FTSE 100 today: Index edges higher; Deutsche Bank warns muted 2026 retail growth

Investing.com -- TD Cowen began coverage of SharkNinja with a Buy rating and a $135 price target, saying the company’s track record in product innovation and marketing positions it to gain share across key consumer categories.

Shares up about 1% on Wednesday trading. 

The firm projects high single digit sales growth over the long term, with EBITDA expected to rise faster than revenue as fixed costs scale and the company optimizes its portfolio.

It said the stock’s valuation leaves room for further gains given the growth outlook and steady free cash flow generation.

TD Cowen said SharkNinja has a durable expansion path built on new product launches, upgrades in core kitchen and home appliances, and international growth.

It added that beauty could become a larger contributor as the company applies its wellness expertise to a category benefiting from increased consumer focus on longevity.

The firm expects beauty revenue to double over the next few years, noting that the segment today accounts for less than 10 percent of sales but carries higher gross margins than the rest of the portfolio.

Beauty can also serve as a customer acquisition channel through social media driven marketing and the introduction of consumables that can support recurring revenue.

The brokerage noted upside potential from capital returns as the company matures, including a possible buyback program supported by strong cash generation. Its target valuation is based on roughly 22 times estimated FY26 earnings and 20 times FY27 earnings, as well as a discounted cash flow analysis.

TD Cowen said management may offer cautious FY26 guidance on its next earnings call, but the firm expects the company to beat and raise through the year as it has in prior periods.

Investing.com -- Dropbox (NASDAQ:DBX) stock fell 4% Wednesday after the company announced that Chief Financial Officer Timothy Regan plans to resign, ending his five-year tenure as CFO and nine-year career with the cloud storage provider.

Regan’s resignation will be effective December 16, 2025, though he will continue to serve as a non-executive employee through March 15, 2025. The company stated in an SEC filing that Regan’s departure reflects his desire to pursue the next chapter of his career rather than any disagreement with the company.

Ross Tennenbaum has been appointed to succeed Regan as CFO. Tennenbaum previously held leadership positions at Avalara, including President, CFO, and EVP. Before that, he served as a Managing Director on Goldman Sachs’ Software Investment Banking team.

Dropbox also announced the appointment of Eric Webster as Chief Business Officer. Webster joins from Silversmith Capital Partners and will help strengthen the company’s commercial strategy.

"I’m excited to welcome Ross Tennenbaum to Dropbox as our new Chief Financial Officer," said Drew Houston, Dropbox Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "Ross brings a strong combination of financial acumen, operational experience, and deep knowledge of the tech landscape, and I’m excited to partner with him as we navigate our next chapter. I also want to thank Tim Regan for his leadership and many contributions to Dropbox."

Despite the negative market reaction to the leadership change, Dropbox reassured investors that it expects its fourth quarter financial results to be in-line with or above the guidance ranges previously provided during its third quarter earnings call on November 6, 2025.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- Amazon has reached an agreement with Italy’s tax collection agency to pay €510 million ($582 million) to settle a tax dispute in the country, according to reporting from Reuters, citing sources close to the matter.

Despite this settlement, Milan prosecutors plan to continue their investigation into the U.S. tech company. The prosecutors suspect tax evasion amounting to approximately €1.2 billion related to the period between 2019 and 2021.

The investigation by Milan prosecutors is expected to conclude early next year, sources familiar with the investigation said.

The unusual situation has created a split between Italian authorities, with the tax collection agency accepting the settlement while prosecutors pursue their separate probe.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed Wednesday as investors cautiously awaited the conclusion of a Federal Reserve meeting, which is likely to determine risk sentiment going into the new year.

At 11:42AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 247 points, or 0.5%, the S&P 500 index gained 3 points, or 0.04%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell 62 points, or 0.3%.

Fed’s decision in spotlight

The U.S. central bank concludes its last policy-setting meeting this year later in the session, and is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

Bets on a cut were furthered by some signs of cooling labor strength in recent months. But markets remained wary of any hawkish signals from the central bank, given that it will still lack key data points for October and November going into its final meeting for the year.

“A 25bp cut is practically certain. It’s 90% discounted. Not delivering is not really a viable option, given the way the Fed behaves. But, expect a hawkish cut, with a pause to be heavily intimated for the January meeting,” ING analysts said in a note.

While markets are widely confident that a rate cut is impending, media reports have said policymakers could be unusually divided over such a move, citing worries over sticky price gains and a relative dearth of fresh economic data due to a record-long government shutdown. A new summary of Fed members’ economic projections is also slated to be unveiled.

"The end-of-2025 dots will show the still divided stance of the committee, and will reveal what [Chair Jerome] Powell was up against," said analysts at ABN Amro, in a note. "The 2026 dots will likely be dispersed, with both substantial rate cuts, rate hikes, and everything in between, reflecting the uncertainty in the outlook."

Trump to begin final round of Fed interviews - WSJ

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is aiming to begin the final round of interviews for the next Fed Chair in the coming days, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Citing senior administration officials, the WSJ said Trump and some of his aides are scheduled to interview former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh on Wednesday, and meet with other candidates soon.

One of those will be Kevin Hassett, the White House economic adviser many reports have described as the frontrunner to replace Powell when his term at the helm of the Fed ends next year.

Oracle, Adobe earnings awaited

Beyond the Fed meeting, focus this week is also on earnings from cloud and chipmaking majors Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) after Wednesday’s close, for more cues on the AI trade.

Fueled by a partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Oracle has transformed its image this year from a smaller player in the cloud business to an essential provider of the rented computing power needed to underpin AI models.

Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) is also due to report its latest quarterly earnings after the closing bell on Wall Street.

Shares of the firm behind creative products like Photoshop and Acrobat have slumped by more than 21% so far this year, easily underperforming the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.

Elsewhere, AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) stock fell after the drone maker missed second-quarter earnings expectations and cut its outlook, while Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) stock slumped after the restaurant chain cut its sales outlook for its fiscal year, citing “unique and ongoing headwinds" as it struggles to recover from a poorly-received rebrand.

On the flip side, Chewy Inc (NYSE:CHWY) stock rose after the online pet retailer reported third-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, demonstrating strong profitability growth alongside solid revenue gains.

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Crude slips lower

Oil prices fell Wednesday, as investors weighed a sharp drop in U.S. crude stocks, Ukraine peace talks and a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve later in the day.

Brent futures dropped 0.5% to $61.64 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.6% to $57.92 a barrel.

Both contracts have slipped nearly 3% in the last two sessions, amid concerns a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia could bring about the removal of international sanctions on Russian companies, which could free up restricted oil supply.

However, data from the American Petroleum Institute, released on Tuesday, showed U.S. commercial crude stocks fell by 4.8 million barrels in the week to Dec. 5, far deeper than the roughly 1.7 million-barrel draw analysts had expected.

The draw suggests stronger demand or tighter supply, offering a near-term boost to crude sentiment, as does the expected Fed rate cut.

Ambar Warrick contributed to this article