Widest gap
Media & Entertainment and Real Estate & Construction
66
Media & Entertainment and Real Estate & Construction have the widest Change-Response Gap on the Index this month.
THE HYDER INDEX · OCTOBER 2026
58
Narrow Gapunchanged vs September
Industries are changing 1.3x faster than companies are responding.
Companies are keeping up with about 75% of the change around them.
The Hyder Index measures the Change-Response Gap: how fast industries are changing versus how fast companies are responding. 50 means they are even. Higher means the gap is wider. How we measure it →
Data window: September. Published in October.
Updated the first Tuesday of every month. Next edition: November 3.
Biggest move
Legal & Professional Services
▼ 2
Legal & Professional Services fell 2 points to 65.
Keeping pace
2 industries
Financial Services & FinTech, Hospitality & Travel
October 2026
The Hyder Index held at 58 in October, unchanged from September and still a Narrow Gap reading, with industries changing 1.3 times faster than companies respond. Legal & Professional Services fell two points to 65 as its Response Score rose five, the largest response gain this month. Media & Entertainment and Real Estate & Construction now share the widest gap at 66.
Read the full current edition for the monthly narrative, six-signal analysis, sources and The Read.
Which industries are furthest behind?
Each industry gets a score from 0 to 100. 50 means companies are keeping pace with the change around them. Higher means change is winning.
0-50 Keeping Pace 51-59 Narrow Gap 60-69 Significant Gap 70-100 Critical Gap
Media & Entertainment
66
Significant Gap
Media & Entertainment held at 66 and shares the widest gap on the Index with Real Estate & Construction. Evidence was thin this month. Fortune, the business magazine, reported that eight major streaming services now cost $139 a month combined without ads, and OpenAI signed its first Canadian news deal with Village Media. Watch Netflix's third-quarter report on October 20 for any AI figures.
Change
72
Response
40
Keeping up
55%
Delta
0
Evidence: Thin (4 sources)
Real Estate & Construction
66
Significant Gap
Real Estate & Construction rose one point to 66 and shares the widest gap on the Index. Canada's counter-tariffs on steel, lumber and building materials took effect on September 8, which resolves last month's watch item. Data center buyers are also outbidding homebuilders for land. Watch the November 2 final approval hearing on the Realtors' commission settlement.
Change
64
Response
33
Keeping up
50%
Delta
+1
Evidence: Moderate (10 sources)
Legal & Professional Services
65
Significant Gap
Legal & Professional Services fell two points to 65 as its response rose. Morgan & Morgan, a large plaintiffs' firm, committed at least $1 billion to AI, and four big firms began building on OpenAI's new legal model. Most firms have not changed how they price AI work, so the gap is narrower but still open.
Change
69
Response
39
Keeping up
55%
Delta
-2
Evidence: Strong (13 sources)
HR & Future of Work
63
Significant Gap
HR & Future of Work held at 63 on thin evidence. AIHR, the HR research firm, found demand for HR service desk agents down 38.3% from a year ago. Amazon and other tech employers announced more AI-linked cuts, while Verizon announced an AI upskilling fund. Watch the government's October jobs report on November 6.
Change
68
Response
42
Keeping up
60%
Delta
0
Evidence: Thin (5 sources)
Healthcare & MedTech
61
Significant Gap
Healthcare & MedTech held at 61. OpenAI connected ChatGPT for Healthcare to Epic's record system, with UCSF Health as a pilot partner. The FDA kept AI radiology software under premarket review. The ledger shows no hospital budget or hiring changes of their own this month. Comments on the FDA's generative AI device docket are due October 19.
Change
71
Response
49
Keeping up
70%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (6 sources)
Education & EdTech
61
Significant Gap
Education & EdTech held at 61. McGraw Hill, the education publisher, bought two AI teacher-tool companies in 22 days. Florida approved statewide AI rules on September 16, which resolves last month's watch item, and New York City banned student-facing generative AI for its youngest grades. Watch for district plans ahead of Florida's K-12 deadline in July 2027.
Change
58
Response
37
Keeping up
65%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (11 sources)
Energy & Utilities
60
Significant Gap
Energy & Utilities held at 60 as demand and money kept arriving. Dominion shareholders approved the $67 billion NextEra merger on September 3, which resolves last month's watch item. The NRC issued the first US construction permit for a BWRX-300 small modular reactor, and Texas widened its data center pause to cover permits statewide. Watch utility third-quarter calls, which start in late October.
Change
79
Response
60
Keeping up
75%
Delta
0
Evidence: Strong (13 sources)
Technology & AI
58
Narrow Gap
Technology & AI held at 58, with the highest Change Score on the Index. OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker, said its new GPT-6 Astra is the first of its models to cross its Critical cyber threshold. A CNN poll found three in four US adults fear and concern about AI. Watch big tech's third-quarter reports in late October.
Change
83
Response
68
Keeping up
80%
Delta
0
Evidence: Strong (13 sources)
Manufacturing & Industrial
58
Narrow Gap
Manufacturing & Industrial held at 58 as orders stayed strong. The ISM manufacturing index read 54.6 in August, its eighth straight month of expansion. Layoffs hit a Canadian auto plant and an industrial services firm, and USA Rare Earth broke ground on a magnet plant in South Carolina. Watch the ISM reading due November 2.
Change
63
Response
48
Keeping up
75%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (8 sources)
Direct Sales & Franchising
56
Narrow Gap
Direct Sales & Franchising slipped one point to 56 on limited evidence. McDonald's unveiled an $8.5 billion franchisee support plan built around its AI platform, which answers last month's watch item. The Direct Selling Association lobbied Congress against a proposed rule that could reclassify distributors as employees, and nothing was enacted.
Change
56
Response
44
Keeping up
80%
Delta
-1
Evidence: Thin (3 sources)
Insurance
56
Narrow Gap
Insurance held at 56. ERGO Group, the German insurer, created a Chief AI Officer role, effective October 1. Mosaic Insurance launched an AI underwriting system, and New York proposed a rule requiring approval before auto rate increases. Watch November, when the NAIC, the state insurance regulators' group, is expected to consider adopting its AI evaluation tool.
Change
65
Response
54
Keeping up
85%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (7 sources)
Transportation & Logistics
55
Narrow Gap
Transportation & Logistics rose one point to 55 as freight turned up and costs got worse. Shipments rose from a year earlier in August for the first time since January 2023, per Cass Information Systems. Diesel then hit a record, and at least 16 trucking firms entered bankruptcy court within about four weeks.
Change
63
Response
53
Keeping up
85%
Delta
+1
Evidence: Moderate (10 sources)
Retail & CPG
54
Narrow Gap
Retail & CPG held at 54 as shoppers kept buying and worrying. Retail sales rose 1.2% in August, yet the Conference Board's consumer confidence reading fell to its lowest level since 2014. Kroger, the grocery chain, gave no AI figures on its September 11 call, which resolves last month's watch item. Watch the Census Bureau's September retail sales on October 15.
Change
64
Response
56
Keeping up
85%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (8 sources)
Financial Services & FinTech
49
Keeping Pace
Financial Services & FinTech rose one point to 49 and stays in Keeping Pace. Large banks and asset managers announced a joint stablecoin venture on September 1. The Senate then failed to advance the CLARITY Act, which resolves last month's watch item. Watch October 19, when comments are due on the Treasury's stablecoin rule.
Change
63
Response
65
Keeping up
100%
Delta
+1
Evidence: Strong (15 sources)
Hospitality & Travel
45
Keeping Pace
Hospitality & Travel held at 45 and stays the lowest score on the Index. US travel spending grew from a year earlier in July, but jet fuel above $4.50 a gallon led three large airlines to warn of fourth-quarter flight cuts. Watch the airlines' third-quarter reports, which begin in October, for the size of the fuel bill.
Change
47
Response
56
Keeping up
100%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (6 sources)
Per the Hyder Index, the October 2026 reading is 58, and industries are changing 1.3x faster than companies are responding.
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