Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. The Institutional Securities segment offers capital raising and financial advisory services, including services related to the underwriting of debt, equity, and other securities, as well as advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, real estate, and project finance. This segment also provides equity and fixed income products comprising sales, financing, prime brokerage, and market-making services; foreign exchange and commodities; corporate and commercial real estate loans, commercial mortgage and secured lending facilities, and financing for sales and trading customers, and asset-backed and mortgage lending; and wealth management services, investment, and research services. The Wealth Management segment offers financial advisor-led brokerage, custody, administrative, and investment advisory services; self-directed brokerage services; financial and wealth planning services; workplace services, including stock plan administration; annuity and insurance products; securities-based lending, residential real estate loans, and other lending products; banking; and retirement plan services to individual investors and small to medium-sized businesses and institutions. The Investment Management segment provides equity, fixed income, alternatives and solutions, and liquidity and overlay services to benefit/defined contribution plans, foundations, endowments, government entities, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, third-party fund sponsors, corporations, and individuals through institutional and intermediary channels. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Morgan Stanley

In this podcast, Motley Fool contributors Tyler Crowe, Matt Frankel, and Jon Quast discuss:
Earnings, outlooks, and conference call commentary from the big banks' third quarter.
Private assets' role in an investor's portfolio.
Stocks on their radar.
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A full transcript is below.
Where to invest $1,000 right now
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*Stock Advisor returns as of October 20, 2025
This podcast was recorded on Oct. 16, 2025.
Tyler Crowe: Private markets are becoming the public markets. This Motley Fool Money. Welcome to Motley Fool Money on Tyler Crowe, joined by longtime Fool contributors, Jon Quast and Matt Frankel. Now, we're going to cover the market buzz around private assets that are looking to make their way into retirement accounts and cover stocks on our radar, like we do every Thursday. But first, earning season is heating up. Yesterday, our colleagues discussed ASML's results, and we were tempted to also discuss Taiwan Semiconductor's strong earnings report and outlook. But I feel like we've discussed AI and the picks and shovels plays a lot lately on our episode of Motley Fool Money. We wanted to look at some of the non AI parts of the markets, and what better way to do that than with the big banks. The results from JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and several others came out earlier this week. I don't want to rehash the numbers too much. Instead, I want to really focus on some of the big takeaways from either the outlooks or commentary that we saw in the market. Matt, what stood out to you on this most recent round of updates?
Matt Frankel: First of all, all the big banks, including all the ones you mentioned and others, beat expectations for earnings. Strong numbers so far, but there are some big winners among the group. I'd say, in order, my biggest winners of earnings season so far among the banks are Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America. With the latter two, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley, they both benefited from a robust IPO and M&A market, which I think Jon's going to talk about more in a second. This led to investment banking fee growth of 43 and 44% year year respectively for those two. Equities trading revenue was really strong at beat expectations. Not only that, Bank of America reported a surprise decline in their credit loss provision, which is going to come into play a little later in our conversation. But in general, investment banking was really strong, and Wells Fargo is particularly interesting because they don't depend as much on investment banking, and we're a big winner. Their stocks up 10% since earnings. One major thing is that management is now expecting 17-18% returns on tangible common equity over the medium term, up from the previous estimates, after the Federal Reserve lifted their asset cap finally after seven years. The bank is now going on offense. Charlie Sharf, the CEO, said that Wells Fargo aims to be the number one consumer bank, a lofty goal, and a top five investment bank, which they're not I don't even think they're a top 10 investment bank right now. Plus, like Bank of America, Wells Fargo decreased their loan loss provision significantly, so some really big surprises so far.
Jon Quast: As Matt points out here, the investment banking market right now is just red hot. Accounting firm Ernst & Young, they just released a report that showed that merger and acquisition deal values in September up over 110% year over year. Those are some big deals in there. Volume was a little bit lower, but even still the activity in September up 41%. I capped off a third quarter here, where value for M&A was up 239% from the third quarter of 2024, and volume was up 164%, so nearly tripling. Things are clearly heating up in this space. That was reflected in the banking numbers that Matt was just talking about. Just to drill down into these things a little bit further, JP Morgan CFO Jeremy Barnum said that there have been some IPO deals sitting in the pipes ready to go, and they've just been waiting for better valuation and lower volatility, and the third quarter delivered on that. The same applies to merger and acquisition activity. You also look at some of the comments from Bank of America, CFO Alastair Borthwick said that the fourth quarter is shaping up nicely, and then Morgan Stanley comes out and says, they're actually building their business with expectations that the next 3-5 years are going to show positive trends in this investment banking market, and so all this is really positive.
Tyler Crowe: I guess it goes to show what personality I have because I focused in a little bit on the one negative market commentary that I think we saw in all of the banking stuff. It was during the JP Morgan conference call, Jamie Dimon made some, we can say comments on the state of private credit and lending to private credit. This comes on the heels of Auto Parts manufacturer First Brands Group and used auto dealer Tricolor both filing for bankruptcy. These are both private companies. Those companies had loans with private creditors who also just had those private creditors had loans with big banks. Jamie Dimon hinted that he thinks the private credit and other these non bank financial institutions, lenders to private equity and things like that. A lot of his commentary pointed to being a little bit of a weak point in the market. I'm trying to sparse between his commentary being like, we don't know how good these folks underwriting is, which it's either a commentary on the market or just Dimon trying to talk up JP Morgan's book, which that's obviously his job a little bit. It certainly gives me something to follow up in the coming quarters as to whether or not it was, again, just Jamie Dimon talking it up or, if there's actually really something here. Let me pass this back to you. What were the questions that you were left with on this most recentearnings call What do you want to follow up on?
Jon Quast: I would say that the investment banking commentary says that the economy is really in a healthy place or at least it's on the right track. My question is, what changes that and how secure is that? Investing is a lot to do with risk management. If I was to rewind the clock, go back to 2019, I just remember that economy feeling like a freight train in late 2019 and just asking, what would possibly change that? A once in a century pandemic. But this time it doesn't quite feel like a a freight train to me. It does feel a little bit more fragile, and maybe that's reflected in some of the comments you just brought out from Jamie Dimon. It feels like we're just a social media post away from changing some investor sentiment dramatically. I'm just looking at this. I'm saying, OK, the numbers are saying that the economy is very healthy or at least going in the right direction. What would it take to change that?
Matt Frankel: Look, I have mixed thoughts just like Tyler does, mainly because the sharp declines in the loss reserves from both Bank of America and Wells Fargo, really seem to contradict Jamie Dimon's statement on credit quality. I agree. I've been saying for a long time that the auto lending industry, especially the subprime market, could be a bit of a house of cards. It is far too easy to borrow, say, $50,000 to buy a depreciating asset, right now. It's harder to get a mortgage, which is a safer form of a loan. But that doesn't mean that all private credit is necessarily set for a collapse. It could just be specific to the auto lending industry. It's definitely worth monitoring over the next few quarters. But over the past few years, since 2022 when the bear market happened, pretty much every fear about deteriorating credit hasn't materialized as much as we thought it would.
Tyler Crowe: Coming up, private assets want to be in your retirement, and it could really affect the way we invest.
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Tyler Crowe: Admittedly, discussing first brands and Tricolors bankruptcy in the last segment isn't really exactly the best lead in for this next discussion, but not every transition could be perfect. The drumbeat around private assets has become becoming more available to the investing public is getting louder and louder. More and more asset managers are exploring ways to package private assets either as private equity or private credit into taxed advantage accounts like 401(k)s. Now, I myself have a lot of conflicting thoughts about this. On the one hand, making private assets available to individuals gives us a lot more investing choices, which most of the time more choices is better. Conversely, I can see asset managers that own these assets and trying to get them to individuals as a way of charging high fees for the privilege and access to private funds that they don't have anymore because low cost index funds and ETFs eroded a lot of fees that former mutual funds and asset managers used to enjoy. I'm going to put it both to you because there's a lot of stories out there of companies like Blackstone, BlackRock. All of these companies that are looking to find a new way to package private investments into 401(k)s or other types of retirement accounts. How do you see private assets fitting into your investment strategy?
Jon Quast: Personally, I'm a big fan of few regulations from Uncle Sam. On principle, I like the idea of being able to add private assets to my retirement account. There are some companies that I would have loved to in recent years, and one that comes to mind is Neuralink from Elon Musk. That's just a fascinating company to me, and I would love to be able to invest in my retirement account. I find it extremely interesting. That said, as I look about this from a broad perspective, opportunity without education is like giving a small child a box of matches. They can get hurt, and they can break things. I think there's a smart way to open this up, and I think that there's a bad way to open this up. Hopefully, we do it the smart way and not the way that creates a lot of problems, especially financially for people just getting involved in something that they don't really understand.
Matt Frankel: Tyler, you're right that so far, all of the deregulation around any type of private assets have allowed managers and investment platforms to charge high fees to investors. We've talked about this privately before. But there are funds out there that give investors private exposure to private companies like SpaceX and Open AI, and charge, let's say, ridiculous fees. But like you, I'm conflicted. It's both an opportunity and a threat to the retirement security of people in these 401(k) plans. The statement from the executive order that the president signed allowing this is misleading that the standard products like S&P 500 index funds are, "Are not letting people achieve secure retirements." The S&P 500 has been a great wealth builder over the long term. The problem is that the average person doesn't save enough for retirement. It's not that they haven't had opportunities to build wealth. I have conflicted feelings about this. Like Jon said, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it.
Tyler Crowe: There's been a lot of deregulation of access to things like this. It started with the 2012 Jobs Act is something I can think of. I think, ultimately, and this is I give my concluding thoughts, I guess, and moves like this feel like an appeal to the inattentive investor, the ones that sign up for whatever plans your company's 401(k) signs up for. To that, the good marketing of private equity isn't subject to the whims of the market or something like that for long term investments. You can see the marketing. It writes itself. But individual investors like us who put the time and effort into finding individual stocks to buy and hold over the long term. I don't know if we'll see as many benefits from this because we want to do our due diligence. We'll see how this shakes out, but I think that's where I'm going to end up landing unless somebody really blows me away with a really interesting offer in private capital. After that, we'll do stocks on our radar.
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Tyler Crowe: Guys, unfortunately, none of us were the recipients of that $300 trillion stablecoin fat finger that happened at PayPal either yesterday or today. I think we're just going to have to keep on building wealth, the old fashioned way, with some buy and hold stocks. With that in mind, what's actually on your radar this week? Jon, we're going to start with you.
Jon Quast: On my radar this week is company called TripAdvisor, symbol TRIP. At Hidden Gems, we value misunderstood companies, has something that the market's not appreciating, and TripAdvisor certainly has that, in my opinion. It's not just the TripAdvisor brand that you get here. You also get another brand, which is called Viator. Now, I want to just talk about Viator because I believe that the real value here, and this goes along with our discussion regarding investment banking. I think that TripAdvisor has something more valuable in Viator than what TripAdvisor is itself, and spinning it out or IPOing it in some way may unlock that value. You just look at Viator by itself for a moment. It's generated 882 million in trailing 12 month revenue. It's growing at 11%, which is double digits, high gross margin. It is profitable on a stand-alone basis. You look at something like Airbnb, a price to sales ratio of seven. Let's give Viator half that valuation at 3.5 times sales. Viator would have a $3 billion market cap on a stand alone basis. You look at TripAdvisor right now, it has a $1.8 billion market cap. Potentially more value in Viator as a stand-alone business than what it is right now under TripAdvisor. I think this is an underappreciated thing and why it's on my radar.
Matt Frankel: I'm going to talk about one of my longtime favorite real estate companies to follow Empire State Realty Trust, ESRT. They own the Empire State Building and a portfolio of about two dozen other primarily office buildings in Manhattan. Not only is the stock about 35% below its 52 week high, despite pretty strong performance from its business and the observatory on the Empire State Building, but I'm seeing signs that the New York City office market could be stronger than most experts think. Just consider that competitor SL Green just agreed to buy a 36 story office tower right near Park Avenue for $730 million. It's a big bet that the New York City office market will strengthen in the years to come. If it turns out they're paying the right price, the Empire State Building alone could be worth more than the current market cap of the company. Forget the other two dozen properties. Talk about a Hidden Gem. I think if the New York City office market does what SL Green thinks it's going to do, the Empire State could be a bargain.
Tyler Crowe: On the deregulatory thing, there's been another story about the Trump administration looking to privatize its portfolio of student loans, which I don't know if it's going to happen or not, but it gives me a pretty lame excuse to talk about SLM Corp. Ticker is SLM. This people might also know it as Sallie Mae, which is basically the bank similar to Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, but it's focused on student loans. It is actually a publicly traded company. One of the things that makes it so appealing to me is if you actually look at the credit quality that it has, you think of student loans, they tend to be a relatively secure loan in the sense of paybacks. Our default rates are relatively low. They actually can't even be discharged in bankruptcy. They also get things like high rates of cosigned with parents and things like that, and a lot of what they actually have on their books is for masters in business or premed or law or something like that. It tends to have very high amounts with also good credit quality for future payments. It's just a business to me that looks incredibly well. If you look at things like net interest spreads, which is the difference between the interest rate on the loans and how much its depositors get, it's quite high compared to most other banks. You get a secure payment at a high net interest rate. This is a business right now that's trading for about 11 or 12 times earnings. I think people are worried about credit quality, but I think that might be a little overblown for a business that if we talk about hidden, it really is quite hidden out there and a very quality business for something. Matt, Jon, that's all the time we have for today. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
As always, people on the program may have interests in the stock they talk about, and the Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. All personal finance content follows Motley Fool editorial standards and is not approved by advertisers. Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. To see our full advertising disclosure, please check out our shows. Thanks again to our producer Dan Boyd, for keeping us on schedule for Matt, Jon and myself. Thanks for listening, and we'll chat again soon.
Wells Fargo is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. SLM is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Jon Quast has positions in Airbnb. Matt Frankel has positions in Bank of America, Empire State Realty Trust, and PayPal. Tyler Crowe has positions in SLM and has the following options: short December 2025 $32 puts on SLM. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Airbnb, Blackstone, JPMorgan Chase, PayPal, and Tripadvisor. The Motley Fool recommends BlackRock and Empire State Realty Trust and recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short December 2025 $75 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Private Assets Meet Public Markets

Key Points
Shares of Upstart and Atlassian have suffered double-digit declines this year, but certain Wall Street analysts expects triple-digit gains in the next 12 months.
Upstart aims to disrupt the lending industry with artificial intelligence and the company reported triple-digit revenue growth in the second quarter.
Atlassian is a leader in work management software for development and marketing teams, and more customers are using its artificial intelligence tools.
Year to date, shares of Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST) have fallen 15% and shares of Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM) have tumbled 30%, but certain Wall Street analysts expect shareholders to see triple-digit returns in the next year.
Hal Goetsch at B. Riley Financial has set Upstart with a target price of $105 per share. That implies 102% upside from its current share price of $52.
Keith Weiss at Morgan Stanley has set Atlassian with a target price of $320 per share. That implies 101% upside from its current share price of $159.
A word of caution, the target prices I just quoted are the most bullish forecasts on Wall Street, so investors should not simply assume the analysts are correct. Read on to learn more about these artificial intelligence stocks.
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Upstart Holdings: 102% implied upside
Upstart is an artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform that helps banks and credit unions better assess credit risk. Most lenders currently use simple rules-based systems built around FICO scores, but the limited number of variables they consider can lead to inaccuracies. Upstart solves that problem by analyzing over 2,500 data points per applicant, and its machine learning models improve each time a borrower makes or misses a payment.
Upstart's AI lending platform has models that optimize customer acquisition, fraud detection, and default forecasting. It also automates the underwriting process in most cases. In turn, lending partners profit because they can approve more borrowers at lower interest rates. Upstart says loans originated on its platform since Q2 2023 are on pace to return 11.3% annually, topping the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds by 7 percentage points.
Upstart reported solid second-quarter financial results. Total revenue increased 102% to $257 million driven by strong growth in personal loans, the core business that accounts for 90% of total originations. But demand for newer products (auto loan and home loans) increased exceptionally quickly. Meanwhile, non-GAAP net income was $0.36 per diluted share, up from a loss of $0.17 per diluted share last year.
Looking ahead, Wall Street estimates Upstart's adjusted earnings will grow at 66% annually through 2027. That makes the current valuation of 60 times earnings look relatively cheap, especially when the company beat the consensus earnings estimate in each of the last six quarters.
As a caveat, Upstart stock is very sensitive to macroeconomic data. Demand for loans depends in part on interest rates, so anything that makes rate cuts less likely would bad news for the company. Similarly, anything that hints at a slowdown in consumer spending, such as weak jobs data, would also be bad news. Investors comfortable with volatility should consider buying a small position.
Atlassian: 101% implied upside
Atlassian develops work management and service management software. The company is best known for Jira, a platform that helps teams plan, track, and collaborate on projects. Jira is the industry standard among software developers, but the product has also gained traction with non-technical departments like marketing, human resources, and finance.
Importantly, Gartner recently ranked Atlassian as a leader in work management software for development and operations teams, as well as marketing teams. No other company has been recognized as a leader in both categories. That is an important competitive advantage because it lets Atlassian efficiently deepen customer relationships by winning the business of one department and expanding across the organization.
Atlassian has also introduced AI agents for technical and non-technical teams. Rovo Dev helps developers plan, generate, and review code, while the standard version of Rovo helps other users surface insights and automate workflows in software products like Jira. Morgan Stanley analysts see Atlassian as one of the companies best position to benefit from AI agents.
Atlassian reported encouraging financial results in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, which ended in June, beating estimates on the top and bottom lines. Revenue increased 22% to $1.3 billion, an acceleration from the previous quarter, and non-GAAP earnings increased 48% to $0.98 per diluted share. Management also said adoption of AI products climbed 50% to 2.3 million monthly active users.
Looking ahead, Atlassian estimates its $67 billion addressable market is expanding at 13% annually. Wall Street expects the company's adjusted earnings to increase at 19% annually through fiscal 2027. That makes the current valuation of 46 times earnings look somewhat expensive, but not absurd. I am skeptical about Atlassian shares returning 101% in the next year, but investors with a three- to five-year time horizon should consider buying a small position.
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Annie Dean, a Vice President at Atlassian, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Trevor Jennewine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Atlassian and Upstart. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Before They Soar 100%, According to Select Wall Street Analysts

Wednesday, October 22, 2025
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) and Morgan Stanley (MS). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
You can see all of today’s research reports here >>>
Ahead of Wall Street
The daily 'Ahead of Wall Street' article is a must-read for all investors who would like to be ready for that day's trading action. The article comes out before the market opens, attempting to make sense of that morning's economic releases and how they will affect that day's market action. You can read this article for free on our home page and can actually sign up there to get an email notification as this article comes out each morning.
You can read today's AWS here >>> Q3 Earnings Bonanza Pulls a Flat Pre-Market: T, TMO, TSLA, etc.
Today's Featured Research Reports
Oracle’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Computer - Software industry over the year-to-date period (+66.9% vs. +20.8%). The company is benefiting from continued momentum from its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business, including from winning cloud-computing contracts from AI-focused startups.
ORCL’s continued investment in cloud infrastructure, comprising NetSuite Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Fusion ERP, positions it well for sustained growth in the dynamic software industry. Its partnership with Amazon for Oracle Database@AWS and general availability of Oracle Database@Google bodes well. Oracle’s Gen 2 Cloud is driving artificial intelligence clientele. The company's share buybacks and dividend policy are noteworthy.
The Zacks analyst expects fiscal 2026 net sales to grow 15.8% from fiscal 2025. However, higher spending on product enhancements, toward the cloud platform amid increasing competition in the cloud domain is likely to limit margin expansion.
(You can read the full research report on Oracle here >>>)
Shares of Toyota have outperformed the Zacks Automotive - Foreign industry over the year-to-date period (+5.1% vs. +4.9%). The company’s sales are getting a boost from the surge in hybrid adoption. The RAV4 model, with hybrid variants that make up about half of Toyota’s sales, is America's top-selling SUV.
Toyota aims to lower hydrogen costs by promoting its use in commercial vehicles. It plans to sell its hydrogen-powered units externally, encouraging broader adoption beyond its own fleet. By increasing overall hydrogen demand, the company expects economies of scale to drive down production costs.
However, Toyota expects its operating income for fiscal 2026 to decline year over year due to material prices, the impact of the forex rate and tariffs imposed by the U.S. government on vehicle and vehicle parts imports. Pretax profit is also expected to decline. Thus, the stock warrants a cautious stance.
(You can read the full research report on Toyota here >>>)
Morgan Stanley’s shares have outperformed the Zacks Financial - Investment Bank industry over the year-to-date period (+28.8% vs. +28.7%). The company’s third-quarter 2025 results were aided by robust investment banking (“IB”) and trading performances. Morgan Stanley’s efforts to focus on wealth and asset management operations, inorganic expansion initiatives, and strategic alliances will keep aiding the top line.
The performance of the IB business is expected to be driven by a strong pipeline in the near term. However, expenses will remain elevated due to business expansion efforts. The uncertainty of the performance of the capital markets is a key near-term concern.
While trading revenues have been increasing, they are less likely to reach 2021 levels. Yet given a solid balance sheet, the company is expected to be able to enhance shareholder value through efficient capital distributions.
(You can read the full research report on Morgan Stanley here >>>)
Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include GSK plc (GSK), Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) and Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV).
Mark Vickery
Senior Editor
Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>
Today's Must Read
Featured Reports
GSK's (GSK) Specialty Medicines Unit Drives Sales Growth
GSK is witnessing increased sales growth of its Specialty Medicines unit with sales rising in all areas, HIV, Immunology/Respiratory and Oncology.
High Metal Prices and Healthy Portfolio Aid Franco-Nevada (FNV)
Per the Zacks analyst, near-record high gold price is aiding Franco-Nevada's performance. The company's healthy portfolio of streaming and royalty agreements are also driving margins.
Viking (VIK) Benefits From Fleet Expansion Efforts Amid High Debt
The Zacks Analyst is impressed with the fact that Viking focuses on fleet expansion to drive growth. However, escalated debt load and high costs represent major concerns for the bottom line.
Venture Global (VG) Poised to Gain from Rising LNG Demand
Per the Zacks analyst, Venture Global is set to gain from surging global LNG demand, using its modular construction model and expanding Gulf Coast projects to deliver efficient energy solutions.
Domino's (DPZ) Banks on Digital Initiatives, Macro Woes Ail
Per the Zacks analyst, Domino's is likely to benefit from digital enhancements, the Hungry for MORE strategy and the DoorDash partnership. However, macroeconomic uncertainty and high costs are concern
QIAGEN (QGEN) Banks on Growth Pillars, Macro Woes Stay
The Zacks analyst is impressed with QIAGEN's strong momentum in QIAstat, a key growth pillar, thanks to solid instrument placements and worldwide demand. Yet, macroeconomic issues could hurt growth.
Kohl's (KSS) Partnership with Sephora to Boost Beauty Business
Per the Zacks analyst, Kohl's is gaining from its partnership with Sephora, which posted 3% net sales growth in second quarter. This keeps Kohl's on track to accomplish a $2 billion beauty business.
New Upgrades
Electronic Arts (EA) Banks on Strong Portfolio, User Addition
Per the Zacks Research analyst, expanding user base driven by strength in popular franchises including FIFA and Madden NFL is aiding Electronic Arts' top-line amid stiff competition.
Encompass Health (EHC) Strengthens Growth Through Expansion Efforts
Per the Zacks analyst, Encompass Health's expansion through de novo hospitals will drive patient volumes and profit levels.
Investments, Customer Growth Aid Essential Utilities (WTRG)
Per the Zacks analyst, Essential Utilities' (WTRG) $7.8 billion investment to fortify it water and natural gas infrastructure and demand from expanding customer base are going to boost its performance
New Downgrades
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) Plagued by High Operating Costs, Margin Woes
Per the Zacks analyst, AST SpaceMobile is plagued by volatility in satellite material prices due to unfavorable macroeconomic conditions that increase its operating costs and reduce margins.
Lower IT Spending Likely to Hurt CyberArk's (CYBR) Prospects
Per the Zacks Analyst, CyberArk's growth prospects might be hurt by soft IT spending as organizations are pushing back their large IT investment plans amid the macroeconomic headwinds.
Rising Expenses and High Debt Ail Blue Owl Capital (OBDC)
Per the Zacks analyst, Blue Owl Capital's increasing costs will affect its margins. Moreover, a high debt level is expected to impact its financial flexibility.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. Little-known AI firms tackling the world's biggest problems may be more lucrative in the coming months and years.
See "2nd Wave" AI stocks now >>
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Top Analyst Reports for Oracle, Toyota & Morgan Stanley

Interest rates are on the decline, U.S.-China trade tensions have heightened and markets have been on a wild ride of late. Against this backdrop, the largest banks of the United States reported earnings. The economic signal from these bank results remains positive so far despite concerns over non-bank lenders, especially after a few recent bankruptcies.
Wall Street credit concerns have resurfaced lately, following a warning from JPMorgan Chase JPM CEO Jamie Dimon about “cockroaches” in the U.S. economy, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. Note that on Thursday, shares of regional banking shares suffered due to fresh signs of credit stress in the banking sector.
Zions Bancorporation plunged 13% on the day and Western Alliance Bancorporation fell about 10%. Zions took a $50 million charge-off related to two loans extended through its California Bank & Trust division, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
Meanwhile, Western Alliance said it filed a fraud lawsuit in August against a borrower tied to a revolving credit facility. However, Western Alliance has assessed the collateral and believes that their value is sufficient to cover the obligation.
Vanguard Financials Index Fund ETF VFH has lost 3.1% over the past month (as of Oct. 21, 2025) while SPDR S&P Bank ETF KBE has fallen 5.2%. These returns came against 0.7% uptick in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY.
Is More Pain Ahead?
The capital markets segment is finally delivering results after several quarters of management highlighting improving deal pipelines. While activity has remained low by historical standards, the favorable regulatory and monetary policy environment makes it reasonable to be optimistic about the sector’s prospects.
Consumer spending and household finances remain stable, supported by a decent labor market. Credit demand shows signs of improvement and delinquencies have declined from their peaks despite references to so-called ‘cockroaches.’
For the Finance sector, we now have third-quarter results from 47.7% of the sector’s total market capitalization in the S&P 500 index. Total earnings for these Finance sector companies grew more than 20.4% from the same period last year on 10.9% higher revenues, with 96.2% beating EPS estimates and 88.5% beating revenue estimates.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Wells Fargo & Company WFC, Citigroup Inc. C, Goldman Sachs GS, Morgan Stanley MS and Bank of America BAC beat both top and bottom-line estimates in their latest earnings releases.
Upbeat Zacks Ranks
The Finance sector ranks fifth out of the 16 Zacks classified sectors. The Financial - Investment Bank category, which most big banks come from, is also strongly positioned at present. The industry ranks in the top 14% of the 243 industries classified by Zacks.
Cheaper Valuation
The financials sector currently trades at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 10.97X versus 19.88X possessed by the S&P 500. The Financial - Investment Bank industry trades at a forward P/E of 15.61X.
Projected EPS Growth of the sector is a solid 8.41% versus the S&P 500’s growth of 6.88%. The Financial - Investment Bank industry’s growth is 14.45%. The financials sector currently has a lower debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34X than the S&P 500’s 0.58X. The Financial - Investment Bank industry’s debt-to-equity ratio is even lower at 0.15X.
Steepening Yield Curve in the Cards?
The Fed is currently cutting interest rates. If risk-on sentiment in the market holds (assuming the so-called AI bubble doesn’t burst), long-term bond yields are likely to rise, while short-term yields will decline due to the Fed’s rate cuts.
This would steepen the yield curve — a positive for the banking sector — by boosting banks’ net interest margins. However, healthy credit demand is necessary to support gains in the net interest margins.
Bank ETFs in Focus
Against this backdrop, financials exchange-traded funds (ETFs), such as iShares U.S. Financial Services ETF IYG, iShares US Financials ETF IYF, Invesco KBW Bank ETF KBWB, Financial Select Sector SPDR XLF and Vanguard Financials ETF VFH, should gain ahead.
(We are reissuing this article to correct a mistake. The original article, issued on Oct. 21, 2025 should no longer be relied upon.)
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Bank ETFs in Red Over the Past Month: Pain or Gain Ahead? (Revised)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS reported double-digit growth in its investment banking (IB) revenues in the third quarter of 2025.
Global mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the quarter were impressive, rebounding from the lows witnessed in April and May following President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping tariffs. Nonetheless, deal-making activities have picked up pace since then as corporates adapted to the rapidly evolving geopolitical and macroeconomic scenarios. They took advantage of a strong U.S. economy, optimism over potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, and a more accommodating regulatory environment under Trump.
Driven by higher advisory revenues, signifying a substantial rise in M&A volumes, GS’s IB fee revenues totaled $2.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025, up 42.5% from the prior-year quarter. Specifically, advisory revenues surged 60% year over year, while debt underwriting revenues moved up 30% and equity underwriting revenues grew 21%. Additionally, Goldman ended the third quarter as the leader in both announced and completed M&A, having advised on more than $1 trillion in announced M&A volumes year to date.
During the third-quarterearnings call David Solomon, chairman and CEO of Goldman, highlighted improvements in M&A activity throughout the year and expects the constructive environment to persist through the end of 2025, with even stronger M&A activity anticipated in 2026 amid a favorable backdrop.
Overall, the combination of favorable macro conditions, strong client pipelines, and GS's sustained leadership in the M&A advisory will continue to support its IB performance in the upcoming period.
How GS Competes With Peers in Terms of IB Business
Similar to Goldman, its peers Morgan Stanley MS and JPMorgan JPM witnessed solid growth in their IB revenues in the third quarter.
Riding on a frenzy of deal-making activities and IPOs, Morgan Stanley's IB revenues were $2.1 billion in the third quarter of 2025, up 44.1% from the prior-year quarter. Its fixed income underwriting fees rallied 39%, while equity underwriting income surged 80% year over year. Morgan Stanley’s advisory fees jumped 25% year over year to $684 million as completed M&As rose.
During the third-quarterearnings call Ted Pick, chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley, said that the rebound in the operating environment enabled M&A and renewed financing activity. While he remained cautious, remarking that “whether we are entering a golden age of investment banking remains to be seen,” he affirmed that IB activity should trend upward over the next couple of years.
JPMorgan’s IB fees stood at $2.6 billion in the third quarter, implying 17.1% year-over-year growth. Specifically, JPM’s advisory fees rose 9%, with debt and equity underwriting fees growing 53% and 9%, respectively.
During the third-quarterearnings call Jeremy Barnum, executive VP and chief financial officer of JPMorgan, noted healthy deal flow with robust pipelines, supported by a constructive market environment.
Goldman’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
GS shares have gained 34.6% year to date compared with the industry’s growth of 28.7%.
Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Goldman trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14.33X, below the industry’s average of 14.38X.
Price-to-Earnings F12M
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Goldman’s 2025 and 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 19.6% and 12.4%, respectively. Likewise, the consensus estimate for the company’s 2025 and 2026 sales implies year-over-year rallies of 9.1% and 5.9%, respectively. Earnings estimates for both years have been revised upward over the past seven days.
Estimate Revision Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Goldman currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Goldman Posts Solid Growth in Q3 IB Fees: Will the Trend Continue?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS announced third-quarter 2025 results on Oct. 14, before the opening bell.
The company’s quarterly top and bottom-line numbers outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The solid improvement in trading revenues and investment banking (IB) business majorly supported Goldman’s performance.
Following solid quarterly results, should you buy Goldman’s stock? Before checking that out, let us discuss the company’s quarterly performance in brief.
Quick Glance at Goldman’s Q3 Performance
IB Revenues: Driven by higher advisory revenues, signifying a substantial rise in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) volumes, Goldman’s IB revenues jumped 42.5% year over year. Its peers, JPMorgan’s JPM IB fees rose to $2.6 billion, marking 17.1% year-over-year growth, whereas Morgan Stanley’s MS IB revenues were $2.1 billion, up 44.1%.
David Solomon, chairman and CEO of Goldman, highlighted improvements in M&A throughout the year and expects the constructive environment to persist through the end of 2025, with even stronger M&A activity anticipated in 2026 amid a favorable backdrop.
Trading Revenues: The volatile market drove Goldman’s trading volume in the quarter. The company’s equities trading revenues grew 7% year over year to $3.7 billion. Fixed income, currency and commodities trading revenues rose 17% to $3.5 billion.
Similarly, JPMorgan’s markets revenues jumped 25% year over year to $8.9 billion. Specifically, fixed-income markets’ revenues rose 21% to $5.6 billion, whereas equity markets’ numbers increased 33% to $3.3 billion. Morgan Stanley’s equity trading revenues climbed 35% year over year to $4.12 billion, and fixed-income trading income was up 8% to $2.17 billion.
Asset & Wealth Management (AWM) Division: The AWM division generated revenues of $4.4 billion in the reported quarter, up 17% year over year. The increase reflects increased management and other fees, and significantly higher net revenues in private banking and lending.
Strong IB Business to Support Goldman
GS’s IB division continues to build on its momentum in 2025, buoyed by a resurgence in global dealmaking activity. The year began with optimism, though sentiment briefly cooled following Trump’s tariff announcement on “Liberation Day.” Since then, deal flow has accelerated, driving a steady uptrend in Goldman’s IB revenues.
Goldman ended the third quarter as the leader in both announced and completed M&A. The company advised on more than $1 trillion in announced M&A volumes year to date. Management indicated that 2026 is expected to be an even stronger year for M&A activity, barring any major macroeconomic shocks. The company’s backlog across IB is now at its highest level in the past three years.
Overall, the combination of favorable macro conditions, strong client pipelines and sustained leadership in M&A advisory positions Goldman well to extend its dealmaking dominance.
Goldman’s Strategic Streamlining Progresses Well
The company’s streamlining effort has been underway for some time as it retreats from the underperforming consumer banking ventures. GS is exiting its non-core consumer banking business and sharpening its focus on Global Banking and Markets, and AWM divisions.
The Global Banking and Markets segment has been witnessing a rise in revenues over the past couple of years. The segment's net revenues recorded a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7% from 2022 to 2024, with the metric rising 17% year over year in the first nine months of 2025.
The AWM division’s net revenues witnessed a CAGR of 9.9% from 2022 to 2024. In the first nine months of 2025, the segment’s net revenues rose 4% year over year. The segment is expanding into fee-based revenue streams. Assets under supervision (AUS) rose to a record $3.5 trillion at the end of the third quarter, with impressive results in private banking and lending.
In alternatives, Goldman raised a record $33 billion in the quarter. As a result, the company expects to raise $100 billion in alternatives this year, substantially exceeding its prior full-year fundraising expectations. Goldman is also accelerating growth via innovative partnerships and acquisitions. This month, it agreed to acquire Industry Ventures to expand its exposure to the innovation economy and further solidify its position in the global alternatives market. Last month, Goldman expanded its alliance with T. Rowe Price to give individuals greater access to private markets, with new offerings set to launch in phases. Products for wealthy clients will debut by late 2025, followed by retirement solutions in 2026.
Goldman’s Strong Liquidity Profile Aids Capital Distribution
GS maintains a fortress balance sheet, with the Tier 1 capital ratios well above regulatory requirements. This financial strength allows it to return capital to shareholders aggressively through buybacks and a healthy dividend yield.
As of Sept. 30, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were $169 billion, and near-term borrowings were $73 billion. Given its strong liquidity, the company rewards its shareholders handsomely.
Post-clearing the 2025 Fed stress test, the company increased the quarterly dividend 33.3% to $4 per common share. In the past five years, the company has hiked dividends five times, with an annualized growth rate of 22%. Currently, its payout ratio sits at 33% of earnings.
JPMorgan raised its dividends six times over the past five years with a payout ratio of 28%. Morgan Stanley has raised its dividends five times over the past five years, with a payout ratio is 42%.
Additionally, Goldman has a share repurchase plan in place. At the end of the third quarter of 2025, it had $38.6 billion worth of shares available under authorization.
Goldman’s Price Performance & Valuation Analysis
Year to date, shares of Goldman have appreciated 34.6% compared with the industry’s rally of 30.3%. Its peers JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have gained 28.8% and 30.8%, respectively.
Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
In terms of valuation, the GS stock looks inexpensive compared with the industry. The stock is trading at a forward price/earnings (P/E) of 14.42X below the industry average of 14.61X. The stock is also trading at a discount compared with its peers, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, which have forward P/E multiples of 14.64X and 16.88X, respectively.
Price-to-Earnings F12M
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
How to Approach Goldman’s Stock Now?
GS’s ongoing growth initiatives, consistent capital returns and a steadily improving AWM business provide a strong foundation for long-term financial performance. The rebound in M&A activity and a healthy deal pipeline continue to underpin the firm’s IB momentum, while its robust liquidity profile supports a sustainable and disciplined capital distribution strategy.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 18.6% and 12.6%, respectively. Over the past seven days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 and 2026 earnings has been revised upward.
Estimate Revision Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
In pursuing growth across business segments, operational efficiency remains central to Goldman’s strategy. During the third-quarterearnings call management unveiled One Goldman Sachs 3.0 — an AI-driven, centralized operating model aimed at driving efficiency and creating capacity for future expansion. The initiative focuses on six key objectives: enhancing client experience, improving profitability, driving productivity, strengthening scalability and resilience, enriching the employee experience, and bolstering risk management.
The company’s recent performance and forward-looking initiatives reaffirm its progress toward achieving its mid-term goals of a 14-16% return on equity (ROE) and a 60% efficiency ratio. Supported by favorable market conditions, operational discipline and strategic execution, GS is well-positioned to sustain growth and deliver long-term value.
With its solid fundamentals and improving business mix, Goldman remains an appealing investment choice. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Should You Invest in Goldman Stock Post Its Q3 Earnings Release?

Interest rates are on the decline, U.S.-China trade tensions have heightened and markets have been on a wild ride of late. Against this backdrop, the largest banks of the United States reported earnings. The economic signal from these bank results remains positive so far despite concerns over non-bank lenders, especially after a few recent bankruptcies.
Wall Street credit concerns have resurfaced lately, following a warning from JPMorgan Chase JPM CEO Jamie Dimon about “cockroaches” in the U.S. economy, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. Note that on Thursday, shares of regional banking shares suffered due to fresh signs of credit stress in the banking sector.
Zions Bancorporation plunged 13% on the day and Western Alliance Bancorporation fell nearly 10% after both disclosed losses tied to troubled business loans (read: ETFs to Gain Amid Latest U.S. Regional Banking Worries).
Vanguard Financials Index Fund ETF VFH has lost 4.5% over the past month, whileSPDR S&P Bank ETF KBE has fallen 9%. These returns came against a 0.1% uptick in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY.
Is More Pain Ahead?
The capital markets segment is finally delivering results after several quarters of management highlighting improving deal pipelines. While activity has remained low by historical standards, the favorable regulatory and monetary policy environment makes it reasonable to be optimistic about the sector’s prospects.
Consumer spending and household finances remain stable, supported by a decent labor market. Credit demand shows signs of improvement and delinquencies have declined from their peaks despite references to so-called ‘cockroaches.’
For the Finance sector, we now have third-quarter results from 47.7% of the sector’s total market capitalization in the S&P 500 index. Total earnings for these Finance sector companies grew more than 20.4% from the same period last year on 10.9% higher revenues, with 96.2% beating EPS estimates and 88.5% beating revenue estimates.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Wells Fargo & Company WFC, Citigroup Inc. C, Goldman Sachs GS, Morgan Stanley MS and Bank of America BAC beat both top and bottom-line estimates in their latest earnings releases.
Upbeat Zacks Ranks
The Finance sector ranks fifth out of the 16 Zacks classified sectors. The Financial - Investment Bank category, which most big banks come from, is also strongly positioned at present. The industry ranks in the top 14% of the 243 industries classified by Zacks.
Cheaper Valuation
The financials sector currently trades at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 10.97X versus 19.88X possessed by the S&P 500. The Financial - Investment Bank industry trades at a forward P/E of 15.61X.
Projected EPS Growth of the sector is a solid 8.41% versus the S&P 500’s growth of 6.88%. The Financial - Investment Bank industry’s growth is 14.45%. The financials sector currently has a lower debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34X than the S&P 500’s 0.58X. The Financial - Investment Bank industry’s debt-to-equity ratio is even lower at 0.15X.
Steepening Yield Curve in the Cards?
The Fed is currently cutting interest rates. If risk-on sentiment in the market holds (assuming the so-called AI bubble doesn’t burst), long-term bond yields are likely to rise, while short-term yields will decline due to the Fed’s rate cuts.
This would steepen the yield curve — a positive for the banking sector — by boosting banks’ net interest margins. However, healthy credit demand is necessary to support gains in the net interest margins.
Bank ETFs in Focus
Against this backdrop, financials exchange-traded funds (ETFs), such as iShares U.S. Financial Services ETF IYG, iShares US Financials ETF IYF, Invesco KBW Bank ETF KBWB, Financial Select Sector SPDR XLF and Vanguard Financials ETF VFH, should gain ahead.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Bank ETFs in Red Over the Past Month: Pain or Gain Ahead?

Key Points
Hedge fund billionaire Philippe Laffont thinks Shopify and AppLovin will rank among the 20 most valuable companies in the world by 2030.
Shopify is building on its leadership in e-commerce software by pushing into business-to-business commerce and international markets.
AppLovin is expanding beyond managed advertising services focused on mobile games with its new self-service platform for e-commerce brands.
Shares of Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) have quadrupled in value during the past year and the company currently has a market capitalization of $422 billion. I think Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP) and AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) can top that figure by 2030. Here's what my prediction implies for shareholders:
Shopify is currently worth $205 billion. To achieve a market value of $425 billion by 2030, the stock must advance 107%, which implies annual returns of approximately 16% over the next five years.
AppLovin is currently worth $203 billion. To achieve a market value of $425 billion by 2030, the stock must advance 109%, which implies annual returns of approximately 16% over the next five years.
It's worth mentioning that billionaire Philippe Laffont -- a successful hedge fund manager that crushed the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) during the last three years -- expects Shopify and AppLovin to rank among the 20 largest companies in the world by 2030. Here's what investors should know about these artificial intelligence stocks.
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Shopify: 107% upside implied over the next 5 years
Shopify reported excellent financial results in the second quarter, beating estimates on the top and bottom lines. Revenue increased 31% to $2.6 billion as growth accelerated across North American, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. Non-GAAP net income increased 35% to $0.35 per diluted share, an acceleration from 25% growth in the previous quarter.
The investment thesis for Shopify centers on its ability to simplify e-commerce. Its platform lets merchants manage their businesses across physical and digital storefronts from a single dashboard. The company also provides adjunct tools and financial services, including solutions for payment processing, advertising, and logistics. Shopify has the most popular e-commerce software products on the market, according to research company G2.
Management sees particularly important growth opportunities with international merchants and business-to-business (B2B) commerce, and the company is executing on both. Total gross merchandise volume (GMV) increased 30% in the second quarter, but international GMV increased 42% and B2B GMV increased 101%. "We're bringing the biggest brands in the planet to the platform through our unified commerce offering," said President Harley Finkelstein.
Importantly, Shopify is also leaning into demand for artificial intelligence (AI). The company earlier this year introduced an AI tool that constructs entire online storefronts from a few keywords. Beyond that feature, Shopify's suite of AI capabilities (called Shopify Magic) also includes solutions that help sellers write product descriptions, generate media content, and respond to customer inquiries.
Wall Street expects Shopify's earnings to increase at 30% annually in the next three to five years. That makes the current valuation of 88 times earnings look expensive. But if Shopify meets that consensus estimate, its price-to-earnings multiple could fall to 49 while its market value hits $425 billion by mid-2030. In that scenario, Shopify can surpass Palantir's current market value within five years.
AppLovin: 109% upside implied over the next five years
AppLovin reported very strong financial results in the second quarter. Revenue increased 77% to $1.2 billion and GAAP net income increased 169% to $2.39 per diluted share. The company also completed the sale of its mobile apps business, which will let it focus on its core advertising business in the future. Management expects advertising revenue to grow 59% in the third quarter.
The investment thesis for AppLovin centers on its differentiated recommendation engine, called Axon, which leans on sophisticated artificial intelligence models to match advertiser demand with the most appropriate publisher supply. Morgan Stanley analysts have called it a "best-in-class machine learning ad engine" and have recognized AppLovin as one of the ad tech companies best positioned to benefit from generative AI.
Additionally, while AppLovin has traditionally focused on helping mobile developers market and monetization their applications, the company has recently expanded into e-commerce advertising more broadly. AppLovin also launched a self-service platform called Axon Ads Manager in October. CEO Adam Foroughi says, "Early pilots have shown positive outcomes for a range of advertisers, suggesting that any business in any vertical can harness the power of platform."
Wall Street expects AppLovin's adjusted earnings to grow at 35% annually through 2028. That makes the current valuation of 85 times earnings look relatively expensive. However, if earnings increase at 35% annually through mid-2030, the company can achieve a market value of $425 billion while its valuation drops to a more reasonable 39 times earnings. In that scenario, AppLovin passes Palantir's current market value within five years.
Should you invest $1,000 in Shopify right now?
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Trevor Jennewine has positions in Palantir Technologies and Shopify. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies and Shopify. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Prediction: 2 AI Stocks Will Be Worth More Than Palantir Technologies by 2030

Key Points
Wells Fargo reported earnings that handily beat estimates.
After its asset cap was lifted, the bank increased its profitability targets.
Wells Fargo's leaders aim to take the bank to the next level in the medium term.
Earnings season for the third quarter of 2025 is underway, and most of the big banks have issued reports. While nearly all the financial institutions that have reported so far have beat earnings estimates, there's a solid case to be made that Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) is the biggest winner.
At first, this might come as a surprise to bank stock investors. After all, the positive surprises from companies like Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) have been led by strong investment banking results, and this isn't a major focus of Wells Fargo.
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However, looking into the megabank's results shows why the stock is up by 10% since it revealed its latest results.
Wells Fargo's stellar third quarter
First, on the headline numbers, Wells Fargo beat analyst expectations for both earnings and revenue in Q3. And the numbers looked rather strong throughout the business.
On the consumer side, Wells Fargo has seen 8% more checking accounts opened year to date than in the same period in 2024. There is 9% growth in credit card accounts (and 12% growth in card fee revenue) and 47% higher net investment flows into client accounts. The bank's loan portfolio grew by 2%, as did its net interest income. Even investment banking, which has historically not been as big of a focus for Wells Fargo as for other big banks, surged by 25% year over year.
One particularly positive surprise is that Wells Fargo trimmed its provision for credit losses from $1.07 billion a year ago to $681 million, indicating that its loans have stronger credit quality than many had thought. Plus, the bank's net charge-off rate dropped from 0.49% of the loan portfolio a year ago to just 0.40%.
However, the real story could be what is coming next. If you aren't familiar, there has been an "asset cap" on Wells Fargo for the past seven years as punishment for the fake-accounts scandal and numerous other culture issues the bank had under prior leadership. In short, Wells Fargo hasn't been allowed to grow the size of its assets for years.
Well, the Federal Reserve lifted the asset cap in June, and Wells Fargo is wasting no time. Total assets soared past $2 trillion for the first time ever, and it seems like the asset cap was truly holding the bank back. The company raised its medium-term profitability target to returns on tangible common equity (ROTCE) of 17% to 18%, up from 15%. And CEO Charlie Scharf said that Wells Fargo aims to become the No. 1 U.S. consumer and business bank, as well as to become a "top-five" investment bank.
For context, Wells Fargo has the No. 3 market share when it comes to consumer and small business banking, has the No. 4 share of wealth management client assets, and is the No. 6 U.S. investment bank by market share.
Is Wells Fargo a bank stock to buy right now?
Of course, it would take some major success for Wells Fargo to overtake its larger counterparts JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) for the No. 1 consumer banking market share.
Having said that, this report feels like the start of a new era at Wells Fargo where the bank is allowed to grow and is aggressively making up for lost time. The stock trades for 1.6 times book value, which is significantly less than where it was prior to its numerous scandals. If management can execute on its growth strategy, this could be a big winner for patient investors.
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Wells Fargo Stock Is Soaring After It Reported Earnings. Here's What Investors Need to Know.

Fintel reports that on October 16, 2025, Citigroup maintained coverage of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) with a Neutral recommendation.
Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 5.46% Downside
As of September 29, 2025, the average one-year price target for Morgan Stanley is $151.26/share. The forecasts range from a low of $126.25 to a high of $173.25. The average price target represents a decrease of 5.46% from its latest reported closing price of $159.99 / share.
See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.
The projected annual revenue for Morgan Stanley is 60,076MM, a decrease of 12.34%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is 9.57.
What is the Fund Sentiment?
There are 3,446 funds or institutions reporting positions in Morgan Stanley. This is an increase of 128 owner(s) or 3.86% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to MS is 0.44%, an increase of 6.50%. Total shares owned by institutions decreased in the last three months by 0.30% to 1,530,458K shares. The put/call ratio of MS is 1.28, indicating a bearish outlook.
What are Other Shareholders Doing?
Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Group holds 377,085K shares representing 23.62% ownership of the company. No change in the last quarter.
Jpmorgan Chase holds 39,159K shares representing 2.45% ownership of the company. In its prior filing, the firm reported owning 38,580K shares , representing an increase of 1.48%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MS by 9.75% over the last quarter.
VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 38,692K shares representing 2.42% ownership of the company. In its prior filing, the firm reported owning 38,217K shares , representing an increase of 1.23%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MS by 9.06% over the last quarter.
VFINX - Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares holds 35,065K shares representing 2.20% ownership of the company. In its prior filing, the firm reported owning 34,370K shares , representing an increase of 1.98%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MS by 9.43% over the last quarter.
Capital International Investors holds 27,154K shares representing 1.70% ownership of the company. In its prior filing, the firm reported owning 26,984K shares , representing an increase of 0.62%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MS by 6.43% over the last quarter.
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This story originally appeared on Fintel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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