, /PRNewswire/ -- Hut 8 Corp. (Nasdaq, TSX: HUT) ("Hut 8" or the "Company"), an energy infrastructure platform integrating power, digital infrastructure, and compute at scale to fuel next-generation, energy-intensive technologies, today announced it will release financial results for the second quarter of 2026 before the market opens on August 4, 2026. The Company will host a conference call and webcast to review the results on the same day at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Conference Call and Webcast Details
Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Time: 8:30 a.m. ET
To register for the webcast, use the following link: https://app.webinar.net/aA6jEPYlwy5.
Supplemental Materials and Upcoming Communications
For important news and information regarding the Company, including investor presentations and timing of future investor conferences, visit the Investor Relations section of the Company's website, hut8.com/investors, and its social media accounts, including on X and LinkedIn. The Company uses its website and social media accounts as primary channels for disclosing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information.
About Hut 8
Hut 8 is an energy infrastructure platform integrating power, digital infrastructure, and compute at scale to fuel next-generation, energy-intensive technologies such as AI, high-performance computing, and ASIC compute. The Company develops, commercializes, and operates industrial-scale energy and data center infrastructure through a power-first, innovation-driven approach. For more information, visit hut8.com.
Vertical Aerospace ("Vertical" or the "Company") (NYSE: EVTL), a global aerospace and technology company that is pioneering electric aviation, today provided a
The iShares Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF (ISCG 0.69%) provides a low-cost, highly diversified approach to small-cap growth, while the Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Pure Growth ETF (RZG 0.86%) offers a more concentrated strategy.
Both funds target the small-cap growth segment but build their portfolios in different ways. ISCG follows a traditional market-cap-weighted index of small companies, while RZG screens the S&P SmallCap 600 for stocks with the strongest growth characteristics -- such as sales growth, earnings momentum, and price momentum -- and weights its holdings accordingly.
Snapshot (cost & size)MetricRZGISCGIssuerInvescoiSharesExpense ratio0.35%0.06%1-year return (as of July 9, 2026)38.84%27.53%Dividend yield0.42%0.57%Beta1.041.22AUM$135.9 million$1.0 billionBeta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-year return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield.
ISCG is significantly cheaper, with an expense ratio of 0.06%, compared to RZG’s 0.35%. ISCG also offers a slightly higher dividend yield of 0.57%, compared to RZG's 0.42% -- a modest edge for income-minded investors.
Performance & risk comparisonMetricRZGISCGMax drawdown (5 yr)(38.33%)(41.47%)Growth of $1,000 over 5 years (total return)$1,375$1,298What's insideLaunched in 2004, ISCG tracks a broad index of small-cap growth stocks. The fund has heavy concentrations in industrials and technology at 23.9% and 22.5%, respectively, as well as healthcare at 17.9%. With 933 holdings, it offers extensive diversification, minimizing individual stock risk. Its largest positions include Sterling Infrastructure (STRL 3.47%) at 0.8%, Okta (OKTA 6.89%) at 0.7%, and Guardant Health (GH 2.46%) at 0.6%.
RZG provides a narrower portfolio of 125 stocks, built from the S&P SmallCap 600 index. This index uses a growth-score methodology that favors companies with strong sales growth, earnings momentum, and price momentum. Its top sector allocations are healthcare at 25.1%, technology at 17.3%, and industrials at 16.4%. RZG’s approach leads to higher concentration than ISCG's, with top holdings including ACM Research (ACMR 2.87%) at 3.7%, Powell Industries (POWL 1.80%) at 2.0%, and Argan (AGX 8.32%) at 2.0%. RZG fund was launched in 2006.
For more guidance on ETF investing, check out the full guide at this link.
What this means for investorsThe choice between these two funds really comes down to how much an investor is willing to pay for the potential to outperform.
Cost is almost always a primary consideration when two funds target a similar corner of the market. ISCG's 0.06% expense ratio is about as cheap as small-cap investing gets -- on a $10,000 investment, ISCG charges roughly $6 a year, versus about $35 a year for RZG. Over long holding periods, that fee gap can compound meaningfully.
That said, RZG's recent outperformance isn't surprising given the type of stocks it holds. By concentrating on companies already showing strong sales and earnings momentum, growth-oriented funds like RZG tend to do well when those trends stay intact -- but that same concentration can cut both ways if momentum fades or a handful of its largest holdings stumble. ISCG's broader, market-cap-weighted approach spreads that risk across more than 900 companies, trading some upside potential for more diversified exposure to the small-cap growth space.
Investors who want the cheapest, most diversified way to own small-cap growth stocks may lean toward ISCG, while those comfortable with more concentrated bets on recent momentum, and willing to pay more for it, may find RZG's recent track record more appealing. As with any small-cap allocation, these funds are probably best used as a slice of a diversified portfolio rather than a core holding, given the added volatility that comes with smaller companies.
Every company needs working capital, particularly to get things going. Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX 4.51%) is no exception.
The timing and scope of SpaceX's most recent fundraising, however, are a bit of a red flag. We're not talking about SpaceX's mid-June initial public offering, which raised proceeds of $85.7 billion when demand exceeded the $75 billion worth of stock it originally intended to issue.
Surprise! Without nearly as much fanfare as that surrounding the record-breaking June 12 IPO, late last month SpaceX issued $25 billion in bonds with maturity dates extending all the way out to 2056. The primary purpose of these funds was to fully pay off its bridge loan, which stood at $20 billion as of the end of March. Any remaining proceeds were earmarked for "general corporate purposes," although nearly $10 billion more in other debt-based financing remains on the company's balance sheet.
Image source: Getty Images.
This begs the (not entirely rhetorical) question: Why didn't the company just sell enough stock less than two weeks earlier to eliminate this debt entirely? It certainly wasn't a lack of demand, or pricing power, or availability of shares to issue. SpaceX is now a $2 trillion behemoth, with only a tiny fraction of the company now publicly traded.
More to the point, perhaps the bond sale should have been disclosed -- even if only as a possibility -- prior to the public offering, particularly given that SpaceX is going to remain in the red for a while and is likely to raise more money in the foreseeable future. That was the case when CEO Elon Musk was turning Tesla into an electric vehicle titan, anyway.
That's not the only curveball SpaceX shareholders were thrown since its IPO, either. Shortly after its initial public offering, the company also disclosed its intent to acquire Anysphere, the parent company of AI coding specialist Cursor, for $60 billion, payable in stock. Again, it's material information that could have been -- and arguably should have been -- disclosed to investors prior to the public offering, given how few shares are now issued and outstanding.
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Ordinary shareholders aren't in charge There's nothing illegal, atypical, or untoward about any of it. Companies acquire other companies. Young companies are often unprofitable at the beginning and need cash, which is often supplied by the sale of stock at a bargain relative to that ticker's long-term potential.
The worry here, rather, is the lack of transparency that's already evident in just the first few days of SpaceX's existence as a publicly traded entity. It hasn't yet earned the leeway with investors to make a major acquisition at a price three times last year's revenue. The company's not yet deserving of the right to simply turn a bridge loan into a long-term debt burden that could be difficult for the unprofitable outfit to service with actual operating profits anytime soon.
Yet, that's exactly what's happened.
Shareholders should be hoping this sort of unilateral, unchecked decision-making doesn't remain the norm. Given that Musk controls over 80% of total shareholder voting rights, however, there's little that investors could do if it does.
As Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ: SPCX) stock opened Monday, July 13, at a new lower low since hitting the all-time high (ATH), analysts at TrendSpider, an AI-powered market analysis platform, signaled a bearish outlook.
In an X post on 12, the platform noted that the SpaceX stock price chart could be in the early phase of breaking out of a descending triangle. The analyst at TrendSpider argued that SPCX stock has fallen below the horizontal support of the falling wedge, signaling a downtrend.
SpaceX stock price chart. Source: TrendSpider After closing Friday trading at $145.30, SpaceX stock traded around $143.77 during Monday’s pre-market trading session. As such, sellers of SPCX stock have been outnumbering existing buyers, thereby increasing post-IPO (Initial Public Offering) selling pressure.
The analyst supported the bearish technical breakout by citing the company’s low revenue relative to its market capitalization. Notably, SpaceX recorded $18 billion in revenue and a market capitalization of approximately $1.9 trillion at press time.
Meanwhile, the analyst argued that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) posted revenue of $747 billion in 2025 and had a market cap of about $2.6 trillion at the time of reporting.
Wall Street’s SpaceX stock price forecast 2026 Despite the near-term bearish outlook for SpaceX stock, 27 Wall Street analysts surveyed by TipRanks have set an average price target of $245.96 over the next 12 months. The majority of these analysts assigned a Buy rating for SpaceX shares, thus the average ‘Strong Buy’ rating.
SpaceX stock price forecast. Source: TipRanks Although the company’s midterm technicals have signaled a potential further correction, Wall Street analysts have pointed out its strong fundamentals. For instance, the company was added to the Nasdaq-100 index, which tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq.
Additionally, SpaceX’s AI ventures, including its recently acquired Cursor, have helped the company attract investors seeking exposure to AI stocks. As such, SpaceX stock could rebound in the long haul, fueled by increased revenue from its AI segment.
In a dazzling display of market enthusiasm last month, Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX 4.51%) completed the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history. Debuting at $150 per share, SpaceX was instantly propelled into the ranks of the world's most valuable companies.
The historic event reflected genuine excitement over the company's ability to lower the cost of putting satellites into orbit through reusable rocket technology, its expanding Starlink constellation, and an emerging role in the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape.
Supported by synergies from xAI and Cursor, these factors painted a picture of a company uniquely positioned to dominate not only launch services but also the data and connectivity layers that underpin modern society.
Image source: Getty Images.
SpaceX's post-IPO reality check Within a month of going public, SpaceX's stock has now slipped below its $150 debut price, and the company's market capitalization has contracted by roughly $1 trillion from its highs. At the post-IPO peak, SpaceX commanded a $2.9 trillion market value -- a valuation that was undoubtedly stretched relative to its current revenue and inconsistent profitability.
Much of the selling pressure stemmed from a sober reassessment of the company's business model, which features heavy capital expenditures (capex) required to increase Starship production and Starlink deployments. Some investors also have doubts about the speed and scale at which the company can complement existing product lines with meaningful AI-driven revenue.
SPCX Market Cap data by YCharts
This fueled a typical post-IPO pattern: Momentum investors and day traders who had piled into the IPO for a quick pop began locking in gains, amplifying downward pressure and leaving unsuspecting investors holding the bag.
Tailwinds pointing toward a recovery in SpaceX stock The same dynamics that fueled SpaceX's original surge could be the recipe for a credible path to recovery. SpaceX's vertically integrated model -- managing rocket design, manufacturing, launch cadence, and satellite production -- gives the company an edge when it comes to cost discipline and product iteration speed. This reduces the need to rely on external suppliers and accelerates the timeline for routine, low-cost heavy-lift capability with Starship.
Recent AI-focused agreements with Anthropic, Google Cloud, and Reflection further strengthen the bull case. These partnerships carry more than headline value; they provide tangible validation that established AI developers recognize the value of collaborating with SpaceX.
By combining Starlink's global, low-latency network with AI model deployment and edge computing, these collaborations help counter the notion that SpaceX cannot evolve into a serious player in AI infrastructure. Instead, they position the company as a core connectivity backbone for distributed AI workloads.
Against this backdrop, AI is becoming a natural extension of SpaceX's core segments: advancing space exploration through intelligent autonomy, expanding connectivity through low-orbit satellites, and ultimately reshaping telecommunications networks that legacy terrestrial carriers struggle to replicate.
How should you approach investing in SpaceX stock?
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Investors weighing a position in SpaceX stock should exercise measured patience rather than hoping for a quick rebound. Although the pullback from its post-IPO highs has created a more attractive entry point, sentiment rarely reverses on a dime after such a dramatic retreat.
Operational milestones will be required before broader investor confidence returns, especially from institutional capital. These catalysts are more realistically recognized during the course of several quarters than in mere weeks.
Adopting a multiyear investment horizon makes the most sense. During this time frame, the compounding effects of lower launch costs, global broadband expansion, and AI-enabled services have a better chance of materially increasing revenue and expanding profit margins. The prudent way to invest in SpaceX stock is through dollar-cost averaging, committing capital across market cycles rather than attempting to time a bottom and going all-in. This strategy mitigates the inherent volatility that comes with investing in a high-growth, capital-intensive business.
Short-term traders will likely continue driving price swings. In the long run, however, the current environment favors disciplined investors who remain focused on SpaceX's gradual transformation over those who make speculative bets on an imminent turnaround.
Three members of the U.S. House of Representatives purchased SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) shares within days of the company’s record-breaking initial public offering (IPO).
The trades occurred as the stock surged following its market debut, drawing interest because of the lawmakers’ committee assignments and SpaceX’s extensive business ties with the federal government.
Notably, SpaceX completed the largest IPO in history on June 12, 2026, pricing shares at $135 and raising about $75 billion. The stock surged to close near $192.50 on June 15 and briefly climbed as high as $225 in the following days.
Now the Congress trade disclosures show that Rep. Daniel Meuser reported a dependent child’s purchase of between $15,001 and $50,000 in SpaceX stock on June 15 at an average price of $192.50.
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On the same day, Rep. John McGuire bought between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of shares at the same price.
Three days later, Rep. Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. purchased between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of SpaceX stock at an average price of $185.
The purchases came just days after SpaceX’s historic IPO, when strong investor demand pushed the stock well above its $135 offering price.
SpaceX stock trades source of interest The trades are of interest because all three lawmakers serve on committees with oversight of areas relevant to SpaceX.
For instance, Meuser sits on the House Financial Services Committee, while McGuire and Cisneros are linked to the House Armed Services Committee.
SpaceX is a major U.S. government contractor through its launch business and Starlink satellite network, both of which have growing defense and national security applications.
While the STOCK Act permits lawmakers to own and trade individual stocks if transactions are disclosed, critics argue that investments in companies affected by federal policy can create potential conflicts of interest.
The purchases were made near SpaceX’s early post-IPO highs. Since then, the stock has been volatile as investors reassess its valuation, growth outlook, and upcoming insider share unlocks. By press time, SPCX was valued at $145.
SpaceX one-month stock price chart. Source: Finbold SpaceX’s market debut pushed its valuation into about $2 trillion, making it one of the world’s most valuable public companies.
However, analysts have cautioned that sustaining those levels will depend on continued growth in launches, Starlink, and future space ventures.
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Apple sues OpenAI, former employees. (00:13) This strike could cost Hyundai. (01:32) Wall Street is craving CAKE. (02:31)
This is an abridged transcript.
Apple (AAPL) filed a civil suit against OpenAI (OPENAI) and former employees for misappropriation of trade secrets on Friday.
The case comes as OpenAI is also in the midst of pursuing its own line of AI-powered devices.
Apple alleged OpenAI used former and current Apple employees to steal confidential hardware designs and confidential information of unreleased technologies, processes and products. It also alleges that the misconduct was orchestrated by OpenAI's leadership.
Apple is seeking an injunction to prevent two former employees from destroying any evidence and to return all confidential information. The company is also suing for monetary damages related to the alleged thefts.
This story took a twisted turn over the weekend when Elon Musk jumped in. He called Sam Altman “Scam Altman” again. Altman fired back saying ″[T]here are a lot of benchmarks that suggest 5.6 sol is the best model in the world right now, but the most reliable way to tell is that elon is obsessed with me again,” Altman wrote on X.
5.6 sol is OpenAI’s new model.
Hyundai Motor (HYMTF) workers began a three-day partial strike on Monday after wage negotiations with management ended without an agreement.
The union is demanding larger bonuses, higher wages, and stronger job protections.
The production workers at South Korea's largest automaker are walking off the job two hours before the end of their scheduled shifts through Wednesday. Union leaders are set to meet Thursday to determine their next steps while continuing negotiations with management.
The union stated, "Management has not made a responsible decision regarding our core demands, and has also betrayed the members' expectations regarding additional wage-related items," adding that they would "go their own way."
According to Yonhap News, the strike could result in production losses exceeding 18.7B won per hour, which is about $12M.
Hyundai said it has limited room to increase compensation after operating profit declined about 19.5% last year.
Shares of The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) hit record high with the help of a price target hike from Citi Research.
The restaurant’s newly launched mobile app, expanding rewards program, and its free slice promo all “may be enough to return Cheesecake Factory to positive traffic,” analyst Jon Tower said in his note to clients.
Tower also cites a more engaging social media strategy, a growing relevance with younger customers, and the re-emergence of shopping malls as an entertainment destination will also amplify a firmer same-store sales trajectory.
Citi Research views The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) as a Buy with a new price target of $90, an 18% increase from the prior PT.
What’s Trending on Seeking Alpha
SK Hynix slides 12% in Seoul as investors lock in post-Nasdaq profits
SpaceX sheds 35% from post-IPO peak one month after record debut
Which companies reporting earnings this week show the strongest bullish signals?
Stock index futures are lower before the opening bell. Tensions in the Middle East intensified after Washington and Tehran exchanged military strikes.
Crude oil is up 2.1% at $72. Bitcoin is down 1.1% at $63,000. Gold is down 1.2% at $4,071.
The FTSE 100 is little changed and the DAX is up 0.3%.
One stock on the biggest movers list: SK Hynix (SKHYV) -10% - Shares slid after the company's record-breaking $26.5B Nasdaq ADR debut.
Economic calendar:
12:30 pm Fed's Christopher Waller speaks on the economic outlook in conversation before the New York Association for Business Economics.
Meta's massive Hyperion data center project in rural Louisiana is getting much bigger and costlier, with a big assist from the state's government.
The company said in a blog post on Monday that the site in Richland Parish, Louisiana — home to what will be Meta's largest data center — will be a 5GW facility and cost over $50 billion. That's higher than the $27 billion figure that was revealed in October, when Meta and Blue Owl Capital formed a joint venture to help with the buildout and management of the facility, originally planned as a 2GW data center.
As Meta pursues its multi-hundred-billion-dollar buildout artificial intelligence buildout, the company and hyperscaler rivals Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon are taking advantage of tax rebates and energy deals being offered by states that are fighting to get a piece of the AI boom.
In late 2024, Louisiana Republican Governor Jeff Landry signed into law a 20-year sales tax exemption for data centers built before 2029 as part of an effort to court Meta in the state, CNBC previously reported. Landry is set to host a press event on Monday in Baton Rouge.
"I'm a business guy," Landry told CNBC in an interview last year. "What we know is when you look at the overall comprehensive package here, it's in the black. For local government, and the state, and how you get to the bottom line is irrespective to me."
Meta is expanding the project as it seeks to build out enough AI infrastructure to meet demand. The announcement comes after Meta had its best week on the stock market since early 2024 following the release of two major AI models under the leadership of AI chief Alexandr Wang, head of Meta Superintelligence Labs. Investors have been looking for the company to start showing returns on its outsized AI investments.
Meta said in Monday's post that the company "pays the full costs of the energy, water, and related infrastructure the data center uses so consumers aren't paying the cost." Since construction of the Louisiana data center began in December 2024, local businesses have received over $1.6 billion in contracts from Meta, the company said.
"With this expansion, we will be investing over $1 billion in local infrastructure improvements, including roads, water and wastewater systems," Meta said in the post. The company didn't announce a financial partner for the expansion.
When the project began, the estimated price tag was $10 billion. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post roughly six months later that the supercluster, named Hyperion, would be "able to scale up to 5GW over several years." Unlike traditional data centers, superclusters are packed with graphics processing units and related cutting-edge hardware tailored for AI workloads.
"Meta Superintelligence Labs will have industry-leading levels of compute and by far the greatest compute per researcher," Zuckerberg wrote.
A Meta spokesperson told CNBC that the Hyperion project should reach 2GW by 2030, but there's no timeline for when the full 5GW project will be completed.
People walk behind a logo of Meta Platforms company, during a conference in Mumbai, India, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
CompaniesJuly 13 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O), opens new tab said on Monday its data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, will expand to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity, with investment in the project increasing to more than $50 billion.
The planned data center, known as Hyperion, was earlier projected to deliver more than 2 gigawatts of compute capacity to support training of large language models, the technology behind tools such as ChatGPT.
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The announcement comes as environmental and consumer groups increasingly push back against the energy-intensive buildout.
U.S. environmental law group Earthjustice's request to investigate the financing of Meta's Louisiana data center project was denied earlier this year.
Earthjustice had said the financing arrangement could ultimately shift project costs unfairly onto utility customers if Meta walks away from the project before the utility recovers its investment.
Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump had said the company's data center project would cost $50 billion.
Since breaking ground in December 2024, local Louisiana businesses have received more than $1.6 billion in contracts from Meta, the company said.
With this expansion, the company said it plans to invest over $1 billion in local infrastructure improvements, including roads, water and wastewater systems.
Meta, like its Big Tech peers, has been pouring billions of dollars into AI data centers and computing power, as demand continues to outstrip supply.
The company has pledged to invest $600 billion in U.S. infrastructure and jobs over the next three years, as it builds out massive data centers to power CEO Mark Zuckerberg's aggressive bets on AI agent technologies.
Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Devika Syamnath
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
The company scaled up the size of its massive data-center project in Northeast Louisiana to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity and said it would now cost more than $50 billion.
New Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Officer Greg Abel appears to have chosen his favorite stock early in his tenure.
Since Abel took over for Warren Buffett as the new chief of Berkshire Hathaway, the company has plowed more than $20 billion into Alphabet (GOOG 0.29%) (GOOGL 0.50%) through open-market purchases and direct equity offerings.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is now the fourth-largest position in Berkshire's portfolio when combining both Class A and Class B shares it owns.
Abel appears to have chosen his horse early. Does Alphabet achieve the Rule of 40?
Image source: Alphabet.
What is the rule of 40? There are many financial metrics that investors use to assess the health and future prospects of a stock, and one is the Rule of 40. The Rule of 40 is used by investors to assess how well a company balances growth and profitability and is frequently applied to software companies.
The formula looks at revenue growth, typically on a year-over-year basis, combined with net profit margin. If the total is above 40%, then a company has done a good job of growing profitably. If it's below 40%, the company may not be investing efficiently.
Companies that do achieve the Rule of 40 can receive higher valuations. It's also important to note that investors don't have to use net profit margin. They can use operating margin, free-cash-flow margin, or EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin.
How Alphabet performs We can assess Alphabet's performance using the Rule of 40, based on profit margin, operating margin, and free-cash-flow margin.
I looked at Alphabet's year-over-year revenue growth on a constant-currency basis and reviewed all metrics for the full year 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 to assess both the most recent numbers and the 12-month performance. The large conglomerate generated 15% annual revenue growth in 2025 and 19% in the first quarter of 2026.
Rule of 4020251Q26Operating margin47%55%Profit margin48%76%Free-cash-flow margin33%28% Data source: Alphabet.
As you can see, when it comes to operating margin and profit margin, Alphabet passed the Rule of 40 with flying colors. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a huge boon to companies like Alphabet, with their cloud businesses benefiting immensely.
Alphabet has also rolled out its own large language models (LLMs), which many investors believe are competitive with perceived leaders like Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's ChatGPT.
The area where Alphabet has struggled is when using free-cash-flow margin in the Rule of 40. Perhaps even more concerning is that this metric declined in the first quarter of 2026.
This actually makes sense, given Alphabet's capital expenditures (capex) and the company's capex forecast as it continues to build out AI infrastructure. Alphabet has projected between $180 billion and $190 billion in capex this year.
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Some Wall Street analysts even foresee the company's free cash flow turning negative during the next few years.
Just one data point Investors should understand that many financial metrics are used to evaluate a company's health. You should never lean too heavily on any individual metric as the basis for an investment; instead, use the sum of your research to inform your decision-making.
In this case, the Rule of 40 indicates that Alphabet's AI initiatives and investments have so far paid dividends. But the struggles with free-cash-flow margin also indicate the company may be overspending on AI, a concern that many investors have with other AI hyperscalers, too.
Many investors, including Abel, likely expect the investments to pay off, but if you also start to see Alphabet struggle with the Rule of 40 when using operating and profit margins in the formula, that would be a major red flag about these AI infrastructure investments.
Over the last few years, large language models (LLMs) have burst onto the scene with unprecedented speed. What once felt like science fiction -- chatbots that can reason, write, code, and converse almost like humans -- has become an everyday reality reshaping industries from software development to healthcare. The race to build the most capable systems has drawn billions in capital investment and brought newfound attention to the world's largest technology companies.
Among the frontrunners stand ChatGPT from OpenAI, Claude from Anthropic, Grok from xAI, and Perplexity's search-augmented models. These companies are backed by heavyweight investors: Microsoft has poured enormous resources into OpenAI, Amazon (AMZN 0.73%) and Alphabet (GOOGL 0.50%) (GOOG 0.29%) have each made substantial commitments to Anthropic, while xAI represents Elon Musk's ambitious push into the field of frontier AI.
The competition is fierce, the stakes are immense, and the questions on everyone's mind are simple yet electric: Which model is actually the best and on what basis should it be judged -- raw intelligence, reliability, speed, or something else? Elon Musk just offered his own pointed answer. And ironically enough, he didn't say Grok!
Image source: The White House.
Giving credit where credit is due In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk delivered a striking admission: He says he was wrong about Anthropic and now views the company as the clear current leader in AI. Musk went on to admit that no other lab has released a model that matches the quality of Anthropic's Mythos/Fable system.
While openly praising a competitor may seem counterintuitive, Musk has a history of lending support to rivals. As he made sure to remind his nearly 241 million X followers, Tesla open-sourced its patents and made its Supercharger network available to other electric vehicle (EV) developers.
Just about any public remark by Musk is influential. In this specific instance, it signals that even a competitor is willing to acknowledge superior performance when it appears, rather than dismissing it. In an AI landscape defined by rapid iteration and enormous capital outlays, such candor can easily influence talent flows and partnership decisions.
By highlighting his own history of enabling rivals, Musk appears aligned with the idea that competitive fair play is a choice rather than a weakness. More directly, he declares Anthropic's Mythos/Fable as the most capable model currently available.
Anthropic's success is great news for Amazon and Alphabet Anthropic's rise carries tangible upside for both Alphabet and Amazon, which have each made meaningful investments in the company. Beyond equity stakes, the relationship runs deeper through infrastructure.
Anthropic relies on custom silicon designed by both hyperscalers -- Amazon's Trainium and Inferentia chips for training and inference workloads, and Google Cloud's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for custom workloads. Moreover, Anthropic trains and runs its models across both Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
When an AI lab scales its models, it consumes incrementally more compute. This demand benefits the cloud providers supplying the underlying hardware and platform services. In other words, greater adoption of Trainium, Inferentia, and TPUs increases utilization of specialized capacity. This translates into higher cloud revenue and improved operating leverage for AWS and GCP.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Why Amazon and Alphabet stock both have upside Amazon first invested in Anthropic in September 2023. Back then, AWS revenue was growing 13% year over year and the segment boasted an operating margin of 30%. Meanwhile, Alphabet initially invested in Anthropic in February 2023. Around this time, GCP was growing 28% annually and had just reached profitability. Today, AWS revenue is growing 28% year over year, and the operating margin has expanded to 38%. Sales from GCP are now accelerating 63% year over year while this division maintains operating margins in excess of 30%.
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Despite the visible acceleration in Amazon's and Alphabet's cloud revenues and the expansion of operating profit in those businesses, the compression in forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples for both Amazon and Alphabet suggests that the maximum upside from Anthropic is not yet fully reflected in their current stock prices.
GOOGL PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
While current tailwinds from AI-related cloud demand are clearly contributing to results, smart investors realize that they largely capture today's workloads. Anthropic's next-generation models -- such as Mythos 2 -- will almost certainly require more compute than previous generations. This step-change in scale creates layered demand for custom silicon and cloud capacity throughout the AI infrastructure era.
While the accretive impact from Anthropic's existing integrations in AWS and GCP is already helping revenue growth and profit margins, the longer-term trajectory remains largely ahead as successive leaps in model capability and the resulting compute hunger manifest. For investors, this means the most substantial rewards from Anthropic's progress are still to come rather than already priced into Amazon and Alphabet.
Amazon (AMZN 0.73%) is reportedly exploring external sales of its custom AI chips, creating a potential new catalyst beyond AWS. If Trainium and Inferentia gain traction, Amazon could challenge Nvidia's pricing power while expanding its role in AI infrastructure. But execution risk, software ecosystems, and free cash flow pressure still matter.
Stock prices used were the market prices of July 1, 2026. The video was published on July 12, 2026.
Rick Orford has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick Orford is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link, they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
NEW YORK, July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and certain of the Company’s senior executives for securities fraud after its significant stock drop resulting from potential violations of the federal securities laws.
If you invested in Microsoft, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/microsoft-class-action-lawsuit.
Key Details of the Microsoft ($MSFT) Class Action:
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 11, 2026Alleged Misconduct: Securities fraud alleging that Microsoft misled investors regarding its Azure cloud computing platform and AI chatbot CopilotStock Drop: January 28, 2026 – 10% Stock DropCourt: U.S. District Court for the Western District of WashingtonAction: Contact BFA Law to discuss your rights Investors have until August 11, 2026 to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts securities fraud claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors in Microsoft common stock. The class action is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. It is captioned City of St. Clair Shores Police and Fire Retirement System, et al., No. 26-cv-02071.
Why is Microsoft Being Sued for Securities Fraud?
Microsoft is a multinational technology company that develops software, cloud services, and devices. In recent years, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform named Azure has been Microsoft’s main growth driver. A key reason for Azure’s recent growth is Microsoft’s multi-billion-dollar investment into AI, including the development of its own generative AI chatbot named Copilot.
According to the complaint, during the relevant period, Microsoft consistently touted Copilot’s best-in-class capabilities, which purportedly drove widespread and growing user adoption. Copilot’s apparent success allowed Microsoft to report surging Azure-related revenue.
As alleged, in truth, Copilot suffered from severe functionality issues that caused user adoption to decline and put Microsoft’s Azure revenue at risk.
Why did Microsoft’s Stock Drop?
On January 28, 2026, Microsoft announced disappointing 2Q 2026 financial results and that Azure growth had slowed suddenly. Microsoft also allegedly revealed for the first time that the number of Microsoft 365 Copilot premium customers totaled only 15 million, materially below analyst estimates.
This news caused the price of Microsoft common stock to decline $48.13 per share, or 10%, from $481.63 per share on January 28, 2026, to $433.50 per share on January 29, 2026.
Additionally, on February 3, 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported in an article titled “Microsoft’s Pivotal AI Product Is Running Into Big Problems” that severe challenges and functionality issues had plagued Copilot, causing the application to lose market share. Specifically, The Wall Street Journal reported that “[c]onfusing brand positioning and interoperability problems have frustrated users.”
Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/microsoft-class-action-lawsuit.
What Can You Do?
If you invested in Microsoft, you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.
All representation is on a contingency fee basis; there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.
BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named “Elite Trial Lawyers” by the National Law Journal, “Litigation Stars” by Benchmark Litigation, among the top “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” by Lawdragon, “Titans of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” by Law360 and “SuperLawyers” by Thomson Reuters.
Most recently, The Legal 500 awarded BFA the most client satisfaction accolades of any plaintiff’s securities litigation law firm, with clients noting: “[t]here is no better service provider in the practice area,” “[t]he interest of the client is always front and center,” and “[t]here isn’t a better firm in this space.” One testimonial described the firm as “nimble and entrepreneurial,” with a “relentless focus on adding value for clients.”
Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.’s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.
For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com.
Microsoft (MSFT +0.15%), Alphabet (GOOG 0.29%)(GOOGL 0.50%), Amazon (AMZN 0.73%), and Meta Platforms (META +6.16%) are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into data centers, chips, and other infrastructure needed to support rising artificial intelligence (AI) adoption among consumers and enterprises. Nvidia (NVDA +3.90%) is raking in profits on its graphics processing unit (GPU) AI chips. Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA +0.22%) and Apple (AAPL 0.37%) have taken different approaches to AI.
But no matter the business model, every company speaks the language of free cash flow (FCF), the cash profits remaining after funding operations and capital expenditures (capex). You can divide a company's FCF by the stock's market cap to calculate its FCF yield (the higher the percentage, the better).
From there, investors will see just how AI spending is impacting each of these "Magnificent Seven" stocks and identify which stocks you may want to buy and which to avoid. Here is how they currently rank.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Meta Platforms Free-cash-flow yield: 2.8% Social media giant Meta Platforms is vying for the top spot despite investing aggressively in AI data centers. Part of the reason for that is the stock's recent slide on concerns over Mark Zuckerberg's ambitious AI spending plans. Meta's core advertising business continues to flourish and help fund all this spending. That said, it may not be enough to keep up with the company's planned 2026 capex of $125 billion to $145 billion. If not, Meta's FCF yield could easily drop.
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2. Apple Free-cash-flow yield: 2.8% Critics initially saw Apple as a loser in the AI race. It whiffed on Apple Intelligence and then decided against building out its own AI infrastructure. Now, Apple is sitting pretty with over $129 billion in trailing-12-month FCF. Its new AI-capable Siri will use Alphabet's Gemini models, keeping Apple's cash flow primarily intact. It's fair to wonder about Apple's long-term growth prospects, given how little it has invested in its own AI to date. For now, it might be the best value in the Magnificent Seven.
3. Microsoft Free-cash-flow yield: 2.5% Microsoft's ongoing slide has helped lift its FCF yield despite its massive AI expenditures. The company looked brilliant at first for partnering with OpenAI, but that relationship has soured somewhat, and its Copilot AI app hasn't taken off as hoped. Fortunately, Microsoft's software products have helped fund massive data center investments, and AI adoption is fueling booming demand for Azure cloud services. In the end, Microsoft may not need the best AI products to profit from its sticky enterprise relationships.
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4. Nvidia Free-cash-flow yield: 2.3% As the leader in data center GPU chips, Nvidia has arguably been the biggest AI winner to date. Nvidia's cash flow has exploded over the past several years. The only reason the stock's FCF yield isn't higher is that Nvidia's share price keeps going up, too. Nvidia isn't the cheapest, but it probably has the best near-term growth prospects on this list. Analysts expect the company's revenue to soar even higher as Vera Rubin, Nvidia's next-generation AI chip architecture, begins shipping later this year.
5. Alphabet Free-cash-flow yield: 1.5% Google's parent company has been one of the most aggressive spenders in the AI race. Although its enormous advertising business helps foot the bill, the aggressive spending has weighed on the stock's FCF yield. Alphabet believes its ambitious AI investments will pay off over time, with ample growth opportunities across Gemini, Google Cloud, and Waymo. The stock just isn't offering that upside at a very appealing price right now.
6. Tesla Free-cash-flow yield: 0.5% Elon Musk is pivoting Tesla away from its roots in electric vehicles (EVs) toward autonomous vehicles and humanoid robotics. That future sounds exciting, but EVs still pay the bills for the time being. That places Tesla toward the bottom of this list with a paltry FCF yield of just 0.5%. It's not that Tesla can't deliver on Musk's goals, but paying such a high valuation to find out makes the stock riskier than some of the other Magnificent Seven names.
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7. Amazon Free-cash-flow yield: -0.1% As the world's leading cloud services company, Amazon has almost no choice but to expand data center capacity to compete in AI and protect its market share. That's tricky because Amazon's e-commerce segment operates on thin margins and doesn't produce much cash flow to help fund AI spending that could reach upward of $200 billion this year alone. The spending has cratered Amazon's FCF, putting it last on this list with a negative FCF yield. Investors must hope that Amazon can monetize these investments over the coming years.
Nvidia stock's NASDAQ:NVDA latest movement has little evidence that the AI infrastructure boom is losing momentum.
NVDA jumped 4% on Friday to close at $210.96, extending their weekly gain to about 8.3% as investors returned to the AI-chip leader following a period of relative underperformance.
The advance left the stock roughly 13% higher in 2026, based on its adjusted year-end close of $186.27.
Yet a warning from Taiwan has drawn attention to the financial conditions supporting that growth.
Central bank governor Yang Chin-long told lawmakers on July 9 that AI was driving genuine economic expansion, but excessive borrowing could encourage speculative investment and overbuilding.
Taiwan matters because TSMC sits at the centre of the supply chain, serving Nvidia and other global technology companies.
Yang did not declare that AI demand was about to collapse, nor did he single out Nvidia’s valuation.
His concern was that technology companies could borrow too aggressively and expand before the financial returns from their investments were fully established.
“AI is driven by real growth potential,” Yang said at the parliamentary hearing, while warning about over-expansion caused by excessive leverage.
That distinction goes directly to Nvidia’s business model. The company supplies the processors, networking equipment and complete systems used to build AI data centres.
Large cloud operators must spend heavily on chips, buildings, electricity and cooling before those assets produce meaningful revenue.
For Nvidia, greater hyperscaler spending supports near-term sales.
But if that expenditure creates weaker cash flow, rising debt or disappointing returns, customers could eventually delay data-centre projects, keep existing hardware running for longer or increase their use of cheaper custom processors.
Taiwan has therefore highlighted a financial-cycle risk rather than a product weakness.
Nvidia could remain the dominant AI-chip supplier and still suffer if the overall infrastructure budget grows more slowly.
Bank of America remains firmly bullish. Analyst Vivek Arya reiterated a Buy rating and $350 price target, arguing that investors are undervaluing Nvidia’s pricing power.
Nvidia can “sustain” roughly 65% to 70% of AI capital spending over the long term, Arya said in a research note.
He expects the Rubin platform to command higher prices than Blackwell, helping Nvidia maintain gross margins in the mid-70% range despite rising memory costs.
Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider has also maintained a Buy rating, with a $285 target.
Schneider noted that Nvidia traded at less than 14 times his forecast for 2027 earnings, a valuation he considers compelling given the company’s growth.
Even after allowing for market-share gains by custom AI chips and rival processors, Goldman expects Nvidia’s revenue to climb about 55% to $635 billion next year.
The message from both banks is that competition is real, but Nvidia’s valuation already reflects a considerable amount of anxiety about it.
Empowering software and systems to make autonomous, split-second decisions can add $15.7 trillion in global economic value by 2030. Although Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom are garnering headlines, neither is a threat to Nvidia's dominance in AI data centers.
On Thursday afternoon, Netflix will report second quarter earnings. Its next Engagement Report, covering the first half of 2026, matters more than the earnings print.
The reason is a scoreboard Netflix once dominated. YouTube captured 13.4% of all television viewing in the United States in April, according to Nielsen's Gauge. Netflix has slipped from 8.8% in January to 7.9% in April. The company that taught Wall Street to worship engagement is no longer winning at it.
That gap explains a run of announcements that has puzzled much of the industry. In recent weeks Netflix has signed the Stokes twins, YouTube creators with 160 million subscribers. It has brought over food creator Meredith Hayden and Sean Evans's Hot Ones, and struck partnerships with publishers including Condé Nast, Hearst and People Inc., for exactly the kind of short, inexpensive video those brands usually post to YouTube.
The prevailing read is that Netflix is having an identity crisis, chasing YouTube downmarket and diluting the most valuable brand in premium streaming. That read misses the mechanism. Netflix is not chasing YouTube's audience. It is chasing YouTube's ad load.
The Arithmetic Has No Slack In ItNetflix expects advertising revenue to double this year to roughly $3 billion, a target management reaffirmed in its first quarter shareholder letter and again at its May Upfront, where the company said Netflix with ads now reaches more than 250 million global monthly active viewers, up from 190 million only months earlier. That is a reach figure, based on members who watch at least 1 minute of ads on Netflix each month and Netflix's estimate of the number of people watching in each household, not a count of subscriptions. As I wrote in May, the burden is on Netflix to convert reach into impressions advertisers will pay a premium for.
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Advertising revenue is a simple chain. Revenue requires impressions. Impressions require time spent. And the viewing concentrated around Netflix's biggest titles is showing signs of strain. Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw found that second-season viewing fell more than 50% for Running Point and The Four Seasons, and more than 70% for Beef, comparing the first four weeks of each season using Netflix's own viewing data.
Meanwhile the cost of that slate keeps rising. Netflix has guided to content amortization growth of roughly 10% in 2026, weighted toward the first half of the year. Netflix is absorbing faster content amortization at the exact moment its advertising business needs more viewing hours.
Creator content, podcasts and magazine-brand clips offer one answer to that tension. They are cheap, they are abundant, and every additional hour of viewing is an hour that can carry commercials. This is not simply programming strategy. It is inventory manufacturing.
The Measurement WarWatch the language on Thursday as closely as the numbers. Expect a version of the argument that not all engagement is created equal, and that the passive scroll of a YouTube or an Instagram should count for less than intentional Netflix viewing. The groundwork is already laid: in the first quarter, management pointed to a member-quality metric at an all-time high rather than raw hours.
There is real irony here. That is the argument linear television networks made for two decades as their audiences leaked away, and Netflix built its empire dismantling it. When a company starts redefining the scoreboard, it is usually because the score has turned against it. Nielsen itself is recalibrating its methodology this year, so even the scoreboard is contested.
What To Watch Thursday Three things will tell the story. First, the next Engagement Report's total view hours against the first half of 2025, whether it lands Thursday or shortly after. Management said in April that hours were growing at a rate similar to last year. If the report leans on quality-weighted language instead of raw totals, that is a tell.
Second, the advertising commentary. Any hedging on the $3 billion figure changes the investment case, because ad growth is the narrative supporting a stock down roughly 40% from its 2025 high. The company guided to $12.57 billion in second quarter revenue, up 13.5%, on a 32.6% operating margin. Netflix beat its own first quarter forecast, but shares fell roughly 10% when that second quarter guidance came in below Wall Street expectations. This print carries more weight than usual.
Third, funnel language. A growing warehouse of low-cost video makes a free tier easier to imagine. Pluto TV proved the free-to-paid pipeline for Paramount+, and the market has already voted for ads: ad plans accounted for 78% of net additions at streaming services that offer them over the past nine quarters, according to Antenna. Netflix is building the shelf space to sell against, whether or not the gate ever opens fully.
The Cost Of More InventoryNone of this means the strategy is wrong. Netflix's churn was back to 2% by May 2025 after briefly rising following a price increase, according to Antenna, and its subscribers have proved unusually patient. Diversifying away from expensive originals could free capital for international programming and sports, categories Netflix increasingly uses to drive acquisition.
But there is a cost. Netflix has been called the Costco of streamers, premium in a curated, warehouse-scale way. Stocking the shelves with creator clips and magazine video moves it toward something closer to Walmart. Netflix is the only major streamer with no parent company to subsidize that transition. Amazon sells goods, Apple sells hardware, YouTube has Google. Netflix has only the subscription and the ad unit.
Thursday's earnings, and the Engagement Report that follows, will show whether the inventory strategy is producing the hours the ad business requires. The identity question can wait. The arithmetic cannot.
Mastercard is reportedly considering a sale of its U.K. retail payments business Vocalink.
That’s according to a report Monday (July 13) from the Financial Times (FT), which says this move comes as Mastercard fields concerns about a “strategically critical” asset being under American ownership.
These discussions, the report added, come at a pivotal moment for Vocalink, which provides the systems upholding key parts of the British financial infrastructure. The company is readying itself to seek a contract to build a new payments platform for the U.K..
The report cites two sources briefed on the discussions, who say talks are at a very early stage. A spokesperson for Mastercard declined to comment when reached by PYMNTS.
Mastercard acquired a majority stake in Vocalink from a group of 18 British banks in 2016 for 700 million pounds. One source told the FT that a deal for a 51% stake in the company could be worth roughly 400 million pounds ($535 million).
According to the report, one potential buyer could be DeliveryCo, a new company backed by many of the U.K.’s top banks and payment firms that was established to handle the procurement and funding of the next iteration of the country’s retail payment system.
However, the sources told the FT DeliveryCo is still setting up its funding and governance arrangements, meaning a deal with Mastercard is unlikely to happen before next year.
The FT notes that the potential sale is happening amid concerns by England’s government and central bank about the lack of competition for Mastercard and Visa, which handle the wide majority of retail payments in the U.K.
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority in May announced it had launched an investigation into PayPal, Mastercard and Visa to determine whether the three companies engaged in what it called “anti-competitive conduct linked to the funding and usage of PayPal’s digital wallet.”
All three companies have said they would cooperate with the FCA’s probe.
Another source of unease is President Donald Trump’s willingness to intervene in the overseas operations of U.S. companies, the FT report added, citing the example of the White House’s recent export controls on artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
PYMNTS Intelligence has collaborated with Mastercard on research reports, including the recent “The Cross-Border Opportunity: What Global Sourcing by US SMBs Means for Payment Providers.” It found that the wall between corporate operations and small and medium-sized business (SMB) workflows has begun to grow more porous.
“As international sourcing becomes routine rather than exceptional, America’s small businesses are inheriting enterprise finance responsibilities ranging from foreign exchange management to supplier liquidity and cross-border cash flow,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this month.
MIAMI, July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wrap Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: WRAP) (“WRAP” or the “Company”), a global public safety technology company delivering intelligent detection, orchestration and response solutions designed for the next generation of autonomous public safety, today announced that it has entered the third quarter of 2026 with momentum, driven by international orders from customers in Brazil and India, which management believes provides an early commercial foundation for the quarter and reflects growing worldwide demand for the Company’s non-lethal public safety technologies.
The orders reflect continued expansion across the Company’s international markets and represent commercial activity already secured as WRAP entered the quarter — independent of the increased inbound interest the Company has experienced following the recent landmark Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) ruling classifying the BolaWrap® 150 as an instrument of restraint rather than a firearm or an “any other weapon.”
Management believes the convergence of expanding international adoption, repeat customer demand, and a more favorable regulatory environment positions WRAP for what could be one of the Company’s most significant quarters to date.
Momentum from International Orders to Open Q3
WRAP received international orders totaling approximately $1.2 million to open the third quarter. In Brazil, distributors placed orders on behalf of two public safety agencies, and a distributor in India placed an additional order. These orders were booked as WRAP entered the third quarter, with the associated revenue expected to be recognized in the period.
These bookings underscore continued international adoption of the BolaWrap 150. Management believes repeat purchasing activity across the Company’s international base is particularly meaningful, as it reflects customers moving beyond initial evaluations to expand deployments following operational experience with the product.
Landmark ATF Ruling Removes a Longstanding Regulatory Barrier
On June 15, 2026, the ATF issued Ruling 2026-2, formally classifying the BolaWrap 150 as an instrument of restraint rather than a firearm or an “any other weapon” (AOW). The ruling supersedes prior ATF classifications and, in management’s view, removes a longstanding federal classification that previously complicated procurement, distribution, and adoption in certain markets.
Management believes the decision may simplify procurement, policy adoption, and deployment while further differentiating BolaWrap from traditional pain-compliance and higher-force alternatives. In the days following the ruling, WRAP has experienced increased interest from both domestic and international customers and believes the decision could represent an important catalyst for future adoption.
The Company further believes the ruling provides meaningful federal recognition of BolaWrap’s role as an instrument of restraint while reinforcing WRAP’s broader mission to equip officers with a non-lethal option designed to create time, distance, and tactical advantage before encounters escalate to higher levels of force.
International Commercial Momentum
WRAP continues to expand commercial activity internationally through new customer acquisitions, repeat orders, product evaluations, and a growing distribution network.
Brazil has emerged as one of WRAP’s fastest-growing international markets, with recent follow-on orders supporting broader deployment across multiple public safety agencies and additional evaluations that management believes may advance toward procurement.
In India, a distributor order booked to open the third quarter establishes a commercial foothold in one of the world’s largest public safety markets and may create additional opportunities across South Asia.
More broadly, WRAP continues to build its international channel through experienced regional partners that provide localized sales, training, deployment, and long-term customer support.
2026 Growth Outlook
WRAP reaffirms its previously stated target of approximately 100% year-over-year revenue growth in 2026, reflecting management’s current expectations regarding international adoption, repeat customer activity, improving regulatory conditions, and a growing commercial pipeline.
“We are entering the third quarter with meaningful commercial momentum already in place,” said Scot Cohen, Chief Executive Officer of WRAP. “Opening the quarter with significant international orders is encouraging on its own, but what matters more is what those orders represent — repeat customers expanding their deployments and new markets adopting our technology, independent of the additional interest generated by the ATF’s decision.”
“For years, BolaWrap operated under a federal classification that did not reflect what the product actually is. The ATF’s recognition of BolaWrap as an instrument of restraint removes a real barrier and aligns federal policy with how agencies use our technology every day. Combined with expanding global demand, we believe this may position WRAP for a strong second half of 2026, and reinforces our conviction that WRAP is building a differentiated public safety technology platform positioned for long-term growth.”
About Wrap Technologies, Inc.
Wrap Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: WRAP) a global leader in innovative public safety technologies and non-lethal tools, delivering cutting-edge technology with exceptional people to address the complex, modern day challenges facing public safety organizations.
WRAP’s complete public safety portfolio includes the non-lethal BolaWrap® 150 device, Wrap Reality® immersive training platform, WrapVision™ body-worn camera system, WrapTactics™ training programs, and next-generation C-UAS solutions like the 1KC Kinetic Anti-Drone Cassette, all of which supports the Company's mission to provide safer, scalable, and cost-effective technologies for public safety, defense, and critical infrastructure markets.
With a growing demand for non-lethal tools and techniques to create time, distance and tactical advantage in non-criminal calls, Wrap's BolaWrap® 150 incorporates a multi-sensory distraction of sight and sound as a first response, followed by a non-lethal restraint if further escalation is required. This approach reduces the risk of injury to officers, subjects, and the community.
Wrap's BolaWrap® 150 solution is intended to provide law enforcement with a safer choice for nearly every phase of a critical incident. This innovative, patented device deploys a multi-sensory, cognitive disruption to expand the pre-escalation period and gives officers the advantage and critical time to manage non-compliant subjects before resorting to higher-force options. The BolaWrap® 150 is not pain-based compliance. It does not shoot, strike, shock, or incapacitate, instead, it helps officers strategically operate pre-escalation on the force continuum, reducing the risk of injury to both officers and subjects. Used by over 1,000 agencies across the U.S. and in 60 countries, BolaWrap® is backed by training certified by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST), reinforcing Wrap's commitment to public safety through cutting-edge technology and expert training.
WrapReality™ VR is a fully immersive training simulator to enhance decision-making under stress.
As a comprehensive public safety training platform, it provides first responders with realistic, interactive scenarios that reflect the evolving challenges of modern law enforcement. By offering a growing library of real-world situations,
WrapReality™ is intended to equip officers with the skills and confidence to navigate high stakes encounters effectively, which we believe leads to safer outcomes for both responders and the communities they serve.
WrapVision is a body-worn camera and evidence management system built for efficiency.
Designed for efficiency, security, and transparency to meet the rigorous demands of modern law enforcement, WrapVision captures, stores, and helps manage digital evidence, ensuring operational security, regulatory compliance, and enhanced video picture quality and field of view.
Trademark Information
WRAP, the Wrap logo, BolaWrap®, Non-Lethal Response™, WrapReality™, Wrap Training Academy, and Non-Lethal Response™ are trademarks of WRAP Technologies, Inc., some of which are registered in the U.S. and abroad. All other trade names used herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective holders.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements - Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expect," "anticipate," "should", "believe", "target", "project", "goals", "estimate", "potential", "predict", "may", "will", "could", "intend", and variations of these terms or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the Company’s expected revenue recognition from booked orders; the Company’s revenue growth target for 2026; the expected benefits, effects, limitations, and implications of ATF Ruling 2026-2; customer interest, demand, adoption, deployments, evaluations, procurement activity, commercial momentum, market adoption, and expansion of WrapShield; the Company’s ability to develop, integrate, manufacture, sell, and support current and future products and technologies; the intended performance, benefits, and safety outcomes of the Company’s products and training solutions; expected market opportunities; and the Company's planned future products, technologies, integrations, product designs, and related benefits. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: the Company's ability to maintain compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market's listing standards; the Company's ability to successfully implement training programs for the use of its products; the Company's ability to manufacture and produce products for its customers; the Company's ability to develop sales for its products; market acceptance of existing and future products; changes in law enforcement budgets, policies, procurement practices, and use-of-force standards; the availability of funding to continue to finance operations; the complexity, expense, and time associated with sales to law enforcement and government entities; the lengthy evaluation and sales cycle for the Company's product solutions; product defects; litigation risks from alleged product-related injuries; risks of government regulations and changes in regulatory classifications or interpretations; the impact resulting from geopolitical conflicts and any resulting sanctions; the ability to obtain export licenses for countries outside of the United States; the ability to obtain patents and defend intellectual property against competitors; the impact of competitive products and solutions; and the Company's ability to maintain and enhance its brand, as well as other risk factors mentioned in the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events, or changes in its expectations.
Patent filing follows recent RCL metallurgical testwork and further strengthens Temas' growing critical minerals technology platform
Highlights
Temas has initiated the filing of a new process patent covering the extraction of chromium from complex ore bodies using its proprietary Regenerative Chloride Leach ("RCL") mixed chloride leaching technology.
Patent application, entitled "Chloride-based process for Chromium extraction," establishes a priority filing date of July 10, 2026, further expanding Temas' growing RCL intellectual property portfolio.
Chromium is a critical material essential to the stainless steel, aerospace, defence, energy infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, with a global market valued at approximately US$23.9 billion in 2024.
Filing follows the recent completion of the Company's previously announced RCL vanadium metallurgical patent filing demonstrating the ability of the RCL Platform Technology to be adapted across multiple critical minerals, as well as its strong applicability to Temas' 100% owned La Blache Project, which hosts high grade of vanadium over broad intervals.
The chromium extraction process has the potential application to Temas' wholly owned La Blache and Lac Brule titanium-vanadium-iron projects, as well as third-party chromium bearing deposits, concentrates and mine waste.
Expands the commercial opportunity for the RCL Platform through future technology licensing, strategic processing partnerships and deployment across global mining operations.
Builds on Temas' portfolio of eleven granted metallurgical process patents and reinforces the Company's strategy of becoming a leading provider of environmentally responsible critical minerals processing technology.
The Company continues to advance confidential discussions and third-party metallurgical testing with potential commercial partners regarding deployment of the RCL platform across multiple critical minerals.
Why this matters to Investors - Every New RCL Application Expands the Company's Commercial Opportunity
Expands the value of the RCL technology platform. Each new patent broadens the commercial reach of Temas' proprietary RCL process beyond titanium and vanadium into another strategically important critical mineral, increasing the potential for future licensing, processing partnerships and additional revenue opportunities.
Adds to Temas's growing portfolio of high-value intellectual property.
With eleven granted patents and new patent applications for both vanadium and chromium, Temas continues to strengthen the competitive moat around its metallurgical technology, creating long-term strategic value that extends well beyond its mineral assets.
Positions Temas to benefit from increasing demand for secure Western critical mineral supply chains.
Chromium is essential to stainless steel, aerospace, defence, energy infrastructure and advanced manufacturing. By developing environmentally responsible extraction technology applicable to both its own projects and third-party deposits, Temas is building a scalable technology business aligned with growing global demand for critical minerals.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / July 13, 2026 / Temas Resources Corp. ("Temas" or the "Company") (ASX:TIO)(CSE:TMAS)(OTCQB:TMASF)(FSE:26P0) is pleased to announce that, following the recent completion of the Company's Regenerative Chloride Leach ("RCL") metallurgical testwork announced earlier this year, the Company has initiated the filing of a new process patent covering the extraction of chromium from complex ore bodies using mixed chloride leaching technology.
The patent application, entitled "Chloride-based process for Chromium extraction" establishes a priority filing date of July 10, 2026, providing intellectual property protection for a novel process developed through the Company's ongoing metallurgical research and development activities.
Chromium is classified as a critical mineral in numerous Western countries due to its importance in defence, aerospace, energy infrastructure and advanced manufacturing. Approximately 85-90% of chromium production is consumed in the manufacturing of stainless steel, while high-purity chromium metal is increasingly required for aerospace superalloys, military armour systems, turbine components, hydrogen technologies and emerging battery applications. According to Grand View Research, the global chromium market was valued at US$23.9 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach approximately US$34.5 billion by 2030 (Source: Grand View Research, Chromium Market Size, Share & Trends Report, 2025), reflecting continued demand growth by infrastructure investment, electrification, and defence manufacturing.
Tim Fernback, President & Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"The filing of this patent is another important step in transforming Temas from a critical minerals developer into a global clean metallurgical technology company. Every new patent strengthens our competitive position and builds long-term value in our technology licensing business. This growing global market for chromium metal further highlights the commercial significance of developing proprietary environmentally responsible chromium extraction technologies such as the Temas' RCL platform. As demand accelerates for secure supplies of critical minerals such as chromium, we believe proprietary processing technologies like RCL will become increasingly valuable to miners seeking lower-cost, environmentally responsible extraction."
The new patent application builds upon the encouraging results generated from Temas' proprietary RCL metallurgical testing on its 100%-owned La Blache Titanium-Vanadium-Iron Project in Québec, Canada. The work further demonstrates the adaptability of the RCL technology platform across multiple critical minerals while expanding the Company's growing portfolio of proprietary processing technologies.
The Company believes that securing intellectual property protection remains a critical component of its strategy to commercialize the RCL technology through future licensing agreements, strategic partnerships and deployment across global mineral projects. The Temas RCL technology platform is comprised of successfully granted US and Canadian metallurgical process patents for the extraction of Gold, Iron, Titanium, Nickel and Rare Earth Elements using its proprietary mixed-chloride leaching technology.
In addition to this new patent applications for the extraction of Chromium and the recently announced patent filing for Vanadium extraction, which is directly applicable to the Company's La Blache Project in Québec, Canada. The RCL platform is supported by eleven granted patents across multiple critical minerals and jurisdictions:
Gold - granted (United States)
Gold - granted (Canada)
Iron - granted (United States)
Iron - granted (Canada)
Iron - granted (India)
Titanium - granted (United States)
Titanium - granted (Canada)
Nickel - granted (United States)
Nickel - granted (Canada)
Rare Earth Elements - granted (India)
Rare Earth Elements - granted (Canada)
Vanadium - application filed, priority date 8 July 2026 (new)
Chromium - application filed, priority date 10 July 2026 (new)
Expanding the RCL Intellectual Property Platform
The RCL technology platform continues to evolve beyond its original titanium applications into a broad hydrometallurgical process capable of recovering multiple critical minerals from complex ores, concentrates and mine waste.
The Company's intellectual property strategy is focused on protecting novel metallurgical processes that can be commercialized through:
Technology licensing;
Joint venture opportunities;
Strategic processing partnerships;
Proprietary processing of Temas' wholly-owned mineral assets.
The filing of "Chloride-based process for Chromium extraction" represents another significant addition to Temas' expanding portfolio of proprietary RCL technologies.
No representations or warranty, express or implied, is made by the Company that the material contained in this announcement will be achieved or proved correct. Except for the statutory liability which cannot be excluded, each of the Company, its directors, officers, employees, advisors, and agents expressly disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy, fairness, sufficiency or completeness of the material contained in this announcement and excludes all liability whatsoever (including in negligence) for an loss or damage which may be suffered by any person as a consequence of any information in this announcement or any effort or omission therefrom. The Company will not update of keep current the information contained in this announcement or to correct any inaccuracy or omission which may become apparent, or to furnish any person with any further information. Any opinions expressed in the announcement are subject to change without notice.
ABOUT TEMAS RESOURCES
Revolutionizing Metal Production
Proprietary IP. Global Licensing. Titanium & Critical Minerals.
Temas Resources Corp. (ASX:TIO)(CSE:TMAS)(OTCQB:TMASF)(FRA:26P0) is a technology-driven critical minerals company advancing a dual-business model built around proprietary processing innovation and strategic mineral ownership. The Company's patented Regenerative Chloride Leach (RCL) technology platform delivers significant operational cost reductions - validated at up to 65% lower than traditional processing - while dramatically reducing energy use and environmental impact.
Temas' RCL process is the foundation of its technology licensing and partnership business, enabling global mining and materials companies to adopt sustainable, high-margin metal extraction methods across a range of critical minerals including titanium, vanadium, nickel, and rare earth elements.
Complementing its technology division, Temas also owns 100% of two advanced titanium-vanadium-iron projects in Québec, Canada - La Blache and Lac Brûlé - which are strategically positioned to feed directly into the Company's proprietary processing platform, creating a fully integrated mine-to-market supply chain for Western metals.
Through this combination of innovative IP commercialization and resource ownership, Temas Resources is positioned to deliver scalable, low-carbon solutions that strengthen Western critical-mineral independence and create long-term value for shareholders.
Benefits the ORF - RCL Technology:
The RCL platform technology involves the hydrometallurgical mineral extraction of concentrates, whole ores, slags and tailings to enhance recovery of critical metals, battery metals, Platinum Group Minerals ("PGMs"), precious and base metals and Rare Earth Element ("REE") recovery at materially higher through-yields and lower capital and operating costs than many of the conventional approaches that are in use traditionally. This novel RCL technology is ideally suited to treat increasingly complex ores in an environmentally sensitive manner.
Pilot Testing Complete: The Company has completed a pilot test of approximately 1 ton of material from its La Blache TiO2 mineral property yielding 88 kgs of a 99.8% pure TiO2 commercial grade product.1
Validated Cost Reduction: A significant cost reduction of over 65%2 ,3 is validated for TiO2 processing using the RCL platform technology (e.g., reagent recycling, potentially lower energy use, optimized recovery etc.). These fundamental process efficiencies are expected to translate into economic advantages when applying the platform to Nickel or other target minerals hosted in complex ores.
Environmental Performance: The closed-loop design and high reagent recycling rates are core to the RCL platform, irrespective of the target mineral. Over 69% lower operating costs compared to conventional processing due to its core features operating at near ambient temperatures.[3] This means the reduced environmental footprint and enhanced ESG profile are benefits that extend to ores and minerals previously noted, not just TiO2.
High Recovery Potential: Just as we've demonstrated high-quality, 99.8% TiO2 product from pilot testing1 the RCL platform is engineered for high recovery and purity of all target metals. Our metallurgical expertise focuses on optimizing these recoveries and maximizing margins for each specific mineral.
RCL results in a quicker and more complete liberation of the target metals using atmospheric pressure and lower temperatures than competing methods and improves the selectivity and efficiency of subsequent solvent extraction steps. Management believes that this novel metallurgical process can be applied to many complex resource deposits worldwide, enhancing both extraction and recovery for the operator.
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "expect", "estimate", "objective", "may", "will", "project", "should", "predict", "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements
Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company cannot give any assurance that they will prove correct. Since forward looking statements address future events and conditions, they involve inherent assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of assumptions, factors and risks. These assumptions and risks include, but are not limited to, assumptions and risks associated with mineral exploration generally and results from anticipated and proposed exploration programs, conditions in the equity financing markets, and assumptions and risks regarding receipt of regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Management has provided the above summary of risks and assumptions related to forward looking statements in this press release in order to provide readers with a more comprehensive perspective on the Company's future operations. The Company's actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive from them. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.
1 Source: Temas Resources Corp. "Pilot Scale Evaluation of Temas La Blache Ilmenite - Final Report PRO 21-16," 24 June 2022.
2 These metallurgical test results and cost-reduction data were first reported in the Company's Canadian market announcement dated 13 April 2021, titled "Temas Resources Acquires 50 % of Green Mineral Process Developer ORF Technologies Inc."
3 The cost-reduction figure is supported by independent evaluation conducted by the Natural Resources Research Institute (University of Minnesota, 2017) and subsequent pilot-scale validation by ORF Technologies Inc., as detailed in Temas Resources news releases of 2021 and 2022.
Also Named One of Fortune's Best Workplaces in New York™ for the Third Consecutive Year
, /PRNewswire/ -- W. P. Carey Inc. (W. P. Carey, NYSE: WPC), a leading net lease REIT specializing in corporate sale-leasebacks, build-to-suits and the acquisition of single-tenant net lease properties, is proud to announce it has been Certified™ by Great Place to Work® in the U.S., the Netherlands and the U.K.
W. P. Carey Earns 2026 Great Place to Work Certification™ in the U.S., the Netherlands and the U.K. In addition, W. P. Carey was selected as one of the Best Small and Medium Workplaces in New York by Fortune for the third consecutive year. The Fortune Best Workplaces in New York™ list is highly competitive and determined by an analysis of over 155,000 survey responses from employees at eligible Great Place to Work Certified™ companies.
"These recognitions belong to our employees, whose dedication and enthusiasm make W. P. Carey a truly special place to work," said Jason Fox, Chief Executive Officer and President, W. P. Carey. "Earning Great Place to Work Certification in all three countries in which we have offices —the U.S., the Netherlands and the U.K.—is especially meaningful, as it underscores our commitment to fostering an environment where employees feel valued, supported and connected to our culture, no matter where they are."
Results from the 2026 certification survey highlight that 96% of global respondents said W. P. Carey is a great place to work—significantly higher than the average company benchmark. 96% of global respondents are also proud to tell others they work at W. P. Carey and feel they work in an inclusive environment that welcomes differences.
For more information on W. P. Carey's culture, employee programs and benefits, read our 2025 Corporate Responsibility Report.
W. P. Carey Inc.
W. P. Carey ranks among the largest net lease REITs with a well-diversified portfolio of high-quality, operationally critical commercial real estate, which includes 1,703 net lease properties covering approximately 185 million square feet as of March 31, 2026. With offices in New York, London, Amsterdam and Dallas, the company remains focused on investing primarily in single-tenant industrial, warehouse and retail properties located in the U.S. and Europe, under long-term net leases with built-in rent escalations.
www.wpcarey.com
Institutional Investors:
Peter Sands
1 (212) 492-1110
[email protected]
Individual Investors:
W. P. Carey Inc.
1 (212) 492-8920
[email protected]
Warren Buffett last year prepared to vacate his spot in the driver's seat at Berkshire Hathaway and hand over the steering wheel to Greg Abel. But before he did so, he bought a few new stocks -- and one of them was UnitedHealth Group (UNH 1.64%), a down-but-not-out health insurance leader. As CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett added the stock to his portfolio in the second quarter of the year.
At the time, UnitedHealth was struggling with a number of challenges, but Buffett likely viewed it as a strong recovery story, particularly considering the company's market leadership: UnitedHealth is the country's biggest health insurer.
Earlier this year, though, Abel, in his first quarter as Berkshire Hathaway CEO, decided to cash out on this healthcare giant. He sold the entire position, or 5,039,564 shares. UnitedHealth previously represented 0.6% of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio.
Now you may be wondering whether this stock, among one of Buffett's last stock picks as CEO, has reached its potential -- or if the stock is a steal at its current valuation. Let's find out.
Image source: Getty Images.
Buffett buys, Abel sells First, let's consider why Buffett may have bought and why Abel may have sold. We don't know the exact reasons, as these investors only declare their trades publicly but aren't required to offer further details. Considering Buffett's investing focus on buying quality companies at reasonable or even bargain prices, we might deduce that he applied this idea when picking up the shares.
Buffett bought UnitedHealth in the second quarter, a time when valuation dropped sharply.
UNH PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
The billionaire probably liked this price tag, along with UnitedHealth's strong moat or competitive advantage. The company dominates the U.S. health insurance market and has two enormous pillars -- the UnitedHealthcare insurance unit and the Optum healthcare services business. It would be very difficult for a rival to copy this model and unseat the market leader.
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Meanwhile, UnitedHealth was making clear moves to spur recovery. The company, which struggled with increased patient use of healthcare and higher healthcare costs, cut certain plans and adjusted pricing, for example. UnitedHealth also invested in artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline certain processes and gain efficiency. And all of this has been progressively bearing fruit, as we've seen in recent earnings reports.
UNH Revenue (Quarterly) data by YCharts
Potential reasons for Abel's move But at the start of this year, Abel decided to part ways with UnitedHealth. Again, we don't know the reasons behind his move. It may have simply been to free up more cash for other stocks that Abel aimed to include in the portfolio. Depending on the exact timing of Buffett's buy and Abel's sell, UnitedHealth could have delivered a gain of more than 20% to Berkshire Hathaway. (This is just an example of what might have happened -- we don't know the exact dates of the buys and sells, so we can't be sure of the return.)
UNH data by YCharts
In any case, the move doesn't necessarily mean Abel doesn't like the stock or that it isn't right for your portfolio. It's important to keep in mind that professional investors often make moves to support a broader strategy -- so a "sell" doesn't always suggest the fund manager no longer believes in the stock's potential.
With this in mind, has UnitedHealth reached its maximum today? Or is the stock a steal?
At 23x forward earnings estimates, the stock is more expensive than when Buffett added it to the portfolio.
But, it's still cheaper than it was in the past -- and right now we might consider that revenue growth prospects are improving. This is considering the recent aggressive moves UnitedHealth has made to recover and favor growth moving forward.
All of this means that UnitedHealth may not be an absolute steal, but it remains reasonably priced. And that makes it a great healthcare stock to buy today and hold onto for the long term as this recovery story continues to unfold.
NEW YORK, July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that it is investigating Barry Diller’s bid to buy MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM). MGM is incorporated in Delaware.
Barry Diller is a member of MGM’s board of directors. People, Inc. (“People,” f/k/a/ IAC, Inc.), a company that Diller founded and controls, is MGM’s largest single stockholder. On June 1, 2026, People made an unsolicited bid to buy the remaining MGM stock for $48.30 per share.
If you are a current shareholder of MGM, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/mgm-resorts-investigation.
Key Details of the MGM ($MGM) Investigation:
Investigation Overview: Breaches of Fiduciary Duty in connection with Barry Diller’s offer to acquire the remaining stock of MGM for $48.30 per shareAction: Contact BFA Law to discuss your rights Why is the MGM Transaction being Investigated?
As a director, Diller owes fiduciary duties to MGM and its stockholders. People also recently entered a governance agreement with MGM that gave People the right to designate two MGM directors going forward. Because Diller “stands on both sides” of the proposed deal, and because other MGM fiduciaries could potentially receive benefits that other stockholders do not receive, these facts create a create conflicts of interest under Delaware law. If MGM and Diller reach an agreement, they must comply with Delaware’s strict requirements for “cleansing” these conflicts and ensuring the deal is fair to MGM’s stockholders.
In a news release on June 1, MGM stated that the board of directors “will carefully review and consider the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of the Company and all of its shareholders.”
BFA is investigating whether the potential agreement complies with Delaware law.
If you are a current holder of MGM stock, you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.
All representation is on a contingency fee basis; there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.
BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named “Elite Trial Lawyers” by the National Law Journal, “Litigation Stars” by Benchmark Litigation, among the top “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” by Lawdragon, “Titans of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” by Law360 and “SuperLawyers” by Thomson Reuters.
Most recently, The Legal 500 awarded BFA the most client satisfaction accolades of any plaintiff’s securities litigation law firm, with clients noting: “[t]here is no better service provider in the practice area,” “[t]he interest of the client is always front and center,” and “[t]here isn’t a better firm in this space.” One testimonial described the firm as “nimble and entrepreneurial,” with a “relentless focus on adding value for clients.”
Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.’s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.
For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com.
SummaryAmerican International Group (AIG) is upgraded to buy, driven by undervaluation, improving insurance metrics, and a robust investment-grade balance sheet. AIG's combined ratio and margins are improving, with the analyst consensus forecasting +12.8% YoY EPS growth and 19 upward revisions. Dividend growth and safety are meaningful, with AIG leading its peer group in 5-year dividend growth and maintaining a conservative payout ratio. Key risks remain from outsized catastrophe events, but diversified assets and liquidity position AIG as both a growth and dividend idea. Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images
A Major P&C Insurer With +$41B in Market Cap, With Lots More Upside Potential American International Group (AIG) is on my radar again for a followup ahead of its upcoming Q2 earnings results, and
1.86K Followers
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.
PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $BMY #BMS--U.S. FDA Accepts Bristol Myers Squibb's New Drug Application for Mezigdomide in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma.
Artificial intelligence (AI) needs compute in order to develop and be put to use, and this has powered the share prices of chip designers from Nvidia to Advanced Micro Devices. They make the logic chips, such as graphics processing units (GPUs) and central processing units (CPUs), that fuel key AI tasks.
But logic chips aren't the only crucial ingredient in the AI story. Along with these, AI also requires memory and storage, elements provided by companies including Micron Technology (MU 1.05%), SK Hynix, and Sandisk (SNDK +3.10%). In fact, as AI platforms are now applied to real-world problems, the need for memory has become greater than ever.
All of this has buoyed the stock prices of these memory market leaders. Micron and Sandisk have soared nearly 700% and almost 4,000%, respectively, over the past year. And SK Hynix of South Korea just splashed onto the U.S. market, debuting on the Nasdaq on July 10. In their first day of trading, the American depositary receipts (ADRs) jumped 13%.
It's no surprise that investors now are asking: Will these memory giants continue to roar higher? History offers a strikingly clear answer.
Image source: Getty Images.
The importance of memory chips So, first, let's consider the path of these players and the general AI market environment. Micron, SK Hynix, and Sandisk each offer the various types of memory needed across devices and industries. Memory chips are found in everything from smartphones to laptops, so they are broadly used in consumer products -- and today, AI data centers have become massive memory chip customers, driving prices higher and supply lower.
All of this has been a boon to memory chip leaders, with demand so high that each of these players has seen tremendous growth in earnings and stock price. For example, in the recent quarter, Micron reported a 345% increase in revenue to $41 billion and data center gross margin of 87%. And the company expects tight supply to continue beyond 2027 amid high AI demand.
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SK Hynix and Sandisk have delivered similar messages as the data center demand for chips increased. And logic chip designers such as Nvidia have confirmed this pattern. Today, AI is shifting into the phase of agentic AI -- this is use of AI to handle real-world problems, and AI needs more and more memory and storage power to get the job done. So we actually could see an acceleration of memory demand in this stage of the AI growth story.
A cyclical past So does this mean memory stocks have much farther to run? Let's look to history for some clues. Memory stocks are cyclical: Demand rises, manufacturers increase output, supply returns, demand and prices decline.
Here's a look at Micron's stock price and revenue pattern during and following three of the last major memory cycles. The first is during the personal computing boom from 1993 through 1996.
MU data by YCharts
The next happened during the smartphone revolution, from 2016 through 2019.
MU data by YCharts
The following cycle, driven by remote work during the pandemic, spanned 2020 through 2023.
MU data by YCharts
Now, here's a look at Micron during the current cycle. The stock has come down from its highs, and some may argue that it has peaked.
MU data by YCharts
What might be next So the message is pretty clear: History shows that memory stocks have indeed been cyclical, with stock performance and revenue peaking, then going on for a period of declines. This could suggest that, after such enormous gains in revenue and share performance, we may be heading for the downward phase of the cycle. And if it isn't imminent, it could happen as the companies' manufacturing expansions result in greater supply over the next few years.
But it's important to keep in mind that the AI boom may be different from other periods we've encountered -- and that could alter the cycle in important ways. The downward phase may come much later, or it may not be as deep. And if one or both of those possibilities actually take place, revenue and stock performance might hold up much better than they did in the past. Considering the need for memory in agentic AI and in future AI phases such as robotics, this scenario could play out.
All of this means that, though history says memory companies like SK Hynix and Micron may be heading for a dip, it might not be as pronounced or long-lasting as it was in the past. And that's positive news for long-term investors, who don't mind waiting out any down periods.
NEW YORK, July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z, ZG) and certain of the Company’s senior executives for securities fraud after significant stock drops resulting from potential violations of the federal securities laws.
If you invested in Zillow, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/zillow-class-action-lawsuit.
Key Details of the Zillow ($Z, $ZG) Class Action:
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 10, 2026Alleged Misconduct: Securities fraud relating to Zillow’s allegedly anticompetitive agreement with Redfin CorporationLargest Alleged Stock Drop: February 11, 2026 – 16.54% Stock Drop on Class C shares; 17.13% Stock Drop on Class A shares.Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of WashingtonAction: Contact BFA Law to discuss your rights
Investors have until August 10, 2026 to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts securities fraud claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors in Zillow Class C and Class A common stock. The class action is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. It is captioned Breidert v. Zillow Group, Inc., et al., No. 26-cv-02016.
Why is Zillow Being Sued for Securities Fraud?
On February 6, 2025, Zillow entered into an agreement with Redfin through which Zillow became the exclusive provider of multifamily rental listings on Redfin’s platform and affiliate websites, including Rent.com. According to the complaint, during the relevant period, Zillow characterized the agreement with Redfin as a “partnership” that would provide Zillow exclusive access to Redfin’s advertising platform.
As alleged, in truth, under the terms of the agreement, Zillow paid Redfin $100 million to stop competing with Zillow, facilitate the transition of its multifamily rental advertising business to Zillow, and close the remainder of its business.
Why did Zillow’s Stock Drop?
On September 30, 2025, the FTC filed a complaint against Zillow and Redfin alleging violations of the federal antitrust laws. According to the FTC complaint, “Zillow and Redfin executed an unlawful agreement to remove competition from [the online rental marketplaces industry], starting with a $100 million payment to Redfin to exit the [Internet Listing Services] market.” In sum, the FTC alleged, “[t]his agreement is nothing more than an end run around competition on the merits with Redfin for customers…” This news caused the price of Zillow’s Class C and A common stock to decline 4.33% and 4.5%, respectively.
On February 10, 2026, Zillow’s CFO told investors that Zillow experienced increased legal expenses which “will result in approximately 200 basis points headwind to EBITDA margins in Q1.” On this news, the price of Zillow’s Class C and A common stock declined 16.54%, and 17.13%, respectively.
Finally, on May 7, 2026, Reuters reported that a “federal judge rejected [Zillow and Redfin’s] request to end a [FTC] lawsuit accusing them of illegally agreeing to suppress competition for online apartment rental listings.” This news caused the price of Zillow’s Class C and A common stock to decline 1.9% and 1.76%, respectively.
Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/zillow-class-action-lawsuit.
What Can You Do?
If you invested in Zillow, you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.
All representation is on a contingency fee basis; there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.
BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named “Elite Trial Lawyers” by the National Law Journal, “Litigation Stars” by Benchmark Litigation, among the top “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers” by Lawdragon, “Titans of the Plaintiffs’ Bar” by Law360 and “SuperLawyers” by Thomson Reuters.
Most recently, The Legal 500 awarded BFA the most client satisfaction accolades of any plaintiff’s securities litigation law firm, with clients noting: “[t]here is no better service provider in the practice area,” “[t]he interest of the client is always front and center,” and “[t]here isn’t a better firm in this space.” One testimonial described the firm as “nimble and entrepreneurial,” with a “relentless focus on adding value for clients.”
Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.’s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.
For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com.
Despite the AI bottleneck trade selling off in July, the S&P 500 refused to break. During this time, I added into 5 of my existing positions in the portfolio. I added to Meta (META), making it an 8% portfolio position, leveraging new AI cloud initiatives, model released and strong price action, with 24% upside to Wall Street targets. I also increased my stake in Mercado Libre (MELI) 6.5% allocation, capitalizing on accelerating revenue and attractive risk-reward, despite recent margin pressures and EPS misses.
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM 0.55%), the world's largest contract chipmaker, builds the most advanced processors on the planet for nearly everyone that matters, including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, and Apple. So when it reports second-quarter results this week, its numbers will say as much about those customers as about TSMC itself.
Here's what I'll be watching, and why each figure matters well beyond Taiwan.
Image source: Getty Images.
Why one company's report moves the whole complex Because TSMC manufactures the chips its customers design, its revenue is a direct measure of how many high-end processors are actually getting built, not just ordered. If Nvidia's accelerators and AMD's chips are flying out the door, it tends to show up in TSMC's factories first.
The setup is strong. In the first quarter of 2026, TSMC's revenue rose about 41% year over year to $35.9 billion, and its gross margin reached an impressive 66.2%.
Management then guided for second-quarter revenue of $39 billion to $40.2 billion, which would be roughly 32% growth from a year earlier. It has also said it expects full-year 2026 revenue to grow more than 30% in dollar terms, driven by AI and high-performance computing.
So TSMC heads into this report with real momentum. Is the AI build-out still accelerating, or is it finally starting to cool?
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434.54
3 numbers to watch on July 16 First, revenue and the next forecast. Watch whether second-quarter revenue lands at the high end of guidance, and pay even closer attention to the outlook for the third quarter. A strong forecast would signal that AI-chip demand is holding up into the second half of the year. A cautious one could be the first real crack. TSMC's forecasts have been reliable, so its own view of the next quarter carries real weight.
Second, gross margin. A 66% margin is remarkable for a company that runs factories, and it reflects genuine pricing power. But TSMC is ramping its cutting-edge 2-nanometer process, and brand-new manufacturing nodes are expensive early on. If margins hold near current levels, it tells you TSMC can manage early node costs without much margin pressure. Apple is reportedly expected to have its next iPHone chips built on that 2-nanometer process.
Third, the 2026 capital-spending plan. This may be the most important number of all. TSMC spent about $11 billion on capital expenditures in the first quarter alone, and its full-year plan is the industry's clearest signal of how much AI capacity is on the way.
That budget now runs into the tens of billions of dollars a year, rivaling the biggest spenders in all of tech. If management raises the outlook again, it is effectively betting that demand keeps climbing for years to come. If it holds the line, that caution would ripple across every AI chip stock.
Put it together, and TSMC's report is really a status check on the entire AI trade. Nvidia and AMD can't sell chips TSMC doesn't build, and Apple's next iPhone reportedly leans on TSMC's newest process. So, in a very real sense, TSMC's factories are the bottleneck for the whole AI hardware supply chain.
Strong numbers and a confident spending plan would reassure investors that the boom has room to run. Weak ones would land on the whole group at once.
So how should investors approach the stock heading into the report? Carefully. I wouldn't buy or sell TSMC on a two-day move around an earnings report, and predicting which way a single quarter breaks is a losing game.
But there's a bigger picture worth keeping in mind. At about $437 as of this writing, roughly 22 times expected earnings over the next 12 months, TSMC isn't valued nearly as aggressively as some of the AI names that depend on it. And it even pays a modest dividend, a rarity among AI-exposed chip stocks.
For long-term investors, TSMC looks like one of the more reasonable ways to own the AI build-out. July 16 is simply a chance to check whether the thesis is still on track, and I'll be watching the capital-spending line first.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., or TSMC, just reported a record month for revenue as demand for its chips soared — and analysts think there's more to come.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, but may initiate a beneficial Long position through a purchase of the stock, or the purchase of call options or similar derivatives in LMT over 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.
Náladu investorů zhoršuje další eskalace konfliktu mezi USA a Íránem, která tlačí vzhůru ceny ropy a vyvolává obavy z nových inflačních tlaků. Pozornost se zároveň soustředí na červnovou inflaci v USA, jež může ovlivnit očekávání ohledně dalšího postupu Fedu.
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SummaryCompaniesStrategy sold about $218 million in bitcoin this year to pay dividends and refresh its US dollar reserveAggregate DAT valuations fell below net asset value late last year, leaving many firms trading at discountsWeekly DAT trading volume peaked in August 2025 and hit a low in FebruaryNEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - A move by Michael Saylor's bitcoin stockpiling company Strategy (MSTR.O), opens new tab to authorize more bitcoin sales has once again shone a spotlight on a clutch of public crypto hoarding companies, which have been buffeted by falling token prices.
Strategy's shares briefly bounced on Friday after analysts blessed a plan announced late last month, which included a share repurchase program and authorized as much as $1.25 billion in bitcoin sales.
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The company, whose shares soared in late 2024 through most of last year before hitting two year lows last month, has already sold about $218 million in bitcoin this year to fund dividends and replenish its U.S. dollar reserves.
The sales have again raised questions about the viability of dozens of copycat "digital asset treasury" companies, or DATs, which boomed last year thanks to market exuberance over U.S. President Trump's crypto-friendly policies.
DATs offer investors crypto exposure through regulated public companies, and the ability to leverage returns. But the business model is highly sensitive to falling token prices, which can erode the value of their holdings, hamstring fundraising and undermine the leveraged returns that attract investors in the first place.
As bitcoin, the most widely-held cryptocurrency, has nosedived as much as 33% this year as markets have absorbed geopolitical tensions, surging oil prices and a Federal Reserve revamp under new chair Kevin Warsh, so too have the fortunes of these companies.
Here are four graphics detailing their rise and fall.
MARKET CAPITALIZATIONThe market capitalization of DAT companies peaked last July, when the crypto sector as a whole reached $4 trillion in market value, only to hit a trough in November after global trade fears sparked a record $19 billion liquidation of crypto positions.
DATs have been unable to stage a full recovery so far in 2026 as the crypto market has remained in the doldrums.
TOKEN HOLDINGS UNDERWATERMany DAT companies last year traded at a premium to their crypto holdings because investors believed they could use their access to equity and debt funding to purchase more tokens.
Starting late last year, the companies' aggregate market value relative to the net asset value of their crypto holdings - a metric known as mNAV - fell below 1, meaning the companies were trading at a discount to their holdings.
That's a major problem, because most DATs depend on their shares trading above their net asset value in order to attract new investors. Strategy's mNAV fell below 1 for the first time late last month.
DAT executives, though, have said their success will be rooted in their ability to make smart investing decisions and are looking for new ways to boost shareholder value, Reuters previously reported.
AGGREGATE WEEKLY TRADING VOLUMEThe aggregate weekly trading volume in DAT shares peaked in August last year, according to data from blockchain data provider Artemis Terminal, but has seesawed since. Weekly trading volume hit a low in February, after bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies sold off on the news Warsh would be nominated for Fed chair.
Analysts believe Warsh will push to shrink the Fed's balance sheet, a headwind for risk assets like cryptocurrencies as such a move would reduce financial system liquidity.
TOKEN HOLDINGSStrategy holds by far the most crypto, even after its bitcoin sales this year. BitMine Immersion Technologies, which hoards ether, the biggest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, has the second largest stockpile.
Along with Strategy, several other crypto treasury companies have sold a portion of their crypto holdings this year.
Nakamoto Inc, which refers to itself as a bitcoin operating company, sold about 5% of its bitcoin holdings in March and another approximately 600 bitcoin in June.
All the companies referenced here declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.
Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; editing by Michelle Price and Nick Zieminski
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Hannah Lang covers financial technology and cryptocurrency, including the businesses that drive the industry and policy developments that govern the sector. Hannah previously worked at American Banker where she covered bank regulation and the Federal Reserve. She graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park and lives in Washington, DC.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn., July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE: CXW) (“CoreCivic”) announced today that it is delivering an irrevocable notice to the holders of all of CoreCivic’s previously issued $250,000,000 original aggregate principal amount of 4.750% senior notes due 2027 (the “2027 Notes”) that CoreCivic has elected to redeem in full the 2027 Notes that remain outstanding on August 12, 2026 (the “Redemption Date”). The 2027 Notes were otherwise scheduled to mature on October 15, 2027. The 2027 Notes will be redeemed at a redemption price equal to 100.000% of the principal amount of the then outstanding 2027 Notes, plus the applicable “make-whole” premium specified in the indenture, as supplemented, governing the 2027 Senior Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the Redemption Date (the “Redemption Price”). As of July 13, 2026, the principal amount of the outstanding 2027 Notes was $238,468,000. CoreCivic intends to use cash on hand to fund the Redemption Price.
This press release shall not constitute a notice of redemption of the 2027 Notes.
About CoreCivic
CoreCivic is a diversified, government-solutions company with the scale and experience needed to solve tough government challenges in flexible, cost-effective ways. CoreCivic provides a broad range of solutions to government partners that help build safer, healthier, and more productive communities one person at a time through residential corrections, detention and reentry management, adjacent service offerings that include pharmaceutical, transportation, and alternatives to incarceration, and government real estate solutions. CoreCivic is the nation’s largest owner of partnership correctional, detention and residential reentry facilities, and one of the largest operators of such facilities in the United States. CoreCivic has been a flexible and dependable partner for government for more than 40 years. CoreCivic’s employees are driven by a deep sense of service, high standards of professionalism and a responsibility to help government better the public good. Learn more at www.corecivic.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements including statements regarding CoreCivic’s redemption of the 2027 Notes and its funding of the Redemption Price. These forward-looking statements may include words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “can have,” “likely,” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. Such forward-looking statements may be affected by risks and uncertainties in CoreCivic’s business and market conditions. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ are described in the filings made from time to time by CoreCivic with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and include the risk factors described in CoreCivic’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on February 20, 2026. Except as required by applicable law, CoreCivic undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements made by it to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Contact:Investors: Jeb Bachmann - Managing Director, Investor Relations - (615) 263-3024 Financial Media - David Gutierrez, Dresner Corporate Services - (312) 780-7204
SLINGERLANDS, N.Y., July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) today announced two transactions with Stream US Data Centers, LLC ("Stream"), advancing the Company’s previously announced strategic infrastructure optimization initiatives, which collectively target more than $275 million in liquidity improvement through a combination of asset monetization, release of restricted cash, and reduced maintenance expenses. In addition, Stream and Plug Power are now also actively exploring other opportunities for Plug to deploy its products into the data center industry. Plug previously announced in February 2026 that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its interest in the New York Gateway Project to Stream. As the parties continued to work toward satisfaction of the transaction's closing conditions, including applicable regulatory and project-related approvals, the parties agreed to restructure the transaction into a staged closing and to enter into a definitive agreement for the sale of Plug’s Graham, Texas Project.
Texas
Plug has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Graham, Texas Project, comprised of land and associated 164 MW of grid interconnection assets, to Stream for up to $76.5 million, with $50 million to be paid at closing and up to $26.5 million based on the load capacity that will be confirmed in the final interconnection agreement with the Texas utility. The closing is expected on or about July 31, 2026, subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions. The sale is also expected to enable the release of approximately $14 million of cash collateral currently supporting letters of credit/security payments, following the transfer of the applicable interconnection-related obligations and security arrangements to Stream. In total, this transaction is expected to provide up to approximately $90.5 million of total liquidity.
New York
Plug and Stream have amended the purchase and sale agreement for the Gateway Project as follows: (i) Stream's prior $6.5 million escrow deposit will be promptly released to Plug; (ii) Stream will make a new $10 million escrow deposit toward its purchase of land at the Gateway site; (iii) the closing provisions have been amended to enable the near-term sale of the land; and (iv) the long-stop closing date for the sale of non-land assets has been extended to March 31, 2027 to afford additional time for completion of the applicable New York State environmental and regulatory review processes and satisfaction of the remaining closing conditions. As amended, the purchase price is fixed at $142 million. Combined with a $5 million advance received earlier this year, Stream will have paid $21.5 million to Plug against the purchase price upon release of the escrow deposits described above. Plug will retain ownership of the substation and interconnection assets, along with a repurchase right over the land, until the second closing.
Liquidity
As of June 30, 2026, Plug held approximately $162 million of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, before giving effect to any proceeds from the transactions announced today. Together, the initial New York closing and the Texas transaction represent additional progress under Plug’s previously announced strategic infrastructure optimization initiative and are expected to deliver more than $80 million of near-term incremental liquidity. Additional initiatives under Plug’s previously announced strategic infrastructure optimization initiative, including further anticipated releases of restricted cash, are advancing and are expected to bring aggregate liquidity improvement of more than $275 million.
"Plug is appreciative of the continued collaboration and partnership with Stream Data Centers and is excited to position for closing in the near term. Monetizing these assets was a key part of our strategy this year, coupled with the continued improvements in margin and cash flows to fund the business. We look forward to sharing our results for the second quarter shortly and believe that we are on track with our financial goals for 2026. The improvement in margins, effective management of our liquidity, and the growth of our sales pipeline remain our critical focus." said Jose Luis Crespo, Chief Executive Officer and President of Plug Power.
About Plug Power
Plug is building the global hydrogen economy with a fully integrated ecosystem spanning production, storage, delivery, and power generation. A first mover in the industry, Plug provides electrolyzers, liquid hydrogen, fuel cell systems, storage tanks, and fueling infrastructure to industries such as material handling, industrial applications, and energy producers, advancing energy independence and decarbonization at scale.
With electrolyzers deployed across six continents, Plug leads in hydrogen production, delivering large-scale projects that redefine industrial power. The company has deployed more than 74,000 fuel cell systems and over 280 fueling stations and is the largest user of liquid hydrogen. Plug is rapidly expanding its generation network to ensure reliable, domestically produced supply, with hydrogen plants currently operational in Georgia, Tennessee, and Louisiana, capable of producing up to 40 tons per day.
Headquartered in Slingerlands, New York, Plug is driving innovation, strengthening American manufacturing, and creating high-quality jobs across the country. The company employs more than 730 people in New York, supporting approximately $69 million in annual payroll, and nearly 200 employees in Texas, representing more than $18 million in annual payroll. Across New York and Texas, Plug has deployed more than 6,200 GenDrive fuel cell-powered forklifts at 31 customer facilities, helping customers reduce electricity demand, avoid nearly 95,000 MWh of annual electricity consumption, prevent more than 33,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions each year, and eliminate approximately $164 million in electric infrastructure investments that would otherwise have been borne by utility customers and ratepayers. With employees and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities across the globe, Plug powers industry leaders including Walmart, Amazon, Home Depot, BMW, and BP.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's expectations, goals, plans, outlook or prospects, including expected gross proceeds and total proceeds from the transactions, the timing and likelihood of each closing, the anticipated receipt and amount of contingent consideration, the anticipated release of cash collateral, the anticipated aggregate liquidity improvement under the Company's strategic infrastructure optimization initiative, the Company's ability to execute its business strategy and achieve its financial goals for 2026, the Company's ability to pursue additional opportunities with Stream in the data center industry, the timing and outcome of New York State's environmental and regulatory review processes, the Company's preliminary and unaudited cash position as of second quarter of 2026, and other statements regarding future operating results, financial condition, performance, prospects, and opportunities, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections and the beliefs and assumptions of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the Company's ability to satisfy closing conditions and complete each transaction on the anticipated terms or at all; the risk that the New York State environmental and regulatory review process applicable to the Gateway Project site is delayed or does not result in the determinations necessary to permit the second closing; the risk that the final interconnection agreement with the Texas utility is not executed or does not confirm the anticipated load capacity, which could reduce or eliminate the contingent consideration payable under the Graham, Texas Project transaction; the risk that escrow deposits are not released on the anticipated timeline or at all; general market, economic, competitive, and regulatory conditions; the effectiveness of the Company's strategic initiatives, including the infrastructure optimization initiative; risks associated with the data center market and demand for power solutions; the Company's ability to manage costs and liquidity; risks related to the Company's future capital requirements and liquidity needs; and other factors detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC'), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other reports filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
Strong Production of 15,415 Gold Equivalent Ounces ("GEO") for the 2nd Quarter 2026 and 28, 257 GEO for the first 6 months of 2026Higher Grade Ore Production from the Underground ramping up on scheduleOngoing exploration program combined with Falcon acquisition expected to support resource growth, leading to increased mine life and structural increases in production levels Preliminary Economic Assessment targeted for Q1/27Annual Production Guidance of 50,000 to 60,000 GEO maintained for 2026
TORONTO, July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerrado Gold Inc. [TSX.V: CERT] [OTCQX: CRDOF] ("Cerrado" or the "Company") reports production results for the second quarter ended June 2026 ("Q2 2026") from the Minera Don Nicolas Mine in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina ("MDN"). Full quarterly financial results are expected to be released prior to August 30, 2026.
Q2 Operating Highlights
Q2 Production of 15,415 vs 13,835 GEO in Q2 2025, 2026 first half Production of 28,257 vs 22,600 GEO in 2025Heap leach production improved to deliver 9,981 GEO in the quarterUnderground development work continued; leading to increased production for H2/26CIL plant continues to process a blend of stockpile material with an increasing mix of ore from underground operations, resulting in total production of 5,434 GEO in Q2 Operations for Q2 2026 showed strong production results relative to the previous quarter and prior years. Production rates increased at the heap leach versus the previous quarter as irrigation issues due to water shortages were addressed, and the benefits from the improvements to the crushing circuit continued to support improved recoveries and production. Silver recovery rates showed a marked improvement at the heap leach operations due to adjustments in the circuit, enhancing overall GEO production.
The focus on underground development continued during the quarter, with higher amounts of fresh ore becoming available towards the end of the quarter. Additional ore is expected to be delivered in Q3 and Q4, supporting an expected increase in overall production levels in the latter half of the year compared with the first half of 2026. During 2026, underground ore operations will continue to alternate between development activities and ore extraction, as the underground workings follow the ore zone deeper under the Paloma pit.
Table 1. Key Operating Information
Mark Brennan, CEO and Chairman, commented, “We are very pleased to continue to see strong operational performance at MDN, with both Underground and Heap Leach operations performing exceptionally well. We continue to generate strong cash flows, which support our key growth initiatives of extending the mine life and increasing production levels. We are currently positioning the company to combine the results from our ongoing exploration program and the expected resource growth from our recent regional acquisitions to complete a new Preliminary Economic Assessment by Q1/27. The primary objective will be delivering a new consolidated mine plan with an extended mine life and an increased production profile.”
New Preliminary Economic Assessment Planned
As the Company continues to advance its exploration program and consolidate the results with potential resources from the recently acquired Falcon and Calandrias II properties, the Company plans to complete a new third-party, independent Preliminary Economic Assessment by Q1/2027. The Preliminary Economic Assessment is expected to incorporate resources anticipated to be outlined for both heap leach production and production via the CIL plant. The objective of the new PEA is to demonstrate the anticipated growth in MDN’s mineral resource base, the corresponding extension in mine life, and the potential to increase production rates. Over the last two years, the MDN has invested heavily in creating twin production streams via both the CIL and heap leach production routes. This combined infrastructure is now in place and has positioned MDN to deliver strong operational performance irrespective of the type of ore that is recovered.
Exploration work continued throughout the quarter across the existing property and in the newly acquired Falcon area. At both the newly acquired properties, on-site sampling and mapping have been initiated, and a drill program has been designed and should commence in Q3/2026. Given the extent of existing drilling and the level of work completed at Falcon to date, the planned drill program is expected to add mineral resources to support the expansion of heap leach operations. Completion of the drill program and associated testing is expected before year-end supporting the completion of the PEA in Q1/27. Further regional consolidation remains a key corporate strategy.
Review of Technical Information
The scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Andrew Croal, P.Eng., Chief Technical Officer for Cerrado Gold, who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
About Cerrado
Cerrado Gold is a Toronto-based gold production, development, and exploration company. The Company is the 100% owner of the producing Minera Don Nicolás and Las Calandrias mines in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. In Portugal, the Company holds an 80% interest in the highly prospective Lagoa Salgada VMS project through its position in Redcorp - Empreendimentos Mineiros, Lda. In Canada, Cerrado Gold is developing its 100% owned Mont Sorcier Iron project located outside of Chibougamau, Quebec.
In Argentina, Cerrado is maximizing asset value at its Minera Don Nicolas ("MDN") operation through continued operational optimization and is growing production through its operations at the Las Calandrias heap leach project. An extensive campaign of exploration is ongoing to further unlock potential resources in our highly prospective land package in the heart of the Deseado Masiff.
In Portugal, Cerrado is focused on the development and exploration of the highly prospective Lagoa Salgada VMS project located on the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in Portugal. The Lagoa Salgada project is a high-grade polymetallic project, demonstrating a typical mineralization endowment of zinc, copper, lead, tin, silver, and gold. Extensive exploration upside potential lies both near deposit and at prospective step-out targets across the large 7,209-hectare property concession. Located just 80km from Lisbon and surrounded by existing infrastructure, Lagoa Salgada offers a low-cost entry to a significant development and exploration opportunity, already showing its mineable scale and cash flow generation potential.
In Canada, Cerrado is developing its 100% owned Mont Sorcier high-purity, high-grade, Direct Reduced Iron project, located on the traditional Cree territory of Eeyou Istchee James Bay in the municipality of Chibougamau. The Mont Sorcier project has the potential to produce a premium iron concentrate over a long mine life at low operating costs and low capital intensity. Furthermore, its high-grade and high-purity product facilitates the migration of steel producers from blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces, contributing to the decarbonization of the industry and the achievement of sustainable development goals.
For more information about Cerrado, please visit our website at: www.cerradogold.com.
Mark Brennan
CEO and Chairman
Mike McAllister
Vice President, Investor Relations
Tel: +1-647-805-5662 [email protected]
Disclaimer
NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", “is expected”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, “plans”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “forecasts”, “estimates”, “believes” or “intends” or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results “may” or “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the business and operations of Cerrado, production forecasts for 2026 including the expectation of increased production levels in the second half of 2026, the time required to complete a preliminary economic assessment at MDN and the anticipated results of such assessment including the Company’s ability to deliver a new consolidated mine plan with an extended mine life and an increased production profile for which no assurance is provided, progress and potential of underground development at MDN, exploration potential at MDN and the ability of prospective targets and recently acquired properties such as Falcon and Calandrias II properties to materially add to mine life and production levels and the discovery of ore capable of feeding the heap leach and CIL operations, and the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risks & Uncertainties” in the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis and other filings made with the securities commissions in Canada. In making the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Cerrado has made certain assumptions. Although Cerrado believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Cerrado disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise.
Minera Don Nicolas Mine
Mill at MDN
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BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO) (“GEO” or the “Company”) announced today that the Company has entered into a five-year support services contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) for the activation of a federal immigration processing center at the 1,188-bed Big Horn Facility (the “Facility”) in Hudson, Colorado. GEO has entered into a lease agreement with the Facility owner.
The support services contract is expected to generate approximately $85 million in annual revenues in the first full year of operations, excluding transportation revenue. GEO’s support services are expected to include the exclusive use of the Facility by ICE, along with security, maintenance, and food services, as well as access to recreational amenities, medical care, and legal counsel.
George C. Zoley, GEO's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, said, “We expect that our company-leased Big Horn Facility in Colorado will play an important role in helping meet the need for increased federal immigration processing center bedspace. We are proud of our 40-year public-private partnership with ICE, and we stand ready to continue to assist the federal government in meeting its immigration enforcement priorities.”
About The GEO Group
The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO) is a leading diversified government service provider, specializing in design, financing, development, and support services for secure facilities, processing centers, and community reentry centers in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. GEO’s diversified services include enhanced in-custody rehabilitation and post-release support through the award-winning GEO Continuum of Care®, secure transportation, electronic monitoring, community-based programs, and correctional health and mental health care. GEO’s worldwide operations include the ownership and/or delivery of support services for 97 facilities totaling approximately 76,000 beds, including idle facilities and projects under development, with a workforce of up to approximately 20,000 employees.
Use of forward-looking statements
This news release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and any such forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the cautionary statements and risk factors contained in GEO's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission including its Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and are based on current expectations and involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Readers are strongly encouraged to read the full cautionary statements and risk factors contained in GEO’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including those referenced above. GEO disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Cumulative sales milestones up to $255 million and modest upfront/near-term development milestonesRoyalties equaling 22% of net salesOcugen to manufacture and supply OCU400 MALVERN, Pa., July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ocugen, Inc. (“Ocugen” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: OCGN), a pioneering biotechnology leader in gene therapies for blindness diseases, today announced the signing of a binding term sheet to negotiate and enter into a license agreement with Roots Pharmaceutical, and its strategic partner Al-Dhow International Holding, for the exclusive rights to OCU400, Ocugen's novel modifier gene therapy for Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Pursuant to the term sheet, under the license agreement, Ocugen is expected to receive upfront license fees and near-term development milestone payments totaling up to $4 million. The Company would be entitled to sales milestone payments up to $255 million, in addition to a 22% royalty on net sales of OCU400 generated by Ocugen's partner. Additionally, Ocugen would manufacture commercial supply of OCU400 under the terms of a related supply agreement.
RP is a leading cause of inherited vision loss globally, with notable prevalence across the MENA region, underscoring the significant unmet need OCU400 is positioned to address through this partnership.
"This step forward represents an important milestone in our effort to advance OCU400 regional partnership strategy," said Dr. Shankar Musunuri, Chairman, CEO, and Co-founder of Ocugen. "By partnering with an established leader with strong reach across the Middle East and North Africa, we are expanding our ability to bring this one-time potential treatment for life to a region where RP is highly prevalent with a significant unmet medical need where patients are desperately looking for rescue from blindness. This agreement underscores the momentum behind OCU400 and our continued commitment to patients."
“Bringing innovative gene therapies to patients across the MENA region is a strategic imperative for Roots Pharmaceutical and its strategic partner Al-Dhow International Holding,” said Dr. Islam Zayed, CEO & Co founder of Roots Pharmaceutical. Dr.Zayed emphasized that “ OCU400 built on our legacy of bringing Rare Disease therapies to patients in MENA and enables our combined teams to decrease disease burden in the region. Importantly, Roots is dedicated to bringing OCU400 to patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa and creating a new treatment paradigm. We are excited to partner with the Ocugen team.”
Additional details will be available once the definitive agreement between the parties is executed, which is expected to occur within the next 90 days.
Ocugen continues to advance OCU400 through its Phase 3 liMeliGhT clinical development with a topline readout expected in 1Q 2027 and BLA submission to follow.
About Ocugen, Inc.
Ocugen, Inc. is a pioneering biotechnology leader in gene therapies for blindness diseases. Our breakthrough modifier gene therapy platform has the potential to address significant unmet medical need for large patient populations through our gene-agnostic approach. Unlike traditional gene therapies and gene editing, Ocugen’s modifier gene therapies address the entire disease—complex diseases that are potentially caused by imbalances in multiple gene networks. Currently we have programs in development for inherited retinal diseases and blindness diseases affecting millions across the globe, including retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, and geographic atrophy—late-stage dry age-related macular degeneration. Discover more at www.ocugen.com and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the terms of the definitive license and supply agreement with Roots Pharmaceutical, the timing of entering into such definitive agreement or whether such definitive agreement will be executed at all, the anticipated benefits to Ocugen of such definitive agreement, qualitative assessments of available data, potential benefits, expectations for ongoing clinical trials, anticipated regulatory filings and anticipated development timelines, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. We may, in some cases, use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “proposed,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should,” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks, and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from our current expectations, including, but not limited to, the risks that the definitive license and supply agreement with Roots Pharmaceutical will be delayed or not executed at all, or that, if executed, it will not be on terms described above, the risk that such definitive agreement, if executed, will not lead to the currently anticipated benefits to Ocugen, the risks that preliminary, interim and top-line clinical trial results may not be indicative of, and may differ from, final clinical data; that unfavorable new clinical trial data may emerge in ongoing clinical trials or through further analyses of existing clinical trial data; that earlier non-clinical and clinical data and testing may not be predictive of the results or success of later clinical trials; and that that clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments, including by regulatory authorities. These and other risks and uncertainties are more fully described in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the risk factors described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the quarterly and annual reports that we file with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, after the date of this press release.
