Tech and corporate developments showed varied performance today, led by Microsoft expanding its Gulf AI infrastructure and Qualcomm securing a extended patent deal with Apple. Meanwhile, Oracle shares dropped 4% after issuing a force majeure notice for a New Mexico data center project, and Amazon blocked Meta's AI agent over security concerns. Costco posted strong fiscal Q4 net income of $2.998 billion, supported by robust membership growth and a tariff refund.
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Oracle Shares Drop Following Report of Force Majeure Notice on Data Center
Oracle issued a force majeure notice to Stack Infrastructure regarding the massive Project Jupiter campus in New Mexico, seeking to protect itself from financial exposure if the facility misses its planned 2028 opening. Shares of Oracle fell approximately 4% to around $139 following the report, while trading volume reached 56.2 million shares, about 68% above its three-month average of 33.4 million shares. The legal maneuver aims to defer payments if construction delays hit the site, which is designed for 2.45 gigawatts of capacity to provide computing power to OpenAI as part of the broader Stargate initiative. Development of the campus has encountered hurdles, including a nearly six-month delay to February 1, 2027, for an Energy Transfer pipeline intended to deliver gas after regulators denied previous route permits, alongside a pending air-quality permit facing a November 23 deadline from the state environment department. The rising strain also hit credit markets, where the on Oracle's 6.7% due 2056 climbed above 8% for the first time, and the cost of insuring its reached a record high. The friction rippled across partners, as Bloom Energy shares declined 5% and Blue Owl , whose company Stack Infrastructure is developing the project, dropped roughly 4%.
Costco Reports 14.9% Net Income Growth in Fiscal Q4
Costco Wholesale posted fiscal fourth-quarter of $2.998 billion, or $6.75 a share, topping Wall Street estimates on the back of a non-recurring refund. The result marked a 14.9% increase from $2.610 billion, or $5.87 a share, in the same period a year earlier. Total for the 16-week quarter ended August 30 rose to $95.72 billion from a comparable prior-year level, beating analyst forecasts of $94.86 billion. Net sales grew 11.2% to $93.9 billion. The quarterly figures included a $0.15-per-share benefit from International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff refunds after Costco received $184 million in refunds and interest. Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip stated that the company reinvested part of that sum into lower prices on produce, meat, beverages, and non-food items, with management planning to direct most future refunds into member value. Excluding the net refund, underlying rose 12.4% to $6.60. Comparable sales increased 9.4%, or 6.7% when stripping out gasoline prices and currency fluctuations. Membership fee income climbed 7.3% to $1.85 billion, extending a pattern of decelerating growth following the September 2024 fee increase. Paid memberships reached 84.1 million, an increase of 3.8%. Total expenditures for fiscal 2027 are projected at approximately $7.5 billion as the warehouse club targets 33 new openings, building on a total of 939 warehouses at the end of fiscal 2026. Costco shares traded flat in after-hours sessions following the report.
Microsoft Plans Over $10 Billion Investment in Gulf Region
Microsoft announced plans on Wednesday to invest more than $10 billion in cloud and infrastructure across Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates between now and 2030. The figure covers both and operating expenditures as the tech giant expands its regional footprint and deepens ties with national artificial intelligence organizations. Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters that the spending schedule accelerates prior commitments despite ongoing regional conflicts. Alongside the headline infrastructure push, Microsoft plans to spend more than $400 million on subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by the end of the decade. The regional strategy also features a digital resilience initiative providing continuity planning and data protection programs for local partners. Microsoft has operated in the Middle East since 1991 and previously committed to training more than 4.2 million people across the four target countries by 2030. The company will prioritize zero-water cooling for new and collaborate with local to expand access to carbon-free electricity. Partnerships with regional entities such as Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN and Qatar's QAI focus on targeted technological alignment without additional capital commitments, building on Microsoft's prior $1.5 billion investment in Abu Dhabi's G42. Smith noted that the company could not provide a geographic breakdown of the investment across individual countries due to security factors.
Novo Nordisk Inks Up to $1.3B Deal With Nanexa for Obesity Injectables
Novo Nordisk struck a 1.165 billion euro, or $1.33 billion, licensing agreement with Nanexa to access the Swedish biotech's long-acting drug delivery technology for obesity and Type 2 diabetes treatments. The deal grants Novo an exclusive global license to apply Nanexa's PharmaShell platform to up to five programs targeting cardiometabolic diseases. PharmaShell uses an inorganic coating on drug particles to form slow-dissolving injection site depots, which Novo intends to use to extend dosing windows to monthly and quarterly frequencies. The financial terms include 615 million euros, equivalent to $700 million, in upfront payments and development and regulatory milestones, alongside 550 million euros, or $626 million, tied to sales milestones. Neither company disclosed the specific size of the upfront cash payment. The pact follows recent disclosures from Novo's chief scientific officer Martin Holst Lange regarding plans to initiate human dosing for a once-monthly candidate over the next year.
Qualcomm and Apple Extend Global Patent License Agreement for Chips
Qualcomm renewed its global patent licensing agreement with Apple, securing a long-term stream starting April 1, 2027. The agreement extends a commercial relationship previously established by a 2019 settlement that ended a two-year global legal battle over wireless-patent royalties and modem-chip supply. Apple is currently transitioning to its own in-house cellular chips to reduce reliance on external hardware, but Qualcomm owns foundational patents for modern cellular connectivity. This extension ensures Qualcomm will continue collecting intellectual property fees even as future iPhones adopt Apple silicon. Qualcomm shares ticked up 0.2% in the prior session following the announcement.
Costco Wholesale Reports Q4 and Full-Year Fiscal 2026 Results
Costco Wholesale Corporation reported fourth-quarter of $2.998 billion, or $6.75 per diluted share, as sales rose 11.2% to $93.87 billion for the 16 weeks ended August 30, 2026. Net income for the same period a year earlier was $2.610 billion, or $5.87 per diluted share, on net sales of $84.43 billion. The fourth-quarter results included a nonrecurring benefit of $0.15 per diluted share from refunds under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, net of partial reinvestment in lower prices for members. Excluding that benefit, net income increased 12.3% and diluted rose 12.4%. For the full fiscal year, net sales increased 10.1% to $297.2 billion from $269.9 billion, while net income reached $9.226 billion, or $20.76 per diluted share, compared to $8.099 billion, or $18.21 per diluted share, in the prior fiscal year. Comparable sales for the fourth quarter rose 9.4%, or 6.7% after adjusting for gasoline-price and . Digitally enabled comparable sales increased 19.5% in the quarter and 20.9% for the full fiscal year. Membership-fee income rose 7.3% to $1.849 billion, driven by higher executive membership penetration and growth in the membership base. Paid executive members reached 42.3 million, up 9.4% from a year earlier, while total paid members reached 84.1 million. The U.S. and Canada renewal rate was 92.3%, and the worldwide renewal rate was 89.8%. expenditures totaled $2.21 billion in the fourth quarter and $6.4 billion for the fiscal year, with Costco expecting approximately $7.5 billion in capital expenditures in fiscal 2027. The company opened 28 warehouses during the fiscal year to bring its global total to 939 locations, and plans to open 33 warehouses during fiscal 2027.
Net Sales by Period ($B)
Net sales rose 11.2% in Q4 and 10.1% for the full fiscal year.
Amazon Restricts Internal Use of Meta's Muse AI Agent Over Security Concerns
Amazon blocked Meta Platforms from accessing its retail site with the Muse agent over security concerns. Amazon stated that Muse browsed without identifying itself and raised unresolved issues regarding customer credentials, while Meta countered that the agent cannot view user passwords or payment details. The restriction erects a barrier between Amazon and Meta's fast-growing personal assistant, which has secured commerce integrations with rival retailers including Walmart, Best Buy, and Shopify. Amazon instead opened its seller platform to Anthropic's Claude via a new Selling Partner plugin that grants merchants direct access to inventory and pricing tools. Amazon has invested $13 billion in Anthropic with potential for another $20 billion, while Anthropic has committed over $100 billion to AWS infrastructure over the coming decade.
Microsoft President Calls for Built-In Emergency Brakes on Advanced AI Systems
Microsoft President Brad Smith called for built-in emergency brakes on advanced systems during discussions at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Smith argued that safety controls should be distributed across model developers, cloud infrastructure providers, and software companies rather than concentrated in a single entity. The proposal echoes safety frameworks the company outlined three and a half years ago. Smith also confirmed that Microsoft plans to utilize 200 megawatts of computing capacity at an Emirati through its $1.5 billion investment in G42, alongside a separate $2 billion Middle East investment announced earlier. He acknowledged that the company will likely miss its 2030 carbon-negative target due to increased energy demands from -fired plants powering AI data centers.
Suzuki Aims to Halve Vehicle Development Time by 2030
Suzuki Motor plans to compress its new vehicle development cycle to 24 months by 2030, down from the current 40 to 48 months. CEO Toshihiro Suzuki announced the timeline on Friday as part of a strategy to counter rapid industry shifts led by China. The automaker targets a 30 per cent increase in development efficiency and a 50 per cent gain in production efficiency measured against fiscal 2020. The production efficiency target uses the company's Manesar plant in India as a . Maruti Suzuki is simultaneously working through an unusually large product programme to introduce nine new models over three years, including seven SUVs. Each vehicle requires a wider choice of petrol, CNG, hybrid, flex-fuel and electric powertrains. Engineering, design, production, quality and procurement teams will work in parallel using digital simulation to shorten the cycle. Suzuki is targeting annual production capacity of four million units in India from fiscal 2030 onward. Suzuki shares rose 0.9 per cent on Friday.
Vehicle Development Cycle (Months)
Development time is targeted to fall by half by 2030
Crusoe Cancels $1.25 Billion AI Data Center Turbine Plan With Boom
techcrunch.com reports that Crusoe has abandoned a $1.25 billion plan to purchase stationary power plant turbines from Boom Supersonic for its . Crusoe had agreed to buy 29 of Boom's 42-megawatt Superpower turbines, with initial deliveries originally scheduled to begin in 2027. Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl announced the cancellation in a post on X, stating that turbines are no longer part of Crusoe's near-term primary power mix at its Abilene site and elsewhere. Crusoe recently raised $3.9 billion and is building a massive campus in Abilene, Texas, that supplies computing power to OpenAI and Oracle, alongside a 900-megawatt data center for Microsoft that will use on-site gas turbines. Boom Supersonic, which is developing the Overture supersonic passenger jet, launched its stationary power plant business last year and raised $300 million largely to commercialize the effort. Despite losing its launch customer, Boom stated it will deliver about 250 megawatts of Superpower turbines to other sites next year and is targeting 1 gigawatt in 2028.
Crusoe Funding and Planned Turbine Spend ($B)
Crusoe's recent raise dwarfs the canceled turbine order.
Major tech investments and supply contracts reflect aggressive expansion, even as project delays and security disputes disrupt major partnerships. What remains unresolved is whether cloud infrastructure bottlenecks and safety guardrails will limit the ultimate return on these massive capital commitments.
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