Good Afternoon. On October 27, 1904, New York City opened its first subway line. The nine-mile route gave a growing city a new way to move people below its crowded streets.

—Rosie, Wyatt, Evan & Conor

In this edition

Supplied by StockTwits. ONEQ tracks the Nasdaq Composite; IEF holds U.S. Treasury bonds; GLD tracks gold. These three references are ETFs.

The read: AI shares helped lift U.S. stocks during Tuesday’s trading, even as most S&P 500 stocks fell. The index rose roughly 0.6% and the Nasdaq gained about 1.2%. Lower oil prices eased some pressure before Wednesday’s Fed rate decision.

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UPS is heading into the holiday rush with a bigger sales forecast. The carrier raised its outlook after third-quarter revenue grew 6.7% to $22.9 billion. Sales rose across all three business units, from U.S. delivery to overseas shipping and logistics.

Its U.S. business brought in 4.5% more revenue than a year earlier. Revenue per package rose 6.1%. That measure reflects what UPS earns from each shipment, rather than how many boxes it moves.

Growth didn’t lift every measure. Reported operating profit slipped to $1.74 billion from $1.80 billion a year earlier. This quarter included costs to reshape the business and a charge to reduce the value of part of its logistics unit.

Adjusted operating profit was $2.1 billion. That measure leaves out certain costs and gains. It helps show the business on a different basis, but those excluded charges still matter.

UPS now expects about $92.6 billion in full-year sales. It forecasts $25.7 billion in the fourth quarter, when gifts and online orders fill its trucks. The company still plans about $5.4 billion in dividend payments this year, subject to board approval.

Holiday demand is the next big delivery on its calendar. UPS has raised the forecast; now it has to carry those boxes at a profit.

🛒 A better mood, a tighter wallet

Americans felt better in October, but their shopping plans didn’t get the memo. The Conference Board’s confidence index rose to 91.7 from a revised 84.2 in September. Views of business and job conditions improved. The survey ran through October 21.

People still planned to spend less on many goods and services over the next six months. High prices kept squeezing their buying power, the group said. Better mood is welcome; it doesn’t mean households have more room in the budget.

📱 SoFi gets more from its members

SoFi’s growth isn’t just about finding new customers. Existing members opened 51% of its new products in the third quarter. That means more people are using the app for several money tasks. The firm added 1.2 million members, taking its total to 17.1 million.

Reported revenue rose 44% to $1.39 billion, and net income reached $241 million. SoFi raised its 2026 outlook and issued a 2027 plan for $6.4 billion in adjusted revenue. Selling more services to the same members is doing real work.

✈️ Fuller revenue, a heavy fuel bill

JetBlue is earning more from its flights, but fuel is taking a bigger bite. In results released Monday, third-quarter revenue rose 21.1% to $2.8 billion. Its average fuel price jumped 57% to $3.91 a gallon. Reported net loss widened to $257 million from $143 million a year earlier.

Stronger fares helped the airline cover much of the fuel increase. Management expects sustained operating profit in 2027. For now, the turnaround has a clear hurdle: make those stronger ticket sales outrun the cost of flying.

Coca-Cola didn’t need a big price jump to grow this quarter. The amount of drinks sold worldwide rose 5%, while revenue grew 7% to $13.4 billion. Its price-and-product mix added just 1%, so this was more than a story about charging more per drink.

The lift wasn’t spread evenly. Drink volume was flat in North America, but rose 6% in both Latin America and Asia Pacific. That gap shows why a global drinks business can grow even when its home region stands still.

The company raised its full-year target for comparable earnings per share to at least 11% growth, from 9%–10%. That profit measure adjusts for selected items. Reported third-quarter earnings per share rose 8% to 93 cents.

More drinks sold helped cover higher costs and marketing spending. North America still needs to find its fizz.

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HSBC’s third-quarter profit rose 32% to $9.6 billion before tax. That’s a large jump, but part of it comes from a bill that didn’t return. Last year’s quarter included legal charges. Their absence helped this year’s comparison.

The bank grew on a more even basis, too. Profit rose 10% when exchange rates were held steady and notable items were removed. That adjusted view gives a clearer sense of growth, rather than treating the full 32% rise as a fresh surge in business.

Income from the gap between what the bank earns on loans and pays for funds rose. HSBC also set aside less for expected loan losses. Those two changes helped its results.

It approved a 10-cent quarterly dividend and plans to buy back up to $1 billion of shares. The payouts come as HSBC works to simplify the bank. It still expects at least $46 billion in banking net interest income for 2026.

🇰🇷 Korea’s chips pull ahead of its shoppers

South Korea’s economy grew 1.0% in the third quarter from the prior quarter, the central bank estimated. Exports rose 2.3%, helped by chips and machinery. Private spending fell 0.2%. The split matters: demand from abroad is helping the economy grow even as shoppers at home pull back.

💊 Novartis grows sales, takes a drug charge

Novartis raised its full-year outlook for adjusted operating profit after third-quarter sales grew 4% to $14.5 billion. Reported net income still fell 70%. A $1.9 billion charge cut the recorded value of a drug in development. Stronger sales and a costly research setback can sit in the same earnings report.

Holiday profit rarely disappears all at once. Deeper discounts, rising ad costs, fulfillment fees, and returns take their share little by little.

Get 9 Plays to Defend Your Margin This Holiday Season, tactical advice from ecommerce experts to uncover where profit gets lost and what you can do to keep more of it this Q4.

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🥸 Dad Joke of the Day

Q: Why don’t seagulls fly over the bay?

A: Because then they’d be bagels.

📖 Vocab Word of the Day · Dividend yield

Dividend yield: A stock’s yearly cash dividend per share divided by its share price, shown as a percentage. It measures dividend income against the price paid, rather than the stock’s full return.

In a sentence: UPS’s planned dividend payments are part of the appeal for buyers who compare dividend yields.

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