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Good morning.
Fifteen years ago, the role of the CFO (or, at least, the perception) was to close the books at month-end and deliver bland remarks at the start of an earnings call.
The role has evolved, and so has the perception.
For starters, CFOs are now increasingly the quarterbacks of the entire operation. M&A, capital allocation, storytelling for the board, technology transformation and global ops — it’s all increasingly in the remit of the CFO.
That’s why we are launching CFO Upside, a vertical custom-built for CFOs (and CFOs to-be). Don’t think about it as “another newsletter,” but more as your thought partner with exclusive data, analysis, benchmarking and trade secrets on growing a career while serving the board, shareholders, and, yes, your family.
Sign up here to get the inaugural issue.
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MARKETS
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Stock data as of market close on September 14, 2026.
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Photo via Vincent Isore/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom
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Last week gave us the apocalyptic AI tweet heard around the world, though not everyone is taking it seriously. The President called it a “hoax.” The Chinese government has called it “fearmongering.”
Wall Street, however, sees it as a liability matter, especially for Anthropic. Former researcher Jacob Coxon’s doomsday warning that AI might threaten human life by the end of the decade may have gotten the world’s attention, but top company leaders calling for a slowdown in development begs new questions about Anthropic’s hotly anticipated mega IPO. The frontier AI lab’s S-1 filing with the SEC is expected to be released publicly in the coming days or weeks, and it will likely face a fair bit of scrutiny if it fails to disclose an off-chance risk of accidental human extinction.
Disclosure Day
In that case, the S-1, filed confidentially in June, might draw legal challenges from IPO investors who could claim that they’re being misled by way of purposeful omission. At minimum, John Coffee, a securities law expert at Columbia Law School, told The Economist on Monday that the company may have to amend its S-1 registration, required for an IPO, to avoid or limit its liability for securities fraud. For OpenAI, the recent tumult is reason enough (or, at least, the company’s stated reason) to delay an IPO into next year. “Given everything happening with safety, this would right now be an ill-advised moment to go public,” founder and CEO Sam Altman told Fortune over the weekend.
On the other hand, Anthropic founder and CEO Dario Amodei already has a long history of vocally outlining the potential existential risks associated with its AI. The company may well have included such risks in its SEC filings, and it still appears to be targeting the largest IPO in history, according to a recent Reuters report.
In the meantime, it has plenty to boast about as it seeks its $2 trillion valuation:
- On Sunday, a day after Amodei called on the industry to slow the pace of AI development, the Financial Times reported that the company has recently told investors it reached annualized revenue of $65 billion at the end of July, up from $9 billion in December.
- The company also said adjusted operating income, which strips out some costs including stock-based compensation, is positive for the second straight quarter, according to the FT. The company further claims to have operating margins above 80%, excluding some costs.
  Power Play: In the meantime, its most pressing risk may not be an accidental AI-created plague or nuclear incident, but rather a simple lack of energy. According to a Moody’s report published Monday, AI firms will need $110 billion worth of new power plants to fuel their ambitions.
Written by Brian Boyle
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Photo via Alumni Ventures
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Novo Nordisk shot to corporate fame by trimming waistlines. On Monday, its name became the latest target for slimming down.
The Danish pharma giant, best known for blockbuster GLP-1 drug Ozempic, announced it is now simply Novo. Unfortunately, while rebranding can make words disappear, the same does not ring true for business challenges. A revamp of Novo’s corporate culture, promised as part of the rebrand, might help, though the details are thin so far.
What’s Old is Novo Again
The name change arrives with Novo shares down 15% in 2026, despite the propitious launch of the oral version of its obesity drug Wegovy, which is massively outselling rival Eli Lilly’s competing Foundayo. Novo needed this financial and symbolic victory after spending the past two years ceding market share to Indianapolis-based Lilly, which now dominates the overall weight-loss market, holding a 60.9% market share to Novo’s 38.8% in the second quarter, according to IQVIA data.
Meanwhile, the weight of Novo’s GLP-1 drugs in its portfolio is cause for concern. Earlier this month, Novo scrapped two trials for experimental cardiovascular drug ziltivekimab, once viewed by analysts as a $3 billion opportunity to diversify revenue beyond weight loss and diabetes. Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight after the trials were halted, citing the fact that three-quarters of Novo’s revenue comes from GLP-1 drugs facing patent cliffs in the early 2030s. To better navigate these hurdles, Novo’s new-ish name will come with an “updated” corporate culture:
- Novo said it will follow a new set of four principles it calls “The Novo Way.” They are customer obsession, competitiveness, clarity, and care and integrity; how the principles are applied to Novo’s operations is, for now, a crystal ball’s prerogative.
- The shorter, punchier name can be viewed as recognition that Novo’s position as a weight-loss leader has transformed it into a heavily consumer-facing company. So can the rebrand’s tagline, “Lasting Health Starts Now,” which evokes the immediacy of a consumer strategy in a market where US regulators have opened GLP-1 sales to direct-to-consumer and cash-pay telehealth programs.
Official and Unofficial: The pharma industry has had its share of concision-oriented rebrands in recent years. In 2022, GlaxoSmithKline became GSK, and Sanofi rebranded its rare diseases unit Sanofi Genzyme and vaccines unit Sanofi Pasteur under the parent name. While not official changes, Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly informally refer to themselves in branding and marketing materials as BMS and Lilly, respectively.
Written by Sean Craig
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Photo via Betterment
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Photo by Krisztina Papp via Unsplash
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The fastest-growing commercial properties on the market today are malls. Shopping centers are having a resurgence, with the real estate sector’s value gaining 13% over the past year. That tops the other 10 commercial property sectors tracked by analytics firm Green Street, including offices, and is more than double commercial real estate’s overall growth.
The US’s largest mall owner, Simon Property Group, has outperformed the S&P 500 this year. The company’s shares hit a record high over the summer not seen since 2016, the heyday of bomber jackets and double-G Gucci belts.
Teens Crave 2016
Malls started losing their cool amid the rise of online shopping and the decline of department stores. But COVID is what made the massive third spaces start to look more like the settings of zombie movies than rom-coms. Mall staples including Victoria’s Secret and J.Crew shut down hundreds of stores across the country. Green Street estimates only about 900 malls are left standing in the US, with 200 shutting down since 2008.
But now, 2026 is shaping up to be the new 2016 as teens return to the mall:
- Foot traffic for the latest month climbed 6.6% at open-air malls and 5% at indoor shopping centers, their biggest gain of the year so far. Visitors have also been hanging out at malls longer than they did last year, and they’re expected to spend more time shopping as the year moves into the holiday season.
- But BOGO sales at department stores probably aren’t responsible for bringing back shoppers. Simon Property Group has instead poured hundreds of millions of dollars into renovating individual malls, adding popular restaurants like Din Tai Fung and Gen Z-favorite retailers like Princess Polly.
Window Shoppers: Malls may be becoming the go-to third space again, but 2026 is fundamentally different from 2016, and not just because the jean-legs are wider. Now, mall patrons may be window-shopping and trying on sizes in stores and then adding items to their cart from their laptop when they get home. That disconnect can make it harder for retailers to quantify a store’s success. Still, foot traffic means shoppers are engaging with the brand, even if the payoff is delayed a little.
Written by Jamie Wilde
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- Giant IPO: Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa, launched the largest share sale in the continent’s history, with a “people’s IPO” set to raise up to $2.1 billion for his namesake oil refinery.
- Halt and Cease Fire: President Donald Trump said Ukraine and Russia agreed to pause strikes on energy infrastructure, claiming their war is the primary driver of diesel price increases.
- This Robotics Stock’s Price Changes Thursday. Fresh off two major product acquisitions, including from a once-SoftBank-backed robotics pioneer, Miso Robotics’ share price will change Thursday. 44,000+ investments from everyday investors like you have been made to date. Industry powerhouse Ecolab invested too. Hurry to join them at $5.48/share before Thursday.**
**Partner
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