Earnings, Deals, and Short Squeezes Drive Monday Action

US Movers After the Bell

AMC Entertainment soared after releasing Q2 results. The CEO declared the cinema chain has "won the fight" against at-home viewing. The move is notable — AMC has been a persistently shorted name, and any strong revenue beat compresses the bear case fast.

Steel Dynamics beat Q2 revenue expectations hard. Sales came in at $6.09B against a $5.57B estimate. EPS of $3.69 missed the $3.77 forecast slightly. Shares still popped after hours. Management expressed confidence in steel and aluminium demand through the rest of 2026 and into 2027 — a read-through for the broader materials complex.

Cracker Barrel jumped after the close for undisclosed reasons. With short interest at 32.6% of free float, any upside catalyst here is magnified. A squeeze is always possible at that SI level.

M&A: Cardinal Health Deals

Cardinal Health announced a $360M cash deal. It will acquire the diabetes health business of AdaptHealth and buy Strive Medical outright. The move extends Cardinal's push into specialty healthcare supply.

Banking and Earnings Ahead

Citigroup upgraded Citizens Financial Group and Regions Financial to Buy today. The bank calls come as JPMorgan's price target was lifted to $360. Regional banks are seeing fresh analyst support.

Alphabet reports Wednesday after the close. AI-driven search and cloud growth are the key themes. Intel follows Thursday — a critical data point for semiconductor demand.

Short Interest Watch

SNAP saw short interest jump 23.4% last week to 10% of free float. Lucid remains extreme at 38.1% with a cost to borrow of 229%. Critical minerals stocks CRML and MP Materials are both at or near full utilization, signalling tightening squeeze conditions.