☕️ Dell raises forecast to $192B

Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Finpresso.

In today's newsletter:

🏦 21 banks unite to launch dollar stablecoin

💻 Dell raises annual forecast to $192B on AI demand

🛡️ Palo Alto revenue jumps 34% on AI demand

📉 Rising oil prices stoke UK inflation fears

⚡ SoftBank's SB Energy files for IPO on OpenAI deal

Plus: 🌍 9 macro news, 🏢 10 corporate news, and 📑 6 research & reports.

📊 Before The Bell

• A group of 21 banks including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi and Deutsche Bank plan to form a company this year to issue a dollar-pegged stablecoin in the first half of 2027, expanding from just 10 banks a year ago.
• The venture will compete with Qivalis, a separate consortium of 37 institutions launching a euro-pegged token this year, though some banks such as Spain's BBVA belong to both; the 21-bank group also plans euro and other G7-currency versions.
• Bank-issued stablecoins have shown little traction so far: the market is dominated by Tether with more than $180 billion in circulation, while Societe Generale's dollar token, launched last year, has just $12.5 million outstanding.

• Dell lifted its full-year revenue forecast to $192 billion, implying 69% growth, and its adjusted earnings-per-share outlook to $25.50, after blockbuster AI server demand pushed quarterly results well past Wall Street estimates.
• Second-quarter revenue jumped 58% to a record $47 billion and adjusted EPS soared 203% to $7.04, both trouncing analyst forecasts of $44.5 billion and $4.92, with the AI server unit booking $60.9 billion in orders.
• The infrastructure division led the surge, up 89% to $31.8 billion as AI-optimized server sales doubled to $16.4 billion and the order backlog swelled eightfold to $95 billion, sending Dell shares up more than 7% after hours.

• Palo Alto Networks posted a 34% jump in fiscal fourth-quarter revenue from $2.54 billion a year earlier, as rising threats from AI-driven cyberattacks fueled demand for its security tools.
• The company swung to a net loss of $282 million, or 35 cents a share, from net income of $254 million a year ago, though shares added about 2% after hours following a 5% drop in regular trading.
• CEO Nikesh Arora called AI-driven attacks a long-term tailwind for growth, with the stock nearly doubling this year; rivals CrowdStrike and Okta also surged last week on strong results as customers ramp up cyber spending.

• Rising oil prices from renewed Middle East hostilities have revived UK inflation fears, pushing 10-year Gilt yields up more than 9 basis points to 5.2341%, their highest since June 2008, with 30-year yields at levels last seen in 1998.
• The trigger was US and Iran retaliatory strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, sending Brent crude 2.2% higher to $92.38 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 2.61% to $88.05, reigniting inflation concerns across global bond markets.
• The sell-off was worldwide, with US 10-year Treasury yields at a 20-month high of 4.7880%, Japan's 10-year hitting 3% for the first time since 1996, and Standard Chartered's Steve Englander warning yields will stay under upward pressure as deficits mount globally.

• SoftBank-backed SB Energy has filed for a Nasdaq IPO under the ticker SBE, aiming to fund its push into AI data centres, with the Wall Street Journal reporting it could raise $5 billion to $7 billion and trade as soon as this month.
• The listing follows Nvidia's $105 billion financing commitment for an OpenAI data-centre project in Ohio that SB Energy will build, which CEO Rich Hossfeld said helps unlock investment-grade financing for the capital-hungry expansion.
• SB Energy has no operational data centres and no revenue from that business yet, posting a net loss of roughly $3.2 billion in the first half of 2026 on just $139 million of revenue, while calling itself "substantially dependent" on OpenAI as tenant and investor.

🌍 Macro News

• US pushes G20 to keep AI regulation light via 'Carolina Principles.' LINK
• Euro-zone inflation jumped to 3.3% in August, highest since September 2024. LINK
• Fed's Barr would back a rate hike if inflation stays elevated. LINK
• China alone refused to sign G20 statement on cheap export flooding. LINK
• SEC proposes first major transfer agent rule overhaul since the 1980s. LINK
• Carney urges Trump administration to get serious on trade talks. LINK
• Russia expanded its digital ruble beyond a restricted pilot program. LINK
• G20 officials pledged clearer global rules for digital assets and stablecoins. LINK
• Dollar holds near two-week high on bets for Fed rate hike. LINK

🏢 Corporate News

• Anthropic will store misuse-tracking data in customers' own cloud accounts. LINK
• OpenAI says new model Astra can independently exploit unknown software flaws. LINK
• GoPro agrees to $285 million merger with Starman Optical, stays public. LINK
• Fervo Energy shares surged 28% after signing 396 MW deal with Google. LINK
• Amazon joins YouTube's Shopping Affiliate Program, letting creators tag products. LINK
• MongoDB's quarterly revenue and earnings beat Wall Street expectations. LINK
• AI training-data startup AfterQuery reportedly hits $3.2 billion valuation fastest ever. LINK
• upGrad acquires India's Unacademy for about $206 million, far below peak. LINK
• TCL sues Samsung over false Mini LED marketing claims on TVs. LINK
• BP names Ian Tyler permanent chair after months of boardroom turmoil. LINK

📈 Stocks

📑 Research & Reports

• Aleph's 2026 SaaS benchmarks: collect the growth, retention and efficiency numbers SaaS finance teams are actually measured on this year. Download the free benchmarks
• South Korea's $919 billion AI datacenter push mainly benefits Nvidia, not Samsung or SK Hynix. LINK
• Investors shift focus to power and cooling suppliers amid grid delays. LINK
• AI model usage costs keep falling, hitting a new index low. LINK
• New York Fed survey: firms use AI to retrain, not fire, workers. LINK
• Only 23% of merchants can track AI-driven traffic and resulting sales. LINK
• ECB finds synthetic securitisation won't meaningfully boost European bank lending. LINK

📅 Market Calendar

💬 How did you find today's edition?

We read every reply — just reply to this email and let us know how we can improve!