CUPERTINO, Calif. — A new wave of leaks surrounding Apple’s upcoming A20 Pro processor suggests the chip powering the iPhone 18 Pro lineup could deliver a significant jump in graphics performance, just days before Apple is expected to formally unveil the new devices at its Sept. 9 launch event.

The leaks stem primarily from a Weibo user known as “Fried White Rice,” who reconstructed an alleged layout of the A20 Pro chip by mapping the positions of solder balls on a circuit diagram and overlaying them with die-level imagery. While this type of indirect analysis is far from an exact science, several outlets covering the leak noted that the account has a degree of credibility based on prior reporting.

According to the reconstructed diagram, the A20 Pro is expected to feature a seven-core GPU, up from the six-core graphics configuration found in the current A19 Pro chip, representing roughly a 16% increase in the number of graphics cores. The layout also points to a wider 96-bit memory interface for LPDDR5X RAM, a substantial jump from the 64-bit interface used in the prior generation, a change that would meaningfully expand the chip’s available memory bandwidth.

Because graphics performance tends to scale closely with memory bandwidth, several outlets covering the leak suggested that the combination of an additional GPU core and a 50% wider memory interface could translate into graphics performance gains considerably larger than the core count increase alone would suggest. Macworld’s analysis of the leak estimated that, when accounting for both the added core and the wider memory bus, real-world GPU performance gains could land somewhere in the range of 20% to 30%, though the outlet cautioned that such projections remain speculative pending official confirmation from Apple.

The leaked diagram also pointed to changes in the chip’s cache memory architecture. According to the analysis, the smaller efficiency CPU cores are expected to share an 8-megabyte Level 2 cache, up from 6 megabytes on the A19 Pro, while the chip’s more powerful performance cores are expected to retain an unchanged 16-megabyte L2 cache. The overall CPU core configuration is expected to remain consistent with the prior generation, featuring two high-performance cores paired with four efficiency cores.

Separately, a specific performance figure has circulated from another Weibo-based leaker, Fixed Focus Digital, who claimed in supply-chain commentary that the A20 Pro would run up to 18% faster than the A19 Pro while delivering up to 30% better power efficiency. That figure has been cited widely across coverage of the chip, though it has also drawn scrutiny from some technology analysts.

Writing for Yellow, technology journalist Jason Cross pushed back on how the 18% figure has been broadly interpreted, arguing that the number more likely describes performance characteristics of TSMC’s underlying 2-nanometer manufacturing process rather than representing a confirmed, chip-specific performance benchmark for the A20 Pro itself. The A20 Pro is expected to be the first Apple processor built on TSMC’s 2-nanometer node, replacing the 3-nanometer process used in Apple’s current generation of chips, and Apple is expected to be among the first major customers to use that new manufacturing process at scale.

Beyond performance figures, the leaks also point to a broader restructuring of the chip’s physical packaging. Reports have suggested Apple plans to integrate RAM more closely with the CPU, GPU and Neural Engine using TSMC’s Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module packaging technology, a change from the current design in which memory dies are stacked. Under the new approach, memory dies would instead be placed beside the main system-on-chip rather than stacked directly on top of it.

The leaked die imagery did not include clearly labeled details for the chip’s Image Signal Processor or Neural Engine components, leaving their exact size and configuration unconfirmed based on the available images. Some analysts covering the leak speculated that the Neural Engine could see a substantial size increase in this generation, potentially even doubling in scale, drawing a comparison to a similar expansion Apple made to its Neural Engine architecture within its M6 chip used in Mac computers.

The A20 Pro is expected to power both the standard iPhone 18 Pro and the larger iPhone 18 Pro Max, and is also rumored to be used, potentially in a modified configuration, within Apple’s long-anticipated first foldable iPhone, sometimes referred to in early reporting as the iPhone Ultra. Given the thinner form factor and more constrained thermal environment expected within a foldable device, some analysts have suggested Apple could disable one of the chip’s GPU cores in that specific model to manage heat and battery life, a pattern the company has followed previously with other space-constrained device variants, such as its decision to disable one A19 Pro GPU core within the iPhone Air.

Cost estimates tied to the new chip have also circulated alongside the performance leaks. According to reporting cited by Yellow, Apple may pay close to $280 per A20 chip unit, representing an increase of roughly 80% compared with what the equivalent A19 chip reportedly cost the company, a jump that reflects both the more advanced manufacturing process and the added complexity of the chip’s new packaging approach.

Apple has not confirmed any of the technical specifications circulating in these pre-launch leaks, and as with all unofficial supply-chain and circuit-diagram-based reporting, the details should be treated as informed speculation rather than confirmed fact until Apple formally unveils the new devices. The company is widely expected to introduce the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and potentially its first foldable iPhone alongside at least seven other new devices during its scheduled Sept. 9 event.

Should the leaked specifications prove accurate, the resulting graphics performance improvements could meaningfully benefit demanding mobile games, graphics-intensive applications, and on-device artificial intelligence processing tied to Apple’s ongoing Apple Intelligence initiative, an area where the company has increasingly emphasized the importance of local, on-device computing power rather than relying solely on cloud-based processing. Independent testing following the device’s official release will ultimately be needed to confirm whether the new A20 Pro chip delivers on the performance gains suggested by this week’s leaked circuit diagrams.

EXCLUSIVE: Goldman Sachs is making progress on its new 800,000-square-foot campus in Dallas as it deepens its presence in the city, which has emerged as a key regional financial hub.

The firm has a longstanding presence in the Dallas metro area, where it has its second-largest base of employees in the U.S. behind only its New York City headquarters, and the new campus will allow Goldman Sachs to combine two offices into one facility where all the firm’s various business units can be situated and collaborate.

Ericka Leslie, chief administrative officer at Goldman Sachs, told FOX Business in an interview after visiting the new campus in Dallas as construction continues that “I can’t say it enough, I think Dallas is a great place to do business, it really is. The building is beautiful.”

“We’re in two buildings now, we’re going to be able to combine everybody into this state-of-the-art space, and it’s right next to the Perot museum, and the city itself is very vibrant. So we’re looking forward to it, and we’re going to grow there,” Leslie said. “It’s a growth opportunity for us inside of the United States, and it’s a really vibrant place to do business.”

WHY MAJOR FINANCIAL FIRMS ARE EXPANDING TEXAS PRESENCE BEYOND TRADITIONAL WALL STREET HUB

The new Goldman Sachs campus in downtown Dallas is under construction, with a projected opening in January 2028. (Shelby Tauber for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The new campus will include an auditorium as well as a wide range of amenities, including a wellness center, fitness facility, a backup daycare, multiple spaces offering cafeteria or cafeteria-like services, a coffee bar and outdoor spaces with trees and shade.

Employees will be able to park underneath the building and a retail space will be built across the street that offers additional options nearby for those working at the new campus.

“I find people want to leave their desk, so to speak, and go to another place, but maybe they only have 30 minutes free, and they want to grab a coffee or have a conversation with people,” Leslie said.

“There are a lot of places where you can meet up and sit down and be outside or be inside. And I think that’s really important to people because it gets hot there in the summer, people don’t want to have to walk around outside, it’s completely air-conditioned.”

GOLDMAN SACHS TO CONTRIBUTE $1,000 TO TRUMP ACCOUNTS FOR ELIGIBLE CHILDREN OF EMPLOYEES

The new campus will offer views overlooking downtown Dallas and the Perot Museum, including from outdoor areas. (Goldman Sachs)

The new campus will also have a park outside that’s about an acre and a half in size, which Leslie said crews were working on when she visited the site.

“The outside of the building is mostly complete, and they have to do that in order to start fitting out the inside of the building and air conditioning it, so that will begin fairly shortly. We’re looking for a launch around January 2028,” Leslie said.

She noted that stiff competition for work crews amid the construction boom in the Dallas area has contributed to some delays, though the new campus is still expected to open on schedule.

“The project is mostly on time. It’s slightly delayed, there’s quite a bit of development going on in Dallas right now, and so we’re seeing small delays,” she said, adding that the company expects to be occupying the space in January 2028.

Y’ALL STREET LAUNCHES: TEXAS STOCK EXCHANGE GOES LIVE IN DALLAS

The new Goldman Sachs campus in Dallas will allow the firm to consolidate and grow its presence in the region. (Goldman Sachs)

Leslie noted that Goldman Sachs was one of the firms that contributed to the launch of the Texas Stock Exchange in Dallas, which went fully live for the first time in late July, while other companies are looking to move into the area or are considering doing so.

She added that as more companies are attracted to downtown Dallas, she sees the city becoming more of an urban center with people choosing to live within the city rather than commuting in from the suburbs.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told CNBC in an interview this week that the firm’s headcount in New York City has remained at a little less than 10,000 and hasn’t grown in about 20 years, while it has expanded its overall U.S. headcount with growth in places like Dallas and Salt Lake City. Solomon said that “talent plays a role in it – where is talent available – but also policy, taxes, environment.”

Leslie echoed that sentiment, telling FOX Business that “We like to go to places where you can attract young talent, and New York has always been a place where people want to work when they first get out of college.”

“But I was really surprised walking the Katy Trail [in Dallas] and seeing the number of people that are just starting out in their careers and out walking, getting exercise. I can’t emphasize this enough, there were thousands of people – I almost couldn’t make my way, I had to keep going around people,” she said. “It was a really nice thing to see.”

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“I think more and more you’re going to end up seeing places where you’ve got really robust talent pools, you have a lot of universities, and it’s going to be a place where we’re going to attract young people,” Leslie added. “I think Dallas has a really bright future.”

Zoox announced Thursday that its driverless robotaxis will begin transporting passengers to and from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, marking the company’s first airport service.

The Amazon-owned company told FOX Business that, beginning Thursday, riders can book trips between Harry Reid International Airport and the Las Vegas Strip.

“Bringing autonomous transportation to one of the country’s busiest airports requires true partnership, and we are grateful to the Clark County Department of Aviation and the state of Nevada for their continued support as we help shape the future of mobility,” said Ron Thaniel, Zoox’s senior director of policy and regulatory affairs.

A Zoox robotaxi driving down the Las Vegas Strip in front of the Luxor Hotel & Casino. (Zoox Inc.)

WAYMO EXPANDS DRIVERLESS ROBOTAXI SERVICE TO 3 MAJOR US CITIES

Zoox will pick up and drop off passengers at designated curbside locations at the airport, with pickup and drop-off points varying by each of the two passenger terminals.

The robotaxis use lights and audio cues to help riders locate them in busy pickup areas, and passengers can pair their devices via Bluetooth to listen to their own music during the ride.

The vehicles seat four passengers and feature carriage-style seating, with two rows facing each other. The company said there is enough room for roughly one piece of luggage per person if the vehicle is full.

Zoox robotaxi drives down Las Vegas Boulevard. (Zoox Inc.)

ZOOX ROBOTAXI REDESIGN BRINGS BIG RIDER UPGRADES

On July 31, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration granted Zoox a temporary exemption from certain federal motor vehicle safety standards, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the company to begin charging for rides.

The exemption was necessary because the vehicles lack traditional driver controls, including a steering wheel and pedals, that are required under federal safety standards.

After receiving the federal government’s blessing, Zoox launched paid robotaxi rides in Las Vegas on Aug. 10. The company also operates in San Francisco, where its service remains in the testing phase.

Interior of a Zoox robotaxi, which has four seats.

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Destinations within the app include the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Sphere, the T-Mobile Arena and many major resorts on the Strip.

According to Zoox’s website, the company is looking to begin offering paid rides in 10 other cities, including Seattle, Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Diego and Los Angeles.

CAMDEN, NJ. — The Campbell’s Co. is adding electrolytes to its V8 Energy line. The V8 Energy with Electrolytes line is offered in drink mix sticks and ready-to-drink (RTD) canned formats.

The drink mixes are made with magnesium and vitamins A, C, E and B.

The RTD cans are formulated with potassium, electrolytes and B vitamins.

Both formats are available in lemon lime, strawberry passionfruit and white peach flavors, and each flavor contains 80 milligrams of caffeine.

The cans are available online through Amazon and Walmart. The drink mixes will launch online later this year. Both products will roll out in retailers in 2027, according to the company.

The launch follows the limited-time launch of V8’s yuzu lemon Energy with Electrolytes beverage in March.

This article was written by

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Big ideas are easy to describe. Making them work across complex products, global teams and large organizations is much harder.

That is where Ned Curic has spent much of his career.

Across nearly three decades, Curic has worked in aerospace, enterprise technology, software, connected vehicles and automotive product development. His career has included roles at Northrop Grumman, Microsoft, Toyota, Amazon and Stellantis.

Today, he is responsible for Product Development & Technology and is a member of the Stellantis Leadership Team.

The common thread across those roles is not simply innovation. It is the work required to turn new technology into systems that can operate reliably, integrate with other technologies and scale across real products.

How Ned Curic Built a Career Around Complex Systems

Curic began his career in 1996 in Engineering Systems at Northrop Grumman.

Aerospace and defense engineering leaves little room for disconnected thinking. Systems must work together. Decisions made in one area can affect performance elsewhere. Reliability, architecture and integration matter as much as individual components.

That systems perspective became useful as Curic moved into other industries.

After a short period in the financial sector, he joined Microsoft in 2000. His work there covered consulting, product, security and advisory roles.

The breadth mattered.

Product development is rarely only a software problem or only an engineering problem. Security, architecture, customer requirements, infrastructure and operating constraints all interact. Curic’s time at Microsoft gave him exposure to those different layers during a period of major change in enterprise technology.

Why Automotive Became a Systems and Software Challenge

Curic entered the automotive industry in 2013 as Group Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Toyota Motor North America.

By then, vehicles were becoming more dependent on software, connectivity and data. That created a different engineering challenge.

A vehicle may contain many technologies, but customers experience one product. Software cannot be treated as an isolated feature. Hardware, software, data, interfaces and services need to work as a system.

For established manufacturers, this also creates an industrial challenge. New ideas have to move beyond demonstrations and prototypes. They have to meet requirements for reliability, safety, cost, manufacturing and long-term support.

That shift from individual technologies to integrated platforms became an important part of Curic’s automotive career.

Building Toyota Connected and New Product Capabilities

In 2015, Curic became Co-founder, Executive Vice President, Technical Director and Board Member of Toyota Connected.

The move reflected a broader change taking place across the automotive industry. Connected services were becoming part of the product itself, rather than an optional layer added after vehicle development.

Building that capability required more than developing individual applications.

Data systems, software platforms, customer experiences and vehicle technologies had to be connected. Teams with different disciplines also had to work across organizational boundaries.

The challenge was therefore both technical and operational: create new capabilities while making sure they could function inside the requirements of a global automotive business.

That experience placed Curic directly in the transition from traditional vehicle engineering towards more software-intensive product development.

Bringing Consumer Technology Into the Vehicle

Curic joined Amazon in June 2017 as Vice President of Alexa Automotive.

Voice technology had already gained traction in homes. Bringing it into vehicles created a different set of constraints.

Automotive systems need to operate in changing environments. They interact with existing vehicle functions. Interfaces have to reduce friction rather than create more of it. New services also need to integrate with technology that may have been designed years earlier.

Curic’s work at Amazon placed him at the intersection of consumer software and automotive engineering.

It was another example of a recurring challenge in his career: taking technology that works in one environment and adapting it for a much more complex product system.

Product Development and Technology at Stellantis

At Stellantis, Curic is responsible for Product Development & Technology and is a member of the Stellantis Leadership Team.

The scale of that responsibility changes the nature of innovation.

A new technology is not successful simply because a prototype works. It has to move through engineering, integration, validation and production. It may need to work across different vehicle programmes, markets, brands and regulatory environments.

That requires end-to-end accountability.

Architecture decisions need to account for how technologies will interact later. Engineering teams need clear ownership across boundaries. Product development must consider how new capabilities can be industrialized rather than developed as isolated experiments.

Artificial intelligence adds another layer. AI can support engineering work, improve development processes and help teams handle growing product complexity. But useful deployment still depends on strong data, clear systems architecture and disciplined engineering judgement.

What Ned Curic’s Career Says About Industrializing Innovation

Curic’s career shows that bringing a major idea to life is rarely about one breakthrough moment.

It is usually a systems problem.

The work happens between concept and production. It involves deciding how technologies fit together, who owns each decision, how teams collaborate and whether a solution can perform reliably at scale.

Curic studied Informatics and Computer Science and earned his MBA from Pepperdine University’s George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management in 2012. That combination of technical and business training fits the type of problems he has worked on throughout his career.

From engineering systems to connected platforms and global automotive product development, his work has increasingly centered on one question: how do you take promising technology and make it work across the full product lifecycle?

That is a more demanding task than generating ideas. It is also where many of the most important technology decisions are made.

Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — Shares of Victoria’s Secret & Co. tumbled Thursday, falling $12.72, or 15%, to $72.09 as of 12:19 p.m. ET, after the lingerie and apparel retailer’s soft third-quarter profit outlook overshadowed a strong second-quarter earnings beat and an improved full-year revenue forecast.

The company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 95 cents, well ahead of the 75-cent consensus estimate compiled by analysts. Revenue rose 10% year over year to $1.61 billion, roughly in line with the $1.62 billion Wall Street had projected. Adjusted operating income for the quarter came in at $124 million, a significant improvement from the $55 million reported during the same period a year earlier.

Comparable sales climbed 9% during the quarter, topping the consensus projection of 8.8% growth. That figure, however, marked a notable deceleration from the 13% comparable-sales growth Victoria’s Secret delivered in the first quarter, a slowdown that added to investor unease heading into Thursday’s trading session.

The steep share-price decline was driven primarily by the company’s disappointing forward guidance for the current quarter. Victoria’s Secret projected third-quarter revenue of between $1.57 billion and $1.6 billion, modestly ahead of the Street’s $1.56 billion estimate. But the company’s third-quarter operating income outlook fell well short of expectations, with the midpoint of its guidance at just $15 million, compared with a Wall Street estimate of $24.4 million heading into the report.

Management attributed part of the gap to a planned increase in strategic marketing investment during the current quarter. Victoria’s Secret CEO Hillary Super framed the additional spending as a deliberate choice tied to the company’s broader turnaround strategy rather than a sign of weakening fundamentals.

“We see significant opportunity ahead and are doubling down on what is working,” Super said. “We are increasing our strategic marketing investment to expand our reach, deepen customer connection, and build on the brand heat we are creating.”

Complicating the picture further, Victoria’s Secret disclosed that its second-quarter operating income had been boosted by more than $140 million in one-time tariff refunds, a benefit that will not recur in future quarters and that masked the underlying trajectory of the company’s core profitability during the period just reported.

Despite the weak near-term profit outlook, Victoria’s Secret raised its full-year 2026 guidance on both revenue and operating income. The company lifted its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $7.1 billion to $7.18 billion, up from a previous range of $7.03 billion to $7.13 billion, and roughly in line with the $7.14 billion analyst consensus. Victoria’s Secret also raised its 2026 adjusted operating income guidance to a range of $560 million to $590 million, up from a prior range of $550 million to $580 million.

Guggenheim analyst Simeon Siegel acknowledged the strength of the quarter’s bottom-line results even while flagging concerns about the trajectory implied by the company’s updated guidance. Siegel described the results as featuring a “strong bottom-line beat,” while noting that the guidance implied fourth-quarter earnings appeared to be tracking below where Wall Street had previously expected them to land.

Thursday’s decline stands in sharp contrast to the stock’s performance over the preceding months. Shares of Victoria’s Secret had surged 57% year to date through Wednesday’s close, reflecting substantial investor confidence in the company’s ongoing turnaround efforts under Super’s leadership. That rally had been fueled in part by a blowout first-quarter earnings report released earlier this year, when the company posted net sales of $1.56 billion, up 15% year over year, alongside adjusted earnings per share of 60 cents that nearly doubled analyst expectations of 32 cents at the time. Multiple analysts, including those at JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Telsey Advisory, had raised their price targets on the stock in the weeks leading up to Thursday’s report, reflecting elevated expectations heading into the print that may have amplified the market’s disappointment once the softer third-quarter guidance was disclosed.

Market analysts characterized Thursday’s selloff as reflecting a guidance-quality concern rather than a fundamental deterioration in the company’s underlying business. One analysis from Investing.com described the situation as “a guidance-quality problem, not an earnings-collapse problem,” noting that while the company’s full-year outlook actually improved following the report, the market’s attention centered squarely on the softer near-term operating income trajectory implied for the third quarter.

The broader stock market provided little cover for Victoria’s Secret’s decline Thursday, with the S&P 500 trading essentially flat and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edging modestly higher during the session, underscoring that the drop in Victoria’s Secret shares was driven almost entirely by company-specific factors rather than broader market conditions.

Victoria’s Secret has continued to face scrutiny over its underlying operating margin trends even amid periods of strong top-line growth. In a separate analysis of an earlier quarterly report this year, market commentators noted that the company’s operating margin had weakened to 10.1%, down from 12.7% in the same quarter a year earlier, a decline attributed to rising marketing and administrative expenses that offset gains from higher sales. That pattern of strong revenue growth paired with margin pressure has become a recurring theme in the market’s response to the company’s recent earnings reports.

Victoria’s Secret shares have proven notably volatile over the trailing 12 months, with the stock recording 42 separate moves greater than 5% in either direction over that period, according to data compiled by market analysts, reflecting the market’s heightened sensitivity to each successive earnings report as investors continue evaluating the progress of the company’s broader turnaround strategy.

The company’s third-quarter results will be closely watched heading into the critical holiday shopping season, when Victoria’s Secret’s increased marketing investment is expected to be tested against the backdrop of broader consumer spending patterns and continued competitive pressure within the intimate apparel and beauty retail sector. With full-year guidance now raised despite the softer near-term outlook, investors and analysts are likely to continue debating whether Thursday’s sharp share-price decline represents a buying opportunity tied to a temporary spending-driven dip in profitability, or a more meaningful signal of margin pressure that could persist as the company continues investing in its turnaround efforts under Super’s leadership.