Good morning, CFOs. A $15 billion partnership and the increasing collaboration among major AI players despite rivalries; Home Depot cuts its outlook, citing consumer hesitation; plus, the Labor Department’s unexpected data update.

Three of the biggest companies in artificial intelligence announced a partnership featuring tens of billions of dollars in spending, adding to an investment spree that is aimed at supercharging AI model development, Sebastian Herrera, Amrith Ramkumar and Robbie Whelan report.

The details: Under the partnership, Nvidia and Microsoft will invest up to $15 billion in Anthropic, a competitor to OpenAI whose models are popular with coders and businesses. Anthropic, in turn, said it would buy $30 billion of compute capacity from Microsoft Azure and use advanced AI chips supplied by Nvidia, which will help with design and engineering.

Some context: The new partnership is the latest in an array of deals between technology giants and hot AI startups aimed at stoking growth in the fast-evolving sector. Also Tuesday, Google launched Gemini 3, an updated version of its own model.

The flurry of deals and vast sums that technology titans and investors alike are plowing into new infrastructure have raised concerns in recent weeks about whether AI-powered products will generate enough revenue to justify it.

Concerns about an AI bubble have contributed to a recent dip in the stock market. Shares of Microsoft and Nvidia fell nearly 3% on Tuesday, part of broad declines in the market.

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📆 Earnings

• Lowe’s
• Nvidia
• Target
• TJX
• Williams-Sonoma

📈 Economic Indicators

The Census Bureau releases new residential construction statistics for October.

The Federal Open Market Committee releases the minutes from its late October monetary-policy meeting.

Home Depot reported lower third-quarter profit and trimmed its full-year outlook as an extended downturn in home-improvement activity shows little sign of ending.

Broad economic uncertainty, high interest rates and a stagnant housing market are causing homeowners to delay remodeling projects and cut their spending on kitchen upgrades, bath remodels and roof replacements.

“Our customers tell us that they remain on the sidelines due to uncertainty and perhaps the hesitation to make larger financial commitments amid an uncertain economic environment,” Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said Tuesday.

📰 Other headlines

• Exclusive: Anheuser-Busch InBev Nears $700 Million Deal for Party Punch Maker BeatBox
• Nvidia Results and Delayed Jobs Data Set Up Critical Test for Wall Street
• Labor Department Fills in Some Missing Jobless-Claims Data
• Meta Defeats FTC’s Antitrust Case Alleging Social-Media Monopoly
• Cloudflare Service Resumes After Outage Disrupts X, ChatGPT, Other Sites
• Topgolf Callaway Sells Stake in Driving-Range Unit to Leonard Green
• The Crypto Trades That Amplified Gains Are Now Turbocharging Losses

📈 Earnings wrapup

• La-Z-Boy Second-Quarter Sales Rise on Retail, Wholesale Growth
• Temu Owner PDD Posts Tepid Revenue Growth, Flags Volatility Ahead
• Klarna’s Sales Jump in First Report Since IPO
• Lowe’s Sales Rise, Boosted by Growth in Pro Builder Business
• Target to Invest Billions to Upgrade Stores as Sales Slump Continues
• Sage Group Launches $394 Million Buyback After Profit, Revenue Rise

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Sirius XM Holdings, the New York-based satellite-radio company, named Zac Coughlin as its next CFO, plucking the executive from apparel maker PVH Corp. Coughlin joins Sirius as executive vice president and finance chief effective Jan. 1 and succeeds Thomas Barry, who is stepping down at the end of the year. Barry, who joined the company in 2009 and has been chief financial officer since 2023, will serve as an adviser through January to assist with the transition, the company said.

PVH said Coughlin, who has been CFO of the New York parent of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein since April 2022, will remain through the end of 2025, adding that it has launched a global search for a successor. Melissa Stone, who has spent more than two decades with the company and currently serves as executive vice president of global financial planning and analysis, will step in as interim finance chief, PVH said.

—Colin Kellaher contributed to today’s Ledger.

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

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