With all of the major stock market indexes lower this week, the standout winners were precious metals mining stocks. The $GDX surged 9.6%. This is a sign of things to come. A sharp turn to the left, and the higher inflation that will result, will be extremely bullish for gold.

Epic Games is hosting the Epic AI MegaJam 2026, a game jam focused on AI-assisted development and vibe coding. From November 12 to 15, teams of up to four people will have a few days to create a game with the help of AI agents. Developers can use Unreal Engine or UEFN and whatever AI tools they want. There’s a $50,000 prize pool, with additional development support for some of the standout projects.

Strong performance is reinforcing the case for #hedgefunds#. 📊 Discretionary Equity led recent returns, while Quant Equity remains the standout performer over the last five years. Learn more:

Player of the Season 🏆 Chosen by their fellow players as the standout performers of the season 👏✨ D1: Brodie Retallick | Kobelco Kobe Steelers D2: Peter Umaga-Jensen | Hanazono Kintetsu Liners D3: Chase Tiatia | Secom Rugguts Congratulations 🎉 #NTTLeagueOne#

A TON OF THINGS HAPPENED IN THE STOCK MARKET TODAY. Here's a full recap: 1. U.S. stocks had a powerful post-election rally on today, with the Dow Jones surging more than 3%, its strongest day since April 2025, as investors welcomed the removal of election uncertainty following Democrats taking control of both chambers of Congress. The biggest catalyst was a sharp collapse in oil prices, driven by expectations that the new political landscape could increase pressure to resolve the Iran conflict, potentially easing energy costs, reducing inflationary pressures, and improving the outlook for consumers and businesses. Mega-cap technology stocks, including Amazon $AMZN, Microsoft $MSFT, Apple $AAPL, and Alphabet $GOOGL, rallied as falling Treasury yields and improving risk appetite supported equities. However, the semiconductor and AI infrastructure sectors moved sharply in the opposite direction, with Micron $MU, Sandisk $SNDK, Marvell $MRVL, and CoreWeave $CRWV facing significant selling pressure. Investors are increasingly concerned that a Democratic Congress could introduce stricter data center regulations, permitting restrictions, and higher costs for AI infrastructure development, potentially slowing the pace of capital investment. 2. President Donald Trump said he is not considering replacing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, while defending his administration's military campaign against Iran following Republican losses in the midterm elections. Trump acknowledged that it was “largely true” that Republicans lost because of the Iran war, citing the impact of surging oil and gasoline prices on voters. However, when asked whether the conflict was worth the political and economic consequences, Trump responded “yes,” arguing that the United States had little choice because Iran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. On the possibility of ending the conflict, Trump declared that “the Iran war will end whenever I want it to,” signaling that he believes the timing of any conclusion remains under his control. 3. Uber $UBER delivered strong Q3 2026 earnings, with revenue increasing 10% YoY to $14.8B, beating the $14.69B estimate, while adjusted EPS surged 35% to $0.88, exceeding expectations of $0.86. Adjusted EBITDA jumped 31% to $2.96B, ahead of consensus, while free cash flow reached $2.54B, highlighting continued profitability and cash generation. Gross bookings climbed 20% to $59.82B, supported by 215M monthly active platform consumers, up 14% YoY, and 4.1B trips, up 16%. By segment, Delivery revenue surged 23% to $5.49B, Freight revenue increased 34% to $1.76B, while Mobility revenue declined 2% to $7.52B. Looking ahead, Uber guided Q4 adjusted EBITDA to $3.13B–$3.23B, with gross bookings of $63.25B–$65.25B and adjusted EPS of $0.95–$0.99. Management also highlighted accelerating progress in autonomous transportation, expecting approximately 700 fully driverless vehicles operating on Uber's platform by year-end and more than 2,000 in 2027, as the company increasingly focuses on commercializing robotaxi services at scale. 4. AMD $AMD has dramatically increased its unconditional purchase commitments to $48.8B, up 4x from $12.2B at the end of 2025 and $30.3B in June, according to its latest 10-Q filing, highlighting the enormous supply chain investments required to support its accelerating AI infrastructure business. Approximately $33.4B of these commitments are due by the end of 2027, primarily covering semiconductor wafers, advanced memory, substrates, and packaging capacity. AMD also disclosed $6.2B in cloud computing commitments, $13.3B in data center leases it expects to assign or sublease to partners, and up to $8.5B in guarantees covering partners' lease and debt obligations. Notably, lease guarantees nearly doubled to $7.7B from $4.1B in June, although AMD reported no partner defaults or guarantee payments to date. 5. Alphabet $GOOGL plans to invest $15B in Malaysia during 2027 and 2028, significantly expanding its presence in Southeast Asia through new data center campuses, clean energy infrastructure, water security initiatives, and workforce training programs, according to Reuters. The investment highlights Google's accelerating commitment to AI and cloud computing infrastructure as demand for computing capacity continues to grow across the region. Beyond data center construction, the initiative will focus on securing reliable electricity, sustainable water resources, and skilled workers needed to support large-scale AI operations. 6. Oracle $ORCL has reportedly canceled a $7B AI chip leasing agreement with Chinese technology giant Tencent following pressure from the Trump administration, according to the Financial Times. The proposed five-year agreement would have provided Tencent access to as many as 100,000 advanced AI chips housed in Oracle data centers across Southeast Asia, representing Tencent's largest overseas AI computing arrangement. The deal would have allowed Tencent to access advanced semiconductor technology that remains restricted within China, prompting U.S. officials to raise national security concerns with Oracle. Meanwhile, senior Chinese officials reportedly urged Tencent to prioritize domestic semiconductor suppliers, adding pressure from Beijing. Although overseas AI chip leasing remains permitted under existing regulations, the agreement was reportedly abandoned amid mounting geopolitical pressure from both governments. 7. Coherent $COHR delivered a strong Q1 FY2027 earnings beat, with revenue surging 50% YoY to $2.37B, exceeding the $2.31B estimate, while adjusted EPS jumped 80% to $2.09, beating expectations of $1.97. Non-GAAP operating income reached $550M, ahead of the $527M estimate, while gross margins expanded 184 basis points to 40.6%, reflecting improving profitability. The standout was Data Center & Communications revenue, which surged 79% YoY to $1.95B, exceeding the $1.86B estimate, driven by accelerating demand for optical networking and AI infrastructure connectivity, while Industrial revenue declined 15% to $418.6M. Looking ahead, Coherent guided Q2 adjusted EPS to $2.28–$2.48, above the $2.21 consensus, with expected gross margins of 40%–42%. Management also expects FY2027 pro forma revenue growth to exceed 60% and anticipates achieving its first quarter with non-GAAP gross margins above 45% before the end of 2028, highlighting continued operating leverage as AI data center demand accelerates. 8. The top 10 most active options today by contracts traded were $NVDA with 6.3M contracts, $AAPL with 4.7M contracts, $TSLA with 4.0M contracts, $INTC with 2.4M contracts, $AMZN with 2.2M contracts, $MU with 2.2M contracts, $AMD with 1.4M contracts, $PLTR with 1.2M contracts, $SPCX with 1.2M contracts, and $GOOGL with 1.1M contracts. 9. Intel $INTC CEO Lip-Bu Tan purchased 150,000 shares of Intel stock on November 2 at an average price of approximately $64.73 per share, representing a personal investment of roughly $9.7M, according to an SEC filing. The sizable insider purchase represents a notable vote of confidence from Intel's chief executive as the company continues executing its turnaround strategy, expanding its AI and data center business, and investing in its next-generation foundry manufacturing capabilities. The transaction highlights Tan's willingness to increase his personal exposure to Intel's long-term performance as investors assess the sustainability of its recovery. 10. Big Tech stock buybacks are collapsing as AI infrastructure spending takes priority, with combined share repurchases by Alphabet $GOOGL, Amazon $AMZN, Microsoft $MSFT, Meta $META, and Oracle $ORCL reportedly falling to just $4.4B in Q3 2026, their lowest quarterly level since Q3 2017. That represents a staggering 90% decline from the $45.9B peak recorded in Q4 2021, highlighting a major shift in how America's largest technology companies allocate capital. The slowdown comes as hyperscalers commit hundreds of billions of dollars toward AI data centers, GPUs, networking equipment, and power infrastructure, increasingly prioritizing capacity expansion over returning cash to shareholders. The trend signals a significant transformation in Big Tech's capital allocation strategy, with AI investments absorbing cash that might otherwise have supported stock repurchases, potentially reducing an important source of demand for their shares. 11. Goldman Sachs $GS and Apollo Global Management $APO have reportedly begun marketing portions of SpaceX's $SPCX massive $40B AI chip financing package to institutional investors, with individual allocations reaching as much as $500M, according to Bloomberg. The transaction, described as the largest GPU financing arrangement on record, involves an Apollo-backed entity purchasing approximately $47.3B in NVIDIA $NVDA GPUs and related equipment, primarily next-generation Rubin chips, funded through roughly $40B in debt and a $7B lease prepayment from SpaceX. The debt package includes an $8.3B senior-secured loan alongside multiple bond tranches, with the financing structured so that the Apollo-backed entity owns the equipment while SpaceX leases the GPUs for approximately five years. The arrangement is designed to keep the financing debt off SpaceX's balance sheet, although the company remains obligated to make lease payments even if equipment is damaged or operations are disrupted. 12. South Korea's exports surged an extraordinary 94% YoY in October to $115B, marking the second-highest monthly total on record and the fastest annual growth rate since January 1974. The country has now recorded five consecutive months of export growth exceeding 60%, bringing total exports during the first 10 months of 2026 to a record $930B. The acceleration was overwhelmingly driven by semiconductors, with chip exports skyrocketing 259% YoY to a record $56B, while computer exports surged 497% amid explosive global demand for AI servers and computing infrastructure. The figures highlight South Korea's increasingly critical role in the global AI hardware supply chain, particularly through memory manufacturers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as hyperscalers continue investing heavily in data centers, advanced memory, and next-generation computing systems. WALL STREET IS THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH.

5 Early-Stage Names With the Cash to Back Up the Story $ONDS $ABCL $SMR $JOBY $QS $ONDS — The defense and autonomous systems story here has been one of the fastest-scaling in the space, and the balance sheet backs it up. Ondas ended Q2 with roughly $1.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments, alongside a $757 million backlog that grew 66% sequentially. Revenue is scaling fast too — Q2 came in at $83.8 million, up more than 13x year-over-year, with full-year guidance raised to $525–$550 million. The bear case worth knowing: a chunk of that cash pile has already been earmarked for recent acquisitions (DZYNE, CyberHawk), so the fortress balance sheet is partly a function of equity raises funding a roll-up strategy — worth watching how disciplined that stays. $ABCL — A biotech name with a genuinely clean balance sheet: over $565 million in cash and marketable securities, plus access to roughly $110 million in committed government funding, giving management a stated runway of at least three years. Two new partnerships with Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Vertex added over $110 million in non-dilutive upfront cash this year alone — a good sign that the platform is monetizing without constant capital raises. The lead program, ABCL635, already delivered its Phase 2 catalyst on August 10 — a single dose cut moderate-to-severe hot flash frequency by 83% versus 33% for placebo at week 4, hitting statistical significance with a clean tolerability profile. Next catalyst to watch is ABCL575 Phase 1 data, expected Q4 2026. $JOBY — This is the standout on pure balance sheet strength: roughly $2.3 billion in cash and short-term investments as of the end of Q2. That's real ammunition heading into what's shaping up to be the most important stretch yet — first eVTOL passenger flights targeted for later this year, alongside continued FAA certification progress. The offset: cash burn is heavy, with the company using about $202 million in the quarter, so the runway is strong but not infinite. $SMR — Liquidity here has ballooned to about $1.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, up roughly $900 million in a single quarter. Revenue is essentially nonexistent right now (a byproduct of project timing, not demand), so this is a pure binary-catalyst setup — the whole thesis hinges on ENTRA1 closing a definitive agreement with the Tennessee Valley Authority. If that lands, the cash position gives NuScale the ability to execute immediately without needing to raise into a potential re-rate. $QS — Total liquidity of $859 million, split between cash/equivalents and marketable securities, funds continued scaling of the Eagle Line production process and expansion into new verticals including AI data center batteries (QSDC) and defense/aerospace (QSAS). Management has guided full-year Adjusted EBITDA loss of $250–$275 million, so the cash pile is a multi-year runway rather than a war chest for aggressive expansion — still, it removes near-term financing risk while the company works toward commercialisation. each of these names can fund its own roadmap for years without going back to the well, which takes one major risk off the table for early-stage exposure. That doesn't remove execution risk — cash doesn't guarantee contracts, certifications, or clinical data — but it does buy time for the thesis to play out without shareholders getting diluted along the way. Not financial advice.

S4 Best Creators rewards out 150k River Pts on the S5 leaderboard + $1,500 in $RIVER to your wallet, sent to the Top 30 Thanks to the whole community for showing up through S4, and all the contributors for the standout work

Bear markets sharpen you. During the depths of H1, I did some of my best deep dives for @RealVision. @NEARProtocol is the standout L1 in the new regime for crypto where demand inflection meets supply discipline. By thoughtfully attacking crypto's largest unsolved or main pain points, namely interoperability and privacy. NEAR isn't competing head-to-head with the dominant L1's. Their success will be NEAR's success, and everything else they're doing on inference/private AI is a free option, given the team's AI lineage. Chances are these other product lines help re-rate the protocol higher over time.

It should be completely obvious to you that Robinhood Chain will be the standout chain of this cycle. Vlad the main character, tokenization the main narrative, Robinhood Chain the main arena. There’s still time to catch up.

Meet @scottybmitch, our next Abstract All-Star. As the founder of @bearish_af, one of the standout IPs on Abstract, he’s helped bring new people into the ecosystem and played a huge role in its growth. Thank you for everything you’ve built and continue to do for Abstract!