Today is Monday, July 27, 2026.

The Early Bird Index today is 83.44.

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United Airlines $UAL ( ▲ 2.54% ) has made it known that it's open to mergers. It also appears that its CEO personally pitched a consolidation plan to a rival.

Details: The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that United CEO Scott Kirby made a call to Delta Air Lines $DAL ( ▲ 3.77% ) CEO Ed Bastian last year about merging, but talks didn’t advance.

Background: A few months ago, another report said that United pitched a different major airline about a merger as well.

Early Bird’s Nest Egg Gains: The market reaction should mostly be limited to a short-lived headline trade unless new facts emerge. A United-Delta tie-up would face major antitrust scrutiny, so investors generally should not assume any takeover premium from this report alone.

Final Thoughts: While United’s stock is up 5.26% this year, shares of Delta are up 16%.

Notable Earnings Today: Applied Digital (Nasdaq: APLD), Navitas Semiconductor (Nasdaq: NVTS), Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR), F5 Networks (Nasdaq: FFIV), Welltower (NYSE: WELL), Bank of Hawaii (NYSE: BOH), Celestica (NYSE: CLS), Nucor (NYSE: NUE), Element Solutions (NYSE: ESI), Amkor (Nasdaq: AMKR), Agilysys (Nasdaq: AGYS), Alliance Resource Partners (Nasdaq: ARLP), Bank of Marin (Nasdaq: BMRC), Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son (NYSE: NTB), Brixmor Property (NYSE: BRX), Brown & Brown (NYSE; BRO), Cadence Design (Nasdaq: CDNS), Cincinnati Financial (Nasdaq: CINF), Coca-Cola Femsa (NYSE: KOF), Happen (Nasdaq: HAPN), HBT Financial (Nasdaq: HBT), Kforce (NYSE: KFRC), Kilroy Realty (NYSE: KRC), Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE), Perfect (NYSE: PERF), Principal Financial (Nasdaq: PFG), Rambus (Nasdaq: RMBS), Sanmina (Nasdaq: SANM), Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE: SSD), Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI), UDR (NYSE: UDR), Universal Health (NYSE: UHS).

Notable IPOs Today: Trinity Capital Inc. (NYSE: TRIN), D-Wave Quantum Inc. Common Stock (Nasdaq: QBTS), InterPrivate Investment Partners V, Inc. Class A Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq: IPVV), Long Table Growth Corp. Class A Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq: LTGR), FutureCorp Space Acquisition 1 (NYSE: FTRA).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Green Compass Climate Impact Note - 2nd Offer (Honeycomb Credit), AJ Skin Studio (Honeycomb Credit), Giant Baby Bottle (Honeycomb Credit).

Notable Economic Events Today: Durable Goods Orders / Core Durable Goods Orders (8:30 a.m. ET).

The price of Ethereum $ETH ( ▲ 2.1% ) jumped about 3% on Sunday to continue its recent surge that has occurred over the last few weeks.

Details: Ethereum has been the best-performing major crypto in July this year. It is up 23% since the start of July. In that same period, Bitcoin $BTC ( ▲ 0.66% ) is up 10%.

Powering the Story: Ethereum is up in July mostly because the market has shifted back toward risk-on assets, while Ethereum-specific demand has improved from ETF (exchange-traded fund) inflows and stronger institutional interest.

Final Thoughts: While Ethereum is living a great July, it was a different story in the first half of the year. In the first six months of 2026, Ethereum’s price plunged roughly 45%.

On Sunday, the spirits and wine company Brown-Forman $BF.A ( ▲ 1.75% ) rejected an unsolicited takeover proposal from rival Sazerac. The full details of the proposal were not disclosed.

Final Thoughts: Brown-Forman’s stock is down 60% over the last five years.

Major AI News: Nvidia in Talks With OpenAI to Guarantee $250 Billion Financing for Data Center (Wall Street Journal)

Baring It All: Instagram, Facebook Ran AI ‘Nudify’ Ads from China, Report Says (Bloomberg)

Tariff Pain: Shein swings to $99m loss as Trump tariffs hit sales (BBC)

Science Fiction Feeling: Sam Altman says we are in the singularity: 'This is the moment' (Business Insider)

Market Ghosts: For Gen X investors, dotcom bubble haunts stock market portfolios closing in on retirement (CNBC)

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_{The contents of Early Bird are intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. They do not constitute trade or investment recommendations, and they are not financial or legal advice. Readers are encouraged to consult licensed professionals for personalized guidance regarding their financial or legal situations.}