In today’s briefing:
- Quiddity SP 500 Sep26 Results: Over US$31bn One Way Flow
- Copper in Focus: US Tariff Risks Fuel Stockpiling; VBM IPO Hits Roadblock
- Energy Weekly (W/E 4/Sep): WTI Surges on Hormuz, Options Calm, Cheniere’s Tollbooth Holds
- Rocket Lab’s Iridium Acquisition: Can It Reshape The Space Value Chain?
- Vertiv Acquisition Gamble: Can UtilityInnovation Accelerate The Race To Power AI Data Centers?
- Flex Acquisition Shock: Why The $4.4 Billion EPC Power Deal Could Change Everything!
- SSI Weekly Update: Air Canada Buyback, LivePerson Merger, and Key Developments in CPAC, PAC, ENRG, CY5
- SB Energy (SBE US): Synthetic Expert Call Transcript (08 Sep 2026)
- Global Base Oils Supply Falls To 16-Month Low In June
- Plug Power’s $61 Million Cash Burn — A Pivotal 58% Improvement!
Quiddity SP 500 Sep26 Results: Over US$31bn One Way Flow
- The ADDs/DELs for SP 500, SP MidCap400, and SP SmallCap600 indices for the September 2026 index rebal event were announced after market close on Friday 4 September 2026.
- There are 3 ADD/DELs for the SP 500, all of which will also be added to and deleted from the SP 500 Equal Weight and their corresponding Select Sector indices.
- In this insight, we take a look at our final flow expectations for each of these confirmed index changes.
Copper in Focus: US Tariff Risks Fuel Stockpiling; VBM IPO Hits Roadblock
- Record US copper imports point to aggressive stockpiling, while Congo’s rising cathode shipments signal growing competition for physical demand outside COMEX channels.
- Copper options retain a clear bullish tilt, with OI PCR at 0.55 and volume PCR at 0.30 signaling strong upside demand, while the easing CVOL points to lower volatility expectations.
- Political pushback puts VBM’s IPO on hold, while Vale plans to double its copper business, keeping its growth strategy firmly focused on expanding production.
Energy Weekly (W/E 4/Sep): WTI Surges on Hormuz, Options Calm, Cheniere’s Tollbooth Holds
- WTI gained 9.7% last week as Hormuz tensions drove a sharp geopolitical risk premium, while speculative positioning turned more bullish through fresh long additions and short covering.
- Options markets moved from panic to acceptance, with IV and skew dropping as WTI held above USD 90, though put demand remained elevated for downside protection.
- Cheniere’s contracted model continues to deliver strong growth, but the 2027 to 2028 LNG supply wave could pressure the uncontracted margins behind recent earnings beats.
Rocket Lab’s Iridium Acquisition: Can It Reshape The Space Value Chain?
- Rocket Lab Corporation reported its second-quarter 2026 financial results, reflecting significant revenue growth driven by both its Launch Services and Space Systems segments.
- The company achieved a record $234 million in revenue for Q2, marking a 62% increase year-over-year and a sequential 16.8% rise.
- This performance was fueled primarily by a 38.6% increase in the Space Systems segment, reaching $189.5 million, supported by increased satellite manufacturing contributions and initial revenue from the Mynaric acquisition.
Vertiv Acquisition Gamble: Can UtilityInnovation Accelerate The Race To Power AI Data Centers?
- Vertiv Holdings is moving to extend its reach deeper into the AI data-center power chain through its proposed acquisition of UtilityInnovation Group, or UIG.
- Vertiv Corporation agreed to acquire the business for approximately $1.45 billion in cash at closing, with up to another $1.15 billion payable through earnouts tied to EBITDA targets over the following 12 to 24 months.
- The transaction comes as Vertiv is already experiencing rapid growth from AI infrastructure spending, with second-quarter 2026 sales rising 24% year over year and management raising full-year revenue guidance to $14 billion.
Flex Acquisition Shock: Why The $4.4 Billion EPC Power Deal Could Change Everything!
- Flex has moved deeper into the AI infrastructure stack with its agreement to acquire EPC Power for approximately $4.4 billion, adding a specialist in power conversion and grid-forming technology to a business already benefiting from accelerating data-center investment.
- The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of calendar 2026, after which EPC Power would become part of Flex’s Cloud and Power Infrastructure, or CPI, segment.
- That timing is particularly notable because Flex plans to separate CPI into an independent publicly traded company during the first quarter of calendar 2027.
SSI Weekly Update: Air Canada Buyback, LivePerson Merger, and Key Developments in CPAC, PAC, ENRG, CY5
- Air Canada is conducting an odd-lot tender buyback of ~9% shares at C$29-C$33, expiring September 24.
- LivePerson merger with SOUN closed successfully, resulting in an 18% gain; Regis Q4 softer, refinancing pending.
- Cementos Pacasmayo valuation firm appointed; Pacific Current Group’s bidder disclosed; VH Global sells assets; Cygnus Metals merger progresses.
SB Energy (SBE US): Synthetic Expert Call Transcript (08 Sep 2026)
- The massive $439 billion backlog reported in SB Energy’s S-1 is the undiscounted sum of multi-decade leases and power contracts heavily dependent on OpenAI and SoftBank, masking the reality that the data center segment is completely pre-revenue with zero operational capacity.
- The company’s LTM net loss of $7.01 billion is dominated by a non-cash $5.5 billion OpenAI warrant liability charge. This structure means SB Energy is effectively pre-funding its own tenants’ lease payments through massive equity dilution, creating highly circular unit economics.
- SB Energy’s “power-led” model shifts traditional real estate development risk into utility-scale power plant execution. To bypass PJM’s backlogged queue for the 8.0 GW-IT PORTS-Pike campus, they must build substantial on-site gas-fired generation and fund a $4.2 billion grid infrastructure agreement with AEP Ohio, creating an unprecedented upfront capital requirement before a single server is turned on.
Disclaimer: The following transcripts are synthetic, AI-generated on demand, and compiled exclusively from public data sources; no real-word experts were actually interviewed. This content is designed to highlight potential market mispricings, explore compelling lines of inquiry, and suggest strategic questions rather than present verified facts. All specific financial metrics and data points, including market shares, TAM, margins, and growth rates, are AI-estimated approximations. They may be inaccurate and must be independently verified.
Global Base Oils Supply Falls To 16-Month Low In June
- Europe’s supply held relatively steady at more than 370,000 tonnes, close to where it has stood for most of the past six months.
- Americas supply dipped as plant maintenance in Brazil combined with US output falling to a 14-month low.
- Middle East supply fell to its lowest level in more than seven years, with a slump in Group III shipments outweighing a rise in flows from Saudi Arabia.
Plug Power’s $61 Million Cash Burn — A Pivotal 58% Improvement!
- Plug Power, a company operating in the hydrogen fuel cell and electrolyzer market, reported a second quarter 2026 revenue of $178.3 million, representing a 9% sequential increase and an 11% year-over-year growth for the first half.
- This revenue growth, combined with improved operational performance, has led the company to raise its full-year revenue growth guidance to 15%-16% from a prior 13%-15% forecast.
- A key highlight of the quarter is the significant improvement in gross margins, which moved to roughly breakeven compared to negative 30.7% a year ago and negative 13% in the prior quarter.
💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma
Sign Up for Free
The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network
- ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
- ✓ Personalised Alerts
- ✓ Custom Watchlists
- ✓ Company Data and News
- ✓ Events & Webinars
