The Week Ahead Of Us 🔍
Welcome back. Nasdaq futures are down -0.50% as the market is going to zone in tmrw on Jensen Huang key-man risk. Huang has apologized to his employees after having an affair with a woman who U.S. intelligence agencies believe is a Chinese spy. Nvidia’s board put out a statement saying they are initiating an independent investigation and Huang will remain CEO in the meantime.
There’s still a lot we don’t know yet but the worst outcome for Huang could be as extreme as treason. If internal and federal investigations clear him and it’s “just” an affair, Huang could still leave Nvidia given how many executives have left their roles following infidelity. There’s a lot more to parse out, but we now have to operate in a world where there’s a real possibility Jensen Huang is forced out of Nvidia and a lot of the circular financing he built to grow the AI industry is potentially re-examined.
Btw, through Buyside Hub we are running a 2027 Outlook Survey - contribute here so you can ensure you see the full results. Let’s get into it.
Here’s a look at earnings this week.
Monday: KKR, Constellation Energy, Take-Two Interactive, Skydance, NRG Energy, The Trade Desk, Rocket Lab, Hims & Hers Health
Tuesday: CoreWeave, On Holding, Sea Limited, TransDigm, Petrobras, Venture Global, StubHub, Wix.com, Sonos, Sally Beauty, D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, eToro
Wednesday: Corteva, CGI, Tetra Tech, Tootsie Roll, Bally’s
Thursday: Cisco Systems, Applied Materials, Brookfield Corporation, Nu Holdings, Nebius, Cerebras Systems, YETI, Spectrum Brands, Wolverine World Wide, Flowers Foods, Edgewell Personal Care, KinderCare, National Vision, Intuitive Machines, Canadian Solar, Globant, Virgin Galactic
Friday: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, KB Financial Group, Woori Bank, LG Display, Noodles & Company
Here’s a look at economic data this week (estimates are in quotations).
Monday: Monthly Wholesale Trade
Tuesday: NFIB Index of Small Business Optimism, CPI, Core CPI M/M%, CPI Y/Y%, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Q3 Household Debt and Credit Report published, Council on Foreign Relations event with Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman
Wednesday: No events scheduled
Thursday: Weekly Jobless Claims, Existing Home Sales, Monthly Treasury Balance
Friday: PPI, Ex-Food & Energy PPI M/M%, PPI Y/Y%
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Earnings Corner 💸
Berkshire Hathaway $BRK.B ( ▼ 0.25% ) Beat on revenue at $105.65B vs. $100.96B expected, while operating EPS slightly beat expectations. Revenue benefited from recent acquisitions and stronger railroad, energy, and industrial operations, but weaker insurance profitability, particularly at Geico, weighed on earnings as lower premiums and higher claims costs squeezed margins. Under new CEO Greg Abel, the company repurchased a record $9.6B in shares during Q3, while its cash holdings reached $377B, reflecting continued caution toward major investments.
Moderna $MRNA ( ▲ 5.27% ) Beat on revenue at $1.31B and EPS, posting a $0.38 profit vs. an expected loss of $1.25. Results were driven by stronger international COVID vaccine sales, new vaccine launches, and lower research costs. The company is expanding beyond COVID vaccines, with a newly approved flu shot and promising late-stage results for its personalized cancer vaccine with Merck. Mgmt. raised its 2026 revenue growth outlook, while further cutting spending to improve profitability.
Vistra $VST ( ▲ 10.55% ) Missed on revenue at $6.35B vs. $6.79B, but slightly beat on EPS. Despite the revenue miss, higher electricity prices, strong summer demand, and acquired power plants drove adjusted EBITDA up 50% YoY. Mgmt. raised its 2026 earnings outlook and forecast further growth in 2027, supported by expanded generation capacity and rising data center power demand.
Charter Communications $CHTR ( ▼ 6.19% ) Missed on revenue at $14.9B and posted an EPS loss of $20.50. Results were driven by revenue from its Cox acquisition, offset by the loss of 233K internet customers amid growing wireless competition and cord-cutting, while a $6.3B impairment charge weighed on earnings. Mgmt. announced plans to cut $2B in annual costs over 18 months, alongside $1B+ in Cox merger savings, to improve profitability and reverse subscriber losses.
Atlassian $TEAM ( ▼ 16.16% ) Beat on revenue at $1.77B vs. $1.71B expected and EPS at $1.65, driven by strong enterprise demand and AI adoption, with cloud revenue growing 31% YoY. However, Mgmt. forecast slowing subscription growth and issued next quarter revenue guidance only slightly above expectations, raising concerns about its growth outlook.
Iren $IREN ( ▲ 20.02% ) Beat on revenue at $228M vs. $221M, driven by surging demand for AI computing, with AI Cloud revenue nearly tripling to $200M as the company shifts away from Bitcoin mining. Profitability improved, though heavy infrastructure spending remains a concern. Mgmt. delayed its $4B+ annual recurring revenue target to early 2027 following Microsoft's request for data center upgrades, while its contracted backlog reached $20.3B.
On The Move 📈 📉
Chip stocks $NVDA ( ▲ 2.78% ), $AMD ( ▲ 11.04% ), $INTC ( ▲ 7.71% ), and $MU ( ▲ 5.12% ) and Data center stocks $IREN ( ▲ 20.02% ), $CIFR ( ▲ 17.93% ), and $WULF ( ▲ 12.8% ) recovered after Thursday’s selloff.
Firefly Aerospace $FLY ( ▲ 36.8% ) soared after signing an engine supply and licensing deal worth more than $1.3Bn with $ASTS ( ▲ 7.05% ) for a planned heavy-lift rocket program.
Axon $AXON ( ▼ 18.18% ) sank after warning that memory cost inflation will hit margins harder in Q4 and into 2027.
Starwood $STWD ( ▼ 6.44% ) dropped after signaling it may cut its dividend because Q3 distributable earnings of $0.31 per share fell short of its $0.48 payout.
Hims & Hers $HIMS ( ▲ 8.06% ) climbed after striking a deal to sell Eli Lilly’s obesity drugs Zepbound and Foundayo directly on its platform.
Unity Software $U ( ▲ 5.51% ) rose after it reportedly held acquisition talks with Silver Lake and Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which discussed a valuation of about $25Bn.
IPO Roundup 📍
Prospective Anthropic IPO buyers are now discussing a $1.2-1.3Tn valuation after Thursday’s record tech selloff, with some going as low as $1.1Tn. Formal marketing for the IPO could start as soon as next week.
vVardis set terms to raise up to $228.6mm in its US IPO, which would value the Swiss dental startup at up to ~$4.4Bn. The Apollo-backed company sells a no-drill cavity treatment that’s already used by 20,000+ dental practices.
Coca-Cola is weighing an IPO of its Indian bottling business, Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings. It’s still early, and the company is reviewing options including structure and timing.
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Today’s Headlines 📖🍿
Latest with Iran: President Trump has said new strikes on Iran are “highly unlikely” if talks progress
Jobs numbers: The U.S. added 165k jobs in October (above est. of +59k) and unemployment held at 4.1% (est. of 4.2%). This sets up a reinforced case for a 25bps rate hike in December.
Things were worse over the border though, as Canada’s unemployment rose to 6.7% (up from 6.5% in Sept.) as the country lost 4.7k jobs in October compared to estimates of gaining 13.6k jobs. The Private sector lost 53k roles while the public sector rose by 50k.
SF Fed President Daly says more rate hikes are needed to tame inflation saying, "Exactly when and how much is still to be decided because we just have to take all the variables that are coming in."
Anthropic is taking more control of the electricity behind its data centers. It struck a $3.4Bn deal for 1.7 gigawatts of gas-fired generators, the largest known purchase of power generation equipment by an AI lab.
JPMorgan Private Bank says the blue wave gives hyperscalers an edge. New rules would mostly target new developments, which favors companies with data centers already running.
Carlyle’s Q4 private markets quarterly flags a move towards hard assets and low distribution levels. Hard and manufacturing industries took 52% of Q3 buyout volume, up from 20% a year earlier. US exit value rose 50%, but distributions remain below average.
Google has bought out a Crusoe data center site in southeast Wyoming that had failed to lock in customers. Google said it would be investing $17B into the site.
Brightspeed is in talks with creditors for $2-$3B in new capital. The Apollo backed broadband provider is wrestling with a $10B debt load and has secured paper trading deeply in distress, with its $2.6B DD TL quoted at 66 ¼ and its $2.5B PIK Loan quoted at 17 ¼.
Tesla will be winding down cybertruck production mid-next-year. Tesla will focus on cybercab production instead amid the cybertruck sales slump and the rise in AVs.
Chiefs WR Rashee Rice has filed for bankruptcy; claiming he owes more than $3.45 million in debt. Rice pledged his Super Bowl LVIII ring as collateral. He reported just $13.6K in his checking account.
Sequoia is reversing 20 years of expansion. It’s unwinding its permanent capital vehicle, the Sequoia Capital Fund, closing its London office, and shutting down programs such as Scouts.
California voters approved a $25Bn bond program to help homebuyers with down payments. Qualified buyers can borrow up to 17% of a newly built home’s price but still need to contribute at least 3% themselves.
M&A Transactions💭
D&T, manufacturer of custom display devices intended for specialized industrial and commercial applications, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by E-UM Private Equity through an estimated KRW 500.0B LBO. EV/EBITDA was 12.08x.
Anthem Entertainment, operator of a music production and publishing division intended to serve the entertainment industry, was acquired by Influence Media Partners and BlackRock through a $600.0M LBO. Goldman Sachs advised on the sale.
Roku was acquired by Fox (NAS: FOXA) for $17.60B. EV/EBITDA was 27.03x and EV/Revenue was 4.38x. Qatalyst Partners, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank advised on the sale.
Navtor, developer of digital maritime navigation and vessel performance software intended to improve the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of shipping operations, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Alfa Laval for $700.0M. EV/Revenue was 3.61x.
Embark Student, provider of education savings services intended to help families save for post-secondary education, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by National Bank of Canada (TSE: NA) for an estimated $226.0M. Raymond James advised on the sale.
Private Placement Transactions💭
CesiumAstro, developer of a space communication system designed to address a diverse range of commercial and defense applications, raised $730.0M of series D venture funding in led by Janus Henderson Investors.
Future Secure AI, developer of an enterprise artificial intelligence platform designed to automate complex workflows, raised $118.0M of venture funding from Square Peg Capital, Yarra Capital Management, and Macquarie Asset Management.
Ocient, developer of a data analytics platform intended to offer a rapid analysis of large datasets, raised $100.0M of Series C venture funding in a deal led by BOKA Group and OCA Ventures.
Restructuring Updates💭
ZOM Living — Type: Chapter 11. Debt: ~$541M in unsecured debt. What happened: The Florida luxury apartment developer and two affiliates filed November 2 following a major property dispute and failed transaction, seeking to preserve operations through restructuring.
Karyopharm Therapeutics — Type: Prepackaged Chapter 11. Debt: ~$441.5M. What happened: The cancer therapeutics company filed November 2 in Texas with a creditor-supported restructuring and proposed merger with Ayrmid. The company will continue operating during bankruptcy.
Holy Redeemer Health System — Type: Chapter 11. Debt: ~$441M in liabilities. What happened: The Pennsylvania healthcare provider filed to address its debt obligations, pursue a hospital sale and restructure its senior-care and other healthcare operations.
Restructuring Rumors💭
Mercer International — Type: Prepackaged restructuring agreement. Debt: $1.275B in senior notes. What happened: Announced November 2 a creditor-backed recapitalization that would exchange approximately $1.1B of debt for equity and provide $400M in new capital. The transaction is expected to be implemented through Chapter 11.
Optimum Communications (Altice USA) — Type: Potential Chapter 11 / debt-for-equity restructuring. Debt: ~$26B. What happened: Continues negotiating a creditor takeover that could be implemented through Chapter 11 before year-end. Apollo, Oaktree and JPMorgan are among the major creditors involved. This remains an ongoing situation rather than a newly announced filing.
Braskem — Type: Out-of-court restructuring / Chapter 11 risk. Debt: ~$11B. What happened: Negotiations continue over fresh shareholder capital and debt-for-equity conversions, with a November 22 deadline approaching. The company is seeking to avoid a broader bankruptcy while resolving creditor disagreements.
Noteworthy Chart 🧭
A look at AI emissions per Bloomberg:
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