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THE STOCK BOARD · FRIDAY & THE WEEK
Here’s where the big tech names finished
Mag 7 plus AMD, Broadcom and Micron: our editorial watchlist, not an official index. U.S. dollars; September 25 close. Weekly returns compare September 18.
| STOCK |
CLOSE |
FRIDAY |
WEEK |
| AAPL |
$341.07 |
+1.53% |
+1.47% |
| MSFT |
$516.17 |
+3.66% |
+4.53% |
| NVDA |
$225.07 |
+0.22% |
+1.26% |
| AMZN |
$249.67 |
+0.12% |
-1.59% |
| GOOGL |
$343.92 |
+0.46% |
-1.61% |
| META |
$751.66 |
-3.33% |
+12.90% |
| TSLA |
$372.11 |
-1.54% |
+2.15% |
| AMD |
$630.63 |
+0.22% |
+12.65% |
| AVGO |
$352.81 |
+0.70% |
-1.34% |
| MU |
$1082.28 |
+0.16% |
+6.54% |
Meta’s 3.33% Friday decline still left a 12.90% weekly gain. AMD added 12.65% over the week, while Amazon, Alphabet and Broadcom finished lower. Buying a basket of the biggest tech names would have produced a very different week from owning the strongest two.
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04 / AI INFRASTRUCTURE
Cipher’s $9 billion deal comes with a hefty construction bill
Cipher Digital’s Friday-morning announcement extended Barber Lake’s contracted lease life from ten years to twenty. Total contracted revenue rises from $3.8 billion to more than $9 billion. That is revenue across the contract’s life, not next year’s sales.
There is a sizeable construction commitment behind that headline. Cipher bears the first $359.3 million of costs above the initial budget. For costs beyond that threshold, the tenant reimburses half over the aggregate lease term through additional rent.
Delivery is phased from the fourth quarter of 2026 through the first quarter of 2027. Rent begins as individual data halls are delivered. That links cash coming in to physical completion, not the date a contract is signed.
| Our read: twenty years of contracted revenue is welcome. Cipher still has to fund construction before it collects that rent, and some reimbursements arrive much later. We will be watching the delivery dates and remaining budget as closely as the contract total. |
Read the delivery schedule and cost-sharing terms →
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05 / CHIPS · EARNINGS ON WEDNESDAY
Micron reports Wednesday after a 6.5% weekly gain
Micron gained 6.54% this week, ahead of Wednesday’s results. AMD’s 12.65% gain and Broadcom’s 1.34% decline show how selectively investors are rewarding the chip complex.
We will be looking for higher memory prices to show up in gross margin, along with an update on how much Micron needs to spend on capacity. Demand outside its biggest AI customers also matters: a broader recovery would give the business more sources of growth.
A company can have strong demand while consuming more cash to expand production. Watch operating cash generation alongside capital expenditure: the difference determines how much is left after funding the buildout.
Micron’s official call is Wednesday, September 30, at 4:30 p.m. ET. After this week’s gain, the outlook for the next quarter should give shareholders plenty to discuss.
Get Micron’s earnings webcast details →
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SINCE FRIDAY’S CLOSE
A couple of things you may have missed after the close
Circle · 4:05 p.m. ET: CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen intends to step down. He remains through December unless a successor is appointed sooner, and a search is underway. For shareholders, the immediate question is who takes over and how the handover proceeds. Read the transition plan.
CleanSpark · 4:48 p.m. ET: its subsidiary closed $2.276 billion of secured notes with a 7.875% coupon, due in 2031. The terms were previously announced; Friday’s development is completion. The face-value coupon implies roughly $179.2 million of annual interest, our calculation before other financing costs. See the completed financing.
Announcement times, not stock-quote timestamps. No verified after-hours price reaction is included. Friday’s regular-session moves occurred before these releases.
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UPGRADES & DOWNGRADES
Nike gets a downgrade just ahead of earnings
Synopsys: HSBC moved Hold to Buy and raised its target from $490 to $700 on Friday. Rating upgrade and target increase.
Nike: BofA moved Neutral to Underperform with a $30 target, also Friday. Rating downgrade ahead of earnings.
Nike reports Thursday, so we will not have to wait long for management’s update. Demand, discounting and margins should help investors judge whether BofA’s caution is warranted. Both calls above changed the stock’s rating.
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WEEKEND MACRO · IRAN & OIL
Reports say Trump turned down Iran’s seven-day proposal
Trump reportedly rejected Iran’s seven-day proposal, according to WSJ reporting highlighted by The Kobeissi Letter. The proposal linked reopening Hormuz and restarting nuclear talks with relief from the U.S. blockade. The reported rejection is not a public timetable for renewed attacks.
For shareholders, the immediate connection is the fuel bill. Higher crude could help some producers while squeezing fuel-intensive airlines and cruise operators. Prolonged energy inflation could also make rate relief harder, affecting how investors value future profits. We will get the first market reaction when trading resumes.
MARKET MEME · Satire, not evidence of personal trading or a trading strategy. Original creator unverified; image supplied by a reader.
If following the oil headlines has felt exhausting, the meme captures why. For a company holding fuel hedges or passing costs through to customers, the effect on profits can be much slower than the move on your screen.
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PREDICTION MARKETS
Kalshi traders favor another rate hike in October
Kalshi’s October Fed market displayed 64% for a quarter-point hike and 36% for no change in Saturday’s check. These are trader-implied probabilities; separately priced outcomes and rounding need not total 100%.
Inflation and jobs data next week could move those odds. Check the October contract and its rules.
Observed September 26, approximately 3:45 a.m. ET. Displayed probabilities, not a Federal Reserve forecast.
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WHAT’S COMING UP THIS WEEK · SEP 28–OCT 2
Micron, Nike and the jobs report are on next week’s calendar
All times Eastern. Earnings calls are identified separately from results releases.
MONDAY / Watch oil as trading resumes
Watch how oil and energy-sensitive shares respond to weekend Iran reporting. Distinguish a change in negotiations from a confirmed change in shipping access. A gap at the open is a price reaction, not proof of a durable earnings effect.
TUESDAY / Carnival, CarMax and job openings
Carnival holds its earnings call at 10 a.m.; CarMax reports before the open with an 8 a.m. call. Cruise demand and used-car credit offer two views of household spending. JOLTS, 10 a.m.: openings and quits help test whether labor demand is cooling.
WEDNESDAY / PCE, Jabil, Micron and quarter-end
PCE inflation and the GDP revision, 8:30 a.m.: August income and spending data arrive alongside the third estimate of second-quarter GDP. Official release schedule. Jabil reports before the open, with its results and investor briefing at 8:30 a.m. Micron follows after the close; call 4:30 p.m. It is also quarter-end, when rebalancing can complicate the interpretation of price moves.
THURSDAY / Accenture and Nike report
Accenture’s call is at 8 a.m.: watch enterprise budgets and the conversion of AI work into revenue. ISM manufacturing arrives at 10 a.m. Nike releases results at 4:15 p.m., followed by its 5 p.m. call. Demand, discounts and margins are the useful checks.
FRIDAY / September’s jobs report
September payrolls, unemployment and wages: 8:30 a.m. Read the three together. Strong hiring and sticky wages can mean something different for rates than hiring growth with easing pay pressure. Save the official labor-data calendar.
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CRYPTO STOCKS, BRIEFLY
For the week, Strategy gained 3.05%, BitMine 6.04% and Coinbase 0.44%. These are stock returns through Friday, not weekend coin prices. Their different businesses and financing structures mean they do not provide identical exposure to crypto.
That’s it for this week. Enjoy the weekend—we’ll have plenty to catch up on Monday.
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