BUSINESS

Young people are increasingly living with their parents instead of establishing their own households.

Modern websites may rely on sophisticated technology, but the principles that make them understandable are centuries old.

Technical expertise can make someone invaluable, but effective leadership requires a different set of skills.

Homebuilder KB Home is set to report its Q3 2026 earnings, just days after competitor Lennar reported disappointing earnings amid a difficult environment for the rate-sensitive housing industry.

Last week, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and foreshadowed further hikes ahead which could introduce fresh difficulties for the industry.

These are the numbers that analysts polled by LSEG are looking for when the market closes this evening:

Revenue: $1.294 billion

Earnings per share (adj): $0.89

Updates will be posted in this live blog as they arrive. The page will update automatically.

There is a woman in her mid-50s somewhere in Texas, California, or another place who has tried injectable GLP-1 medications and hated the weekly shot. 

There is a 40-year-old father who cannot remember to take a medication that requires him to fast beforehand.

There is a college student who wants the benefits of GLP-1 therapy but cannot afford or tolerate the injectable versions. Foundayo is being built for all three of them.

Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks stood on roughly 240 acres of undeveloped land in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 21 and spoke to CNBC. This is the land that will house Lilly’s new $6.5 billion manufacturing facility. 

Dave made a powerful statement that will shape the obesity drug market for the next decade. One-third of all new patients starting an oral GLP-1 medication are now choosing Foundayo. 

And that market share is growing week over week, Ricks told CNBC.

Also Read: Eli Lilly Latest News and Stories

What makes Foundayo different and why it matters to patients, not just investors

The GLP-1 pill space sounds like a technical pharmaceutical category until you understand what has held the injectable market back from reaching its true potential.

Millions of patients who would benefit from GLP-1 therapy cannot take injectable medications due to needle phobia, lifestyle constraints, or just simple preference. 

Oral semaglutide, Novo’s existing pill option, requires strict fasting protocols and is taken with just a small sip of water, at least 30 minutes before any food or other medications, the Wegovy website explained.

For people with irregular schedules or complex medication routines, that restriction is a genuine barrier to adherence.

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Foundayo removes that friction entirely. As a small-molecule, non-peptide drug, it can be taken once daily without food or water restriction. No fasting window. No injection. No restriction on timing relative to meals.

In Phase 3 trials (ATTAIN-1), Foundayo achieved average weight reductions of 7.4% to 11.1% at 72 weeks depending on dose, with more than 54% of patients on the highest dose losing at least 10% of body weight, according to Clinical Advisor data. 

Those numbers are meaningful for patients and meaningful enough for Medicare, which began covering obesity drugs in July, according to the National Council on Aging.

In fact, that’s a policy change Ricks specifically cited as an access accelerator for Foundayo, CNBC reported.

Eli Lilly manufacturing race behind the pill race

Ricks was breaking ground on a $6.5 billion manufacturing facility at Generation Park that will produce Foundayo and the active ingredients for Lilly’s small-molecule medicines across cardiology, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience. The plant is expected to be operational by 2030.

The Houston groundbreaking is one piece of a $27 billion commitment Lilly made in February 2025 to build four new U.S. facilities. Since 2020, the company has committed more than $50 billion to expanding its global manufacturing network.

Related: BofA points to the Eli Lilly market that could outsize the U.S.

Ricks has repeatedly framed that scale of capital commitment not just as a Trump-administration goodwill gesture but also as a genuine competitive moat against Novo Nordisk (NVO).

The production capacity race is critical because the oral pill market is now supply-constrained. Foundayo booked $98 million in sales in Q2 2026, its first full quarter on the market. But Ricks acknowledged that manufacturing scale is the binding constraint on how quickly the market can grow.

In the U.S., Lilly held a 60.9% share of the obesity and diabetes drug market in the second quarter, compared with Novo’s 38.8%, according to Lilly’s Q2 earnings presentation. With that, the Houston plant infrastructure makes the long-term dominance sustainable.

In the U.S., Lilly held a 60.9% share of the obesity and diabetes drug market in the second quarter, compared with Novo’s 38.8%.Shutterstock

The bigger story: Medicare, access, and what finally changes for obesity treatment

The truly transformative development in this story is not Foundayo itself. It is Medicare coverage of obesity drugs, which began in July 2026, as mentioned.

For the first time, tens of millions of Medicare beneficiaries have access to prescription weight-loss medications with insurance coverage. That policy shift expands the addressable patient population in ways the private insurance market alone never reached.

Oral medications like Foundayo are specifically positioned to benefit from broader access. Patients who were deterred by injectables, cost, or access barriers can now reach an oral option covered by the nation’s largest public insurer.

Lilly’s Q2 2026 total revenue of $23 billion grew 48% year over year, driven primarily by Mounjaro and Zepbound volume, according to the company’s Q2 earnings release. 

Foundayo’s $98 million Q2 debut is a small number relative to that base. But the Houston plant that breaks ground today is being built for the version of this market that exists in 2030, when Medicare coverage has had three full years to pull previously untreated patients into the category.

Ricks said Lilly is confident in its long-term position in the oral pill segment. On performance, LLY has retraced to $1,164.89 from its all-time high of $1,292.65 reached on Aug. 19, but is still up 55.88% over the past year, according to Yahoo Finance. 

LLY could outperform the broader market over the next 12 months, based on the latest analyst ratings. According to TheStreet, of the 22 analysts who rated the stock over the past three months, 20 recommend buying, one has a hold rating, and one recommends selling.

Related: Goldman Sachs sees writing on the wall for Eli Lilly stock

NexGen Energy (NXE) has dropped close to 15% in the past six months, even as long-term uranium prices stayed near multi-year highs and utilities across the United States and Europe kept signing new nuclear supply contracts.

JPMorgan just opened coverage of the Canadian uranium developer on Monday, Sept. 21. The bank told clients that NexGen’s flagship Rook I project offers a scale and grade that few others can match. JPMorgan also mentioned that Wall Street is not yet accounting for that project in the share price.

Investors interested in the nuclear energy space are now curious about what has to happen for the call to work.

JPMorgan’s bull case behind the price weakness

JPMorgan analyst Bill Peterson launched coverage of NexGen Energy with an Overweight rating and a $14 price target on Sept. 21, according to CNBC. That target implied roughly 50% gains from Sept. 18’s close near $9.35.

The stock climbed about 4% in early trading on Sept. 21, reflecting the reaction. Peterson covers alternative energy and clean-tech names for the bank and had not previously given NexGen a formal rating.

Peterson described the setup as a mismatch between a broad sell-off in commodity-linked stocks and NexGen’s specific fundamentals.

“NexGen Energy’s portfolio screens favorably in terms of grade (>2%), scale (>10% market) and jurisdiction (Canada),” Peterson wrote in the note. The firm also described the risk-reward on the stock as attractive at current levels.

Jefferies flagged NexGen as one of its top nuclear picks earlier in September, CoinCentral reported, and 24/7 Wall St noted that the average price target across 16 analysts tracking the stock is around $19.

NexGen Energy’s flagship Rook I project sits in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin, one of the highest-grade uranium districts in the world.SOPA Images / Getty Images

What NexGen actually does and why the Rook I project matters

NexGen Energy is a Canadian uranium developer based in Vancouver. The company is developing a very large mine, then supplying the fuel to utility companies that operate nuclear power plants. The project, called Rook I, is located in the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan and holds the high-grade Arrow Deposit.

According to Investing.com‘s summary of JPMorgan’s note, Rook I is on schedule for a 2030 startup, with a design capacity of about 30 million pounds of uranium per year.

The company has the necessary permits, and licensed construction activities began in June. NexGen has already signed an offtake deal with a major U.S. utility company for one million pounds of uranium per year over five years.

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Most uranium mines produce ore that contains only about one percent of the metal. NexGen’s Arrow Deposit averages above 2%, which reduces the cost of pulling each pound of uranium out of the ground and gives the company more room to compete on price with larger producers.

The $1 billion funding question hanging over NexGen stock

NexGen still needs to finance the rest of the build. The company is currently in discussions with mining giant BHP about a package that could bring roughly $1 billion in funding to complete Rook I, Investing.com reported.

Coverage from a large bank tends to make that kind of conversation easier because credit providers use analyst ratings as one input when considering risk.

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The balance sheet also gives the company some cushion. NexGen holds more cash than debt, and second-quarter results in 2026 showed a smaller loss than analysts expected. The company also carries about 2.7 million pounds of physical uranium inventory that can support ongoing costs without diluting shareholders by issuing new shares.

Sprott Asset Management CEO John Ciampaglia, whose firm manages some of the largest uranium-focused ETFs, has argued that a structural supply deficit is developing into 2030 as reactors restart and utilities move to secure long-term supply. Because of this tight supply, JPMorgan expects the Rook I mine to operate for decades.

While its initial plan is set for 11 years, nearby discovery areas, including Patterson Corridor East, are expected to add many more years of production.

What long-term investors should track from here

The setup for NexGen is different from that of a producing miner. There is no earnings figure to track each quarter. Success or failure will be measured in construction milestones, financing progress, and permitting on adjacent prospects.

The biggest risk is getting the mine built. If costs rise sharply or the 2030 opening is delayed, NexGen stock will be affected more than that of a company that’s already making money. Uranium spot prices can also be volatile, even when long-term contract prices stay firm, and NXE shares tend to move along with sentiment across the broader mining space.

Newer investors should also consider the nuclear policy environment. Utilities across the United States and Europe are signing longer power contracts with reactor operators, and demand from AI data centers is drawing more capital into the fuel cycle.

Walmart’s recent 15-year nuclear supply deal with Constellation shows how quickly that thinking has moved from big tech buyers to mainstream commercial customers. 

While this shift proves there is strong demand for uranium, a single positive report from a bank rarely triggers a large, lasting rally for a company that isn’t making money yet.

Investors who believe in NexGen’s long-term timeline can buy shares gradually as the company hits key construction goals, rather than trying to time the stock’s daily price swings.

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If approved by regulators, the Horowitz Andreessen Academy will offer a two-year program with a tuition “equal or more to elite private universities.”

SanDisk (SNDK) stock has delivered the kind of rally that makes Wall Street cautious. In a note shared with me, Rosenblatt Securities is taking the opposite view, initiating coverage with a Buy rating and arguing that upside could still be ahead, while slapping an eye-popping price target.

That striking call comes after SanDisk has killed it in the stock market this year, evolving from a consumer-storage brand into one of the market’s hottest artificial-intelligence infrastructure plays.

That said, SanDisk has backed it up with operational momentum, soaring past top-and-bottom-line estimates in each of the past four quarters with aplomb. Its results have been supercharged by NAND shortages, higher pricing, and data-center demand, reshaping profitability.

But Rosenblatt’s thesis goes beyond another strong memory cycle. Analyst Kevin Cassidy believes AI is changing how customers value NAND storage and how SanDisk can monetize it. His forecast suggests the market may still be underestimating that transformation.

Rosenblatt sees a 36% upside for SanDisk stock

Rosenblatt analyst Kevin Cassidy initiated coverage of SanDisk stock with a Buy rating and a $2,400 price target. Based on its recent price of $1,766.64, the forecast implies approximately 35.9% upside, even after one of the market’s most extraordinary runs.

For perspective, Cassidy is a 5-star tech analyst. TipRanks currently ranks Cassidy No. 58 among 12,521 Wall Street analysts, with his recommendations producing a 59.2% success rate and an average one-year return of 39%. Also, his best tracked recommendation was Western Digital, which returned 800%. 

Cassidy’s thesis is not simply that AI requires more storage. He believes new computing platforms are turning NAND into a “system-critical component of AI infrastructure,” while SanDisk’s technology supports a “favorable bit-cost curve.” In other words, AI could improve both demand and the economics of supplying it.

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The first shift is economic. 

NAND was traditionally treated as an interchangeable commodity, with buyers prioritizing the lowest price. AI infrastructure builders care more about capacity, speed, endurance, energy consumption, and guaranteed availability. That can reward technologically stronger suppliers with better pricing and stickier customer relationships.

The second advantage is architectural.

SanDisk develops BiCS8 and BiCS10 NAND with manufacturing partner Kioxia. BiCS10 delivers 59% greater bit density and 33% faster interface speeds than BiCS8, while reducing input and output power consumption by 10% and 34%, respectively.

Put simply, Sandisk can potentially store more information in the same physical space, move it faster and consume less electricity. Across hyperscale data centers, those improvements can translate into substantial savings.

The third shift is contractual. 

SanDisk’s multiyear New Business Model agreements provide minimum commitments, pricing protection and greater production visibility. Rosenblatt estimates these arrangements could cover roughly 65% of fiscal 2028 output.

That could raise SanDisk’s earnings floor and soften NAND’s notorious boom-and-bust cycle. Cassidy is betting those changes endure. It does not eliminate the risk that new supply, weaker AI spending or aggressive competitor pricing eventually pressures margins.

AI storage boom sent SanDisk stock into overdrive

SanDisk stock has become one of 2026’s biggest stock market stories, surging 696% year to date and 1,749% over 12 months as per Seeking Alpha data.

The rally extends beyond simple AI branding, which many companies have clung to. A NAND capacity shortage, rising prices, and data center demand have transformed the company’s earnings power.

Nvidia and AMD GPUs provide the computing brain, while SanDisk supplies the flash storage that keeps datasets, model weights, and user context within reach. Moreover, it’s developing HBF technology that targets HBM-like read bandwidth with eight to 16 times the capacity, although commercial validation remains ahead.

SanDisk’s latest earnings showed why investors care. 

Fiscal Q4 sales reached $8.97 billion, up 51% sequentially and 372% year over year. Adjusted EPS hit $39.25, while gross margin expanded from 26.4% to an extraordinary 84.6%. Data-center revenue more than doubled sequentially to $2.98 billion, helping full-year revenue rise 175% to $20.25 billion.

Moreover, it’s important to note that pricing delivered roughly two-thirds of sequential growth, with higher volumes supplying the rest. SanDisk also guided for $10.3 billion to $10.8 billion in Q1 sales and expanded its remaining repurchase authorization to $15.5 billion.

Still, the post-earnings decline exposed the risk. After such a historic run, even exceptional results can disappoint when expectations have risen faster than the business itself.

Rosenblatt analyst Kevin Cassidy sets a $2,400 target for surging SanDisk stock.FRANCK ROBICHON / Getty Images

SanDisk stock looks cheap, but earnings must hold 

SanDisk’s valuation looks restrained for a stock that has climbed 644% this year. Seeking Alpha data show consensus fiscal 2027 EPS of $213.90, up 201.78%, alongside $48.95 billion in revenue. At $1,766, the shares trade at 8.26 times those earnings.

The multiple falls to 6.70 times the fiscal 2028 EPS estimates of $263.49. Rosenblatt’s $2,400 target would value SanDisk at roughly 11.2 times fiscal 2027 earnings and 9.1 times fiscal 2028 estimates, excessive if those forecasts materialize.

Current estimates assume AI demand, NAND shortages, elevated pricing, and extraordinary margins remain durable. Memory cycles rarely stay this favorable indefinitely, while new capacity or weaker hyperscaler spending could trigger estimate cuts.

Therefore, SanDisk stock can look inexpensive and still carry substantial downside risk. Investors should focus less on the headline P/E and more on NAND pricing, data-center growth, contractual revenue coverage, and gross-margin durability.

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When President Trump and Xi Jinping meet, they should discuss more than just trade. The focus should also be on political prisoners like Dr. Gulshan Abbas.

When the Federal Reserve decides to raise its benchmark federal funds rate, the ripple effects move fast through the broader economy—and nowhere is that impact felt more directly than in residential real estate.

While the Fed does not set mortgage rates directly, fixed-rate mortgages heavily track the yield on 10-Year U.S. Treasury notes, which move higher in anticipation of or in response to Fed tightening. For prospective home sellers, higher borrowing costs transform market dynamics virtually overnight.

Here is a breakdown of how interest rate increases alter buyer behavior, inventory conditions, and home valuations—along with actionable steps sellers can take to adapt.

Shrinking buyer purchasing power

The most immediate consequence of a rate hike is a reduction in buyer affordability. Because mortgage payments are composed of both principal and interest, even a 1% bump in mortgage rates significantly boosts monthly housing expenses.

The Math in Practice: On a $400,000 home loan, a rate increase from 5% to 6% increases the monthly principal-and-interest payment by roughly $250 per month.

The Market Result: Buyers who were previously qualified at a specific price threshold are either priced out completely or forced to lower their maximum budget. This shrinks the overall pool of potential buyers for your property.

Longer days on market (DOM)

During periods of ultra-low rates, sellers often experience rapid bidding wars and minimal time on the market. Rate hikes cool this urgency. As buyer demand softens, inventory takes longer to absorb, leading to extended Days on Market (DOM).

Sellers who fail to adjust their expectations early often find themselves watching their listing grow stale, forcing subsequent price reductions.

Shutterstock

The “golden handcuff” effect on supply

Interest rate hikes create a dual-edged inventory dynamic known as the “lock-in” or “golden handcuff” effect.

Existing homeowners who locked in sub-3% or sub-4% mortgage rates during previous monetary easing cycles are hesitant to sell if it means purchasing their next home at a 6% or 7% interest rate.

While this inventory restriction limits overall housing supply (which helps support price floors), it also reduces move-up buyers—homeowners looking to sell their current property to buy a larger one.

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The seller’s checklist adjusting to high-rate markets

StrategyTraditional MarketHigh-Rate Market StrategyPricingTesting aspirational high pricesPrecision pricing grounded in last 30-day compsConcessionsRare; “as-is” sales commonOffering temporary or permanent rate buydownsPresentationBasic staging & cleanupTurnkey condition; buyers lack budget for repairsTimingRelying on high buyer velocityExpecting extended DOM; planning carrying costs

Option A: Offer rate buydowns (seller concessions)

Instead of outright lowering the listing price by $20,000, sellers can offer seller credits to fund a 2-1 mortgage buydown for the purchaser. This subsidizes the buyer’s interest rate by 2% in year one and 1% in year two, lowering their initial monthly payment significantly while preserving the seller’s top-line contract price.

Option B: Price based on pending sales, not closed comps

In a shifting rate environment, closed sales from six months ago reflect a low-rate environment that no longer exists. Sellers should work with agents to review pending transactions and current active competition to price accurately from day one.

Option C: Prioritize turnkey upgrades

When borrowing costs are elevated, buyers have less liquid cash remaining post-closing for major repairs or renovations. Homes that are fully updated and move-in ready command a distinct premium over properties requiring immediate capital expenditure.

The new paradigm

The Federal Reserve’s commitment to reining in inflation means higher borrowing costs are likely here for longer than many market participants anticipated. While this transition creates friction, it also marks a return to a healthier, more balanced housing market where fundamentals—not speculative mania—determine value.

Sellers who accept this new paradigm early, price strategically, and work closely with buyers on financing concessions will navigate the market successfully. Those who cling to pandemic-era expectations may find themselves waiting a very long time for an offer that isn’t coming.

Related: The Fed rate hike is actually good news for millions of Americans