Jim Cramer said Caterpillar Inc. may be a buying opportunity after the stock fell 24% in the third quarter, citing its growing role in supplying power for data centers. Caterpillar has secured substantial orders tied to data center electricity demand, including an agreement announced in January under which American Intelligence & Power ordered 2 gigawatts of natural gas generator sets for its Monarch Compute Campus, with deliveries scheduled from September 2026 through August 2027. The company's second-quarter sales and revenues rose 24% year-over-year to approximately $20.5 billion, with Power & Energy segment sales up 17%, Construction Industries up 35% and Resource Industries up 20%; adjusted profit per share increased to $8.17 from $4.72 and the adjusted operating margin expanded to 21.9% from 17.6%. Caterpillar also updated its outlook to approximately $2.2 billion in full-year tariff costs, excluding expected IEEPA tariff recoveries recorded in the second quarter. The stock trades at approximately 29x forward earnings versus 16x for Cummins Inc., and Insider Monkey's database of more than 1,000 hedge funds showed 84 funds holding Caterpillar in the second quarter, down from 87 in the first, with short interest at 2.03% of the public float.
IMF warns oil prices will stay high even after US-Iran war ends
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, said in Singapore that even if the conflict in the Persian Gulf region ends soon, energy prices are likely to remain elevated for some time. Brent crude futures reflect market expectations that oil prices will stay high through 2027. Although oil shipments out of the Persian Gulf have begun to recover, prices remain around 100 US dollars per barrel, reflecting high risks and transport costs. Combined with a crack spread that has risen by another roughly 100 dollars per barrel due to a global shortage of refining capacity, retail prices for diesel and other refined products have surged to record highs. Meanwhile, natural gas exports from the Persian Gulf continue to be severely affected because options for transporting liquefied natural gas, or LNG, are limited as long as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz faces threats. Asia and Europe have been hit especially hard, and price pressures could rise further as countries rebuild their oil reserves and energy demand increases with winter approaching. The remarks came ahead of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the IMF Board of Governors and the World Bank Group, the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings 2026, in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 12 to 18.
Energy Transition & Power Demand › Natural Gas Value Chain ▼Pricing
BRENT · Supply · Positive IMF says Brent futures reflect expectations oil stays high through 2027 amid Persian Gulf conflict risks and high transport costs.
WTI · Supply · Positive IMF warns oil prices will stay elevated even after the US-Iran war ends, with Brent expected high through 2027, supporting WTI prices.
HEATOIL · Supply · Positive Global shortage of refining capacity has pushed crack spreads up ~$100/bbl, driving diesel and refined product prices to record highs.
FuelCell Energy Appoints Matthew Latino CFO as Michael Bishop Steps Down
FuelCell Energy announced that Matthew Latino will succeed Michael Bishop as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer effective October 7, 2026, as part of a planned transition. Bishop, who served as CFO for 15 years during a tenure of more than two decades, will remain with the company as a senior advisor through its 2027 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Latino joins from Xylem Inc., where he was Senior Vice President, Finance and Segment Chief Financial Officer of its approximately $2 billion Measurement & Control Solutions business, and previously led Xylem's investor relations function. FuelCell Energy also reaffirmed its previously stated target of achieving positive Adjusted EBITDA results in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027, subject to the planned increase in annualized production rate, the conversion of awarded capacity backlog into committed backlog, customer delivery schedules and continued execution of its cost reduction initiatives.
ERock Signs Multi-Year Engine Long Block Supply Deal With Hyundai's HD Construction Equipment
ERock, Inc. has entered into a multi-year agreement with HD Construction Equipment, a subsidiary of Hyundai, for the supply of high-efficiency natural gas engine long blocks for its RockBlock generator. The agreement spans 2027 through 2028 and is intended to support increased production and help ERock fulfill large-scale orders from data centers, utilities, and other critical infrastructure operators. The long blocks form the core of ERock's proprietary natural gas generators and are engineered for reliability in the hyperscale data center segment. Chief Executive Officer John Carrington said long block supply is the foundation of the company's production and that the deal secures supply through 2028 as assembly capacity ramps, with production commitments extending into early 2028. ERock reported a $1.7 billion contracted backlog as of June 30, 2026, more than 400 operational sites, and approximately 1.1 GW of installed base, following major data center contracts with Meta and Microsoft. An HD Construction Equipment representative called the order a meaningful achievement that validates its engine long block technology in the emerging data center power market.
Energy Transition & Power Demand › Firm Power & Transition Fuels ▲Supply
Energy Transition & Power Demand › Behind-the-Meter & On-site Power ▲Supply
EROC · Supply · Positive Multi-year long block supply deal secures core generator input supply through 2028 as ERock ramps assembly capacity.
267270.KO · Demand · Positive HD Construction Equipment wins a multi-year order to supply engine long blocks to ERock, validating its technology in the data center power market.
Shell Refining Margin Hits Record $42 a Barrel on Fuel Crunch
Shell expects its indicative refining margin for the third quarter to have jumped to $42 per barrel, up from $24 per barrel in the second quarter, a record high that the UK-based major disclosed on Wednesday in its third quarter 2026 update note ahead of full results on October 29. The surge comes as global refining margins have soared on limited fuel flows from the Middle East and Russia's ban on diesel exports, which have compounded a global fuel crunch and taken an estimated 7-8 million barrels per day of refined petroleum products off the market. Shell's refinery utilization rate fell from 102% in the second quarter to an estimated 93% to 97% in the third quarter, as low water levels on the Rhine River hit utilization at the Rheinland refinery in Germany. Trading in the gas and fuel divisions is expected to be in line with the second quarter, while gas production guidance was lifted to 740,000 to 780,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 631,000 boe/d, including the completed acquisition of Canadian producer ARC Resources. Separately, Norway's Equinor guided on Wednesday for higher-than-expected earnings in its marketing, midstream, and processing division, citing unusually strong European refining margins and optimization in third-party LNG trading to push profits above the $400-million guidance.
Energy Transition & Power Demand › Natural Gas Value Chain ▲Supply
SHEL.LSE · Capital · Positive Shell expects a record indicative refining margin of $42/bbl in Q3, up from $24/bbl, and lifted gas production guidance to 740,000-780,000 boe/d.
EQNR · Capital · Positive Equinor guided for higher-than-expected earnings in its marketing, midstream and processing division on unusually strong European refining margins and LNG trading optimization.
Baker Hughes Signs Two Venezuela Energy Deals With LNG Potential
Baker Hughes has agreed two large Venezuela deals to redevelop gas and oil infrastructure, according to an announcement in early October 2026. One agreement sets up an alliance to repair and expand Venezuela's natural gas network, a step toward possible future LNG exports, while a separate partnership supports new upstream and midstream oil and gas projects across the country. The practical test is whether the alliance with PDVSA, Lindsayca and Fulcrum and the MOU with New Stratus quickly convert into specific, OFAC cleared contracts with disclosed scope and value. The Venezuela work fits alongside Baker Hughes' existing Industrial & Energy Technology orders, including data center power orders of US$2.2b and US$7.1b of IET orders in Q2 2026, rather than replacing that story. Baker Hughes is a US based energy services provider with a reported market value of about $57.0b.
Energy Transition & Power Demand › Natural Gas Value Chain ▲Demand
BKR · Demand · Positive Baker Hughes signed two Venezuela deals to redevelop gas and oil infrastructure, adding concrete orders to its IET backlog.
Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) · Demand · Positive PDVSA is a partner in the alliance to repair and expand Venezuela's natural gas network, supporting its gas/LNG ambitions.
Lindsayca · Demand · Positive Lindsayca is named as a partner in the Venezuela gas network alliance, gaining project work.
New Stratus Energy Inc. · Demand · Positive New Stratus signed an MOU supporting new upstream and midstream oil and gas projects in Venezuela.
BKV Signs Equipment Supply Contract Backed by Investment-Grade Hyperscaler
BKV Corporation announced that a wholly owned subsidiary has executed an equipment supply contract with a Tier 1 Supplier for natural gas-fired power generation equipment for its prospective power generation project in Texas, backed by a backstop agreement with a leading investment-grade hyperscaler that is also the intended off-taker. Under the backstop agreement, the hyperscaler has agreed to reimburse a portion of BKV's costs associated with the equipment and related project work, covering approximately 90% of the payments owed by BKV through March 31, 2027 under the equipment supply contract. The agreement supports procurement of long-lead-time equipment including gas turbines, reheat steam turbines, reheat heat recovery steam generators and a plant distributed control system, along with related auxiliary equipment and services. If BKV and the investment-grade hyperscaler have not reached mutually agreeable offtake arrangements by March 31, 2027, BKV may terminate the equipment supply contract at that time and have no further payment obligations thereunder. The equipment supply contract provides for approximately 1,200 megawatts of power generation equipment, with deliveries beginning in September 2028, supporting BKV's power growth strategy and closed-loop platform spanning natural gas production, power generation and carbon capture.
Energy Transition & Power Demand › Natural Gas Value Chain ▲Supply
Energy Transition & Power Demand › Firm Power & Transition Fuels ▲Supply
Energy Transition & Power Demand › Grid, Transmission & Power Equipment Supply
BKV · Demand · Positive BKV signed an equipment supply contract for 1,200 MW of gas-fired power generation backed by an investment-grade hyperscaler that is the intended off-taker, advancing its power growth strategy.