Tesla $TSLA ( ▼ 4.24% ) investors are happy Elon Musk is back in the driver’s seat. (Or, perhaps more accurately, the front passenger’s.)

After a brutal start to the year, the EV maker has not only recovered its sharp losses, but also surged to a new record. This came after Musk said the company is testing fully driverless vehicles, betting autonomy will outweigh slowing EV sales and rising competition.

It’s another milestone for the volatile tech giant. But worth noting, it’s not the first time Tesla’s valuation has been driven by what could be, not what is. Maybe that’s why it’s so enamored with autopilot.

— Brooks & Cas

Eco-Growth Strategies Inc (ECGS) is scaling a well-established Hawaiian water brand into a broader growth platform.

Through its acquisition of Hawaiian Isles Water Company, the brand already reaches about 20,000 retail locations across Hawaii and the mainland. Assets include a 55,000 square foot certified bottling facility, equipment capable of producing 1,800 bottles per minute, and proprietary water sources with less than 5 ppm TDS.

With $2.4 million in strategic capital, ECGS is funding facility upgrades, production scale, and operational readiness in a bottled water market projected to exceed $500 billion by 2032. The company has also reserved the Nasdaq ticker THWC as it builds the governance, reporting, and financial standards required for a potential uplisting.

A move to a national exchange could improve liquidity, visibility, and access to institutional capital as ECGS expands across the globe.

Elanco Animal Health $ELAN ( ▼ 1.87% ) gained after the CEO and CFO disclosed open-market share purchases.

Circle Internet Group $CRCL ( ▼ 2.21% ) jumped after Visa $V ( ▲ 0.01% ) said US partners can settle transactions using Circle’s USDC stablecoin.

Southwest Airlines $LUV ( ▼ 1.73% ) climbed to a new 52-week high after Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight.

Haliburton $HAL ( ▲ 1.07% ) and APA Energy $APA ( ▲ 1.88% ) stocks slid as US crude hit its lowest level since 2021.

Estee Lauder $EL ( ▲ 0.97% ) rose after Bank of America $BAC ( ▼ 0.36% ) added the stock to its US 1 List as a top beauty pick for 2026.

To monitor hot stocks in real time, check out The Street Feed.

SpaceX may not be ready for liftoff yet, but its trajectory seems clearer than ever.

Elon Musk’s space company is widely expected to go public next year, with reports pointing to a valuation around $1.5 trillion. That would make it the largest IPO ever.

Because SpaceX remains private, retail investors cannot buy shares directly. Still, the anticipation alone is already rippling through public markets, lifting companies with even loose ties to the space economy.

In that sense, this is one small IPO for SpaceX, one giant valuation reset for its sector.

The biggest winners will likely be private holders. Ron Baron has said SpaceX represents roughly a quarter of his personal wealth and a major position inside the Baron Partners Fund. Cathie Wood has also made SpaceX the largest holding in ARK’s Venture Fund, citing Starlink and launch services as long runway drivers.

Public investors are left looking for proxies. EchoStar $SATS ( ▼ 2.72% ) has drawn renewed attention due to its equity stake in SpaceX, acquired through earlier spectrum-related transactions. The exposure is indirect, but scarcity has value when the real thing is unavailable.

These vehicles do not offer pure exposure. But they give investors a seat in the crowd watching the countdown.

A SpaceX IPO would likely act as a valuation anchor for listed peers. Rocket Lab $RKLB ( ▼ 3.57% ) is often viewed as the closest public comparable on the launch side, with a growing cadence of missions and a long backlog.

Beyond rockets, analysts see spillover potential in space infrastructure. Planet Labs $PL ( ▼ 6.82% ) and Intuitive Machines $LUNR ( ▼ 4.17% ) sit closer to the data and services layer, which could gain relevance as orbital computing and satellite platforms evolve.

In other words, you may not be able to buy SpaceX, but you can bet that rising (space) tides will lift more than one rocket.

Hawaiian Isles Water has been a trusted local brand for nearly 30 years. Eco-Growth Strategies (OTC: ECGS) is preparing to take it international.

The brand sources water from Hawaiian aquifers and operates certified production infrastructure approved by the State of Hawaii, FDA, and Board of Health. These attributes support purity, origin credibility, and reliability as demand for premium bottled water grows.

Premium water now leads US packaged beverages, with global demand projected to reach about $503 billion by 2032. ECGS is targeting expanded US distribution and entry into Asia while strengthening its corporate foundation for a potential Nasdaq uplisting.

Supported by $2.4 million in cumulative investment, the company has improved production readiness, facility optimization, and public company standards. The reserved ticker THWC signals ECGS’ intent to pursue greater market visibility and a broader shareholder base.

CNBC: Meta $META ( ▼ 0.53% ) began testing an Instagram for TV app on Amazon $AMZN ( ▼ 0.15% ) Fire TV in the US, expanding Reels viewing beyond smartphones.

WSJ: Kraft Heinz $KHC ( ▲ 0.83% ) named former Kellanova $K ( ▼ 0.01% ) CEO Steve Cahillane as CEO effective Jan. 1, replacing Carlos Abrams-Rivera ahead of its breakup.

CNN: Ford $F ( ▼ 2.49% ) took a $19.5B earnings charge after scaling back EV plans and halting F-150 Lightning production indefinitely.

Axios: OpenAI launched ChatGPT Images, enabling faster image generation and editing, escalating competition with Google’s $GOOGL ( ▼ 3.15% ) Nano Banana and Adobe $ADBE ( ▲ 1.91% ) tools.

FOX Business: The US added 64K jobs in November, beating estimates, while unemployment rose to 4.6%, the highest since 2021.

Which category will outperform in 2026?

▇▇▇▇▇▇ 🇺🇸 US Agricultural Stocks

▇▇▇▇▇▇ 🇨🇳 Chinese Agricultural Stocks

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