Breakfast News: Intel Gains on Apple Talk

Breakfast News: Intel Gains on Apple Talk

1. Report: Intel Seeks Apple Investment

Intel (INTC -0.47%) added 4% overnight to yesterday's 6.4% gain after Bloomberg reported the company is pursuing Apple (AAPL 0.21%) to secure an investment and forge closer cooperation. The report says talks are in an early stage, though it seems unlikely Apple would switch back to using Intel processors.

• Intel stock up 56% year to date: Any deal with Intel – currently 10% owned by the U.S. government – would follow a $5 billion investment from Nvidia (NVDA -0.80%) reported last week, and the $2 billion from Japan's SoftBank agreed in August – with the latter ramping up its investments in the U.S.
• "It's become clear that the DMA is leading to a worse experience for Apple users in the E.U.": Bloomberg also says Apple is pushing back on the European Union's Digital Markets Act in an effort to repeal or scale back the rules. In a blog post, Apple said companies are "twisting the law ... to collect more data from E.U. citizens."

2. Results Send SFIX Down, KBH Up

Stock Advisor recommendation Stitch Fix (SFIX 1.58%) fell 8% pre-market after posting a 2.6% year-over-year revenue dip in its fourth quarter. Adjusting for an extra week in Q4 last year, that becomes a 4.4% rise year over year. But the personal styling e-commerce platform saw its active client base fall 7.9%, making it six quarters of declines in a row.

• "We will continue to fuel growth by harnessing the power of AI": CEO Matt Baer spoke of "the successful execution of our transformation strategy," as the company set guidance of between 1% and 5% revenue growth for fiscal 2026.
• Superscore of 59 on our Moneyball database: KB Home (KBH 1.16%) rose 2.5% in early trading after its 7.5% revenue fall in Q3 came in better than feared. Reporting on the day August new home sales strongly beat predictions, the company softened its full-year revenue guidance to $6.10–6.20 billion.

3. QURE Soars on Gene Success

Gene therapy developer uniQure (QURE -1.41%) spiked 248% – yes, you read that right – yesterday, after a breakthrough in treatment for Huntington's disease. A trial in the U.K. for its one-time gene therapy AMT-130 showed a significant slowing of the neurodegenerative disease in patients after three years.

• "We never in our wildest dreams would have expected a 75% slowing of clinical progression": Professor Sarah Tabrizi, who co-led the trial with Professor Ed Wild, described the outcome as "spectacular." uniQure now plans to seek a license from the FDA for a planned U.S. launch in 2026.
• New equity raise: The company has launched a $200 million public offering, and secured a new loan facility of up to $175 million with Hercules Capital (HTGC 0.71%).

4. Next Up: ACN, KMX, and COST Report

Hidden Gems rec Accenture (ACN 2.79%) posted a 7% rise in full-year revenue this morning, at the top end of its earlier guidance, as the management consultant saw new bookings hit $80.6 billion for the year. New guidance suggests 2% to 7% revenue growth in fiscal 2026, and the company expects to return $9.3 billion to shareholders.

• A miss on Q2 revenue and earnings: CarMax (KMX 3.67%) reported a used car sales decline of 5.4%, reversing a big boost in sales in Q1 and missing expectations. Earnings of 64 cents per share came in below Wall Street's $1.03 estimate. The stock dipped 8% pre-market.
• Retail bellwether offers a 0.52% dividend yield: We'll have Q4 earnings from retail giant Costco (COST 0.61%) after the market closes. Costco comfortably beat Q3 top- and bottom-line expectations, at a time when economic conditions favor cost-conscious sellers.

5. Your Take

Costco is up 172% over the last 5 years. Across the same period, the S&P 500 is up 101%. But will Costco be a market-beater over the next 5 years? Debate with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying.