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Market Data Table

Breakfast News: Who Let the Bot Out?

September 28, 2026

Friday's Markets
S&P 500 7,743 (+0.51%)
Nasdaq 27,069 (+0.48%)
Dow 51,829 (+0.93%)
Bitcoin $84,005 (-0.45%)

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1. OpenAI's AI Agent Escapes. Who Pays?

Chart comparing Oracle's and Micron's market performance to that of the S&P 500 over the past three years, with Micron up 1,600%, the S&P up 80%, and Oracle up 29.2%.

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has paused training, evaluation, and tool-based inference on its top artificial intelligence (AI) models after one of them slipped past its network safeguards. It reached an outside chatbot it should never have touched -- the second "sandbox escape" in three months.

OpenAI is private, so there's no ticker to buy. But pretty much everything it does ripples through the suppliers who count on years of nonstop AI compute growth. And this comes amid the AI safety debate.

Oracle's backlog hinges on OpenAI's timing: The AI trade assumes labs will buy more compute every quarter. After funding and access to power, OpenAI's pause raises safety as a third threat to AI spending. Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) is among the first to feel it, as OpenAI is a significant customer. Oracle's $664 billion backlog becomes revenue only when customers use the capacity on schedule.
Micron's earnings just got a new subplot: Asian chip stocks tumbled on the news since training AI models devours high-end memory chips. Closer home, Micron (NASDAQ: MU) and Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) are in the spotlight. Micron reports earnings on Sept. 30. We don't expect its outlook for AI memory demand to be hit just yet, but demand and pricing are numbers worth watching.

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2. Trump Says No, Oil Goes Up

Friday's relief rally lasted exactly one weekend. Iran pitched a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in seven days if the U.S. lifts its blockade and sanctions. President Donald Trump rejected the offer, and oil prices and bond yields jumped on Monday. Oil had fallen more than 2% on the truce offer. The 10-year Treasury yield topped 5.1%, the highest since before the 2008 financial crisis.

Wall Street's rally is cooling off fast: The S&P 500 gained 1.21% and the Nasdaq 2.06% last week. Futures point lower this morning, though, down around 0.5% and 1.0%, respectively. The oil shock serves as a reminder that the inflation worries investors thought were fading may not fade so soon.
This week's inflation print carries extra weight: The August Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) update is due Wednesday. It's expected to show headline inflation at 3.6% year over year, with core PCE -- the Federal Reserve's favorite measure -- at 3.2%. Both sit well above target, and Friday's jobs report adds another angle to the Fed's October rate decision. Traders are pricing in a 70% chance of another hike, per the CME FedWatch tool.

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3. EV Rules Are About to Take a U-Turn

The Trump administration's latest move on fuel-economy standards could reshape the electric vehicle (EV) industry. The rules, expected to be finalized today, roll back Biden-era mandates that pushed automakers toward EVs. The move follows the expiration of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit and a pullback in planned U.S. EV investment.

Trucks and hybrids just got more breathing room: This could eventually be the friendliest regulatory environment gas- and hybrid-focused automakers have seen in years. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) have taken tens of billions in EV-related charges. A finalized rule will give them the leeway to shift back to trucks, SUVs, and hybrids that are more profitable.
EVs won't stop rolling out: The story here isn't about stopping electrification. It is where the EV capital flows next. Falling battery costs and state-level rules should continue to push EV adoption. Federal policy could simply change the pace and mix of adoption, with hybrids, grid infrastructure, and power generation potentially capturing the dollars that otherwise would have gone to pure EV plays.

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4. Vail, Accenture, and Nike Report -- Watch the Trend, Not the Print

Three more recommendations report this week, each facing a major turnaround test.

Vail Resorts (NYSE: MTN) reports fiscal 2026 results this morning. A brutal winter cut skier visits 15.5% and knocked resort earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) down 9.5% last quarter. Early 2026/2027 season pass sales are already tracking 10% below last year, a more telling signal than backward-looking numbers. Vail is recommended in Dividend Investor and currently sits in the Stock Advisor Penalty Box.
Accenture (NYSE: ACN), a Hidden Gems recommendation, reports Q4 results on Thursday. Its guidance will be a more telling signal than the quarter's numbers. Analysts expect revenue near $18 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of around $3.19. Last quarter, revenue and EPS both beat Wall Street expectations. Bookings over $100 million climbed 13%, although overall new bookings dipped 2%. Investors should watch whether AI demand and recent cybersecurity acquisitions offset that softness.
Nike (NYSE: NKE), recommended in Stock Advisor by Team Hidden Gems, reports Thursday. Investors are tracking the turnaround. Rebuilt ties with retailers such as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) drove North America growth in the first half of 2026. China remains the weak spot, as tariffs have pressured margins. Watch for gross margin finally turning higher and whether new CFO David Denton signals progress ahead of November's strategy update.

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5. Amazon: A Multi-Rec, Multiyear Winner

Team Rule Breakers

In November 2022, Team Rule Breakers was looking for a recommendation for our Stock Advisor members that would beat the market. We settled on Amazon, making the company our official recommendation on Nov. 17, 2022, at $94.85 a share.

That recommendation has performed well for us in the four years since. Amazon stock is up about 163%, beating the S&P 500 by over 55%. Our thesis has proven out.

Advertising is a bright spot: The growing advertising business we called out in 2022 is up another 26% last quarter.
Amazon Web Services is accelerating: The unit we noted back in 2022 was the company's key moneymaker is growing faster now, hitting its highest growth rate in 18 quarters.

We didn't pull Amazon out of a hat. It was already on our scorecard: Team Rule Breakers and Team Hidden Gems have made a combined near-40 recommendations across TMF services. David Gardner first recommended it back in 2002 at a split-adjusted $0.77 a share, and that recommendation is up nearly 32,500% in the 24 years since. It's tempting to think the easy money has been made. That's not the Rule Breakers way.

A core principle of Rule Breaking investing is to add to your winners. It's that principle that led us back to Amazon four years ago and again this March, our sixth Stock Advisor recommendation -- already beating the market. We don’t think we're done adding.

Team Rule Breakers has a 5-year price prediction of $450.10. Shares trade around $255 today.

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6. Today's Question

Which part of Amazon's business today -- advertising, AWS, or retail -- makes you most confident that the next decade will repeat the last? Why?

Discuss with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying!

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