Mad Mad News

LIVE ABOVE THE MADNESS

SUCCESS


SoFi surge catches short sellers flat-footed after record 1.2 million member quarter

Filed Under: SUCCESS, The Street

Digital financial services provider SoFi Technologies (SOFI) has been under fire from short sellers who believe it won’t be able to win business away from embedded-bank rivals, including Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

As of the end of September, short sellers held 214.9 million SoFi shares short, representing 16.9% of shares outstanding, and up from 177.5 million shares at the end of August.

However, the company’s third-quarter results, including the addition of a record 1.2 million members, and better-than-expected guidance for 2027, suggest SoFi is making more progress than short sellers expected.

SoFi third quarter shows progress as it expands services

SoFi began as a student loan specialist, but over the years, CEO Anthony Noto has transformed the company into more of a traditional bank, allowing it to grow deposits that provide cheap financing for personal and home loans.

“In less than a decade, we have transformed SoFi from a single-product company into an everything financial app with eight different businesses each generating over $100 million in annualized revenue,” said Noto about the company’s third-quarter performance.

Total membership rose 35% year over year to 17.1 million, fueling record revenue of $1.385 billion, up 44% from one year ago. Net income rose 73% to $241 million. Its net interest margin, the spread between lending rates and the cost of funding them, expanded 16 basis points to 6.14%.

SoFi reported earnings of 18 cents per share, above Wall Street’s 17 cents estimate.

The growth was driven by more members and greater demand for services, including financial services products such as SoFi Money, Relay, and Invest, which accounted for 88% of the quarter’s product growth.

Lending demand was also solid, rising 39% to 3.4 million products across personal, student, and home loans.

SoFi’s stock price surged after the third-quarter financials caught short sellers off guard.Sportico / Getty Images

Guidance sparks short squeeze in SoFi stock as company is ‘cooking with gas’

Based on average trading volume, it would take 4.8 days to cover all the shares held short in SoFi at the end of September.

It seems some of those bearish bets are flipping following the third-quarter results, given SoFi’s stock price jumped 14.6% at 12:16 pm EDT on 112.4 million shares, well above the stock’s normal average trading volume of 49.4 million shares.

Stephen Guilfoyle is a long-term trader whose career stretches back to 1987 on the New York Stock Exchange. He’s a fan of CEO Noto’s push to expand SoFi into more products, and says the most recent performance shows SoFi is executing.

“The financial services firm appears to be cooking with gas,” wrote Guilfoyle on TheStreet Pro. “Corporate execution has been excellent. The growth is outstanding.”

Guilfoyle picked SoFi earlier this year as his ‘stock of the year’ for 2026, and up until now, he’s been wrong, given shares came into the earnings report down 45% this year.

“I have been behind this stock for quite a while and caught a few snickers when I made it my ‘stock of the year’ for 2026,” said Guilfoyle. “My timing was obviously wrong regarding the stock-of-the-year selection.”

Still, Guilfoyle remains a fan of SoFi stock, and the company’s guidance and outlook leave him optimistic that a corner has been turned for shareholders.

“The quarter was excellent. The lending segment absolutely ripped the cover off the ball. Guidance is far better than a rational man could have hoped for,” said Guilfoyle.

SoFi is targeting adjusted revenue of $5.04 billion this year, up 40% year over year. Next year, it expects revenue to climb 27% to $6.4 billion. On the bottom line, guidance is for 61 cents in 2026 and 90 cents in 2027, outpacing analysts’ 59 and 82 cents estimates.

Guilfoyle’s SoFi stock price target is $24.

Todd Campbell owns shares in SoFi Technologies at the time of this writing.

More Stocks NewsAI chips are getting so hot, diamonds may be the answerPepsi vs. Coca-Cola: Which Dividend King stock will outperform in 2027?Warren Buffett sends timeless advice to S&P 500 stock investorsPalantir is one of just 3 crushed S&P 500 stocks up for the year

A ‘Comfortable Retirement’ Isn’t Just a Number. It’s These 5 Monthly Bills

Filed Under: Money.com, SUCCESS

A comfortable retirement doesn’t necessarily just come down to how much money you have saved up. Your lifestyle plays a major factor.
A $1 million nest egg is enough for some people, while others aim to save closer to $5 million. Living a comfortable retirement comes down to your ability to reliably cover monthly bills with Social Security, portfolio withdrawals and other income sources. Considering these monthly bills can help.

Must Read

You’re probably eligible to save money on car insurance. Compare rates for your ZIP code with this free — and fast — tool from Money.
Meet your financial goals faster: Take this free, no-obligation quiz to get matched with an advisor today.
These 6 hacks can help seniors save money on things they’re already buying.

The bills you can’t skip: housing and health care
Mapping out how much you need for a comfortable retirement starts with your biggest, unskippable bills. Homeownership still has costs even after you have paid off the mortgage, including property taxes, homeowners insurance, utilities and applicable homeowners association (HOA) fees. You also have to be prepared for repairs and maintenance costs.
Writing down all of your housing expenses can help you determine how much money you need. It can also inspire you to seek alternatives to your current lifestyle, such as downsizing, relocating or selling your home and renting. Lowering your expenses makes it easier to live a comfortable retirement, especially if you focus on housing costs.
Regardless of where you live, health care costs will also add up. While Medicare offers some coverage, you will have to factor in premiums, prescriptions, dental, vision and other costs. A Fidelity report estimates that a 65-year-old who retired last year can end up spending $172,500 on health care and medical expenses throughout retirement.
Everyday costs: food and transportation
The next two bills address everyday costs. All food-related purchases, including groceries, dining out and delivery, count as one category. Your habits — such as if you cook or dine out — and location influence how much you spend on food.
Transportation is another essential cost that includes car payments, insurance, gas, maintenance, rideshares, public transit and other methods of travel. You may only need one car instead of two if you and your spouse are both retired.
Debt, taxes and insurance obligations
Debt, taxes, and insurance obligations can take up a large portion of your budget. Factoring these into your financial planning can prevent unpleasant surprises and ensure a comfortable retirement instead of a rude awakening.
Any credit card debt, loans, mortgages and other debt will compete with basic living costs. It’s optimal to pay off this debt as quickly as possible — even if that means picking up a part-time job or cutting back significantly on spending. While Social Security can help, don’t forget that it’s eligible for taxation. Pension income and withdrawals from traditional retirement plans are also taxable.
Long-term care is a cost that’s often forgotten, especially early in retirement. But it can become a large line item down the road. Getting a long-term care insurance policy can reduce your costs if you end up needing long-term care, but you will have monthly premiums chipping away at your budget.

Never miss a Money story.

Join 700,000+ readers who get the latest financial news and advice delivered daily for free. Subscribe to our newsletters.

How Human-Centered Technology Design Is Changing the Way People Store, Access, and Manage Digital Information

Filed Under: Addicted2Success, SUCCESS

Not long ago, keeping track of digital files felt like a chore reserved for people who understood computers well. Today, technology is increasingly shaped around the way people actually think, work, and live. Human-centered design puts the user first, asking what feels natural, what saves time, and what removes stress. That shift is quietly changing how everyday people hold on to their files, reach them when needed, and keep them neatly organized across phones, laptops, and the cloud.
What Sits Inside Our Devices Matters More Than It Seems
Most people judge a device by its screen, its camera, or its price, yet the parts hidden inside shape the daily experience just as much. The way a device keeps information decides how quickly apps open, how smoothly files load, and how long the device stays useful. Two common options for device storage, built-in memory chips and solid-state drives, behave very differently, and choosing the wrong one can leave people with a device that feels slow or runs out of room far too soon. Understanding these options in plain terms helps buyers, designers, and businesses pick hardware that truly suits the people using it.
For a clear explanation, Lexar Enterprise compares 3 storage differences across performance, cost, scalability, and reliability and longevity. Knowing how these factors play out makes it far easier to match a device to the way it will be used every day.
Designing Around Real Human Habits
Human-centered design begins with observation. Designers watch how people use their devices, where they get stuck, and which tasks they repeat most often. Many people save files in a hurry, rarely sort them later, and expect to find them instantly when the moment comes. Instead of forcing users to adopt strict filing habits, modern systems adapt to these natural patterns. Search tools now recognize names, dates, places, and even objects inside photos. These small choices reflect a simple idea: technology should bend to fit people, not the other way around.
Making Information Easy to Reach From Anywhere
People no longer work from a single desk or a single device. A document might be started on a laptop at the office, reviewed on a phone during a commute, and finished on a tablet at home. Human-centered systems treat this movement as normal. Syncing tools keep the latest version available everywhere, so users do not have to email files to themselves or carry small drives in their pockets. When information follows the person rather than staying locked in one place, daily routines become smoother and less stressful.
Protecting Privacy and Building Trust
As people keep more of their lives in digital form, they also worry more about who can see their information. Photos, medical records, bank details, and personal messages all deserve careful protection. Human-centered design treats privacy as a basic need rather than an extra setting buried in a menu. Clear permission requests explain what an app wants to access and why. Simple controls let people lock sensitive folders, share files with only chosen contacts, and remove access later. When people understand and control what happens to their information, they trust their devices and use them with greater confidence.
Supporting People With Varied Abilities
Not every user sees, hears, or moves in the same way. Thoughtful design makes digital information usable for people with a wide range of abilities. Voice commands let users find files without typing. Larger text, high-contrast screens, and screen readers help people with limited vision. Simple gestures support those who find small buttons difficult to press. These features began as accessibility tools, yet many people now use them every day simply because they are convenient. Designing for varied needs often improves the experience for everyone, which is one of the strongest arguments for putting people at the center of technology.
How Businesses Benefit From People-First Technology
Companies see real value when their tools are built around the people who use them. Employees spend less time searching for files and more time doing meaningful work. Clear sharing tools make teamwork easier across departments and locations. Simple systems also reduce training time, since new staff can learn them quickly. When hardware and software suit the tasks people perform each day, devices last longer, support requests drop, and teams stay productive. For businesses, choosing technology with the user in mind is not only kind to employees but also a sound long-term decision.
Looking Ahead at People-Focused Innovation
The future of managing digital information will likely feel even more personal and intuitive. Smart assistants may soon organize files based on a person’s habits, predict which documents they will need for a meeting, and prepare them in advance. Devices will continue to grow faster, lighter, and more efficient while using less power. As these changes arrive, the guiding question will remain the same: does this make life easier for the person holding the device? When designers keep that question in focus, technology becomes a helpful partner that quietly supports the way people live and work.
The post How Human-Centered Technology Design Is Changing the Way People Store, Access, and Manage Digital Information appeared first on Addicted 2 Success.

Walmart’s ‘cozy’ $20 teddy hoodie with a hand-warming pocket is 57% off

Filed Under: SUCCESS, The Street

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

Every fall wardrobe requires an ultra-snuggly, lightweight layer to keep you cozy on a chilly day. Fleece jackets and classic sweatshirts are standard choices, but the hoodie is best if you want to spend a day lounging around the house because it doesn’t have any bulky zippers that can poke you in the side. Many also offer a convenient kangaroo pocket, giving you space to stow your smartphone or lip balm as you move around, but it’s also an ideal spot for keeping your hands toasty when you’re running errands outdoors. We also can’t forget to mention the practical hood, which keeps your head warm and hides a bad hair day.

Another thing to love about hoodies is that they’re usually quite affordable. That’s especially true with the shopper-approved No Boundaries Cozy Teddy Hoodie, which is currently on sale for under $10 in three colors with over half off. 

No Boundaries Cozy Teddy Hoodie, $9 (was $20) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

Shop at Walmart

Why do shoppers love it?

The cozy hoodie features a charming design with an eye-catching blue hue and dainty embroidered bunnies. Each color is given its own unique spin, with embroidered roses on the white hoodie and teddy bears on the pink selection. Whatever color you choose, the plush hoodies will deliver plenty of comfort and warmth, as they’re crafted from an extra-soft teddy fleece fabric. 

Teddy fleece is what it sounds like: a soft and fuzzy fleece that’s like the material on a cuddly toy bear. The great thing about this material is that it’s durable and machine washable, so it won’t lose its softness after throwing it in with the laundry. One shopper, who called the hoodie “cozy and soft,” said the fabric “has a nice stretch.” They added, “It’s perfect for lounging or running errands. It’s been washed a couple of times, and there is no shrinkage or fading.”

Related: Macy’s is selling a fleece vest for $25 in 8 colors

The pullover-style hoodie is a go-to garment for relaxing on the couch or curling up with a good book. If you want to run to grab a coffee before you settle in, you don’t need to wash your hair or get ready — just throw up the hood and head out the door. You don’t even need a purse, because your iPhone, wallet, and car keys will likely all fit in the spacious kangaroo pocket.

Details to know 

Sizes: Women’s sizes XS to XL.

Colors available: Blue Glory, Pink Marshmallow, and Winter White are all available for $9.

Material: 100% polyester.

Average shopper rating: 4.5 out of five stars.

Over 75% of reviewers rate this cozy hoodie a full five stars. “I absolutely love the material of this hoodie,” raved one shopper. “It’s incredibly soft and warm, and it honestly feels like I’m wrapped in a cozy blanket.”

Shop more deals

No Boundaries Cozy Teddy Joggers, $8 (was $20) at Walmart

No Boundaries Cozy Teddy Shorts, $7 (was $15) at Walmart

No Boundaries Pullover Crewneck Sleep Top, $5 (was $11) at Walmart

The No Boundaries Cozy Teddy Hoodie is a steal while it’s on sale for only $9. Sizes are already selling out, so don’t wait to snag one for yourself. 

Instagram quietly makes major change for Apple TV users

Filed Under: SUCCESS, The Street

Free apps are never really free.

You pay with your attention, and the company sells that attention to advertisers. The more minutes you give, the more money it makes.

For years, that trade happened mostly on your phone. You scrolled on the couch while the TV played something else.

The TV itself belonged to cable, then to Netflix (NFLX) and other paid streamers. YouTube was the first free platform to break in.

It turned creator videos into something people actually sit down and watch. Paid streamers have spent the years since raising prices to keep up.

Now another giant wants the same spot in your living room.

Instagram’s new Apple TV app brings reels, longer videos and live shows.Father-Studio / Getty Images

Instagram lands on Apple TV without a launch event

Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms (META), now has an app for Apple (AAPL) TV, MacRumors reported.

Related: HBO Max, Paramount+ subscribers pay more after $110 billion merger

The app appears to have gone live on Oct. 23. Apple TV release metadata dates version 66.0 to that day, MacRumors reported.

There was no press release and no stage event. An archived App Store listing from Oct. 19 still showed support only for iPhone and iPad.

Reels, live shows and longer videos hit the big screen

The app plays Reels, longer videos and live shows, which MacRumors said are coming to Apple TV for the first time. You’ll need tvOS 26.0 or later.

More Streaming:

Netflix is losing ground to YouTube

Skydance’s just raised prices. Here’s what happening next

Netflix makes it clear that a U.S. price hike is coming

Instagram says the app “lets users watch content from their favorite creators, discover videos, and resume watching across devices,” according to MacRumors.

It also pitches the app as a way to watch together with family. In reality, the design is built to keep you watching.

On earlier versions, Reels played automatically and were sorted into channels such as comedy, music and lifestyle, TechCrunch reported.

You could also link up to five accounts to one TV, or create an account just for TV viewing, TechCrunch reported.

A yearlong rollout reached four platforms

Apple TV is the last stop in a steady expansion:

December 2025: Testing began on Amazon (AMZN) Fire TV in the U.S.

February 2026: The app reached Google TV devices from Alphabet (GOOGL)

June 2026: Samsung smart TVs were added, along with plans for longer videos, episodic series and live broadcasts

October 2026: Apple TV support arrived

Meta has been blunt about the reason.

“If behavior [and] the consumption of these platforms is moving to TV, then we need to move to TV too,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in October 2025, TheStreet reported.

YouTube still owns the biggest share of viewing

That is the bar Instagram has to clear.

YouTube took 13.5% of all U.S. TV viewing in June, compared with 7.9% for Netflix, according to Nielsen’s Gauge, as reported by MediaPost.

That matters for your bill. When free platforms win more of your evening, paid services have to work harder to justify what they charge.

Netflix has already signaled another U.S. price hike, TheStreet reported.

TikTok is chasing the same screen. It already has its own TV app, TechCrunch noted.

Instagram is also testing longer formats. The Verge reported that the TV app could play a role in Meta’s push into microdramas, short serialized shows built around quick episodes.

Your attention is worth about $17.75 to Meta

This is where your wallet comes in.

Meta’s revenue rose 26% to $64.6 billion in the third quarter, according to its earnings release. Its apps averaged 3.64 billion daily users in September.

By my rough math, that works out to about $17.75 per daily user for the quarter. Over a year, that’s roughly $71 from each person who opens Meta’s apps every day.

Meta measures per-user revenue its own way, so treat my figure as a ballpark. The point holds, though: you are the product being sold.

And the price is rising. Meta’s average price per ad climbed 14% in the quarter, while ad impressions rose 10%, the release showed.

User growth is slowing, up just 3% from a year earlier. That means Meta needs more minutes from the people it already has, and a TV session lasts longer than a scroll.

Engagement is already climbing. Instagram’s time spent per user “reached an all time high,” CFO Susan Li said on the Oct. 21 call.

Roku remains the missing piece

Apple TV adds a real audience. It held about 15% of U.S. connected-TV device share in the third quarter of 2025, according to Pixalate data cited by TheStreet.

Roku (ROKU) led that list at 36%. None of the reports on the Apple TV launch mention an Instagram app for Roku.

That is the gap to watch. Without Roku, Instagram is still missing the biggest TV platform on that list.

If a Roku app does arrive, Instagram would cover all four of the biggest platforms in that data.

Should you download it? Set these up first

The app costs nothing, and that is exactly why it deserves a little thought.

If you do try it, here’s how to stay in control:

Update first. Check that your Apple TV runs tvOS 26.0 or later

Separate your profiles. Give kids their own account, or keep Instagram off the shared TV

Use it to cut costs. If creator videos already fill your evenings, a paid plan may be worth trimming

Set a stopping point. Autoplay makes “one more video” easy to repeat

What shareholders need to watch next

If you own Meta stock, the TV app is a small piece of a very large business.

Investors have seen this play before. Reels launched in 2020 as Meta’s answer to TikTok, and video now drives record engagement on Facebook and Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the October call.

Meta expects fourth-quarter revenue of $73 billion to $76 billion, and it plans to spend $135 billion to $145 billion this year, much of it on AI, the release showed.

Ads have to pay for that bill. Every new screen Instagram reaches gives Meta more room to sell them.

Expect two things next: a push onto Roku, and more long-form shows designed for the couch. Instagram has your phone, and now it wants the evenings you spend in front of the TV.

Related: Facebook makes daring move to challenge Disney, Netflix