IREN Soars 10% as Microsoft Accepts Horizon 1; IBM Gains on OpenAI Pact; Tapestry Plunges 16% on Muted Outlook

Mumbai, Aug 14: US markets witnessed a flurry of company-specific developments today, with earnings reports, strategic partnerships, and corporate actions driving sharp moves across several prominent names. IREN Limited surged on a major milestone with Microsoft, while IBM advanced following a strategic AI partnership with OpenAI. Meanwhile, Tapestry tumbled after issuing a tepid annual forecast that overshadowed its quarterly beat, and Accelerant Holdings rallied on a buyout agreement with Thoma Bravo. 

IREN Jumps 10% as Microsoft Formally Accepts Horizon 1 AI Cloud Deployment 

IREN Limited (NASDAQ: IREN) shares surged 9.86% to close at $43.67, hitting an intraday high of $48.31, after the company announced that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) had formally accepted the Horizon 1 data center handoff at its Childress, Texas facility. This acceptance marks a critical inflection point, converting the 50MW AI cloud deployment, built with direct-to-chip liquid cooling and NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 systems,into a revenue-generating asset. Under the five-year, $9.7 billion cloud services agreement announced in November 2025, Microsoft now has a five-day window to test each GPU deployment, after which IREN can begin monthly invoicing. The Horizon 1 deployment is the first of four 50MW phases scheduled for 2026. 

Adding to the positive sentiment, NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) granted IREN’s Horizon 1 deployment “Exemplar Cloud” status, validating its AI performance and reliability. The designation could help IREN attract enterprise and hyperscaler customers beyond Microsoft as it targets 480MW of AI cloud capacity in 2026 and 1.2GW in 2027. IREN has secured about $5.8 billion in GPUs and related equipment through Dell Technologies for the Microsoft contract. Peers such as Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD), TeraWulf (NASDAQ: WULF), and Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ) did not follow the rise, highlighting the rally as company-specific. 

IBM Partners with OpenAI to Deploy Enterprise AI; Stock Nears $240 

IBM (NYSE: IBM) shares rose nearly 2% in pre-market trading, climbing to a high of $239.89, following the announcement of a strategic partnership with OpenAI to help enterprises deploy AI across business operations and strengthen cybersecurity capabilities. The partnership will embed OpenAI models including GPT-5.6, Codex, and ChatGPT Work into IBM Consulting Advantage, IBM’s AI platform for delivering consulting services. The collaboration will target industries including financial services, government, telecommunications, and retail, as well as enterprise functions such as finance, procurement, customer operations, and human resources. 

IBM will deploy specialized teams of engineers and consultants trained through the OpenAI Partner Network to work with clients on AI implementation. The company will launch a dedicated OpenAI Practice with thousands of consultants and engineers obtaining certifications under the OpenAI Partner Network. For cybersecurity, IBM and OpenAI will combine OpenAI AI capabilities with IBM Autonomous Security, a multi-agent service designed to deliver coordinated decision-making and response. IBM will join OpenAI’s Elite partner tier as part of the collaboration. 

Tapestry Plunges 16% as Kate Spade Weakness Overshadows Q4 Beat 

Tapestry, Inc. (NYSE: TPR) shares tumbled 16.9% to a more than six-month low of $127.78 after the company forecast sluggish annual revenue growth, highlighting persistent weakness at its Kate Spade brand and cautious spending in North America. Although the company reported fourth-quarter adjusted profit of $1.32 per share, topping estimates of $1.28, and quarterly sales rose 8.9% to $1.88 billion, in line with expectations, the outlook failed to impress investors. 

For fiscal 2027, Tapestry forecast revenue in the range of $8.4 billion to $8.5 billion, with the midpoint slightly below estimates of $8.46 billion. The company expects earnings per share of $7.80 to $7.90, with the midpoint above analysts’ estimates of $7.84. Sales at Kate Spade fell 7% on a constant currency basis in the quarter, while Coach rose 14%. North America revenue grew 7% on a constant-currency basis, compared with 8% growth a year earlier and about 20% in the prior quarter, reflecting a broader slowdown in spending amid growing macroeconomic uncertainty. Revenue from China jumped 28% and Europe rose 19% compared with a year ago. The company’s board approved a 16% dividend increase to an annual rate of $1.85 per share. 

Accelerant Holdings Surges 8.7% on Thoma Bravo Buyout; Cancels Earnings Call 

Accelerant Holdings (NYSE: ARX) shares surged 8.71% to close at $13.61 after the company announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by Thoma Bravo. The data-driven risk exchange platform, which connects underwriters of specialty insurance risk with risk capital providers, reported strong second-quarter results alongside the buyout news. Exchange Written Premium grew 23% year-over-year to $1.32 billion, with third-party Direct Written Premium accounting for 47% of Exchange Written Premium volume. Pre-tax income was $87 million, net income was $80 million, and net income per diluted share was $0.36.  

Adjusted net income of $70 million increased 165% over the prior year, and adjusted net income per diluted share of $0.32 increased 146%. Adjusted EBITDA of $93.1 million and adjusted EBITDA margin was 30.6%, up from 29.0% in the prior year. Given the agreement with Thoma Bravo, the company cancelled its earnings conference call. 

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Brookfield Corporation Reports 15% EPS Growth; Stock Edges Higher 

Brookfield Corporation (NYSE: BN) shares traded modestly higher, up 0.31% in pre-market to $44.85, after reporting strong second-quarter results. Distributable earnings before realizations per share increased 15% over the prior period. The company reported record fundraising of $98 billion in the first half of the year, deploying $100 billion into large-scale opportunities and monetizing $40 billion of assets at attractive returns. Deployable capital reached a record $210 billion, including $96 billion of cash, financial assets, and undrawn credit lines, and $114 billion of uncalled private fund commitments.  

The company completed acquisitions of Oaktree and Just Group and continued share repurchases, acquiring $111 million of shares in the open market during the quarter. Fee-related earnings in Asset Management increased 20% compared to the prior year quarter, with fee-bearing capital reaching $672 billion. Wealth Solutions grew earnings by 23% compared to the prior year quarter. Net income attributable to Brookfield shareholders rose to $364 million or $0.14 per share from $272 million or $0.10 per share a year ago. Revenues grew 7.3% to $19.406 billion from $18.083 billion in the previous year. The stock closed at $44.69. 

Madison Square Garden Sports Jumps 5.3% on Knicks Championship Boost 

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (NYSE: MSGS) shares rose 5.25% to close at $414.12, with intraday highs reaching $438.93, after the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter results highlighted by the New York Knicks winning the 2025-26 NBA Championship. Revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter of $278.7 million increased 37% compared to the prior year quarter, driven primarily by higher playoff-related revenues and higher revenues from league distributions.  

Playoff-related revenues increased $66.9 million as compared to the prior year quarter, primarily due to higher average per-game Knicks playoff revenue and higher Knicks merchandise revenues during the team’s playoff run. For the full fiscal year, revenues of $1,153.8 million increased 11% compared to the prior year.  

The company reported operating income of $32.2 million and adjusted operating income of $39.6 million for the quarter, compared to an operating loss of $22.6 million and adjusted operating loss of $16.8 million in the prior year quarter. Net income was $28.29 million, or $1.16 per share, compared with a net loss of $1.78 million, or $0.07 per share, a year earlier. The company continues to make progress toward a proposed spin-off of its Rangers business, expected to be completed by the end of October 2026. 

Ascendis Pharma Rallies on 105% Product Revenue Growth 

Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ: ASND) shares rose 0.35% to close at $255.46, with intraday highs reaching $258.55, after the company reported second-quarter results showing product revenue of €315 million, representing 105% year-over-year growth. The company reported second quarter EPS of €2.83, €1.32 better than the analyst estimate of €1.51. Revenue for the quarter came in at €339.28 million versus the consensus estimate of €326.45 million. YORVIPATH revenue totaled €252 million, reflecting consistent new patient demand in the U.S. SKYTROFA revenue totaled €55 million, with more than 20,000 unique enrollments globally since launch.  

YUVIWEL revenue totaled €8 million, with more than 220 unique patient enrollments in the U.S. through July 31, 2026. The company presented long-term Phase 2 and 3 YORVIPATH data, shared Week 78 COACH Trial data, and completed target enrollment for the pivotal infant reACHin Trial. 

Applied Industrial Technologies Hits Record Quarterly Sales; Guides FY27 

Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE: AIT) shares closed nearly flat at $352.29 after the company reported record fourth-quarter results. Fourth-quarter net sales of $1.4 billion increased 10.4% year-over-year, with organic sales growth of 9.7%. Net income of $118.6 million, or $3.17 per share, increased 13.2% year-over-year. EBITDA of $177.6 million increased 16.1% year-over-year.  

For the full year, net sales of $5.0 billion increased 8.8%, with organic sales growth of 5.4%. Full-year net income of $414.5 million, or $10.95 per share, increased 8.2% year-over-year. The company introduced fiscal 2027 guidance for EPS of $11.65 to $12.15 and total sales growth of 4.0% to 6.5%. It also increased its intermediate financial targets to sales of $7 billion and EBITDA margins of 14%. 

Bullish, YETI and Intuitive Machines Gain on Strong Q2 Results, $1.8 Billion Backlog and Raised EPS Outlook 

Bullish (NYSE: BLSH) shares surged 13% to an intraday high of $27.86 after reporting record second-quarter subscription, services and other revenue of $62.7 million. Adjusted revenue rose 62% year-over-year to $92.6 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased to $29.5 million from $8.1 million. Adjusted net income reached $14.3 million versus a $6.0 million loss a year earlier, while adjusted EPS of $0.09 matched expectations. Bullish also highlighted progress on its Equiniti acquisition and Gibraltar approval for tokenised securities. 

YETI Holdings (NYSE: YETI) rose 0.10% to $50.84 after second-quarter sales increased 9% to $483.9 million, supported by 16% growth in Coolers & Equipment and 19% international growth. Adjusted EPS rose 2% to $0.67, beating the $0.55 consensus. The company raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $2.94–$3.00, representing 19%–21% growth, from $2.83–$2.89 previously, and repurchased 2.8 million shares for $130 million. 

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) gained 2.85% to $16.95 after reporting record quarterly revenue of $206 million and backlog of $1.8 billion. The company booked $920 million in Q2 awards and another $300 million quarter-to-date in Q3, including a $600+ million contract for three commercial GEO satellites and an additional NASA CLPS lander contract. It also completed the Goonhilly Earth Station and COMSAT acquisition. 

Paysafe Posts Mixed Q2 Results; Shares Inch Higher 

Paysafe Limited (NYSE: PSFE) shares gained 0.8% following the release of mixed second-quarter results, as revenue came in ahead of Wall Street forecasts while adjusted earnings matched expectations. The payments platform posted revenue of $447.4 million for the second quarter, beating the analyst consensus of $444.7 million and representing a 4% increase from $428.2 million in the prior year period.  

The company reported adjusted EPS of $0.43, matching analyst expectations, while GAAP EPS came in at -$1.13 per diluted share compared to -$0.85 in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter decreased 2% to $102.8 million from $105.0 million in the prior year period. 

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Dynatrace Acquires Arize for $915 Million to Accelerate AI Observability 

Dynatrace, Inc. (NYSE: DT) shares declined 0.20% to close at $49.56 after the company announced the acquisition of Arize, a specialist in AI observability and the AI development lifecycle, in a deal worth $915 million. The acquisition is expected to give Dynatrace the ability to continuously improve AI applications across the lifecycle and connect them to infrastructure health and business processes.  

Dynatrace CEO Rick McConnell said Arize “advances our AI observability leadership, accelerates our roadmap, enhances our long-term growth profile, expands our reach with the developer community”. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Dynatrace also reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $36.65 billion, or 12 cents a share, on revenue of $555 million, up 16% from a year ago. The company projected second-quarter revenue of $565 million to $570 million, up 14% to 15%. 

Lumentum Surges 13.6% on AI Optics Demand and Strong Guidance 

Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LITE) shares surged 13.6% to close at $932.47 after the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call focused on broadening AI-driven optical demand. CEO Michael Hurlston said Lumentum expects to reach its $1.25 billion quarterly revenue target early, more than one quarter ahead of schedule. CFO Wajid Ali guided first-quarter revenues to $1.225 billion-$1.275 billion, with non-GAAP operating margin of 39.5%-40.5% and earnings of $4.05-$4.35 per share.  

Fourth-quarter revenues of $1.01 billion topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company reported quarterly earnings of $3.23 per share, surpassing estimates of $2.99. Pump laser shipments rose more than 80% year over year and remain effectively sold out. The company expects more than 50% EML unit growth in the December 2026 quarter. 

Diodes Plans $325 Million Convertible Notes Offering 

Diodes Incorporated (NASDAQ: DIOD) shares rose 3.77% to close at $107.04 after the company announced its intention to offer $325 million in aggregate principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes due 2031 in a private placement. The semiconductor company will grant initial purchasers an option to buy up to an additional $50 million in notes.  

Diodes expects to use proceeds from the offering to pay for capped call transactions, repurchase up to $35 million of its common stock, and for general corporate purposes. The notes will be general senior unsecured obligations, accrue interest payable semiannually, and mature on August 15, 2031. Following this news, DIOD shares declined 3.7% in premarket trading to $102.90. 

MapLight Therapeutics Raises $150 Million in Private Placement 

MapLight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MPLT) shares declined 5.01% to close at $11.38 after the company announced it has entered into a securities purchase agreement to sell securities in a private placement financing for gross proceeds of approximately $150 million. The financing is being led by new and existing institutional investors.  

MapLight is selling an aggregate of 9,197,887 shares of its common stock at a price of $11.38 per share and, in lieu of common stock to certain investors, pre-funded warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 3,983,168 shares. The company intends to use the proceeds primarily to support the continued advancement of ML-007C-MA. The company’s cash, cash equivalents and investments were $351.3 million as of June 30, 2026. 

Robinhood Ventures Fund II and Thunder Bridge Raise $461 Million as IPOs Debut Below and at $10 

Robinhood Ventures Fund II (NYSE: RVII) debuted on the NYSE after pricing 8 million shares at $25 each, raising $200 million. The closed-end fund opened at $22.50, representing a 10% discount to its IPO price. The fund aims to invest in a portfolio of private technology startups and will be excluded from Renaissance Capital’s IPO statistics because of its closed-end structure. 

Thunder Bridge Capital Partners V (NASDAQ: TBCVU) priced its IPO at $10 per unit, selling 26.1 million units to raise $261 million. The units began trading on the Nasdaq Global Market, with each unit comprising one Class A ordinary share and one-third of a redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant allows the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50. The offering is expected to close on August 14, 2026. 

Mobix Labs to Acquire Special Project Delivery; Stock Falls 

Mobix Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOBX) shares fell 5.77% to close at $1.47 after the company announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Special Project Delivery. The acquisition will expand Mobix Labs’ operations into rare earth elements, critical minerals, energy, and U.S. infrastructure sectors.  

The company stated the deal positions it across defense technology, domestically manufactured drones, critical resources, and infrastructure markets. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The SPD acquisition is structured as an all-stock transaction, with consideration not to exceed 4.8 million shares of Mobix common stock. 

Vivakor and M2i Global Announce Strategic Collaboration 

Vivakor, Inc. (NASDAQ: VIVK) shares rose 1.53% to close at $1.33 after the company announced it has entered into an Indication of Interest with M2i Global, Inc. (OTCQB: MTWO) to evaluate a potential business combination. The proposed combination would bring together Vivakor’s commodities marketing and remediation businesses with M2i’s critical minerals platform.  

The IOI contemplates a potential equity-exchange acquisition of M2i by Vivakor. M2i is a U.S.-based critical materials infrastructure and systems-integration platform focused on strengthening domestic access to critical minerals and metals. 

Leonardo DRS Partners with Space42 for UAE National Security 

Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRS) shares rose 1.14% to close at $45.17 after the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UAE-based Space42 to collaborate on next-generation national security mission systems. Under the MoU, Leonardo DRS will provide C5ISR mission systems expertise, while Space42 will contribute secure, AI-enabled satellite communications and Beyond Line of Sight connectivity. The collaboration will support sovereign satellite communications capabilities for the UAE. 

Nucor Commits $59 Million to Expansion as Collegium Launches $50 Million Share Buyback 

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) shares declined 0.05% to close at $271.81 after announcing a $59 million investment to expand its Vulcraft Indiana facility in St. Joe, Indiana. The project will add steel grating production capabilities and is expected to create 20 full-time jobs. The investment is part of Nucor’s Vulcraft business, which the company acquired in 1962. 

Collegium Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: COLL) shares declined 1.08% to close at $25.70 after entering an Accelerated Share Repurchase agreement with Jefferies LLC to repurchase $50 million of its common stock. The transaction is part of a $150 million share repurchase programme authorised by the company’s Board of Directors in July 2025. Under the agreement, Collegium will pay $50 million to Jefferies and receive an initial delivery of 1,556,420 shares. 

Chubb, Autoliv and First National Declare Quarterly Dividends of $1.02, $0.87 and $0.17 

Chubb Limited (NYSE: CB) shares declined 1.08% to close at $343.33 after its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, payable on October 2, 2026, to shareholders of record as of September 11. 

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE: ALV) shares declined 1.26% to close at $120.82 after declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share for the third quarter of 2026. The dividend will be paid on September 15 to holders of Autoliv common stock listed on the NYSE and on September 16 to holders of Swedish Depository Receipts listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. 

First National Corporation (NASDAQ: FXNC) shares declined 0.50% to close at $31.88 after declaring a quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share, payable September 11 to shareholders of record as of August 28. The dividend carries a 2.13% yield and marks 12 consecutive years of dividend increases. 

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Profusa Announces 1-for-4 Reverse Stock Split 

Profusa Inc. (NASDAQ: PFSA) announced today it filed an amendment with Delaware’s Secretary of State to implement a one-for-four reverse stock split of its common stock. The reverse stock split will become effective at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on August 17, 2026. The company’s common stock will begin trading on a post-split basis on The Nasdaq Capital Market on August 17, 2026, under the existing ticker symbol PFSA with a new CUSIP number. The reverse stock split will reduce the number of outstanding common stock shares from 2,422,906 to approximately 605,726 shares. 

Hyliion Secures $41.7 Million U.S. Navy Contract 

Hyliion Holdings Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN: HYLN) disclosed a $41.7 million U.S. Navy contract while raising full-year revenue guidance by 50%. The company will design, develop, and deliver two multi-megawatt KARNO power modules. The contract is Hyliion’s largest military award so far, to scale its KARNO generator into multi-megawatt systems with modules above 2 MW and 3 MW. Work is expected to ramp in Q4. The award alone fulfills Hyliion’s prior goal of securing $40 million to $50 million in new military contracts during 2026. 

Oracle and AWS Deepen Strategic Collaboration 

Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) shares climbed 3% Thursday after the software company broadened its work with Amazon Web Services, expanding access to its AI Database service across 22 AWS regions. Oracle and AWS signed an expanded, long-term strategic collaboration agreement focused on accelerating customer migration to Oracle AI Database@AWS. Oracle AI Database@AWS is now available in 22 AWS regions and offers new expanded capabilities. 

The day’s trading was dominated by company-specific catalysts rather than broad market trends. IREN’s milestone with Microsoft validated its AI infrastructure execution, while IBM’s OpenAI partnership signaled a major push into enterprise AI. Tapestry’s decline highlighted the market’s intolerance for weak brand performance despite overall earnings beats. The Thoma Bravo acquisition of Accelerant underscored continued private equity interest in specialty insurance technology platforms. Investors should monitor IREN’s upcoming earnings for delivery timing on remaining Horizon phases, Tapestry’s Kate Spade turnaround progress, and regulatory approvals for the Accelerant buyout. 

Source 

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