Daily Brief United States: scPharmaceuticals Inc, Axon Enterprise , Crude Oil, Gold, Autodesk Inc, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Affirm Holdings , Klarna Group, Aon , Crowdstrike Holdings and more

• TaskUs privatization bid at $16.50/share faces opposition; market anticipates improved offer before September 10 shareholder vote.
• Apiam Animal Health receives A$0.88/share takeover offer; largest shareholder supports, board likely to recommend upon binding agreement.
• Banxa shareholders approve OSL Group acquisition; regulatory consents pending, closing expected Q4’25–Q1’26, spread at 21%.

• Axon reported strong Q2 earnings with 30% year-over-year growth and strong performance in both connected devices and software segments
• The company has been exceeding growth expectations, with 14 consecutive quarters of over 25% growth and 6 consecutive quarters of over 30% growth
• Axon has been focusing on leveraging AI technology to improve efficiency for police officers and drive growth in their software and services segment

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• Asian gasoline market saw strengthening in mid August, with cracks rebounding to around $10 per barrel
• Demand for non oxygenated low sulphur blend stocks increasing, driven by policy changes in Australia and the Middle East
• Malaysia’s subsidy increase for 95 RON gasoline impacting interron spreads and market volatility, potential challenges in transitioning to Eurofi standard gasoline by 2027

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

• Gold (GOLD COMDTY) has been flat since April but started to take off after mid-August.
• Question: from a purely tactical perspective, is it still a good time to buy Gold? The precious metal is massively overbought at the moment, according to our model.
• Our tactical forecast: Gold (GOLD COMDTY)could go a bit higher, but it is so overbought that the short-term upside is probably limited. 

• Autodesk, a prominent player in the design and make software space, has demonstrated robust second-quarter performance for fiscal year 2026.
• The company exceeded expectations across several key financial metrics, including revenue, non-GAAP earnings per share, billings, non-GAAP operating margin, and free cash flow.
• Consequently, Autodesk has raised its guidance for the entire fiscal year, highlighting its optimistic outlook despite an uncertain geopolitical, macroeconomic, and policy environment.

• DICK’S Sporting Goods recently reported a strong performance in its second quarter of 2025, showcasing a 5% increase in comparable store sales, supported by growth in average ticket size and transactions.
• This builds upon the company’s past success, including a 4.5% comp increase in the previous year and a 2% increase in 2023.
• One of the notable highlights was the expansion of gross margins by over 30 basis points, underscoring effective inventory and pricing strategies.

• Affirm Holdings, Inc. delivered a robust performance in its fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, marking significant progress in several key areas.
• The company reported a record in key metrics, despite it not being the traditional peak quarter, indicating strong business momentum.
• Affirm’s growth is attributed to its continued focus on underwriting precision and consumer engagement, alongside significant contributions from its 0% APR products that are effectively attracting new customers and encouraging repeat usage.

• Klarna shares are set to start NYSE trading on 10 September; the issue price range implies a market capitalisation of USD12.8bn to USD13.6bn; we believe that its valuation looks underwhelming
• The Klarna IPO valuation versus its peers does, however, show Affirm’s very stretched valuation and we downgrade it to a sell; we upgrade Kakao Pay to a neutral from sell
• We keep PagSeguro, PayPal and Nexi on the buy list for their value credentials; we believe that PayPal is also the best value of the major BNPL players

• Aon plc, a global leader in insurance brokerage and consulting services, is undergoing strategic realignment that has reignited acquisition speculation.
• On September 3, 2025, the company confirmed it would divest the majority of its NFP wealth businesses—namely Wealthspire Advisors, Fiducient Advisors, and Newport Private Wealth—to private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners for approximately $2.7 billion.
• The transaction, expected to close in late Q4, will yield around $2.2 billion in after-tax proceeds and remove $127 million in trailing twelve-month EBITDA from Aon’s books.

• CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. presented its fiscal second-quarter 2026 results, highlighting several positive outcomes and some challenges.
• Key highlights included a robust quarter marked by record Q2 net new Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $221 million, ending ARR of $4.66 billion, and record operating income of $255 million.
• The company’s total revenue grew by 21% year-over-year, reaching $1.17 billion, exceeding expectations.