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Top Midday Stories: Accelerant to be Taken Private by Thoma Bravo in $4 Billion Deal; Cisco Shares Fall Despite Strong Earnings, Guidance
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up in late-morning trading Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down slightly, as investors parsed the latest inflation data.The US Producer Price Index held steady in July after falling by 0.1% in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday. Analysts expected a 0.2% gain, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:30 a.m. ET. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.2% in July, below the 0.3% gain expected and slower than the 0.4% gain in June.In company news, Accelerant (ARX) has agreed to be acquired and taken private by Thoma Bravo in an all-cash deal with an enterprise value of over $4 billion, the companies said Thursday. Under the deal's terms, Accelerant shareholders will receive $20.25 per share in cash. Shareholders will also receive a ticking fee at a rate of 6% per year if the deal's closing is delayed by certain pending insurance regulatory approvals. After the deal is completed, which is expected in H1 2027, Accelerant shares will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange.Separately, Accelerant reported Q2 adjusted earnings Thursday of $0.32 per diluted share, up from $0.13 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $0.17. Second-quarter revenue was $356.9 million, up from $219.1 million a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $279.2 million. The company said it won't provide Q3 or full-year 2026 guidance due to its pending acquisition by Thoma Bravo. Accelerant shares were up 43.5% near noon.Cisco Systems (CSCO) reported fiscal Q4 adjusted EPS late Wednesday of $1.22, up from $0.99 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $1.17. Fiscal Q4 revenue was $17.25 billion, up from $14.67 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $16.84 billion. For fiscal Q1, the company expects adjusted EPS of $1.32 to $1.34 on revenue of $18.0 billion to $18.2 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $1.16 and $16.84 billion, respectively. For fiscal 2027, the company expects adjusted EPS of $5.05 to $5.11 on revenue of $72.2 billion to $73.4 billion. Analysts expect $4.83 and $69.12 billion, respectively. Cisco shares were down 8.7%.Cerebras Systems (CBRS) reported a Q2 net loss late Wednesday of $2.98 per diluted share, swinging from earnings of $1.91 a year earlier and compared with a loss of $1.62 expected by the FactSet consensus. Second-quarter revenue was $180.1 million, up from $103.3 million a year ago but below the FactSet consensus of $190.6 million. For Q3, the company expects non-GAAP revenue of about $214 million to $216 million, above the FactSet consensus of $210.2 million. Cerebras expects full-year non-GAAP revenue of $880 million to $890 million, up from its prior guidance of $855 million to $865 million and above the FactSet consensus of $863.4 million. Cerebras shares were down 13.6%.Larsen & Toubro has secured an order worth up to 150 billion Indian rupees ($1.57 billion) to deploy an Nvidia (NVDA) B300 Artificial Intelligence Factory for Together AI at its Chennai data center campus, the company said Thursday. Separately, Nebius Group (NBIS) has signed an agreement with Vantage Data Centers to deploy high-density artificial intelligence infrastructure powered by Nvidia at Vantage's CWL1 data center campus in Wales, the companies said Thursday. Lastly, Anthropic is in talks to acquire Nvidia-backed AI startup Decart AI for about $6 billion, multiple outlets reported Wednesday. Nvidia shares were up 0.1%, while Nebius shares were down 0.7%.Price: $113.22, Change: $-10.66, Percent Change: -8.61%
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