The Street

Jensen Huang told investors on Sept. 10 that cybersecurity is likely to become AI’s next major growth market, according to a Seeking Alpha report on his comments at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference.

Hours later, Anthropic told Reuters it had disrupted a Russia-linked hacking campaign that used its Claude models against more than 20 Ukrainian government and defense targets.

Huang’s prediction made headlines. The more concrete evidence sits in two earnings reports that landed before he ever said a word.

CrowdStrike (CRWD) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) are both racing to answer the exact question Huang just raised for investors, and they are answering it in almost opposite ways.

CrowdStrike is building its AI defenses itself

CrowdStrike unveiled SafeMind at its Fal.Con conference on Sept. 1, an agentic cybersecurity system built by its own Cyber Superintelligence Lab on top of open Nemotron models, according to a CrowdStrike press release.

The system pairs an offensive model, Red Tempest, with a defensive model, Blue Solano, and runs them against each other continuously within CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform.

CrowdStrike trained SafeMind on its own Falcon telemetry, threat intelligence and 15 years of incident response data, a dataset a general purpose AI lab cannot easily replicate, according to the company.

Related: Wall Street panicked over AI. Then came an 8-figure cybersecurity twist

That is a meaningfully different bet than simply reselling someone else’s frontier model with a security label on it.

CrowdStrike says SafeMind detects threats 29% more accurately and remediates them six times faster than the frontier models it benchmarked against, according to the company’s own testing.

Those figures come from internal evaluations rather than independent verification, which matters when the company is asking investors to price in a new product category based on its own scorecard.

The approach is already showing up in demand. CrowdStrike’s fiscal second quarter revenue rose 26% to $1.47 billion, with net new annual recurring revenue climbing 51% to a record $333 million, according to the company’s earnings release.

CEO George Kurtz also disclosed an eight-figure Falcon Flex deal with a frontier AI lab, evidence that AI developers themselves are becoming CrowdStrike customers rather than just its disruptive threat.

Palo Alto is buying its way into the same race

Palo Alto Networks took the opposite path, acquiring its way into agentic AI security instead of building one flagship model.

The company closed its fiscal year having integrated CyberArk and Chronosphere and just added Console, an AI native platform built for agentic enterprise workflows, according to a press release detailing the results.

The strategy is working, at least by the numbers. Palo Alto’s Next Generation Security annual recurring revenue reached $9.1 billion, up 63% year over year, and total remaining performance obligations crossed $20 billion for the first time, rising 34% to $21.2 billion, according to the company’s earnings release.

Yet Palo Alto swung to a GAAP net loss of $282 million in the quarter, compared with a profit a year earlier, largely reflecting the cost of digesting three acquisitions at once.

CEO Nikesh Arora said AI advances are “elevating cybersecurity to the top of the CIO priority list,” according to the company’s earnings release, but the profit and loss statement is telling a more complicated story than the growth headline.

CrowdStrike built its AI security model in house while Palo Alto Networks acquired its way in, and investors rewarded only one of those earnings reports.PixeloneStocker / Getty Images

Investors haven’t decided which approach wins

CrowdStrike’s beat sent shares up roughly 20% on Aug. 27, the stock’s best trading day ever, according to CNBC.

Palo Alto’s beat produced the opposite reaction days later. Revenue rose 34% to $3.41 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter, yet shares fell more than 5% that day as investors focused on margin pressure instead of growth, CNBC reported.

More AI:

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OpenAI just disclosed something genuinely alarming

That split suggests something more specific than a blanket AI cybersecurity trade.

A model built and owned internally produces a cleaner growth story that markets can reward immediately, while stitching together several acquisitions in one year invites harder questions about integration costs, even when the underlying revenue numbers look just as strong.

The threat behind both bets isn’t hypothetical

Anthropic’s own report, covering activity from December through August, found that a group whose tradecraft matched Russia-linked Midnight Blizzard used phishing, hijacked hotel Wi-Fi networks, and compromised WhatsApp accounts to target Ukrainian officials and people tied to the country’s drone supply chain.

Anthropic said humans mostly supervised while AI carried out large portions of the operation.

That capability jump is not unique to one company’s models. A joint study by cloud security firm Wiz and AI lab Irregular found that AI agents completed sophisticated offensive security challenges for under $50 in computing costs, versus close to $100,000 for the same work done by paid human researchers, Fortune noted.

Cheaper, faster attacks are exactly what turns a forecast like Huang’s into a line item on a corporate budget, and both CrowdStrike and Palo Alto are betting that budget grows regardless of which strategy investors reward first.

The next few quarters should settle which approach compounds faster. Falcon Flex adoption will show whether CrowdStrike’s model, built and owned in house, keeps converting AI anxiety into signed contracts at the pace it did this summer.

Palo Alto’s Next Generation Security ARR growth will show whether its acquisition strategy can match that pace once the CyberArk and Chronosphere integrations mature.

Either outcome will say more about who actually wins the market than Huang’s comment on a Thursday conference stage ever could.

Related: OpenAI’s answer to rising AI hacking risks has two tiers

Cathie Wood, head of Ark Investment Management, often buys her favorite tech stocks when she sees a new opportunity.

That’s what she did last week, pouring $27.9 million into Meta Platforms (META) as the company pushes deeper into AI.

Last year, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF gained 35.49%, far outpacing the S&P 500’s return of 17.88% in the same period. So far this year, Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is up 8.66% as of writing, while the S&P 500 surged 11.85%, Yahoo Finance data shows.

Wood gained a reputation after the Ark Innovation ETF delivered a rosy 153% return in 2020. But her style also brings painful losses in bearish markets, as seen in 2022, when the ETF tumbled more than 60%.

Those swings have weighed on Wood’s long-term gains. As of Sept. 11, her Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -6.89%, while the S&P 500 has an annualized return of 11.42% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar.

Cathie Wood says AI could help support high corporate profits

Wood focuses on high-tech companies across artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics. She believes these businesses have strong growth potential, but their volatility often causes fluctuations in the Ark’s funds.

Over the decade ended 2025, the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out nearly $5 billion in investor wealth, according to a report by Morningstar’s analyst Amy Arnott. That made it the fourth-biggest wealth destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in the ranking. 

Wood remains optimistic about AI, which she sees as a major driver of productivity, economic growth, and corporate profits in the years ahead.

“Two hundred railroads went bankrupt in the 1800s. I don’t think the AI buildout will end the same way. The railroads were built on a hope and a prayer, while AI revenues seem to be screaming,” Wood said in a recent post on X (the former Twitter).

Related: Cathie Wood sells $28.7 million of megacap tech stock

In another August post on X, Wood said U.S. corporate profits remain unusually strong, with domestic profits before tax at 13.2% of GDP, a level she said is near multi-decade highs. 

Some of that strength came from the massive monetary and fiscal stimulus during the pandemic, but Wood believes another factor is helping sustain margins today: Companies are leaning into AI and productivity gains to protect them.

“I think we’re still early in seeing how far that can go,” she said, adding that companies that use AI effectively will “separate themselves from the ones that don’t.”

Not all investors agree with Wood’s optimism. Over the past 12 months through Sept. 10, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $2.3 billion in net outflows, according to data from ETF research firm VettaFi. 

Over the past 12 months through Sept. 10, the Ark Innovation ETF saw roughly $2.3 billion in net outflows.Getty Images

Cathie Wood buys $27.9 million of Meta stock

On Sept. 9, Wood’s Ark funds bought a total of 43,091 shares of Meta Platforms (META), according to Ark’s daily trading information sent to TheStreet. These stocks were worth about $27.9 million.

Meanwhile, Wood on Sept. 9 and 11 sold a total of 86,531 shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) worth about $28.7 million.

Over the past week, Meta stock gained more than 6% on excitement around its launch of Muse AI assistant, a personal AI agent. 

Related: Jim Cramer says big tech stock could double in 3–5 years

The social media giant describes Muse as a “widely available personal AI agent,” designed for everyday users, that can take actions on their behalf and help with daily tasks.

“It can handle tasks, like sending an email or booking travel, and it can take on big audacious goals. Once a person shares a goal with Muse, it helps them develop a personalized plan and coordinate their time and resources, then advances the work on its own,” Meta said in a statement.

Mizuho says Meta’s new Muse AI agent could give Meta shares another boost while pressuring rivals like Google, according to The Fly.  

After testing Muse, the analyst was impressed by its polish, range of features, news-feed integration and free access. Mizuho says the product could be the start of a major new cycle for Meta that investors haven’t fully priced in yet.

Wedbush recently raised its price target on Meta Platforms to $650 from $595 while keeping a Neutral rating. The firm called Muse “a key step forward on AI product execution,” but said meaningful financial gains will take time as Meta works to drive paid adoption, according to a research note shared with TheStreet.

Meta stock is down about 1.8% year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 index. The company reported disappointing second-quarter earnings in July, with earnings missing expectations and weaker-than-expected revenue guidance.

The Facebook parent reported Q2 earnings of $6.18 per share, missing the $7.22 expected, while revenue of $60.80 billion topped the $60.17 billion estimate, CNBC reported.

The company also forecast current-quarter revenue of $61 billion to $64 billion, below analysts’ $63.15 billion estimate at the midpoint. Heavy AI spending also pushed free cash flow down to $784 million from $8.55 billion a year earlier.

Meta is not a top-10 holding in the Ark Innovation ETF. 

Top 10 holdings in the Ark Innovation ETF by weight as of Sept. 11, 2026:

Tesla (TSLA): 9.75%

SpaceX (SPCX): 6.52%

Circle Internet Group (CRCL): 5.56%

Tempus AI (TEM): 4.83%

CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP): 4.52%

Coinbase (COIN): 4.47%

Robinhood (HOOD): 4.18%

Twist Bioscience (TWST): 3.29%

10x Genomics (TXG): 3.21%

Shopify (SHOP): 3.07%

Other than buying Meta shares, Wood’s latest trades included buying shares of Beam Therapeutics (BEAM), Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA), and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP).

She also sold shares of Brera Holdings (SLMT), GeneDx Holdings (WGS), Tempus AI (TEM), 10x Genomics (TXG), Bullish (BLSH), and Twist Bioscience (TWST).

Related: 38-year-old beloved steakhouse chain closing over 40 locations

A major consumer company is considering a move that could put several familiar household brands on the market.

The move comes as the company reassesses parts of its portfolio and seeks to strengthen performance in a key market. If completed, the sale could reshape a personal care business that includes well-known products used by consumers for decades.

The potential sale follows a trend of other large companies reshaping their portfolios amid shifting consumer spending, rising costs, and intensifying competition.

Founded in 1806 in New York City, Colgate-Palmolive is an American multinational consumer products company that owns multiple familiar brands in oral health, pet health, personal care, and home care.

Colgate-Palmolive may sell several personal care brands

Colgate-Palmolive (CL) is exploring the potential sale of certain mass-market personal care brands, including Softsoap, Irish Spring, and Speed Stick, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Reuters.

The sources said the company is considering divesting ⁠only a few brands in its personal care unit, which could be worth more than $1 billion. Colgate-Palmolive is working with investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS) on the process, according to Reuters.

The exact number of brands that could be sold, as well as their names, has not been publicly disclosed. Colgate-Palmolive also owns Palmolive, Protex, Sanex, Tahiti, Elta MD Skincare, PCA Skin, and Filorga, in addition to the brands identified in the Reuters report.

Neither Colgate-Palmolive nor Goldman Sachs has publicly confirmed the potential sale.

Because the discussions are ongoing, it is not yet clear which brands, if any, will ultimately be divested.

Colgate-Palmolive may sell several personal care brands.Bloomberg / Getty Images

Why Colgate-Palmolive may sell personal care brands

The potential portfolio changes come despite overall sales growth at the company.

Colgate-Palmolive reported that net sales increased 4.9% year over year in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, according to its latest earnings results.

The company’s Personal Care segment accounted for 18% of net sales during the quarter, making it the second-smallest of its four business segments, with only Home Care generating less.

North America was a weaker area of the business. Net sales in the region fell 3% to $891 million, accounting for 17% of Colgate-Palmolive’s total sales and making North America the company’s only region to report a year-over-year decline during the quarter.

North America’s operating profit was $192 million, also making it the company’s smallest region by operating profit.

Colgate-Palmolive attributed the decrease in North American organic sales primarily to weakness in its Personal Care business, particularly in the bar soap and body wash categories.

Colgate-Palmolive Chairman, President, and CEO Noel Wallace said the company was not satisfied with its performance in North America and would take action to reverse the declines.

“With heightened competition in many of our categories, we will take surgical actions by category and channel to drive market share improvement while still executing behind our revenue growth management playbook,” Wallace said in the company’s latest earnings call.

“We’ve also planned for higher levels of brand support across our core businesses to drive both our equities and win at the point of purchase.”

Wallace also said Colgate-Palmolive would focus on its core businesses while increasing innovation and premiumization and aligning inventory with consumer consumption.

A potential divestiture could give the company more flexibility to concentrate resources on its core businesses and higher-priority categories.

Companies offload brands to focus on growth

Colgate-Palmolive is not the only major company reassessing its brand portfolio.

Several companies have increasingly reviewed their collections of brands and businesses as they navigate economic uncertainty, tariffs, higher costs, and cautious consumer spending. Selling noncore or underperforming assets can give businesses an opportunity to concentrate resources on areas they consider more strategically important.

Here’s some of my previous coverage of companies reshaping their portfolios:

Calida Group: Sold Cosabella in July 2026 as part of a major restructuring.

Signet Jewelers: Integrated James Allen and Rocksbox into its more established brands to improve operational efficiency.

Tapestry: Sold Stuart Weitzman in August 2025 as it focused on its higher-performing brands.

Related: Jewelry chain closes 53 stores after shutting down 2 brands

While it’s a giant player in the grocery space, Kroger lacks the buying power of bigger rivals Amazon and Walmart. You can add Costco to that list as well because its limited product selection magnifies its leverage with retailers.

Unlike Kroger, Walmart and Amazon have other businesses that can benefit when they attract a grocery customer, from advertising and memberships to general merchandise.

And unlike Walmart, Amazon, and Costco, Kroger actually needs to make money from selling groceries. It’s not using those items as a loss leader to sell other things or memberships. That’s the retailer’s core business.

Kroger, however, does have one advantage — its proximity to its customers. Walmart may be closer in some cases, but Kroger is broadly a neighborhood grocery chain, so it’s convenient for customers, but that’s not always enough when its rivals are cheaper and offer delivery.

CEO Gregory Foran knows that to compete, his company needs to execute and operate as efficiently as possible.

“We have to be relentless on cost. Our teams are moving with more speed and urgency, and sourcing and savings came in ahead of plan this quarter,” he said during the supermarket chain’s second-quarter earnings call.

Lowering the chain’s cost, he noted, is key to not just success, but survival.

“There is more work to do across sourcing, procurement, productivity and simplification. Every dollar we take out is a dollar we can reinvest in areas customers will see. That is how this becomes sustainable for customers and for shareholders,” he added.

Foran sees opportunity in Kroger’s stores

Foran has spent significant time during his first year in the job visiting Kroger locations. After identifying areas for improvement he has noticed some areas where the chain has fixed problems.

“We’re making progress on execution across the business, but there’s still work to be done, and opportunity remains inside our stores: better in-stocks, better merchandising, better standards, better shrink management. These are not new ideas, but customers notice when we execute well,” he said.

He noted that the chain’s on-shelf availability reached an all-time high, and its pickup perfect orders were its best ever.

“We also have an opportunity to become stronger merchants. Whether it’s fresh foods or prepared meals, we can do a better job helping customers answer ‘What’s for dinner?’ and creating excitement around great products in our stores. When we’ve done that, customers have responded. Natural and our prepared meals grew well ahead of total sales,” he added.

More Kroger:

Kroger makes a pricing move Costco and Walmart will love

Kroger hit by 19 million egg recall over serious health risk

Kroger supermarkets add exclusive LTO Sprite soda

GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders thinks that Kroger has significant work to do.

“Kroger has enormous reach and powerful economies of scale. The problem is that, for many years, it has failed to capitalize on these things. The company hasn’t been aggressive enough, nor has it been sufficiently progressive,” Saunders told RetailWire.

“The result is that it’s become a bland, middle-market grocer that isn’t sufficiently differentiated. It doesn’t win on price. It doesn’t win on experience. It doesn’t win on private label. It doesn’t win on e-commerce in the way Walmart does,” Saunders added.

Amazon, Walmart and Kroger by market cap

Amazon: $2.76 trillion

Walmart: $852.7 billion

Kroger: $35.83 billion Source: CompaniesMarketCap

Amazon has been a growing player in the grocery space.Amazon

Walmart and Amazon bet big on groceries

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, in a recent Q&A with shareholders, made it clear just how big grocery has become for the company.

“I’m very bullish about grocery. I think some folks don’t realize how large a grocery business Amazon has today. If you look at our center of aisle things — so these are things like consumables, canned goods, pharmaceutical items, beauty products, really, everyday essentials — if I just exclude Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh, we did over $100 billion in gross sales in our grocery business on these items last year alone,” he said.

To put that into perspective, Kroger, which is a grocery store chain, did $34.6 billion in total sales for the second quarter.

Walmart U.S. Chief Merchant Julie Barber made it clear in remarks made in July that the chain plans to be agressive on price.

“This summer, we’re making even more investments in price, with thousands of Rollbacks across the products customers are shopping for most including beef, fresh produce and beverages,” she said in the press release.

Kroger makes its own pricing moves

Foran shared that Kroger has also been working to find new ways to lower prices for its shoppers.

“Smart Way, our opening price point brand, with more items, broader coverage across the store, and improved visibility, both in-store and online,” he said during the Q2 earnings call.

he company, he shared, has also made other changes beyond just offering cheaper items.

“Earlier this quarter, we expanded our loyalty program and rebranded Fuel Points as simply Points. Customers can now use Points for savings at the pump or apply them directly to their grocery bill in-store or online,” he said.

Foran has said in the past that his company can’t always be the cheapest, but it can strive to deliver value.

“Value continues to matter, and it matters more when budgets are tight. Our customer value plan is underway and progressing well. We have opportunities to strengthen our value position, simplify promotions and make it easier for customers to recognize value in our stores,” he added.

RTM Nexus CEO Dominick Miserandino worries that Kroger simply can’t give some shoppers the prices they need.

“Consumers don’t make decisions exclusively based on price; it’s a numerous amount of factors. So he’s not entirely wrong, but the worse the economy gets, the more pricing does become a factor,” he told TheStreet.

ALSO READ: Kroger loses $12 billion as customer behavior takes a turn

Most investors bury their mistakes in a footnote. Warren Buffett prints his in the shareholder letter, in plain English, with his name on it.

For most of the past decade, the story around Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) (BRK.B) and its industrial businesses was maintenance rather than growth. Railroads, utilities, insurance float, a slow grind of cash into the same pile.

The exciting money went somewhere else. It went into chips, cloud contracts and anything with a graphics processing unit bolted to it.

That framing skipped a physical step. Before one chip in a new data center draws a watt, somebody has to build the machine that produces the watt.

And the hottest, most stressed piece inside that machine is a cast slab of superalloy that only a handful of companies on earth know how to pour without cracking it.

One of those companies belongs to Buffett. It is the deal he apologized for.

Precision Castparts, the aerospace parts maker Berkshire bought in 2016, has spent 2026 turning into something nobody underwrote at the time. It is an AI power story hiding inside a conglomerate that doesn’t talk about it.

Warren Buffett’s $37B Precision Castparts mistake now feeds gas turbines powering AI data centers.Bloomberg / Getty Images

What Buffett actually got wrong about Precision Castparts

Berkshire paid roughly $37.2 billion for Precision Castparts a decade ago, the largest deal of Buffett’s career at that point. Then commercial aviation stopped.

Berkshire wrote down about $11 billion of the value, and Buffett told shareholders he had simply paid “too much,” according to CNBC.

Go back to that letter and the complaint is narrower than the coverage suggested. He faulted the price he paid. He did not fault the asset, which he called the best in its business.

Nearly ten years on, that distinction carries the whole story.

Precision Castparts supplies investment castings, forgings, fasteners and aerostructures for “critical aerospace and power and energy applications,” per Berkshire’s most recent 10-K annual filing.

Read that last clause slowly. Power and energy.

Why gas turbines became the hardest bottleneck in AI power

Big natural gas turbines are the fastest way to add firm electricity to a grid that AI is straining, and only three companies build them at scale.

Every one of those turbines runs on airfoil castings, the blades and vanes that sit in the combustion path and survive temperatures above the melting point of the metal around them. Precision Castparts makes airfoil castings for both jet engines and industrial gas turbines, per its own SEC filings.

Here is how tight the queue has become:

Gas turbine backlog and slot reservations grew from 100 to 116 gigawatts in a single quarter, with at least 125 gigawatts expected under contract by year-end, according to GE Vernova (GEV).

Data center customers account for about 20% of that contracted volume, according to POWER magazine.

Global data center electricity use is set to more than double to around 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, from 415 terawatt-hours in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency.

Castings are still one of the most stubborn chokepoints in engine production, a manufacturing “black art,” as Reuters put it.

GE Aerospace (GE) just paid $11.75 billion for Consolidated Precision Products, a smaller maker of castings for jet engines and gas turbines, calling the capacity mission-critical in its deal announcement.

Using that multiple, Precision Castparts could be worth around $100 billion, or nearly three times what Berkshire paid, according to Barron’s. My colleague walked through that valuation math last week.

What Berkshire’s own cash flow numbers show

I went back to Berkshire’s 2025 annual report instead of the deal chatter, and the line that stopped me had nothing to do with multiples.

Precision Castparts generated $2.4 billion of net cash from operating activities in 2025, against $1.7 billion in 2015, the last full year before Berkshire owned it, according to Berkshire’s annual report.

More Warren Buffett:

Warren Buffett’s $37B ‘mistake’ may now be worth $100B

Warren Buffett’s favorite market signal just hit a historic extreme

Abel reversed Buffett’s two biggest convictions in six months

So the business now throws off roughly 40% more cash than the version Buffett was accused of overpaying for. My analysis of that gap says the write-down was a timing verdict, not a quality one.

The pandemic took four years out of the middle of the thesis. The AI power build-out is quietly handing some of them back.

Why a scarce casting matters to your portfolio

If you own an S&P 500 index fund, you own a slice of this. Berkshire sits among the largest weights in the index, and Precision Castparts would represent close to one-tenth of the group’s stock market value at a $100 billion mark, according to Barron’s.

You are already exposed to the AI trade through the obvious names. Nvidia (NVDA) and the semiconductor complex move your balance twice a week whether you follow them or not, and the bill for that build-out keeps climbing.

What you probably don’t have priced in is the part of the build-out that can’t be solved with a bigger order. A casting plant takes years to qualify. The furnaces, the alloys and the engineers who know why a blade cracks are not things a hyperscaler buys its way past in a quarter.

That scarcity also finds you on the other side of the meter. Utilities paying up for turbine slots are the same utilities filing for rate increases, which is how an AI data center three states away ends up on your electricity bill.

Buffett won’t be the one explaining any of this. He stepped back from the chief executive job, and Greg Abel does not hold investor days or analyst calls where a subsidiary like this gets its own slide.

So the reappraisal, if it comes, arrives the slow way. A deal print here, a cash flow line there, until the deal Buffett called his expensive mistake is the reason somebody buys the stock.

Related: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire raises stake in media giant

Tranchau (Kris) T. Nguyen of the U.S. Government Accountability Office explains how retirement plan providers may be collecting, using, and sharing participants’ personal data in ways many workers do not expect.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Well, Kris, it’s always great to see you. Thanks for popping by the program this morning. Thank you for having me.

Good to see you. Yeah, it’s always a pleasure to see you. And, you know, it’s another great report.

GAO, we’ll get into that in a second. You put out a lot of great reports. This is a great report.

I think a lot of people, whether you’re in the retirement industry or you’re a participant in a retirement plan, will find interesting. Before we get into the meat and potatoes, I want to ask you some maybe some blocking and tackling questions, an allusion to the NFL season, of course. What’s the why behind?

Why did the GAO determine that it would like to take on this project?

Tranchau (Kris) T. Nguyen, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Well, GAO is an investigative arm of Congress. And Congress was concerned about data privacy issues in retirement plans, such as the potential use and sharing of information beyond the intended purpose, which is to administer these plans. So some of the concerns dealt with the selling of the information or for the purpose of marketing the information.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Okay, so obviously this privacy in general, if anyone reads, I mean, you had to be sleeping under a rock, my words, not yours, to not know that privacy is a big issue for everyone. Data is a big issue. So you got this mandate from the Congress.

You went about the report. Now, how did you, if you don’t mind me asking, I’m just asking some blocking questions and tackling questions. How did you begin the process to actually do the research?

Did you interact with the US record keepers that do this type of work or was it through other intermediaries?

Tranchau (Kris) T. Nguyen, U.S. Government Accountability Office

That’s right. In order to conduct our study, among the many steps that we took, such as interviewing experts in the field, the central piece to our work is our review of privacy disclosures that were publicly available of 31 record keepers and asset managers of retirement plans. So while the number sounds very small, but these entities serve a vast number of retirement plans and participants.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, I mean, their 31 record keepers may cover the bulk of 401k, 403b and governmental 47 plans. I mean, they do. These record keepers, I think for the audience’s benefit, Kris, they do a lot.

They’re not just administering the plan. They have phone centers. They have tools and capabilities to help people meet their retirement needs.

So they do a lot.

Tranchau (Kris) T. Nguyen, U.S. Government Accountability Office

That’s right. The record keepers, their role is to track the information of your plans. For example, the contributions that you make to your plans, the growth of those plans, the financial information with the bank information and such.

In addition to some personal information that they need from you, such as your beyond your name address, but also your security number, bank information, and the asset managers have the responsibility to manage your funds. So these entities have a big responsibility in carrying out the administration of these retirement plans.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, it’s not your mother’s or mom and dad’s 401k plan. Things have really evolved, I know, within the retirement industry. So let me ask you some basic follow-up questions based on the findings.

So when and why do the record keepers or retirement plans actually share data? You talked about, so security number, there may be things like your name, address, other information. So what is the rationale as to why or when that is shared?

Tranchau (Kris) T. Nguyen, U.S. Government Accountability Office

So the need to share information between service providers is so that they have the adequate information to keep tabs of your investments over time and the growth of your investment and make sure that all that information is proper and that they carry out the services for the individuals, such as asset management, investing your investments in these firms, right? The asset managers have those responsibilities. So it’s an important role for them to ensure the accuracy of your retirement savings over time.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah. And just for the audience’s benefit, when I first started in the retirement industry, everything keyed off the social security number. I don’t know, when I was still working in record keeping, they actually, Kris, they actually took off the social security number off of the statement and some of the confirmation.

So I know this is something that early on, and this is going back probably 20 years, they really were focused on removing this information. So really important to share this information. Now you’re better, you and the team are better than I am because you actually looked at all the privacy disclosures.

There’s a lot of confirmations and things that come out as a result of the retirement plans from prospectus to confirmations. What did you find in those privacy disclosures?

Tranchau (Kris) T. Nguyen, U.S. Government Accountability Office

What we found was that only two prohibit the sharing of information and then more than half did not limit the selling of this information. And in fact, only two of the 31 allow the opting out of the selling of these data. So this is an important piece to understand that your information can be at risk for sharing information, for marketing purposes or for the selling of your information.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, I guess that’s surprising. When I looked at the report, that was one of the key takeaways. I’m like, oh, that’s pretty interesting.

I just did a, this is not related to your report, but I just did something with the state of Utah where they looked at ed tech, ed technology used for K through 12 schools. And there was some data sharing going on among ed tech. So, you know, this is a very dynamic and fluid environment.

I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus, but clearly it’s an area that probably needs to be revisited and refreshed. So you’ll probably get another chance to look at the disclosures, Kris. Let’s talk about some of the privacy laws.

And I’m not an attorney. I, you know, not expecting you to be the legal scholar here, but when you look at, there’s a lot changing both at the federal level in terms of privacy laws and data laws, as well as the state privacy laws and data laws. That’s a lot for these companies to have to reconcile to comply with, isn’t it?

Tranchau (Kris) T. Nguyen, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Thank you for raising that point. We did look at state laws. Specifically, we talked to folks from California, Colorado, Virginia specifically.

And we also looked at how many states across the U.S. has privacy laws. And we found that 13, nine, I’m sorry, 19 states do have privacy laws. And California is the first one to have privacy laws for consumers.

And this is relatively recent. They implemented their law in 2020, just to give you a sense of the recency of these laws. What we learned is that it’s not clear whether these consumer protection laws would apply to retirement plans.

And ERISA, the federal law that is affecting retirement plans, generally supersedes these laws.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah. Again, I’m not a legal scholar, but I think that there’s a lot of having to mesh the state laws with the federal laws, figure things out. And if you’re the record keeper, one of the 31 record keepers, you have to follow both sets of laws.

So you’re doing business theoretically in all 50 states, potentially. So you’ve got to follow all those laws. And on top of that, you’ve got to follow the federal law.

I mean, that is a big job. And these record keepers have dozens of people that just focus on these regulations. Let me close by asking, what do you think in terms of the protections afforded to consumers?

I know you looked at this as part of the report. Obviously, there are some early stage developments with data privacy. It looks like things are going to continue to evolve over the next five, 10, 15, 20 years.

Tranchau (Kris) T. Nguyen, U.S. Government Accountability Office

So in addition to our finding regarding the privacy disclosures, that they don’t always protect the participants, the other piece that we found is that the Department of Labor, its guidance is insufficient. It’s not clear on what is considered private. And it’s not clear on when record keepers and asset managers need to get written consent to share the data.

So that is a key part of our work. And we made recommendation to the Department of Labor to issue guidance to help plan sponsors and record keepers and their service providers to understand their responsibilities to protect participant data. And in fact, there is an industry study that shows that the service providers indeed want additional guidance from DLO to help them navigate this area.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, I feel bad for the Department of Labor. They have a lot of oversight and they have a lot of work to do, Kris. That’s just my editorializing a little bit.

I don’t really feel sorry for them. I’m sure they’re enthralled by having to handle all these things, but there’s a lot out there. And with the advent of AI, it’s dynamic and it’s very fluid and changing.

Kris, I can’t let you go without teasing out some additional work that you and the team are gonna be doing. I know cybersecurity is also something that you focus on, but can you give us a little hint, maybe a little taste of what you’re gonna be releasing in the next couple of months?

Tranchau (Kris) T. Nguyen, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Well, thank you for your question. With regard to this particular work, we will continue to monitor the recommendation and to see whether DOL will implement our recommendation. At the time, DOL neither agreed or disagreed with our recommendation, but we think it’s an important step in order to protect participants and guide the plan sponsors and service providers.

Congress has what it needs with regard to data privacy in the retirement plans. We don’t have additional work in this area regarding data privacy for retirement plans, but of course, GAO continues to do work related in this area because we are in the digital age and cybersecurity is a high risk issue that GAO has put on the radar screen.

Jeffrey Snyder, Broadcast Retirement Network

Yeah, really important work that you and the team are doing. And the federal government, for that matter, and the states, I wanna give everyone, and the retirement industry, I gotta give everyone credit because I don’t want bad phone calls. Kris, always great to see you.

Thanks for making a few minutes for us. And look, we look forward to having you back on the program again very soon.

Tranchau (Kris) T. Nguyen, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

When the chief executives of two of the most valuable companies on earth independently use the same language to describe what they are seeing in the economy, it is worth more than a passing scroll.

That is what happened over the summer, and the warning has only grown louder since.

Tim Cook, who spent 15 years running Apple before stepping back this fall, and Elon Musk, who leads Tesla and the newly public SpaceX, rarely agree on much in public.

This time their assessments lined up almost word for word, and the numbers behind their comments back up the alarm.

Tim Cook’s Hundred-Year flood warning

Cook, still Apple’s chief executive at the time, told The Wall Street Journal in a June interview that the surge in memory and storage chip costs was unlike anything he had encountered in decades.

“This is a hundred-year flood,” Cook said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years,” according to TheStreet.

The warning came as Apple prepared to raise prices across its lineup to offset soaring costs for the chips used in iPhones, Macs and iPads.

Cook said the situation had become unsustainable despite Apple’s efforts to shield customers from the increases. “Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable,” he said.

More Elon Musk:

Elon Musk makes bizarre claims about money, future of AI

Elon Musk sends blunt verdict on the future of humanity and AI

Elon Musk’s startling claim to SpaceX investors

The root cause is an unprecedented scramble for memory chips driven by AI data centers. ABC News reported that Cook attributed the shortage directly to AI companies’ appetite for the same components Apple needs for consumer devices.

Cook told the Journal that Apple would use its balance sheet to help fund additional memory supply, though it has no plans to build its own chip factories.

Apple’s former CEO made the comments months before handing the chief executive role to John Ternus, Apple’s longtime hardware engineering chief, who officially took over on September 1.

Cook has since moved into the role of executive chairman, making the hundred-year flood comment one of his final statements as the company’s top executive.

Musk backs the warning, and the data confirms it

Musk did not wait long to weigh in. He quoted Cook’s Wall Street Journal comments directly on X and added his own take.

“Biggest price jump in anything I’ve ever seen too,” as reported by Yahoo Finance.

Coming from someone who has run car and rocket manufacturing through years of supply chain turmoil, the comment carried weight.

Musk also shared a Wall Street Journal article titled “The Data-Center Boom Is Sparking a Third Wave of Inflation,” arguing that America’s AI buildout is pushing up prices on everything from smartphones to electricity. One chart in that piece showed consumer prices for computer software and accessories had climbed roughly 15% from a year earlier.

The underlying numbers support both executives’ alarm. Memory and storage chip prices have quadrupled over the past three quarters, as booming AI-server demand absorbs supply and manufacturers prioritize high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers rather than consumer electronics.

That shift has been extraordinarily profitable for chipmakers even as it squeezes device makers. Micron reported gross margins of 84.9% in its most recent quarter, up from 39% a year earlier, outpacing even Nvidia and Meta. The imbalance between soaring chip profits and squeezed device margins is adding pressure on Apple and its rivals toward price hikes.

Musk and Cook are strong tech veterans who have lived through shortages, cost spikes and shipping chaos.Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Other companies are already raising prices

Apple did not wait long to act on Cook’s warning. The company announced price hikes across its MacBook and iPad lineup, its first formal move to pass higher memory and storage costs on to consumers. Increases ranged from $100 to $300, and Apple said it had never seen a component price increase this large or this fast.

Apple is not alone. Other major device makers, including Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Nintendo, have already raised prices, underscoring that the memory squeeze is an industrywide problem, not an Apple-specific one.

Consumers may feel the pinch most with Apple’s next iPhone generation.

A research firm estimated the cost of the upcoming iPhone Pro would rise by more than $200, pushing the device toward roughly $1,299. Apple had not confirmed final pricing as of then, and Cook himself declined to say when increases would hit or which products would be affected.

TheStreet’s coverage of the episode framed it plainly. A week before Apple raised Mac and iPad prices by hundreds of dollars, Cook’s Wall Street Journal comments stopped people mid-scroll, and Musk’s agreement turned the moment into a broader conversation about where AI-driven inflation goes next.

What this means for investors

The deeper message for investors is not really about iPhones or laptops. It is about how AI infrastructure spending is starting to bleed into everyday consumer prices in ways headline inflation figures do not always capture right away.

Musk and Cook are strong tech veterans who have lived through shortages, cost spikes and shipping chaos before, and neither of them has used language that is this stark and casual.

That risk is compounding alongside separate pressure from the Middle East. An ongoing conflict has kept energy prices elevated. BlackRock has estimated the conflict could add roughly 0.8 percentage points to global headline inflation, with Europe and parts of Asia more exposed, given that they rely heavily on energy imports.

None of this means a return to 2022-style inflation is guaranteed, but it does suggest investors should watch component costs, device pricing and energy markets together rather than separately.

When the executives behind two of the most sophisticated supply chains in the world compare what they are seeing to a hundred-year flood, it is worth taking seriously rather than dismissing as routine corporate complaining.

Related: Jim Cramer doubles down on Tim Cook and Apple verdict

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.

Why we love this deal

If you’re planning to travel or just want something comfortable to run around town in, having a few sets of closet staples can make life so much easier. Whether you’re packing for an upcoming trip, choosing an outfit for the airport, or just throwing something on for brunch with the girls, you know you’ll be comfy in a lounge set. If you don’t have a super-soft, versatile go-to outfit for casual occasions, don’t fret.

Thankfully, Walmart has a chic and cozy Fantaslook 2-Piece Lounge Set on sale for just $23. Shoppers can save a whopping 44% off the original price of $41, allowing you to look good and feel good wherever you plan to go. With this affordable price and 12 colors to choose from, you might even want to snag a different color for every occasion.

Fantaslook 2-Piece Lounge Set, $23 (was $41) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

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Why do shoppers love it?

This stylish lounge set is perfect for any weather. The lightweight material keeps you cooler during warm weather, or pair it with your favorite fuzzy socks and sweater for those cool mornings. It comes with two pieces that provide an effortless look while still feeling like you’re wearing pajamas. 

The crewneck T-shirt drapes nicely to create an oversized look that still looks put together, or you can tuck it in or tie it up to show off the cute drawstring pants. Each piece is made of a soft polyester, nylon, and spandex blend that moves with you, and the elastic drawstring waist allows you to adjust the pants to the perfect fit. The pants feature two side pockets, and the T-shirt has a small chest pocket to hold your key while you walk the dog or to allow easy access to your ID card while traveling. 

Related: Hanes fleece hoodie that comes in 30 colors is only $8 at Amazon

This set is machine washable, but it’s recommended to hang it to dry to keep it in pristine condition. It’s available in gray khaki, gray, blue, black, Army Green, and Dark Coffee, offering a variety of colors to fit your preference. Shoppers can choose from sizes S through 3XL, and if you’re in between sizes, size up for a more oversized at-home set, or size down for a more form-fitting look. 

The pros and cons of this $23 lounge set

Pros

Material: The polyester and spandex blend is extremely soft and drapes well.

Sizes: S to 3XL.

Colors: There are twelve pretty colors to choose from.

Cons 

Length: Some reviewers report that, depending on your height, the pants may run long. 

Care: Although it’s machine-washable, it needs to be hung to dry. 

“This set is comfy, and perfect for at-home casual, shopping, or travel. The fabric is soft,” one reviewer said. Another shopper wrote, “This set is of outstanding quality,” and a couple of other buyers are calling it “so soft.”

Shop more deals

Sunbs Short Sleeve Lounge Set, $22 (was $46) at Walmart

Mintreus Crop Top Lounge Set, $20 at Walmart

Mintreus Oversized Lounge Set, $19 (was $34) at Walmart

Whether you’re planning your next trip or need something comfortable to wear around the house on the weekend, the Fantaslook 2-Piece Lounge Set is a versatile choice. It’s extremely soft and offers all-day comfort while also looking nice enough to wear out for brunch or errands. At just $23 per set, you can stock up on a few colors for the season and save 44% at Walmart. 

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.

Why we love this deal

Everyone knows that although it’s the big apparel items, like a button down or pair of pants, that act as the building blocks to any good outfit, it’s the little additions you add on after, like a purse, hat, or necklace, that tie it all together. Jewelry and similar accessories add a little glitz and glam, and help satiate that feeling we all have that “something’s missing” when we’re getting dressed. It’s amazing how a thin stack of bracelets or a delicate pair of earrings can change an outfit so much, but there’s a reason that accessories feel just as important as the sweaters, shirts, shorts, and more that we fill our closets up with. And although many of these accessories can be expensive, there are always great deals at easy-to-access retailers that remind us that quality doesn’t always have to cost a fortune. 

Walmart is selling the Cate and Chloe Birthstone Earrings on sale for 50% off the original $40 retail price. You can save $20 and score a pair of your very own in the gem matching your birth month for just $20. 

Cate and Chloe Birthstone Earrings $20 (was $40) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

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Why do shoppers love it?

Immediately you’re probably thinking — well, how high quality can such an affordable pair of earrings be? It’s easy to think a low cost item lacks long-lasting value, but these earrings are made to withstand lots of wear over time. Made with 18k white gold plated-brass, these earrings have the luxurious look that silver or white gold jewelry typically has, with a strong, sturdy core thanks to the brass. Brass is super durable, resistant to rust and corrosion, and it’s strong so it won’t easily break or snap. The 18k white gold plating gives it lots of shine, while also making it tarnish-resistant so it won’t turn black, gray, green, or brown at the slightest sign of wear or water exposure. It also means you don’t have to worry about your ears turning green like they can occasionally if you’re dealing with cheap, poorly-made jewelry. Thanks to that 18K white gold plating, the earrings are also hypoallergenic. Additionally, since they’re lead and nickel-free, they are suitable for wear by folks with very sensitive skin.

The earrings themselves, which measure 5.8 millimeters long, 5.2 millimeters wide, and 5.2 millimeters high, have a white gold post and prong setting. The earrings are made with Swarovski crystal measuring 5 millimeters surrounded by a crown or six-prong setting. The Swarovski crystal comes in all 12 of the corresponding birthstones, so you can choose the one that fits your own birth month or corresponds to the birth month of the lucky recipient, and measures one carat.  

Related: Walmart’s bestselling 18-karat gold-plated earrings are 50% off

The earrings have a push back closure that keeps them nice and secure on the earlobe without being overly tight. They make a great gift because each pair is packaged in a special gift box upon purchase, so half the wrapping work is done when you receive them. 

Details to know

Material: Swarovski crystal and 18K white gold plating.

Birthstones: Garnet, amethyst, aquamarine, diamond, emerald, pearl/alexandrite, ruby, peridot, sapphire,  tourmaline/opal, topaz/citrine, and tanzanite/zircon/turqouise. 

Closure: Push back. 

Dimensions: The earrings measure 5.2 millimeters wide, 5.2 millimeters high, and 5.8 millimeters long. 

Shoppers are impressed with how gorgeous these earrings are, saying the “shine and sparkle of [the] gemstone has exceeded expectations.” They’re extremely comfortable and perfect for all day wear, and a lot of shoppers find them non-irritating on even the most sensitive skin. The backings provide a super secure fit that isn’t too tight or difficult to put on. The stone is the perfect size. “They look expensive,” one shopper said. 

Shop more deals 

Cate & Chloe 3-Pack White Gold Plated Tennis Bracelets, $80 (was $160) at Walmart

JeenMata 4-Prong Round Shaped Moissanite Solitaire Stud Earrings, $25 (was $39) at Walmart

The great thing about affordable jewelry like the Cate and Chloe Birthstone Earrings is that it means you don’t have to shrimp and save for months on end to afford something nice. For only $20, you can add these gorgeous earrings to your jewelry box without forking out a fortune.

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.

Why we love this deal

Everyone feels more confident when wearing the best accessories. They may seem like small details, but a nice piece of jewelry or a luxury watch can change your whole vibe. That’s why we were excited to find a beautiful Citizen timepiece at Amazon that straddles the line perfectly between luxury and affordability. Deals this good tend to sell out relatively quickly, so we recommend taking advantage of this offer while you still can. There’s no telling how long the inventory will last, so don’t wait too long.

The Citizen Men’s Classic Stainless Steel Watch is currently on sale for only $178. The price was originally $210, so getting it at such a low rate is a steal. If you want a luxury watch at a discount price, then this is a smart buy.

Citizen Men’s Classic Stainless Steel Watch, $178 (was $210) at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

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Why do shoppers love it?

This watch has everything you could want in a high-end timepiece, except the price tag. The case and bracelet are made from sturdy 316L stainless steel. It’s rustproof and corrosion resistant, making the watch a great option for everyday wear. What’s more, the steel has a black PVD coating that makes it even more scratch resistant, while adding a rugged, industrial overall look to the piece. The matching black dial with white applied indices offers a lovely contrast that’s striking and sophisticated.

The aforementioned hour markers and the handset all have a luminescent coating to make the time easy to read, even in low light situations. There is a fixed 60-minute bezel surrounding the dial that adds a sporty touch to the look and feel of the watch. The 42 millimeter case diameter offers the perfect size for any occasion, whether that’s a day of business meetings or a day at the beach. It’s also available in a white colorway if black isn’t your color.

Speaking of the beach, this watch is totally comfortable on the shore or in the waves. With an impressive water resistance of 100 meters, it’s perfectly capable of going for a swim with you in the pool or the ocean with no risk of water damage. On the inside, it’s powered by a Japanese Citizen quartz-regulated movement that’s highly accurate and should only need a battery change every few years. Citizen is a brand known for its attention to detail and quality, so having this watch on your wrist will be a carefree and enjoyable experience. 

Related: Citizen’s Eco-Drive Luxury watch is now $175 at Amazon

Details to know

Case diameter: 41 millimeters.

Materials: PVD-coated 316L stainless steel.

Water resistance: 100 meters.

Movement: Japanese Citizen quartz movement.

Amazon customers were highly satisfied with this watch. One said, “very happy with my purchase,” before adding that it’s a “great price, and the quality feels like a watch that will last.”

Shop more deals 

Citizen Promaster Sea Eco-Drive Dive Watch, $356 (was $495) at Amazon

Bulova Marine Star Series B Watch, $271 (was $309) at Amazon

The Citizen Men’s Classic Stainless Steel Watch is a terrific option for anyone who loves beautiful timepieces at a reasonable price. For just $178, you can have a brand new watch that will make you feel like a brand new person.