Core Viewpoint - Salesforce (CRM) reported stronger-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results, surpassing Wall Street expectations for adjusted earnings and providing optimistic revenue guidance for the fourth quarter, leading to a 2.5% increase in after-hours trading [1] Earnings Results - Adjusted earnings were reported at $3.25 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.85, while revenues were $10.26 billion, slightly missing the estimate by 0.05% [2] - Revenues increased by 8.6% year-over-year, and net income rose to $2.09 billion, or $2.19 per share, compared to $1.53 billion, or $1.58 per share, aided by a $263 million benefit from strategic investments [2] Fourth-Quarter Guidance - For Q4, Salesforce anticipates adjusted earnings between $3.02 and $3.04 per share and revenues ranging from $11.13 billion to $11.23 billion, both above the Zacks Consensus Estimates [4] - The guidance reflects a continued shift to cloud-based models for MuleSoft and Tableau, alongside ongoing weakness in marketing and commerce products [4] AI Acquisitions and Product Growth - During the quarter, Salesforce completed acquisitions of AI task-automation startup Regrello and Waii, which generates code from natural-language input [5] - The company launched Agentforce, an AI platform for automating IT service workflows, and set a fiscal 2030 revenue target of $60 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations [5] Stock Performance and Market Concerns - Despite solid results, Salesforce shares have underperformed compared to the broader tech sector, down 27.8% year-to-date, while the Nasdaq-100 has risen approximately 22% [6] Price Target and Broker Rating - The average price target for Salesforce, based on 46 analysts, is $328.52, indicating a potential increase of 39.97% from the closing price of $234.71 [7] - The average brokerage recommendation is 1.60 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 70% of recommendations being Strong Buy [8][9] ETFs in Focus - Salesforce is part of a top-ranked Zacks Industry and Sector, with a shift towards cloud services, making it a candidate for investment via ETFs [10] - The global cloud services market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.00% from 2025 to 2034 [11]

Core Insights - The holiday shopping season is beginning, with significant opportunities for retailers and investors as consumer demand increases during this period [1] REITs as Investment Opportunities - REITs are becoming attractive due to improving rate-cut expectations and easing market volatility, providing steady cash flows and long-term lease structures that mitigate near-term uncertainties [2] - Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR), Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT), and Terreno Realty Corporation (TRNO) are highlighted as strong candidates for investment due to their solid fundamentals and potential for market outperformance [2][6] Retail Real Estate Performance - Retail-focused real estate is showing resilience as retailers optimize their physical presence, with established trade area properties attracting brands that prioritize in-person engagement [3] - Limited new supply in the market is benefiting landlords through stable occupancy and reliable rent collections [3] Industrial Real Estate Trends - Industrial real estate remains robust as businesses refine logistics strategies, with tenants seeking spaces that accommodate automation and efficient inventory management [4] - A slight increase in vacancy rates is noted due to new project completions, but fewer developments are starting, which is expected to support healthier fundamentals and sustainable rent growth [4] Data Center Sector Growth - The data center sector is experiencing significant demand driven by cloud services, AI, and connectivity needs, outpacing the speed of new capacity delivery [5] - Limited power availability and long construction timelines are enhancing rental economics, making data center properties attractive for long-term growth [5] Company-Specific Highlights - Digital Realty is positioned for growth with a strong revenue and FFO momentum, benefiting from demand across hyperscale, AI, and enterprise customers [7] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Digital Realty's current-year FFO per share has increased by 4 cents to $7.35, indicating a 9.54% year-over-year growth [8] - Federal Realty showcases consistent leasing strength and high-quality open-air centers, reporting record leasing activity and a 28% cash rent spread [9][11] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Federal Realty's current-year FFO per share has risen by 2 cents to $7.23, suggesting a 6.8% year-over-year increase [12] - Terreno Realty focuses on industrial properties in six major coastal U.S. markets, reporting a cash rent growth of 17.2% in the third quarter of 2025 [10][13] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Terreno Realty's current-year FFO per share has improved by 4.6% to $2.71, indicating a 12% year-over-year increase [14]

Does it matter to you from a market sentiment perspective if there's squabbling at the top of the US domiciled companies. Is it a worry that we'll see perhaps invidious being questioned in terms of its dominance. I think it's quite healthy.We've seen the trade has delivered enormous returns for markets over the last two years and we're, I think, all kind of experiencing the sigh of relief of this exhale. I guess in a way, we've moved from a rising tide, lifts all boats to more choppier waters, and investors ...

SAP will maintain access to Microsoft’s cloud services even if a foreign government attempts to cut it off, after Donald Trump’s administration sanctioned an international court in the Hague. https://t.co/3HVxlLW43H ...

We’ve formed a partnership with NVIDIA and Microsoft.Claude is now on Azure—making ours the only frontier models available on all three major cloud services.NVIDIA and Microsoft will invest up to $10bn and $5bn respectively in Anthropic.https://t.co/3RA82NEIJ3 ...

US data center operator GMI Cloud plans to establish a new $500 million facility in Taiwan, joining bigger players such as Google in offering cloud services to the world’s most advanced chipmaking base https://t.co/6L55ZEyxwy ...

Core Insights - Akamai Technologies Inc. reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, leading to a 10% increase in share price during intra-day trading [1] - The company raised its full-year outlook, indicating strong growth potential [3] Financial Performance - Adjusted earnings per share for the third quarter were $1.86, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.64 [1] - Revenue for the quarter reached $1.055 billion, surpassing expectations of $1.04 billion, representing a 5% year-over-year increase or 4% on a constant-currency basis [1] - For 2025, Akamai raised its revenue outlook to between $4.178 billion and $4.198 billion, and adjusted EPS guidance to $6.93–$7.13, both exceeding consensus projections [3] Business Segments - The security business drove growth with revenue up 10% year-over-year to $568 million [2] - Cloud Infrastructure Services revenue surged 39% to $81 million [2] - Content delivery revenue fell 4% to $306 million [2] Future Guidance - The company forecasts fourth-quarter revenue between $1.065 billion and $1.085 billion, with adjusted earnings per share expected in the range of $1.65–$1.85, both at or above market expectations [2]

Core Insights - IBM plans to cut "thousands" of jobs in the current quarter as part of a strategic shift towards higher-growth software and services [1][2] - The job cuts will impact a low single-digit percentage of IBM's global workforce, which was approximately 270,000 employees at the end of 2024 [2] Group 1: Strategic Focus - IBM's consulting division faces challenges due to customer concerns about the economy, while the software division is gaining investor interest [3] - CEO Arvind Krishna aims to make the software division the largest business unit within IBM, capitalizing on increased spending in cloud services and artificial intelligence [3] Group 2: AI and Employment - In previous statements, Krishna indicated that IBM's investment in AI has led to an overall increase in employment, despite replacing some human resources roles with AI agents [4][5] - The company has leveraged AI and automation to enhance enterprise workflows, allowing for reinvestment in other areas [5] Group 3: Partnerships and Innovations - IBM has partnered with Anthropic to integrate the Claude family of large language models into its AI-first software development environment, enhancing its hybrid-cloud ecosystem [6] - The company is also developing the IBM Digital Asset Haven, a platform for managing digital assets across blockchains, in collaboration with Dfns [7]

Cloud Computing & AI Infrastructure - OpenAI signed a $38 billion deal with Amazon Web Services [1] - The deal includes immediate access to Nvidia's GPUs [1] - AWS is one of multiple cloud providers for OpenAI, including Microsoft, Oracle, and Google [2] - Hyperscalers are increasing spending to build computing power for generative AI providers like OpenAI [2] - The industry focus is on securing as much computing capacity as possible [3]

Group 1 - Alphabet's stock (GOOGL) surged 11% in a week due to a strong Q3 2025 earnings report that exceeded analyst expectations, significant analyst upgrades, and robust momentum in AI and cloud services [2] - GOOGL's revenue growth of 13.4% over the last 12 months is strong, outperforming AAPL and AMZN, but lagging behind MSFT, META, and Z [7] - GOOGL's operating margin stands at 32.2%, which is high compared to most peers but lower than Microsoft's 46.3% [7] Group 2 - GOOGL's stock has increased by 62.1% in the past year, with a current PE ratio of 27.4, indicating strong performance relative to competitors [7] - A comparative evaluation of GOOGL against key competitors is essential to understand its market position and performance metrics [3][6] - The High Quality Portfolio has outperformed its benchmark, achieving returns exceeding 105% since inception, suggesting a less volatile investment alternative compared to individual stocks like GOOGL [5]