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Live financial briefs, market hot takes, breaking tape analysis, and Grok social dispatches from the Position Tracker desk — alongside our daily and weekly Substack research.

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Grok Pulse Oct 24, 2026 · 2 min read

$GOOGL daily pick: buy a starter before earnings, add $296 to $315

Daily pick: stock buy on Alphabet, 6% under the 200-day and 22% off the May high after a 6% down week on AI capex fears. Q2 revenue +24%, Cloud +82%, $514B backlog, ~21x 2027 EPS est. Fri Oct 23 close $320.21, add $296 to $315, line in the sand $272.11 Mar low. Earnings Wed Oct 2

$GOOGL: I'm buying a starter before @Google earnings Wednesday and I'd add $296 to $315. As of Friday's close ($320.21, markets are closed today): 6% below the 200-day and 22% off the May high Q2 revenue up 24% with Cloud up 82% About 21x next year's EPS estimate Down 6% this week on AI capex fears

$GOOGL daily pick: buy a starter before earnings, add $296 to $315
Hot Take Oct 24, 2026 · 2 min read

Two days ago I wrote that the White House ruling out Iran strikes before the midterms left the post-election risk wide open, and that…

Two days ago I wrote that the White House ruling out Iran strikes before the midterms left the post-election risk wide open, and that planning is not authorization. That gap just got harder to ignore. At a rally in Fort Myers, Trump said "we may do another little Epic Fury, or they'll agree." That's the name of the US-Israeli strikes…

Hot Take Oct 23, 2026 · 2 min read

Brent settled at $116.72 a barrel on Friday.

Brent settled at $116.72 a barrel on Friday. That's up 3.1% on the day, more than 6% on the week, a third straight weekly gain, and the highest level since late April. WTI climbed 3.8% to $103.27. This morning I was writing about Treasury yields falling as the AI selloff…

Grok Pulse Oct 23, 2026 · 2 min read

$META daily pick: buy the post-earnings dip, add $560 to $600

Daily pick: stock buy on Meta after a 7% post-earnings drop on capex and negative FCF despite a revenue beat (+26% to $64.6B, ad prices +14%). Back on the 200-day, 17% off the Sep high, ~19x 2027 EPS est. Starter at $644.80 midday, add $560 to $600, line in the sand $520.26 Mar l

$META: I'm buying the post-earnings dip. Starter here and I'd add $560 to $600. As of midday today ($644.80): Sitting right on the 200-day and 17% off the September high Revenue up 26% to $64.6B with ad prices up 14% About 19x next year's EPS estimate Down 7% Thursday on capex and negative free cash flow

$META daily pick: buy the post-earnings dip, add $560 to $600
Grok Pulse Oct 23, 2026 · 2 min read

Video explainer: OpenAI just knocked $150B off its own price tag. And one person close to the deal called the investor reaction "a bit of a thud."

VIDEO explainer (attach video when posting). Download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/172_0Mu7a8MQhGzBrbHE40xdllpNk02Aa/view?usp=drivesdk

OpenAI just knocked $150B off its own price tag. And one person close to the deal called the investor reaction "a bit of a thud." Per @CNBC @OpenAI is close to raising up to $30B at a $1.25T valuation, led by UAE investors and Coatue. Signatures are due by the end of next…

Video explainer: OpenAI just knocked $150B off its own price tag. And one person close to the deal called the investor reaction "a bit of a thud."
Hot Take Oct 23, 2026 · 2 min read

SpaceX's Q3 print beat on both lines: $14.6B revenue against a $12.87B estimate, and EPS of $0.35 against $0.13.

SpaceX's Q3 print beat on both lines: $14.6B revenue against a $12.87B estimate, and EPS of $0.35 against $0.13. Super Intelligence brought in $7.56B, more than Connectivity's $5.25B. Shares closed 7.79% above their pre-earnings close the next session. Then on Oct 22 the company announced a plan to scale that business, and $SPCX fell 9.14% to $144.75.

Grok Pulse Oct 22, 2026 · 2 min read

$FICO stock call: Buy the dip, accumulate $680 to $740

$FICO: I'm a buyer, but on a pullback to $680 to $740.

$FICO: I'm a buyer, but on a pullback to $680 to $740. Down 66% from its 2024 top 24x earnings vs a 52x 5-yr avg Still a 52% operating margin I think VantageScore dents the pricing, not the franchise. Would you buy FICO here?

$FICO stock call: Buy the dip, accumulate $680 to $740
Grok Pulse Oct 22, 2026 · 2 min read

$LOW daily pick: sell Nov 13 $195 put (buy-side)

Daily pick: cash-secured put on Lowe's, 11% below its 200-day at ~16.6x EPS est. Nov 13 $195 put @ $2.25 bid, ~1.2% in 22 days (~19% ann.), breakeven $192.75, expires before Nov 18 earnings.

$LOW: I'm selling the Nov 13 $195 put and getting paid to wait on Lowe's. As of midday today ($203.74): 11% below the 200-day and 30% off the February high Credit $2.25 for ~1.2% in 22 days (~19% annualized) Breakeven $192.75, about 5% below today About 16.6x this year's EPS estimate with a 6% free cash flow yield

$LOW daily pick: sell Nov 13 $195 put (buy-side)

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History · Oct 24, 2026

Black Monday 1987 — 22.6% in a Day, Still the Benchmark

On October 19, 1987, the Dow fell 508 points, or 22.6%, closing at 1,738.74 versus 2,246.74 on October 16, still the Dow's worst one-day percentage…

Black Monday 1987 — 22.6% in a Day, Still the Benchmark

On October 19, 1987, the Dow fell 508 points, or 22.6%, closing at 1,738.74 versus 2,246.74 on October 16, still the Dow's worst one-day percentage decline on record. The S&P 500 dropped 20.47%, from 282.70 to 224.84, its own worst day. Analyses…

Financials · Oct 24, 2026

Mega-Cap Trend Divergence Widens Into Earnings Week

$MSFT closed at $524.51, 3.2% above its 50-day average, heading into results expected October 28.

Mega-Cap Trend Divergence Widens Into Earnings Week

$MSFT closed at $524.51, 3.2% above its 50-day average, heading into results expected October 28. The stock gained 0.66% in the latest session, one of the few mega-caps in the green. AMZN sits at $248.00, 3.0% below its 50-day average, and reports alongside Microsoft and Alphabet in the coming…

Free · Substack EOD Recap · Oct 23, 2026

End-of-day recap

LKQ's withdrawn outlook and a 652.82-point Dow slide set the tone today, while oil's climb lifted energy and earnings split winners from losers.

End-of-day recap

LKQ's withdrawn outlook and a 652.82-point Dow slide set the tone today, while oil's climb lifted energy and earnings split winners from losers. LKQ Corporation fell 22.47% to $17.42, a $4.41B market cap. It withdrew FY26 guidance and now expects a preliminary Q3 loss of $16M-$32M versus a $178M profit a year earlier. Adjusted EPS of 47-53 cents trails the…

Free · Substack Intraday Movers · Oct 23, 2026

Afternoon update

$LKQ lost more than a fifth of its value Friday after a CEO exit and a preliminary Q3 warning, while crude above $100 lifted energy names across the…

Afternoon update

$LKQ lost more than a fifth of its value Friday after a CEO exit and a preliminary Q3 warning, while crude above $100 lifted energy names across the board. LKQ fell 21.23% to a $4.46B market cap after ousting CEO Justin Jude. It guided…

Free · Substack Intraday Movers · Oct 23, 2026

Midday update

Midday Friday: Crown Castle is up 11.1% on SpaceX tower talks while Bloom Energy falls 11.6% despite beating and raising.

Midday update

Midday Friday: Crown Castle is up 11.1% on SpaceX tower talks while Bloom Energy falls 11.6% despite beating and raising. S&P 500 -0.11%, Nasdaq +0.26%. $CCI +11.1% ($38.3B market cap): SpaceX is in talks to lease access to up to 80,000 US cell…

Financials · Oct 23, 2026

Mega-Cap Earnings Dispersion

Mega-cap dispersion is now being driven by earnings season, and the clearest signal is that beating estimates is not enough when the spending…

Mega-Cap Earnings Dispersion

Mega-cap dispersion is now being driven by earnings season, and the clearest signal is that beating estimates is not enough when the spending outlook disappoints. Meta beat on EPS ($7.40 vs $6.54) and revenue ($64.60B vs $63.34B), yet sits 7.23% below its pre-earnings close of $697.52 after a 6.98% reaction session. Reporting tied the selloff to a…

Thematic Basket · Oct 23, 2026

Stablecoins Move Into The Payments Rails — 5 stocks

Coinbase, Circle, PayPal, SoFi and Remitly are all pushing stablecoins into core payments, with reserve income on those balances a major prize.

Stablecoins Move Into The Payments Rails — 5 stocks

Payments companies are racing to put stablecoins into the plumbing: card settlement, bank payment platforms, branded issuance. A niche crypto product is moving toward core payments infrastructure, and these five names are building it. Coinbase ($COIN) distributes USDC, runs the Base network, and takes a cut of crypto trading volume broadly. Average USDC held in its products hit a record…

Free · Substack EOD Recap · Oct 22, 2026

End-of-day recap

AI spending concerns dragged the Nasdaq down 2.60% as most US stocks rose and defensive sectors led.

End-of-day recap

Concerns over AI spending pulled the Nasdaq down 2.60% on Oct 22, 2026, while most US stocks rose and defensive sectors led. $NVDA closed at $212.21, down 4.40%, on 121.61M shares, for a $5.11T market cap. CNBC tied the drop to AI spending worries. CEO Jensen Huang said capital demand exceeded capital availability in the AI buildout.

Free · Substack Intraday Movers · Oct 22, 2026

Afternoon update

Stocks fell as concerns over AI spending and uncertain returns hit technology shares, while consumer staples provided a defensive contrast.

Afternoon update

As of 2:02 p.m. ET, the S&P 500 was down 1.48% and the Nasdaq Composite was down 2.75%. Renewed concern about AI infrastructure spending and uncertain return timelines weighed on technology and growth shares. Moderna (MRNA) was the afternoon's largest featured decline, down…

Free · Substack Intraday Movers · Oct 22, 2026

Midday update

$TTMI fell 27.08% by midday Thursday, reversing an early beat.

Midday update

$TTMI fell 27.08% by midday Thursday, reversing an early beat. The Nasdaq is down 2.30% and the S&P 500 is down 1.34% as Tesla's and Meta's earnings failed to ease doubts about the AI outlook. TTM Technologies beat Q3 views and raised full-year EPS…

Financials · Oct 22, 2026

Defensives Lead, Tech Lags With the 10-Year at 5.13%

Defensive sectors rose as Technology and Energy fell, signaling a shift toward predictable cash flows despite high Treasury yields.

Defensives Lead, Tech Lags With the 10-Year at 5.13%

The 10-year Treasury's latest close is 5.13%, yet today's sector tape is not sorting by rate sensitivity. Utilities are up 0.88%, Real Estate 0.53% and Financials 0.46%. Technology is down 3.21%, the worst sector today, and Energy has…

Free · Substack EOD Recap · Oct 21, 2026

End-of-day recap

SpaceX earnings and Super Micro's revenue preannouncement lifted tech shares as money rotated toward AI infrastructure.

End-of-day recap

AI infrastructure set the tone on October 21, 2026. SpaceX earnings and Super Micro's preannouncement lifted tech shares, and the Nasdaq posted its third straight gain. SpaceX (SPCX) rose 7.79% to $159.31, a $2.10 trillion market cap, on 3.35 million options contracts. Elon Musk said power, cooling and electrical equipment now limit new compute, benefiting GE Vernova, Eaton and Vertiv.…

History · Oct 21, 2026

Market Structure Shocks — Then vs Today's Circuit Breakers

Equity crashes prompted market safeguards, while negative oil futures showed that structural risks persisted beyond stocks.

Market Structure Shocks — Then vs Today's Circuit Breakers

On October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed 22.6% in a single session, 508 points, still its worst one-day percentage decline. Volume that day hit about 604 million shares, nearly double the prior record. The next morning's New York Times front page led with "Stocks Plunge 508 Points, a Drop of 22.6%," and the paper's coverage asked: "Does…

Free · Substack Intraday Movers · Oct 21, 2026

Afternoon update

Tech and chips led market gains as Tesla weighed a SpaceX merger and Micron reached a labor deal, removing strike risk in Taichung.

Afternoon update

Wednesday afternoon session: the S&P 500 is up 0.64% to 7761.95 and the Nasdaq is up 1.17% to 26732.90. Tech and semiconductors are leading, and communication services is lagging. $TSLA is up 3.51% to $386.84 ($1.53T market cap). On SpaceX's Q3…

Financials · Oct 21, 2026

Mega-Cap Insider Buying Stays Scarce as Largest Buy Passes One Year

Tracked mega-cap insider buying remains scarce, offering little fresh evidence of management conviction as deal talk and earnings drive moves.

Mega-Cap Insider Buying Stays Scarce as Largest Buy Passes One Year

Open-market insider buying across the tracked mega-cap universe still traces back almost entirely to a single $523.8M $TSLA purchase filed by Elon Musk in September 2025, a transaction now more than a year old. Beyond that buy and $3.44M in Microsoft purchases split between two directors, the tracked dataset…

Free · Substack Intraday Movers · Oct 21, 2026

Midday update

One earnings report moved both ends of Wednesday's midday tape.

Midday update

One earnings report moved both ends of Wednesday's midday tape. $SPCX rose 9.47% to a $2.14 trillion market cap, the Nasdaq gained 1.04%, and the S&P 500 added 0.46%. SpaceX: Q3 revenue was $14.6B, up 161% year over year, against a $12.72B consensus.…

Free · Substack EOD Recap · Oct 20, 2026

End-of-day recap

A $5.66 billion software deal, two post-earnings slides in industrials and autos, and a rotation out of tech defined the October 20, 2026 session.

End-of-day recap

A $5.66 billion software deal, two post-earnings slides in industrials and autos, and a rotation out of tech defined the October 20, 2026 session. Braze jumped 51.69% to $45.57 on 64.6M shares after Salesforce agreed to acquire it for approximately $5.66 billion in enterprise value. Shareholders will receive $47.50 in cash per share, against a prior market cap of $5.18B.

History · Oct 20, 2026

Great Financial Crisis

In 2009, every major U.S. bank was in the same crisis.

Great Financial Crisis

In 2009, every major U.S. bank was in the same crisis. The S&P 500 had closed at a peak of 1,565.15 on October 9, 2007 and at a trough of 676.53 on March 9, 2009, a 56.8% close-to-close collapse that took the entire financial system to the edge. At the trough, the market was pricing in the real possibility that…

Free · Substack Intraday Movers · Oct 20, 2026

Afternoon update

Earnings repriced three large caps by 8% or more this afternoon.

Afternoon update

Earnings repriced three large caps by 8% or more this afternoon. At 2:02 PM ET, the S&P 500 was up 0.40% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.21%. Equifax +10.45% ($20.58B market cap): a Q3 earnings…

Conviction Pick · Oct 20, 2026

HDFC Bank (HDB)

HDFC Bank (HDB)

HDFC Bank (HDB) trades at $23.37, 37.6% below its $37.45 52-week high and close to its $21.71 low. The in-house 2-stage DCF base case is $93.92. A gap that large is the setup, and it is also a claim that needs stress-testing before it is trusted.

Free · Substack Intraday Movers · Oct 20, 2026

Midday update

Braze ($BRZE) jumped 50.73% by 11:32 AM ET on October 20 after Salesforce agreed to acquire the company.

Midday update

Braze ($BRZE) jumped 50.73% by 11:32 AM ET on October 20 after Salesforce agreed to acquire the company. General Motors fell on its full-year outlook. Braze traded up 50.73% with a $5.15B market cap. Salesforce agreed to buy it for $5.66B, or…

Financials · Oct 20, 2026

The Mega-Cap Balance Sheet Fortress Ranking

Mega-cap solvency is less bifurcated than it seems, with NVDA's $62.5B cash against $38.9B debt among four net-cash giants.

The Mega-Cap Balance Sheet Fortress Ranking

The balance sheet fortress ranking shows mega-cap solvency is far less bifurcated than the cash-versus-debt framing suggests. $NVDA holds about $62.5B in cash and short-term investments against roughly $38.9B of debt, or around +$23.6B net cash, but it is one of four net-cash-positive…

Free · Substack EOD Recap · Oct 19, 2026

eod-market-recap · Steel and technology rebound as yields rise

Steel and tech shares rose as yields moved up. The close paired gains in chips with fresh calls on cloud, streaming and power stocks.

eod-market-recap · Steel and technology rebound as yields rise

Steel and tech shares rose as yields moved up. The close paired gains in chips with fresh calls on cloud, streaming and power stocks. CLF rose 16.34% to $14.10 on its earnings beat. It posted $612M in adjusted EBITDA, above its $575M guide, and sees about $715M next quarter. Its report came out before the open, not after the close.

Exec Profile · Oct 19, 2026

Edward Decker

Home Depot CEO Ted Decker is on temporary medical leave, with CFO Richard McPhail serving as interim principal executive officer.

Edward Decker

Edward "Ted" Decker has worked at Home Depot for 26 years. He's been CEO for four and a half of them, and right now he's on temporary medical leave. He joined in 2000 after finance and strategic-planning roles at Kimberly-Clark, Scott Paper, and PNC Bank. The path inside Home Depot ran through nearly every part of the business: SVP of…

History · Oct 19, 2026

Dot-Com Bubble — AI Scale vs Valuation Today

On March 10, 2000, the Nasdaq Composite closed at an all-time high of 5,048, the exact day the tech sector's price-to-earnings ratio on the exchange…

Dot-Com Bubble — AI Scale vs Valuation Today

On March 10, 2000, the Nasdaq Composite closed at an all-time high of 5,048, the exact day the tech sector's price-to-earnings ratio on the exchange peaked at 122x. Nine days earlier, the New York Times had run the headline "Technology Shares Lift Nasdaq Index to Another…

Free · Substack Intraday Movers · Oct 19, 2026

Afternoon update

Tech led a rebound on Monday.

Afternoon update

Tech led a rebound on Monday. The S&P 500 rose 0.54% to 7700.66, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.20% to 26454.27. $CLF jumped 16.30% to $14.10 after Q3 adjusted EPS of $0.28 beat the $0.21 FactSet estimate. Cleveland-Cliffs cited tariff protection and strong…

Free · Substack Intraday Movers · Oct 19, 2026

Midday update

Disc Medicine ($IRON) jumped 37.72% after its Phase 3 APOLLO trial of bitopertin met all endpoints, as memory-chip stocks led a broad AI rebound.

Midday update

Disc Medicine ($IRON) is up 37.72% at midday Monday after a Phase 3 win, while memory-chip names led a broad AI rebound. The S&P 500 is +0.82% and the Nasdaq is +1.65%. Disc Medicine (+37.72%, $2.97B market cap): The Phase 3 APOLLO trial of…

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