Why AI will transform, not displace, applications

Investing.com - Earlier this month, Apple and Google both sent out mass alerts to users around the world.

Stay ahead of every breaking move with real-time news, stock impact analysis, and Wall Street commentary on InvestingPro - get 55% off today.

The notifications warned of a new round of cyber threats, the companies said, adding that they had taken steps to try to protect customers against surveillance threats.

It was an example of an emerging corporate trend: Tech companies providing regular updates to users when they find evidence that they may have been the target of state-backed hackers.

Cyber attacks in general have surged in recent years, fueled in large part by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. According to Morgan Stanley, cyber incidents have driven up global costs by 15% in five years.

Beyond operating losses, companies often pass on these extra expenses to consumers, they added.

However, their analysis found that sustainability funds -- or investment products which aim to achieve both financial returns and a positive societal impact by selecting companies and assets based on environmental, social and governance criteria -- remain underweight cybersecurity names relative to the exposure in the benchmark MSCI All-Country World Index.

They flagged that the gap is “even wider when compared to core AI enablers.”

Meanwhile, in Europe and the United Kingdom, lawmakers are actively looking at regulatory requirements for enhancing cyber resilience.

“Rising momentum in AI and Security provides long-term catalysts for Cybersecurity,” the analysts including Arushi Agarwal and Rachel Fletcher said in a note.

Both of these trends are expected to fuel long-term growth in cybersecurity-focused firms, with the segment’s total addressable market seen expanding to $377 billion by 2028, up from its current estimated level of roughly $270 billion.

That would imply a compound annual increase of about 12% over the three-year span, with cloud security in particular the “fastest growing silo” in cyber protection.

A shift to more integrated digital platforms and AI are underpinning longer-term growth opportunities for “cybersecurity pure-plays,” the analysts said.

Demand for insurance against cyber attacks is also anticipated to surge. The Morgan Stanley analysts cited industry forecasts indicating that global premiums are expected to growth by 13% annually to exceed $30 billion by the beginning of the next decade -- more than double today’s market.

Against this backdrop, the analysts highlighted an “overweight” rating in several firms with exposure to cybersecurity, including NetSkope, Okta, Palo Alto Networks, Varonis, and Zscaler. Among cyber insurance names, they were overweight London-based Beazley.

Investing.com -- U.S. shale is heading into 2026 with steadier momentum than many expected, with Jefferies’ latest supply checks pointing to modest growth rather than the declines implied by government forecasts.

Get expanded energy market insight, analyst research, and advanced research tools by upgrading to InvestingPro - get 55% off today

Jefferies analysts note that “most market participants expect oil production declines in ’26,” with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projecting a roughly 220,000-barrel-per-day drop in shale crude.

Yet the analysts model U.S. black-oil shale growing by 48,000 barrels per day year-on-year, with Permian gains offsetting declines in mature basins. The baseline scenario assumes improvements in drilling and completion efficiency, longer laterals, and a modest uplift in per-well oil output.

The Permian remains the decisive growth engine. Jefferies forecasts 66,000 barrels per day of annual growth from the basin in 2026, equal to nearly all of next year’s expected U.S. shale expansion.

It sees the region exiting 2026 slightly above the prior year, even after a temporary decline in the second quarter tied to well timing. “We model moderate growth from there,” analysts led by Lloyd Byrne added, with technology gains helping offset geological challenges.

At the same time, well productivity continues to slip. The average Midland and Delaware operator saw about a 6% decline in oil productivity in 2025, measured by standardized cumulative volumes.

Longer laterals helped cushion the impact, but degradation in per-foot output remained broad-based across operators and sub-basins.

Only a handful of companies posted flat or improving results, and ConocoPhillips was the only Delaware operator to show improved productivity in 2025 as it increased allocation to core acreage, analysts said.

They highlight that others, including APA Corp, Coterra Energy, and Devon Energy, recorded double-digit declines.

Efficiency, however, is still improving. Jefferies expects U.S. oil-focused rig efficiency to reach roughly 1.91 completed wells per rig in 2026, up from 1.84 this year, and forecasts an increase in monthly well completions.

Larger, consolidated producers are maintaining steady drilling programs, supporting stable supply even as individual well performance weakens.

Beyond oil, associated gas growth remains resilient. The Permian is projected to add about 1.3 bcf per day of dry gas production next year, helped by rising gas-oil ratios and additional activity in secondary zones.

Pipeline constraints remain a challenge until late-2026, when new takeaway capacity comes online, but Jefferies views the basin as positioned to “continue to add ~2bcfpd per year through the end of the decade” unless crude prices fall materially.

Overall, the broker’s analysis suggests U.S. shale is set for a mild but durable expansion in 2026, driven by public operators’ scale advantages, efficiency gains, and continued strength in the Permian.

The firm reiterates that its base case projects year-end 2026 oil production remaining roughly unchanged from the year-end 2025 exit level, unless crude futures fall significantly.

Investing.com – After notching a record high close on Thursday, U.S. equities pulled back sharply on Friday as investor worries regarding a potential AI bubble re-emerged. Here are our stocks of the week:

Broadcom

Friday’s pullback followed Broadcom’s latest results, which reignited concerns about an AI-fueled bubble.

Despite strong quarterly earnings, worries emerged over weak margins and a lack of immediate revenue from OpenAI.

However, analysts on Wall Street remain mostly positive. “AVGO put up solid results and guidance, but some of the commentary on backlog and margins was muddled enough to potentially drive a ’sell the news’ dynamic in the near-term,” said UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri.

“Putting it all together, we still see AI revenue growing significantly in excess of 100% next year and getting close to this level again in 2027,” added the bank.

Oracle

Oracle shares tumbled over 10% on Thursday, with a further 3% fall occurring on Friday (as of 1:40 pm ET).

On Wednesday after the close, the computing group reported fiscal second-quarter revenue that missed expectations amid weakness in its software business. Oracle is another name that has investors concerned about a potential AI-related bubble.

Friday’s decline came after a Bloomberg report, citing sources, said the company has delayed the completion of data centers for OpenAI to 2028 from the original 2027 target, with the postponement primarily attributed to labor and material shortages.

Oracle later denied the claims, saying there have been no delays and all milestones remain on track.

Lululemon

Lululemon posted its quarterly results. The company also announced that its CEO, Calvin McDonals, will step down.

Shares rallied more than 10% on Friday. The stock is now up about 12% over the last week.

Lululemon is said to be working with a “leading executive search firm” to identify its next CEO.

"US growth still negative; CEO catalyst a positive sign,” said Bernstein analyst Aneesha Sherman in a note. “LULU’s Q3 print continues to reflect a challenged US business, with the Amex partnership not really moving the needle yet.”

“However, the CEO change catalyst that the market was awaiting came in earlier than expected,” the firm added.

EchoStar

EchoStar shares are up over 42% in the last week as the company has become the main proxy for SpaceX. Reports emerged earlier this week stating that SpaceX is advancing plans for an initial public offering that would raise more than $30 billion.

EchoStar holds a stake in SpaceX after selling wireless spectrum to the company in two separate deals for cash and SpaceX stock.

Robinhood

Robinhood shares fell over 8% on Thursday and are down 1.8% so far on Friday after the brokerage reported a sharp drop in November trading activity.

Equity volumes fell 37% month over month, options volumes dropped 28%, and crypto volumes declined 12% on a per-day basis.

Cantor analyst Brett Knoblauch said the decline in trading volumes was notable, though November delivered Robinhood’s third-best month of the year for net deposits at $7.1 billion.

Cantor reiterated its Overweight rating on the stock.

Investing.com -- Artificial intelligence agents are beginning to alter the way consumers search for products, make decisions and complete transactions, setting up as the next major shift in global commerce.

Bernstein analysts say the changes today are early but could reshape online shopping, threaten established marketplaces and elevate card networks in payments as trust and governance become more complex.

Consumers are already using AI tools for basic tasks such as price comparisons and gift ideas, according to surveys cited in the report.


Traffic routed from chatbots is rising. But these interactions remain largely conversational and have not meaningfully changed how purchases occur.

Bernstein argues the real break from today’s model will come when agents move beyond search into planning and execution.


The firm describes agents that could book venues, scan emails, schedule events, find products, compare prices and place orders on a user’s behalf. Over time, agents may also negotiate discounts or assemble bundles, creating hyper-personalised transactions that split baskets across multiple merchants.

That shift raises questions for retailers, which risk losing control over search and discovery if consumers rely on third party agents rather than browsing conventional marketplaces.


Amazon has restricted outside bots to protect advertising revenue while platforms such as Etsy, Walmart and Target are integrating with OpenAI to capture new traffic. Bernstein says merchants fear disintermediation but see near term gains from high converting visits.

The payments impact could be more significant. If agents process purchases autonomously, the system will need new ways to authenticate intent, manage consent, handle disputes and verify that a bot is legitimate.


Bernstein sees card networks as the likely winners because they already operate global trust and governance systems. New protocols from Google, Visa, OpenAI and Coinbase aim to standardise how agents communicate, but fragmentation remains high.

Bernstein says agent driven commerce could accelerate e commerce growth by making search more efficient and expanding online penetration in higher consideration categories.


The firm expects experimentation to continue as platforms race to build agent ready infrastructure and compete for control of the customer relationship.