Breakfast News: Intel Gains on Apple Talk

Breakfast News: Intel Gains on Apple Talk

1. Report: Intel Seeks Apple Investment

Intel (INTC -2.74%) added 4% overnight to yesterday's 6.4% gain after Bloomberg reported the company is pursuing Apple (AAPL 0.16%) 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 2.54%) 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 -4.28%) 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 -0.69%) 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 -1.60%) 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 0.21%).

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

Hidden Gems rec Accenture (ACN -0.07%) 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 -0.64%) 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 0.92%) 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.