Group 1 - KKR & Co. Inc. is recognized as one of the best dividend stocks to buy, with Piper Sandler reaffirming its Overweight rating and setting a price target of $166 [1][2] - The firm highlighted stronger transaction volumes across various business areas, attributing this growth in deal momentum as a key factor for its positive outlook on KKR [1][3] - Digital infrastructure is identified as a core strength for KKR, presenting a "multi-year opportunity," along with the potential growth in the 401K market [2][3] Group 2 - Despite the favorable overall outlook, KKR's insurance operations are facing near-term pressures due to tight asset spreads and intense competition on the liability side [3] - The insights from Piper Sandler followed a meeting with KKR's CFO Rob Lewin, which reinforced the constructive perspective on the company's business momentum and growth opportunities [3]

Core Insights - Southern Company is a major energy provider in the U.S., operating through various subsidiaries, including Southern Telecom, and competes with Duke Energy and NextEra Energy in the utility sector [1] Financial Summary - On September 25, 2025, Morgan Stanley's David Arcaro set a price target of $92 for Southern Company, indicating a slight overvaluation as the stock was trading at $93.80, reflecting a -1.91% difference [2] - The current stock price is $93.77, showing a decrease of approximately 0.68% from the previous day [2] - The stock has declined by $0.65 today, with a trading range between $93.63 and $95.06 [4] - Over the past year, the stock has fluctuated between a high of $96.44 and a low of $80.46 [4] - The company's market capitalization is approximately $103.15 billion, with a trading volume of 2,891,135 shares today [4][5] Strategic Developments - Southern Telecom, a subsidiary of Southern Company, has partnered with Seimitsu to launch SouthernWaves, a new fiber-optic network service aimed at enhancing digital infrastructure in the Southeastern U.S. [3][5] - This partnership combines Southern Company's dark fiber offerings with Seimitsu's lit services, supporting initiatives like the South Downtown Atlanta project [3]

Core Insights - Marvell Technology's carrier infrastructure end market is on a recovery path, driven by strong demand and product refreshes [1][4] Group 1: Market Performance - The carrier infrastructure end market grew 71.4% year over year in Q2 of fiscal 2026, reaching $130 million, supported by normalized customer inventories and advanced product adoption [3][8] - Management anticipates double-digit sequential growth in the carrier infrastructure segment for Q3, indicating ongoing momentum [4][8] Group 2: Competitive Landscape - Marvell Technology competes with Broadcom and Qualcomm in the carrier infrastructure market, with Broadcom holding a strong position in carrier Ethernet and transport markets, while Qualcomm focuses on baseband processors [5][6] - The market presents opportunities for all three companies to expand their offerings in the carrier infrastructure space [6] Group 3: Financial Metrics - Marvell Technology's shares have decreased by 32.4% year to date, contrasting with the Electronics - Semiconductors industry's growth of 33.9% [7] - The company trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 7.17X, which is lower than the industry average of 9.3X, indicating potential valuation attractiveness [9] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate projects year-over-year earnings growth of 77.7% for fiscal 2026 and 27.73% for fiscal 2027, with upward revisions in estimates over the past 30 days [10]

Investor Sentiment & Market Trends - Investor enthusiasm for data centers and AI is growing, with expectations that revenues will match or exceed expenditures in the coming years [1][2][3] - Investors are seeking diversification beyond the "Magnificent Seven" tech companies, looking for exposure to other semiconductor companies and data owners involved in the AI space [5][6] - AI is considered a long-term investment theme expected to drive markets for the next decade and beyond, despite potential short-term anxieties [15] ETF Performance & Strategy - One actively managed ETF has attracted over $5 billion this year, becoming the largest AI ETF in the United States, focusing on digital infrastructure, hardware producers, and data owners [2] - Actively managed funds can provide value by looking beyond consensus views and identifying emerging names in the AI ecosystem, globally [7][8] - The iShares innovation and tech actively managed ETF has seen accelerating fund flows, indicating a lack of significant anxiety among investors [14] Energy Sector & AI - There's increasing interest in various energy sources (nuclear, fossil fuels, renewables) to power the AI trade, viewing utilities through a forward-looking lens [11] - Investors are broadly considering the entire energy value chain, including necessary energy fuels, producers, and distribution methods [13] Company Strategy & Fundamentals - Leading technology companies with low costs of capital and access to dollars have a significant advantage in leveraging their strengths in the AI space [4] - Earnings direction is more important than current revenue for large language model developers, focusing on subscriber growth, model development, and corporate penetration [16][17]

Core Insights - Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL) is establishing a significant presence in the development of America's digital infrastructure, with Q2 2025 revenues increasing by 21% year-over-year to $614.5 million and adjusted EPS rising by 41% to $2.69, alongside meaningful margin expansion [1][11] E-Infrastructure Solutions - The E-Infrastructure Solutions segment is experiencing explosive demand, particularly from data centers and e-commerce facilities, with data centers now representing 62% of the E-Infrastructure backlog and revenues from this market more than doubling year-over-year [2][11] Backlog and Acquisitions - STRL has a robust backlog of $2 billion, including $1.2 billion in E-Infrastructure, providing multiyear visibility. The upcoming acquisition of CEC Facilities Group will enhance Sterling's electrical and mechanical capabilities, positioning the company as a strategic partner in complex facility development [3][11] Macro Trends - Favorable macro trends include rising capital expenditures from hyperscale tech firms, a pipeline of semiconductor plants, and accelerating e-commerce buildouts, aligning with Sterling's strengths. Although there are near-term challenges in the Building Solutions segment, the diversified portfolio mitigates risks [4][11] Competitive Landscape - STRL faces competition from major players like Quanta Services and MasTec, both of which are well-positioned in the digital and clean energy sectors. Quanta Services focuses on utility and grid modernization, while MasTec is expanding in telecommunications and renewable infrastructure [6][8][9] Stock Performance - STRL's stock has surged by 59.9% over the past three months, outperforming the Zacks Engineering - R and D Services industry, the broader Zacks Construction sector, and the S&P 500 index [10] Valuation and Earnings Estimates - Sterling's stock is trading at a premium with a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 32.96. Earnings estimates for 2025 and 2026 have increased to $9.57 and $10.98 per share, reflecting year-over-year growth of 56.9% and 14.7%, respectively [12][14]

Core Insights - Equinix has opened its first International Business Exchange™ (IBX) data center in Chennai, India, named CN1, to support the growing demand for digital services and AI adoption in the region [1][2][4] Company Expansion - The CN1 facility is located on a nearly six-acre plot in Siruseri, Tamil Nadu, and will be interconnected with Equinix's existing Mumbai campus, which has three IBX data centers [1][5] - The initial investment for CN1 is US$69 million, with a capacity of 800 cabinets in the first phase, eventually expanding to 4,250 cabinets [2][5] Technological Advancements - CN1 is designed for high reliability with 99.999% uptime and supports advanced liquid cooling technology to handle high-density, compute-intensive workloads [2][8] - The data center will provide robust interconnection services, including Equinix Fabric, enabling enterprises to leverage hybrid multicloud solutions [3][8] Market Position - Chennai is emerging as a key hub for innovation and AI investment in India, enhancing the country's competitiveness in digital services [2][4] - Equinix currently collaborates with over 300 companies in India, including major cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure [3][4] Sustainability Commitment - Equinix aims to ensure sustainability and innovation are central to its operations, with a goal of achieving 96% renewable energy coverage across its global operations, including India [8]

Group 1 - Deutsche Bank AG's asset management arm, DWS, is preparing to sell its majority-owned data center platform, NorthC, for a potential valuation of over €2 billion [1][8] - NorthC was formed in 2020 through the merger of the Datacenter Group and NLDC, operating more than 20 regional, carrier-neutral sites across the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland [2] - The decision to sell follows NorthC's recent acquisition of six data centers in Germany and the Netherlands from Colt Technology Services, enhancing its European presence [3] Group 2 - DWS, managing about €1 trillion in assets, is reshaping its alternatives strategy due to challenges in attracting fresh inflows, shifting focus toward infrastructure investments [4] - The sale of NorthC aims to monetize a fast-growing digital infrastructure business amid booming demand in the European data center market, driven by artificial intelligence and cloud adoption [5] - The impending divestiture reflects DWS's strategic response to growing investor interest in digital infrastructure, allowing for improved fundraising prospects and redeployment into long-term growth projects [6] Group 3 - In the past six months, shares of Deutsche Bank have gained 44.5%, outperforming the industry's growth of 23% [7]

Core Viewpoint - SBA Communications Corporation (SBAC) is a significant player in the wireless communications infrastructure sector, with a market cap of $21.4 billion, and operates nearly 40,000 cell towers globally, ensuring stable revenue streams from major mobile carriers [1][2]. Company Overview - SBAC is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, and specializes in owning and operating wireless communications infrastructure, including towers, buildings, rooftops, DAS, and small cells [1]. - The company provides site leasing, development, construction, and consulting services, leasing antenna space on multi-tenant towers under long-term contracts [1]. Market Position - As a large-cap stock, SBAC's market cap exceeds $10 billion, highlighting its size and influence within the REIT-specialty industry [2]. - The company has a strong presence in the U.S. and Brazil, contributing to its stable and recurring revenue streams [2]. Stock Performance - SBAC's stock has experienced a decline of 21.1% from its 52-week high of $252.64, reached on October 16, 2024, and has fallen 12.8% over the past three months [3]. - Year-to-date, SBAC shares dipped 2.2%, and over the past 52 weeks, they fell 18.6%, underperforming the iShares U.S. Digital Infrastructure and Real Estate ETF's YTD gains of 7.9% and 11.3% returns [4]. Financial Results - In Q2, SBAC reported an adjusted FFO per share of $3.17, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $3.12, with revenue of $699 million, surpassing forecasts of $670.1 million [5]. - The company anticipates full-year FFO in the range of $12.65 to $13.02 per share and revenue between $2.78 billion and $2.83 billion [5].

Event Focus - Bloomberg Tech event on 10/21 will discuss building resilient digital infrastructure in Europe [1] - The event aims to brainstorm whether Europe can become a tech leader [1] Key Discussion Point - Tech leaders will gather to discuss Europe's potential to lead in the tech world [1]

Group 1 - Piper Sandler lowered its price target on Brookfield Asset Management to $60 from $65 while maintaining a Neutral rating [1] - Brookfield hosted its investor day in New York City, highlighting plans to double assets under management (AUM) and earnings by 2030 [2] - Analysts identified digital infrastructure and retirement accounts such as 401(k)s as long-term growth drivers for Brookfield [2] Group 2 - Piper Sandler reduced its target price multiple to approximately 30x 2026 estimated adjusted EPS from approximately 32.5x previously, indicating recent multiple compression among peers [3]