Today’s market offers plenty of noise and opportunity. In this issue of Steady Investor, we look at what’s shaping investor sentiment now and how you can keep your strategy focused on long-term growth.
- Bank earnings are looking strong
- “Non-official” data on retail spending shows solid activity
- The data center boom is outpacing the U.S. power grid
Bank Earnings Are Hitting the Tape, and They’re Looking Strong – America’s biggest banks kicked off third-quarter earnings season with a clear message: the economy is holding up. Profits and revenues for major money center banks came in above expectations, helped by rising deal activity, corporate spending, and resilient consumer behavior. Taken together, the six largest U.S. banks earned nearly $41 billion last quarter, a 19% increase from a year ago.In earnings calls, we’ve been hearing a consistent set of themes: U.S. consumers remain strong with stable deposits and steady card spending. But as ever, the optimism coming from banks also cited risks on the horizon, namely a cooling job market, potential fallout from the government shutdown, and recent high-profile bankruptcies in the credit space. We tend to see these fears as largely priced-in (government shutdown, job weakness) and not necessarily indicative of the broader U.S. economy’s health (high-profile bankruptcies in the auto sector). Overall, delinquencies remain low and lending activity is steady. A steepening yield curve with falling short-term rates could bolster that outlook. For the Zacks Finance sector as a whole, Q3 earnings are expected to increase by +10.7% from the same period last year on +6.1% higher revenues, as the chart below shows.1
Finance Sector Quarterly Growth Rates Comparison
How to Avoid Financial Pitfalls in this Market
Numerous financial myths, like social security running out, circulate widely, often leading to detrimental consequences.
I recommend familiarizing yourself with common financial myths and pitfalls that can derail your financial journey.
To keep you on track, I’m offering our guide, Debunking Common Financial Myths3, which addresses myths, like:
- When you retire, you should get out of stocks completely
- It’s essential to watch the daily movements in the stock market
- Financial advisors always have your best interests in mind
- And more!
If you have $500,000 or more to invest, download our free guide below!
Get our FREE guide: Debunking Common Financial Myths3
“Non-Official” Data on Retail Spending Shows Solid Activity in September – With the official government retail sales report delayed due to the ongoing shutdown, investors are leaning more heavily on alternate indicators, produced by regional Fed branches and private companies.The Chicago Fed’s Advance Retail Trade Summary (CARTS), a model-based proxy for Census Bureau retail sales data, estimated that retail sales excluding motor vehicles and parts rose 0.5% in September, following a 0.7% increase in August. That growth moderated slightly when adjusting for inflation, with real sales up an estimated 0.2% last month, down from 0.3% the month before.Private data sources echoed the trend. Fiserv’s ‘SpendTrend’ report showed retail sales were up 2.5% year-over-year in September, with electronics and general merchandise stores leading the way. Online, furniture, and health-related categories saw declines, underscoring a shift toward more necessity-driven spending.Importantly, retail activity continues to be supported by higher-income households, who are still benefiting from solid wage growth and rising real estate and investment wealth. A Bank of America Institute survey showed that September spending among high earners rose 2.6%, compared to 1.6% among middle-income and 0.6% among low-income groups.4
The Data Center Boom is Outpacing the U.S. Power Grid – As tech companies race to dominate artificial intelligence, they’re hitting a critical, structural roadblock. There’s not enough electricity. In an effort to adapt and stay ahead in the ‘AI arms race,’ tech companies are building their own energy solutions: natural gas turbines, fuel cells, diesel generators, and battery storage systems. Building or connecting to large-scale transmission lines (i.e., connecting to the grid) can take years, and permitting delays, equipment shortages, and tariffs have only made things harder. A single data center now consumes as much electricity as thousands of homes, and AI workloads multiply demand further. A single AI search, for instance, can require 10x the energy of a standard Google search.All this is happening while U.S. generation capacity is falling behind. The U.S. is adding fewer than 65 gigawatts per year, far short of the 80 gigawatts needed annually to support growing demand from AI, crypto, manufacturing, and electrification trends. Globally, the U.S. is falling behind China in building power infrastructure. China added over 400 gigawatts of new generation last year, about 8x the U.S. pace, and is on track to double U.S. investment in power plants, storage, and grid upgrades in 2025, according to the IEA.
Even if the U.S. ramps up soon, some data centers won’t be able to plug into the grid until the 2030s.Until then, the ‘DIY power’ model is booming. Projects are snapping up small turbines, backup engines, and natural gas infrastructure to power AI campuses in Oklahoma, Utah, California, and beyond.5
Headlines Change Fast. Don’t Let Them Shake Your Plan – Market headlines will keep, but lasting success comes from tuning out the noise and staying focused on what drives long-term growth.
Our free guide, Debunking Common Financial Myths6, helps familiarize long-term investors with common myths and pitfalls that can derail your journey to success.
This guide covers a few myths, such as:
- Retirees should get out of stocks completely
- It’s essential to watch the daily movements in the stock market
- Financial advisors always have your best interests in mind
- And more!
If you have $500,000 or more to invest, I recommend downloading your free guide today!
Disclosure
2 Zacks Investment Research, Inc. October 8, 2025. https://www.zacks.com/commentary/2764974/the-q3-earnings-season-gets-underway-a-closer-look
3 ZIM may amend or rescind the Debunking Common Financial Myths guide for any reason and at ZIM’s discretion.
4 Zacks Investment Research, Inc. October 15, 2025. https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2025-10-15/us-retail-sales-excluding-autos-likely-increased-again-in-september-chicago-fed-says
5 Wall Street Journal. October 15, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/ai-data-centers-desperate-for-electricity-are-building-their-own-power-plants-291f5c81?mod=djemMoneyBeat_us
6 ZIM may amend or rescind the Debunking Common Financial Myths guide for any reason and at ZIM’s discretion.
DISCLOSURE
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