IDD Week in Review: Friday, Oct 23, 2026 — Earnings season hits full speed as Salesforce, Abbott and Prudential make big moves
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> “Caution can help us avoid mistakes, but it can also keep us from great accomplishments.” — Howard Marks
The Big Picture
- Earnings season hit full speed. Meta's revenue rose 26% to $64.60 billion despite a $9.89 billion settlement charge, Tesla's GAAP net income fell to $787 million, and GE Aerospace, RTX, Lockheed Martin and American Express all raised their 2026 outlooks.
- Big deals and breakups kept coming. Salesforce agreed to buy Braze at about $5.66 billion in enterprise value, Abbott plans to spin off its roughly $8.5 billion Nutrition business, Prudential agreed to sell its Brazil and Mexico units for about $4 billion, and CRH closed its $8.5 billion Arcosa deal.
- Paychecks trailed prices. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported median weekly earnings of full-time workers rose 1.5% from a year earlier in the third quarter, against a 3.5% gain in consumer prices over the same period.
Top Stories of the Week
- Salesforce is buying Braze. It agreed to pay $47.50 a share in cash, a deal valued at about $5.66 billion in enterprise value, and expects to close in its fiscal 2028, according to its 8-K.
- Abbott plans a Nutrition spin-off. The business behind Similac, Pedialyte and Ensure, with about $8.5 billion in annual sales, would become an independent public company through a tax-free distribution by the end of 2027, the company said in an 8-K. Remaining Abbott would have about $42 billion in sales.
- Meta created a new non-voting share class. Its board approved a one-time dividend of one Class C share for each Class A and Class B share, contingent on a restated charter effective Jan. 19, 2027, according to its 8-K.
- Prudential is exiting Latin America. It agreed to sell Prudential of Brazil and Prudential of Mexico to CNP Assurances for about $4.025 billion in cash, with closing expected in the second half of 2027, the company said in an 8-K.
- Packaging and trading deals piled up. Silgan agreed to acquire Trivium Packaging in a deal valuing it at about $3.4 billion, Tradeweb agreed to buy Trumid for about $1.97 billion, and Cencora agreed to buy American Oncology Network at a $2.4 billion enterprise value, according to their 8-Ks.