Widest gap
Media & Entertainment
67
Media & Entertainment has the widest Change-Response Gap on the Index this month.
THE HYDER INDEX · NOVEMBER 2026
58
Narrow Gapunchanged vs October
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: October 1-31, 2026. Published November 3, 2026.
Updated the first Tuesday of every month. Next edition: December 1.
Biggest move
Education & EdTech
▼ 3
Education & EdTech fell 3 points to 58.
Keeping pace
2 industries
Financial Services & FinTech, Hospitality & Travel
What changed this month
Education & EdTech fell three points to 58, the largest move on the Index this month. It left the Significant Gap zone for Narrow Gap. Its Response Score rose six points, from 37 to 43, the largest response gain of the 15 industries. Pearson announced acquisitions of ITS and Workera to build an AI-native assessment business. EdSource reported Cal State is the first US public university system to pay for student ChatGPT Edu access. The response is still early. A University of Maryland trial found its AI tutor slightly lowered final grades.
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
67
Significant Gap
Media & Entertainment rose one point to 67 and now holds the widest gap on the Index by itself. Netflix reported third-quarter results on October 20, the date flagged last month, and cut its full-year ad revenue forecast. TechCrunch reported Netflix is also cutting about 1,000 jobs, its biggest layoff in four years. Paramount completed its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Change
75
Response
41
Keeping up
55%
Delta
+1
Evidence: Strong (12 sources)
Real Estate & Construction
66
Significant Gap
Real Estate & Construction held at 66 and is now second on the Index. The NAHB builder index fell to 29 in October, the lowest since June 2012. eXp Realty opened its platform to outside AI tools and plans to rebuild its AGNT OS in 2027. Watch eXp and Newrez's Revenos Mortgage venture, slated to launch early next year.
Change
66
Response
34
Keeping up
50%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (11 sources)
Legal & Professional Services
65
Significant Gap
Legal & Professional Services held at 65. Cooley is co-developing a Gemini Enterprise AI agent with Google Cloud to screen court filings, with attorneys keeping final sign-off. Legora, a legal AI vendor, announced a $550 million Series E round. Watch for a decision in the months ahead on the AI unit spinoff the Financial Times reported Freshfields' senior partners weighing.
Change
69
Response
39
Keeping up
55%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (9 sources)
HR & Future of Work
63
Significant Gap
HR & Future of Work held at 63. The Labor Department suspended Microsoft, Infosys and other large employers from the PERM green card program, which halts their new and pending filings. Robert Half reported adjusted growth in talent solutions for the first time since 2022. Watch ManpowerGroup's fourth-quarter results against its own guidance for growth, and its CEO handoff at the start of next year.
Change
70
Response
44
Keeping up
65%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (11 sources)
Healthcare & MedTech
61
Significant Gap
Healthcare & MedTech held at 61. Teladoc made its SoloScribe ambient AI scribe generally available, and Suki raised a $90 million Series E to build AI agents beyond clinical notes. Watch medtech earnings in next year's first quarter, which Bloomberg Intelligence expects to speed up after the third quarter.
Change
71
Response
49
Keeping up
70%
Delta
0
Evidence: Strong (13 sources)
Energy & Utilities
59
Narrow Gap
Energy & Utilities slipped one point to 59 and moved from Significant Gap to Narrow Gap. Third-quarter reports, flagged last month, arrived, and CenterPoint Energy raised its 10-year capital plan by $4.0 billion. Michigan regulators approved DTE Electric's contracts for Google's data center power, and Indiana regulators approved AES Indiana's plan to serve a Google data center. NIPSCO agreed to a 20-year deal to add generation for Microsoft.
Change
79
Response
62
Keeping up
80%
Delta
-1
Evidence: Strong (13 sources)
Technology & AI
59
Narrow Gap
Technology & AI rose one point to 59 and still has the highest Change Score on the Index. The FTC sent civil investigative demands to OpenAI and Anthropic on October 14, and state attorneys general sued OpenAI. Big tech's third-quarter reports, flagged last month, included Meta's 2026 capital spending guidance of $135 billion to $145 billion.
Change
85
Response
68
Keeping up
80%
Delta
+1
Evidence: Moderate (9 sources)
Direct Sales & Franchising
58
Narrow Gap
Direct Sales & Franchising rose two points to 58 as pressure built on franchisees. Medifast reported active earning coaches at 10,200 versus 19,500 a year earlier, citing client acquisition pressure and GLP-1 adoption. Domino's lowered its 2026 target for net new US stores, citing pressure on franchisee profitability. Watch Medifast, which expects its coach count to keep falling through year end.
Change
60
Response
44
Keeping up
75%
Delta
+2
Evidence: Moderate (8 sources)
Education & EdTech
58
Narrow Gap
Education & EdTech fell three points to 58 and moved from Significant Gap to Narrow Gap as its response rose. Pearson announced acquisitions of ITS and Workera to build an AI-native assessment and verification business. Cal State, a 470,000-student system, is the first US public university system to pay for student ChatGPT Edu access, per EdSource. Watch the University of Iowa's plan for UI-branded AI tools next year.
Change
58
Response
43
Keeping up
75%
Delta
-3
Evidence: Strong (12 sources)
Manufacturing & Industrial
57
Narrow Gap
Manufacturing & Industrial slipped one point to 57. The S&P Global flash manufacturing PMI rose to 56.0 in October, a 53-month high. Schneider Electric, GE Aerospace and Honeywell all raised their outlooks with third-quarter results. Schneider also agreed to buy design software maker PTC.
Change
67
Response
52
Keeping up
80%
Delta
-1
Evidence: Strong (13 sources)
Insurance
56
Narrow Gap
Insurance held at 56. A Cozen O'Connor update reported 29 jurisdictions have adopted the NAIC model bulletin on insurers' use of AI. Cowbell, a cyber insurer, launched an AI agent that gives each policyholder a ranked list of steps to cut cyber risk. Watch the NAIC's November meeting, where a nationwide rollout of the claims-AI examination is the target.
Change
67
Response
54
Keeping up
80%
Delta
0
Evidence: Strong (13 sources)
Transportation & Logistics
54
Narrow Gap
Transportation & Logistics slipped one point to 54. C.H. Robinson agreed to buy RXO, targeting about $300 million in annual net cost savings by applying its Lean AI model. FMCSA also gave Level 4 autonomous trucks a five-year exemption to use cab-mounted warning beacons instead of warning triangles. Knight-Swift's CEO said a driver shortage limits the freight it can haul.
Change
63
Response
55
Keeping up
85%
Delta
-1
Evidence: Moderate (9 sources)
Retail & CPG
54
Narrow Gap
Retail & CPG held at 54. Kroger plans to cut about 3,000 corporate jobs, more than a third of its corporate staff, over three years. It also plans to expand technology and AI use and lower prices. P&G completed its acquisition of the supplements brand Thorne on October 1. Watch holiday sales against the National Retail Federation's forecast, which says nearly half of the gain comes from price increases.
Change
66
Response
58
Keeping up
90%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (11 sources)
Financial Services & FinTech
49
Keeping Pace
Financial Services & FinTech held at 49 and stays in Keeping Pace. Bank of America said on its third quarter call it has about 130 AI projects in production. Its CFO said headcount is falling as automation streamlines work. The OCC issued the first final federal GENIUS Act rule, requiring one-to-one reserves. Watch the rule take effect in January and Qivalis begin issuing euro stablecoins in the coming months.
Change
67
Response
68
Keeping up
100%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (10 sources)
Hospitality & Travel
45
Keeping Pace
Hospitality & Travel held at 45 and remains the lowest score on the Index. United's third-quarter fuel expense climbed 61.6%, which answers last month's watch item on the airlines' fuel bills. Hilton named Uber engineering leader Jeff Moore as its first Chief Technology Officer to advance AI and platform modernization. Watch fourth-quarter fuel costs, since Southwest raised its fuel assumption and has no active fuel hedges.
Change
48
Response
59
Keeping up
100%
Delta
0
Evidence: Moderate (8 sources)
November in two stories
Education's response jumped, and its score fell
58Narrow Gap
Education & EdTech fell three points to 58 in November, the largest move on the Index. It dropped out of the Significant Gap zone and into Narrow Gap. Its Change Score held at 58. Its Response Score rose six points, from 37 to 43, the largest response gain of the 15 industries.
Pearson and several universities acted. Pearson's SEC filing reported its Assessment & Qualifications unit up 10% on demand for verification of AI skills. Pearson also announced two acquisitions, ITS and Workera, to build an AI-native assessment and verification business. Cal State, a 470,000-student system, is the first US public university system to pay for student ChatGPT Edu access, per EdSource. Arden University gave more than 30,000 students and staff access to Gemini Enterprise through Google Cloud. Ohio State and Google announced a partnership, with financial terms undisclosed.
The results are mixed. A University of Maryland randomized trial found its course-connected AI tutor slightly lowered final grades, and only about 15 percent of eligible students used it. The university is holding off on wider rollout. Inside Higher Ed reported that Educause's 2027 Top 10 ranked determining where AI adds real value first, the first time an AI item has held the top spot. Buying access is a step, and the proof comes later.
Media is now the widest gap on its own
67Significant Gap
Media & Entertainment rose one point to 67 and now holds the widest gap on the Index by itself. Last month it shared that spot with Real Estate & Construction at 66. Its Change Score rose three points to 75, and its Response Score rose one point to 41.
Jobs and deals drove the change. TechCrunch reported Netflix is cutting about 1,000 jobs, its biggest layoff in four years. NBCUniversal told staff it is cutting several hundred jobs in its Global Streaming Technology group. Insider Gaming's tracker lists more than 12,000 known game-industry job losses this year. Paramount completed its roughly $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, per AFP, and renamed the combined company Skydance.
The response rose only one point. Prime Video signed a six-year deal to be the exclusive global home of the Emmys from 2027. CNN signed a multiyear deal giving Google expanded rights to its journalism for AI features, and CNN is being paid, though terms were not disclosed. Netflix named Peter Rice chief content officer, effective October 26. Netflix also cut its full-year ad revenue forecast from about $3 billion to $2.7 billion.
What moved the numbers this month
Six observable signals of change from the October data window, one per signal, across the economy.
Prices are weighing on households. The University of Michigan's final October sentiment reading was 48.0, roughly flat on September and about 10% below a year earlier. The preliminary reading fell to 46.3 from 47.8, a five-month low. September consumer prices rose 3.7% from a year earlier against 3.6% expected, driven by a 9.1% jump in gasoline. The National Retail Federation forecasts 2026 holiday sales of $1.013 trillion, up 4.2% from 2025. Nearly half of that gain comes from price increases. Shoppers are still spending, but price is doing part of the lifting.
Sources: Axios, October 23, 2026; InvestingLive, October 9, 2026; InvestingLive, October 14, 2026; NRF, October 15, 2026
Hiring is slow, and some cuts now point to AI. Challenger reported US employers announced 43,281 job cuts in September, down 18% from August. It also put hiring plans at the lowest for September since 2011. Payrolls rose just 29,000 in September against about 90,000 expected. Even so, initial jobless claims were 199,000 for the week ended October 10, the fifth straight week below 200,000. AmEx will cut about 5% of its global workforce to prepare for AI adoption. Goldman Sachs estimates AI could displace about 9% of US workers.
Sources: Morningstar / Dow Jones, October 1, 2026; First Trust Portfolios, October 2, 2026; TrendForce DataTrack, October 15, 2026; CNBC, October 23, 2026; Fortune, October 22, 2026
Money is getting more expensive while AI spending keeps climbing. The Fed raised rates 0.25 point to a range of 3.75% to 4.00% in September, and most participants saw another hike as likely appropriate by year end. After the hotter September CPI, markets raised the odds of a hike at the October 27 and 28 meeting from 21% to 47%. Meta set its 2026 capital spending guidance at $135 billion to $145 billion. Its third-quarter spending of $34.91 billion exceeded operating cash flow. Bloomberg reported Ramp raised about $1.85 billion at a $60 billion pre-money valuation, up from $44 billion in June.
Sources: Scotsman Guide, October 7, 2026; InvestingLive, October 14, 2026; Bloomberg, October 22, 2026; FinTech Futures, October 15, 2026
Enforcement and rules landed on several fronts. The FTC sent civil investigative demands to OpenAI and Anthropic on October 14, seeking records on security incidents, safeguarding practices and marketing. The Labor Department suspended Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini from the PERM green card program, halting new and pending filings. The OCC issued the first final federal GENIUS Act rule, effective January 18, 2027. The Energy Department filed its first FERC statement of position in at least five years. It urged PJM to revise its plan so data centers, not existing customers, bear large-load costs.
Sources: Axios, October 15, 2026; The Next Web, October 8, 2026; OCC, October 21, 2026; Utility Dive, October 7, 2026
Trust in AI is being tested in courts and classrooms. Attorneys general in eight states sued OpenAI on October 14, alleging it misled users about ChatGPT safety and harms to young users. A University of Maryland randomized trial found its course-connected AI tutor slightly lowered final grades, and about 15 percent of eligible students used it. Inside Higher Ed reported that Educause's 2027 Top 10 ranked determining where AI adds real value first, the first time an AI item has held the top spot. CNBC reported that AI is changing how lawyers work and putting pressure on the billable hour model.
Sources: Al Jazeera, October 15, 2026; Inside Higher Ed, October 7, 2026; Inside Higher Ed, October 5, 2026; CNBC, October 10, 2026
Costs and supply chains are under strain. The New York Fed's October Empire State manufacturing index jumped to 25.5 from 7.6 in September, while supply availability worsened to its weakest since June 2022. The S&P Global flash composite PMI was 57.6 in October, with selling prices rising at the fastest pace since August 2022. ISM's September Prices index jumped 6.8 points to 77.9%. United Airlines said its third-quarter fuel expense climbed 61.6% to $4.84 billion. On the technology side, OpenAI began rolling out GPT-6 in ChatGPT on October 7.
Sources: Trading Economics, October 15, 2026; Newsquawk, October 23, 2026; ISM, October 1, 2026; U.S. News (Reuters), October 20, 2026; Let's Data Science, October 7, 2026
The Read
The Hyder Index held at 58 in November, the third month in a row at that number. The average Change Score is 67.4, up from 65.6 last month. The average Response Score is 51.3, up from 49.6.
So industries are still changing 1.3 times faster than companies respond. The Change-Response Gap has read 1.3 since August. Two industries are in Keeping Pace, five are in Significant Gap, and none is in Critical Gap. Education and Energy both moved from Significant Gap to Narrow Gap.
The misread of the month
Education's score fell three points, so it can look like schools have caught up. Its response did rise six points, from 37 to 43. That is still below the Index average of 51.3.
Look at what sits inside the rise. Cal State is paying for student ChatGPT Edu access, and Pearson announced two acquisitions. Yet a University of Maryland trial found its AI tutor slightly lowered final grades, and only about 15 percent of eligible students used it. Access is a first step. Use and results come after it.
The window
Third-quarter earnings season is where companies put numbers behind AI plans. Bank of America named about 130 AI projects in production, with estimated benefits of $250 million to $300 million this year. Schneider Electric, GE Aerospace and Honeywell raised their outlooks.
The Fed met October 27 and 28, after a September rate increase. After the September CPI report on October 14, markets put the odds of a hike at that meeting at 47%, up from 21%. Money is costing more, and Meta still set 2026 capital spending guidance of $135 billion to $145 billion.
Next, the NAIC meets in November, with a nationwide claims-AI examination as its rollout target. Holiday sales will test the National Retail Federation's forecast. Southwest raised its fourth-quarter fuel assumption and has no active fuel hedges.
What to do with this
Find the one cost that rose most for you this quarter, whether it is fuel, rates or labor. Pick one workflow where AI could bring it down. Set a date and a number, and say both out loud to your team and your customers. Then report the result on your next earnings call, board update or client letter.
Per the Hyder Index, the November 2026 reading is 58, and industries are changing 1.3x faster than companies are responding.
The two independent reviewers' ratings differed by 0.06 points on average on the 0 to 5 scale.
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