Rates stuck in a holding pattern, inflation still above target and the Fed hinting it may not be done yet. That mix keeps pressure on growth stories and puts steady cash payers back in the spotlight. Investors hunting for resilience and reliable income are watching this closely, because moments like this can reshape portfolios for years. This article walks through 3 dividend stocks exposed to this macro story.
The stocks covered next are just a sample to illustrate the idea. The full screen surfaced 18 more large-cap defensive dividend companies with income profiles and risk characteristics that also fit this tighter brief. If you want to identify and ******* yze your own shortlist of higher-conviction defensive payers right now, head straight into the Large-Cap Defensive Dividend Stocks (US) screener.
Overview: Consolidated Edison is a regulated utility that delivers electric, gas and steam services to customers across New York and parts of New Jersey.
Operations: Consolidated Edison generates almost all of its roughly US$17.7b revenue from US$12.1b CECONY electric, US$3.4b CECONY gas and US$872 million steam operations in the United States.

#edison #income

This story was originally published on Marketing Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Marketing Dive newsletter.
Walmart is reworking an iconic piece of pop culture history to bolster its holiday marketing and a "Who Knew?" brand platform starring Walton Goggins. The goal is to offer a unified marketing push with multigenerational appeal throughout the crucial gift-giving season.
The retailer in the past ran separate campaigns around different legs of the holiday season, such as the ramp-up to Black Friday, but has leveraged "Who Knew?" to streamline its storytelling. "Who Knew?," which launched last year, was developed to dispel misperceptions about the brand and position it as more style- and trend-forward as Walmart wins over higher-income shoppers.
"The holidays are an incredibly cluttered period of time from an advertising standpoint, and so the ability to break through is really important," Walmart CMO William White said in an interview. "Having one [theme], one campaign throughout the season allows a really quick read for customers to know it's Walmart."

#dive

AT&T is speeding up its plan to phase out long-standing services that customers keep canceling as demand for newer alternatives grows.
Several of these alternatives have seen strong customer growth in the third quarter of this year. According to AT&T's latest earnings report, the carrier attracted 379,000 postpaid phone customers during the quarter.
It also added 416,000 AT&T Fiber customers, up 44.4% year over year, and 280,000 new Internet Air (its fixed wireless internet service) customers, a 3.7% increase from the same period in 2025.
On an earnings call on Oct. 21, AT&T CEO John Stankey said that the company has been focused on "removing friction for consumers by constructing plans built around simplicity, transparent value, and convergence."

#customers

James Attwood: I don't really see how. Sure, the Brewers are a smaller market than the Dodgers. They have a much smaller payroll. But, if anything, the Brewers advancing is only going to fuel the MLBPA to get even stickier about trying to control salaries in any way, shape, or form. Also, even though plenty of fans and pundits like to give MLB front offices a hard time about making stupid decisions, those offices are by and large, stacked with incredibly intelligent people. Those people are going to be able to take a step back and recognize that one season's playoff picture is hardly a sample size large enough to be called indicative of the sport moving forward. There were questions after Arizona went to the World Series in 2023 about whether or not MLB had done enough to create obstacles for Wild Card teams in the playoffs, all because Arizona steamrolled the Brewers and Dodgers. This year, pundits are calling for the entire seeding system to be blown up because there was a team with a .500 record that not only made the playoffs, but won their division outright. Single seasons may bring some oddities, but they are usually not indicative of the reality of the game's overall health.
I suspect, both the ownership side of things and the MLBPA have already drawn their battle lines and have already started crafting their arguments. This outcome in the playoffs will do more to feed the online debates between fans and pundits than it will do for or against the CBA negotiations.
C. Wesley Baier: I think it will impact the CBA negotiations, but how much is the real question. I would be shocked if the MLBPA didn't use this as evidence against a salary cal, but I cant say if it wil be all that successful of a tactic.
Spencer: Nope. Anything can happen in a small sample size. Owners are greedy and want to abuse their employees/customers for profit still. Players are greedy and only care about the uppermost tiers of earning power. Fans will quiet down a little, but fan opinion and outrage has never been a driving force for either side.
Justin27: FTD

#brewers #only #Dodgers

Trillion-dollar conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKA)(NYSE:BRKB) entered 2026 in uncharted territory for the first time in more than half a century. On Dec. 31, Warren Buffett, the company's longtime CEO, who oversaw a greater-than-6,000,000% outperformance of the benchmark S&P 500 since the mid-1960s, retired as CEO. His successor, Greg Abel, is now in charge of Berkshire's $350 billion investment portfolio.
While the Oracle of Omaha had a knack for spotting amazing deals hiding in plain sight, he wasn't infallible. Decisions made in the years leading up to his retirement with No. 1 holding Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) have cost Berkshire Hathaway up to $112 billion in would-be gains.
Missed AI's "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 14x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our ******* ysts, we're only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
Warren Buffett began building a position in the "Apple" of his eye in the first quarter of 2016. While artificial intelligence is all the rage today, Buffett was more interested in consumers' draw to the brand when he initially invested. Apple has an exceptionally loyal customer base that's shown a willingness to pay premium prices for its physical products (iPhone, iPad, and Mac).

#warren

Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) isn't a flashy business. Most people probably don't know much about the company, even though they come across its products every day. The company makes the packaging used for food, drinks, healthcare products, beauty products, and plenty of other everyday items.
That gives the company an interesting quality from an investment perspective. Consumers may cut back on certain purchases when the economy gets tougher, but they still need to buy food, medicine, and other basic products. About 60% of Amcor's markets are tied to nutrition, while health, beauty, and wellness make up another 25%. Billionaires are gravitating towards another packaging company, and that has also returned nearly 20% in the past year. Find here.
The company's size is another advantage. Amcor operates across a large global manufacturing network and has relationships with major customers that have been built over many years. It also offers a wide range of packaging formats and materials. For a large multinational customer, being able to deal with one supplier across multiple markets can be a meaningful advantage. The Berry Global acquisition has made Amcor even larger, although it also brought more debt onto the balance sheet.
Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) pays $0.65 per share every quarter, giving investors an annual dividend of $2.60. At the October 7 closing price of $41.26, that works out to a yield of about 6.3%. That's a big yield for a company selling products that are tied to everyday consumption. However, a high yield doesn't automatically make a dividend attractive. What matters is whether the business can actually afford to keep paying it. Amcor's latest numbers offer some comfort. Its steady dividend growth is one reason the stock remains popular with income-focused investors.
The company generated $1.303 billion in free cash flow during fiscal 2026, while adjusted diluted EPS came in at $4.02, up 13% from the previous year. Amcor also increased its annual dividend to $2.60. On an adjusted earnings basis, the payout ratio is around 65%. That's not unusual for a mature company and doesn't immediately raise a red flag.

#NYSE

One of Andrew Tate's accusers says he convinced her to move to Romania by telling her she would be able to decide whether she participated in webcam work. According to newly public extradition materials, she says that choice disappeared after she arrived.
The woman alleges that she began working 12-hour shifts while Tate, his brother Tristan Tate and others controlled conversations with paying customers and accepted money for ***** ual acts she says she had never agreed to perform. TMZ reported the specific allegations from court documents filed as Britain seeks to extradite the brothers from the United States.
She says she had set explicit boundaries around what she would and would not do but was pressured into acts outside those limits, including one degrading act involving a bed fixture that allegedly continued for about an hour. The woman described her overall experience as feeling like "sexual slavery." The allegations have not been proven in court.
U.K. investigators allege the brothers used romantic relationships to draw women to Romania before using financial control, intimidation and violence to exploit them through online ***** ual content. The brothers deny wrongdoing and are fighting extradition from federal custody in Miami.
According to the documents described by TMZ, the woman says Tate persuaded her to relocate to Romania in 2017. The woman says she that Tate, Tristan and other people involved in the operation controlled communications with customers.

#sexual #tristan #controlled

Kohl's is rolling out steep discounts for customers as it struggles to turn around its sales.
The department store chain revealed in its most recent earnings report that its comparable sales decreased 0.9% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, while recent Placer.ai data showed overall visits to Kohl's stores declined 1.4%.
Kohl's CEO Michael Bender said on the August earnings call that the company is "operating in a challenging macroeconomic environment" where customers are "experiencing persistent financial pressures from inflation in their everyday expenses, like gas and food."
Against this backdrop, Kohl's has taken several steps to make its merchandise more affordable. It introduced Deal Bar and Toy Towers in stores earlier this year, featuring products priced below $10. It also priced thousands of back-to-school items under $25 in July.
In its latest effort to win over price-conscious customers, Kohl's has made its annual Kohl's Deal Days savings event more generous this year.

#year #deal #recent #placer

Like a toddler, Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) seems to be growing up fast.
No longer is it the speculative aviation stock of yesterday, the company with big ambitions but zero revenue and nothing to its name but an experimental aircraft. There are still unknowns to be solved -- how to scale its business while keeping costs under control -- but if last month's flight demonstrations in Texas showed us anything, it's that Joby is getting very close to turning its air taxi dreams into a commercial operation.
Missed AI's "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 14x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our **** ysts, we're only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »
Where, then, will Joby Aviation be in three years? And how much will a $5,000 investment today be worth by then?
In a nutshell, Joby wants to commercialize a passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Although it does not have regulatory approval to fly paying customers in an eVTOL, I believe it will in three years.

#missed

Apple's 2.5B active devices and 1.5B paid subscriptions let it monetize AI without heavy data center spending, fueling a 9th straight EPS beat.
Microsoft's AI infrastructure spending surged 79% to $116B, shrinking free cash flow, while Apple's customers fund AI hardware themselves.
Siri AI awaits EU and China approval, iCloud+ upgrades haven't launched yet, and a $30B Broadcom chip deal gives Apple untapped upside catalysts.
Read More: Learn 7 ways to generate income with a $1,000,000+ portfolio (sponsor)
I added to my Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) position this month and expect to add more after the October 29 earnings report. The market has misunderstood Apple's AI strategy.

#Apple #broadcom

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
High street lender Barclays has become the latest bank to introduce a ***** per switching bonus for customers.
Customers could get up to £600 when switching to a Barclays account, making it the highest-paying deal on the market.
However, there are a few hoops to jump through if you want the full £600, and not everyone is eligible for the free cash.
The £600 offer is only available to those who switch to a Barclays Premier account. It pays customers £350 for switching, plus £150 in monthly rewards. Neither is subject to UK income tax.

#switching #future #high

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on FoxNews.com.
A Delta Air Lines passenger jet on Tuesday struck an Air Canada aircraft being towed to its arrival gate just after it landed at Los Angeles International Airport, both airlines said.
Delta Air Lines Flight 7, slated to depart for Tokyo, carrying 275 passengers and 15 crew members, struck an Air Canada passenger jet with its left wingtip, a Delta spokesperson told Fox News Digital. No injuries were initially reported.
"While taxiing at Los Angeles International Airport, a Delta aircraft made contact with an Air Canada aircraft," a Delta statement said. "Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, and we apologize to our customers for the experience and delay in their travel."
'WE NEED TO RETURN IMMEDIATELY,' FLIGHT CREW WARNS AS PILOT HEALTH EMERGENCY UNFOLDS

#aircraft

The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) was trading at around $193 on October 5, down 11.91% over twelve months. Boeing reported net income of $2.09 billion over the past twelve months. Its EBITDA over the same period was negative $2.9 billion.
Those two figures describe the same year and point in opposite directions. Only one of them tells you what the business did.
READ ALSO: GE Aerospace (GE) vs. RTX (RTX): Which Is the Better Stock to Buy?
Start with the figure that describes the aircraft business itself. Boeing's operating margin is 0.00%. On $93.99 billion of revenue, building and selling airplanes earned nothing.
That is not a rounding problem. Gross profit was $4.43 billion on that revenue, under five percent for a manufacturer, which means the cost of building the aircraft very nearly equals what customers pay for them.

#same

McDonald's is facing a federal lawsuit that alleges its AI-enhanced pricing tool violates antitrust laws because it shares nonpublic data with franchisees who might be competing in the same market.
The lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Illinois, said McDonald's pricing tool uses artificial intelligence to collect data that competing franchises wouldn't normally share, like store-level sales. The Chicago-based burger giant has said it makes the tool available to U.S. franchisees to help them set prices at their individual restaurants.
The lawsuit also blames the pricing system for raising McDonald's U.S. prices.
"McDonald's has built and for years deployed its own information-sharing pricing platform, which draws on data from its millions of daily transactions to set menu prices across thousands of U.S. restaurants," the lawsuit states. "The result is algorithmic price-fixing aimed at customers who are already stretched thin."
McDonald's said Tuesday that the lawsuit is "filled with inaccuracies" and it would vigorously defend itself.

#restaurants

A federal judge has granted final approval to AT&T's $177 million settlement resolving lawsuits over two 2024 data breaches that exposed personal information belonging to millions of customers.
U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater in Dallas approved the settlement Oct. 2, along with $59 million in attorneys' fees for lawyers who negotiated the deal, according to Reuters. The settlement faced dozens of objections, including arguments that the amount was inadequate compared to a $350 million settlement in separate litigation involving T-Mobile.
For AT&T customers who filed valid claims, the amount they receive depends on which data breach affected them, what information was exposed and whether they can document financial losses. Most customers receiving the tiered cash payments are expected to get far less than the settlement's advertised maximums.
Customers could receive between about $6.50 and $40 through the tiered payment system, according to court documents. Here's what to know.
The settlement has two funds totaling $177 million: $149 million for customers affected by the first data incident, known as AT&T 1, and $28 million for customers affected by the second incident, known as AT&T 2.

#million #settlement #information

In late September 2026, AT&S Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG announced an expanded collaboration with Marvell Technology to increase advanced IC substrate capacity for next-generation AI and cloud infrastructure, while Marvell also affirmed a quarterly dividend of US$0.06 per share payable on October 29, 2026.
This deeper manufacturing partnership gives Marvell greater access to complex packaging technologies that are increasingly critical for high-performance AI chips and data center hardware.
Next, we'll examine how this expanded AT&S manufacturing capacity could influence Marvell's AI-focused growth story and longer-term investment narrative.
The future of work is here. Discover the 89 top robotics and automation stocks leading the charge in AI-driven automation and industrial transformation.
To own Marvell, you need to believe its AI and data center franchises can justify today's rich valuation and eventually translate into stronger, more consistent earnings power. The expanded AT&S IC substrate deal directly supports Marvell's near term AI optics and custom silicon ramp, while also amplifying the existing risk that long term supplier prepayments and capacity commitments could weigh on margins and free cash flow if AI demand or customer ramps slow.

#term #substrate #Manufacturing #data

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once challenged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) argument that billionaires cannot legitimately earn their fortunes.
During a May 2026 interview with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin at Blue Origin's rocket factory in Florida, Bezos responded to Ocasio-Cortez's statement that no one can earn $1 billion without exploiting workers, abusing market power or breaking rules.
The Amazon executive chairman rejected the premise, illustrating his argument with a hypothetical burger restaurant that starts with 10 employees and gradually expands to 1,000 locations as customers embrace its products.
Don't Miss:

#alexandria

Christina Zhu, the head of Walmart's China business, remembers when Chinese shoppers did not have much choice.
As a child, she watched her parents wake up at 4:30 a.m. on Sundays to go to the wet market. "They had to haggle, and high-quality produce wasn't always guaranteed," Zhu, born in 1973, recalled at the Fortune Leaders Forum in Macau in September.
Today, Chinese shoppers are "probably the group with the most choices [in the world]," and they have become "the most demanding customers," she said.
Meeting those rising expectations has become the defining challenge for retailers in China, and Walmart has managed it better than most. It entered China in 1996 with a Supercenter and a Sam's Club in Shenzhen. Three decades later, the U.S. retailer is thriving in the world's second-largest economy even as other foreign brands struggle.
China represents 3% of Walmart's overall business, but it is growing, generating $24.6 billion in sales in its past fiscal year, a 19.3% jump. Sales grew 20.7% last quarter, faster than the 5.9% reported by the company as a whole.

#China

LONDON — A British Airways passenger jet flying from London to Chicago descended 28,000 feet in just seven minutes after declaring an emergency due to an unspecified “technical issue,” the airline said Monday.
The Boeing 777 took off at 12:15 p.m. local time (7:15 a.m. ET) but started descending just 30 minutes later while flying over Ireland, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
The plane turned around and spent around four hours zigzagging over the Bristol Channel, a waterway to the west of England, before landing back at London Heathrow Airport at 5 p.m. local time (noon ET).
“The aircraft landed safely after our highly-trained pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical issue,” British Airways said in an emailed statement. “Customers disembarked the aircraft normally and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible.”
Heathrow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

#british #airways #minutes

A quiet pub lunch for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has created considerably more noise online. The Duke and ****** ss of Sussex were photographed holding hands while walking to a historic Cotswolds pub during their latest stay in Britain. Although the couple reportedly behaved like ordinary customers once inside, their photographed arrival quickly became the focus of a heated debate. Critics accused the Sussexes of importing a "Hollywood circus" into the picturesque English countryside, while others questioned why two private citizens grabbing lunch had become news at all.
ZUMAPRESS.com / MEGA
Harry and Meghan were photographed heading to The Falkland Arms in Great Tew, Oxfordshire, on October 1, marking their first joint public outing in Britain since returning to the country. According to The Sun, the couple held hands as they approached the traditional 16th-century pub. Meghan wore an all-black ensemble with contrasting white shoes, while Harry dressed casually in jeans and a jacket. He completed his outfit with a Santa Barbara Fire Department baseball cap. Their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, were reportedly at school during the outing. The couple apparently opted for hearty British dishes once inside. Meghan reportedly ordered gluten-free beer-battered haddock and chips with mushy peas and tartare sauce, while Harry selected chicken, ham and leek pie served with mashed potatoes, greens and gravy.
MEGA
The cozy outing drew a considerably less welcoming response from some social-media users.

#reportedly

By Waylon Cunningham
NEW YORK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - McDonald's is increasingly using artificial intelligence to guide menu prices across the U.S. and some global markets, a plan that aims to boost headquarters' profit but risks alienating customers and attracting antitrust scrutiny.
One pricing factor supercharged by AI: an estimate of how much each store's patrons are willing to pay.
The details of how that pricing system works, its extensive use of AI, the company's regulatory concerns and the tensions with its franchisees haven't been previously reported. For this story, Reuters reviewed screenshots of the company pricing engine taken in August and interviewed nine sources with first-hand knowledge of the burger chain's strategy.
McDonald's pricing ‌engine uses machine-learning algorithms to continually ****** yze data from millions of daily transactions across McDonald's nearly 14,000 restaurants and generate what the company calls "the optimal price" at each location for each menu item, from Big Macs to discounted coffee for seniors.

#pricing #company #engine #cunningham

Former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is backing a startup that thinks AI's next bottleneck is not the accelerator. It is everything waiting for data to arrive.
Delos Data announced on September 15 that it raised more than $100 million to develop networking chips and software for increasingly heterogeneous AI data centers. Playground Global, where Gelsinger is a general partner, joined the round. Reuters reported that Delos is designing the network to work across different types of compute hardware rather than **** uming every accelerator comes from NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA).
That makes Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) an important read-through even though AMD is not an investor in Delos.
For illustration purposes only. Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels
Nvidia does not dominate AI simply because its GPUs are fast. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) sells a tightly integrated system of accelerators, networking, interconnects and software. That makes large clusters easier to deploy and gives customers fewer reasons to mix architectures.

#delos #data #Networking #software

SK Hynix is exploring something it has never done before: manufacturing memory chips in the United States.
Reuters reported on September 16 that the Korean memory giant is discussing several possibilities with Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), including leasing part of Intel's long-delayed Ohio complex or forming a venture involving Intel and large cloud customers. SK Hynix said no specific plan has been finalized.
For Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), the talks matter because one of its strongest strategic advantages is being the major U.S.-based memory producer while AI has made DRAM and HBM increasingly scarce.
Intel has committed enormous capital to Ohio, with the broader project potentially reaching around $100 billion over time. Delays have pushed planned production into the next decade. A tenant or joint-venture partner could therefore help Intel share the financial burden of developing the Ohio site rather than relying entirely on its own foundry demand to justify the buildout.
That is the bull case. The bear case is that exploratory talks are a long way from revenue. Bringing advanced Korean memory production to the U.S. could face cost problems, technology-transfer restrictions and objections from Seoul. Intel still needs its core manufacturing roadmap to work.

#long

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (NYSE:WAB) announced on September 21 a services agreement worth more than $700 million with La Compagnie du TransGuinéen. Combined with locomotive orders placed in 2024, announced agreements for the Simandou project now exceed $1.2 billion.
The railway stretches more than 600 kilometers between the Simandou mine and Guinea's Port of Morebaya. The new agreement extends the relationship beyond locomotive delivery into ongoing fleet support. For investors, the opportunity is to earn revenue throughout the equipment's operating life.
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (NYSE:WAB) will provide scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, parts, component overhauls, logistics support, remote diagnostics, and training. These activities create multiple opportunities to serve the same fleet after the initial equipment sale.
That is an attractive business model when maintenance needs translate into repeat orders and efficient service delivery. Familiarity with the locomotives should help technicians diagnose problems and plan repairs. Remote monitoring could also help identify faults before they cause prolonged downtime, strengthening the customer's incentive to maintain the relationship.
Local workforce development and partnerships with Guinean businesses could improve responsiveness as the operation matures. Over time, an experienced local team could reduce dependence on specialists traveling to the site and make parts planning more efficient.

#westinghouse #brake #agreement

For the recently reported second quarter, PicS N.V. (NASDAQ:PICS) outperformed relative to its previous guidance across all profitability metrics. The total account base for the company went up to 70.4 million during the second quarter, showcasing a 10% jump from the prior year. Moving on to the bottom line figures, the adjusted earnings before tax, without factoring in costs ******* ociated with stock-based compensation came in at R$291 million for the quarter. This represented a 2.1% outperformance relative to the company's R$285 million guidance. Similarly, compared to the R$245 million projection, adjusted net income for the period actually stood 15.5% higher at R$283 million.
welcomia/Shutterstock.com
The second quarter concluded with strong financial and operating momentum for PicS. The company recorded a 9% annual and 2% sequential growth in its client base, which went up to 45.4 million active users. The total credit portfolio jumped to R$31.9 billion, exceeding management's guidance by 3%. This outperformance came due to a higher number of mature credit card cohorts, and accelerated origination within secured and partly secured categories. An additional factor that accounted for the credit portfolio growth was management's measured expansion into higher risk areas such as newer platform credit and private payroll lending.
Managerial revenue rose to R$3,730 million, topping guidance by 3.6%, and net interest income reached R$2,002 million, 5.4% above projections, boosted by growing credit income. Total cash in totaled R$136.4 billion, up 17% from a year earlier and 9% from the previous quarter, with customers bringing in an average of approximately R$45.4 billion to the platform each month. Total deposits climbed to R$35.8 billion, a 45% yearly jump and 10% quarterly rise.
Some concerns related to the company's loan portfolio emerged during the quarter. Non-performing loans more than 90 days overdue increased to 9.8% of the credit portfolio during the quarter, up 93 basis points sequentially. Stage 3 exposure, which includes a broader set of credit-impaired loans, reached 12.9% of the total credit portfolio.

#million #credit #quarter #Portfolio

On August 5, Cencora (NYSE:COR) reported results for its fiscal third quarter, which closed on June 30, and the headline numbers looked clean. Revenue rose 5.1% to $84.8 billion, adjusted earnings per share climbed 12.0% to $4.48, and management raised its full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $17.75 to $17.95. The company also repurchased $1 billion of its own stock during the quarter. But the profit story has moving parts, and a few of them pull in opposite directions.
Start with the gap between profit growth and sales growth. Adjusted operating income rose 17.0% while revenue grew only 5.1%. Much of the help came from gross profit, which jumped 23.2% on an adjusted basis as both segments contributed and the OneOncology acquisition in February lifted margins in the US business. In plain terms, adjusted gross margin widened 61 basis points to 4.16%, so the company keeps more gross profit from every dollar it sells.
The strength was not confined to one corner, either. US Healthcare Solutions grew operating income 15.9% on higher pharmaceutical sales and the OneOncology deal, while specialty volume to health systems and physician groups lifted its revenue. International Healthcare Solutions did better still, with operating income up 20.8% on strength in European distribution and global specialty logistics. Management also put cash to work, completing in one quarter the $1 billion of buybacks it had expected to finish by the close of calendar 2026. The board declared a $0.60 quarterly dividend as well, payable August 31, to holders of record on August 14.
Growth is costing more than it first appears. Adjusted operating expenses jumped 26.8%, faster than adjusted gross profit, because OneOncology brought expenses along with its profits. Even so, adjusted operating income amounts to just 1.46% of revenue, a thin cushion on a business this large. Financing adds weight too. Cencora funded part of the purchase with new senior notes plus variable-rate term loans, and net interest expense rose $58.9 million from a year earlier.
The sales mix carries its own drag. GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and weight loss are adding to revenue, but they earn lower gross margins, so each dollar of that growth is worth less to profit. Meanwhile, an oncology customer Cencora lost in 2025, and lower sales to a large mail order customer both held back US revenue, as did lower manufacturer prices on some brand pharmaceuticals. Cencora is also exploring strategic alternatives for a group of other businesses, and its April divestiture of US Consulting Services trimmed consulting sales.

#adjusted #revenue #august

With a market cap of $19.5 billion, Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) is a leading technology retailer focused on enriching lives through technology by combining tech expertise with personalized customer service. The company serves customers through its online platform, stores, and in-home services, addressing a wide range of everyday technology needs.
Companies valued at more than $10 billion are generally considered "large-cap" stocks, and Best Buy fits this criterion perfectly. Best Buy operates more than 1,000 stores across the United States and Canada and employs more than 85,000 people.
Here's Another Little-Known Firm Jensen Huang's Nvidia Is Quietly Backing
MediaTek Is Stepping Up Competition Against Qualcomm With a New 2-Nanometer Chip. What This Means for QCOM Stock.
1 Year Into the Microsoft Deal, IREN Is Delivering and a Rally May Follow Soon

#stores #known

On August 6, Aflac (NYSE:AFL) reported second-quarter numbers that point in opposite directions. Net earnings climbed to $825 million, helped along by investment losses that shrank to $153 million from $421 million a year ago. Adjusted earnings, though, fell 7.7% to $883 million. Both numbers are real, but they answer different questions. Which measure you trust changes the story, so here is what sits underneath.
Start with the yen, because it is muddying the picture. The average rate was 159.45 to the dollar, 9.3% weaker than a year earlier, and that cost adjusted earnings $0.05 a share. Take the currency out of the first half and adjusted earnings per share rose 4.1% to $3.57. ******* an is also running more profitably. Its pretax adjusted margin widened to 34.3% from 32.0% as claims took a smaller bite out of premiums, and yen-based pretax adjusted earnings rose 3.4%. So part of the decline in ******* an's dollar-reported profit is currency, not operations.
The US business is still growing at the top line. Net earned premiums rose 2.3% to $1.5 billion, and sales climbed 2.6% to $349 million, led by group voluntary benefits along with dental and vision plans. In ******* an, the refreshed Tsumitasu life policy and the new Anshin Palette medical product grew strongly in the quarter, and first-half sales rose 7.0% to ¥37.3 billion. Then there is the cash. Aflac returned $1.3 billion to shareholders in the quarter, $983 million of it through buybacks, and declared a $0.61 third-quarter dividend, payable September 1 to holders of record on August 19, 2026. Management notes 43 straight years of dividend increases through 2025 and says the board is on a path to extend that in 2026.
The catch is that ******* an's profit gains came from lower claims, not a bigger business. Net earned premiums in yen fell 3.7%, mainly because of a new external reinsurance deal and older limited-pay policies reaching paid-up status. Premium persistency, the share of policies customers keep, slipped to 92.7% from 93.7%. ******* an's pretax adjusted earnings still fell 2.1% once currency is stripped out, and new sales dipped 5.6% in the quarter against a tough comparison for the Miraito cancer product, which launched in March 2025.
The US segment has its own soft spot. Pretax adjusted earnings fell 4.6% to $370 million, and the margin narrowed to 20.9% from 22.5% as claims and benefits took a bigger share of premiums. Corporate and Other swung to a $10 million pretax adjusted loss from a $20 million gain a year earlier, with interest expense up 21.6% to $62 million. And adjusted book value per share, excluding foreign currency remeasurement, slid to $41.22 at June 30 from $42.97 a year earlier.

#earnings #fell

Millions of Americans recently received unwelcome news about their cell phone bills.
In late June, T-Mobile (TMUS) said it was retiring over 1,000 older plans, shifting customers to newer offerings at an added cost of as much as $6 per line per month. And starting in August, AT&T (T) hiked rates on some of its older plans by $10 to $20 and increased a monthly per-line fee by $1.
The changes contributed to a steep 5.9% jump in Americans' wireless bills from July to August alone, according to Consumer Price Index data. It was the largest single-month jump since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the category nearly three decades ago.
In a twist, last month's rising phone bills may have helped convince the Federal Reserve to implement its first interest rate hike in three years. The steep price jump likely contributed about 10 basis points of August's 0.3% month-over-month rise in core consumer prices, according to Wall Street ******* ysts. The hotter-than-expected jump in this category, which strips out price changes in the particularly volatile food and energy sectors, helped cement expectations for the Fed's 25 basis point hike to benchmark rates last Wednesday.
Read more: How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments

#august #plans

On September 9, 2026, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled the iPhone Duo, its first foldable smartphone and the biggest change to the iPhone's design in nearly 20 years, at the first product launch event led by new CEO John Ternus since he succeeded Tim Cook on September 1. The book-style, passport-shaped device opens into a 7.6-inch display, Apple's largest ever, starts at $1,999 for the 256-gigabyte model and rises to $3,199 for 2 terabytes of storage. This makes it the most expensive iPhone Apple has ever sold, with availability set for October 23.
The iPhone Duo gives Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) a new premium growth opportunity in a mature smartphone market. Apple entered the foldable market with the $1,999 Duo. It creates a new high-end product category within its largest hardware franchise. ******* ysts expect Apple to take a real share of the foldable market. The firm's brand strength and large installed base could help speed up use of foldable smartphones.
The Duo creates a materially different iPhone experience that could encourage upgrades and attract Android users. The device opens to a 7.6-inch display, supports side-by-side multitasking, and offers a tablet-like experience in a pocketable design. Apple also shows the Duo's ******* anium frame, custom hinge, A20 Pro chip, and Apple Intelligence features. It gives customers several reasons to pay a substantial premium for the new form factor.
The launch solidifies Apple's hardware innovation strategy under new CEO John Ternus. The Duo represents Apple's most significant iPhone redesign since the iPhone X. It gives Ternus an opportunity to reignite enthusiasm around the company's hardware portfolio. The product also expands Apple's ability to monetize its ecosystem through higher-value hardware, services, and accessories as customers spend more time using a larger, more versatile iPhone.
The $1,999 starting price could keep the Duo a niche product. Reuters reported that the global foldable market could account for less than 3% of smartphone sales in 2026. ******* ysts expect only about 6 million Duo units as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) enters the category. Even strong market share would turn into a relatively small contribution compared with Apple's broader iPhone business.

#iphone #aapl