With U.S. stock futures trading higher this morning on Wednesday, some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are as follows:Wall Street expects Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) to report quarterly earnings at $3.97 per share on revenue of $80.27 billion after the closing bell, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Microsoft shares rose 0.4% to $482.50 in after-hours trading.Packaging Corp Of America (NYSE:PKG) posted weaker-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, after the closing bell on Tuesd ...

Summary of the US Equity Strategy Outlook Industry and Company Overview - The report focuses on the US equity market, specifically the S&P 500 index and its earnings outlook for the upcoming years, as presented by Goldman Sachs during the 2026 Global Strategy Conference in Frankfurt. Core Insights and Arguments - **Earnings Growth as a Driver**: Earnings growth is identified as the primary driver of US equity returns, with projections indicating a growth in earnings per share (EPS) for the S&P 500 from $272 in 2025 to $305 in 2026, representing a 12% increase [2][10]. - **Valuation Multiples**: The S&P 500 index and median stock are trading at elevated valuations compared to historical averages, with a forward P/E multiple of 22x for the S&P 500 and 19x for the median stock [14][58]. - **Economic Factors**: A healthy economy, the strength of the largest stocks, and increasing adoption of AI are expected to drive EPS growth in 2026 [10]. - **Market Concentration**: The report notes a record concentration in the US equity market, with the 10 largest companies accounting for 41% of the total market cap of the S&P 500 [50]. - **Speculative Trading Activity**: Speculative trading activity rose in 2025 but remains below historical extremes, indicating a cautious market sentiment [22]. - **IPO Activity**: IPO activity rebounded in 2025 but is still below average levels, with only 61 IPOs in 2025 compared to a median of 101 post-2000 [25]. Additional Important Insights - **Valuation Support**: Fundamentals support above-average equity valuation multiples, with the S&P 500 return on equity remaining strong relative to the 10-year US Treasury yield [18]. - **Growth Expectations**: Analysts expect hyperscaler capital expenditures to total nearly $550 billion in 2026, indicating strong growth in technology and cloud services [82]. - **Debt Growth**: Recent growth in TMT-related debt has been significantly lower compared to the late 1990s, suggesting a more measured approach to leveraging in the current market [90]. - **Consumer Sentiment**: There is potential upside for middle-income consumer stocks, with indexed returns showing positive trends against the equal-weight S&P 500 [74]. - **Construction Cycle**: Forward-looking indicators suggest an upturn in the nonresidential construction cycle, which could benefit related sectors [78]. Conclusion - The report presents a cautiously optimistic outlook for the US equity market, highlighting strong earnings growth, elevated valuations, and significant market concentration. However, it also notes the importance of monitoring economic indicators and market sentiment as potential risks to this outlook.

Economic Indicators - The latest November core CPI increased by 2.6% year-on-year, marking a new low since 2021 and falling below expectations, indicating a trend of slowing inflation [1] - Kevin Hassett, a leading candidate for the Federal Reserve chair, praised the CPI report as "shockingly good," noting that wage growth is outpacing price increases and predicting substantial tax refunds for American taxpayers next year [3][5] Federal Reserve Outlook - Hassett suggested that the Federal Reserve has significant room to lower interest rates due to improving supply-side conditions that are expected to suppress inflation in the long term [5] - Following the CPI data release, market expectations for aggressive easing by the Fed in 2026 increased, particularly regarding the likelihood of rate cuts in March next year [5] Market Dynamics - The S&P 500 faced technical resistance while attempting to breach the 6800-point level, leading to significant volatility and a rapid sell-off triggered by quantitative funds and high-leverage long positions [7][9] - The current market is in a "negative Gamma" zone, where small retreats can lead to systemic sell-offs, emphasizing the need for the index to maintain above 6800 points for stability [9][16] Options Market - A record $7.1 trillion in nominal value of options contracts is set to expire on the upcoming "quadruple witching" day, which typically amplifies market volume and volatility [14] - The dominance of zero-day-to-expiration (0DTE) options is expected to disrupt true asset pricing, shifting the focus from inflation data to liquidity pressures [16] Meta's AI Strategy - Meta is developing two ambitious AI models, "Mango" for video and "Avocado" for language, with plans for a 2026 release, reflecting a strategic pivot amid a $70 billion capital expenditure [17][19] - The company has shifted its approach from open-source to potentially proprietary models, aiming to establish a competitive edge in AI technology [20][22] - Meta's dual development of Mango and Avocado is seen as a defensive strategy to enhance user engagement and maintain its competitive position against rivals like Google and OpenAI [21][22]

Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR), headquartered in Denver, Colorado, develops and deploys software platforms to support the intelligence community in counterterrorism investigations and operations. Valued at $437.5 billion by market cap, the company manages software deployment across environments and offers access to large language models (LLMs) for analyzing both structured and unstructured data. Companies worth $200 billion or more are generally described as “mega-cap stocks,” and PLTR definitely fits ...

Company Overview - Global Payments Inc. (GPN) is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and provides payment technology and software solutions for card, check, and digital-based payments, with a market cap of $18.4 billion [1] Market Position - GPN is classified as a large-cap stock, emphasizing its size, influence, and dominance in the software-infrastructure industry, supported by a diversified portfolio, strategic scale, and innovation [2] Stock Performance - GPN's stock has experienced a decline of 35.1% from its 52-week high of $120, reached on November 29, 2024, and has decreased by 10.9% over the past three months, underperforming the Nasdaq Composite's 8% gains [3] - Over the longer term, GPN shares rose 1.4% on a six-month basis but fell 33.9% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming the Nasdaq's six-month gains of 20.6% and 18.6% returns over the last year [4] Recent Financial Results - On November 4, GPN reported Q3 results, with an adjusted EPS of $3.26, surpassing Wall Street expectations of $3.23, and adjusted revenue of $2.43 billion, exceeding the forecast of $2.41 billion [5] Competitive Landscape - In the software-infrastructure sector, Corpay, Inc. (CPAY) has shown resilience with only 17% losses over the past 52 weeks, while GPN has faced a 10% decline over the same six-month period [5] Analyst Sentiment - Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating for GPN, with a mean price target of $103.17, indicating a potential upside of 32.4% from current price levels [6]

Right now, ADP employment data just crossing and it is not a positive read on the US economy. It was expected to come in with 10,000 jobs being created. Right now we're seeing a decline of 32,000 jobs.Last week was revised upwards, so we saw 47,000 jobs created versus the 42,000 initially reported. This is the 83 employment change. And this doesn't always cohere with what we see from non-farm payrolls.However, in the absence of non-farm payrolls and in the consistency of this series, this has increasing wei ...

Core Insights - Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) is a leading U.S.-based cybersecurity company providing a wide range of security solutions, including next-generation firewalls, cloud and network security, endpoint protection, and threat detection services, all integrated through its Fortinet Security Fabric platform [1] - FTNT has a market capitalization exceeding $10 billion, categorizing it as a large-cap stock, and it is well-positioned to benefit from the increasing demand for unified and scalable cybersecurity solutions due to its strong profitability and growing global customer base [2] Stock Performance - FTNT shares have decreased by 27.8% from their 52-week high of $114.82, reached on February 18, while the stock has gained 7.8% over the past three months, underperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 4.8% rise during the same period [3] - Year-to-date, FTNT shares have dipped 12.2%, and over the past 52 weeks, they have declined by 13%, contrasting with the Dow Jones Industrial Average's YTD gains of 11.6% and 6% returns over the last year [4] Market Sentiment - On November 12, Fortinet shares fell over 1% following a downgrade by Daiwa Securities, which changed its rating from "Outperform" to "Neutral," citing concerns over near-term growth momentum and valuation pressures in the cybersecurity sector [5] - In the competitive landscape, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) has shown resilience, with a 4.4% increase on a year-to-date basis, while FTNT has struggled [6]

Group 1 - United Natural Foods Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) is expected to report quarterly earnings of 41 cents per share on revenue of $7.91 billion [2] - Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ:CRDO) reported strong second-quarter results and anticipates third-quarter revenue between $335 million and $345 million, exceeding the analyst estimate of $247.04 million [2] - Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE:SIG) is projected to post quarterly earnings of 29 cents per share on revenue of $1.37 billion [2] - MongoDB Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB) reported third-quarter revenue of $628.31 million, surpassing analyst estimates of $591.52 million, and raised its FY26 guidance [2] - CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is expected to report quarterly earnings of 94 cents per share on revenue of $1.21 billion [2] Group 2 - United Natural Foods shares increased by 3.3% to $35.50 in after-hours trading [2] - Credo Technology shares surged 14.9% to $196.62 in after-hours trading [2] - Signet shares fell 0.8% to $94.93 in after-hours trading [2] - MongoDB shares jumped 21.7% to $400.30 in after-hours trading [2] - CrowdStrike shares rose 0.7% to $507.60 in after-hours trading [2]

Core Insights - Synopsys, Inc. is a leader in electronic design automation software and semiconductor intellectual property, with a market cap of $76.1 billion, enabling engineers to create complex integrated circuits and system-on-chips for various applications [1][2] Company Performance - Synopsys is classified as a large-cap stock, benefiting from long-term structural tailwinds in the semiconductor industry due to increasing demand for smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient chips [2] - The company has experienced a significant decline in share price, down 37.1% from its 52-week high of $651.73 and 31.1% over the past three months, underperforming the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund's 7.9% rise [3][4] - Over the past 52 weeks, Synopsys shares have fallen 26%, lagging behind the XLK's 20.9% increase, and are down 15.6% year-to-date compared to XLK's 22.1% return [4] Financial Results - In Q3, Synopsys reported total revenue of $1.7 billion, a 14% year-over-year increase, but missed analyst expectations by 1.7%. Adjusted EPS of $3.39 declined 1.2% from the previous year and fell 11.7% short of Wall Street estimates [5] - The company's performance has notably underperformed its rival, Cadence Design Systems, which saw a 1.2% drop over the past 52 weeks and a 2% rise year-to-date [6]

Market Overview - U.S. stock futures increased on Monday, continuing Friday's gains, driven by optimism regarding a potential December rate cut suggested by New York Fed President John Williams [1] - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.44% to 46,448.27, the S&P 500 increased by 1.5% to 6,705.12, and the Nasdaq jumped 2.69% to 22,872.00 [1] Semiconductor Sector - The semiconductor sector experienced a boost as hopes for a December Fed rate cut lifted tech stocks, with supportive comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller further fueling the rally [2] Broadcom Inc. - Broadcom's stock surged 11.10% to close at $377.96, reaching an intraday high of $382 and a low of $347.66, with a 52-week high of $386.48 and a low of $138.10; in after-hours trading, the stock rose 1.49% to $383.60 [1] Alphabet Inc. - Alphabet's Class C shares climbed 6.28% to close at $318.47, hitting a new 52-week high of $319.80, with a low of $142.66; after-hours trading saw a gain of 2.65% to $326.90 [3][4] - Alphabet's Class A shares ended the day 6.3% higher at $318.58, gaining 2.6% to $327 in extended trading [3] - The company is reportedly in talks with Meta and other cloud clients to supply Google's AI TPU chips, indicating increased competition with Nvidia; Alphabet shares rose about 2% after-hours while Nvidia slipped roughly 2% [4] SanDisk Corporation - SanDisk's stock rose 13.33% to $226.96, with a high of $228.18 and a low of $205.13; the stock's 52-week high is $284.76 and a low of $27.90, popping 7.29% to $243.50 in after-hours trading [5][6] - SanDisk was added to the S&P 500, replacing Interpublic Group after its acquisition by Omnicom, effective November 28; PTC Therapeutics will replace SanDisk in the S&P SmallCap 600 [6] - The company reported strong fourth-quarter results on November 6, beating revenue and EPS estimates for the eighth time in ten quarters [6] Novo Nordisk A/S - Novo Nordisk shares fell 5.58% to $44.97, with a high of $45.22 and a low of $43.08; the stock's 52-week high is $112.52 [7][8] - The company reported that its 2-year evoke and evoke+ trials did not show semaglutide to be superior to placebo in slowing Alzheimer's disease progression, despite improvements in biomarkers; the 1-year extension phase will be discontinued [8] Zoom Communications Inc. - Zoom's stock dipped slightly by 0.04% to close at $78.60, with an intraday high of $80.27 and a low of $78.59; the stock's 52-week high is $92.80 [10][11] - The company reported third-quarter revenue of $1.23 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.52 per share, beating forecasts; enterprise revenue rose 6.1% year-over-year, ending the quarter with 4,363 large customers and generating $629.3 million in operating cash flow [11]