Axios

Apple delivered higher revenue than expected in its most recent quarter as the tech giant rides an uptick in iPhone sales.

Why it matters: Apple recently reclaimed its title as the world's most valuable company — topping Nvidia with its stock up about 25% in 2026 — as its cautious approach to AI spending grows on investors.

Output of American factories continued to expand in October, driven by surging demand for AI-related equipment that's also straining supply chains and pushing up prices, according to two new manufacturing surveys.

By the numbers: The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index rose 1 point, to 55.5, last month — the 10th straight month of expanding activity following a yearslong slump.

After Tuesday's midterm elections, the 2028 presidential race unofficially begins. There is reason to think that fiscal policy will shape the contours of the race in a way that deficits and debt haven't for nearly four decades.

The big picture: Candidates for the White House will be running amid historically large deficits, high and rising debt service costs, elevated interest rates and an imminent Social Security funding crunch.

• It is a world where policy trade-offs will be harder to ignore.

Lots of companies successfully price IPOs. Lots of other companies try to price IPOs, but cancel the process when it goes wobbly.

• OPay appears to be the only company to have successfully priced its IPO, and then thrown in the towel. Just hours before its shares were set to begin trading.

The AI industry's obsession with existential risk is diverting attention from the more immediate threats, Wharton professor Ethan Mollick told Axios in a discussion around his new book, "Co-Existence," billed as a field guide to AI.

Why it matters: Mollick's view provides an intellectual middle amid a sea of doom and hype surrounding the future of AI.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Marvell Technology on Monday said that it will buy optical components maker Lumentum for $115 billion in stock.

Why it matters: This is the largest merger ever between public tech companies.

After another rough week for the AI trade, stocks seem to be bracing for more uncertainty in the days ahead.

Why it matters: While the AI trade has sputtered, the S&P 500 has managed to largely tread water thanks to strength from shares tied to the basics of the economy, like consumer staples, health care and utilities. (Soaring oil shares didn't hurt either.)

• But Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections and the potential reescalation of major fighting in the Iran war after the vote pose another potential hurdle to the market.

Unions are facing a conundrum: They like the demand for data center construction because it brings trade work, but they don't like that AI might replace other jobs.

Why it matters: The mixed feelings have led to a split in Big Labor: Trade unions back data centers, while groups like the Teamsters advocate policies to restrict AI.

A powerful backlash against AI and data centers has been building for months, fueling local moratoriums and political opposition, but also fears that the $10 trillion infrastructure buildout could hit a wall.

Why it matters: The stakes extend far beyond the U.S. Any backlash that slows the AI boom could have global consequences, with the futures of politicians, economies and nations increasingly tied to the race for technological supremacy.

Billions of dollars in planned data center construction hang in the balance as the midterms approach — and investors are closely watching a few key races in states where projects are planned but construction has not yet started.

Why it matters: If elections don't go Wall Street's way, you could see restrictions that disrupt key projects and, more broadly, rattle the AI trade currently driving the stock market and helping power the U.S. economy.