Microsoft Rose | Fed Officials Wanted a Hike | Trian Bid for Wendy's | Strategy Daily Pay

Vertiv rallied after strong orders, and Big Tech split after the bell.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each rose about 0.3%.

Microsoft (MSFT) rose about 4% after hours. Azure revenue grew 48% to $33.2 billion. That topped the company's own forecast of 44% to 45%.

Alphabet (GOOGL) fell about 11% after hours. Revenue rose 25% to $127.58 billion, slightly below estimates. Earnings of $2.12 a share missed forecasts. They included an $8.7 billion loss on equity holdings. Free cash flow turned more negative.

Vertiv's organic orders more than doubled. Sales rose 61% to $4.31 billion, and it raised every full-year target. Vertiv (VRT) jumped about 16.5%.

Enphase guided fourth-quarter revenue about 20% below forecasts. It cited higher interest rates and an expired tax credit among its headwinds. Enphase (ENPH) fell about 16% to its lowest price since March 2020.

Growth Was Not the Divide

Both companies showed fast growth where AI money goes. Azure grew 48%, and Alphabet's revenue rose 25%. The split came in the rest of each report. Microsoft beat its forecasts, while Alphabet missed on earnings and its free cash flow turned more negative. Revenue growth alone did not set the after-hours price.

Crude stocks fell, a peace plan stalled, and GE Vernova bought into the grid.

Brent settled above $115, up about 1.3%. U.S. crude closed near $103, up almost 3%.

U.S. crude inventories fell 1.9 million barrels last week, the EIA said, against forecasts for a small rise. Gasoline stocks rose 3.9 million barrels.

Qatar gave Iran a seven-day draft to end the war, an official briefed on the talks said. A senior Iranian official called it "unacceptable ideas and not an offer."

GE Vernova took $29 billion of orders, and its backlog rose to $197 billion. It also agreed to buy grid-equipment maker Trench Group from Triton for about $9 billion. GE Vernova (GEV) slipped about 1.9%.

Storage Backs the Premium

Oil's premium found physical support this week. U.S. crude stocks fell when a small rise was expected, and a senior Iranian official dismissed the latest peace plan. Gasoline stocks rose, so the tightness sits in crude, not at the pump. If talks revive, the barrels in storage will matter as much as the headlines.

The Fed held, two officials wanted a hike, and long-term yields rose.

The Fed held at 3.75% to 4.00% in a 10-2 vote. Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack wanted a quarter-point hike, and it was Cook's first dissent. Chair Kevin Warsh called growth strong and inflation too high. He said he was "unwilling and unable" to call financial conditions tight. He made no December commitment.

In 2027, one of the Fed's eight meetings will cover strategy only, with no rate vote.

The five-year yield fell after the decision, while the 30-year rose to about 5.36%. The 10-year was near 5.04%.

Canada raised its policy rate to 2.5%, its first increase since July 2023. Core inflation there is near 2%.

Kalshi's hike contract last traded at 3 cents before it closed. An average of Kalshi and Polymarket put a December hike near 83% after the decision.

Israel's regular count ended with no bloc near 61 seats. Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc has 53, the opposition 48 and Arab parties 19. Polymarket's Netanyahu contract slipped to 46.5 cents by early afternoon. The iShares MSCI Israel ETF (EIS) fell about 5%.

Three Cents, Two Votes

A 3-cent price measured the outcome, not the split. Two of 12 voters wanted a hike, a division the contract was never built to show. After the decision, the five-year yield eased and the 30-year climbed. The curve fits a Fed seen as patient now, with more inflation risk priced further out.

Buyers offered cash below old prices, and private-credit funds built new exits.

A Trian-led group proposed $7.35 a share in cash for Wendy's. Flynn Group, BlueFive Capital and Sixth Street are also in the non-binding proposal. The price is about 20% above Tuesday's close but below the stock's level before bid talk began in August. Wendy's (WEN) jumped about 15% to near $7.07.

LCI Industries received a $101 cash proposal from Monomoy Capital. Its signed stock deal with Patrick Industries was worth about $116 a share in June. At Wednesday's close it was worth about $87. LCI (LCII) rose about 8.6%, and Patrick (PATK) fell about 2.8%. LCI's board still backs Patrick.

PGIM and LGT co-led a $680 million continuation fund for direct lender Tree Line. KKR's first such fund was reported a day earlier. Neither deal disclosed its price against the loans' stated value.

Cash Offered, Below the Old Price

Buyers are offering cash instead of top prices. Trian's bid sits below where Wendy's traded in August. Monomoy's $101 is below what LCI's stock deal was worth in June. Both still beat Tuesday's closing prices. Neither proposal is binding, so that cash is not yet assured.

Coinbase listed a rival stablecoin, and Strategy moved toward daily payouts.

Bitcoin traded near $81,100, up about 0.4%. Strategy (MSTR) rose about 2.7%, and Coinbase (COIN) about 0.8%.

Coinbase added Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin to its exchange, Prime and retail app. Ripple says RLUSD tops $2.6 billion in market value. It expects to exit 2026 at about a $900 million annual product revenue run rate.

Strategy's shareholders approved daily dividends on its preferred stock. The results are preliminary, and rates stay the same. Its variable-rate preferred, its main bitcoin-funding tool, goes first, with a Nov. 1 record date. The change still has to be filed and take effect.

A Solana treasury company sold all its coins. SkyAI (SKYA) sold about 2 million SOL at an average net price of $107.20. It expanded a cash tender to about $214.3 million, or $3.00 a share.

Paying Holders Back

Holding coins was not enough for two treasury companies. SkyAI sold its SOL and is offering the cash back to shareholders. Strategy won approval to pay preferred holders daily, which it says should support price stability. Both moves aim to put cash in holders' hands sooner.

Wednesday paid for what is already in hand.

Vertiv rallied after its orders report, and Microsoft rose after its beat, while Alphabet fell after its miss. Oil rose as U.S. crude stocks fell, and the Fed waited despite two dissents. Buyers bid cash below old prices, and two crypto treasuries moved cash toward holders.