Daily Brief United States: Intel Corp, Choice Hotels Intl, Sigma Lithium, Render Token, Kyivstar Group, Crude Oil, Enviri, Lumexa Imaging Holdings, Murphy Oil Corp and more

• Multiple industry checks now indicate that Apple is preparing to source its entry-level M-series processors from Intel’s 18A node with EMIB-T packaging as early as 2027.
• The revenue impact will be modest, but the signalling value is enormous: Apple does not hand out advanced-node access unless the foundry roadmap is de-risked.
• This development aligns directly with the structural shifts we’ve been highlighting; Intel’s packaging-first wedge, foundry credibility, and TSMC’s overcapacity creating space for second-sourcing.

• Choice Hotels International’s recent earnings call provides an intricate overview of the company’s financial performance and strategic initiatives during the third quarter of 2025.
• The company reported a 7% increase in adjusted EBITDA, reaching $190 million, primarily driven by an enhanced brand mix and increased business from small and medium enterprises and group bookings.
• However, the positive financial performance was countered by a flat global RevPAR compared to the prior year, with a notable dip of 3.2% in the U.S. market owing to softer government and international inbound demand.

• Pure-Play, Low-Cost Producer with Ambitious Growth: Sigma Lithium is a new, low-cost producer of high-purity, environmentally friendly lithium concentrate from its single asset, the Grota do Cirilo project in Brazil. The company is aggressively expanding, with plans to more than triple production capacity by the end of 2026, positioning it as a significant player in the EV battery supply chain.
• Leveraged to a Volatile but Recovering Lithium Market: The company’s profitability is highly sensitive to lithium prices, which have been volatile after collapsing from 2022 highs. While the market has been oversupplied, projections suggest a tightening supply-demand balance from 2025 onwards, driven by robust EV and energy storage growth, which could provide significant tailwinds.
• High-Risk, High-Reward Equity Profile: As a single-asset company in an emerging market with a short operational history, Sigma carries significant execution and geopolitical risks. However, its industry-leading cost structure, strong ESG credentials, and aggressive, funded expansion plan offer substantial upside potential for investors with a high-risk tolerance.

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• Render is one of the earliest real-use utility tokens with a functioning marketplace for GPU compute, and adoption is expanding beyond crypto-native users.
• Its migration to Solana and support for AI/ML workloads positions Render to benefit from rising demand for decentralised GPU resources, although competition from hyperscalers remains a structural risk.
• As increasing real-world usage and transparent tokenomics provide upside optionality, but liquidity and regulatory uncertainties warrant conservative sizing.

• Kyivstar Group (KYIV US) launched Starlink Direct to Cell on November 24, making Ukraine the first European country with commercial satellite connectivity to mobile phones.
• Satellite connectivity provides Kyivstar a differentiated capability that should be positive for customer churn management given the ‘insurance value’ of having satellite backup connectivity for Ukrainians.
• Kyivstar’s Starlink partnership is a net positive for the shares. We reiterate our Structural Long rating and US$19.8 target price. KYIV shares are trading at just 5.1x 2025E EV/EBITDA.

• Crude oil futures Friday were little changed although Brent tested weekly highs as doubts grow on the prospects for a Russia-Ukraine settlement.
• Front-month Jan26 ICE Brent  futures were trading at $63.33/b (1854 GMT) versus Thursday’s settle of $63.34/b, but off from the week’s high of $63.76/b.
• Jan26 NYMEX WTI was at $59.21/b , after trade resumed following a technical glitch.

• One market sector that hasn’t been lifted by the AI narrative is the oil and gas industry.
• Enviri Corporation (NVRI) announced on November 21, 2025, that it had reached a definitive agreement to sell its Clean Earth specialty-waste business to Veolia for $3 billion while simultaneously preparing to spin off its remaining Harsco Environmental and Harsco Rail divisions into a new standalone public company called New Enviri.

• NVRI reacted positively to the news.

• Lumexa Imaging, one of the nation’s largest outpatient imaging providers, could join the limited group of IPOs expected to debut in December 2025.
• The company operates 184 centers across 13 states, benefiting from strong population growth markets and a broad, diversified referring-physician network.
• Backed by WCAS and supported by scalable technology and growing advanced imaging demand, Lumexa shows steady revenue momentum ahead of a potential year-end IPO.

• Murphy Oil Corporation’s third quarter 2025 earnings report indicates a mix of robust operational results tempered by strategic caution amid market volatility.
• The company surpassed its production guidance for the second consecutive quarter, reaching a total production of 200,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day.
• This was bolstered by a strong showing in oil production, averaging 94,000 barrels per day.