Philippe Laffont went on CNBC this morning with a framework that skips the usual bitcoin-versus-gold debate and lands somewhere more concrete. “Is there going to be a $10 trillion company in 10 to 15 years? I think yes,” the Coatue Management founder said, walking through the arithmetic. Global market cap sits near $120 to $140 trillion today, and if it grinds to $200 trillion over the next decade, a company worth 5% of the world would clear $10 trillion. The mechanism he keeps pointing at is agentic AI, which he called “one of the bigger ideas, at least in my investment career.”
The shorthand for agentic AI is software that does work rather than answers questions. Laffont described it as “the ability to have thousands of people working for you” overnight, and said the productivity gains were already showing up “even in our own office.” That framing matters because the companies closest to his $10 trillion finish line are the ones selling the picks and shovels for that buildout, plus the hyperscalers consuming them.
NVIDIA is the obvious candidate NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) carries a market cap of roughly $4.8 trillion as of this week, which puts it about halfway to Laffont’s threshold without needing any heroic assumptions about market expansion. The Q1 FY27 report from May 20, 2026 showed revenue of $81.61 billion, up 85.2% year over year, with the data center segment alone at $75.25 billion. Jensen Huang called the AI factory buildout “the largest infrastructure expansion in human history.”
The stock itself trades around $199, up 5.6% year to date and 35% over one year. Forward earnings change hands at roughly 23 times, which is not a stretched multiple if revenue keeps compounding at the current pace. Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah already raised his target to $350, which implies an $8.5 trillion valuation.
The hyperscalers are funding the entire thing Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) are writing the checks that turn into Nvidia revenue. Microsoft’s AI business hit a $37 billion annual run rate, up 123% year over year, with commercial remaining performance obligations at $627 billion. Alphabet guided 2026 capex to $175 billion to $185 billion, and Google Cloud backlog nearly doubled quarter over quarter to roughly $460 billion. Moreover, Amazon plans about $200 billion in 2026 capex and its custom chips business is now running above a $20 billion annual rate. Meta lifted its 2026 capex range to $125 billion to $145 billion.
These are the dollars feeding what Jensen Huang described on the earnings call as “Agentic AI has arrived, doing productive work, generating real value and scaling rapidly across companies and industries.” Laffont’s framework rests on that loop continuing for another decade.
The near-term price action disagrees Most other mega-cap stocks are up by double digits, though some are treading water. Prediction markets on Polymarket are pricing in a 98.8% probability that Nvidia closes lower today, and only a 23.5% chance the stock closes above $210 by month-end.
That gap between Laffont’s decade-long thesis and the week-to-week price action is the actual investment question. He told CNBC that “the longer dated capital is very, very important because I’m trying to figure out the index of the future ten years out,” which is partly why Coatue is pushing into private markets. He floated OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX as candidates for the eventual $10 trillion crown, none of which sit in a public index today.
For investors who only have public-market access, the working assumption embedded in Laffont’s view is that one of the five names above keeps pulling the chain on agentic AI revenue. The hard part is that the company most likely to triple from here is also the company most exposed if hyperscaler capex ever moderates.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told shareholders on Wednesday that if a commercial opportunity conflicts with U.S. national security, the company would prioritize American interests.
"National security comes first," Huang said in a session shortly after the company's annual stockholder meeting concluded.
He added that if a company wanted to smuggle Nvidia's chips or systems into countries with export restrictions — such as China — they would have challenges getting it working because Nvidia wouldn't provide support or repairs.
"Advanced AI data centers are massive integrated systems that require trusted hardware, software, networking, and continuing support," Huang said. "Trying to cobble together data centers with some smuggled products is a dead end."
Huang's remarks come as Washington regulators and the Trump administration are increasingly wary that exporting AI software and hardware to China and other nations is a threat to national security.
Earlier this month, Anthropic, which uses Nvidia chips, shut down Fable 5 and Mythos 5 after the U.S. government ordered it to disable access to its most advanced models.
Nvidia's chips have had export controls placed on them since 2022, which forced the company to produce China-specific chips for the region that complied with U.S. government benchmarks. But last year, the U.S. cleared the company's H200 chip — the same model used by U.S. companies — for export to the region.
Read more CNBC tech newsAmazon's Zoox unveils redesigned robotaxi ahead of upcoming expansionOpenAI unveils first chip as part of Broadcom deal in effort to 'build the full stack'South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix plans to raise $29 billion via Nasdaq listing as soon as July 10Alphabet added to Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing VerizonHuang said that the U.S. government approved those licenses, but Nvidia has yet to generate any revenue from the chips and that Nvidia doesn't know whether China will allow imports of its products. About 9% of Nvidia's fiscal 2026 revenue came from China, including Hong Kong, a smaller proportion than in 2025 and 2024.
Huang told stockholders during the meeting that the question of AI return-on-investment "has been answered."
He said that when AI output is useful, such as generating code, then operating an Nvidia system to generate tokens, or bits of AI output, becomes profitable and means companies need more computing power. He noted that GitHub saw pull requests nearly triple this year because of AI.
"Nvidia systems may not be the cheapest to purchase, but Nvidia generates the lowest cost tokens, the highest token throughput, and the most revenues," Huang said.
He reiterated that Nvidia plans to return 50% of the company's free cash flow to investors through share repurchases and dividends over the next few years.
Nvidia generated over $96 billion in free cash flow in its fiscal 2026.
"Nvidia offers investors a unique combination of exceptional growth, strong margin, and free cash flow execution, and rising capital returns," Huang said.
At the annual meeting, shareholders approved the company's executive compensation plan in an advisory capacity and re-elected all 10 board members. One outside shareholder proposal to change company bylaws so that all shareholder votes would win with a simple majority passed.
Delta Air Lines čeká pokles cen letenek až při vyšší nabídce letů; podle generálního ředitele Eda Bastiana je trh kvůli přetíženému řízení letového provozu stále zablokovaný. Vyšší náklady na palivo firmě zasáhly ziskovost téměř o 2 miliardy USD.
As American travelers feel the pinch of inflation and elevated airline costs, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian revealed exactly what it will take for ticket prices to decline, pointing directly to a lack of market supply rather than solely fluctuating fuel costs.
“People ask me all the time – what’s happening with prices?” Bastian told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. “Prices will come down when we can fly more, when there’s more supply, it’s a supply and demand. Right now we’re kind of logjammed.”
“There’s not a lot of supply we can bring in because the air traffic control system is congested. As you open up the skies, and you bring more flow, that’s going to help bring pricing down and enable us to bring more people to more places,” he said.
After months of elevated prices due to conflict in Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, commercial traffic is ramping up in the key waterway after Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian last Wednesday signed a 14-point memorandum aimed at ending the war.
On Tuesday, President Trump said that 19 million barrels of oil flowed out of the Strait of Hormuz the day prior.
Ed Bastian speaks during a keynote address at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 8, 2019. REUTERS “I think the initial shock, you know, prices went up about 10 to 15%, not just [at] Delta, across the airline industry. And I think that was probably the right level,” Bastian said. “Oil prices have come down now, so I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”
However, Bastian revealed that rising energy costs directly hit Delta’s bottom line by nearly $2 billion, forcing the airline’s hand in raising ticket prices.
“We had no choice,” he said, while also spotlighting how government spending accountability and deregulation could also bring ticket prices down.
Fuel prices increased due to the conflict in Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz. Chalabala – stock.adobe.com “We have seen more progress being made to eliminate those bottlenecks and continue to allow aviation to flow smoothly in the last year and a half than we’ve had probably in the last number of decades. It’s that significant,” Bastian noted.
“I hope, as an American people, we continue to invest in that future. It’s probably the smartest investment that we can make, because what we’re doing is, we’re making the air flow more smoothly. We’re enabling people not just for safety – safety is always our top priority – but [allowing] for more flights,” which the CEO says ultimately mitigates customer costs.
Ed Bastian speaks on Fox Business about rising fuel prices and their impact on flight costs. Fox News Bastian also discussed how Delta has recaptured investment-grade ratings from all three major credit agencies, won back Berkshire Hathaway as a top shareholder and is expanding localized operations such as “Delta TechOps” into a multibillion-dollar third-party maintenance powerhouse.
“We’re going to get to a point here in the next couple of years where our balance sheet will be a fortress balance sheet, something that’s never really happened in our industry to that point,” he said. “This is the industry that the US holds as the gold standard… So whether it’s Boeing, whether it’s our airlines, our aviation space, our technical prowess and know-how, we’re the gold standard.”
Qualcomm chce do konce roku začít dodávat procesory a další AI čipy pro datová centra, aby snížil závislost na smartphonech. Bank of America čeká, že tento byznys přinese tržby 2 až 5 miliard USD ročně do fiskálního roku 2027–2028.
Qualcomm logo is displayed at the company’s booth at the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, China, November 5, 2025. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
SummaryCompaniesQualcomm plans to begin shipping data-center processors and other AI chips by year-endBank of America sees $2 billion to $5 billion annual data-center revenue by fiscal 2027-2028June 24 (Reuters) - Qualcomm (QCOM.O), opens new tab is expected to use its investor day on Wednesday to lay out a push beyond its core smartphone business into the fast-growing, but highly competitive, market for AI data center chips.
Analysts expect the San Diego-based company to name new customers for its AI chips as it tries to gain a foothold in a market dominated by Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab.
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The shift reflects mounting pressure in the smartphone market, where Qualcomm is one of the world’s largest chip suppliers to Android device makers.
The sector has been squeezed by a memory chip shortage driven by surging demand for AI infrastructure, while major customers such as Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab and Samsung (005930.KS), opens new tab are increasingly developing chips in-house.
In response, Qualcomm has been expanding into automotive and data center sectors.
The company, which has attempted to boost its data-center business multiple times, is re-entering a fast-growing, but hyper-competitive AI market full of large incumbents such as Nvidia, the newly minted Cerebras (CBRS.O), opens new tab and other custom chip options including Amazon's (AMZN.O), opens new tab Graviton and Google's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Axion, Bank of America analysts warned in a client note on Tuesday.
Qualcomm said in April that it plans to begin shipping processors and other AI chips for data centers by year-end.
It also said it was working with customers on three kinds of chips: central processing units, inference accelerators, and custom application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), a segment that has been booming for rivals such as Broadcom (AVGO.O), opens new tab and Marvell (MRVL.O), opens new tab.
AI inference — running trained AI models — has emerged as a key battleground.
BofA analysts said they expect modest revenue of roughly $2 billion to $5 billion annually from Qualcomm's data center push by fiscal 2027-2028.
Investors will be watching for updated long-term financial targets at the event, including Qualcomm's growth ambitions for its non-handset businesses.
Attention is also likely to focus on its $4 billion all-stock deal for AI software startup Modular, announced earlier on Wednesday, which positions Qualcomm against Nvidia’s proprietary CUDA software that has locked in millions of developers.
Reporting by Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Sahal Muhammed
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Qualcomm představil datacentrový CPU Dragonfly C1000 a uvedl, že jeho prvním velkým zákazníkem bude Meta po zahájení výroby v roce 2028. Čip je určen pro agentickou AI a má nabídnout výkon při nízké spotřebě.
Qualcomm on Wednesday revealed a central processing unit for data centers called Dragonfly C1000, and said that Meta would use it when it starts production in 2028.
The chipmaker said that the new data center CPU was built for agentic AI and focuses on offering computing performance without using too much power.
The announcement, made at a Qualcomm presentation to investors, is another sign that the chipmaker best known for smartphone processors and modems is aggressively targeting the data center market.
On Wednesday, Qualcomm said that it has a roadmap to target the quickly-growing market with several different products, including an AI chip and a product that will tie multiple chips together.
"We just been executing, collecting assets, and when we got to this point, we feel that we have a comprehensive portfolio to enter the next phase of the data center," Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said at the investor day.
Shares of the chipmaker were down in trading on Wednesday.
Qualcomm CFO Akash Palkhiwala said in an interview that Qualcomm already has business with nearly every hyperscaler through its smartphone chips and other existing products.
"This is not a new relationship. It's the benefit of what we've delivered to them already on the edge, combined with the scale and the expertise and the confidence in Qualcomm, is what makes them engage with us on data center," Palkhiwala said.
Read more CNBC tech newsAmazon's Zoox unveils redesigned robotaxi ahead of upcoming expansionOpenAI unveils first chip as part of Broadcom deal in effort to 'build the full stack'South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix plans to raise $29 billion via Nasdaq listing as soon as July 10Alphabet added to Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing VerizonIt also comes as investor interest in CPUs is rising, as experts believe that central processors will take on more of the workload from graphics processing units and AI chips because of AI agents, which run autonomously.
"There really isn't enough supply, and multiple players are needed," in the CPU market, Palkhiwala said
Qualcomm's primary business in recent years has been smartphones, which accounted for two-thirds of the company's product revenues in the quarter ended in March.
But the company is seeking to diversify into cars, robots, and now, the data center, which are faster-growing markets for chips than the smartphone sector, which peaked in terms of shipments in 2017, according to estimates.
The chipmaker says that its expertise at making smartphone and PC chips that conserve battery life will serve customers like hyperscalers which are increasingly building data centers where the limiting factor is electrical power.
The company said that it had secured two deals to make custom silicon chips for hyperscalers.
Separately, Qualcomm announced that it had acquired Modular for an undisclosed price. The startup made software that enables AI applications to run on a broad range of chip architectures, and Qualcomm says that it is an equivalent to Nvidia's CUDA, which is used in many AI applications.
Amon told investors that the company was not entering the data center market too late.
"When people ask about if it's late to enter the data center, you should think about scale and execution, or engineering capabilities, or operations and supply chain," Amon said.
Shares of Hertz Global Holdings plunged on Wednesday after the car-rental company warned that second-quarter earnings are tracking toward the lower end of its guidance range, citing unexpected weakness in the used-car market.
The stock sank more than 38% during trading and was on track for its largest-ever single-day percentage decline and its lowest close since March 2025, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Hertz said it expects second-quarter adjusted corporate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of between $50 million and $80 million.
While the forecast remains within its previously projected range, it is expected to land near the lower end of guidance and below Wall Street expectations.
Analysts surveyed by LSEG had projected second-quarter EBITDA of $79.11 million on average.
The company attributed the weaker outlook to softer-than-expected conditions in the used-car market, which increased depreciation costs and weighed on profitability.
Hertz said "unexpected" softness in the used-car market led it to record losses on vehicle sales in May after generating gains in April.
The company now expects net depreciation per vehicle per month to be approximately $300 during the second quarter.
Last month, Hertz had projected depreciation to come in well below that level, supported by anticipated gains from second-quarter vehicle sales.
In a securities filing, Hertz said the slowdown in the used-car market had driven up depreciation expenses, creating a significant headwind for earnings.
The company noted that fleet size, revenue, rental days, and revenue per day are expected to meet or slightly exceed prior expectations, supported by healthy demand and stronger-than-anticipated capacity utilization.
However, the losses on vehicle dispositions have offset those positives and pressured profitability.
The update comes as the broader used-car market faces challenges despite higher US tariffs increasing the cost of new vehicles and pushing some consumers toward pre-owned cars.
Macroeconomic pressures and strained household budgets have made it difficult for used-vehicle companies to maintain margins.
Adding to investor concerns, Hertz announced plans for a $100 million public stock offering alongside a $300 million offering of exchangeable senior first-lien secured payment-in-kind (PIK) notes due 2030.
The company said proceeds from the note offering will be used for general corporate purposes, including the potential repayment of outstanding debt.
Under the arrangement, Hertz will lend the newly issued shares to underwriter J.P. Morgan Securities, allowing investors to establish short positions to hedge purchases of the notes.
Hertz will receive only a nominal lending fee from the stock transaction and no direct proceeds from the share sale itself.
The notes will pay interest through a combination of cash and payment-in-kind interest and may be exchanged for cash, Hertz common stock, or a combination of both at the company's election.
The number of shares issuable upon exchange is capped at 19.9% of outstanding shares unless shareholders approve a larger issuance.
Wednesday's selloff extended a difficult period for Hertz shares.
Including the latest losses, the stock has fallen roughly 28% this year and nearly 50% over the past 12 months.
The company has spent the past year streamlining operations, refreshing its fleet, and working to improve its financial position.
Hertz also sought to rebuild investor confidence through partnerships, including agreements announced in April with Uber Technologies to support the ride-hailing company's robotaxi ambitions.
However, persistent challenges in the used-car market and concerns about profitability continue to weigh on investor sentiment.
FedEx vykázal upravený zisk na akcii 6,31 USD za fiskální 4. čtvrtletí 2026, nad odhady analytiků kolem 5,95 USD a 5,97 USD, ale akcie klesly o 1,5 % kvůli nejasnostem kolem přechodu na kalendářní účetní období.
Bank of America přesto vidí silný základní růst ziskovosti.
FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX, XETRA:FDX) shares fell on Wednesday following its latest earnings report, even as Bank of America said the company continues to show strong underlying earnings momentum, with the post-earnings decline driven more by reporting-transition complexity than by operational weakness.
FedEx reported adjusted earnings per share of $6.31 for fiscal fourth-quarter 2026, up 4% year over year and ahead of Bank of America and consensus estimates of roughly $5.95 and $5.97, respectively.
The beat was driven primarily by strength in the Freight segment, which delivered higher-than-expected operating income, while the Express business also contributed positively on improved international export volumes, pricing discipline, and favorable mix trends.
According to Bank of America, the quality of the quarter was broadly stronger than expected, with momentum in pricing, mix, and cost execution continuing to support profitability across the network.
Freight was the standout contributor, with operating income of $363 million coming in $71 million above the firm’s forecast, supported by revenue per shipment growth of 11% year over year versus expectations for low-single-digit gains.
Express also outperformed, with revenue up 14% year over year, well above the bank’s 8% estimate, driven by stronger yields and international volume growth of 5% versus expectations of 2%.
Despite the solid results, Bank of America noted that investor reaction was dampened by FedEx’s introduction of a transition-period outlook tied to its shift toward calendar-year reporting.
The company forecast earnings growth of about 20% year over year for the second half of calendar 2026 and provided a full-year calendar 2026 EPS range of $16.90 to $18.10. Management also outlined June–December 2026 EPS of about $11.30, which it said bridges into the broader calendar-year outlook and reflects normal seasonality alongside one-time impacts from incentive compensation costs and stranded Freight expenses.
The bank’s analysts believe that this new framework created “near-term noise” in earnings comparability, as fiscal and calendar-year figures overlap and make near-term trends harder for investors to interpret.
They noted that FedEx expects a larger portion of transition-period earnings to be concentrated in fiscal fourth-quarter 2026, reflecting peak-season strength.
Bank of America reiterated that, despite the reporting complexity, the underlying transformation story remains on track. The firm highlighted ongoing benefits from network integration, pricing discipline, and cost actions across both Domestic and International segments, with management continuing to target margin improvement through the transition period.
The firm maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on FedEx and raised its price objective to $378 from $376, valuing the shares at 17.5 times its revised calendar 2027 EPS estimate, slightly down from 18.5 times previously.
Bank of America also raised its 2027 EPS forecast by 6% to $21.60 from $20.28, citing stronger-than-expected operating income trends and improved visibility into margin expansion.
Bank of America said it continues to see mid-teens operating income compound annual growth potential through 2029, supported by sustained pricing discipline, efficiency gains, and continued execution of FedEx’s long-term network optimization strategy.
FedEx shares were down 1.5% at about $313 on Wednesday afternoon.
High-net-worth households are holding up in an inflation-riddled environment that's making life difficult for everyone else.
That's the big takeaway from American Express' (AXP +1.47%) most recent quarterly earnings conference call, anyway. Without outright saying it, during the call, CFO Christophe Le Caillec commented: "We expect card fee growth to pick up as the year progresses as we see the impact from the Platinum refresh, exiting the year in the high teens." He then added: "Importantly, about one‑fourth of the overall U.S. consumer Platinum portfolio has been billed for the higher annual fee, and we have seen no change to our very high retention rates relative to pre‑refresh."
Image source: Getty Images.
Its fiscal results confirm this. The credit card company's currency-adjusted revenue improved 9% year over year for the three months ended in March on a comparable increase in transaction volume, driving net income 15% higher. Restaurant spending and retail spending were up 9% and 11%, respectively, with the latter led by a 18% year-over-year improvement in luxury retail purchases. Delinquencies and write-offs remain relatively low as well, not budging from year-ago levels.
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It's not just American Express seeing this resiliency among the affluent, either.
Government reports seem to confirm American Express' findings The United States Federal Reserve typically focuses on domestic macroeconomics rather than fine, consumer-level details. In its most recent edition of the Beige Book published in May, however, the Fed made a point of addressing the current consumer-level divide. It acknowledged that over the course of the past few weeks, "Higher-income consumers drove strong demand for premium goods and services, with one contact describing a focus on 'unapologetic luxury.' " It then contrasted that with: "However, retailers and other consumer-facing businesses noted continued financial stress among middle- and lower-income households."
In other words, the so-called K-shaped economic recovery is a real thing.
The Fed isn't the only organization to take notice of this dynamic, either. The National Association of Realtors and online real estate marketplace Redfin both report a surge in home purchases valued at $1 million-plus this year, despite the headwind the lower-priced segment of the real estate market is facing. Meanwhile, Bank of America reports that while all demographics spent more in May of this year than they did in May of last year, high-income households led the way, with a 5.4% increase versus just over a 4% increase for all other households.
Then again, why wouldn't this be the case? Although the roaring stock market theoretically benefits everyone, as The Motley Fool's in-house research highlights, the wealthiest 1% of the U.S. hold more than 40% of its total market value. The other 99% divvy up the rest, with the more affluent households among this 99% disproportionately owning most of this remainder. The bottom half collectively holds less than 2% of the U.S. stock market's total value.
Great news for American Express So, yes, American Express' indirect suggestion is real -- while the majority of Americans may be financially frustrated at this time, the smaller crowd of affluent consumers truly is doing fine.
This, of course, bodes well for American Express, which has managed to turn more than its fair share of this crowd into cardholders, firming up its fiscal results for the foreseeable future. The stock's arguably well worth its premium price.
Sony Pictures investuje do Cosm 100 milionů USD a získá menšinový podíl. Jde o strategický krok do oblasti imerzivní zábavy a rozšiřování filmových a televizních značek.
Ravi Ahuja, Chairman and CEO at Sony Pictures Entertainment speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference 2026 in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May, 5, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
June 24 (Reuters) - Sony Pictures Entertainment announced a $100 million strategic investment in immersive technology firm Cosm on Wednesday, marking a push by the Hollywood studio to extend its film and television properties into a growing network of dome-shaped venues across the United States.
Los Angeles-based Cosm operates dome venues using its "Shared Reality" technology, which projects live sports, concerts and other events onto massive, wraparound curved LED screens.
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As the lead investor in Cosm's Series C financing round, Sony Pictures will acquire a minority ownership stake in the company, it said in a statement.
The investment advances Sony Pictures' focus on experiential entertainment, fandom and technology, and would allow the studio to explore new ways to extend its intellectual property through immersive experiences.
Sony Pictures CEO Ravi Ahuja will join Cosm's board of directors.
"We will use this capital to fuel Cosm's growth as we expand our venue network and advance our technology initiatives across both Sports and Entertainment," Cosm CEO Jeb Terry said.
Cosm has opened three domes in Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta, with venues planned for Detroit in September and Cleveland next year. Additional U.S. and international locations will be announced soon, the company said.
In July 2024, Cosm announced it had raised $250 million in a funding round, achieving a valuation of over $1 billion.
Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Joyjeet Das
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Our Costco (NASDAQ:COST | COST Price Prediction) call right now is constructive. After a sharp pullback from the May highs, the stock sits at $951.35, and our proprietary model still points higher.
The 24/7 Wall St. price target for Costco is $1,046.54, implying 10.01% upside over the next 12 months. Our recommended action is buy, with a confidence score of 0.9, or roughly 90%, which we consider high.
24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $951.35 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $1,046.54 Upside 10.01% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% A Reset That Created an Entry Point Costco has cooled meaningfully into the summer. Shares are down 7.48% over the past month and 2.87% over the past week, even as the stock holds a 10.63% year-to-date gain. The 52-week range runs from $841.69 to $1,096.50, so the pullback has reset valuation without breaking the trend.
Fundamentals stayed strong. Q3 FY26 delivered EPS of $4.93 on revenue of $70.53 billion, both ahead of expectations, with comparable sales up 9.8% and digitally enabled comps up 21.5%. Membership fee income rose 10.7% to $1.37 billion, with worldwide renewal at 89.7%. May retail sales hit $763.7B, the strongest reading in the trailing year.
The Case for $1,141 and Beyond The bull case rests on flywheels that keep turning. Executive membership penetration is at 75% of sales, paid memberships reached 82.1 million in Q2, and U.S./Canada renewals sit at 92.3%. Costco is planning roughly 12 new warehouses in the rest of FY26 toward a 940 footprint, with e-commerce traffic up 37%.
Goldman Sachs has highlighted that “Walmart and Costco have captured a significant share of sales growth, benefiting from strong value offerings, operational leverage, and effective supplier negotiations.” Wall Street’s average target sits at $1,082.94, and our bull scenario maps to $1,141.44, a 19.98% total return.
What Could Go Wrong The bear concern is valuation. Costco trades at a trailing P/E of 48 and a forward P/E of 42, with a PEG of 4.644. Tariff exposure, FX volatility, and rising wage and healthcare costs are real, and insider activity recently skewed toward selling.
Our bear scenario lands at $959.83, essentially flat at 0.89%. That said, bulls would argue the premium multiple reflects fortress unit economics: ROE of 29.1%, FY25 free cash flow of $7.84 billion, and capex growth funding the warehouse pipeline.
Costco Price Prediction 2026-2030 The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $1,046.54 implies a buy with 90% confidence. The tipping factor is membership economics. Renewal rates near 90% and executive penetration at 75% give Costco an annuity-like base that funds expansion.
The setup looks constructive if comparable sales hold above 6% on an adjusted basis and renewals stay above 89%. The thesis weakens if the forward P/E pushes back above 45 without an acceleration in EPS, which would erode the model’s upside.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $1,046.54 2027 $1,123 2028 $1,205 2029 $1,278 2030 $1,352.93 These projections assume Costco maintains its mid-single-digit unit growth, double-digit membership fee growth, and gradual e-commerce margin lift. Significant upside or downside could come from tariff policy shifts or a faster deceleration in consumer spending.
DaVita rozšiřuje péči o pacienty s onemocněním ledvin mimo nemocnice do ambulantních a domácích zařízení a opírá se o platformu IKC a program CKCC. Firma zároveň investuje do nástroje s umělou inteligencí ScheduleHub pro efektivnější plánování.
Key Takeaways DVA is expanding kidney care beyond hospitals through outpatient and home-centered treatment settings.DaVita's IKC platform and CKCC results highlight its focus on value-based care and savings.AVAH and PNTG are expanding home, hospice, senior living and community-based care networks. DaVita Inc. (DVA - Free Report) , a well-known kidney care services provider, is helping reshape healthcare delivery by expanding treatment beyond traditional hospital settings and into community-based and home-centered environments. The company operates one of the largest outpatient dialysis networks in the world, serving approximately 296,300 patients through 3,262 outpatient dialysis centers as of March 2026. In addition to its clinic-based services, DVA continues to advance integrated kidney care programs that coordinate treatment across the patient journey, supporting improved outcomes while helping reduce the overall cost of care. This strategy aligns with the broader shift toward accessible, lower-cost care settings outside acute-care facilities.
DVA also maintains significant exposure to government-sponsored healthcare programs, with Medicare-related reimbursement continuing to play an important role in its business. Through its Integrated Kidney Care (IKC) platform and participation in value-based care initiatives, the company works to improve clinical outcomes while managing healthcare spending for patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage kidney disease. Recent results from the CMS Comprehensive Kidney Care Contracting (CKCC) program reflected continued progress in savings and quality performance, underscoring the growing importance of value-based care within DVA’s operating model.
To further support care delivery, DVA continues to invest in technology and digital capabilities. Among its latest initiatives is ScheduleHub, an AI-enabled scheduling tool designed to optimize patient and staffing schedules across dialysis centers, improving operational efficiency as the company expands its data-driven approach to kidney care.
AVAH & PNTG Advancing Care Beyond Hospital SettingsAveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc. (AVAH - Free Report) provides a diversified home-care platform serving medically complex children, adults and seniors through private-duty nursing, home health, hospice and medical solutions, enabling patients to receive care in lower-cost home and community settings rather than hospitals. Aveanna Healthcare derives substantial revenues from government programs, particularly Medicare and Medicaid, and continues expanding its community-based footprint. Recently, Aveanna Healthcare announced the acquisition of Family First Homecare, strengthening its in-home pediatric care capabilities and reinforcing AVAH’s focus on cost-effective care delivery.
The Pennant Group, Inc. (PNTG - Free Report) delivers healthcare services through home health, hospice and senior living operations, emphasizing care in patients’ homes and other cost-effective post-acute settings supported by government reimbursement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Pennant Group derives a significant portion of revenues from these programs and benefits from the ongoing shift away from higher-cost institutional care. Recently, Pennant Group expanded its platform through the acquisition of Copper Canyon Memory Care in Arizona and the addition of three senior living communities in Arizona and Wisconsin, further enhancing PNTG’s community-based care network.
DVA’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of DaVita have gained 85.6% year to date compared with the industry’s rise of 9%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
DVA’s forward 12-month P/E of 12.67X is lower than the industry’s average of 17.29X but higher than its five-year median of 12.65X. It has a Value Score of A.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DVA’s 2026 earnings per share suggests a 39.8% improvement compared with 2025.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
DaVita currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Micron před dnešním konferenčním hovorem k výsledkům klesl asi o 13 %, ale analytik Rosenblattu to přičítá nervozitě investorů, ne zhoršení fundamentů. Klíčová bude hrubá marže; čeká se výhled kolem 84 %.
Shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) have been the subject of intense debate this week after a roughly 13% sell-off rattled holders ahead of the company’s fiscal Q3 2026 earnings, scheduled for release today, June 24, after the market close. On CNBC’s Morning Call, Kevin Cassidy, Senior Research Analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, made the case that the pullback is due to “investor jitters” rather than a fundamental break in the memory cycle.
Even after the 13% drop on Tuesday, June 23, MU last traded at $1,071.99 as of June 24, 2026, up 40.05% over one month, 268.68% year to date, and 763.64% over the trailing year. Five-year gains sit at 1,238.55%. The selloff is real, but so is the run that preceded it.
The Bull Case: Supply Discipline Is Keeping Memory Profits High According to Cassidy, the selloff was driven in part by weakness in Korean rivals Samsung and SK Hynix, which he characterized as investor jitters rather than evidence of deteriorating fundamentals. He argues that in a supply-constrained memory market with strong AI-driven demand, owning the memory names is the right trade, and profitability, not market-share grabbing, will be the dominant force for value creation.
Cassidy says Micron is comfortable with its roughly 25-30% market share and is prioritizing margin expansion over volume. He pointed to the company’s phased capacity roadmap as evidence: new fab capacity coming online in Idaho in 2027, a second Idaho fab in 2028, and mega fabs in upstate New York in 2030. Each step is deliberate, designed to avoid the overbuild that crushed the industry only a few years ago.
That memory of pain is central to his argument. Cassidy referenced the dramatic recovery from roughly negative 9% gross margin three years ago, which he says taught the industry not to overbuild. The behavioral shift, in his view, is what makes today’s cycle structurally different.
Why Gross Margin Could Decide Micron’s Next Move The single number analysts are watching with Micron’s earnings tonight is gross margin. He expects guidance for about 84%, up from roughly 81% this reporting quarter. That tracks the trajectory Micron set in its fiscal Q2 report on March 18, 2026, when the company posted revenue of $23.86 billion (+196.3% YoY), non-GAAP EPS of $12.20, and a GAAP gross margin of 74.4%. Q3 guidance called for revenue of $33.5 billion plus or minus $750 million, non-GAAP EPS of $19.15 plus or minus $0.40, and gross margin around 81%. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra at the time told investors the company expects “significant records again in fiscal Q3.”
What the Market Is Pricing Prediction markets and Reddit sentiment paint a split picture. Polymarket assigns a 96.1% probability to an earnings beat tonight, yet only a 53.5% probability that MU closes above $1,000 by month-end. Crowd consensus expects an earnings beat but a slower price recovery.
Reddit conviction tells a similar story. Sentiment scores on r/wallstreetbets and r/investing climbed as high as 81 (very bullish) on June 22, even after the selloff began. One widely upvoted post on r/options noted that “MU is pricing in some insanely abnormal panic”, drawing 136 upvotes.
What to Watch with Micron’s Earnings Tonight The biggest number to watch in Micron’s earnings report is gross margin. Cassidy expects guidance to rise toward 84%, up from roughly 81% this quarter. If Micron delivers that level of margin expansion, it would support the argument that supply remains tight and the recent selloff was driven more by investor nerves than weakening fundamentals.
Investors will also be watching for updates on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand, progress on the Idaho and New York fab projects, and management’s outlook for capital returns following last quarter’s 30% dividend increase. By the end of tonight’s call, investors should have a much clearer answer as to whether this week’s pullback was a buying opportunity or the start of a more meaningful reset.
Roundhill spustila pákový ETF RAM, který 2x kopíruje volatilitu DRAM a Micronu. Přichází těsně před výsledky Micronu, od nichž trh čeká pohyb kolem 10 %.
A new ETF seeking to leverage Micron's volatility has emerged – right in the nick of time
After the massive success of the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) – a fund that's gathered more than $22 billion in less than three months and has more than doubled in value since its April debut – asset manager Roundhill Investments, alongside REX Shares and Tuttle Capital Management, launched a new offering on Wednesday. The Roundhill T-REX 2X Long DRAM Daily Target ETF (RAM) is a 2x levered version of DRAM that began trading at around $24 per share.
The launch capitalizes not just on the popularity of Micron Technology as a stock and options favorite among investors after a 700% one-year rally, but also the growing popularity of leveraged funds and traders' general comfort, if not preference, to be in volatile products tied to the artificial intelligence boom.
Micron Technology in the past 12 months
Micron is set to report earnings Wednesday night, and you'd be hard-pressed to find an investor that doesn't have some exposure to the stock in one form or another.
It's now the fourth-biggest holding in the $73 billion VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), a 28% weight in the DRAM ETF, and 8% of the roughly $30 billion levered fund Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (SOXL). It's also among the top 10 largest companies in the S&P 500. At a market cap just below $1.2 trillion, Micron regularly trades billions of dollars in options per day, with $1.4 billion already traded in Wednesday's session.
"For the next 48 hours the market and Micron are basically the same," said Zed Francis, CIO at Chicago-based Convexitas, who runs a semiconductor options strategy.
Leveraged ETFs, the most popular of which target tech companies that have powered the bull market, bring daily rebalancing flows regularly in excess of $20 billion, according to an analysis from Barclays equities tactical strategies.
That could exacerbate swings in the market around big events like Micron earnings, where traders currently expect a 10% swing. Implied volatility in the stock is 111, the highest in the S&P 500 alongside memory peer Sandisk.
"Sometimes better to be lucky than good, but launching the day Micron reports: This is the most important earnings report for the whole market that we've seen in a while," Dave Mazza, CEO of Roundhill, said by phone.
There's also the South Korean stock market, where memory-makers SK Hynix and Samsung account for around 40% of market cap. Volatility of 92 is relatively cheaper in the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY).
On Wednesday morning, one trader in that fund put on a bullish "risk reversal" trade. They sold $1.2 million worth of the 170-strike EWY puts expiring July 17, then bought $700,000 worth of the 240-strike calls, betting on a 23% rally by the same date.
Baird varuje, že boom paměťových čipů nemusí vydržet, protože hyperscalery hledají alternativy k drahé HBM a DRAM. Micron dnes po zavření trhu zveřejní výsledky.
Baird Investment Strategist Ross Mayfield recently appeared on CNBC to push back against the prevailing narrative that the memory cycle has been permanently rewired by AI demand, framing the bull case for Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) as a position-management problem rather than a definite outcome. His warning comes on a charged day, with Micron reporting fiscal Q3 2026 earnings tonight, June 24, after the market closes. The stock fell roughly 13% on Wednesday as traders reset expectations ahead of the report.
Mayfield’s core argument is that memory remains structurally cyclical, and price matters. It is a seller’s market today, but if elevated DRAM and HBM prices are expected to persist deep into 2027 and 2028, the largest buyers have both the capital and the motivation to engineer their way around Micron’s pricing power. He pointed to companies like Google and Broadcom pursuing compression software and custom-built silicon, and Amazon exploring in-house designs, as evidence that hyperscaler capex can be redirected when memory becomes a constraint rather than a commodity.
The Setup Mayfield Is Worried About Mayfield characterized memory names as up roughly “1,000%” in a year on air. Micron closed at $1,051.77 on June 23, 2026, against $121.78 a year earlier, a 763.64% one-year move. Year-to-date, Micron is up 268.68%, and over five years, the stock has returned 1,238.55%. The market cap now sits near $1.37 trillion, with a trailing P/E around 57 and a forward multiple near 11.
In fiscal Q2 2026, Micron reported $23.86 billion in revenue, non-GAAP EPS of $12.20, and a GAAP gross margin of 74.4%, up from 36.8% a year earlier. Management guided Q3 to revenue of $33.5 billion plus or minus $750 million and a gross margin of approximately 81%. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told investors that “In the AI era, memory has become a strategic asset for our customers” as the board approved a 30% dividend increase.
Why Margins Are Important for the Industry Mayfield’s core point: an 81% gross margin guide is the kind of number that invites competition. Micron’s Cloud Memory segment posted a 74% gross margin and a 66% operating margin in Q2, with $7.75 billion in revenue.
Hyperscalers paying these prices have a strong incentive to fund alternatives. Google’s TPU roadmap, Amazon’s Trainium silicon, and Meta’s MTIA program already lean on architectural tricks that reduce HBM dependency per training run. Broadcom continues to ship custom ASIC programs for the same buyers. Memory demand remains intact, but this dynamic caps how long suppliers can price as if memory were uniquely scarce.
The historical pattern reinforces the caution. Just two fiscal years ago, Micron was reporting negative EPS through the 2023 trough. The recovery has been steep: $1.56 in Q3 FY2025, $4.78 in Q2 FY2026, and $12.20 in Q3 FY2026. Order books are reportedly extending into 2027, but Mayfield’s question is what 2027-2028 capacity and pricing look like once new fabs ramp and customer workarounds mature.
Key Takeaways for Micron Mayfield’s warning is that Micron’s extraordinary profitability today may encourage the world’s largest technology companies to build alternatives. Micron’s earnings report tonight will help determine whether AI-driven demand remains powerful enough to outweigh that risk.
Micron po prudkém růstu dostal cílovou cenu 731 USD, což znamená pokles o 30,5 % z 1 051,77 USD; model doporučuje prodat. Tržby za fiskální 2. čtvrtletí vyskočily na 23,86 miliardy USD a EPS podle non-GAAP byl 12,20 USD.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) has gone vertical. The stock is up 268.68% year to date and 763.64% over the past year, riding an AI memory super-cycle that has reshaped the company’s earnings power. Our proprietary model says the rally has run ahead of the fundamentals.
Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Micron is $731, which implies 30.5% downside from $1,051.77. The recommendation is sell, with a confidence level of 90%, the highest band our framework assigns.
Metric Value Current Price $1,051.77 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $731 Upside/Downside -30.5% Recommendation SELL Confidence Level 90% Why We Could Be Wrong Before diving in, our 24/7 Wall St. price target sits well below where Micron trades today, and the bull arguments are real. Memory pricing could stay tight through 2027 as hyperscaler HBM orders compound, and Micron’s status as the only U.S.-based memory manufacturer gives it pricing power competitors cannot match. Treat $731 as one datapoint. The full bull case is below.
A 779% Rally Meets Reality Micron has compounded from $119.84 last June through $441.07 at the March 18 Q2 filing to current levels, including a 40.05% gain in the last month alone. Yesterday brought the first crack: shares fell 13.18% in a single session.
The fundamentals justify a re-rating, just not this much of one. Fiscal Q2 2026 revenue hit $23.86 billion, up 196.29% year over year, with non-GAAP EPS of $12.20 beating expectations. Q3 guidance calls for $33.5 billion in revenue and roughly 81% gross margin. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said “in the AI era, memory has become a strategic asset.”
The Case for $1,266 and Higher Bulls argue Micron’s order book stretches into 2027 and that HBM allocations are sold out. Q2 Cloud Memory revenue reached $7.749 billion at 74% gross margin. If forward EPS runs closer to a $19.15 quarterly pace, annualized power approaches $75 to $80.
A 16x multiple on that gets bulls to roughly $1,266, matching our model’s bull case of $1,266.29. Of 44 covering analysts, 9 rate it Strong Buy and 30 rate it Buy.
What Could Go Wrong Memory is cyclical, and at 53x trailing earnings, Micron is priced for a non-cyclical outcome. Forward P/E sits at 11x, which only works if the current peak margin holds. Insider activity is a red flag. CEO Mehrotra sold heavily on May 29, 2026, at prices between $942 and $979 across 30 transactions.
Total insider activity in the window shows net selling across 102 transactions. Bulls would counter that much of this is scheduled 10b5-1 selling against equity grants. The bear case scenario lands at $539.57, a 48.7% drawdown.
Micron Price Prediction 2026-2030 The 24/7 Wall St. price target is $731, the recommendation is sell, and confidence is 90%. The forward P/E-based value of $298.90 is the tell: even granting bulls a generous multiple, the math does not stretch to $1,050.
The bull case strengthens if memory pricing stays peak-cycle through 2027 and HBM4 ramps push EPS above $30. The setup weakens if Q3 results merely meet guidance, because the stock now requires beats to defend the multiple.
Looking further ahead, here is where our model projects Micron could trade, assuming memory normalizes from peak-cycle margins back toward mid-cycle averages.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $852 2027 $731 2028 $660 2029 $600 2030 $560 These projections assume Micron continues executing but that memory pricing reverts toward historical mid-cycle levels. Significant upside could come from sustained HBM scarcity, while downside could accelerate if hyperscaler capex slows.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT | ABT Price Prediction) is a stock with characteristics suited to multi-decade ownership, because its four-segment healthcare engine, 54 consecutive years of dividend increases, and recession-resistant end markets give a retirement-focused portfolio something rare: cash compounding that does not require monitoring.
Pillar One: Durability Built Into the Business Model Abbott’s revenue flows from four distinct segments spanning multiple geographies and therapeutic areas, and the latest quarter shows why that matters. In Q1 2026, Medical Devices delivered $5.54 billion (+13.2% YoY), Diagnostics added $2.18 billion (+6.1%), Established Pharmaceuticals grew +13.2% in emerging markets, and Nutrition shrank 6.0%. Three segments offset the weak one, and total revenue still grew 7.8% to $11.16 billion, exactly the four-headed structure that absorbs localized blows while sustaining cash flow.
The moat keeps widening. The $21 billion Exact Sciences acquisition closed March 23, 2026, adding Cologuard and Cancerguard to the diagnostics arsenal. FreeStyle Libre, the continuous glucose monitor franchise, generated $2.08 billion (+13.8% YoY) in the first quarter alone, a consumable razor-and-blade business that, as global diabetes rates climb, creates an exceptionally sticky customer relationship.
Pillar Two: Income You Can Set and Forget Abbott just paid its 409th consecutive quarterly dividend. The quarterly payout has climbed from $0.14 in 2013 to $0.63 in early 2026, with the most recent declaration set at $0.740243 per share, payable August 17, 2026. The trailing dividend currently yields 2.76%, modest at the surface, meaningful when paired with a multi-decade compounding curve. Backing the payout: trailing twelve-month revenue of $45.1 billion, a 13.9% profit margin, and a forward P/E of 16.
Pillar Three: Why It Survives Cycles Healthcare demand is largely non-discretionary. Glucose monitors, heart valves, lab diagnostics, and infant nutrition do not get postponed when GDP wobbles. The numbers reflect that defensive profile: a beta of 0.62, 82.67% institutional ownership, and operations across 160-plus countries. Management is guiding full-year 2026 to comparable sales growth of 6.5% to 7.5% and adjusted EPS of $5.38 to $5.58, even after absorbing $0.20 of Exact Sciences dilution.
Where It Underperforms In low-rate, high-growth bull markets, a defensive aristocrat with a beta of 0.62 will trail high-beta technology and small caps. Abbott is also down 30.67% over the past year as the market rotated toward speculative names. That lag does not change the forever thesis. Owners of a Dividend Aristocrat are paid in compounding payouts and capital preservation, not in narrative-driven rallies, and the same low-volatility profile that caps upside in bull runs is what protects capital when the rotation reverses.
At a price of $90.53, well below the analyst target of $116.54 and the 200-day moving average of $113.41, the current setup combines a meaningful yield, a 54-year dividend-growth track record, and exposure to chronic-disease secular growth. The setup favors long-duration ownership over short-term trading.
Palo Alto Networks ve fiskálním 3Q zvýšila výnosy o 31 % na 3 miliardy USD a RPO o 36 % na 18,4 miliardy USD. Firma zároveň zvýšila výhled růstu výnosů pro fiskální rok 2026 na 24 %.
The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) is turning out to be a tailwind for the global cybersecurity industry. Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated, as bad actors now have access to advanced AI tools which help them find targets easily and scale up attacks rapidly.
This explains why companies and governments are poised to spend heavily on shoring up their cyber defenses. Market research firm IDC estimates that global cybersecurity spending could reach $308 billion in 2026 and $430 billion in 2029. Not surprisingly, the demand for AI-powered cybersecurity tools will play a central role in boosting this market's size.
Fortune Business Insights estimates that the AI-focused cybersecurity market could grow from $44 billion this year to $213 billion in 2034. Palo Alto Networks (PANW 1.66%) is already capitalizing on this terrific opportunity. The company released its fiscal 2026 third-quarter results (for the quarter ended April 30) on June 2, and its numbers and guidance clearly indicate that it is making the most of the AI-driven growth in the cybersecurity market.
Let's take a closer look at Palo Alto's performance and check why this cybersecurity stock can be a long-term winner.
Image source: Getty Images.
Palo Alto Networks' AI-focused cybersecurity tools will accelerate growth Palo Alto's fiscal Q3 revenue increased 31% year over year to $3 billion. This included $388 million in revenue from the acquisitions of Chronosphere and CyberArk, which were completed in January and February this year. However, the more important metric to note here is that the company's remaining performance obligations (RPO) increased by 36% year over year to $18.4 billion. Chronosphere and CyberArk contributed $1.8 billion to Palo Alto's RPO last quarter.
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RPO is the total value of a company's contracts that are yet to be fulfilled at the end of a quarter. As Palo Alto's RPO increased faster than its revenue, this suggests the company is getting more business than it can fulfill right now. One of the reasons this is happening is the terrific demand for Palo Alto's AI solutions.
More than 300 customers were using its Prisma AIRS platform in the previous quarter, a massive increase of 10x from the year-ago period. That's not surprising, as Prisma AIRS is designed to provide end-to-end security to an organization's AI assets, including AI apps, AI agents, AI models, data, endpoints, and browsers.
Palo Alto management notes that Prisma AIRS is the "fastest scaling product in our history." This platform is helping the company land sizable deals, such as a $20 million contract with a global consulting firm. Meanwhile, Palo Alto's network security business is also getting a big boost due to AI. This is the company's largest business segment, producing 70% of its top line.
Palo Alto points out that it witnessed a 40% year-over-year increase in bookings for its next-generation firewall hardware, which is experiencing healthy demand from AI data centers. Additionally, sales of firewall software to secure AI applications increased by 25% from the year-ago period.
Also, Palo Alto's platformization strategy is gaining favor among customers. The company has consolidated multiple cybersecurity tools and processes into a single platform to provide comprehensive security, greater efficiency, and reduced complexity in performing cybersecurity tasks. Palo Alto ended fiscal Q3 with 2,280 platformizations, up significantly from 1,250 platformization customers in the year-ago period.
The company aims to achieve more than 4,000 platformizations by fiscal 2030, helping it reach $20 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from its next-generation security (NGS) solutions. Palo Alto's NGS ARR jumped by 60% year over year in the previous quarter to $8.1 billion, with 65% coming from platformized customers.
All this suggests that Palo Alto is growing faster than the cybersecurity market, which is why it won't be surprising to see it exceed Wall Street's growth expectations in the long run.
The stock is expensive, but the company's growth potential indicates more upside Palo Alto stock trades at 20 times sales, well above the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite's sales multiple of 5.3. However, the company's improving pipeline will give it a nice shot in the arm. Palo Alto has increased its fiscal 2026 revenue growth guidance to 24%, well above the 14% growth it was anticipating at the beginning of the fiscal year.
What's more, it anticipates a 32%-33% increase in its RPO in fiscal 2026, nearly double the 17%-18% growth it was forecasting when the fiscal year started. This is probably why analysts have increased their revenue growth expectations for Palo Alto.
Data by YCharts
However, the pace of growth in Palo Alto's RPO and the healthy jump in demand for its AI-focused offerings should ideally lead to a much stronger increase. This potential outperformance could pave the way for further upside in this AI stock, which currently has a 12-month median price target of $330, according to 56 analysts covering it.
That suggests a potential 13% jump, though there is a strong likelihood it will do much better over the long run. Also, 79% of analysts rate Palo Alto a buy, and it is easy to see why, given the points discussed above. In all, Palo Alto's position as one of the top cybersecurity companies makes it one of the best ways to capitalize on the AI boom in this niche.
MicroStrategy (MSTR) se podle článku obchoduje asi s 10% prémií vůči hodnotě bitcoinu, který drží. BlackRockův IBIT nabízí spotovou expozici na bitcoin za 0,25% roční poplatek bez této prémie.
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MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR | MSTR Price Prediction), now branded Strategy, is the most popular way retail traders own bitcoin without holding it directly. The pitch is simple: buying MSTR provides leveraged exposure to a balance sheet backed by 847,363 BTC as of June 2026. Holders pay no management fee, get equity-style liquidity, and ride the same coin the company keeps acquiring through ATM stock sales. The structural cost of that convenience is what most MSTR shareholders underestimate, and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT) prices that cost out in plain numbers.
The Premium You Are Actually Paying MicroStrategy’s bitcoin pile is valued on the balance sheet at $51.65 billion in intangible assets as of Q1 2026, against a market cap of roughly $36 billion at today’s $103.84 share price. The widely watched mNAV ratio, the multiple of share price to bitcoin per share, sits near 1.1x. Translated, MSTR buyers are paying about a 10% premium for each dollar of bitcoin the company holds. That premium has compressed sharply from the 2x-plus levels of the 2024 bull run, and management’s own capital framework treats 2.5x mNAV as the minimum threshold for accretive share issuance, an admission that the premium itself is the product being sold.
Premiums also move independently of Bitcoin as the coin can rally even as MSTR’s premium contracts leave shareholders with only a fraction of the move. That mechanic, plus leverage, is why MSTR is down 27.96% YTD and 70.39% over 1 year, while spot Bitcoin is down 27.05% YTD and 39.45% over the same period.
What IBIT Removes From the Trade The structure is straightforward, as IBIT is a spot bitcoin trust, with each share tied to actual coins held by a custodian, and the price stays within pennies of net asset value because authorized participants arbitrage any gap. The holdings disclosure makes that clear: 99.93% of the fund sits in the underlying bitcoin position, with only a sliver in cash. The U.S. listing carries a 0.25% expense ratio, now the lowest among major spot bitcoin ETFs after the introductory waiver expired.
That 0.25% is the full cost of ownership. There is no preferred dividend stack ahead of common holders, no 8.16 billion dollars in long-term debt to service, and no software segment generating 124.3 million dollars in quarterly revenue against a corporate cost base. IBIT’s net asset value moves with bitcoin. MSTR’s net asset value moves with bitcoin, the premium, the share count, and the cost of perpetual preferred capital, including the STRC, STRK, and STRF instruments that the company continues to issue, highlighting the difference between spot exposure and levered corporate wrappers.
When MSTR Still Wins, and When It Does Not Leverage inside this structure creates a powerful amplifier in both directions, turning strong bitcoin rallies into outsized gains when corporate debt and premium expansion stack on top of spot exposure. That same dynamic produced a 12.54‑billion‑dollar net loss in Q1 2026, driven by 14.46 billion dollars in unrealized bitcoin losses under fair value accounting and a 31.54% one‑month drawdown versus 17.08% for spot bitcoin, with thirty‑day historical volatility of 71% capturing the scale of that swing.
Share count pressure adds a second source of dilution, with outstanding shares rising from 192.5 million at year’s end 2024 to 333.9 million by Q1 2026. Each ATM raise adds more bitcoin to the balance sheet but also increases the claims against it, and bitcoin per share grows only when issuance occurs at a sufficiently high premium, which is why the premium itself becomes load‑bearing in a corporate wrapper built around spot exposure.
Making the Swap In a tax-advantaged account, switching between MSTR and IBIT carries no immediate tax consequence. In a taxable account, a long-held MSTR position may carry embedded gains for many holders despite the recent drawdown, and any reallocation interacts with available capital losses elsewhere in the portfolio. The two exposures can also coexist: a smaller MSTR position retains the leveraged optionality while an IBIT position provides spot exposure priced at the coin.
The Decision Point The case for MSTR rests on the premium holding or expansion and on Bitcoin rallying hard enough for leverage to cover corporate overhead. The case for IBIT rests on wanting bitcoin and nothing else, priced at the coin. If the goal that originally drove the MSTR purchase was simply bitcoin exposure, the 10% premium, preferred dividend obligations, and ongoing dilution are the bill for a feature set the holder may not need. If the goal was leveraged bitcoin, that argument still stands, but it is a different trade than most MSTR buyers think they are making.
Aon v 1. čtvrtletí 2026 zvýšil organické tržby o 5 % a upravená provozní marže se rozšířila o 70 bps. Firma čeká pro letošek další růst tržeb, marže i volného cash flow.
Key Takeaways AON reported 5% organic revenue growth and 70 bps adjusted operating margin expansion in Q1 2026.Aon expanded analytics, client leadership and NFP integration, boosting middle-market reach.AON targets mid-single-digit revenue growth, 70-80 bps margin expansion and double-digit FCF growth in 2026. As Aon plc (AON - Free Report) enters the final year of its 3x3 Plan, the focus is shifting from strategy execution to measurable outcomes. Introduced in late 2023 with nearly $1 billion in investment, the three-year strategy was built around strengthening Risk Capital and Human Capital capabilities, expanding client relationships through Aon Client Leadership and enhancing efficiency through Aon Business Services (ABS) with advanced analytics and AI.
Aon expanded analytics-driven solutions, enhanced its enterprise client model and advanced NFP integration, which broadened its reach in the middle-market segment. These efforts helped drive 6% organic revenue growth, 90 basis points (bps) of margin expansion relative to its 2023 baseline with NFP and $2.8 billion of free cash flow in 2024. It also rolled out several risk-analyzer tools and streamlined operations through ABS, creating a platform for future growth. Momentum carried into 2025, with organic revenues increasing 6% and free cash flow rising 14% year over year. Meanwhile, AON generated $160 million in restructuring savings in 2025.
AON reported 5% organic revenue growth in the first quarter of 2026, supported by strong client retention and new business generation. Adjusted operating margin expanded by 70 bps in the quarter. Looking ahead, management expects mid-single-digit or higher organic revenue growth, 70-80 basis points of adjusted operating margin expansion and double-digit free cash flow growth in 2026. It expects total investment in talent and technology to reach about $1.3 billion by 2026-end.
By embedding AI into risk analysis, claims management and client advisory tools, AON is improving productivity, deepening client relationships and supporting margin expansion.
How Are Competitors Faring?Some of AON’s competitors adopting AI to improve operations include Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG - Free Report) and Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (WTW - Free Report) .
Arthur J. Gallagher is embedding AI across claims, reinsurance benefits and M&A workflows rather than treating it as a standalone product. AI is helping improve speed to market, client retention and win rates while enhancing advisory capabilities, giving AJG a practical, execution-focused approach to AI adoption.
Willis Towers Watson recently launched its AI Workforce Transformation solution, combining proprietary workforce data with AI-powered diagnostics to help clients identify automation opportunities and improve employee adoption. WTW’s total revenues rose 8% year over year in the first quarter of 2026.
AON’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesIn the year-to-date period, AON’s shares have fallen 9.1% compared with the industry’s decline of 17.4%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, AON trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, above the industry average of 14.50. AON carries a Value Score of C.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AON’s 2026 earnings implies 11.8% growth from the year-ago period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
AON currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Ecolab v 1. čtvrtletí zvýšil organické tržby o 4 % díky cenám a objemu. Divize Global High-Tech rostla organicky o více než 20 % a Ecolab Digital překročil roční tempo tržeb 400 milionů USD.
Key Takeaways Ecolab posted 4% organic sales growth in Q1 2026, driven by pricing and volume gains.ECL's Global High-Tech business grew more than 20% organically on semiconductor demand.Ecolab Digital topped $400M in annualized revenue with AI and automation-driven solutions. Ecolab Inc. (ECL - Free Report) has been gaining from its solid product portfolio. The optimism, led by a solid first-quarter 2026 performance and continued focus on research and development, is expected to contribute further. However, concerns regarding cost fluctuations persist.
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has gained 2.3% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s 13% growth. The S&P 500 Composite has increased 8.9% during the same time frame.
The renowned water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services provider has a market capitalization of $75.8 billion. It projects 14.3% growth for the next five years and expects to maintain a strong performance in the future. Ecolab’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, missed once and met once, delivering an average surprise of 0.23%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Reasons Favoring Ecolab’s GrowthEcolab’s Global High-Tech Business & Digital Platform: Per management, Ecolab’s Global High-Tech business remains a key long-term growth driver, supported by rising semiconductor manufacturing and data-center infrastructure investments worldwide. In first-quarter 2026, the segment delivered more than 20% organic sales growth, driven by new business wins across microelectronics and data centers. Management also noted that the Ovivo Electronics acquisition strengthens Ecolab’s ultrapure water capabilities for semiconductor fabs and, together with the pending CoolIT Systems acquisition, is expected to create a roughly $1.5 billion Global High-Tech platform.
Meanwhile, Ecolab Digital continues to scale as another important growth engine, with annualized revenues surpassing $400 million. Management highlighted that the platform leverages AI, predictive analytics, remote monitoring and automation to enhance customer productivity and sustainability outcomes, while addressing a $13 billion market opportunity, including nearly $3 billion within the existing customer base.
Strong Product Portfolio With a Focus on R&D: In first-quarter 2026, Ecolab’s organic sales rose 4%, driven by 3% pricing and 1% volume growth, reflecting the strong value proposition of its portfolio. Per management, the company continues to benefit from a robust innovation pipeline, with increasing focus on digitally enabled solutions that enhance customer productivity and sustainability.
Platforms like 3D TRASAR and other connected monitoring solutions are gaining traction by helping customers optimize water usage, energy consumption and operational efficiency. Management noted that these technology-driven offerings deliver measurable savings, strengthen long-term customer relationships and support premium pricing, reinforcing Ecolab’s competitive position across its end markets.
Strong Q1 Results: ECL exited the first quarter of 2026 with in-line earnings and better-than-expected revenues. The company registered a robust year-over-year uptick in its top and bottom lines, along with solid performances across all segments. The expansion of the adjusted operating margin bodes well for the stock.
Per management, Ecolab’s performance in the first quarter was driven by strong value pricing, accelerated volume growth and improved productivity, demonstrating the strength of its technology- and service-led model. Its core businesses also delivered strong performance as Institutional and Specialty both improved, and Food & Beverage continued to significantly outperform market trends. These looked promising for the stock.
A Factor That May Offset ECL’s GainsCost Fluctuations: Ecolab faces risks from raw material cost volatility, inflationary pressures and supply-chain disruptions, which could weigh on margins and profitability. Management expects commodity costs to rise at a high single-digit rate beginning in second-quarter 2026, primarily driven by energy-related expenses.
The company remains exposed to fluctuations in raw material availability and pricing, as well as challenges in renewing supply agreements on favorable terms, which could adversely impact operating results, financial position and cash flows. Additionally, geopolitical tensions and broader economic slowdowns may disrupt global sourcing and supplier performance, limiting Ecolab’s ability to secure raw materials efficiently and at competitive prices.
Estimate TrendEcolab is witnessing a stable estimate revision trend for 2026. In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its earnings has remained stable at $8.47 per share.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s second-quarter 2026 revenues is pegged at $4.4 billion, indicating a 9.4% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s reported number.
Key PicksSome better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) , West Pharmaceutical (WST - Free Report) and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG - Free Report) .
Globus Medical, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reported a first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.12 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 22.1%. Revenues of $759.9 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.0%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
GMED has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 10.2% compared with the industry’s 12.6% growth. The company’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 26.3%.
West Pharmaceutical, currently flaunting a Zacks Rank #1, reported first-quarter 2026 EPS of $2.13, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26.8%. Revenues of $844.9 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.5%.
WST has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 13.9% compared with the industry’s 9.5% growth. The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 19.4%.
Intuitive Surgical, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $2.50, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20.2%. Revenues of $2.77 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.2%.
ISRG has a long-term estimated growth rate of 14.6% compared with the industry’s 12.6% growth. The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.8%.
Franklin Templeton dokončila akvizici 250 Digital a spustila Franklin Crypto pro aktivně spravované kryptoměnové strategie určené institucionálním klientům. Součástí transakce je i tým 250 Digital a veškeré likvidní digitální strategie dříve spravované CoinFund.
Key Takeaways BEN's arm acquired 250 Digital, adding a crypto investment team and CoinFund's liquid digital strategies.Franklin Templeton launched Franklin Crypto to offer active crypto strategies for institutional clients.The buyout aids BEN's broader push into blockchain finance alongside partnerships with MoonPay and Binance. Franklin Resources, Inc.'s (BEN - Free Report) asset management arm, Franklin Templeton, has completed its previously announced acquisition of 250 Digital, an active cryptocurrency investment management firm led by industry veterans Christopher Perkins and Seth Ginns. The transaction, announced in April 2026, includes the 250 Digital investment team and all liquid cryptocurrency strategies previously managed by CoinFund.
The acquisition marks another step in Franklin Templeton's efforts to strengthen its presence in digital assets and expand its active cryptocurrency investment capabilities. Following the closing of the transaction, the company formally launched Franklin Crypto, a dedicated active digital asset management division.
The move underscores Franklin Templeton’s long-term focus on building infrastructure across the digital asset ecosystem and expanding its institutional cryptocurrency investment offerings. As part of the agreement, the company will also invest in the acquired cryptocurrency strategies.
What Does BEN’s Franklin Crypto Offer?Franklin Crypto is Franklin Templeton’s newly established active digital asset division focused on delivering actively managed cryptocurrency strategies to institutional clients. The platform integrates the investment capabilities of the former 250 Digital team with Franklin Templeton’s established research, portfolio construction and risk management framework.
The division also builds on Franklin Templeton’s existing digital asset capabilities, including dedicated resources for digital asset research, active portfolio construction and institutional risk oversight. By combining crypto-native expertise with traditional asset management infrastructure, Franklin Crypto is designed to enhance the company’s ability to deliver regulated digital asset investment solutions.
How the 250 Digital Acquisition Benefits BENThe acquisition is expected to strengthen Franklin Templeton’s active digital asset management capabilities at a time when institutional demand for regulated crypto exposure continues to increase, positioning the company to scale its digital asset offerings more effectively.
The initiative also aligns with Franklin Templeton’s broader strategy of expanding beyond traditional asset management and increasing its presence in blockchain-enabled finance. Earlier this month, Franklin Templeton partnered with MoonPay to integrate its Benji Technology Platform with institutional trading infrastructure, enhancing access to its tokenized money market funds.
In February 2026, the company also collaborated with Binance to launch an off-exchange institutional collateral program designed to improve capital efficiency and reduce counterparty risk in digital asset trading. These initiatives strengthen Franklin Templeton’s digital asset ecosystem, spanning research, portfolio management and blockchain-based investment solutions.
With $1.78 trillion in assets under management as of May 31, 2026, and operations across more than 35 countries, Franklin Templeton is well-positioned to scale its digital asset offerings globally. Overall, the acquisition of 250 Digital is expected to expand its cryptocurrency investment capabilities and reinforce its position among traditional asset managers, building out blockchain-enabled financial market infrastructure.
BEN’s Price Performance & Zacks RankThe company’s shares have gained 39.7% in the past six months against the industry’s 12.1% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Currently, Franklin sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
How Other Financial Firms Are Scaling Up in Crypto?Similar to BEN, the other financial firms, such as Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR - Free Report) and Charles Schwab (SCHW - Free Report) are also actively expanding and enhancing their crypto offerings.
In April 2026, Interactive Brokers launched a unified crypto trading platform for European Economic Area clients through its Ireland-based unit, integrating digital assets into its brokerage ecosystem. Developed with Zerohash, it enables secure trading alongside traditional assets. Earlier, in March 2026, Interactive Brokers also introduced crypto transfer functionality, allowing clients to move assets into brokerage-linked accounts without liquidation, improving portfolio efficiency.
In April 2026, Charles Schwab also moved toward direct crypto exposure with the planned launch of Schwab Crypto, a spot trading service for Bitcoin and Ethereum. The rollout will follow a phased approach, starting with limited access before broader availability, supported by its research, education and advisory ecosystem. Until now, Charles Schwab has mainly relied on indirect exposure through ETFs and related products, but this marks a shift toward integrating crypto into its core brokerage platform.
Akcie American Airlines, United Airlines a JetBlue rostou, protože klesající ceny leteckého paliva zlepšují vyhlídky marží. American Airlines přidává 7 % na 17 dolarů a něco, United 6 % na zhruba 129 dolarů a JetBlue 5 % na 5,78 dolaru.
Airline stocks are flying higher midday Wednesday as falling jet fuel costs spark a broad-based rally across the sector. American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL | AAL Price Prediction) stock leads the move, with American Airlines shares up 7% to $17 and change in intraday trading. The gain extends an already powerful run for AAL stock.
United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) stock is rallying alongside it, with United shares climbing 6% to around $129. JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) stock is also higher, with JBLU shares up 5% to $5.78, a sharp move for a low-priced, more volatile name.
The catalyst is straightforward. Jet fuel is one of the largest line items on any airline income statement, and crude oil benchmarks have been sliding all week.
Falling Fuel Costs Propel the Rally The apparent driver for American Airlines, United Airlines, and JetBlue is declining fuel costs tied to lower oil prices amid easing Middle East tensions. Crude oil benchmarks have hit multi-month lows this week as markets price in a de-escalation in the Iran conflict and smoother oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. WTI crude oil trades at $70.48 per barrel, down from a recent peak of $112.25 on May 18.
The leverage to airline carriers is significant. American Airlines management flagged more than $4 billion in incremental FY 2026 fuel expense, with Q2 2026 guidance assuming jet fuel near $4 per gallon. United Airlines guided Q2 fuel of around $4.30 per gallon, while JetBlue projected the steepest exposure at $4.13 to $4.28 per gallon.
Any sustained pullback in crude oil flows directly through to operating margins. That math is why American Airlines stock, United Airlines stock, and JetBlue stock are all moving in the same direction today.
Momentum Was Already Building Today’s surge extends a strong recent run. American Airlines stock has gained 25% over the past month, while United Airlines stock has climbed 29% in the same span. JetBlue stock, the smallest and most fuel-stressed of the trio, is up 15% over the past month.
Wall Street’s existing posture varies meaningfully. United Airlines carries an analyst target price of $132.50 with 19 Buy and 5 Strong Buy ratings, the most constructive view of the three. American Airlines has a target of $15.82, while JetBlue’s consensus target sits at $4.91, both below current prices after today’s pop.
The Bull Case Against the Caution The bullish view for American Airlines, United Airlines, and JetBlue is understandable. Lower jet fuel is a direct margin tailwind, and easing geopolitical tension reduces near-term oil-price risk. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has noted his company’s “strong financial position and success in winning brand-loyal customers” as cushioning the carrier against fuel swings.
However, oil is famously volatile and can reverse just as fast as it fell. Airline profitability also hinges on travel demand, capacity discipline, and the broader economy, none of which are settled by a single week of crude weakness. JetBlue stock in particular remains down meaningfully over the past five years, a reminder that fuel relief alone doesn’t fix a business model.
Investors can weigh the immediate margin tailwind against the structural differences across the group. American Airlines carries the heaviest debt load, United Airlines has the strongest balance sheet, and JetBlue has the most operating leverage to any fuel move.
What to Watch Next The next data point to watch is whether crude holds at these lower levels into next week. A bounce in oil could quickly drain today’s enthusiasm out of AAL, UAL, and JBLU.
Investors can watch for whether American Airlines, United Airlines, and JetBlue shares close near their intraday highs and whether the sector momentum carries into Thursday’s open. Q2 2026 earnings season, which begins in mid-July, will be the real test of how much of the fuel benefit actually reaches the bottom line.
Ballard Power Systems kupuje britskou společnost GeoPura za 275 milionů GBP a posiluje tak pozici integrovaného poskytovatele vodíkového „Energy-as-a-Service“. Transakce má podpořit růst tržeb a přinést synergie EBITDA kolem 25 milionů USD ročně.
Wegweisende Übernahme eines schnell wachsenden Marktführers für groß angelegte, emissionsfreie stationäre Stromversorgungslösungen auf Wasserstoffbasis Erweitert das Geschäftsmodell von Ballard um eine „Energy-as-a-Service"-Lösung mit einem gebündelten Angebot, das Wasserstoffproduktion, -verteilung, -logistik, -betankung, Brennstoffzellen und stationäre Stromerzeugung kombiniert, um höhere Umsätze pro Megawatt und ein hohes Potenzial für wiederkehrende Umsätze zu erzielen Baut auf einer langjährigen und bewährten Partnerschaft mit GeoPura auf, in deren Rahmen Ballard Brennstoffzellenmotoren für die Wasserstoff-Kraftwerke von GeoPura liefert Erweitert den adressierbaren Markt auf wachstumsstarke Endmärkte auf kapitaleffiziente Weise, gestützt durch eine gesicherte Wasserstoffversorgung und die Unterstützung durch die Regierungspolitik Hält Ballards Kurs zur Rentabilität bis 2028 aufrecht und erschließt Synergien im Bereich des jährlichen EBITDA in Höhe von 25 Millionen US-Dollar , /PRNewswire/ -- Ballard Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDP) (TSX: BLDP) („Ballard", das „Unternehmen"), ein weltweit führender Anbieter von Wasserstoff-Brennstoffzellentechnologie, gab heute bekannt, dass es eine endgültige Vereinbarung (die „Vereinbarung") über den Erwerb von GeoPura Limited („GeoPura"), einem Anbieter emissionsfreier, wasserstoffbasierter Energielösungen, geschlossen hat (die „Transaktion"). Die Transaktion umfasst einen Vorab-Kaufpreis in Höhe von 275,0 Millionen Pfund („Vorauszahlung"), der durch eine Kombination aus 82,5 Millionen Pfund aus den Barreserven von Ballard und der Ausgabe von ca. 50,8 Millionen Ballard-Stammaktien an die GeoPura-Aktionäre zu einem Preis von 5,02 US-Dollar pro Aktie finanziert wird, basierend auf dem volumengewichteten Durchschnittskurs der Ballard-Aktie der letzten 30 Tage. Zusätzlich zur Vorabzahlung wird Ballard eine bedingte Gegenleistung von bis zu 27,5 Millionen Pfund zahlen, sofern GeoPura nach Abschluss der Transaktion bestimmte festgelegte finanzielle Meilensteine erreicht. Der gesamte Unternehmenswert1 der Transaktion, einschließlich der Übernahme der Nettoverschuldung von GeoPura und ohne Berücksichtigung der bedingten Gegenleistung, beträgt 301,1 Millionen Pfund (~400 Millionen US-Dollar).
GeoPura CEO Andrew Cunningham (left) and CTO Theo Elmer (right) in front of an HPU-2 500kW system containing Ballard Fuel Cell Engines.
Ballard Power Systems Inc. Die Transaktion stellt eine transformative Übernahme dar, die Ballard als vertikal integrierten und kapitaleffizienten „Energy-as-a-Service" („EaaS")-Anbieter etabliert, dessen End-to-End-Kompetenzen die Bereiche Wasserstoffproduktion, -verteilung, -logistik, -betankung, Brennstoffzellen sowie stationäre Hochleistungsstromversorgungslösungen umfassen.
GeoPura wurde 2019 gegründet und hat seinen Hauptsitz im Vereinigten Königreich. Das Unternehmen hat ein schnell wachsendes Geschäft aufgebaut, dessen Schwerpunkt auf der Entwicklung, dem Leasing und dem Verkauf von Wasserstoff-Stromversorgungsanlagen („HPUs") sowie von Wasserstoff als Brennstoff liegt, der über seine drei Produktionsstandorte geliefert wird, darunter eine 50-prozentige Beteiligung an dem im Vereinigten Königreich ansässigen Unternehmen HyMarnham Power. Das kombinierte Angebot aus HPUs und Wasserstoff bietet eine wettbewerbsfähige, netzunabhängige Stromversorgungslösung mit hoher Zuverlässigkeit, sofortiger Reaktionsfähigkeit, geringem Geräuschpegel und null Emissionen für eine Vielzahl von Endmärkten. Zum breiten Kundenstamm von GeoPura zählen unter anderem Aggreko, Balfour Beatty, die BBC, Disney, Equinix, Microsoft, Netflix, Sunbelt Rentals sowie das britische Verteidigungsministerium.
Die Transaktion baut auf einer bewährten Partnerschaft zwischen Ballard und GeoPura sowie einer starken strategischen Ausrichtung auf. Die in Großbritannien entwickelte Technologie und die britische Fertigung von GeoPura ergänzen Ballards kanadisches Fachwissen im Bereich Brennstoffzellen und schaffen so eine Plattform, die auf gemeinsamen Werten, einer gemeinsamen Geschichte und dem Engagement für zuverlässige, emissionsfreie Energie basiert. Diese kanadisch-britische Kombination unterstützt die globale Expansion, indem sie das Wasserstoff-Ökosystem von GeoPura mit der erstklassigen Brennstoffzellenplattform von Ballard verbindet, um ein gebündeltes Kundenangebot bereitzustellen und erhebliche Effizienzsteigerungen für bestehende und zukünftige Kunden zu ermöglichen.
STELLUNGNAHME DER GESCHÄFTSFÜHRUNG
Marty Neese, Präsident und Chief Executive Officer von Ballard, kommentierte: „Dies ist eine wahrhaft transformative Übernahme, die Ballard als führenden, vollintegrierten Anbieter eines Wasserstoff-Ökosystems etabliert und uns in die Lage versetzt, von der sich beschleunigenden globalen Energiewende und der steigenden Nachfrage nach Energiesicherheit zu profitieren. Das außergewöhnliche Team von GeoPura hat ein erstklassiges Geschäft für Wasserstoff-Energieversorgungslösungen mit zuverlässiger Technologie, erstklassigen Kundenbeziehungen und einer attraktiven Wachstumskurve aufgebaut. Durch die Kombination der erstklassigen Brennstoffzellentechnologie von Ballard mit dem ‚Energy-as-a-Service'-Geschäftsmodell von GeoPura schaffen wir ein Unternehmen, das gut positioniert ist, um Endmärkte zu bedienen, die sichere, zuverlässige, geräuscharme und emissionsfreie Energie für ihre geschäftskritischen Anwendungen benötigen. Diese Übernahme beschleunigt unser Umsatzwachstum erheblich, verlagert unser Geschäft hin zu wiederkehrenden, margenstarken Umsätzen und stärkt unseren Weg zur Rentabilität bis 2028. Wir freuen uns sehr, das GeoPura-Team bei Ballard willkommen zu heißen und die vor uns liegenden bedeutenden Chancen zu nutzen."
Andrew Cunningham, Gründer und Chief Executive Officer von GeoPura, kommentierte: „Wenn Ihre Arbeit Film- und Live-Fernsehproduktionen, Krankenhäuser, den Verteidigungssektor, kritische Infrastruktur und das Bauwesen mit zuverlässigen netzunabhängigen und netzunterstützenden Systemen versorgt, ist Ihr Antriebslieferant entscheidend für Ihren Erfolg. Für GeoPura hat sich Ballard deutlich von der Konkurrenz abgehoben. Sie sind der einzige Partner, der die von uns benötigten Brennstoffzellen-Kompetenzen liefern kann, gestützt durch das fundierte technische Know-how, das erforderlich ist, um unübertroffene Produktqualität von Kilowatt bis Megawatt zu gewährleisten. Ich freue mich unglaublich darauf, die Hochleistungskompetenzen von GeoPura mit der Produktqualität von Ballard zu verbinden, um Kunden weltweit den größtmöglichen Nutzen aus unserem vollständig integrierten ‚Energy-as-a-Service'-Angebot zu bieten."
Der Vorsitzende von GeoPura, Lord Richard Harrington, ehemaliger Minister für Wirtschaft und Industrie und Vorsitzender von Make UK, sagte: „Die Investition von Ballard spiegelt das Vertrauen des Unternehmens in ein britisches Fertigungsunternehmen wider, das britische Technologie nutzt, die nun in die ganze Welt exportiert wird. Ich bin begeistert von den globalen Expansionsplänen des Unternehmens und freue mich darauf, es auf diesem Weg zu unterstützen."
ÜBERZEUGENDE STRATEGISCHE GRÜNDE
Aufbau eines Ökosystems mit einem gebündelten Angebot: Durch die Kombination der Brennstoffzellentechnologie von Ballard mit den integrierten Kompetenzen von GeoPura in den Bereichen Wasserstoffproduktion, Logistik und stationäre Stromversorgung maximiert das Unternehmen den Umsatz pro Megawatt über mehrere Kundenkontaktpunkte hinweg. Dies führt zu einer deutlichen Steigerung des über die gesamte Lebensdauer erzielten Werts pro eingesetztem Megawatt. Zugang zum Markt für stationäre Stromversorgung mit bewährtem Produktportfolio: Dies ebnet Ballards Einstieg in den wachstumsstarken Markt für stationäre Stromversorgung mit einer sofort einsetzbaren und bewährten Produktpalette an Wasserstoff-Stromaggregaten, die eine Zuverlässigkeit von „sechs Neunen" (99,9999 % Verfügbarkeit) bieten und über einen gut etablierten Kundenstamm verfügen. Die HPUs von GeoPura kommen in den Bereichen Bauwesen, Film und Fernsehen, Veranstaltungen, Transport, Gesundheitswesen, Verteidigung und potenziell auch in den schnell wachsenden Rechenzentrumsanwendungen zum Einsatz, wodurch Ballard in die Lage versetzt wird, diese wachsenden Märkte weltweit zu erschließen. Beschleunigung von Wachstum und Rentabilität: Das Geschäftsmodell von GeoPura generiert wiederkehrende Umsätze aus dem Leasing von HPUs inklusive Wasserstoffversorgung und Logistik sowie aus dem Verkauf von HPUs und Wasserstoff. GeoPura erwartet für 2026 einen Umsatz von etwa 38 Millionen Pfund. Zusammen mit Ballard formen der große adressierbare Gesamtmarkt und die langfristigen positiven Rahmenbedingungen das Finanzprofil von Ballard neu zu einem EaaS-Betreiber mit beschleunigtem Wachstum und einem klareren Weg zu Ballards Rentabilitätsziel für 2028. Erschließung des Wachstums des gesamten adressierbaren Marktes durch ein förderliches politisches Umfeld: Die stationäre Energieplattform von GeoPura erweitert den adressierbaren Markt von Ballard über den Mobilitätsbereich hinaus in wachstumsstarke Endmärkte, in denen HPUs als systemkritische Energieinfrastruktur dienen. GeoPura verfügt zudem über den ersten Vertrag der britischen Regierung im Rahmen der „Hydrogen Allocation Round 1" (HAR1), einem Fördermechanismus, der über einen Zeitraum von fünfzehn Jahren Einnahmen aus der Wasserstoffproduktion garantiert und somit eine erhebliche Umsatzvorhersehbarkeit bietet. Diese politische Unterstützung, kombiniert mit GeoPuras 50-prozentiger Beteiligung an der Wasserstoffproduktionsanlage HyMarnham und deren kapitaleffizienter Erweiterungskapazität, versetzt Ballard in die einzigartige Lage, seine Marktreichweite auszubauen und von den weltweit beschleunigten Dekarbonisierungsvorgaben sowie dem Bedarf an kritischer Energie zu profitieren. Starke Synergieeffekte: Die langjährige Technologiepartnerschaft zwischen Ballard und GeoPura bildet ein bewährtes Fundament für das weitere Wachstum des Unternehmens und die Integration der beiden sich hervorragend ergänzenden Teams. Ballard wird strukturelle Kostenvorteile erzielen, die die Wettbewerbsposition stärken und außerdem die Nachfrage in den HPU-Endmärkten ankurbeln. Es wurden EBITDA-Synergien in Höhe von rund 25 Millionen US-Dollar ermittelt, die mit hoher Sicherheit erzielt werden können und auf Umsatzwachstum sowie Kostenoptimierung beruhen. Das erfahrene Managementteam von GeoPura stärkt die Umsetzung und beschleunigt die Wertrealisierung. TRANSAKTIONSBEDINGUNGEN UND FINANZIERUNGSDETAILS
Gemäß den Bedingungen der Vereinbarung wird Ballard 100 % von GeoPura, einschließlich der 50-prozentigen Beteiligung von GeoPura an HyMarnham Power, für eine Gesamtvorauszahlung in Höhe von 275,0 Millionen Pfund erwerben. Die Vorauszahlung wird zu 82,5 Millionen £ aus den Barreserven von Ballard finanziert, der Restbetrag erfolgt durch die Ausgabe neuer Ballard-Stammaktien an die GeoPura-Aktionäre, wodurch die starke Bilanz von Ballard erhalten bleibt. Die Anzahl der an die GeoPura-Aktionäre auszugebenden Ballard-Aktien beläuft sich auf ca. 50,8 Millionen; diese Zahl wurde auf der Grundlage des volumengewichteten Durchschnittskurses der Ballard-Stammaktien in den 30 Tagen vor Bekanntgabe der Transaktion berechnet. Nach Abschluss der Transaktion werden die GeoPura-Aktionäre voraussichtlich auf Pro-forma-Basis ca. 14,4 % an Ballard halten. Die GeoPura-Aktionäre werden zudem übliche Lock-up-Vereinbarungen abschließen, die den Verkauf oder die Übertragung ihrer Ballard-Stammaktien für einen bestimmten Zeitraum nach Abschluss der Transaktion einschränken.
Zusätzlich zur Vorauszahlung wird Ballard eine bedingte Gegenleistung von bis zu 27,5 Millionen Pfund zahlen, sofern GeoPura nach Abschluss der Transaktion bestimmte finanzielle Meilensteine erreicht.
Der gesamte Unternehmenswert der Transaktion1, einschließlich der Übernahme der Nettoverschuldung von GeoPura und ohne Berücksichtigung der bedingten Gegenleistung, beträgt 301,1 Millionen £ (~400 Millionen US$).
WEITERE INFORMATIONEN UND ABSCHLUSS
Nach Abschluss der Transaktion wird Andrew Cunningham, Gründer und Chief Executive Officer von GeoPura, voraussichtlich die Rolle des Präsidenten von Ballard übernehmen und an Marty Neese, den Chief Executive Officer von Ballard, berichten. Darüber hinaus beabsichtigt Ballard, Andrew Cunningham und Lord Richard Harrington, den derzeitigen Vorsitzenden von GeoPura, als von den GeoPura-Aktionären benannte Kandidaten in den Vorstand aufzunehmen.
Die Transaktion wurde vom Vorstand sowohl von Ballard als auch von GeoPura einstimmig genehmigt und unterliegt den für eine Transaktion dieser Art üblichen Abschlussbedingungen, einschließlich der Anmeldung gemäß dem britischen „National Security and Investment Act" sowie der Genehmigung der TSX für die Ausgabe der Ballard-Stammaktien im Rahmen der Transaktion. Die Transaktion wird voraussichtlich in der zweiten Hälfte des Jahres 2026 abgeschlossen.
BERATER
RBC Capital Markets fungiert als exklusiver Finanzberater von Ballard. Ashurst LLP und Stikeman Elliott LLP fungieren als Rechtsberater von Ballard.
Barclays fungiert als exklusiver Finanzberater von GeoPura und Winston Taylor LLP fungiert als Rechtsberater von GeoPura.
TELEKONFERENZ UND WEBCAST
Ballard wird am 23. Juni 2026 um 11:00 Uhr ET einen Webcast veranstalten, um die Transaktion zu erörtern. Marty Neese, Präsident und Vorstandsvorsitzender von Ballard, Kate Igbalode, Senior Vice President und Finanzvorstand von Ballard, sowie Andrew Cunningham, Gründer und Vorstandsvorsitzender von GeoPura, werden im Rahmen des Webcasts eine Reded halten. Sie können an der Live-Telefonkonferenz teilnehmen, indem Sie die Nummer +1-833-821-2814 wählen (gebührenfrei in Kanada und den USA). Alternativ kann der Live-Webcast über einen Link auf der Homepage von Ballard (www.ballard.com) oder über den folgenden Link aufgerufen werden: Ankündigung einer Telefonkonferenz
Informationen zu Ballard Power Systems
Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ: BLDP; TSX: BLDP) hat die Vision, Brennstoffzellenenergie für einen nachhaltigen Planeten zu liefern. Die emissionsfreien PEM-Brennstoffzellen von Ballard ermöglichen die Elektrifizierung der Mobilität, einschließlich Bussen, Lastkraftwagen, Zügen, Schiffen und stationärer Energieversorgung. Um mehr über Ballard zu erfahren, besuchen Sie bitte www.ballard.com.
Warnhinweise zu zukunftsgerichteten Informationen
Diese Pressemitteilung enthält bestimmte Informationen, die „zukunftsgerichtete Informationen" im Sinne der geltenden kanadischen Wertpapiergesetze und „zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen" im Sinne der geltenden US-amerikanischen Wertpapiergesetze darstellen können (zusammen „zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen"). Zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen lassen sich häufig, wenn auch nicht immer, an der Verwendung von Begriffen wie „könnte", „wird", „erwarten", „beabsichtigen", „planen", „schätzen", „voraussehen", „fortsetzen" und „Prognose" oder durch andere ähnliche Begriffe erkennen und können unter anderem Aussagen bezüglich der Transaktion, ihrer Bedingungen und ihres Abschlusses, der Vorteile der Transaktion für die Ballard-Aktionäre und andere Interessengruppen, der Pläne, Strategien und Ziele der Unternehmensleitung sowie der erwarteten Kosten oder Produktionsmengen umfassen. Es kann nicht garantiert werden, dass die Transaktion zu den in dieser Pressemitteilung dargelegten Bedingungen oder überhaupt abgeschlossen wird. Zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen beinhalten naturgemäß bekannte und unbekannte Risiken, Ungewissheiten und andere Faktoren, die dazu führen können, dass die tatsächlichen Ergebnisse, Leistungen und Erfolge des Unternehmens deutlich von künftigen Ergebnissen, Leistungen oder Erfolgen abweichen. Zu den relevanten Faktoren zählen unter anderem die Erteilung der erforderlichen behördlichen Genehmigungen für die Transaktion, Wechselkursschwankungen, die allgemeine Wirtschaftslage, gestiegene Kosten, politische und soziale Risiken, Änderungen des regulatorischen Rahmens, in dem das Unternehmen tätig ist oder künftig tätig sein könnte, Umweltbedingungen, die Gewinnung und Bindung von Personal sowie potenzielle Rechtsstreitigkeiten. Zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen basieren auf den nach bestem Wissen und Gewissen getroffenen Annahmen des Unternehmens und seiner Geschäftsführung hinsichtlich der finanziellen, marktbezogenen, regulatorischen und sonstigen relevanten Rahmenbedingungen, die in Zukunft bestehen und das Geschäft sowie den Betrieb des Unternehmens beeinflussen werden. Das Unternehmen gibt keine Gewähr dafür, dass sich die Annahmen, auf denen die zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen beruhen, als richtig erweisen werden oder dass die Geschäftstätigkeit oder der Betrieb des Unternehmens nicht in wesentlicher Weise durch diese oder andere Faktoren beeinträchtigt wird, die vom Unternehmen oder seiner Geschäftsführung nicht vorhergesehen wurden oder vorhersehbar sind oder die außerhalb der Kontrolle des Unternehmens liegen. Obwohl das Unternehmen versucht und versucht hat, Faktoren zu identifizieren, die dazu führen könnten, dass tatsächliche Handlungen, Ereignisse oder Ergebnisse wesentlich von den in den zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen offenbarten abweichen, kann es andere Faktoren geben, die dazu führen könnten, dass tatsächliche Ergebnisse, Leistungen, Erfolge oder Ereignisse nicht den Erwartungen, Schätzungen oder Absichten entsprechen, und viele Ereignisse liegen außerhalb der zumutbaren Kontrolle des Unternehmens. Dementsprechend werden die Leser darauf hingewiesen, sich nicht übermäßig auf zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen zu verlassen. Zukunftsgerichtete Aussagen in dieser Pressemitteilung gelten ausschließlich zum Zeitpunkt ihrer Veröffentlichung. Vorbehaltlich etwaiger fortbestehender Verpflichtungen gemäß geltendem Recht oder einschlägigen Börsenvorschriften übernimmt das Unternehmen mit der Bereitstellung dieser Informationen keine Verpflichtung, die zukunftsgerichteten Aussagen öffentlich zu aktualisieren oder zu revidieren oder über Änderungen von Ereignissen, Bedingungen oder Umständen zu informieren.
Kontaktdaten
Sumit Kundu – Investor Relations, +1.604.360.9714 oder [email protected]
1Einschließlich der Übernahme von 50 % der Verbindlichkeiten im Zusammenhang mit dem HyMarnham-Joint-Venture.
Main Street Capital navzdory obavám z private credit stále obchoduje s výraznou prémií vůči čisté hodnotě aktiv (NAV). Trh oceňuje i růst hodnoty portfolia a správu aktiv.
The private credit market has been in the financial news a lot this year. Investors are worried that more borrowers will default on their loans following a string of high-profile bankruptcies in the sector. That's causing them to pull funds from private credit investments, including business development companies (BDCs).
Main Street Capital (MAIN 0.26%) hasn't been immune to these concerns. The BDC stock has lost about a quarter of its value from its 52-week high. Despite that, it still trades at a significant premium to its net asset value (NAV). Here's why investors continue to pay a premium for this BDC.
Image source: Getty Images.
A look at Main Street's portfolio Main Street Capital is an investment firm that provides capital (debt and equity) to lower-middle-market (LMM) companies ($10 million to $150 million in annual revenue). It aims to be a one-stop shop by providing customized debt and equity financing solutions to small private companies. Additionally, Main Street provides debt capital to companies (with $25 million to $500 million in revenue) owned by or being acquired by a private equity fund.
Main Street Capital has invested nearly $2.6 billion across 93 LMM companies as of the end of the first quarter and almost $2.1 billion across 85 private loans. However, its LMM investment portfolio had a fair value of over $3.2 billion, driven by gains in its equity investments (about 28% of the portfolio). Meanwhile, its private loan portfolio's value was under $2 billion due to changes in fair value. The portfolios currently have a weighted-average annual effective yield in the double digits, which helps support Main Street's dividends (it pays a monthly dividend and periodically pays supplemental quarterly dividends).
After subtracting its debt, Main Street Capital had about $3.1 billion in net assets at the end of the period, or $33.46 per share (up about 0.4% since the end of the fourth quarter). With its stock price currently above $50 a share, the company trades at a significant premium to its NAV.
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What's driving the premium? Main Street Capital differs from other BDCs in two ways. First, the company will also make equity investments in some of its LMM portfolio companies. These investments generate dividend income to support the BDC's dual dividend streams and provide capital appreciation. The company's equity investments have helped grow its NAV per share by 160% since its launch in 2007. The BDC has routinely harvested gains by selling its equity investments, providing additional capital to grow its portfolio. These value-enhancing equity investments are one reason why Main Street trades at a hefty premium to its NAV.
Additionally, Main Street Capital has a wholly owned asset manager, MSC Advisor. It manages investments for external parties, including MSC Income Fund, a public fund that invests in private loans and has $1.6 billion in capital. When including these managed assets, Main Street Capital has over $9.2 billion in investment capital under management. The company's asset management business generates additional investment income and shareholder returns, which also contribute to its premium value.
While private credit concerns have eroded some of the premium, Main Street Capital still trades well above its NAV. That's due to the potential for value appreciation in its equity portfolio and the value contributed by its growing asset management business. Those additional value drivers set the BDC apart in the sector, as it can deliver growth in addition to its two dividend streams.
Lennar prodal ve 2. čtvrtletí 2026 domy v průměru za 371 000 USD, což je nejméně od 1. čtvrtletí 2017. Firma tak snižuje ceny, aby udržela objem prodejů.
The number jumped out at me the moment I saw it. Lennar's (LEN +6.15%) average sales price for homes delivered in the second quarter of 2026 was $371,000 -- a price the company hasn't seen since the first quarter of 2017, when it averaged $365,000.
That's not a small number to sit with here. It means that one of America's largest homebuilders just rolled back its prices by nearly a decade in nominal terms. In a country where the median existing home now sits above $412,000, let's get into the signal this is sending.
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How Lennar got here This didn't happen because the housing market collapsed. Lennar delivered 20,519 homes in Q2 2026 -- a 2% year-over-year increase -- and maintained full-year delivery guidance of 82,000 to 83,000 homes. It happened because Lennar deliberately chose to compete on price, rather than wait for conditions to improve.
CEO Stuart Miller was direct about the math in the earnings release: The $371,000 price reflected approximately 12.9% in incentives, along with base price adjustments to keep volume moving. That incentive level is high by historical standards -- the company's normalized range is 4% to 6% -- but Miller noted that it's narrowing for the first time in three years as the gaps between elevated mortgage rates, home prices, and household incomes start to close.
The goal is volume now, margin recovery later. It's a patient strategy, and the operational data supports it -- construction costs are down 13% over the past two years, and cycle times have hit a record low of 121 days.
Image source: Getty Images.
The rate cut problem Lower home prices are not, by themselves, a solution to the affordability crisis. They're one part of a much harder equation.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate sits at roughly 6.47% as of this week. Qualifying for a mortgage on the median existing home at today's rates requires an annual household income of approximately $95,000 -- well above what most first-time buyers earn. First-time buyers now represent just 21% of the market, the lowest share in 44 years. The NAHB estimates a nationwide shortage of roughly 1.2 million housing units. There is no shortage of demand -- there is a shortage of buyers who can afford to act on it.
Here's where Lennar's price reduction becomes relevant in a way that a simple headline misses: a $371,000 home financed at 6.47% on a 30-year real estate mortgage carries a monthly principal and interest payment of roughly $2,340. The same home priced at $412,000 -- the median existing resale -- carries a payment closer to $2,600. That $260 monthly difference won't solve the affordability crisis, but it represents real purchasing power for buyers stretching to qualify. Think of it as a builder clearing a path through a thicket that policy alone can't cut through fast enough.
What Lennar expects next -- and the investor takeaway Lennar guided for third-quarter 2026 average home prices in the range of $375,000 to $380,000, with gross margin improving to approximately 16% as incentive levels moderate and cost discipline compounds. That modest price increase suggests that the company believes the floor is in -- that it has reached a price point where demand is sufficient, and margin recovery can begin without chasing buyers away.
The gap between today's builder prices and existing resale inventory is now wide enough that new construction is increasingly the most accessible entry point for buyers who want to own. That's an unusual dynamic -- new homes are traditionally priced at a premium to existing ones -- and it reflects how much builders have absorbed to keep the market moving.
For Lennar shareholders, the compressed margin cycle is painful, but the logic behind it is sound. Miller used the phrase "execute around the affordability challenge" on the earnings call, rather than "wait it out." That posture -- active adaptation rather than passive patience -- is what separates a resilient operator from one that just hopes conditions normalize.
For the broader housing market, Lennar's pricing is a pressure valve. The structural shortage won't be solved by incentives. However, a major national builder consistently delivering homes under $400,000 in a world where resale inventory sits well above that is a real, meaningful development for the buyers who need it most.
Ulta Beauty varuje před tlakem inflace, vyššími cenami pohonných hmot a konkurencí ve fiskálním roce 2026. V 1. čtvrtletí tržby vzrostly o 11,1 % a srovnatelné tržby o 5,3 %.
Key Takeaways Ulta Beauty cites inflation, fuel costs and competition as key headwinds for fiscal 2026.ULTA delivered 11.1% sales growth and 5.3% comparable sales growth in the first quarter.ULTA expands loyalty, AI capabilities and international stores to deepen customer engagement. Ulta Beauty, Inc.’s (ULTA - Free Report) shares have plunged 24.5% in the past six months, underperforming the Zacks industry’s decline of 18.1%. The stock has also underperformed the broader sector’s 3.3% decline and the S&P 500 Index’s 7.7% increase in the same period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
During the same period, Ulta Beauty has trailed the performance of Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH - Free Report) , The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL - Free Report) and Interparfums, Inc. (IPAR - Free Report) . Shares of EL and SBH have plunged 22% and 12.1%, respectively, in the past six months, while shares of IPAR have risen 16.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ULTA Stock Falls on Macro Threats & Moderating GrowthUlta Beauty faces several near-term headwinds stemming from a challenging macroeconomic environment, rising competitive intensity and increasingly difficult year-over-year comparisons. At its first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call, management noted that the operating environment remains pressured by economic uncertainty, persistent inflation and higher fuel prices. These factors are making value a more important consideration for consumers when making purchasing decisions. At the same time, elevated fuel costs have pushed transportation expenses higher, highlighting the impact of broader economic conditions on the business.
SG&A expenses rose 14.6% year over year to $815 million in the first quarter, adding further strain to the company’s cost structure. The increase was largely due to the ongoing investments supporting the Ulta Beauty Unleashed strategy and spending initiatives implemented during the second half of fiscal 2025 that have not yet completed one year. As a result, the company continues to face elevated operating costs and challenging expense comparisons.
In addition, Ulta Beauty operates in a highly competitive market where rivals are expected to intensify efforts to capture market share. This dynamic is likely to increase execution pressure and require the company to perform at a higher level to protect its competitive position and sustain performance throughout the remainder of the year.
Per the last earnings call, management expects growth trends to moderate in the back half of the year as the company laps a period of stronger prior-year performance. This tougher comparison base is likely to create a more challenging growth environment and could slow the pace of expansion relative to earlier periods.
ULTA Drives Growth Through Loyalty, AI and Global ExpansionDespite these near-term challenges, Ulta Beauty continues to benefit from several long-term growth drivers that support customer engagement, market share gains and profitable growth. The company’s growth is supported by its differentiated beauty ecosystem, which combines a broad mass-to-luxury assortment, omnichannel convenience, strong brand partnerships and a large loyalty base. These strengths help the company attract a wide range of beauty consumers, support market share gains in prestige beauty and reinforce its position in mass beauty.
A major driver is the Ulta Beauty Rewards program, which has expanded to nearly 47 million members. This large first-party database enables more personalized marketing, better product recommendations and improved customer engagement across stores, digital channels and the app. As personalization becomes more important in beauty retail, Ulta Beauty’s loyalty platform remains a key competitive advantage.
Ulta Beauty is also strengthening growth through digital and social commerce. Investments in e-commerce, same-day delivery, buy-online-pickup-in-store and emerging platforms such as TikTok Shop allow the company to meet customers where they discover and purchase beauty products. Events like Ulta Beauty World further support brand awareness, social engagement and customer acquisition, particularly among younger consumers.
International expansion provides another long-term growth avenue. Space NK continues to build momentum in the U.K. and Ireland, while Ulta Beauty is expanding in Mexico and the Middle East through new stores and partnerships. These markets offer opportunities to extend brand reach and diversify growth beyond the United States.
Artificial intelligence is also becoming an important enabler. Ulta AI is designed to improve discovery, personalization and the online shopping journey, while broader AI and automation initiatives can enhance operational efficiency over time.
How Have Estimates Shaped Up for ULTA?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ULTA’s current quarter earnings per share has remained unchanged at $6.16, and the current year earnings per share have improved by 1 cent to $28.67 per share in the past seven days. This reflects steady analyst confidence in Ulta Beauty's earnings outlook.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Ulta Beauty’s Valuation PictureUlta Beauty is currently trading at a forward 12-month P/E multiple of 15.31, slightly above the industry average of 14.71 but well below the S&P 500 multiple of 21.32. The stock is also trading below its 12-month median P/E of 20.25.
ULTA’s current valuation suggests investors remain cautious about near-term growth prospects, while still assigning the stock a modest premium for its market position and long-term growth potential.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
How to Play ULTA Stock?Ulta Beauty is navigating a period of heightened macroeconomic uncertainty and competitive pressure, which may temper near-term performance. However, the company continues to benefit from a differentiated business model built around a strong loyalty ecosystem, omnichannel capabilities, exclusive brand partnerships and expanding digital engagement. Ongoing investments in personalization, artificial intelligence and international expansion provide additional avenues for long-term growth. Given the balance between near-term headwinds and long-term growth opportunities, investors may prefer to remain on the sidelines until there is greater visibility into the pace of growth and margin trends.
At present, ULTA carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Key Takeaways AMKR is expanding its advanced packaging footprint as AI and computing demand drive adoption.AMKR trades at a valuation discount to industry and sector peers despite its strong momentum.AMKR's Arizona expansion boosts U.S. packaging capacity and supports long-term growth prospects. Amkor Technology (AMKR - Free Report) has emerged as one of the top-performing semiconductor stocks in 2026, with shares soaring 119.7% year to date. The stock has significantly outperformed the Zacks Electronics-Semiconductors industry’s gain of 63.3% and the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s return of 18.7% during the same period.
The rally has been driven by strengthening demand for advanced packaging solutions, growing exposure to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing applications and improving operating performance. AMKR has also benefited from deepening relationships with leading semiconductor companies and expanding opportunities across data center, smartphone and automotive markets.
While such substantial gains may prompt some investors to consider taking profits, recent developments suggest compelling reasons for current shareholders to maintain their positions through the second half of 2026. However, prospective investors may benefit from waiting for more attractive entry points given the current valuation levels.
AMKR Outperforms Industry and Sector
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Advanced Packaging Demand Remains a Structural TailwindAMKR's growth engine remains its expanding footprint in advanced packaging, where chiplet-based architectures and high bandwidth memory integration push packaging decisions earlier into system design. Outside of Taiwan, where Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM - Free Report) handles much of the industry's most advanced packaging work, AMKR remains one of the few suppliers able to execute at this level of complexity and scale. Its High Density Fan Out (HDFO) bridge program with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD - Free Report) is expected to ramp in 2027, initially in South Korea before onshoring to Arizona, while NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) has validated AMKR's ability to turn complex silicon into deployable systems at volume.
Computing revenues rose 19% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, with AI data center strength offsetting soft personal computer demand. For the second quarter, computing revenue is expected to grow in the mid single digits sequentially on the new data center CPU ramp, while full-year advanced packaging revenue is projected to roughly triple in 2026. Automotive and industrial revenue also advanced on rising ADAS and in-car computing content.
Beyond Advanced Micro Devices, the HDFO platform spans over five customers at various qualification stages, with NVIDIA's broader high-performance computing ecosystem further expanding AMKR's data center pipeline, together supporting double-digit growth across most end markets.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMKR's 2026 earnings is pegged at $2.08 per share, indicating growth of 38.67% year over year
Valuation Offers a Cushion Despite the RallyDespite its strong rally, AMKR remains reasonably valued, trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 2.74X, well below the industry average of 9.95X and the broader sector average of 6.67X. The discount appears noteworthy considering AMKR's expanding presence across AI data centers tied to customers like NVIDIA, high-performance computing and premium smartphones. Growing demand for advanced packaging and testing services, stronger participation in next-generation semiconductor designs and a richer business mix are expected to support long-term growth. As AI adoption accelerates and semiconductor content continues to increase across servers and smartphones, AMKR is well-positioned to benefit from rising packaging complexity and higher value opportunities.
AMKR Trades at Discounted P/S Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Arizona Expansion Strengthens Long-Term Growth ProspectsAMKR's Arizona buildout strengthens its long-term growth profile, adding U.S.-based advanced packaging and test capacity as the technology becomes increasingly critical for AI and high-performance computing. AMD's new data center CPU device, slated to ramp in South Korea starting in 2027, is among the programs expected to eventually onshore into Arizona. The facility positions AMKR as one of the few large-scale outsourced assembly and test providers in the United States.
The buildout also aligns with capacity expansion by TSM and other industry players, strengthening the broader U.S. semiconductor ecosystem. Startup costs should weigh modestly on near-term profitability, but Arizona is expected to support higher value programs and lift AMKR's long-term growth and earnings potential.
ConclusionAMKR continues to benefit from strong momentum in advanced packaging, rising AI and high-performance computing demand and investments that expand its long-term growth opportunities. The company is strengthening its position in a market where packaging complexity is becoming a key differentiator relative to large-scale peers such as TSM, while maintaining a valuation discount relative to industry and sector peers. Although the stock has surged sharply year to date, the underlying growth drivers remain intact and should support business performance in the coming years.
With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), existing shareholders may consider maintaining their positions and participating in the company's long-term growth story, while prospective investors may wait for a more attractive entry point following the stock's sharp run-up. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Humana míří do roku 2028 na pojistné marže nad 3 % a už vidí zlepšení: upravený zisk za 1. čtvrtletí 2026 překonal odhady a tržby CenterWell vzrostly o 19,7 % na 6,1 miliardy USD.
Key Takeaways Humana targets insurance margins above 3% by 2028 through pricing and market exits.CenterWell revenues rose 19.7% year over year to $6.1 billion in Q1 2026 amid tech investments.Humana remains on track to serve 7.3 million Medicare Advantage members in 2026. Humana Inc. (HUM - Free Report) has spent the past two years dealing with higher medical costs as more seniors returned for treatments that were delayed during the pandemic. The pressure weighed heavily on Medicare Advantage margins and profitability. The company is now shifting its focus from membership growth to earnings improvement, with the goal of restoring insurance margins to above 3% by 2028.
We’re already seeing early signs of a turnaround. Humana’s first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings were $10.31 per share, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.5% as medical cost trends began to moderate. Its vital insurance benefit ratio dropped to 89.4% under management’s 90% ceiling. Despite a turbulent industry landscape, HUM remains on track to achieve approximately 25% growth in individual Medicare Advantage membership this year, showing the resilience of its core business.
The company is pursuing disciplined pricing, exiting less profitable markets, and implementing streamlining initiatives, including the sale of its remaining stake in Gentiva, to free up cash. However, HUM’s real competitive advantage lies in its ability to integrate technology with patient care. A prime example is CenterWell, whose revenues increased 19.7% year over year to $6.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026. By investing in digital tools and automation, Humana is cutting out messy administrative overhead while keeping patient care highly efficient.
Headwinds like Medicare funding pressures aren't vanishing overnight. Humana's early progress suggests its turnaround strategy is genuinely gaining traction. With a sharper focus on profitability, operational efficiency, and integrated care, it finally looks well positioned to navigate the challenges ahead.
How Are Humana's Peers Positioned?Humana is not the only health insurer facing elevated medical costs. Peers like UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH - Free Report) and Elevance Health, Inc. (ELV - Free Report) have also faced pressure from higher healthcare utilization in recent years.
UnitedHealth has been affected by rising Medicare Advantage costs, but its diversified business model provides some protection. UNH's Optum segment, which spans healthcare services, pharmacy benefits and technology solutions, helps offset pressure on its insurance operations and supports earnings stability.
Elevance Health has likewise reported elevated medical costs as members continue to seek healthcare services at higher rates. While insurance remains its core business, Elevance benefits from a diversified mix of commercial, Medicaid and Medicare plans, which helps reduce dependence on any single market.
HUM’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of HUM have gained 40.2% year to date, outperforming the broader industry’s 22.2% increase.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, HUM trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26X, up from the industry average of 17.69X. Humana carries a Value Score of B.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HUM’s 2026 earnings implies a 47.4% deterioration year over year, followed by a 66.1% improvement next year.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
SBA Communications (SBAC) za tři měsíce vzrostla o 14,8 % a těží ze silné poptávky po pronájmu věží. Firma očekává zdravou leasingovou aktivitu i ve zbytku roku 2026.
Key Takeaways SBAC gained 14.8% in three months, outpacing the industry's 10.3% growth on tower leasing strength.SBA Communications sees healthy 2026 leasing activity backed by rising backlog and carrier capacity needs.SBAC expanded with site buys, land purchases and new towers while continuing consistent dividend growth. SBA Communications’ (SBAC - Free Report) shares have rallied 14.8% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 10.3%.
The company benefits from rising wireless data demand through long-term tower leasing, steady colocation activity, strategic tower expansion and site acquisitions, complemented by site development services and consistent dividend growth, supporting long-term shareholder value.
Analysts seem bullish on this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2026 AFFO per share has been revised northward by 6 cents to $12.20 over the past two months.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Factors Behind SBAC Stock’s Price SurgeMobile data usage continues to rise as carriers expand coverage, densify networks and upgrade sites with additional spectrum bands and technologies such as C-band and massive MIMO antennas. Fixed wireless access growth adds load to carrier networks and supports additional equipment needs at existing macro sites. This activity underpins demand for SBA Communications’ tower infrastructure across the United States and its international markets in Central America, South America and Africa.
SBA Communications generates most of its revenues from long-term tower leases, which support visibility in cash flows and high tower cash flow margins. In the first quarter of 2026, U.S. leasing activity was driven largely by new colocations as wireless carriers added capacity. Management expects healthy leasing activity to continue through the remainder of 2026, supported by an increasing domestic leasing backlog.
SBA Communications provides site development services in the United States, helping carriers with site acquisition, zoning, construction and equipment installation. The segment also offers installation, optimization and integration services across network technologies. While site development is a smaller contributor to operating profit than site leasing, it deepens customer relationships and helps the company participate in network build cycles beyond pure colocation.
SBA Communications continues to expand its footprint through selective acquisitions, land purchases and new tower builds in markets where carrier demand supports returns. As of March 31, 2026, the company owned or operated 46,358 communication sites. In the first quarter of 2026, it acquired 10 communication sites and the rights to the land underneath about 3,900 communication sites in Guatemala for $133 million, and built 80 towers. Subsequent to quarter-end, the company purchased or is under contract to purchase 56 sites for $36.9 million in cash, with the transactions expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2026.
SBA Communications’ dividend hikes demonstrate its commitment to driving shareholder value and superior capital-distribution ability. The company has increased its dividend five times in the past five years, and its five-year annualized dividend growth rate is 17.06%. Given SBA Communications’ solid operating platform, the dividend distribution is expected to be sustainable over the long run.
Key Concerns for SBACCustomer concentration, Sprint and EchoStar churn, leverage, interest expenses, currency fluctuations and technology shifts can limit SBA Communications near-term growth and valuation.
Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are Lamar Advertising (LAMR - Free Report) and Vornado Realty Trust (VNO - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LAMR’s 2026 FFO per share is pegged at $8.81, which indicates year-over-year growth of 6.66%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VNO’s full-year FFO per share is pinned at $2.34, which calls for an increase of 0.86% from the year-ago period.
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
AJG kupuje Cincinnati Benefit Solutions, aby posílila poradenství v oblasti zaměstnaneckých benefitů a rozšířila dosah mezi malými a středními zaměstnavateli v Cincinnati. Akvizice má přinést dodatečné tržby a podpořit udržení klientů.
Key Takeaways AJG acquired Cincinnati Benefit Solutions to expand its employee benefits consulting presence.AJG is enhancing its reach among small and mid-sized employers in the Cincinnati market.AJG sees employee benefits as a source of recurring revenue, retention and cross-selling opportunities. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG - Free Report) has strengthened its employee benefits solutions through the acquisition of Cincinnati Benefit Solutions, LLC, an Ohio-based employee benefits consulting firm serving small businesses in Cincinnati and its nearby areas. The acquired firm's leadership and employees will remain in place and operate under Gallagher's Great Lakes employee benefits division.
Cincinnati Benefits Solutions specializes in employee benefits consulting for small businesses, adding to Gallagher's existing benefits advisory capabilities. This acquisition enhances Gallagher’s presence in the Cincinnati market and broadens its reach among small and mid-sized employers seeking benefits solutions.
The deal is relatively small compared to other Gallagher deals, but it aligns with the company's broader acquisition-led growth strategy to expand its service offerings and market presence. It should contribute incremental revenues, strengthen client retention and enhance Gallagher's employee benefits platform.
For Gallagher, employee benefits are an important growth and revenue stream that supports client-retention business, especially as healthcare costs rise. It also creates cross-selling opportunities across Gallagher's broader insurance brokerage and risk management operations. By expanding its employee benefits footprint, the company is strengthening a business line that offers recurring revenues, strong client retention and long-term growth potential.
The acquisition underscores AJG’s commitment to building scale in employee benefits consulting, complementing its broader insurance brokerage and risk management platform while supporting sustainable long-term growth.
How Are Competitors Faring?Peers like Brown & Brown, Inc. (BRO - Free Report) and Aon plc (AON - Free Report) are also expanding their employee benefits solutions through acquisitions.
BRO has also expanded its employee benefits platform through acquisitions of regional benefits agencies and consulting firms. The company views employee benefits as a recurring revenue business that complements its broader insurance brokerage operations while creating opportunities for deeper client relationships and cross-selling.
Aon significantly expanded its employee benefits, retirement and wealth advisory capabilities through its acquisition of NFP, including Salus Group, Anchor Group and Pilot Benefits Group. The acquisitions strengthened AON's position in the middle-market benefits space and enhanced its small-business benefits capabilities.
AJG’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of AJG have dropped 32% compared with the industry’s decline of 39.8%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, AJG trades at a forward price-to- earnings ratio of 15.43X, higher than the industry average of 14.5X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings per share (EPS) and revenues indicates a year-over-year increase of 23.9% and 21.6%, respectively.
The consensus estimates for AJG’s 2027 EPS and revenues indicate a year-over-year increase.
The Zacks Consensus Estimates for 2026 and 2027 earnings moved 0.4% and 0.5% north, respectively, in the last 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
AJG currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Casey’s představila nový tříletý strategický plán zaměřený na růst v oblasti potravin a nápojů, expanzi sítě a vyšší provozní efektivitu. Chce přidat alespoň 400 prodejen.
Nation’s Third-Largest Convenience Retailer and Fifth-Largest Pizza Chain Unveils New Plan and Goals Focused on Accelerating Food and Beverage, Store Growth and Operational Efficiency
ANKENY, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: CASY), a leading convenience store chain in the United States, today unveiled its new three-year strategic plan. Since introducing its last strategic plan in 2023, the company has exceeded its strategic and financial targets, adding more than 500 stores and joining the S&P 500.
“Our success over the last three years reinforces what makes Casey’s unique: a differentiated model that brings together restaurant-quality food, best-in-class convenience, and fuel at scale," said Darren Rebelez, President and CEO at Casey's.
Share “Our success over the last three years reinforces what makes Casey’s unique: a differentiated model that brings together restaurant-quality food, best-in-class convenience, and fuel at scale," said Darren Rebelez, President and Chief Executive Officer at Casey’s. “As we enter our next three-year plan, we are focused on expanding our food business, growing our store base, and leveraging technology to improve efficiency and execution. We believe these priorities will enable us to continue gaining market share, driving profitable growth, and delivering long-term value for our shareholders.”
Casey's new three-year strategic plan is centered on three priorities:
Accelerating Food and Beverage: Food continues to be a key growth driver for Casey’s. Building on its position as one of the nation’s leading pizza chains, Casey’s will continue investing in its made-to-order offerings, including pizza and chicken wings, with plans to expand its private-brand portfolio. "Our food business is at the center of Casey’s three-year growth strategy and continues to be one of our strongest differentiators," said Tom Brennan, Chief Merchandising Officer at Casey’s. "Prepared foods and nonalcoholic beverages are driving strong inside sales, and we’re continuing to build on the loyalty we’ve earned through our more than 40 years in the pizza business with new offerings like wings and fries. In Des Moines, where wings have been available for more than a year, sales are up 20% year over year, reinforcing the significant opportunity we see as we expand the platform across our nearly 3,000 stores and further establish Casey’s as a food destination."
Expanding Casey’s Country and Scale: Casey’s plans to add at least 400 stores through a combination of strategic acquisitions and new-store development. By expanding its presence in both existing and new markets, Casey’s will bring its distinctive food-first convenience offering to more guests, while leveraging its proven expertise in acquiring and successfully integrating stores. “Our growth strategy is expanding Casey’s Country in a disciplined way," said Ena Williams, Chief Operations Officer at Casey’s. "We’ve shown that we can grow through both new stores and acquisitions. That includes the successful integration of CEFCO, our largest acquisition to date, which strengthened our presence in Texas and expanded Casey’s reach across the South. That flexibility allows us to pursue the best opportunities as market conditions evolve.”
Enhancing Operational Efficiency: Casey's is investing in technology and data-driven tools to improve how its team members prepare food, serve guests, and run stores efficiently. These investments help improve forecasting, strengthen the guest experience, and support profitable growth as the company expands. "We're intentional about how we invest in technology, focusing on solutions that improve the experience for our guests while enabling our teams to operate more efficiently," said Williams. "Whether it's using AI to help improve forecasting and inventory planning, redesigning kitchens to help team members prepare more food with less friction, or enhancing digital tools like our app and Casey's Rewards, we're investing in practical innovations that improve efficiency, strengthen guest experience, and support long-term growth."
Materials from the presentation are available on the company’s website here: https://investor.caseys.com/events-presentations
About Casey's
Casey’s is a Fortune 500 company (Nasdaq: CASY) operating over 2,900 convenience stores. Founded more than 50 years ago, the company has grown to become the third-largest convenience store retailer and the fifth-largest pizza chain in the United States. Casey’s provides freshly prepared foods, quality fuel and friendly service at its locations. Guests can enjoy pizza, donuts, other assorted bakery items, and a wide selection of beverages and snacks. Learn more and order online at www.caseys.com, or in the mobile app.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including those related to expectations for future periods, possible or assumed future results of operations, financial conditions, liquidity and related sources or needs, business and/or integration strategies, plans and synergies, supply chain, growth opportunities and performance at our stores. There are a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from any results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the execution of our strategic plan, the integration and financial performance of acquired stores, wholesale fuel, inventory and ingredient costs, distribution challenges and disruptions, the impact and duration of the conflicts in oil producing regions or other geopolitical disruptions, as well as other risks, uncertainties and factors, which are described in the company’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on our website. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release represent our current views as of the date of this release with respect to future events, and Casey’s disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in the release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Acuity Brands čeká ve 3. fiskálním čtvrtletí mírný růst tržeb na 1,18 miliardy USD, tažený segmentem AIS. Ziskovost má podpořit disciplína v nákladech a lepší mix, zatímco lighting zůstává slabší.
Key Takeaways Acuity Brands is expected to post modest sales growth, driven by double-digit expansion in the AIS segment.QSC integration, cross-selling opportunities and building-automation offerings are supporting AIS momentum.Margin gains from cost discipline and business mix may help offset lighting weakness & tariff pressures. Acuity Brands, Inc. (AYI - Free Report) is scheduled to announce third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on June 25, before the opening bell.
In the last reported quarter, the company’s adjusted earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.4% while the net sales missed the same by 1.9%. On a year-over-year basis, both metrics increased 11% and 4.9%, respectively.
Acuity Brands beat earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 8.4%.
How are Estimates Placed for AYI Stock?For the fiscal third quarter, AYI’s Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings per share (EPS) has increased to $5.20 from $5.16 in the past seven days. The estimated figure indicates an increase of 1.6% from $5.12 per share reported in the year-ago quarter.
The consensus mark for net sales is pegged at $1.18 billion, indicating a 0.4% increase from the year-ago reported figure.
Factors to Shape Acuity Brands’ Q3 ResultsSales
During the fiscal third quarter, Acuity Brands' top-line performance is expected to have inched up year over year, as the Acuity Intelligent Spaces (AIS) segment continues to be a key growth engine. The AIS segment is likely to have been sailing the ship forward through enhanced building intelligence, efficiency and user experience through platforms Atrius and Distech Controls. The acquisition and integration of QSC, LLC in January 2025 into the AIS segment is expected to have boosted the growth further. The integration of QSC continues to progress well, enabling cross-selling opportunities and expanding capabilities through the Q-SYS platform. Besides, recent innovations, including scalable AV solutions for smaller collaboration spaces and enhanced building automation offerings, further strengthen the segment’s value proposition.
This growth trajectory is likely to have been subdued to some extent during the fiscal third quarter by the weak performance of the Acuity Brands Lighting (ABL) segment. The segment’s poor contribution to Acuity Brands’ sales performance is expected to have been due to lower net sales within the direct sales network.
Segment-wise, for the to-be-reported quarter, our Zacks model predicts total ABL segment (contributed 77.4% to the second quarter of fiscal 2026 net sales) revenues to decline 0.3% year over year to $920.1 million. Within the ABL segment, we expect Independent Sales Network and Retail revenues to increase 1.8% and 0.7%, respectively, while Corporate Accounts, Direct Sales Network and Other revenues are anticipated to decrease 4.1%, 11.6% and 3.6%, respectively, year over year.
Our model predicts the AIS segment’s (contributed 23.5% to the second quarter of fiscal 2026 net sales) revenues in the fiscal third quarter to climb 13.1% year over year to $298.8 million.
Margins
The bottom line is likely to have been supported by continued cost discipline, productivity improvements and a favorable business mix, with the higher-margin AIS segment contributing meaningfully to overall profitability. Strategic pricing actions and ongoing operational efficiencies are likely to have helped mitigate external pressures, including tariffs, while strong cash flow generation and disciplined capital allocation are expected to have further supported earnings growth.
We expect the company’s adjusted EBITDA margin to increase 40 basis points (bps) year over year in the fiscal third quarter to 20.4%. We project adjusted operating margin to inch up 20 bps to 19% year over year.
However, these tailwinds are expected to have been partially offset by persistent softness in the lighting market, tariff-related cost volatility and the normalization of previously elevated backlog levels, which are likely to have weighed on near-term growth momentum.
What Our Model Indicates for AYIOur proven model does predict an earnings beat for Acuity Brands this time around. The company has the right combination of the two key ingredients, a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold), which increases the odds of an earnings beat.
AYI’s Earnings ESP: The company has an earnings ESP of +0.63%. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
AYI’s Zacks Rank: The stock currently has a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Other Stocks With the Favorable CombinationHere are some other companies in the Zacks Business Services sector that, according to our model, have the right combination of elements to post earnings beats in the quarter to be reported.
V2X, Inc. (VVX - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.41% and currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2.
V2X’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 22.8%. V2X’s earnings for the third quarter of 2026 are expected to increase 9%.
Insperity, Inc. (NSP - Free Report) presently has an Earnings ESP of +6.06% and a Zacks Rank of 3.
Insperity’s earnings beat estimates in one of the trailing four quarters and missed on the other three occasions, with an average negative surprise of 61.1%. Insperity’s earnings for the third quarter of 2026 are expected to increase 26.9%.
WEX Inc. (WEX - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +4.82% and a Zacks Rank of 3.
WEX’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 4.8%. WEX’s earnings for the third quarter of 2026 are expected to increase 28.1%.
SharkNinja byl po zhruba 40% růstu za poslední měsíc snížen na doporučení Hold, protože ocenění už podle autora odráží silné fundamenty i růstové vyhlídky. Společnost přitom dál hlásí dvouciferný růst tržeb i zisku a zvýšila výhled.
SummarySharkNinja is downgraded to Hold after a ~40% rally over the past month, as valuation now reflects its strong fundamentals and growth prospects.SN continues double-digit sales and earnings growth for a 12th consecutive quarter, robust international expansion, and brand momentum, even as peers struggle.Guidance was raised across all key metrics, citing tariff relief, cost mitigation, and aggressive category and geographic expansion.Despite a healthy balance sheet and recent buyback program, macro risks and consumer uncertainty warrant caution at current valuation levels. Thai Liang Lim/iStock via Getty Images
Introduction The last time I covered SharkNinja (SN), I highlighted the company’s excellent streak of consecutive double-digit top- and bottom-line growth and improving free cash flow, outperforming the overall weak consumer environment and
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Masayoshi Son věří, že Arm Holdings může zhruba z 390 miliard USD vyrůst na 4 biliony USD díky AI a energeticky úsporným CPU. Firma se posouvá od licencování architektur k dodávce hotových procesorů.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping the semiconductor industry in ways few investors anticipated just a few years ago. The early winners were obvious: Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) dominated AI accelerators, while memory makers like Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) are benefiting from soaring demand for high-bandwidth memory.
Now the battle is shifting toward a less glamorous but equally important component of AI infrastructure — the CPU. That shift helps explain why SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son believes Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) could increase its value tenfold from its current market capitalization of roughly $390 billion. It is an ambitious prediction, but unlike many bold technology forecasts, there is a tangible roadmap behind it.
Arm Is Expanding Beyond Its Traditional Business For decades, Arm operated one of the most profitable business models in technology. The company designed processor architectures and licensed them to companies such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), and Samsung. Last year, royalty and licensing revenue generated over $4 billion without Arm needing to manufacture a single chip. That model may be changing.
Arm is moving into supplying complete processors rather than simply licensing intellectual property. Instead of collecting a royalty on every chip sold, Arm could capture a much larger share of the economics by selling finished products.
The strategy mirrors what Nvidia accomplished when it evolved from a graphics chip designer into a full-stack AI infrastructure provider. For Arm, the opportunity is even larger because CPUs remain the central nervous system of every computing platform.
SoftBank has also invested heavily in Intel‘s (NASDAQ:INTC) foundry business, creating a potential manufacturing partner outside of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NASDAQ:TSM). While Arm has no plans to build fabrication plants itself, access to multiple manufacturing partners could support a direct-chip strategy.
AI Is Turning CPUs Into Critical Infrastructure Again Son’s thesis depends on one major assumption: AI becomes increasingly CPU-intensive. That sounds counterintuitive because Nvidia’s GPUs currently dominate AI training. Yet GPUs cannot operate independently. CPUs manage memory, route data, coordinate workloads, and keep AI systems running efficiently.
As AI increasingly shifts toward inference — the process of running trained models in real-world applications — CPU performance and power efficiency become increasingly important. This trend is already visible across the industry:
Company ARM-Based CPU Platform Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) AWS Graviton Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Azure Cobalt Google Cloud Axion Nvidia Grace According to Amazon, Graviton-powered instances now account for more than half of newly added server capacity. Meanwhile, Nvidia pairs its Grace CPU with Blackwell AI systems, making ARM architecture a core component of its AI infrastructure strategy.
The result is mounting pressure on Advanced Micro Devices‘ (NASDAQ:AMD) EPYC processors and Intel’s Xeon lineup. UBS estimates ARM-based chips could capture 40% to 45% of server CPU shipments by 2030.
Can Arm Really Challenge AMD and Intel? The answer increasingly appears to be yes. For decades, AMD and Intel benefited from the dominance of x86 architecture. However, AI data centers face a new constraint: power consumption.
ARM’s architecture was originally designed for smartphones, where energy efficiency is paramount. As a result, ARM-based processors often deliver higher performance per watt than competing x86 chips. That is important when hyperscalers are spending tens of billions of dollars annually on power, cooling, and data center expansion.
The advantage is not merely theoretical. Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia are all deploying custom ARM silicon instead of relying exclusively on AMD or Intel. In effect, the largest cloud companies are creating their own alternatives to the traditional CPU vendors.
At the same time, ARM benefits regardless of which customer wins because it sits in the middle collecting licensing fees — and potentially much larger hardware profits if its direct-chip strategy succeeds.
Key Takeaway In short, Masayoshi Son’s prediction is aggressive, but it is not built on fantasy. Arm is benefiting from two powerful trends simultaneously: the rise of custom AI silicon and growing demand for energy-efficient CPUs.
Granted, a jump from roughly $390 billion to $4 trillion would require flawless execution, broader adoption of ARM servers, and success in selling its own processors. That is a tall order. Yet the company is no longer competing solely in smartphone chips. It is positioning itself at the center of AI infrastructure, cloud computing, and next-generation PCs.
For investors, the key question is not whether Arm will 10X tomorrow. It is whether ARM architecture becomes the foundation of the AI era. If that happens, Son’s forecast may look less outrageous than it does today.
SoundHound v 1. čtvrtletí zvýšil tržby o 52 % na 44,2 milionu USD, ale upravená EBITDA zůstala záporná ve výši 26,7 milionu USD. Firma sází na akvizici LivePerson, úspory nákladů a platformu OASYS.
Key Takeaways SOUN's EBITDA improvement depends on scale as Q1 revenues rose 52% despite negative EBITDA.The LivePerson deal could expand SoundHound's enterprise reach and lift the 2027 revenue opportunity.OASYS, cloud optimization and restructuring actions are expected to support future EBITDA expansion. SoundHound AI's (SOUN - Free Report) path to EBITDA improvement increasingly depends on one factor — scale. The company delivered first-quarter 2026 revenues of $44.2 million, up 52% year over year, while reaffirming full-year revenue guidance of $225-$260 million. Although adjusted EBITDA remained negative at $26.7 million, management believes growing revenue, cost synergies and a more efficient AI platform can narrow losses over time.
A major catalyst is SoundHound's planned acquisition of LivePerson. The transaction is expected to significantly expand the company's enterprise footprint, adding hundreds of long-standing customers and strengthening its presence across banking, telecommunications, healthcare and retail. Management projects a 2027 revenue opportunity of at least $350-$400 million after the deal closes, while cross-selling voice AI and digital messaging solutions could eventually support a $500 million revenue opportunity from the combined customer base.
Operational efficiency is another key driver. SoundHound is consolidating infrastructure, optimizing cloud spending, replacing third-party technologies with proprietary models and extracting cost synergies from prior acquisitions. Management noted that several restructuring actions taken in the first quarter should begin delivering recurring cost benefits over the next two quarters. The newly launched OASYS platform, powered primarily by SoundHound's in-house AI models, is also expected to reduce inference costs as customer traffic scales, supporting future EBITDA expansion.
The company still faces near-term profitability challenges. Investments in proprietary foundation models and continued integration expenses will likely keep margins under pressure in 2026. However, with $216 million in cash, no debt and multiple cost-saving initiatives underway, SoundHound appears well-positioned to leverage higher revenues into improved EBITDA over the longer term, provided execution on acquisitions and platform integration remains strong.
How Do Nuance and NICE Compare With SoundHound?Two companies worth watching alongside SoundHound are Microsoft's (MSFT - Free Report) Nuance Communications and NICE Ltd. (NICE - Free Report) .
Nuance Communications has built a dominant position in enterprise conversational AI, particularly in healthcare and customer engagement, benefiting from Microsoft's cloud ecosystem and broad enterprise reach. Nuance Communications focuses on large-scale deployments, but its deep integration within Microsoft makes rapid independent innovation less visible than SoundHound's dedicated AI platform.
Meanwhile, NICE continues to strengthen its AI-powered customer experience platform through automation and analytics, helping enterprises improve contact center efficiency and reduce operating costs. NICE is increasingly embedding generative AI into its CX solutions to enhance productivity and customer service. While Nuance Communications and NICE possess greater enterprise scale today, SoundHound aims to close the gap by expanding through acquisitions, cross-selling opportunities and its proprietary OASYS platform, which management believes can lower AI inference costs and support stronger EBITDA improvement as revenue scales.
SOUN’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesSoundHound shares have lost 35.4% year to date (YTD), outperforming the industry, as shown below:
SOUN’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SOUN trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 11.03, below the industry’s average of 11.23.
SOUN’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoundHound’s 2026 loss per share has widened to 18 cents, as shown below. The expected loss also remains wider than the previous year’s loss of 13 cents.
EPS Trend of SOUN Stock
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SOUN currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Encore Capital těží z technologických zlepšení: globální inkaso v 1. čtvrtletí 2026 vzrostlo o 19 % na rekordních 718,4 milionu USD. Rizikem zůstávají právní náklady, dražší financování a slabší Evropa.
Key Takeaways Encore Capital is benefiting from strong U.S. supply, elevated lending and near-peak charge-offs.ECPG's global collections rose 19% to a record $718.4 million in the first quarter of 2026.Tech gains are lifting collections, but legal costs, funding pressure and Cabot weakness remain risks. Encore Capital Group (ECPG - Free Report) is showing how the debt-recovery cycle is shifting. Strong U.S. supply and better collection tools are lifting results, while costs and funding remain pressure points.
The next phase depends on whether technology-driven collection gains can offset legal expense growth, Europe’s slower backdrop and higher interest costs.
How ECPG Reflects a Stronger U.S. Recovery CycleEncore’s U.S. business is benefiting from elevated lending activity, near-peak charge-off levels and stable delinquency trends. Those conditions are supporting a steady flow of receivable portfolios.
The U.S. cycle matters because debt buyers need both supply and capital to scale profitably. Encore’s size and funding flexibility help it compete as smaller buyers face regulatory and financing constraints.
The first quarter of 2026 showed that backdrop in action. Midland Credit Management, Encore’s U.S. platform, posted portfolio purchases of $315.8 million, one of its strongest U.S. purchasing quarters.
PRA Group, Inc. (PRAA - Free Report) gives investors a direct peer reference because it also acquires and collects nonperforming loans. For both companies, portfolio supply and collection efficiency are central to earnings.
How Encore Capital Uses Tech to Lift CollectionsTechnology is becoming more than an efficiency project. New tools, digital capabilities and operating innovation are helping Encore reach more consumers and expand its payer base.
That showed up in collections. Global collections rose 19% year over year to a record $718.4 million in the first quarter of 2026, while U.S. collections increased 23% to $556 million.
The company also collected $46 million more than forecast in the quarter. Changes in expected future recoveries were positive by $16.7 million, showing that outperformance is starting to affect future expectations.
Management expects the benefit to shift over time from cash overs to stronger portfolio revenue as Estimated Remaining Collections curves adjust upward. That would make the technology impact more visible in revenues.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ECPG’s sales suggests growth of 5.5% for 2026 and 2.7% for 2027.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Why ECPG Faces a Cost and Margin TestThe same collection environment that supports recoveries can also raise costs. Legal collection activity has increased, and those expenses have been rising faster than overall expenses.
That matters because legal collections can carry a higher fixed and semi-variable cost base. If collection growth slows, the expense structure could weigh on operating leverage and reduce cash efficiency margins.
Encore’s first-quarter cash efficiency margin improved to 60.9% from 58.3% a year earlier. Maintaining that margin profile will require collections growth to stay ahead of cost pressure.
Funding is another test. Borrowings totaled $4.03 billion as of March 31, 2026, and interest expense and other income are projected at about $300 million in 2026.
Why Encore Capital Shows a Split Global BackdropEncore’s geographic story is uneven. The United States remains the growth engine, helped by portfolio supply and stable consumer payment behavior.
Cabot, the company’s European business, remains in a slower market. The U.K. faces subdued consumer lending, low delinquencies and robust competition, limiting purchase growth.
Cabot still delivered collections of $161 million in the first quarter, up 7% year over year. The business is focused on cost control and operational execution.
Disciplined capital deployment in Europe protects returns but leaves ECPG more dependent on U.S. conditions. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (FCFS - Free Report) offers a different consumer-finance comparison because its business centers on pawn operations rather than charged-off receivable purchases, giving investors another view of consumer-credit exposure.
How ECPG’s Ratings Frame These TrendsThe bottom line is that ECPG enters 2026 with better collection momentum, but margin durability remains the key test. Legal costs, borrowing costs and Europe’s slower backdrop could limit the benefit if U.S. collections cool.
Encore Capital has rallied sharply, with shares up 58.1% year to date. The move reflects stronger collections, favorable U.S. purchasing conditions and improving earnings expectations.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The ECPG stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). That supports the view that earnings estimate direction remains favorable. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Style Scores add nuance. ECPG has a Value Score of B, which supports the relative value case, but its VGM Score of C is less forceful.
The Growth Score of D and Momentum Score of F suggest investors should watch execution rather than treat the stock as an all-clear growth or momentum play. The central question is whether digital gains can keep outpacing margin and funding headwinds.
Encore Capital Group (ECPG) v 1. čtvrtletí 2026 překonala odhady EPS o 18,4 % a tržby vzrostly o 21 %. Společnost zároveň zvýšila výhled zisku na 13 USD na akcii.
Key Takeaways ECPG has surged 56.2% in six months, but still trades at just 6.4X forward 12-month earnings.Encore Capital's first-quarter 2026 EPS beat estimates by 18.4%, while revenues rose 21%.ECPG's low multiple supports value appeal, but debt, legal costs and Cabot weakness remain risks. Encore Capital Group (ECPG - Free Report) is no longer a turnaround story waiting for proof. Shares have climbed 56.2% in the past six months and 120.4% over the trailing 12-month period.
The valuation question is now harder. Investors must decide whether low earnings multiples and higher profit forecasts still leave room for upside, or whether leverage and cost risks should cap the rerating.
Why ECPG Still Looks Cheap on EarningsECPG trades at 6.4X forward 12-month earnings, while its current fiscal-year price-to-earnings ratio is 6.6. That remains below 7.88X for the Zacks sub-industry, 16.29X for the Zacks Finance sector and 21.32X for the S&P 500 index.
The stock is also trading at its five-year median forward multiple of 6.4X, despite a stronger operating setup than it had during weaker collection periods. Its five-year range of 4.14X to 12.84X leaves room for a higher multiple if earnings quality continues to improve.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PRA Group, Inc. (PRAA - Free Report) is the closest public comparison because it also acquires and collects nonperforming loan portfolios. That makes portfolio supply, funding access and recovery efficiency central issues for both companies. On the other hand, FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (FCFS - Free Report) offers a different way to view consumer-finance exposure. Its pawn-focused model depends less on charged-off receivable purchases, making it a useful contrast to ECPG’s debt-purchasing cycle.
At present, PRA Group and FirstCash Holdings are trading at a premium to ECPG.
How Encore Capital Earnings Are Moving HigherEncore’s latest quarter helped reset the earnings base. First-quarter 2026 earnings of $3.86 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 18.4%, while revenues of $475 million rose 21% year over year.
The operating support was clear. Global collections increased 19% to a record $718.4 million, and the U.S. MCM business generated record collections of $556 million, up 23% from the prior-year quarter.
Management raised its 2026 earnings outlook to $13 per share from $12, implying 19% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate shows earnings rising from $10.91 in 2025 to $13.01 in 2026 and $13.86 in 2027.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
What the ECPG Price Target ImpliesThe $99 price target reflects 7.38X forward earnings. That is not an aggressive multiple relative to the broader market, but it does imply some rerating from the current 6.40X forward 12-month level.
A modest multiple expansion could be supported if collection outperformance keeps flowing into results. Collections exceeded expectations in the first quarter, and positive changes in expected future recoveries suggest estimated remaining collection curves are beginning to move higher.
As those curves adjust, management expects more of the benefit to shift from cash overperformance into portfolio revenues. Stronger reported portfolio revenue can make earnings visibility more durable.
Why Encore Capital Is Not a Simple Value BetECPG’s low multiple comes with balance-sheet risk. Borrowings totaled $4.03 billion at the end of the first quarter, and the company depends on debt funding to purchase receivable portfolios.
Interest expense and other income are projected to total about $300 million in 2026. If borrowing costs remain elevated or portfolio returns normalize, the earnings benefit from higher collections could face pressure.
Legal collection costs are another margin risk. Rising legal activity can support recoveries, but it can also create fixed and semi-variable cost pressure if collections growth slows.
The business mix adds a limitation. The U.S. business is driving most of the momentum, while Cabot in Europe continues to face subdued lending, low delinquencies and strong competition.
How ECPG’s Scores Shape the Investment CallThe bottom line is that ECPG still looks inexpensive, but not risk-free. The earnings reset, low forward multiple and $99 price target support the undervaluation argument, while leverage, legal costs and geographic concentration keep the case selective.
ECPG currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), which supports the view that estimate trends remain favorable in the near term. Its Value Score of B also strengthens the bargain case for investors focused on valuation. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The rest of the style profile is less supportive. ECPG has a VGM Score of C, Growth Score of D and Momentum Score of F. That mix suggests the stock is better viewed as a selective value opportunity backed by earnings revisions, rather than an all-clear momentum play after a major rally.
CoreWeave uzavřela dohodu s Conapto o rozšíření kapacity AI cloudu ve Stockholmu, přičemž oba kampusy budou napájeny z obnovitelných zdrojů. První kapacita už je online.
CoreWeave’s purpose-built AI cloud delivers further immediate capacity for European customers
STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CoreWeave, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRWV), The Essential Cloud for AI™, today announced a co-location agreement with Conapto, a provider of scalable, secure, and sustainable data centers. The arrangement encompasses two campuses in Stockholm, with initial capacity already online at Stockholm 4 South. Both campuses will be powered by renewable energy sources. The Stockholm deployment will provide AI innovators with access to CoreWeave’s AI cloud platform, designed specifically for the demands of modern AI workloads. CoreWeave Cloud combines high-performance compute, networking, storage and software orchestration to help customers scale AI development and deployment. The partnership extends CoreWeave’s ability to serve customers across Europe and reflects the disciplined approach the business is taking as it expands its international footprint.
This capacity, powered by NVIDIA Blackwell Architecture and NVIDIA Vera Rubin Platforms connected with NVIDIA Quantum-X800 InfiniBand, further expands CoreWeave’s European footprint, as demand from AI labs, enterprises, and developers building at scale across the continent continues to accelerate. As AI moves from experimentation to production, customers across Europe require high-performance infrastructure that is readily available and can match the pace of their workloads. This announcement also continues CoreWeave’s track record of servicing its European customers with the latest available technology.
“Sweden has been central to CoreWeave’s European strategy since our first continental investment,” said Sachin Jain, chief operating officer, CoreWeave. “Conapto’s local expertise and sustainable energy profile allows us to provide our customers what they need: urgent high performance AI compute with the reliability and environmental credentials that enterprise AI deployments demand.”
"We're excited to partner with CoreWeave to support the rapidly growing demand for their AI cloud platform," says Håkan Björklund, CEO, Conapto. "CoreWeave is at the forefront of AI innovation, and we're proud to provide the resilient, high-density infrastructure needed to power their next phase of growth. Combined with our commitment to 100 percent renewable energy and heat recovery to Stockholm's district heating network, this partnership demonstrates how advanced AI infrastructure and sustainability can go hand in hand."
CoreWeave and Conapto will participate at the Tech Arena at Almedalen on 25 June, contributing to discussions on Sweden’s growing role in AI infrastructure and Europe’s evolving AI capacity requirements.
Nine of the 10 leading foundation model providers are leveraging CoreWeave to stay at the frontier of AI. As of March 31, 2026, CoreWeave operates 49 data centres globally, with more than 1GW of active power and over 3.5GW of contracted power supporting AI workloads at scale. The Conapto agreement brings CoreWeave’s sites in Europe to eight.
CoreWeave's AI cloud delivers performance at every stage of the AI lifecycle, demonstrated by record-breaking MLPerf benchmark results in inference and training, its position as the only AI cloud to earn the top Platinum ranking in both SemiAnalysis ClusterMAX™ 1.0 and 2.0, and its #1 ranking for inference speed and price-performance for Moonshot AI’s Kimi K2.6 and Kimi K2.7 Code in independent inference benchmarking conducted by Artificial Analysis.
About CoreWeave
CoreWeave is The Essential Cloud for AI™. Built for pioneers by pioneers, CoreWeave delivers a platform of technology, tools, and teams that enables innovators to move at the pace of innovation, building and scaling AI with confidence. Trusted by leading AI labs, startups, and global enterprises, CoreWeave serves as a force multiplier by combining superior infrastructure performance with deep technical expertise to accelerate breakthroughs. Established in 2017, CoreWeave completed its public listing on Nasdaq (CRWV) in March 2025. Learn more at www.coreweave.com.
About Conapto
Conapto provides scalable, secure and sustainable data center colocation for companies to produce and deliver digital services. With four data centers and its headquarters in Stockholm, Conapto delivers reliable hybrid IT infrastructure designed for high performance, energy efficiency and long-term scalability – enabling the next generation of digital services. Learn more at www.conapto.com.
Sandisk od oddělení od Western Digital vyskočil o více než 5 200 % a letos už o více než 720 %. Růst táhne boom kolem AI a nedostatek NAND čipů, které zvedly tržby i marže.
Sandisk (SNDK 2.68%), one of the world's largest flash memory chipmakers, was once considered a cyclical stock in a commoditized market. But since its spin-off from Western Digital (WDC 5.18%) last February, its stock has surged more than 5,200%.
In 2026 alone, Sandisk's stock has rallied more than 720%. Should investors chase that rally, or should they wait for its stock to cool off? Let's review its growth rates and valuations to decide.
Image source: Getty Images.
Why did Sandisk's stock soar? When Western Digital spun off Sandisk, it was still a slow-growth maker of NAND flash memory chips, which are used in solid-state drives (SSDs), USB drives, and SD cards. However, the artificial intelligence (AI) market's explosive growth forced data centers to upgrade their servers with faster SSDs.
That buying frenzy triggered a global NAND memory chip shortage and drove up Sandisk's chip prices, boosting its revenue and margins. Sandisk further capitalized on the AI boom by launching the world's first 256TB enterprise SSD for AI data lakes. Those ultra-dense drives enabled hyperscalers to consolidate dozens of hardware server racks into a single unit.
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Without Western Digital, which was struggling to sell its older platter-based hard-disk drives (HDDs), Sandisk became a "pure play" on the NAND market. In fiscal 2025 (which ended last July), Sandisk's revenue grew 10%, its adjusted gross margin expanded from 14.8% to 30.3%, and it returned to profitability on a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) basis.
But in fiscal 2026, analysts expect Sandisk's revenue and non-GAAP EPS to surge 167% and 2,089%, respectively, as those AI tailwinds accelerate. In fiscal 2027, they expect the company's revenue and non-GAAP EPS to rise 122% and 180%, respectively.
That growth should be driven by its increased sales of 256TB SSDs to hyperscalers, the development of even denser chips, and multi-year cloud contracts that will generate predictable recurring revenues and insulate it from future memory market crashes.
But should you buy Sandisk's stock today? At $1,920 per share, Sandisk trades at just 10 times and 11 times next year's non-GAAP and GAAP EPS estimates, respectively. So even though Sandisk's stock has skyrocketed since its spin-off from Western Digital, it's still being valued as a slow-growth maker of legacy memory chips rather than a high-growth AI chipmaker. If that rerating occurs, Sandisk's stock could easily double or triple from its current levels -- so it still looks like a worthwhile investment.
Ondas v červnu získal nové zakázky za více než 40 milionů USD a za 2. čtvrtletí už má objednávky a hodnotu přes 150 milionů USD. Rotron navíc úspěšně dokončil testy SkyLance v rámci britského Project Brakestop.
Key Takeaways Ondas secured $40M in June orders, bringing Q2 orders and awards to more than $150M.Rotron's SkyLance completed UK MOD Project Brakestop tests, validating strike capabilities.Ondas is expanding beyond defense into precision-strike systems, widening its market reach. As governments race to modernize their military capabilities, companies capable of delivering integrated autonomous defense platforms are becoming beneficiaries. Among these emerging players, Ondas Inc. (ONDS - Free Report) recently announced more than $40 million in new orders in June. The deal highlights accelerating demand for the company's Counter-UAS, Loitering Munition Systems (LMS), robotic platforms and AI-enabled defense technologies. These awards follow more than $30 million of orders secured in May, resulting in over $150 million in second-quarter orders and awards.
A key part of Ondas' LMS strategy is Rotron Aerospace, its wholly owned U.K. subsidiary. Rotron recently completed successful flight tests of its SkyLance system under the UK Ministry of Defence's Project Brakestop, confirming the platform's long-range precision strike capabilities. Rotron's U.K. manufacturing facility positions Ondas well for future European procurement opportunities. Rather than relying only on defensive products, Ondas is expanding into offensive autonomous capabilities, offering customers both defensive and precision-strike options. This dual-market approach significantly broadens the company's total addressable market.
Ondas is also benefiting from broader structural trends in global defense markets. Governments across Europe, North America and allied nations continue increasing military budgets in response to shifting geopolitical risks. Although order announcements do not immediately generate revenue, they serve as key indicators of future business performance. A growing backlog improves revenue visibility, manufacturing efficiency, customer confidence, operating leverage and eligibility for larger defense contracts. If Ondas continues converting its pipeline into repeat orders while maintaining operational discipline, growing LMS demand could drive its next phase of revenue growth.
ONDS Navigating a Crowded Defense MarketDraganfly (DPRO - Free Report) and F4 Defense International secured an initial DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory contract to develop a modular, rapidly deployable counter-drone system that integrates tethered aerial platforms with drone detection, tracking, targeting and defeat capabilities for enhanced situational awareness and defense in contested environments. First-quarter revenue rose 49.4% to $2.3 million, driven by a 44.8% increase in product sales to $2.2 million. Quarterly sales were aided by strong demand from military customers, including an FPV drone order from the U.S. Army, reflecting its growing relationship with an existing defense customer. DPRO expanded its defense portfolio through the acquisition of Skip Dynamix's drone technology assets.
Unusual Machines (UMAC - Free Report) reported healthy first-quarter growth, with strong enterprise demand driving revenue gains, a 32.8% gross margin, expanded production capacity and a strengthened balance sheet following a $150 million equity raise. UMAC also advanced its integrated powertrain strategy through the $52 million Upgrade Energy deal and sees potential drone-delivery expansion by 2027. Per management, demand continues to exceed supply and is expected to remain strong through 2027, driven by rising defense drone procurement and emerging counter-drone programs. It is expanding production and securing raw materials to capitalize on growing demand, supported by increasing U.S. defense spending and a preference for domestic supply chains.
ONDS’ Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of ONDS have gained a whopping 433.1% in the past year against the Zacks Wireless-National industry’s decline of 14.2%
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ONDS seems overvalued, as suggested by the Value Score of F. In terms of the forward 12-month Price/Sales ratio, ONDS is trading at 8.03, considerably higher than the industry’s multiple of 1.65.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
For ONDS, earnings estimates for the current year have remained unchanged in the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ONDS currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Cerebras zvýšila celoroční výhled tržeb na 855 až 865 milionů dolarů, ale akcie spadly o 14 % kvůli očekávanému poklesu hrubé marže ve 2. čtvrtletí na 36 % až 38 %.
Cerebras Systems (NASDAQ:CBRS) shares fell 14% to about $194 on Tuesday after the artificial intelligence chipmaker reported better-than-expected first quarter results and raised its full-year revenue outlook, but forecast a sharp decline in gross margins for the current quarter.
The company, which completed its initial public offering earlier this year, reported first-quarter GAAP revenue of $193.4 million and core revenue of $191.3 million, exceeding Wall Street expectations of about $181 million. Core revenue increased 92% from a year earlier.
Cerebras posted a non-GAAP net loss of $0.04 per share, narrower than analysts' expectations for a loss of $0.16 per share.
For the second quarter, Cerebras projected revenue of approximately $194 million, ahead of analysts' estimates of $174.3 million. The company also raised its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to a range of $855 million to $865 million, compared with consensus expectations of about $828 million.
However, investors focused on the company's profitability outlook. Cerebras said second-quarter gross margin is expected to fall to between 36% and 38%, down from 47% in the first quarter and a GAAP gross margin of 45% reported for the period.
During the quarter, Cerebras announced a multi-year agreement with OpenAI valued at more than $20 billion, under which OpenAI plans to deploy 750 megawatts of the company's inference computing capacity over several years. Cerebras also launched a partnership with Amazon Web Services aimed at bringing its inference technology to AWS customers through a disaggregated inference strategy.
Andrew Feldman, Cerebras CEO, said demand for faster AI infrastructure is growing as artificial intelligence applications become more widely adopted. “The growing importance of AI in our economy requires AI infrastructure that can power the most advanced applications at unprecedented speed. This is the Cerebras mission,” Feldman said.
Wedbush analysts maintained an ‘Outperform’ rating on Cerebras and raised their price target to $280 from $270 following the results. The analysts wrote that the company's inaugural earnings report contained "no particular surprises" and validated their expectation that management would provide achievable guidance.
Wedbush noted that hardware sales exceeded its expectations and that stronger pricing for Cerebras' cloud services reflected robust demand. While gross margins are expected to decline as OpenAI-related revenue ramps, the analysts wrote that the drop appears less severe than they had previously modeled, potentially creating upside through 2026.
The firm also pointed to higher operating expenses, which it believes are likely tied to additional research and development spending and could support future product launches and customer programs.
Wedbush wrote that it remains constructive on Cerebras, citing potential catalysts including new products such as the WSE-4 processor, additional data center capacity and sustained demand for AI infrastructure.
Cerebras Systems CEO Andrew Feldman said Wednesday that investors "misunderstood" the artificial intelligence chipmaker's margin guidance, as shares slid 17% after the company reported results for the first time since going public.
Analysts at Mizuho and Wedbush raised their estimates following Cerebras' earnings call. But the company forecasted a narrower gross margin in its core business, excluding impact from customer warrants and data center pass-through revenues. The number was 47% for the first quarter, and it should be between 38% and 41% for the full year.
"It is misunderstood," Feldman said on CNBC's Squawk on the Street. "You know, we laid out a plan at the start of '26. We shared that plan as we went public a few months ago, and we're beating that plan."
He said management made clear that Cerebras will need to rent back some equipment from one of its largest clients.
"I think it's not going to be a straight line," he said.
Read more CNBC tech newsGoogle's online dominance is showing signs of cracking in AI eraOracle has cut 21,000 roles over the past year, adding to wave of tech AI layoffsTesla faces federal probe after Model 3 slams into Texas home, killing 76-year-oldSpaceX signs computing power deal with open-source AI startup Reflection worth up to $6.3 billionInvestors also must contend with Cerebras insiders being subject to a staggered timeline for lock-up restrictions. That includes about 28 million Class A Cerebras shares that directors, officers and non-employee shareholders can trade on the second trading day after Tuesday's earnings announcement, according to the company's prospectus.
The point was to smooth out the schedule, which typically comes after a set number of months after an initial public offering, Feldman said.
"Whether that's a success or not, we'll have to see," he told CNBC's Carl Quintanilla and Leslie Picker.
Rivals such as Nvidia are confronting supply shortages in high-bandwidth memory and a cutting-edge process from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., but Cerebras doesn't need either of those, Feldman said.
Cerebras is, however, facing pressure to open more data centers, as are cloud infrastructure providers, while public opposition mounts and permitting processes can drag on.
"We're trying to move at the speed of AI, and data centers move with the speed of real estate," Feldman said.
SpaceX čeká první uvolnění akcií koncem července nebo začátkem srpna, kdy mohou insideri a raní investoři začít prodávat. To může zvýšit tlak na pokles po přehřátém růstu po vstupu na burzu.
SpaceX (SPCX 0.05%) has taken investors on a wild ride since its June 12 IPO. The aerospace and AI company went public at $135 per share, started trading at $150, and soared to a record high of $225.64 on June 16. But as of this writing, it trades at about $160.
SpaceX's stock pulled back because its valuation had gotten overheated. At its peak, its market cap briefly hit $2.66 trillion, or 142 times its 2025 revenue of $18.7 billion. It also only floated about 4% of its shares in its IPO, and that limited supply amplified its gains.
Image source: Getty Images.
Yet after that pullback, SpaceX is still worth $2.06 trillion, or 110 times last year's sales. That's a bubbly valuation for a company that grew its revenue by 33% in 2025. While market hype and rosy expectations could prevent its stock from dipping below its IPO price, it could face a reckoning once its lockup periods start to expire in about a month.
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When will SpaceX's lockup periods expire? When a company goes public, its insiders, early investors, and institutional investors are barred from selling their shares immediately. Instead, they generally need to wait until the traditional 180-day "lockup period" ends before they can sell those shares.
However, that's not a firm rule -- so companies can structure their lockup periods in different ways. Instead of waiting for 180 days, SpaceX will allow its insiders and early investors to sell their shares in several waves. The first wave will occur on the second trading day after its second-quarter earnings report in late July or early August.
On that day, SpaceX will unlock 20% of its shares held by its employees and early pre-IPO holders. If its stock closed at or above $175.50 per share for at least five of the ten consecutive days before the earnings release, it will unlock another 10% of its shares. It will continue to unlock 7% of its shares on Aug. 20, Sept. 9, Sept. 24, Oct. 9, and Oct. 24.
On the second trading day after its third-quarter earnings report in late October or early November, it will unlock 28% of its shares. On Dec. 8, it will unlock all of its remaining shares.
Why should investors watch these dates? SpaceX's stock could decline on those lockup dates as its insiders and early investors cash out. That selling could make it much easier and cheaper to short the stock. Therefore, if you believe SpaceX has a bright future but don't want to pay the wrong price for the right stock, those lockup expirations could create some good buying opportunities.
Zoox představila přepracovaný robotaxi a chystá širší rozšíření v USA i zpoplatnění jízd později letos. Firma zároveň plánuje velkosériovou výrobu v oblasti Bay Area.
Amazon's Zoox unveiled the "next evolution" of its toaster-shaped self-driving vehicle on Wednesday, adding more rider-friendly features ahead of a wider U.S. rollout this year.
The company said it's equipping the vehicles with higher-quality touchscreens, more comfortable seats and headrests, and small interior tweaks that will make it easier for passengers to spot forgotten items like keys and phones.
Zoox is also enlarging and relocating the robotaxi's "bidirectional reflectors," which help riders and others such as law enforcement distinguish the vehicle's front from its rear, so that they're easier to spot.
The updates come as Zoox is plotting expansion in additional markets and preparing to charge for rides later this year. The company, which Amazon acquired for $1.3 billion in 2020, is way behind Alphabet's Waymo, the U.S. robotaxi leader.
Waymo recently surpassed 500,000 weekly paid rides across 10 U.S. cities. It also plans to bring commercial service to several new cities this year, including London and Tokyo, the first international markets. By comparison, Zoox said Wednesday it has served more than 500,000 riders since it opened service in Las Vegas last September.
Zoox currently offers free rides in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco, and it's allowing select users to hail its robotaxis in small areas in Miami and Austin, Texas. It's also testing in six other U.S. cities.
In March, Zoox struck a partnership with Uber to make its robotaxis available through its ride-hailing app in Las Vegas, enabling it to reach a wider potential customer base.
The Zoox robotaxis have been nicknamed "toasters" due to their shape. The vehicles have no steering wheel or pedals, and feature four carriage-style seats that face inward, giving them a shuttle-like atmosphere.
Zoox's biggest hurdle remains launching a paid service. The company is awaiting approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to operate as many as 2,500 of its self-driving cars on public roads for commercial purposes.
Zoox's petition is currently under review by NHTSA after public comments closed in early April.
Zoox said Wednesday that the redesigned robotaxi is its "production intent vehicle," and the company expects to introduce the model to its existing fleet later this year.
The company added that it will soon begin large-scale production of its robotaxis at its manufacturing facility in the San Francisco Bay Area that opened last June. The facility will help Zoox grow its robotaxi fleet, eventually producing 10,000 vehicles a year once it's at full scale.
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Read more CNBC tech newsGoogle's online dominance is showing signs of cracking in AI eraOracle has cut 21,000 roles over the past year, adding to wave of tech AI layoffsTesla faces federal probe after Model 3 slams into Texas home, killing 76-year-oldSpaceX signs computing power deal with open-source AI startup Reflection worth up to $6.3 billion
Amazon klesá kvůli zprávě, že FTC připravila žalobu kvůli údajnému klamání inzerentů skrytým nastavením cenotvorby reklamy. Akcie jsou zhruba o více než 16 % pod historickým maximem z minulého měsíce.
Shares of Amazon.com NASDAQ: AMZN started this week on the back foot, trading down around $230, their lowest level since early April. The stock has been going through a tough patch and is now down more than 16% from the all-time high it hit last month.
Amazon.com Today
$240.00 +5.89 (+2.51%)
As of 12:53 PM Eastern
This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.
52-Week Range$196.00▼
$278.56P/E Ratio28.75
Price Target$312.78
What makes the current pullback particularly worrying is the divergence from the rest of the market and the broader tech sector, with much of which has been holding on to most of its recent gains. When a stock starts trading out of sync with its peers, it usually tells you something specific is weighing on it.
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In Amazon's case, that something has just become a lot clearer. It was reported last week that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has drafted a potential complaint against the company, alleging it misled advertisers through hidden ad pricing practices, and the penalty could run into the billions.
This isn’t the first time that Amazon has run afoul of the FTC, and if recent history is anything to go by, investors are right to be worried. The question is how much?
What the FTC Is Actually Looking AtAt the heart of the investigation is whether Amazon properly disclosed the terms and pricing of its advertising auctions, particularly a feature called "reserve pricing" for certain search ads. In simple terms, that's the minimum price an advertiser has to accept before they're able to buy an ad. The argument is that Amazon didn't make these mechanics fully clear, leaving advertisers paying more than they otherwise might have.
It's worth noting that this isn't an entirely new line of inquiry. The FTC's consumer protection unit has been looking into whether both Amazon and Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL misled advertisers placing ads on their respective platforms for some time now. What's changed is that the investigation into Amazon has now reportedly progressed to the point where a formal complaint has been drafted, which is a meaningful step up the regulatory ladder, and this is clearly spooking investors.
Amazon Has Been Here BeforeWhat makes this story particularly relevant for Amazon’s investors is the recent history. Just last September, the FTC secured a historic $2.5 billion settlement against Amazon over allegations that it had enrolled millions of consumers in its Prime program without their consent and made it deliberately difficult for them to cancel. A settlement of that scale makes it very clear just what the FTC thinks it can extract when it sets its sights on Amazon.
For the latest investigation, it’s a useful reference point for thinking about the worst-case scenario. If the FTC was able to secure $2.5 billion in penalties and refunds for the Prime enrollment issue, the potential downside from a misleading-advertisers complaint could be similar, or even larger, given the size and complexity of Amazon's advertising business.
Even for a company of Amazon's scale, that would be a significant amount of money, and it’d come at a time when Amazon’s outgoings are already under the microscope.
A Worrying Near-Term SetupFrom that perspective, this update from the FTC couldn't really have come at a worse moment for Amazon's stock. As we've covered recently, the company has been grappling with a free cash flow squeeze from its enormous AI capital expenditure commitments, a high-profile Blue Origin rocket explosion that set back its satellite ambitions, and a broader cooling in sentiment across mega-cap tech. Adding regulatory uncertainty to that pile is the kind of thing that can keep a stock under pressure for longer than the underlying business deserves.
There’s also the risk that while an eventual settlement could come this summer, it could also just as easily turn into a drawn-out legal battle that dominates the headlines for many quarters to come. Neither of those is ideal for shareholders who have been waiting for the stock to find its footing.
The Long-Term Bull Case Hasn't ChangedOverall MarketRank™99th Percentile
Analyst RatingModerate Buy
Upside/Downside29.3% Upside
Short Interest LevelHealthy
Dividend StrengthWeak
News Sentiment0.99 Insider TradingSelling Shares
Proj. Earnings Growth29.96%
See Full Analysis
Still, for those willing to look beyond the next few months, the long-term case for Amazon remains as strong as ever. AWS continues to grow at a remarkable pace and is increasingly central to the AI infrastructure buildout. The advertising business itself, the very thing now under scrutiny, is one of the fastest-growing high-margin revenue streams in the company. The deepening Anthropic relationship and the wave of analyst price targets sitting comfortably above $300 all speak to a long-term picture that an FTC complaint, even a multi-billion-dollar one, doesn't materially change.
The current weakness is uncomfortable, no question, and the near term could get worse before it gets better. But Amazon has a long history of absorbing regulatory blows and compounding value over time. For those willing to pinch their noses in the near term, this weakness could be a gift in the long term.
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Amazon rozšířil Bedrock o modely OpenAI a spravované agenty, aby podpořil firemní nasazení AI. V 1. čtvrtletí 2026 vzrostly výdaje zákazníků na Bedrock mezikvartálně o 170 % a platformu využívá více než 125 000 zákazníků.
Key Takeaways Amazon expanded Bedrock with OpenAI models and managed agents to support enterprise AI deployments.AMZN's Bedrock spending rose 170% sequentially in Q1 2026, serving 125,000 customers.Nearly 80% of Fortune 100 companies are leveraging Bedrock for AI initiatives. Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) continues to build out the Bedrock ecosystem as enterprises move from AI experimentation toward larger-scale deployments. As companies look to integrate generative AI into customer engagement, software development and business operations, Bedrock is positioned as one of the platforms within Amazon Web Services (AWS) supporting this transition.
The company's approach centers on offering enterprises model choice, scalable infrastructure and tools intended to simplify the deployment of AI applications. Additions to Bedrock, including OpenAI models and managed agent capabilities, have strengthened the platform's capacity to support a wider range of enterprise workloads. These additions are intended to help organizations build and deploy AI applications while addressing security, reliability and operational requirements at scale.
Customer adoption trends suggest that enterprise demand is strengthening. Bedrock customer spending increased 170% sequentially in the first quarter of 2026, while token processing volumes during the quarter exceeded the cumulative total from all prior years. The platform is being used by over 125,000 customers, with nearly 80% of Fortune 100 companies leveraging Bedrock. These figures suggest a shift from initial testing toward broader integration into business workflows for at least some enterprise customers.
The growing adoption of Bedrock is expected to have broader implications for AWS. As enterprises scale AI deployments, demand often extends beyond AI models to include compute, storage, databases and analytics services. This creates opportunities for AWS to benefit from both AI-related spending and the expanding consumption of its core cloud offerings. AWS revenues increased 28% year over year to $37.6 billion in the first quarter. As enterprise AI adoption continues to mature, Bedrock's expanding ecosystem is likely to remain an important catalyst for AWS growth and the broader enterprise AI landscape.
AMZN Faces Stiff CompetitionAmazon is competing aggressively with Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) for enterprise AI workloads. Microsoft has benefited from its close OpenAI relationship, integrating advanced models across Azure AI services and enterprise software offerings. Alphabet has been expanding Gemini and Vertex AI to help enterprises build and deploy AI applications on Google Cloud.
While Microsoft and Alphabet emphasize proprietary model ecosystems, Amazon's Bedrock strategy is centered on offering enterprises access to multiple leading foundation models through a single managed platform. This model choice, combined with AWS' broad cloud infrastructure portfolio, could help Amazon attract organizations seeking flexibility as enterprise AI adoption moves from experimentation to large-scale production deployments.
AMZN’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesAmazon shares have jumped 1.4% in the year to date (YTD) period compared with the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry and the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector’s decline of 6.3% and 2.3%, respectively.
AMZN’s YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, AMZN stock appears overvalued, trading at a forward 12-month price/earnings ratio of 24.88X, higher than the industry’s 20.71X. Amazon has a Value Score of D.
AMZN’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMZN’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $8.85 per share, indicating a 23.43% increase from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
Amazon currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Meta a Microsoft výrazně navýšily závazky za pronájem datových center, čímž celkové budoucí závazky největších cloudových firem přesáhly 850 miliard USD. Meta přidala 79 miliard USD a Microsoft více než 41 miliard USD.
Meta and Microsoft are leading the pack of tech giants that are shoveling money into artificial intelligence data-center leases – each committing tens of billions of dollars in their most recent quarters, according to a report.
The new agreements helped lift total future data-center lease commitments among the largest cloud-computing companies to more than $850 billion, Bloomberg reported.
The obligations have continued to rise over the past year as tech firms build out server farms to power an expected boom in AI use in coming years.
Tech giants are ramping up spending on power hungry server farms to power AI. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., seen wearing Orion augmented reality (AR) glasses. Bloomberg via Getty Images The lease commitments will largely be paid out over the next two decades, meaning spending on data center necessities like semiconductors and energy show no signs of slowing in the face backlash from some parts of the country.
Meta accounted for the biggest increase in data-center investment.
As of March 31, it had reportedly accumulated $182.9 billion in future lease obligations after adding $79 billion during the quarter – a 76% spike from the prior period.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said he intends to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure before the decade ends.
Microsoft’s future lease commitments rose by more than $41 billion, reaching $196.6 billion, according to Bloomberg. The company has been constrained by limited data-center capacity after scaling back its leasing through much of 2025.
Earlier this week, Microsoft unveiled a massive data center development in west Texas in partnership with Chevron.
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella speaks during a keynote address. Getty Images Amazon also ramped up its future lease obligations, reportedly committing $10 billion during the quarter, less than half the amount added in the prior quarter.
As of March 31, Meta had accumulated $182.9 billion in future lease obligations after adding $79 billion during the quarter Askar – stock.adobe.com Oracle was one of the few exceptions to the trend. Its future lease commitments edged lower from the previous quarter.
Even so, the company remains the largest holder of future spending commitments after previously securing many of the large sites needed to support a major contract with OpenAI.
The obligations, which are separate from current leases, typically stay off balance sheets until payments begin. Although they are mainly associated with data centers, they may also cover properties such as office buildings and warehouses. Certain agreements include provisions that can relieve companies of future obligations under specified circumstances.
The Post has sought comment from Amazon, Meta and Microsoft.
Kritika v časopise Nature tvrdí, že Microsoftův údajný průlom v kvantových počítačích stál na chybách v kódu a vadném testovacím postupu. Analýza zároveň zpochybňuje jeho tvrzení o praktickém kvantovém výpočtu během „několika let“.
Impact of coding artefacts on transport based topological gap detection. Credit: Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10567-8 A critique from the University of St Andrews published in the journal Nature provides evidence that Microsoft's claimed quantum computing "breakthrough" was built on flawed foundations.
The critique, a comment on Microsoft's Nature paper from February 2025, comes after Microsoft's announcement of quantum chips that it claims will allow practical quantum computing within "years not decades." In contrast, the analysis by Dr. Henry Legg, from the St Andrews School of Physics and Astronomy, reveals that Microsoft's claim rested on coding errors and a flawed tuneup protocol and was seemingly contradicted by data not presented by Microsoft.
Dr. Legg said, "Last year Microsoft claimed it had built the equivalent of a precision Swiss watch. However, when I opened the case to examine the mechanism, I found what looked like a chaotic jumble of mismatched parts. Something was making noise, but it didn't look like the breakthrough Microsoft had claimed. Despite the headlines, the vast majority of scientists in the field were skeptical of Microsoft's claim from the start; my critique simply backs up that skepticism in the scientific record."
Quantum computers are predicted to solve complex problems that are impossible for current computers. It is claimed that they can discover new drugs, optimize global logistics and crack encryption. However, quantum states are incredibly fragile, prone to collapsing at the slightest interference from the outside world. To solve this, Microsoft bet heavily on a unique approach called "topological quantum computing." It aims to harness elusive particles called Majoranas to create qubits that are supposed to be immune to outside interference.
However, the existence of Majoranas remains unproven, and Microsoft's pursuit of this technology has faced major credibility issues before. In 2021, researchers funded by the company were forced to retract a previous Nature paper that claimed to have found evidence of Majoranas. The authors of that paper apologized for "insufficient scientific rigor."
The Topological Gap Protocol (TGP) was supposedly Microsoft's answer to these past failures—an automated software test designed to eliminate human bias and prevent false positives. Yet today's peer-reviewed critique provides evidence that this protocol is itself flawed. Legg's analysis reveals severe issues with how Microsoft used the TGP to validate its devices:
Simply shifting measurement windows can alter the protocol's outcome. This causes Microsoft's software to classify the exact same device region as either suitable for quantum computing ("gapped") or not suitable ("gapless") simply because of arbitrary measurement choices. Microsoft presented only the favorable outcomes of the protocol in its Nature publication. Contradictory results, where the TGP classified the purportedly successful regions as not suitable for quantum computing, were not shown. Coding errors in Microsoft's data processing caused it to omit and completely miss exploring other critical regions of the device's phase space, despite the explicit requests of peer reviewers for these checks. The raw conductance data, which Microsoft did not present in its original paper, reveals a highly disordered system. Instead of the pristine topological gap required for quantum computing, the data appears to show signatures of disorder and non-topological "quantum dots" that could explain Microsoft's measurements. This case highlights how rigorous scientific analysis can challenge even the largest technology corporations.
Legg concluded, "I am simply reflecting what most in the field felt from the initial announcement. I felt that I needed to put these concerns into a formal scientific critique. It is good that it has now been peer-reviewed and published."
Publication details Henry Legg, On the robustness of topological gap detection via transport, Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10567-8. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10567-8
Journal information: Nature
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Citation: Critique challenges Microsoft's quantum computing claims (2026, June 24) retrieved 24 June 2026 from https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-microsoft-quantum.html
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NIKE uvedla, že do výsledků za 4Q zahrne nečekaný jednorázový přínos z vrácení cel. Bez něj má zisk na akcii odpovídat dřívějšímu výhledu, nikoli jej překonat.
NIKE NKE shares are trading lower despite announcing that its Q4 results will include an unexpected tariff-refund benefit. However, the company clarified that, excluding this one-time benefit, Q4 results are expected to align with previous guidance rather than exceed it. Additionally, NIKE is set for a CFO transition, with David Denton stepping in on August 17, while current CFO Matthew Friend will assist until September 4. This transition adds another layer of complexity as investors weigh the short-term earnings benefit against ongoing leadership changes during a prolonged turnaround period.
Guidance Quality: NIKE's previous Q4 outlook estimated revenue between $10.65 billion and $10.87 billion, reflecting a decline of 2% to 4%, with gross margin expected to decrease by 25 to 75 basis points year-over-year. The new update does not alter this framework but adds an unquantified tariff-refund benefit. Underlying Sales Read: The prior Q4 revenue guidance included a 2-point FX benefit, indicating that the constant-currency demand remains weaker than the reported decline suggests. Turnaround Shape: Management is focusing on achieving milestones, aiming to complete "Win Now" actions by the end of calendar 2026, with gross margin expansion expected to begin in Q2 2027 and cost-reset benefits to accumulate through fiscal 2028. What is Working: North America is a bright spot, with Q3 revenue increasing by 3% and wholesale up 11%, although recovery remains uneven as Direct sales fell by 5% and Digital declined by 7%. What is Still Weak: Digital remains overly promotional globally, sportswear sales continue to struggle, Converse faced a 35% revenue decline in Q3, and Greater China is expected to remain under pressure due to reduced sell-in and marketplace cleanup. Leadership Transition: The CFO change is not linked to any disputes, and Denton brings valuable experience from CVS Health CVS and Lowe's LOW , providing CEO Elliott Hill with a finance partner skilled in cost discipline and capital allocation.The recent update from NIKE NKE offers a clearer Q4 outlook but does not address larger concerns regarding demand quality, promotional activities, and the timeline for a sustainable margin recovery. The upcoming report on June 30 will be crucial in assessing the underlying business quality, including full-price selling, inventory management, digital promotions, and whether improvements in North America's wholesale sector are translating into a healthier direct business. The CFO transition is significant, as it introduces a new finance partner during this critical reset phase, but Denton's impact will likely unfold over several quarters. A key test will be NIKE's ability to transform its milestone-based turnaround plan into a credible earnings strategy for FY27 and FY28, making the fall Investor Day a pivotal moment for establishing a more sustainable margin recovery framework.
This stock alert was generated using automated technology and GuruFocus financial data to provide readers with timely and accurate market reporting. This content was reviewed by GuruFocus editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
BofA ponechává u Nike doporučení Neutral a čeká, že investoři se zaměří hlavně na výhled, ne na čtvrtletní výsledky. Zmiňuje nejisté oživení tržeb, hlavně v Číně a Evropě.
In a research note released Wednesday, Bank of America Securities (BofA) maintained its Neutral rating on the footwear giant with a price forecast of $55.
Analyst Lorraine Hutchinson said investors are expected to focus more on Nike’s forward guidance than on its fourth-quarter performance.
The firm maintained a Neutral rating, saying earnings estimates appear to be nearing a bottom, but the timing of a sustained sales recovery remains uncertain amid China’s reset, sportswear category normalization, and volatile macroeconomic conditions.
While product innovation and North America remain bright spots, BofA said visibility on a sales rebound in China and stabilization in Europe is less clear.
Leadership Transition and Tariff BoostsNike announced David Denton will join the company as chief financial officer, effective August 17, bringing public company expertise from prior CFO roles at Pfizer, Lowe’s and CVS Health. Matt Friend will step down concurrently with Denton’s appointment.
The analyst noted that fourth-quarter results will benefit from a one-time tariff refund. Excluding this benefit, projected performance remains broadly in line with prior company guidance.
BofA models fourth-quarter earnings per share at 11 cents, matching consensus expectations, based on an estimated 3% decline in quarterly revenue.
Wholesale Performance Under MonitoringBofA indicators suggest that slower-than-expected wholesale sell-through continues to warrant caution following management commentary during the third-quarter conference call.
Analysts look for updates on wholesale trends, citing risks that prolonged weakness could lead to elevated discounting, product buybacks, or reduced reorders.
Additional headwind exposure remains for North American sales trends heading into the second quarter of fiscal 2027, as Nike laps a prior 24% wholesale growth period driven by off-price channel inventory.
Near-Term Softness Expected in ChinaThe research firm projects a sharper slowdown in the Greater China region, modeling a 20% decline in fourth-quarter sales. According to the note, Nike continues to pull back on digital promotions and reduce wholesale sell-in within the region.
Valuation and Outlook Inflection TimelineNike trades at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 22.6 times, down from 31 times prior to the previous quarterly earnings release.
While BofA acknowledged encouraging early indicators within the running category and stable North American demand, the firm anticipates a definitive sales inflection remains several quarters away, limiting immediate opportunities for multiple expansion.
Gross margin improvements are projected to begin expanding in the second quarter of fiscal 2027 as tariff impacts subside.
Nike Earnings EstimatesNike is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter earnings on June 30. Analysts expect earnings per share of 12 cents and revenue of $10.85 billion, according to Benzinga.
In the third quarter, Nike reported earnings per share of 35 cents, surpassing analyst estimates of 28 cents. Revenue came in at $11.28 billion, ahead of the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion.
Nike has exceeded earnings-per-share estimates in each of the past eight consecutive quarters.
NKE Stock Price Activity: Nike shares were down 0.99% at $41.96 at the time of publication on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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