Stephen Byrd, Morgan Stanley Thematic Research global head, discussed the future of data centers. He believes there is a path forward for their development if approached correctly. Byrd's comments were made during a "Power Lunch" segment, also touching on the potential impact of midterm election outcomes on data center growth.

Agilent Technologies Inc. has completed its acquisition of digital pathology software provider Proscia for $240 million in cash, with an additional $30 million contingent on future performance milestones. This acquisition expands Agilent's pathology portfolio, enhancing its capabilities in AI-enabled diagnostics, drug discovery, and precision medicine by integrating Proscia's vendor-agnostic digital pathology software. The combined offering aims to provide an integrated solution for clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, and life sciences researchers, strengthening Agilent's move into digital workflows and AI-driven analysis.

Morgan Stanley has warned that Democrat Gina Hinojosa's victory in the Texas gubernatorial election increases the risk of delays and cancellations for data center projects in the state. The bank highlighted Cipher, MARA, and Galaxy as stocks with significant exposure to Texas, and noted that several Texas-based data center stocks saw declines following the news. Hinojosa's stance on pausing new data center development pending community protections could impact various projects, though Morgan Stanley also identified beneficiaries like Hut 8, TeraWulf, and Applied Digital with less Texas exposure or projects outside the state.

Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) shares are facing a significant test after a post-earnings drop and analyst downgrades, despite being up 31% year-to-date following its merger with Qorvo. The company's Q1 FY2027 guidance missed Wall Street estimates, leading to concerns about its smartphone exposure, rising inventory, and negative free cash flow. While management highlights cost synergies and diversified growth markets, bears point to ongoing smartphone market deterioration and increased debt, while bulls hope for successful synergy delivery and stabilizing demand.

T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF has filed Form FWP, detailing the risks associated with investing in crypto assets, including market volatility, limited history, regulatory uncertainty, and potential for fraud or security breaches on trading platforms. The article also features an interview with Blue Macellari, head of Digital Assets at T. Rowe Price, who discusses portfolio allocation targeting on-chain finance, highlighting platforms like Hyperliquid, Near, and Solana as key players in the evolving regulated crypto space. Macellari emphasizes the growth potential for financial rails moving on-chain, supported by high-performance blockchains.

Skyworks reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP earnings of $1.28 per share, surpassing estimates, though revenues declined 5% year over year to $1.05 billion. The company saw strong demand from its largest smartphone customer and growth in broad markets, particularly data center, Wi-Fi, and automotive. Skyworks also completed its acquisition of Qorvo, which is expected to contribute to diversification and cost synergies in future quarters.

This article previews KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2026, highlighting key sponsors Broadcom, F5, ControlTheory, and Yugabyte. Attendees can learn about topics ranging from private cloud AI and Kubernetes to AI SRE and agent-native data from these companies. The event will take place in Salt Lake City from November 9-12, 2026.

A recent Microsoft report reveals that despite the focus on AI-driven cyberthreats, human hackers are still effectively using social engineering scams to infiltrate corporate systems via Microsoft Teams. These attackers impersonate IT or help desk personnel to trick users into granting remote access, allowing them to install software and gain control. Microsoft is implementing new AI-powered phishing detection and reporting features, but also emphasizes the importance of user caution and company-level administrator blocks to prevent these "old-school" attacks.

Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP) announced its 34th consecutive annual dividend increase, declaring a quarterly cash dividend of $1.00 per share, representing a 10% increase over the previous year. This dividend is payable on January 19, 2027, to stockholders of record as of January 4, 2027. The increase is expected to add $0.36 on an annual basis to shareholder payments.

Enphase Energy (ENPH) has achieved a significant milestone with its IQ Solid-State Transformer (IQ SST), successfully converting medium-voltage AC to 800 VDC for AI data centers. This technology uses a scalable modular architecture that streamlines power conversion stages, and the company plans further demonstrations at higher voltage levels, aiming for customer pilots in 2027. This move represents Enphase's expansion beyond its traditional home solar market into large-scale AI power infrastructure, reinforcing its strategy to broaden revenue streams.