 billion deal for the German food-delivery platform a step closer to completion. Under the agreement, Uber will pay €41.50 per share, implying an equity value of $14.8 billion, and Delivery Hero's second-largest shareholder, Prosus, has irrevocably committed to tender its 17% stake. The shareholder acceptance period runs until November 5. Uber already owned roughly 25% of Delivery Hero and expects the deal to increase non-GAAP EPS upon closing, with high-single-digit percentage accretion by the third year. The combined company would operate across 99 markets and generate $236 billion in pro forma gross bookings, though the transaction still requires regulatory approvals that could delay it or force concessions.

GameStop Corp. reported second-quarter net income of $298.7 million, up from $168.6 million a year earlier, even as revenue fell to $790.2 million from $972.2 million, according to a Wall Street Journal report on September 8, 2026. The video-game retailer raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook to more than $650 million from a prior target of more than $600 million. Collectibles revenue jumped 57% year over year to about $356.3 million, now representing 45.1% of total sales and helping push gross margin to 43.7% from 29.1% a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA rose to roughly $174 million from $75.7 million, and operating income reached $160.2 million, the highest for any second quarter in company history. The quarter's net income was boosted by approximately $238 million in net gains related to GameStop's equity stake in eBay, while a roughly $75 million loss on digital assets and related receivables showed the swing from its investment portfolio. Video-game revenue fell to about $263.2 million from $494.6 million a year earlier, and the company retired approximately $1.4 billion of convertible notes, reducing long-term debt to about $2.8 billion.

Academy Sports and Outdoors reported second-quarter results for the period ended August 1, 2026, with net sales up 3.0% to $1.65 billion and adjusted earnings per share climbing 19.1% to $2.31 from $1.94. Gross margin widened 440 basis points to 40.4%, though comparable sales fell 0.4%, and management lifted full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $6.50 to $6.90 and gross margin guidance to 35.5% to 36.0%. Four analysts raised their price targets without upgrading the stock: Telsey Advisory went to $63 from $60 at Outperform, Wells Fargo's Ike Boruchow to $55 from $50 at Equal Weight, Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih to $53 from $50 at Equal Weight, and UBS to $58 from $55 at Neutral, while BMO Capital initiated coverage at Market Perform with a $42 target. Supporting the quarter, e-commerce sales grew 12.8%, Sports and Recreation rose 6%, myAcademy loyalty membership passed 15 million, and the company raised adjusted free cash flow guidance to $300 million to $350 million after repurchasing $182.1 million of stock in the first half. Caution persists, however, as traffic from households earning under $50,000 fell high single digits, footwear sales declined 1%, inventory rose 4.4% year-over-year, and 510 basis points of tariff refund benefit inside the 40.4% gross margin will not repeat. Hedge fund ownership fell to 29 funds from 31 between the first and second quarters of 2026, with Royce & Associates holding the largest position at 1.08 million shares worth $51 million, and shares trade at 8.16 times forward earnings as of September 15, 2026, with short interest at 23.30% of float.

NEXT plc reported higher first-half sales and profit, led by international online growth and its owned brands, and said it would raise its interim dividend 12.6% to 98 pence per share. Total group sales rose 9% and full-price sales climbed 7.7%, beating the company's prior expectation of 4% growth, while profit increased 10.5% and margins improved by 0.3 percentage points. International full-price sales grew 24%, with Europe contributing nearly £100 million of the £133 million increase in overseas full-price sales, and sales of NEXT's wholly owned brands and licences rose 33.5% in the U.K. and 82% internationally. Chief Executive Simon Wolfson said the retailer had become more cautious on the U.K. consumer outlook for the second half, cutting its second-half U.K. sales expectations on anticipated pressure from fuel and other inflation, but NEXT maintained full-year guidance for 6.7% sales growth and profit before tax of about £1.255 billion, up 8.4%. First-half share buybacks totaled £355 million, and NEXT expects roughly £500 million to be available for shareholder distributions during the full year after capital expenditure and ordinary dividends, which Wolfson said could take the form of a special dividend, further buybacks or another capital return.

Amazon chief Andy Jassy said on the company's recent earnings call that he now believes Amazon Web Services could become at least a few hundred billion-dollar revenue business, and very possibly a trillion-dollar annual revenue business in time. The prediction stands out against AWS' current $169 billion annual revenue run rate, and against the $58 million annual revenue run rate AWS reached three years after launch. AWS' AI revenue run rate, roughly three years into the AI boom, now totals more than $25 billion. Amazon said it plans to spend $220 billion this year, up from an earlier forecast of $200 billion, and that even at that level it won't be able to fulfill all of the demand this year and next year. The article was originally published by The Motley Fool.

Abercrombie & Fitch has been rated Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) on the strength of recent upward revisions to consensus earnings estimates. The teen clothing retailer is expected to post earnings of $3.01 per share for the current quarter, a year-over-year change of +27.5%, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate up +7.6% over the last 30 days. For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $11.42 indicates a year-over-year change of +15.8% and has risen +7.7% over the past month, while the next fiscal year's estimate of $12.41 points to a +8.6% change and has moved +8.1% in the same period. Revenue is forecast at $1.37 billion for the current quarter, up +5.9% year over year, with fiscal-year consensus sales estimates of $5.52 billion and $5.79 billion, each implying a +4.8% change. In its last reported quarter, Abercrombie posted revenues of $1.27 billion, up +4.8% year over year, and EPS of $2.42 versus $2.32 a year earlier, beating the Zacks Consensus revenue estimate of $1.24 billion by +1.94% and the EPS estimate by +24.1%.

Sahapat Pibul Public Company Limited, or SPC, disclosed that its Board of Directors, at the fourth meeting of the 33rd board, held on 17 September 2026, resolved to approve the purchase of 1,545,000 newly issued ordinary shares of E-Commerce Digital AI Thai Holding Public Company Limited, or EDTH, at 100 baht per share, for a total value of 155 million baht, with the transaction scheduled to be carried out within the fourth quarter of 2026. The purchase follows EDTH's annual general meeting resolution to increase its registered capital from 2.096 billion baht to 5 billion baht and to offer the newly issued shares for sale to specific persons. The transaction qualifies as a connected transaction because SPC and EDTH share major shareholders, and also have a major shareholder who is a close relative of a director. After this purchase of capital-increase shares, SPC's shareholding proportion in EDTH will rise from 7.32% of paid-up registered capital to 9.06% of the new registered capital, with the objective of jointly investing in the digital technology investment business, which is seen as having growth prospects in the future, as well as diversifying investments and generating returns from dividends.

Disclosure filings released after the September 17 market close produced a full slate of positive and negative developments relevant to investment decisions. On the positive side, Apple International raised its ordinary profit forecast for the current fiscal year by 18% and increased its dividend by 5 yen; Choshimaru reversed its current-year ordinary profit outlook to a 21% increase, projecting a record high for the first time in three terms along with a 1 yen dividend hike; Kasumigaseki Capital raised its prior-year ordinary profit forecast by 7%, adding to its record-high projection; and Hobonichi raised its prior-year ordinary profit forecast by 67%. In M&A, Saint Marc Holdings will take over the udon specialty restaurant business Tsurutontan from K Express for 12.8 billion yen, while B-style Holdings will acquire all shares of HR Asocié for 1.21 billion yen, making it a subsidiary. Ferrotec will launch a tender offer for Japan Resistor Manufacturing at 1,901 yen per share, a 49.1% premium to the September 17 closing price, aiming to make it a wholly owned subsidiary, while Nippon Seiki will buy back up to 3.61 million shares, or 6.27% of its outstanding shares, for a maximum of 9.979 billion yen. On the negative side, Chubu Steel Plate reversed its current-year ordinary profit outlook to a 46% decline; PharmaRise Holdings ended the June-August quarter with a 31% drop in ordinary profit; Industrial & Infrastructure Fund Investment Corporation is expected to post a 2% decline in current-year ordinary profit; Advance Residence Investment Corporation a 6% decline; and Ichigo Hotel REIT Investment Corporation an 18% decline.

Home Product Center Public Company Limited, or HMPRO, has invested over 310 million baht in a major renovation of its MegaHome construction materials and trades center at the Min Buri branch, adding a HomePro at the same location to create a hybrid store. Managing Director Weeraphan Angsumalee said the upgrade covers products ranging from decorative items to structural work, systems work, and tools, in order to meet rising demand from the trades and contractor market driven by new construction, extensions, and renovations in eastern Bangkok, especially the Khlong Sam Wa, Min Buri, and Nong Chok zones along Hathai Rat and Nimit Mai roads. Currently, within a 10-kilometer radius of the branch, there are nearly 130,000 households, and the area is growing at a rate of 2.99% per year. The branch will officially open on 18 September 2026, targeting revenue of over 80 million baht per month, with an opening celebration campaign running from 18 to 27 September 2026.

PTG, or PTG, announced a partnership with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, or MEA, in a program that lets customers exchange electricity bills for points. This collaboration is seen as a new deal linking the energy business with MEA's public utility services. Details of the program were revealed on the program Je Ratchada Ma Mouth on September 17, 2026.

PTG Energy Public Company Limited, or PTG, expects its third-quarter 2026 operating results to be better than the first quarter of 2026, even though this is the low season for the oil retail business and overall national oil consumption is being pressured by high oil prices. Rangsan Puangprang, Senior Assistant Managing Director, said the company continues to focus on cost management to keep net profit stable. Pressure also comes from dry spells and drought driven by the El Nino phenomenon, which affects the agricultural, transport and commercial sectors. As for oil marketing margins, PTG views the current level as manageable for operators, after the government gained a better understanding of the cost structure. Earlier this year, rising global oil prices raised costs for more than 18,000 small service stations, leading to a supply chain shock. Most recently, Max Me Corp Company Limited, part of the PTG group, signed a three-year memorandum of cooperation with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, or MEA, to link the benefits of members of both organisations. Electricity users can exchange MEA Points for Max Points to receive discounts on fuel, products, services or rewards within the PTG network, as well as discounts on electricity bills. A campaign will also give members who pay their MEA electricity bills through the Max Me application an extra 50 Max Points per bill, limited to three entitlements per member per month, from 17 September to 31 October 2026. PTG currently has a Max Card membership base of about 25 million, and aims to add about 1.5 to 2 million new members a year, while MEA has about 4.3 million members in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces. PTG also has a partnership with the Expressway Authority of Thailand, or EXAT, and plans to expand cooperation to the Provincial Electricity Authority, or PEA, in the future.

Max Me Corp Co., Ltd., part of PTG Energy Public Company Limited, or PTG, has signed a three-year memorandum of cooperation with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, or MEA, under a program to exchange MEA Point and Max Point loyalty points. The program allows electricity users to convert MEA Point into Max Point and redeem them for discounts on fuel, products, services, or rewards within the PTG network, as well as for electricity bill discounts. Rangsan Puangprang, a director of Max Me Corp, said the company currently has a combined membership base of more than 25 million, while MEA has about 4.3 million customers, and he expects new partners in the utilities sector to keep joining. The program also includes a campaign to promote electricity bill payments, in which those who pay their MEA electricity bills through the Max Me application will receive an extra 50 points per electricity bill, limited to three entitlements per member per month, from September 17, 2026 to October 31, 2026. Pattra Suwandech, deputy governor of the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, said the partnership will expand the options for using points through the partner network and is an opportunity to build on cooperation in products, services, and innovation in the future. As for the earnings outlook for the third quarter of 2026, although it is a low season for the business due to higher oil prices and weaker consumption, sales are still better than in the first quarter of 2026 and marketing margins remain at a level the company can accept.

Home Products Center, or HMPRO, is investing more than 310 million baht to renovate its MegaHome Min Buri branch into a comprehensive hub for construction materials and contractor services. The project was disclosed by Weeraphan Angsumalee, Managing Director, and the branch will open for service on 18 September 2026, targeting revenue of more than 80 million baht per month. The company has added the HomePro business into the same location to expand its customer base to homeowners looking to renovate and decorate their residences, covering electrical appliances, sanitary ware, furniture, home decorations, as well as installation and after-sales services. The investment reflects the potential of eastern Bangkok, especially the Khlong Sam Wa, Min Buri and Nong Chok areas along Hathai Rat Road and Nimit Mai Road. Currently, within a 10-kilometre radius of the branch there are nearly 130,000 households, with a growth rate of about 2.99% per year. Weeraphan said the Hybrid Store model will help connect customer needs ranging from construction, structural work, contracting, extensions and renovations through MegaHome, while HomePro will fill in products and services for home decoration and improvement. The company aims to make MegaHome Min Buri the centre for home and contractor needs in eastern Bangkok over the long term.

Alibaba.com, the business-to-business e-commerce platform, or B2B, has officially launched Accio, an agentic AI-powered business assistant for small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, in Thailand. The launch took place at the Thailand B2B AI Seller Summit 2026 under the theme Beyond Export, unlocking the potential of Thai SMEs for the global stage with Accio. Accio functions as a team of AI specialists made up of AI agents with specific areas of expertise that can coordinate with one another, handling the entire process from market research, product planning, sourcing of goods and suppliers, price negotiation, and creating multilingual product listings, through to global marketing and managing online storefronts. Entrepreneurs do not need any programming skills. At the same time, the company also launched the Smart Assistant Agent, which is powered by Accio and connects directly to the Alibaba.com Seller Workbench store management system. Alibaba.com said Thailand has more than 3.1 million SMEs, accounting for 99.5% of all businesses, generating more than 70% of the country's employment and contributing about 35% of gross domestic product, or GDP, yet accounting for less than 15% of Thailand's total export value. Meanwhile, in August 2026, the number of product listings from Thai sellers on the platform rose by more than 150% compared with the same period a year earlier, while the number of inquiries from buyers increased by more than 90%. Roger Luo, head of business for South Asia and Southeast Asia at Alibaba.com, said the company wants to boost the capabilities of Thai entrepreneurs so they can operate in a way that is close to that of large corporations. Wuttisak Kanjanaporn, director of the Digital Commerce Market Office at the Department of International Trade Promotion, or DITP, said digital technology is playing a growing role in the competitiveness of Thai entrepreneurs, especially SMEs. Ethan Wang, head of global seller products and services at Alibaba.com, said Accio was developed to give SMEs an AI team that can start working immediately. Alibaba.com also launched a new membership package for sellers to support Thai exporters.

Amazon.com announced on the 16th that it will raise the minimum hourly wage for full-time employees in its US operations division by $1 to $20. It also announced a new benefit, Day 1 Financial, which will allow eligible employees and their families to access low-cost banking services for life through First Tech Federal Credit Union. The company already offers benefits including health insurance starting at $5 a week, free Prime membership, and a prepaid education program, and it said that with this move, average total compensation including the value of its benefits package will exceed $32 an hour. Among competitors, Walmart's starting pay for US employees is $14 an hour, Target's minimum wage is $15 an hour, and Costco is raising the minimum wage for new hires to $20 in 2025.

Comseven Public Company Limited, or COM7, reported its second-quarter 2026 operating results, with net profit attributable to major shareholders of 1.30306 billion baht, up 29.9%, while first-half 2026 profit stood at 2.52925 billion baht, up 27.49%. Revenue from sales and services in the second quarter of 2026 was 24.111 billion baht, an increase of 3.398 billion baht, or 16.4%, compared with the same period last year, driven by smartphone demand growing across both the iOS and Android systems. Thakol Niyomthai, head of investor relations at Comseven Public Company Limited, or COM7, said on the company's earnings call that the company has raised its revenue growth target for this year to 10-15% compared with last year, up from an earlier expectation of 10% growth. Net profit after tax is expected to grow more than 20%, compared with an earlier target of 10-15% growth versus last year, supported by memory prices rising as much as 200-300% quarter on quarter. On the store front, the company expects to open a total of 1,400 branches this year across the BaNANA and Studio7 brands, having already reached 1,323 branches as of the end of the second quarter of 2026. In the electric vehicle business, it expects to sell 4,400 units this year, after selling 2,029 units of the AION i60 model in the first half. EV taxi leasing is expected to reach 5,000 units for the full year, after 3,829 units were leased out in the first half.

Nike reported second-quarter revenues of $10.97 billion, down 1.1% year on year but exceeding analysts' expectations by 1.1%, as the seven consumer discretionary footwear stocks tracked by the report collectively beat consensus revenue estimates by 1.3%. Steven Madden posted the group's best quarter, with revenues of $665.9 million, up 19.1% year on year and 4.8% above expectations, while Caleres delivered the weakest performance against estimates, reporting revenues of $695.5 million, up 5.6% but missing by 1%, alongside next-quarter and full-year EPS guidance that fell significantly short of expectations. Deckers reported revenues of $1.02 billion, up 5.7% and in line with expectations, and Crocs reported revenues of $1.18 billion, up 2.6% and 2.7% above expectations, though its next-quarter EPS guidance missed. Despite the broad revenue beats, footwear share prices have fallen 6.3% on average since the results, with Nike down 11.8% to $36.21, Deckers down 19.3% to $77.69, Crocs down 16.5% to $111.46, and Steven Madden down 6.8% to $40.46, while Caleres has risen 2.5% to $12.33.

Amazon Business has reached $60 billion in annualized gross sales and now serves 11 million customers worldwide, adding 1.8 million organizations this year alone. Daniel Silverfield, head of value and selection for Amazon Business, said the platform saved customers $880 million on Prime free shipping and $1 billion through business-specific discounts last year, while adding 30% more items year over year. The company recently launched same-day grocery delivery across 2,300 U.S. cities in the first half of this year, and last year introduced branded Amazon Business trucks built for consolidated pallet deliveries, scheduled arrival windows, and complex sites such as hospitals and universities. Two AI tools anchor the platform's procurement push: Amazon Business Assistant, a conversational agent that helps buyers find the best product at the best price with the fastest delivery, and Savings Insights, which analyzes purchasing data across an organization's locations and flags consolidation opportunities. Silverfield said buyers are moving toward a continuous, always-on, conversational-powered procurement journey in which agents may negotiate on their behalf while they are asleep.