Category: Top Stories

Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 17 series outsold the iPhone 16 lineup by 14% in the first 10 days of sales across China and the U.S., Apple’s two largest markets, according to Counterpoint Research’s China and U.S. third-quarter 2025 Smartphone Sell-Out Tracker.

The base iPhone 17 has driven demand in China as consumers responded positively to its strong value proposition, featuring a faster chip, better display, larger storage, and upgraded selfie camera at the same price as the iPhone 16.

The base model has driven strong sales, with overall sell-outs up nearly 33%. In China, consumer demand for the base model has nearly doubled compared to the iPhone 16.

Also Read: Apple iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max Ship Times Stay Stable Globally: Analyst

In the U.S., the iPhone 17 Pro Max saw the fastest demand surge as major carriers raised device subsidies by 10% to target ultra-premium buyers through long-term financing plans, boosting Apple’s ecosystem loyalty.

Meanwhile, the eSIM-only iPhone Air slightly outperformed the iPhone 16 Plus. Apple opened pre-orders for the Air in China on October 17, a key step for eSIM adoption in the region, though its higher price and shorter pre-order window could limit its initial appeal.

Apple shares climbed on Monday, marking nearly a 7% gain over the past 12 months.

Analyst Commentary

Analysts have highlighted that Apple is gaining momentum from the strong demand for the iPhone 17. However, they felt investors may need to wait until results from the September and December quarters to gauge the full impact.

Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, said that the global iPhone’s 17 lead times indicate steady consumer demand. Three weeks after release, average wait times across eight countries were 2.29 weeks — about 13% longer than the iPhone 16’s 2.02 weeks.

Munster expects a slight miss in Apple’s fourth-quarter iPhone sales due to limited contribution from the new model, but anticipates substantial upside in fiscal 2026.

He also projects iPhone revenue to rise over 8% in fiscal 2026, exceeding Wall Street’s 5% consensus. He expects Apple’s guidance for the December quarter to “come in ahead of both the published estimates and the whisper number.”

JPMorgan on Robust Upgrade Cycle

Apple is riding strong demand for its iPhone 17 Series, fueled by loyal users upgrading to premium models and expanding traction in China, according to JPMorgan.

Analyst Samik Chatterjee said JPMorgan’s latest consumer survey points to a robust upgrade cycle led by existing iPhone owners, even as interest from Android users softens compared with last year.

Performance, design, and camera improvements remain the top drivers of upgrades, while AI features ranked lower in purchase motivation, Chatterjee noted.

Price Action: Apple shares were trading higher by 1.81% to $256.85 premarket at last check Monday.

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Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF) shares are trading higher premarket on Monday after the company reported third-quarter 2025 results.

The steelmaker reported an adjusted loss of 45 cents per share, beating analysts’ expectations for a 48-cent loss.

Revenue totaled $4.73 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion but up from $4.57 billion in the same quarter last year.

Also Read: Cleveland-Cliffs Q3 Preview: Will Trump Get Praised By Company For Tariffs Again?

Revenue was spread across automotive (30%), infrastructure and manufacturing (29%), distributors and converters (28%), and steel producers (13%). Liquidity stood at $3.1 billion as of September 30, 2025.

Steelmaking revenue rose to $4.6 billion from $4.4 billion a year ago.

Adjusted EBITDA came in at $143 million versus $122 million in the year-ago quarter.

Key Metrics

Steel shipments stood at 4.0 million net tons, up from 3.8 million in the third quarter of 2024.

The average selling price fell slightly year-over-year to $1,032/ton from $1,045/ton in the same quarter a year ago.

Product mix was led by hot-rolled (37%), coated (29%), cold-rolled (15%), and plate (6%) products, with the remainder split between stainless/electrical and other products such as slabs and rail.

Management Commentary

Cliffs’ Chairman, President and CEO, Lourenco Goncalves, said, “Our third quarter results marked a clear sign of demand recovery for automotive-grade steel made in the USA, and that is a direct consequence of the new trade environment implemented and enforced by the Trump Administration.”

“As a result of this new trade environment, we have won new and growing supply arrangements with all major automotive OEMs, locking in multi-year agreements that reflect the reliability of our well-established supply chains anchored by our nine galvanizing plants dedicated to automotive-grade steels, with five of these plants specialized in exposed parts.”

“This past quarter, we entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with a major global steel producer, which seeks to leverage our unmatched U.S. footprint and trade-compliant operations. We expect the ultimate outcome of this MoU to be highly accretive to our shareholders.”

Outlook

Cleveland-Cliffs expects steel unit costs in 2025 to decline by about $50 per net ton compared to 2024, adjusted for higher automotive shipping volumes.

CLF updated its full-year 2025 outlook, with capital expenditures now expected to be around $525 million, down from the earlier forecast of $600 million.

Also, the company projects selling, general, and administrative expenses at around $550 million, versus the previous estimate of $575 million.

The third quarter performance was characterized by a richer sales mix and improved pricing, which contributed significantly to revenue and margin expansion. These factors were further supported by the company’s continued successful execution on cost management.

The positive trend established is anticipated to accelerate into 2026. This expected acceleration is directly tied to the forthcoming expiration of the slab supply contract to ArcelorMittal, which is scheduled to conclude in early December.

Price Action: Cleveland-Cliffs shares were up 10.81% at $14.76 during premarket trading on Monday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week high, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) and Groq have announced a partnership to speed up enterprise use of agentic artificial intelligence.

The deal integrates IBM’s watsonx Orchestrate with Groq’s high-performance inference platform, GroqCloud, to deliver faster, more cost-efficient AI capabilities across regulated and commercial industries.

As part of the collaboration, IBM and Groq will combine Groq’s Language Processing Unit (LPU) architecture with watsonx Orchestrate, while enhancing Red Hat’s open-source vLLM technology to support IBM Granite models.

Also Read: India’s Bharti Airtel Partners With IBM To Strengthen Cloud Offering

The integration aims to provide clients with scalable infrastructure for deploying AI agents in real-world applications.

Many companies struggle to transition from AI pilot projects to production due to cost and latency issues. GroqCloud, powered by its custom LPU, delivers more than five times faster inference than traditional GPU systems, maintaining low latency even as workloads scale globally.

The system supports complex workflows in fields such as healthcare, where IBM’s AI agents can process large volumes of data and provide accurate, real-time responses.

IBM clients are also using the Groq-powered system in human resources, retail, and financial services to automate processes and improve productivity. By combining Groq’s inference performance with IBM’s orchestration tools, the companies aim to make AI deployment faster and more reliable for enterprise customers.

“Many large enterprise organizations have a range of options with AI inferencing when they’re experimenting, but when they want to go into production, they must ensure complex workflows can be deployed successfully to ensure high-quality experiences,” said Rob Thomas, IBM’s Senior Vice President of Software and Chief Commercial Officer.

The announcement follows IBM’s move to roll out three new AI agents on Oracle’s platform, reflecting its broader push to enhance automation and interoperability across ecosystems. Access to GroqCloud through watsonx Orchestrate is available immediately, supporting secure and compliant AI deployment for global enterprises.

Price Action: IBM shares were trading higher by 0.86% to $283.70 premarket at last check Monday.

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On Sunday, Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE:C), along with American Airlines Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA), unveiled a new mid-tier travel rewards credit card, Citi/AAdvantage Globe Mastercard.

The new card expands the Citi/AAdvantage lineup, completing the range of co-branded travel credit cards offered under the partnership.

The card is designed for travelers who fall between casual vacationers and frequent flyers categories.

The card provides access to premium travel benefits, including four 24-hour Admirals Club Globe passes, expanded opportunities to earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points, and an exclusive Flight Streak bonus.

Also Read: JPMorgan Analyst Favors Visa Over Mastercard: Here’s Why

Cardmembers can unlock more than $750 worth of travel and lifestyle rewards each year for an annual fee of $350.

Management Commentary

Scott Long, American’s Senior Vice President of AAdvantage said, “It’s built for the travelers who want more from every mile—with elevated benefits, faster path to status and powerful earning potential.”

Pam Habner, Citi’s Head of U.S. Branded Cards and Lending added, “The launch of the Citi / AAdvantage Globe Mastercard is our first new co-branded credit card following the expansion of our partnership, marking a new chapter of innovation in our 38-year legacy,”

Recent Earnings

Last week, Citigroup had posted a third-quarter revenue of $22.09 billion, up 9% year over year and comfortably ahead of expectations, as strong performances across Markets, U.S. Personal Banking, and Investment Banking lifted results.

Investors can gain exposure to the Citigroup stock via First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF (NASDAQ:FTXO) and T. Rowe Price Financials ETF (NASDAQ:TFNS)

Price Action: C shares are up 0.58% at $97.44 premarket at the last check on Monday.

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When Oracle Corp‘s (NYSE:ORCL) Larry Ellison declared that artificial intelligence will only reach its “peak value” once models train on privately owned data, it sounded like a warning shot to the open-internet AI crowd. But for Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR), it was validation in prime time.

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“If you look at ChatGPT, Anthropic, Llama, Grok — they’re all trained on all of the data on the internet,” Ellison said during Oracle’s recent event. “But for these models to reach their peak value, you need to make privately owned data available to those models as well.”

Palantir’s entire business has been built on that premise — that data locked inside governments and corporations is more valuable than anything scraped off the public web.

Read Also: Palantir’s Monopoly Is Breaking – It’s No Longer Pentagon’s Only Favorite

Private Data Is Palantir’s Power Source

From defense agencies to Fortune 500 clients, Palantir’s Foundry and AIP platforms operate behind the firewall, structuring sensitive operational data for AI-driven decision making. That’s a crucial distinction in an era where generic language models often hallucinate without context or access to verified datasets.

While ChatGPT and its peers chase scale, Palantir is chasing specificity — running proprietary AI models directly on clients’ secure data pools. Its government roots, spanning defense, intelligence and energy sectors, have given it years of experience managing classified data — precisely the private-data moat Ellison argues the AI industry must cross to mature.

Ellison’s Thesis, Palantir’s Timing

Ellison’s call couldn’t come at a better time for Palantir, which has pivoted from pure analytics to becoming the operating system for enterprise AI. Its partnerships with major corporations and U.S. agencies position it to capitalize on the growing recognition that private data, not internet noise, will drive the next leg of AI value creation.

As investors sift through the next wave of AI winners, Ellison’s words echo a core Palantir advantage: it already sits where the most sensitive — and therefore most valuable — data lives.

For AI’s second act, Palantir isn’t rewriting the script. It’s just been waiting for the rest of Silicon Valley to catch up.

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