The Street

Broadcom just posted one of its biggest quarters ever, forcing Wall Street to reset the AVGO stock price target. 

Shares of the chipmaker have already climbed sharply this year, riding a wave of demand tied to artificial intelligence.

Valued at a market cap of $1.76 trillion, Broadcom (AVGO) stock has returned more than 300% over the last three years.

After accounting for dividend reinvestments, cumulative returns are closer to 2,500% over the past decade. 

Morgan Stanley just raised its price target on Broadcom stock after the company’s fiscal third-quarter results (ended in July), citing surging AI chip revenue and a customer list that includes the biggest names building frontier AI models.

Why Broadcom stock keeps climbing

Broadcom makes custom AI chips, known as XPUs, along with networking gear that connects massive data centers. 

Its biggest customers include Google, Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta, companies racing to build out computing power for their AI systems.

That race has turned into a windfall for Broadcom. 

During the company’s earnings call on Sept. 2, CEO Hock Tan said AI semiconductor revenue grew 221% from a year earlier and jumped 54% from the prior quarter. 

Total company revenue rose 86% year over year to $29.6 billion. Operating income grew even faster, up 92% year over year, with margins rising to 68%. 

Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $3.32, beating both Wall Street’s estimate of $3.22 and Morgan Stanley’s own forecast of $3.24, according to the bank’s research note shared with me.

Broadcom also guided fourth-quarter revenue to $34.8 billion, ahead of Street estimates of roughly $34.66 billion.

Broadcom CEO, Hock Tan is bullish on AI demandBloomberg / Getty Images

Morgan Stanley raises AVGO stock price target 

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore raised his price target on Broadcom stock to $505 from $502, while keeping his Overweight rating, according to the firm’s Sept. 3 research note.

Moore’s team pointed to a few things driving the increase:

Third-quarter results and next quarter guidance beat prior company guidance.

Broadcom’s 2027 AI revenue outlook of $115 billion tracks closely with the bank’s own $120 billion estimate.

Two AI labs are expected to be Broadcom’s largest customers by calendar 2028, signaling growing customer breadth beyond Google.

Gross margin pressure from pricier memory chips is offset by strong operating leverage.

The stock still trades at a discount to many AI-focused chip peers, even after this year’s rally.

Moore’s team wrote:

“We highlighted in our preview some expectations issues that may limit near term upside, but the results are impressive.”

More Bank Stock Resets:

Bank of America revamps AMD stock price target for 2026

Morgan Stanley resets Microsoft stock forecast ahead of earnings

Goldman Sachs revamps SpaceX stock price target for 2026

The report added that AI revenue growth of more than triple in the back half of the year, along with plans to double again next year, is remarkable given the size of Broadcom’s business.

Morgan Stanley’s risk-reward framework lays out a base case of $505, a bull case of $640 if AI revenue growth surprises to the upside, and a bear case of $300 if new customer chip programs fail to reach full production.

Moore is a 5-star analyst as per TipRanks. Over the last 12 months, following Moore’s trades would have helped investors generate a 24.70% average return. 

What Broadcom’s CEO is telling investors

On the earnings call, Tan leaned into the scale of what’s happening with Broadcom’s biggest AI customers. 

He described the company’s role in helping Anthropic and OpenAI fund the enormous cost of building AI infrastructure, comparing it to helping talented students get through college.

He then explained why Broadcom is willing to keep investing so heavily to support them.

Related: BMO sees writing on the wall for Broadcom stock after earnings

“Every gigawatt of compute they deploy, they could achieve $30 billion of ARR, annual revenue per gigawatt,” Tan said. “That is a hell of a business model. For us, that is a great investment to focus on doing.”

Tan also gave investors a rare multi-year outlook, telling analysts that fiscal 2027 AI semiconductor revenue is expected to double to roughly $115 billion, then double again to $230 billion in fiscal 2028. 

He framed those figures as conservative estimates based on secured supply chains, not a promise of maximum demand.

“We are very careful, and to be honest, we try be conservative,” Tan told analysts when asked about supply constraints.

What comes next for Broadcom stock

Broadcom’s next earnings report is scheduled for after market close on Wednesday, Dec. 9, when the company will report full fourth quarter and fiscal year 2026 results. 

Related: Marvell vs. Broadcom: the custom silicon shift

Investors will watch whether demand from Google, Anthropic, OpenAI and Meta continues at the pace Tan described, and whether supply bottlenecks tied to memory chips, factory capacity and data center construction ease as the company expands its manufacturing footprint in Singapore.

Based on consensus estimates compiled by Tikr.com:

Analysts tracking AVGO stock forecast revenue to increase from $106 billion in fiscal 2026 to $358 billion in fiscal 2030. 

Over that period, free cash flow is projected to improve from $49 billion to $197 billion. 

If AVGO stock is priced at 20x forward FCF, which is reasonable, it could return over 100% within the next three years. 

Out of the 29 analysts covering Broadcom stock, 26 recommend “Buy”, and three recommend “Hold”. The average AVGO stock price target is $518, 45% above current levels. 

For now, Morgan Stanley’s revised price target signals continued confidence that Broadcom’s AI chip business still has plenty of room to run, even after a run-up that has already reshaped how investors value the stock.

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

Personalized jewelry has a soft spot in our hearts. When a monogram, an initial, or a birthstone works its way into the design of some earrings, a bracelet, or necklace, it customizes the jewelry in a way that makes it more special for you to wear. It shares a small detail about you without you saying anything, which not every piece of jewelry you wear can do. And when you can get such a meaningful piece of jewelry like the Macy’s Birthstone Pendant for a fraction of what it usually sells for, well, that’s even more special to us.

The stunning pendant necklace, which originally sells for $850, is on sale for 77% during Macy’s Labor Day sale, saving you $651. You can get the necklace in a birthstone of your choosing for only $199 during this limited-time special that won’t extend past the weekend. 

Macy’s Birthstone Pendant, $199 (was $850) at Macy’s

Courtesy of Macy’s

Shop at Macy’s

Why do shoppers love it?

Small but stunning — that’s how we’d describe this pendant necklace. A circular, petite charm sits on a delicate belcher chain that, depending on the color of the necklace, is made of 14k gold or 14k white gold. Based on the birthstone gem you choose, the necklace will be either yellow gold or silver. 

Measuring approximately 18 inches long, the highly durable, heavy-duty chain resists tarnishing and handles moisture very well. This means you can wear your necklace in the shower or during a sweaty workout and it won’t affect the color or quality of the necklace. That said, as a precaution for jewelry, to preserve their appearance the longest, it’s always best to remove jewelry when swimming, showering, or applying heavy perfumes and lotions. 

The pendant charm, which has an approximate ⅓-inch drop, features a round-shaped natural or lab-grown gemstone, surrounded by a four-pronged setting. Rubies, emeralds, citrine, blue topaz, and peridot are just of the few of the available selections that you can choose to correspond to your birth month. 

Related: Walmart is selling Swarovski crystal earrings for just $20

Chemically-created stones and naturally mined gems are virtually the same, save for the way they found their way to you, but that’s to say that the quality is practically identical across the board. Most of the stones weigh about ⅝ ct. t.w. but the opal measures at ⅙ ct. T.w., the emerald measures ½ ct. t.w., and the white sapphire measures ⅕ ct. t.w. The pearl, which doesn’t have a carat weight, measures 5 millimeters wide. You can only really see the size difference when you put them under a microscope. 

Details to know

Material: 14k gold or 14k white gold and natural or lab-grown gemstones.

Birthstones: Ruby, emerald, aquamarine, sapphire, garnet, citrine, blue topaz, amethyst, peridot, opal, white sapphire, pearl. The lab-grown gems are emerald, ruby, sapphire, opal, and white sapphire. The aquamarine, garnet, citrine, blue topaz, amethyst, peridot, and pearl are natural. 

Chain length: Approximately 18 inches. 

Although it’s a bit on the smaller side, the pendant has a dainty, delicate quality to it that shoppers really love. Shoppers love buying it for themselves as much as they do a family or friend. “Simple and elegant,” one shopper said. “Necklace is exquisite,” another said. “It goes with anything.”

Shop more deals 

Macy’s 2-Piece Set Cultured Freshwater Pearl Collar Necklace & Matching Stud Earrings, $105 (was $300) at Macy’s 

Effy Collection Diamond and Malachite Pendant Necklace, $773 (was $2,450) at Macy’s

Macy’s Diamond Halo Pendant Necklace, $499 ( was $1,500) at Macy’s

A great gift to yourself or someone else you know — especially with the holidays only a few short months away — this Macy’s Birthstone Pendant is simple yet sophisticated, making it a great get now that it’s on sale for 77% off.

Potential homebuyers already grappling with affordability challenges saw mortgage rates spike this week to levels not seen since spring of last year. The daily 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) clocked in at 6.91% on Sept. 2, the highest since 6.92% on May 26, 2025.

Real estate technology companies Zillow and Redfin have crucial comments on the impact of mortgage rates on rental behavior and homebuying trends that we will cover below, but first, let’s get into the current mortgage rate data.

“While the daily index rose into the 6.9’s today for the first time in more than year, many borrowers are already seeing rates at 7% or higher,” wrote Mortgage News Daily (MND).

The weekly mortgage rate reflected the uptick, but Freddie Mac noted a silver lining.

“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.71% this week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “Purchase demand has remained relatively stable indicating steady interest from buyers adapting to evolving market conditions.”

The average daily rate, MND explained, is an ideal scenario that doesn’t necessarily indicate the reality homebuyers face.

“When we reference average, daily, top-tier 30-year fixed rates, it is for an ideal scenario that rarely exists in the wild,” MND wrote. “The average scenario will always involve slightly higher effective rates (i.e. even if the rate is the same as national averages, it would involve additional upfront costs).”

“As a reminder, our daily rate index accounts for upfront costs whereas Freddie Mac’s weekly survey rate does not.”

Beyond mortgage rates, Zillow reports interest in renting

High mortgage rates can be a major factor in spurring interest in rentals — and Zillow says there are key things people consider.

“Renting is often how people try out a new community before committing,” said Mischa Fisher, chief economist at Zillow. “When we see a market with a growing share of rental searches coming from outside the metro, that tips us off to a developing pipeline.”

More on housing market:

Zillow sees change in housing market, home values

New home-selling strategy poses threat to buyers

Goldman Sachs issues major prediction for U.S. housing market

Zillow points to specific cities to which people are looking to move.

“Prospective renters are looking beyond their own backyards, and new Zillow data reveals where they’re setting their sights,” Zillow wrote.

“An analysis of rental listing page views found that out-of-town interest is growing fastest in Buffalo, Chicago and Houston. The share of searches coming from renters outside these markets has surged over the past year — an early signal of where relocation demand may be heading next.”

Zillow and Redfin report on the impact of high mortgage rates on renting and homebuying.Shutterstock

Redfin sees homebuyers gaining power anyway

Mortgage rates and high housing costs are the biggest challenge for prospective buyers, but there are positive signs for homebuyers.

“The typical U.S. home-sale price rose 2.2% year over year, while the average weekly mortgage rate was 6.66%, near its highest level in the last year,” real estate technology company Redfin wrote.

In a seasonally adjusted basis, newly listed U.S. homes for sale grew 2.1% week-over-week, hitting a four-year high, according to Redfin.

“The total number of homes for sale ticked up 0.4% week over week,” Redfin wrote. “That’s welcome news for house hunters, who have increasingly more options and negotiating power.”

Pending home sales remained virtually unchanged (-0.1%) week-over-week, hovering at their lowest point since February.

“The disconnect between growing listings and sluggish sales is exacerbating the buyer’s market we’re seeing in most of the country,” Redfin wrote.

Daily mortgage rates drop slightly

On Sept 3, the average daily 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped slightly to 6.88% from the Sept. 2 average of 6.91%, according to Mortage News Daily.

“Mortgage rates finally had a decent day on Thursday after spending the previous three days inching into the highest levels in more than a year,” MND wrote. “Part of the improvement was due to comments from Fed Governor Chris Waller, who said that it wouldn’t be necessary to hike rates at the next meeting unless inflation data surprises to the upside.”

“Before that, the underlying bond market was already showing some resilience in overnight trading,” MND continued.

“The prevailing pattern has been a fairly reliable correlation between bond yields and oil prices. But this time around, yields held fairly steady in the overnight session even though oil prices moved higher.”

Related: Zillow predicts major mortgage rate, housing market change

Michael Burry built his reputation by being early and right about a bubble nobody else could see.

On Wednesday he turned that instinct on Palantir Technologies (PLTR), calling the company an AI consultant riding a wave of corporate FOMO and warning its market value could eventually fall below $100 billion.

By the time his post went up, Palantir had already banked a new Army contract two days earlier, and within hours PwC piled on with an expanded alliance of its own.

That timing is the story. Bear cases usually land in a vacuum, giving the market time to sit with the discomfort. This one landed in the middle of two corporate wins, and the stock barely flinched.

Burry’s bear case rests on the balance sheet

Burry’s argument, laid out in a Seeking Alpha writeup of his post, is not really about growth. It is about what kind of company Palantir actually is.

He compared Palantir’s deferred revenue ratio, about 32%, to Accenture’s roughly 31% and to subscription software firms like Salesforce and ServiceNow, which run between 80% and 207%.

Related: Jim Cramer explains Palantir, Salesforce rebound

The implication is that Palantir bills and books revenue more like a consulting shop than a software platform, which matters because consultants trade at far lower multiples than SaaS companies do.

He also flagged accounts receivable climbing to $1.49 billion as of June 30 from $1.04 billion at the end of 2025, with one customer responsible for 27% of that balance despite no single customer accounting for more than 10% of revenue.

Rising receivables tied to a concentrated customer can signal that a company is booking revenue faster than it is actually collecting cash.

A few additional details rounded out the critique:

Palantir reported about $1.6 billion in pretax GAAP income in 2025 but paid no federal cash taxes, a gap Burry linked to stock-compensation deductions that pushed federal net operating loss carryforwards up to $9 billion.

The company canceled a $1 billion buyback authorization after repurchasing only about $75 million of stock in 2025.

CEO Alex Karp’s personally owned aircraft cost the company $17.2 million in 2025, more than double the $7.7 million spent a year earlier.

Palantir shares rose nearly 7% after a PwC alliance and Army contract offset Michael Burry’s renewed $100 billion valuation warning.JHVEPhoto / Getty Images

PwC just expanded its Palantir alliance

Hours after Burry’s post, PwC announced it was deepening its alliance with Palantir to build what the firms called the industry’s first AI-native deals platform, running on Palantir’s Foundry and AIP software, according to a press release from PwC.

The platform targets mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and the firms say it is designed to help clients execute deals up to 50% faster while cutting one-time transaction costs by as much as 45%.

That matters because it is enterprise validation, not government spending. Consulting giants do not attach their name to a platform unless they expect client demand to follow, and PwC was recently named a leader in Palantir’s own ecosystem for AI engineering work.

Shares climbed nearly 7% to around $181 on the news, according to Benzinga, even as Burry’s fresh short thesis was circulating the same morning.

The Army handed Palantir eight new systems

Two days before any of that, the Army Contracting Command awarded Palantir USG, a wholly owned subsidiary, a prime agreement to produce eight TITAN ground station systems, according to a press release distributed on the company’s behalf.

TITAN is a crewed AI-enabled ground station that pulls in space, aerial and terrestrial sensor data to support targeting and long-range fires, and the award covers four Advanced and four Basic variants built with partners including Anduril and L3Harris.

That contract matters because it extends Palantir beyond a single prototype into sustained production, the kind of multi-year commitment that defense investors weight more heavily than commercial pilots.

It is also the exact kind of government revenue Burry’s thesis does not directly address. His numbers focus on receivables and tax treatment, not on whether the Pentagon still wants the product.

More Palantir:

Palantir CEO admits AI would make him 20 times richer

Microsoft CEO adds fuel to Palantir CEO’s AI warning

Palantir CEO has a blunt verdict on OpenAI and Anthropic

Two narratives about Palantir are now running in parallel

None of this makes Burry wrong. Deferred revenue ratios and receivables concentration are real accounting signals, and they do not disappear because a stock rallies on unrelated news.

What changed this week is that Palantir now has three separate stories competing for the market’s attention within 48 hours, a bear case built on the books and two wins built on demand.

That pattern is becoming familiar across AI-adjacent software, where valuation skeptics and revenue catalysts increasingly arrive in the same week rather than the same earnings cycle.

Investors watching Palantir are no longer just betting on the business. They are betting on which narrative moves faster, and this week the demand story got the head start.

Related: Palantir CEO just made bet that could reshape defense-tech race

Micron Technology has been among the biggest winners of the AI memory boom this year, with shares up 671% over the past year and trading near $960.

Valued at a market cap of roughly $1 trillion, Mircon (MU) stock is also down 21% from all-time highs. 

New 13F data show that Citadel Advisors, the hedge fund run by billionaire Ken Griffin, has been quietly trimming a huge chunk of its Micron position even as the stock kept climbing.

According to 13F filings reviewed by me, Citadel cut its Micron stock holdings by 86.93%, dropping from roughly 4.6 million shares to 600,523 shares. 

Citadel reduced its exposure to the chipmaker by four million shares over the last three months, even as the AI company continues to grow rapidly. 

Ken Griffin cuts exposure to Micron stock

The Micron reduction was not an isolated move. The same filing shows Citadel also slashed its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 86.97%, cutting roughly 3.5 million shares. 

STMicroelectronics saw a similar cut in exposure, with Citadel trimming that position by 44.25%, or just over three million shares.

Taken together, these three names represent a clear theme.

Citadel meaningfully pulled back its exposure to semiconductor and chip manufacturing stocks, even as demand for AI infrastructure and memory chips has been running hot. 

More Micron:

Michael Burry increases his bet against popular chip giant

Bank of America doubles down on Micron stock after AI bombshell

Micron stock jumps as investors look beyond GPUs in AI chip trade

The filing does not explain why the fund made these moves, and hedge funds routinely adjust positions for reasons unrelated to a company’s outlook, including portfolio rebalancing, risk management, or simply locking in gains after a huge run.

That said, the pattern is not limited to chips. 

Citadel’s filing shows sizable cuts across a wide range of sectors too, including General Electric (down 72.02%), Citigroup (down 62.90%), Merck (down 49.40%), Tesla (down 41.39%) and Meta Platforms (down 38.77%). 

This broad-based trimming suggests Citadel may have been reducing overall risk across many positions rather than making a specific bearish call on Micron or the memory chip market. Still, the size of the Micron and TSM cuts stands out even against that backdrop.

Why Micron stock price is on the move

Micron’s business has been on a tear.

The company’s fiscal third quarter 2026 revenue hit $41.5 billion, up 346% year over year, marking its fifth straight quarterly revenue record.

Gross margin rose to 85%, allowing the company to beat consensus earnings estimates for seven consecutive quarters. 

Related: Micron CEO is doubling down on a cycle-free future

CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told investors on that call that DRAM and NAND industry demand continues to exceed industry supply significantly, and that Micron expects tight conditions to persist beyond calendar 2027. 

Mehrotra added:

“We are excited to announce that we have now signed 16 Strategic Customer Agreements, or SCAs, which we expect will fundamentally transform our business model. The memory industry has been structurally transformed by the proliferation of AI.”

The company guided fiscal fourth quarter revenue to $50 billion, plus or minus $1 billion, and non-GAAP earnings per share to $31, plus or minus $1.

A big driver behind this demand surge is artificial intelligence. 

Micron executive Sumit Sadana explained at the KeyBanc Technology Leadership Forum on Aug. 10, 2026, that AI system performance is now fundamentally tied to memory chip capacity and speed, not just processor power. 

He also pointed to Micron’s Strategic Customer Agreements, long-term supply contracts that now cover about a quarter of the company’s projected revenue, as a major shift in how the memory business operates.

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra is investing heavily in capexBloomberg / Getty Images

Micron stock faces a short bet

Not everyone is convinced the rally has room to run. 

Michael Burry, the investor known for correctly predicting the 2008 housing crash, has been adding to his short position against Micron even as the stock price climbed toward $1,000. 

Burry said his goal was to reduce gross exposure and free up cash while keeping his overall bearish stance intact, and he acknowledged the short position was roughly break-even but tipping toward a loss as the market rallied.

Burry explained that the memory chip industry has historically moved in sharp boom-and-bust cycles, and Micron’s capital spending is ramping fast, with fourth-quarter capital expenditures guided near $10 billion. 

Despite the rally in MU stock price, it trades at 9.5x forward earnings, which is reasonable. Yahoo Finance data suggests Micron has a beta of 2.2, meaning it is twice as volatile as the broader market in either direction.  

Out of the 32 analysts covering Micron stock, 31 recommend “Buy”, and one recommends “Hold”. The average MU stock price target is $1,555, 63% above the current price. 

For now, Citadel’s filing shows the fund trimmed exposure broadly, and Micron and its chip peers took some of the largest cuts. 

The filing doesn’t say whether that reflects caution about the memory sector specifically or a broader move to reduce risk across the portfolio. 

Either way, the timing puts Griffin’s fund on the sidelines of a trade that Micron’s own leadership insists still has years of growth ahead.

Related: Jim Cramer has strong message for Micron stock investors

Most retirement plans start with a target age, the point when your savings, investments, and Social Security benefits should be enough to replace a paycheck. 

That target is usually 65 or later, and it shapes every contribution rate, coverage decision, and investment allocation made for decades in advance.

Data from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America suggests that the target may rest on a flawed assumption for a significant share of the American workforce. 

The insurer’s 2026 Annual Retirement Study found that 42% of retirees left the workforce earlier than planned.

Only 5% of retirees reported staying on the job longer than expected, which means the risk of an early departure dwarfs any chance of extra saving time. The reasons behind those premature exits look nothing like what active workers expect.

Health setbacks and job losses account for most unplanned early retirements

Health complications that prevented performing a job drove 30% of early retirements, making medical crises the single largest involuntary cause, the Allianz study found.

Unexpected job loss triggered another 21% of premature departures, while a separate 21% said they left because their savings had reached an adequate level early. For most of the 42% who departed ahead of schedule, the decision to retire was forced on them.

Active workers imagined a different set of reasons for a potential early exit, with 36% citing family time and 31% citing stress reduction as primary motivators, Allianz reported. 

Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, told PLANSPONSOR that saving more earlier can act as protection against the unknown. 

Many people think they’ll be able to continue working, maybe not forever, but to an older age. Very few people get that opportunity to [follow] their exact plan,

Kelly LaVigne, vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life, said in a statement that “when retirement comes early, it can quickly turn a solid plan into a fragile one.” 

LaVigne added that “fewer working years and more retirement years can put significant pressure on savings, especially when early retirement isn’t a choice.”

Three national surveys expose a persistent retirement timing gap

Allianz Life’s 42% figure does not stand alone; two separate national surveys released in 2026 found equal or higher rates of involuntary early retirement across broader samples.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2026 Retirement Confidence Survey reported that 46% of retirees exited before their planned timeline. 

Among those who retired ahead of schedule, 76% attributed their early departure to circumstances entirely outside their personal control, the survey indicated.

More Retirement:

Retirement Tech in 2026: AI, Operational Efficiency, and Better Participant Experience

George Kamel, Rachel Cruze warn about a mortgage retirement trap

Massachusetts retirement taxes explained: What retirees should know before moving or staying

The Society of Actuaries Research Institute’s 2024 Retirement Risk Survey, published in May 2026, put the early retirement figure even higher at 59% of all retirees surveyed.

Workers in the EBRI survey expected to retire at a median age of 65, while retirees reported an actual departure age closer to 62, a gap that has persisted since the late 1990s.

Nearly 40% of workers planned to keep working until at least 70, but only 10% of retirees reported careers that actually extended that far, EBRI found.

Three national surveys reveal a persistent retirement timing gap, with many Americans leaving work earlier than planned due to circumstances beyond their control.Olga Pankova / Getty Images

Lower-income retirees bear the steepest health-related retirement risks

The gap between plans and outcomes is widespread, but it is not evenly distributed. Income level decides how hard the hit from a forced early exit lands, shaping both who is most likely to be pushed out and how deep the financial damage runs.

Among retirees with under $35,000 in annual retirement income, 49% cited health as their primary reason for leaving early, the Society of Actuaries reported.

Job loss affected about 20% of early retirees regardless of earnings bracket, which means employer-driven displacement cuts across every income level, the survey confirmed.

Declining confidence among workers adds pressure to the timing risk

Eight in ten Americans surveyed by Allianz said they believe working longer would improve their retirement finances. Yet the data show that the option is frequently unavailable, a mismatch that is dragging confidence down.

Confidence in affording a comfortable retirement dropped six percentage points among active workers in 2026, falling to just 61%, according to the EBRI annual survey. 

Retiree confidence also fell five points to 73%, as concerns about Social Security and Medicare stability weighed on financial outlooks across generations.

Nearly 60% of workers said healthcare costs are undermining their ability to save, and 65% identified outstanding personal debt as a significant barrier, EBRI reported. 

Seven in ten retirees and 80% of workers expressed concern that government changes to the retirement system could eventually reduce their expected benefits.

What the 42% figure means for workers planning to work until 65

Workers who had no say in when they left absorb the worst of the timing gap: shorter contribution windows, longer drawdown periods, and reduced Social Security benefits.

EBRI’s data puts the actual median retirement age at 62. That three-year gap can cut Social Security benefits by up to 30%, a reduction that is permanent once benefits are claimed. 

Workers who exit before 65 also lose employer-sponsored health coverage before Medicare eligibility begins. For someone forced out at 60 or 61, that gap stretches to four or five years of self-funded premiums without group rates or employer subsidies. 

Related: Fidelity retirement rule fails in 1 of 10 scenarios

Eli Lilly (LLY) has spent the last two years as the company everyone points to when they talk about weight-loss drugs.

That reputation made it the most valuable pharmaceutical company in the world. 

It also created a problem the company now seems eager to solve.

On August 31, Lilly agreed to buy Merida Biosciences for up to $2.88 billion in cash. 

This deal expands Lilly’s work into autoimmune diseases, which is a different field from the weight-loss and diabetes shots that made the company famous. 

For anyone holding LLY shares or thinking about buying in, this deal tells you something useful about how its management plans to keep the company growing after the obesity boom cools.

Why Eli Lilly is paying $2.88 billion to move past obesity

Lilly makes Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss. Together, those two drugs drive most of its sales and nearly all of its stock story.

That concentration is the risk. When one drug class carries a company this large, any slowdown in demand or pricing can hit the shares hard.

Lilly’s management knows this, so it has been spending its obesity cash to buy growth in other areas.

The Merida purchase is Lilly’s 13th acquisition of 2026, the most of any large drugmaker this year, according to BioPharma Dive.

It follows two other immunology deals, a $1.2 billion buyout of Ventyx Biosciences and a purchase of Orna Therapeutics worth up to $2.4 billion.

The pattern is clear. Lilly is turning a single-drug success into a broader pipeline, and immunology is one of its main targets.

Eli Lilly is using its obesity-drug profits to expand into autoimmune disease through its purchase of Merida Biosciences.lcodacci / Getty Images

What Merida Biosciences actually does

Merida is a small, privately held company that began operating publicly last year with $121 million in funding, Fierce Biotech reported.

What sets Merida apart is how narrowly its drugs are built to work.

Most autoimmune treatments suppress the whole immune system, which can leave patients open to infection.

Merida’s drugs are designed to find and remove only the specific antibodies that cause the body to attack itself, while leaving healthy immune function alone. Those rogue antibodies are called autoantibodies.

More Healthcare Stocks:

BofA sees Eli Lilly’s overseas obesity sales topping the U.S.

Eli Lilly’s Foundayo pill wins first European approval

Novo Nordisk CEO resets expectations for Wegovy’s growth

The lead drug, MER511, is in early testing for Graves’ disease and thyroid eye disease. 

Graves’ disease affects about 1% of the U.S. population and forces the thyroid to overproduce hormones, according to BioProcess International. 

A second candidate, MER769, targets food allergies, asthma, and related conditions.

How the deal protects Lilly if the science fails

The $2.88 billion figure grabs headlines, but Lilly is not writing that check all at once.

The agreement includes an upfront cash payment plus milestone payments tied to how far Merida’s drugs progress, Reuters reported. Lilly did not disclose the exact split.

That structure matters for shareholders. If MER511 hits a safety or efficacy wall in later trials, Lilly stops paying and its total cost stays well below the full price.

Related: Morgan Stanley uncovers major Bristol Myers stock signals

BMO Capital Markets called the purchase a sensible use of capital that fits Lilly’s earlier moves and adds variety to its immunology pipeline, according to BioSpace. 

David Risinger, an analyst at Leerink Partners, read it as more proof that management wants to diversify beyond obesity.

Why this deal will not move LLY earnings anytime soon

Here is the part investors should sit with before getting excited.

MER511 is in Phase 1, the earliest stage of human testing. Drugs at this stage usually take years to reach the market, if they get there at all.

You should treat this as a long-term pipeline bet, not a reason to expect higher earnings over the next 12 to 24 months.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, Reuters confirmed. 

Real revenue, if it comes, sits several years past that.

Lilly’s current results carry the stock for now. 

In the second quarter, the company beat earnings expectations by 27.27% and beat revenue expectations by 11.06%, with quarterly revenue of $22.97 billion, up 47.67% from a year earlier.

The risks Lilly investors should keep watching

A deal this early carries real risk. Here are a few things that could go wrong:

Risks tied to the Merida bet

A steep price for unproven science. Merida raised just $121 million before this sale, so Lilly is paying a large premium for a drug that has cleared only early testing.

Strong competition already in place. If MER511 reaches the market, it will meet Amgen’s Tepezza and Viridian Therapeutics’ Lumvoa, both already established in thyroid eye disease, according to CNBC.

More early-stage bets raise the odds of a costly failure. With 13 acquisitions this year, Lilly now runs a large and expensive early-stage pipeline, and clinical failures across that many programs add up.

The stock also leaves little room for error. 

LLY trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32, well above most large drugmakers, which means a lot of future growth is already built into the price.

The bottom line for LLY investors

Lilly closed at $1,170.98 on September 2, up 0.95% on the day and 8.39% for the year.

It sits below its 52-week high of $1,292.65.

The Merida deal will not impact those numbers this quarter or next. What it changes is the shape of the company you are buying.

Two years ago, Lilly was an obesity story. Today it is spending that obesity money to become something wider, with real positions in immunology, oncology, and other fields.

For a long-term investor, that diversification lowers the danger of leaning on one drug class forever. 

For anyone chasing near-term gains, this deal offers little, and the high valuation means any stumble in the core business can still sting.

A good approach is to judge LLY on its Mounjaro and Zepbound sales for now, and to view deals like Merida as slow-building options that may pay off years down the road. 

Size any position to your own risk comfort, because even the market’s strongest names fall hard when expectations run this high.

Related: Key HIV stat over 70% leaves BofA siding with Gilead

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

When you’re on the bus during your morning commute or stuck in the doctor’s office waiting room, putting on a pair of headphones can upgrade your downtime with catchy tunes, an enthralling podcast, or an addictive audiobook in the background. There’s nothing more convenient than the wireless earbud design, as you can slip them into your pocket or backpack and they’re ready to go whenever you need them. You don’t want to sacrifice sound quality when you need to replace a pair, but since the small size is easily lost, you also don’t want to break the bank. 

The Cillso Wireless Earbuds offer the best of both worlds: They deliver top-notch audio, and the premium selection is on clearance with 89% off at Walmart. With this deep discount, instead of paying the regular cost of $160, you’ll pay just $18. To put these exceptional savings into perspective, you could get eight pairs and still pay less than you would for one at the original price. As a bonus, the black, white, and rose gold colors are all on sale for $18, so you have multiple options to suit your style.

Cillso Wireless Earbuds, $18 (was $160) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

Shop at Walmart

Why do shoppers love it?

Equipped with 14.2-millimeter diaphragm drivers, these wireless earbuds produce 360-degree high-fidelity stereo sound with powerful bass and clearly detailed mids, making them great for listening to music or taking phone calls. If you do use these earbuds to take calls, the four noise-canceling microphones will reduce the background noise in your environment by 90% for superior clarity and audio. “Great earbuds with clear sound and strong bass,” raved one reviewer. They highlighted that the pair has “good noise cancellation for calls,” writing that the earbuds are “perfect for workouts and daily use.”

Related: Walmart is selling a $400 Android tablet for 73% off

These earbuds were engineered for everyday convenience. On a single charge, the earbuds have a playtime of up to 8 hours, but combined with the handy charging case, you can keep them going up to 40 hours. You’ll also know how much charge is left, because the compact charging case has a useful LED display that shows you the current power levels of each earbud. You can feel confident taking them to the gym, because the IP7 waterproof rating means the earbuds can be safely worn while sweating or during rainy days. On top of that, they have a 45-degree ergonomic design that you can comfortably wear for prolonged periods.

Details to know 

Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.4 technology.

Color options: Black, white, and rose gold are all on sale for $18.

Are they waterproof?: Yes, they have an IP7 waterproof rating.

Average shopper rating: 4.4 out of five stars.

Overall, shoppers have great things to say about these wireless earbuds, with some even comparing them to high-end brands. One shopper, who explained, “I bought these as a replacement after losing my AirPods,” found that “for the price, these blow the expensive branded ones out of the water and I genuinely don’t see myself going back.”

Shop more deals

Btootos Over-Ear Wireless Earbuds, $23 (was $180) at Walmart

Xinwld Wireless Earbuds, $20 (was $130) at Walmart

Geryst Open-Ear Headphones, $22 (was $200) at Walmart

The Cillso Wireless Earbuds are an exceptional deal while they’re on sale for just $18 at Walmart. Secure the savings by adding them to your shopping cart now.

Buying an S&P 500 index fund can feel like a straightforward way to diversify. After all, many American workers dollar-cost average into this sort of fund with every paycheck via a 401(k) or IRA without even thinking about it.

Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, argues that investors should look more closely before assuming that broad-market exposure offers enough diversification to offset a portfolio weighed down by technology holdings trading near all-time highs.

In his view, an S&P 500 fund or a similar broad-market index fund can leave an investor exposed to the AI trade by about 40% to 45%. Adding individual AI-related stocks or semiconductor names on top can concentrate a portfolio far more than its owner realizes.

Why is the S&P 500 so AI-heavy right now?

This silent-but-potentially-risky overweighting occurs because the S&P 500 — and the popular index funds that track it — are weighted by market capitalization, which means larger companies (by market value) make up more of the index.

In fact, as of early September, the top seven S&P 500 companies made up over 34% of the index’s value. What do they all have in common? They’re all heavily involved in the AI boom:

Nvidia: (NVDA)

Microsoft: (MSFT)

Apple: (AAPL)

Amazon: (AMZN)

Meta Platforms: (META)

Broadcom: (AVGO)

Alphabet Class A: (GOOGL)

Alphabet Class C: (GOOG)

That does not mean an S&P 500 fund is inherently unsuitable, nor does it mean technology cannot keep rising. Sosnick’s point is narrower and more practical: Investors should measure the overlap between a broad index fund and their other holdings, then decide whether that combined exposure fits their risk tolerance, especially while long-term bond yields are rising.

The immediate takeaway, according to Sosnick, is to review positions by their shared economic exposure rather than by the number of ticker symbols in the account.

The distinction matters because a successful buy-the-dip strategy can also become a habit that ignores changes in business fundamentals, valuation, and financing conditions. Sosnick sees signs that those conditions deserve more attention now.

Also read: Dow Jones vs. S&P 500: Which index actually represents the market?

Why an S&P 500 fund can overlap with AI stocks

Diversification means spreading risk across investments that do not all depend on the same outcome. A portfolio can look diversified on paper because it owns an index fund, individual stocks, and perhaps a sector fund. It may still be making one large bet if many of those holdings depend on continued enthusiasm for AI spending, semiconductor demand, or the largest technology companies.

Sosnick’s concern begins with market capitalization weighting, the approach used by many S&P 500 index funds. In a market-cap-weighted fund, the largest companies receive the largest allocations. That structure can be useful for investors seeking broad index exposure, but it also means that large technology companies can have an outsized influence on the fund’s returns.

“Even if you’re putting money into an S&P 500 mutual fund or index fund, which is pretty generic, whether you’re doing ETFs or mutual funds, et cetera, you’re about 40% or 45% exposed to the AI trade.”

—Steve Sosnick, when asked whether taking risk off the table means rotating out of big technology stocks

Sosnick’s estimate is a warning about portfolio construction, not a forecast for the next market move. An investor who owns a broad S&P 500 fund, NVIDIA, Micron Technology, and a semiconductor-focused leveraged ETF may own several different securities, but each can be sensitive to a reversal in the same AI trade.

The correct question is not simply whether each holding has performed well. It is whether all of them could decline for the same reason.

If you just own an S&P index fund, “you’re about 40% or 45% exposed to the AI trade,” says Sosnick. TheStreet

How rising long-term bond yields pressure stock valuations

The second part of Sosnick’s caution is interest rates. Long-term bond yields are the returns investors can receive from lending money over longer periods. When those yields rise, investors either demand a higher expected return from stocks, or reduce exposure to stocks altogether. That can pressure stock valuations, particularly for companies whose expected cash flows lie further in the future.

Sosnick describes the basic valuation logic in plain terms: A stock can be viewed as the present value of its future cash flows or earnings. A higher interest rate reduces that present value because future dollars are discounted more heavily.

The mechanism does not determine the price of every stock on every day, but it explains why a sustained rise in long-term rates can be difficult for richly valued growth stocks.

“When long rates go up, that pressures valuations, if you’re actually thinking fundamentally. A stock in theory is the present value of its future cash flows or earnings, depending on how you wanna do the model. But the higher the interest rate, the lower the present value, the more you have to discount those future earnings.”

—Steve Sosnick, when asked what being nimble in the current market looks like

Sosnick pointed to the 10-year Treasury yield near 5% and the 30-year yield above 5% as important market thresholds. He said investors may have to rethink assumptions if the 10-year moves through 5%, because fundamental valuation models would need to be reconsidered in a more persistently high-rate environment. He did not say that a move through that level guarantees a selloff, and he also noted that it is possible that bond traders could halt at that level.

For a long-term, buy-and-hold investor, the useful takeaway is not to attempt to predict every shift in bond yields. It is to recognize that an investment portfolio heavily tilted toward the AI trade may have two related vulnerabilities: a technology disappointment and a higher discount rate applied to future earnings. Reviewing those exposures together is more useful than treating them as separate risks.

Related: S&P 500 investors are quietly making a huge shift

How to tell differentiate a buyable dip from a deteriorating business

Sosnick does not reject buying dips. He says Interactive Brokers customers have often been successful with the approach over the past 10 to 15 years. His warning is that a strategy with a long record of working can become reflexive. A price decline is not, by itself, evidence that a stock has become a bargain.

The first test is whether the business fundamentals have changed markedly. Fundamentals are the conditions that support a company’s business, such as its earnings outlook, competitive position, and ability to generate cash.

If a stock falls because of a short-lived bout of market nervousness while the underlying business remains sound, Sosnick sees a potential opportunity. If the business outlook has worsened, on the other hand, the lower price may reflect a legitimate reason for investors to sell.

“From a longer-term point of view, I think you want to look at situations where the market might really dislike something, but the fundamentals still remain solid. On the other hand, if those fundamentals appear to have changed, that’s not a buying opportunity. There’s a reason why people are selling.”

—Steve Sosnick, when asked how investors can distinguish a buying opportunity from a dip to avoid

His Salesforce example illustrates the difference between changing sentiment and a broken business. Sosnick said investors moved from loving Salesforce (and software as a service at large) to hating them, while neither extreme sentiment necessarily described Salesforce — as a company — accurately.

He also cited Microsoft, where investors focused on companies receiving Microsoft’s spending, including semiconductor businesses, rather than on why Microsoft was making the investment. A stock can fall out of favor without its core business becoming worse.

Timing still matters. Sosnick said a trader may act quickly during a short-term dislocation, while a longer selloff can require waiting for the dust to settle. That is an argument for matching an action to an investor’s time horizon. A short-term trader should use a pre-defined plan (including an exit strategy, like a stop-loss order) for a temporary price move. A long-term, buy-and-hold investor needs a clearer view of whether the company’s business case remains intact.

Why having an exit plan matters before buying a stock

Sosnick separates a trade from an investment because each requires a different time frame, even if both involve the same stock. He recalled a friend who bought a stock, watched it rise, and then asked when to sell. Sosnick’s first question was the price target. The friend had not set one.

For investors using trading-style tactics, Sosnick recommends defining a buy level and a sell level before opening a position. He also recommends setting a stop level, a preplanned price at which an investor exits to limit their loss. The maximum acceptable loss belongs to the exit decision: It defines the loss an investor is prepared to accept before selling the position.

Related: Bank of America takes heat for stark S&P 500 call 

A long-term, buy-and-hold investor may set wider limits and hold a position for a longer period than an active trader. Sosnick nevertheless argues that investors should keep monitoring investments rather than treating an original thesis as permanent. A preplanned process can prevent the common mistake of buying first and inventing the selling rules only after the price has moved.

This framework also helps explain the activity Sosnick sees among Interactive Brokers’ active customers. He said customers bought Nvidia before earnings and took profits after the stock moved higher. He said Microsoft appeared on the sell side after a 15% pop during the summer. In Sosnick’s view, those customers were treating many individual names as trades, while they treated VOO purchases during significant declines — such as the tariff tantrum and the aftermath of the start of the Iran War — more like investments.

Where value stocks can fit in a concentrated portfolio

Reducing overlap does not require abandoning stocks. Sosnick says investors may want to look beyond the most popular growth names and consider lower-beta companies. (Beta is a measure of how sensitive a stock tends to be to broad market moves, so a lower-beta stock has historically tended to move less than the market.)

He said value stocks have performed well relative to growth stocks over the past year or two, a trend he believes many investors have overlooked. He highlighted dividend-paying companies supported by free cash flow, meaning cash a company has left after running and investing in its business. His preference is for dividends that businesses can afford from that cash rather than dividends supported by borrowing.

Sosnick did not offer buy, sell, or hold recommendations on individual stocks. Instead, he suggested starting with sectors that tend to be more stable and value-oriented, including industrials, basic materials, and consumer staples. He was less favorable toward consumer discretionary companies as a starting point for this screen.

For valuation, he mentioned the PEG ratio, which compares a stock’s P/E ratio with its earnings growth rate. Sosnick said a value investor should not want to overpay for a company with a PEG ratio of one, and should avoid paying a huge premium to own companies whose P/E ratios exceed the market average.

It’s important to note, however, that these are just Sosnick’s screening ideas — not guarantees that a stock is cheap or will outperform.

The takeaway for S&P 500 investors with AI holdings

Sosnick’s market outlook is cautious. He said the S&P 500 may trend sideways to lower, and he called a 10% correction overdue, while declining to predict an immediate 20% bear market. That forecast is an opinion, and he also acknowledged the market’s powerful tendency to attract dip-buying after pullbacks.

The more durable decision procedure does not depend on accepting his forecast. First, list an S&P 500 fund alongside every individual stock and sector fund. Next, identify how much of the portfolio relies on the AI trade, semiconductors, and the largest technology companies. Then decide whether the combined exposure, including any leverage, is appropriate if rates remain elevated or the technology trade becomes more volatile.

Long-term, buy-and-hold investors can use that review to rebalance toward exposures they actually want, rather than assuming the total number of holdings in a broad-market fund equals diversification. Active traders can add defined buy levels, sell levels, and stop-loss levels before placing a trade.

In both cases, the discipline is the same: Distinguish a temporary decline from a change in the underlying business, and keep enough liquidity available for near-term needs.

All this being said, Sosnick still believes a broad index fund can remain a useful core holding. His warning is that an investor should understand the risks already inside that core before adding more of the same theme. When the S&P 500, individual technology holdings, semiconductors, and leveraged products all point toward the AI trade, even a generic-looking portfolio may be less diversified than it appears.

It is not an easy time to be in the travel booking industry; between the ease with which travelers can book their own trips online and a market in which many are watching their spending more carefully, the majority of travel agencies that have been able to find their market are in the luxury space selling curated trips to high-spending travelers.

The United Kingdom, which in past decades had tens of thousands of operating travel agencies due to a strong national travel culture and interest in package holidays, has in the last few years been feeling the shift in booking patterns particularly acutely.

Some of the British travel companies that ended up having to cease operations since the start of 2026 include Trav Expert, Groupia, Salamander Voyages, Travel Bespoke, Regen Central, Set Sail Cruises, Yourtravelshop.com, Ski Yodel, and TS Travels Group among others.

Wayfairer Travel tells customers trips are canceled ‘until further notice’

The latest name to join that list is luxury travel firm Wayfairer Travel. Launched out of Bristol in southwestern England in 2012, the travel agency sold luxury safari trips as well as other guided tours to destinations such as Machu Picchu and different regions of Japan.

The trip packages began at £4,500 ($6,000 USD) and could go up to tens of thousands of for curated small-group tours that included private transfers between countries and luxury accommodations.

Related: 40-year-old international travel and cruise company ends in bankruptcy, all trips off

This week, customers who booked travel with Wayfairer Travel received communication that all trips were canceled “until further notice.” In some cases, the trips that customers booked were scheduled to take off as early as later in the month and those who booked the trips are now left scrambling to get refunds or make alternative accommodations.

“We are truly sorry for the concern and uncertainty caused by the current situation,” a Wayfairer Travel spokesperson said in a statement to local news outlet The Independent. “Wayfairer Travel has currently suspended all services until further notice.”

The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust (ABTOT) also put out a “do not travel” notice for anyone with a package holiday with the company.

Wayfairer Travel sold curated trips to places like Machu Picchu.Image source: Shutterstock

What to do if you have a trip booked with Wayfairer Travel, how to get a refund

While limited information on what caused the sudden shutdown is currently confirmed, the collapse is almost certainly financial. The ABTOT said that “Wayfairer cannot currently provide certainty that affected packages will be delivered.”

The company itself added that it is “unable to provide further information until we have received the appropriate accounting and legal advice.”

More Travel News:

Airline to launch unusual new flight to Cayman Islands from the U.S.

There is a very cool Irish version of swimming pigs in The Bahamas

Unexpected country is most luxurious travel destination for 2026

Low-cost airline launches easier way to get to Sri Lanka

The membership association and government consumer protection body instructed those whose holidays are booked after September 30 to not travel and await for further communication.

These travel agencies also filed for bankruptcy in 2026:

AVG Travels: The Melbourne-based travel agency selling cheap vacation packages to travelers in Australia and New Zealand sent more than 200 customers an email saying that the trips were canceled before entering bankruptcy in May 2026.

GoPlay Sports: In April 2026, the men’s basketball team of the University of Dallas was left without a planned trip to compete in the United Kingdom after Boston-based GoPlay Sports Tours LLC accepted two payments of $30,000 and then went unreachable.

Havantur: Havantur was forced to shut down its main European office in France at the start of 2026 after tourist numbers to the Caribbean country plummeted due to U.S. military actions in Venezuela and threats against the country.

Vegas Vacations and North America Destinations: Two travel agencies in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Vegas Vacations and North America Destinations, were shut down by regulators within a few days of each other in January 2026 after multiple travelers complained of buying trips and receiving invalid plane tickets and hotel bookings.

Those who received an ATOL Certificate, which in the United Kingdom is issued once customers make a deposit for a package holiday that includes a flight, can immediately file a claim directly with ABTOT.

Those without it, as well as customers outside the United Kingdom, are not protected by the agency and so have been advised to file for a refund with their credit card issuer.

“Because Wayfairer cannot currently provide certainty that affected packages will be delivered, ABTOT is putting arrangements in place to assist eligible UK customers,” ABTOT says in the rest of its statement.

Related: Another travel company shuts down and cancels all trips, refunds available