What you Need to Know for September 16th

Wednesday: Lennar, LuxExperience

Thursday: VinFast Auto, Hub Group

Wednesday: Retail Sales (0.8%), Import Prices (-0.1%), Manufacturing & Trade: Inventories (0.3%), NAHB Housing Market Index (34), Federal Reserve economic projections, U.S. interest rate decision

Thursday: Housing Starts (1.3M), Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey (27.5), Weekly Jobless Claims (205K), Pending Home Sales Idx M/M%

Friday: Industrial Production M/M% (0.3%), Capacity Utilization % (76.5%), Leading Indicators (0.2%)

Dave & Buster's $PLAY ( ▼ 19.01% ) missed on the top and bottom lines, with revenue of $544.1M vs. $556.8M expected and EPS of -$0.27 vs. $0.19 expected. Revenue fell 2.4% YoY as same-store sales declined 2.9%, driven by continued weakness in amusement revenue as the company works to refresh its games and rebuild traffic, while stronger food and beverage sales only partly offset the decline and the weaker mix pressured margins. Management said trends improved into July and expects that improvement to continue, while keeping FY26 net capex below $200M as it focuses on cost cuts and a more disciplined turnaround.

Vera Bradley $VRA ( ▲ 34.54% ) beat on the top and bottom lines, with revenue of $71.65M and EPS of $0.11. Results were driven by stronger DTC demand as newer products, better marketing, and stronger back-to-school sales lifted comps, while improved inventory management, product margins, and tariff refunds boosted profitability. Management reiterated FY guidance, and shares jumped as the quarter showed more evidence that the company’s turnaround is starting to work.

Forgent Power Solutions $FPS ( ▲ 9.5% ) beat on the top and bottom lines, with revenue of $461.7M vs. $429.9M expected and EPS of $0.25 vs. $0.24 expected. Results were driven by surging data-center demand for Forgent’s customized and modular power equipment, helping Powertrain Solutions revenue jump 187%, bookings reach a record $1.5B, and backlog hit $3B, while higher volumes also expanded margins. Management guided FY27 revenue well above expectations at $2.4B–$2.6B vs. roughly $2.1B expected, with more than 90% already covered by backlog.

Trip.com $TCOM ( ▲ 0.44% ) beat on the top and bottom lines, with revenue of $2.31B and EPS of $1.07 vs. $0.98 expected. Revenue grew 6% YoY as resilient travel demand drove higher accommodation, packaged-tour, and corporate travel bookings, while international platform revenue rose 50%+ and inbound travel grew at a high double-digit rate as cross-border and world-to-world travel continued to gain momentum. Transportation revenue fell slightly as higher energy prices and geopolitical volatility weighed on travel, while the company pointed to continued inbound and international travel growth as key drivers.

Crypto stocks $COIN ( ▼ 10.1% ), $CRCL ( ▼ 11.41% ), $BMNR ( ▼ 8.39% ), and $MSTR ( ▼ 5.36% ) sold off after the Senate blocked the Clarity Act in a procedural vote. The bill would have given the CFTC primary authority over the digital asset industry.

RF chip makers $SWKS ( ▲ 13.55% ) and $QRVO ( ▲ 9.34% ) rallied after their pending merger reached its final regulatory review stages. Apple’s new iPhone lineup, including its first foldable, also raised hopes for stronger RF component sales.

Carter’s $CRI ( ▼ 4.43% ) slid after unveiling a rebrand aimed at Gen Z parents. The new identity rolls out across channels in 2026, with retail, product, and packaging changes to follow in 2027.

Mortgage names $FNMA ( ▼ 9.01% ), $MTG ( ▼ 3.11% ), $FICO ( ▼ 1.55% ), and $RDN ( ▼ 1.37% ) fell after FHFA Director Bill Pulte announced a series of policy moves. He expanded VantageScore approval to all Fannie/Freddie mortgages, eased PMI cancellation, and floated a reduction in required credit reports.

Restaurant stocks $WING ( ▼ 12.09% ), $CAVA ( ▼ 8.93% ), $SHAK ( ▼ 8.25% ), $TXRH ( ▼ 6.32% ), and $CMG ( ▼ 5.94% ) all sold off after Placer.ai’s August index showed U.S. dining foot traffic fell 2.4% YoY. Elevated gas prices and food-away-from-home inflation of 3.4% are pushing consumers back toward eating at home.

Qualcomm $QCOM ( ▲ 4.25% ) rose after StoneX reiterated its Buy rating with a $270 target, citing the recent Amazon chip collaboration and data-center expansion.

Enova International $ENVA ( ▼ 23.43% ) tumbled after withdrawing its applications to acquire digital bank Grasshopper Bancorp in a $369M deal, citing unclear federal standards for nonbanks seeking bank charters.

Anthropic is still on track for a 2026 IPO despite the AI safety uproar, arguing that being public would actually improve transparency. The company recently picked Nasdaq for the listing, while rival OpenAI is leaning toward a 2027 debut.

Electra Therapeutics is seeking to raise up to $347M in its US IPO at a ~$978M valuation, marketing 21.67M shares at $14–$16 each. The San Francisco biotech’s lead drug for a severe immune system overreaction has FDA Breakthrough Therapy and EMA Priority Medicine designations.

Amaero set terms for a $52.6M Nasdaq IPO, offering 7.46M shares under the ticker AMRO. The US titanium powder supplier serves aerospace and defense additive manufacturing.

Blackstone President Jon Gray says investor confidence in private credit will recover, dismissing recent criticism as “noise” from “town criers.” His comments come as Blackstone’s $77B flagship BCRED fund capped redemptions for a second straight quarter.

Deep Dives:

KKR and Apollo are flagging massive capital needs for the AI and industrial buildout. KKR’s private investment-grade financing hit $80B in H1 2026 (double all of 2025), and KKR projects $7.6T of AI infrastructure capex over the next five years, while Apollo estimates $2-$6.5T to restore the US industrial base.

A global bond selloff deepened Tuesday, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield above 5%, its highest since 2007, ahead of the Fed’s rate decision. The moves reflect Middle East-driven inflation concerns and come shortly after a $13B 20-year Treasury auction.

Apollo Sports Capital is eyeing NFL team ownership, with chief strategy officer Sam Porter saying that the firm is taking a “hard look” at the league, despite not being one of the NFL’s approved private equity partners.

Fortress Investment Group warned private credit lenders against chasing AI infrastructure deals out of fear of missing out, arguing that credit investors take on collateral risk in fast-evolving data-center and GPU assets without the upside equity holders get.

Coca-Cola announced plans to invest $10B in US infrastructure between 2026 and 2030, following the the company’s strong Q2 results, and raised its full-year EPS growth target to 9%–10%.

Meta launched a new tier of Meta One subscription plans spanning creators, businesses, and heavy AI users. Pricing ranges from $2.99/month for single-product plans to $499/month for the top-tier “Max” business bundle.

Carlyle’s Jason Thomas says AI data-center financing echoes pre-crisis mortgage lending. Lenders are backing projects on the sponsor’s IG credit rather than the underlying project. Thomas warns the setup could break down as liabilities escalate and data-center revenue outcomes widen.

A Google DeepMind AI safety researcher resigned and warned that AI “has the potential to kill us all.” Bilal Chughtai follows Anthropic’s Jacob Coxon, who quit earlier this month accusing his former employers of “gambling with our lives.”

Morgan & Morgan is committing $1B to AI over the next decade and plans to sell its proprietary AI product to other law firms. The firm has already spent $300M on tech and AI since 2021, and the platform will be available to other firms by invitation starting in late 2027.

Anthropic signed a $13.7B six-year compute deal with Rum Group, the Trump-linked owner of Rumble and Northern Data. Rum plans to borrow money to fund construction of the Georgia data center that will host Anthropic’s compute.

Oracle began a new round of layoffs as it accumulates billions in debt to finance AI infrastructure. The firm has already cut 21,000 jobs in fiscal 2026, and Larry Ellison recently canceled a plan to sell $7.5B in Oracle shares.