Akcie Bloom Energy tento týden klesly o 13,5 % poté, co firma představila nový systém Power Connect. Ten má zkrátit instalaci na místě o více než 40 %.
Bloom Energy (BE -2.21%) stock is more than 40% off its 2026 highs reached in June. That doesn't mean shareholders have had a bad year, though. Bloom shares are still up by about 125% year to date as of this writing.
That juxtaposition makes it even more timely to examine why shares sank 13.5% this week as of Friday morning, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Let's look at whether the drop gives investors who felt they missed out a great chance to own shares now.
Image source: Getty Images.
Bloom introduced a new deployment system for its fuel cell systems this week. The company said its new Power Connect system can reduce the time required for on-site power installations by more than 40%. That will help data center operators bring new capacity online sooner, generating revenue and driving higher returns on investment.
One might think such a development would boost the stock, rather than the double-digit drop seen this week. But investors have already bid the stock higher, anticipating growing future business. Bloom Energy expects to generate about $4 billion in revenue this year, doubling last year's sales. But the company is already valued at close to $60 billion, implying strong growth beyond 2026.
Today's Change
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Some investors are locking in gains rather than waiting for the company to grow into its valuation. But long-term investors can think differently. Bloom Energy is boosting capacity, envisioning a growing order backlog. That makes the recent pullback a reasonable opportunity to invest in a name that has become a popular choice for data center operators needing reliable power.
Howard Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bloom Energy. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Norfolk Southern má silnou rozvahu a odkupuje akcie, ale dál ji brzdí slabé přepravní tržby, problémy s železniční sítí a slabý trh s uhlím. Akcie letos přidaly 20,1 %, za odvětvím však zaostávají.
Key Takeaways NSC supports shareholders through dividends and buybacks while maintaining a low debt profile. NSC is hurt by weak freight revenues, rail network issues, coal market weakness and share price volatility.NSC shares have gained so far this year, but underperform its industry and peers like CP and CNI. Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC - Free Report) is currently mired in multiple tailwinds, which, we believe, have made it an impressive investment option. The positive sentiment surrounding Norfolk Southern stock is evident from the fact that the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter of 2026 and the fourth quarter of 2026 earnings has been revised upward in the past 60 days. The consensus mark for 2026 and 2027 earnings has also been projected upward in the past 60 days.
The favorable estimate revisions indicate brokers’ lack of confidence in the stock.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Given this backdrop, the question now arises whether it is worth buying, holding, or selling the Norfolk Southern stock at current prices. Let us delve deeper to find out.
Factors Working in Favor of NSC StockE-commerce growth is a tailwind for Norfolk Southern. E-commerce demand strength should continue to support growth of railroads like Norfolk Southern. NSC’s AccessNS, an e-commerce tool, gives customers an efficient and convenient one-stop digital platform to conduct business with the railroad operator.
Further, Norfolk Southern’s focus on utilizing the Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) operating plan to reduce costs and enhance services for optimal asset utilization is commendable.
NSC’s longer-term operating agenda includes lowering emissions and raising fuel efficiency, which can support competitiveness with shippers focused on supply chain emissions. The company is targeting a 42% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2034 and expects locomotive fuel efficiency to improve by 13% by 2027. NSC also launched RailGreen to help customers reduce emissions from freight rail shipments, supported by verified certificates for supply chain emissions reduction.
Norfolk Southern’s solid balance sheet increases financial flexibility. The company ended second-quarter 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $1.06 billion, higher than the current debt level of $649 million. This implies that the company has sufficient cash to meet its current debt obligations. Further, NSC’s long-term debt has declined to $15.9 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2026 from $16.4 billion at the end of second-quarter 2025.
A strong balance sheet enables the company to reward shareholders with dividends and share repurchases. As a reflection of its shareholder-friendly stance, during 2025, the company paid dividends worth $1.21 billion and repurchased and retired common stock worth $534 million. During the first six months of 2026, the company paid dividends worth $606 million and repurchased and retired common stock worth $5 million. Norfolk Southern's strong free cash flow-generating ability supports its shareholder-friendly activities. Such shareholder-friendly moves indicate the company’s commitment to creating value for shareholders and underline its confidence in its business.
Headwinds Weighing on Norfolk Southern StockMacroeconomic concerns are leading to a tough freight environment. Risks associated with an economic slowdown, geopolitical tensions and tariff-induced economic uncertainty do not bode well for railroad stocks like NSC. As things stand now, consumer spending and business investments remain low, and production levels have decreased in response to reduced demand, affecting demand for goods transportation and resulting in a freight recession (The Cass Freight Shipments Index, which declined 4.4% year over year in April 2026, 4.5% year over year in March 2026, 7.2% year over year in February 2026 and 7.1% in January 2026, deteriorated in each of the 12 months in 2025 and led to sub-par freight rates).
Rail network issues due to headwinds like locomotive or crew/labor shortages and other service disruptions represent a major challenge for NSC. Network issues or supply chain constraints are likely to adversely impact service levels, in turn hurting operating efficiency or volume of shipments. High labor costs and operating expenses are hurting the bottom line as well.
Coal market weakness is another headwind for NSC. The coal business remains subject to secular pressures from greener alternatives, which is leading to the planned retirement of coal units. The weak coal market has resulted in below-par coal revenues. Coal revenues fell 8% year over year to $1.48 billion in 2025. Coal revenues per unit declined 9% year over year in 2025. During first-quarter 2026, coal revenues fell 2% year over year while coal revenues per unit declined 9% year over year.
Stock prices of railroad companies like NSC are notoriously volatile. This is mainly because the health of the company is tied to the economy, which is undergoing a turbulent phase. As such, shares of NSC may not be suitable for investors who are not comfortable with often substantial day-to-day volatility.
Unattractive Valuation Picture for NSC StockNorfolk Southern looks expensive from a valuation standpoint. Considering the forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio (P/E-F12M), NSC is trading at a premium compared to the industry.
The stock has a forward 12-month P/E-F12M of 25.88X compared with 22.86X for the industry over the past five years. The company’s forward 12-month P/E-F12M ratio is also above the median level of 18.71X over the past five years. These factors indicate that the stock’s valuation is unattractive. NSC has a Value Score of D.
NSC P/E Ratio (Forward 12 Months) Vs. Industry Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
NSC Stock’s Price PerformanceShares of Norfolk Southern stock have gained 20.1% so far this year, underperforming the Zacks Transportation - Rail industry’s 30.1% surge, as well as that of other industry players, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CP - Free Report) and Canadian National Railway Company (CNI - Free Report) ), within the same time frame.
NSC Stock’s YTD Price Comparison Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Time to Retain Norfolk Southern StockIt is understood that NSC stock is currently unattractively valued. Risks associated with an economic slowdown, geopolitical tensions and tariff-induced economic uncertainty do not bode well for railroad stocks like NSC. Rail network issues due to headwinds like locomotive or crew/labor shortages and other service disruptions continue to bother NSC. Weakness pertaining to freight revenues and volumes does not bode well for NSC. Coal market weakness and share price volatility are also causes for worry.
Despite the headwinds, we advise investors not to sell NSC stock now due to its environmentally-friendly approach of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and focus on utilizing the PSR operating plan to reduce costs and enhance services for optimal asset utilization. NSC’s solid balance sheet allows it to reward shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. Such shareholder-friendly moves boost investor confidence and positively impact the company's bottom line.
Considering all the aforesaid factors, we advise investors to wait for a better entry point. For those who already own the stock, it will be prudent to stay invested. The company’s current Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) justifies our analysis. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
MOS uvedla Renuvis Enzara, enzymový přípravek pro rychlejší rozklad rostlinných zbytků a dřívější připravenost pole k setí. Funguje i při nízkých teplotách a lze jej míchat s hnojivy i herbicidy.
Key Takeaways MOS launches Enzara to accelerate crop residue decomposition and enable plant ready field conditions sooner.Enzara's enzyme technology works at low temperatures, unlike microbial-based solutions.MOS' Enzara can cut residue and fuel use while mixing with fertilizers and herbicides to avoid another pass. The Mosaic Company’s (MOS - Free Report) Mosaic Biosciences unit recently launched Renuvis Enzara, a new residue management solution designed to accelerate crop residue decomposition and help growers with plant-ready field conditions sooner.
The product addresses challenges associated with increasing residue levels resulting from higher-yielding hybrids, no-till practices and continuous corn production. Heavy residue can add tillage passes, reduce planting capacity and contribute to uneven emergence and inconsistent seed depth.
Enzara uses endoglucanase enzyme technology to target the structural fibers holding crop residue together. Unlike microbial-based solutions that require time to colonize, the enzyme begins working even under cold conditions, including temperatures as low as 32 degrees Fahrenheit. By creating more entry points for naturally occurring soil microbes, the product is designed to manage more residue.
The solution can also complement current residue management practices by reducing residue, lowering fuel consumption and can be applied in fall or spring and is compatible with fertilizer and herbicide tank mixes, eliminating the need for an additional application pass. The launch expands Mosaic Biosciences' product portfolio and highlights the company's focus on technology-driven solutions that can improve farm productivity and operational efficiency.
MOS’ shares have lost 28.3% over the past year compared with the industry’s 45.1% decline.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
MOS’ Zacks Rank & Key PicksMOS currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Neo Performance Materials Inc. (NOPMF - Free Report) , Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS - Free Report) and Avient Corporation (AVNT - Free Report) .
While NOPMF currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), CRS and AVNT carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOPMF’s 2026 earnings is pinned at $1.4 per share, indicating a 185.71% year-over-year increase. NOPMF’sshares have gained 94.3% over the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS’ fiscal 2027 earnings is pegged at $12.92 per share, indicating a rise of 20.07% year over year. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 8.39%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVNT’s current-year earnings is pinned at $3.2 per share, indicating a 13.48% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 3.4%. AVNT’sshares have gained 16.5% over the past year.
Kelcy Warren, spoluzakladatel Energy Transfer, nakoupil 1,0 milionu jednotek 18. a 19. srpna 2026 poblíž 52týdenního maxima, což trh bere jako silný signál důvěry. Nákupy proběhly bez plánu 10b5-1.
Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET | ET Price Prediction) director and co-founder Kelcy Warren stepped into the open market on August 18 and August 19, 2026, personally directing the accumulation of a large block of common units at prices within pennies of the partnership’s 52-week high. The Form 4 disclosing the buys was filed with the SEC on August 20, 2026. The checkbox for a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan was not checked, meaning this was discretionary buying at Warren’s direction.
What the Filing Actually Says Warren is listed on the form only as Director. The transactions were coded P for open-market purchases. On August 18, 352,032 common units were acquired at a weighted average price of $21.27, with individual fills ranging from $21.175 to $21.30. On August 19, another 647,968 units were acquired at a weighted average of $21.26, with fills between $21.185 and $21.30. Both blocks were indirect, held through Kelcy Warren Partners, a limited partnership owned by Warren, who disclaims beneficial ownership except to the extent of his pecuniary interest. Units owned by that entity following the two transactions stood at 147,901,879.
Buying Into Strength at 52-Week Highs The signal here is unusual because Warren was buying at the highs. Energy Transfer traded around $21.26 on the morning of August 21, 2026, against a 52-week high of $21.64. The units are up 35.6% year to date, 6.5% over one month, 31.6% over one year, and 249.4% over five years. The market cap stands near $73.0 billion, with a beta of 0.562. Insiders typically buy on weakness for tax and psychological reasons. Buying at the highs, discretionarily, through an entity Warren controls, is a stronger signal of conviction about forward fundamentals than a routine dip-buy would be.
The Thesis the Numbers Support Energy Transfer is executing. Q2 2026 delivered EPS of $0.59 against a $0.37 estimate, with revenue of $34.33 billion, up 78.43% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA rose 31% to $5.07 billion, and management raised full-year 2026 guidance to $18.8 billion to $19.1 billion. Growth capital of $5.6 billion to $5.9 billion is being deployed into projects with visible demand. These include the Hugh Brinson Pipeline, Nederland NGL export expansion, and the Transwestern Desert Southwest upsizing. They also include long-term natural-gas supply to Oracle data centers ramping toward approximately 900 MMcf/d across three sites. The partnership just declared its 19th consecutive quarterly distribution increase, at $0.34 per common unit, or $1.36 annualized.
Should a Retirement Investor Follow? The setup is attractive on the numbers. Forward P/E is 13, the distribution yield is 6.4%, and the Wall Street consensus target is $24.48. That yield is also the kind that makes a mid-six-figure balance start generating meaningful monthly income. (We outline what that looks like at $250K in a free income guide.)
One important caveat for income investors: Energy Transfer is a limited partnership and issues a K-1 for tax reporting. That complicates tax filing, can create unrelated business taxable income inside IRAs above certain thresholds, and generally makes ET a better fit for a taxable brokerage account than a retirement wrapper. Warren’s buying at the highs, in size, without a 10b5-1 plan, is a genuine signal of conviction from the person who knows the asset base best. Retail investors who can accept the K-1 mechanics can currently transact within pennies of an insider’s weighted average fills, a data point worth monitoring alongside forward fundamentals.
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Růst datových center zvyšuje poptávku po energeticky úsporném chlazení a podporuje HVAC sektor, zatímco slabost bytové výstavby dál brzdí rezidenční poptávku.
The Zacks Building Products - Air Conditioner & Heating industry continues to benefit from several favorable trends in 2026. Rapid data center development is driving demand for specialized and energy-efficient cooling systems, while electrification and tighter efficiency standards are supporting heat pumps and other advanced HVAC solutions. Rising adoption of smart controls and connected systems, along with steady service and aftermarket demand, provides further support.
On the downside, weakness in single-family construction and cautious consumer spending continue to limit residential HVAC demand, increasing dependence on replacement activity. Tariffs, commodity and freight inflation also create cost pressures, while investments in new manufacturing capacity can weigh on margins through start-up costs and lower initial utilization. Despite these challenges, companies such as Comfort Systems USA (FIX - Free Report) , Carrier Global Corporation (CARR - Free Report) and SPX Technologies, Inc. (SPXC - Free Report) are also expanding their opportunities through acquisitions, digital capabilities and service-oriented business models, while growing demand for indoor air quality and mission-critical cooling supports recurring revenue streams.
Industry Description The Zacks Building Products - Air Conditioner & Heating industry comprises designers, manufacturers, and marketers of a broad range of products for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration markets. The products include rooftop units, chillers, air-handling units, condensing units and coils. The industry players also supply thermostats, insulation materials, refrigerants, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, concrete pads, tape and adhesives. Air conditioning and heating equipment are sold in residential replacement, commercial and industrial HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), as well as residential new construction markets.
4 Trends Shaping the Future of the Air Conditioner & Heating Industry Data Center Boom Fuels Commercial HVAC Demand: Rapid investment in AI, cloud computing and hyperscale data centers is emerging as a major growth driver for the U.S. Air Conditioner and Heating industry. These facilities require large, reliable and energy-efficient cooling systems to manage increasingly dense computing workloads. Demand is expanding across air- and water-cooled chillers, custom air handlers, cooling towers, dry and adiabatic cooling systems and related equipment. Strong project pipelines are also encouraging manufacturers to expand production capacity and improve throughput. Importantly, hyperscale and colocation projects generally provide greater forward visibility because cooling equipment must be secured well before facilities become operational, supporting a favorable multiyear demand outlook.
Electrification, Efficiency Upgrades and Smart HVAC Drive Growth: Electrification, tighter efficiency standards and smart-building adoption are supporting U.S. HVAC industry growth in 2026. Demand for electric heat pumps, high-SEER air conditioners and low-GWP refrigerant systems is rising as customers seek lower energy use and compliance with stricter regulations. Federal and state incentives are helping offset upgrade costs, while aging equipment supports resilient replacement demand.
Meanwhile, HVAC systems are becoming more connected through intelligent controls, smart thermostats, humidification systems and actuated valves, improving efficiency, performance and operational visibility. This shift toward higher-value, connected equipment is also expanding service and aftermarket opportunities across residential and commercial markets.
Housing Weakness Limits Residential HVAC Recovery: Residential HVAC demand remains under pressure from persistent weakness in the U.S. housing market. New single-family construction continues to face challenges, while cautious consumer spending is restraining discretionary repair and remodeling activity. A meaningful recovery in residential construction is not expected in 2026, limiting demand for HVAC systems tied to new homes. Although earlier channel destocking is fading, underlying demand remains subdued and increasingly reliant on replacement activity rather than new installations. These conditions could keep residential HVAC volumes under pressure and make the segment more vulnerable to housing affordability constraints, elevated borrowing costs and continued consumer caution.
Tariffs, Inflation and Capacity Costs Pressure Margins: Cost pressures remain a key challenge for the U.S. Air Conditioner and Heating industry in 2026. Tariffs are raising costs for certain materials and components, while commodity, freight and other inflationary pressures add uncertainty to the price-cost equation. Pricing actions can offset some of these pressures, but tariff-related price increases do not necessarily translate into higher margins.
At the same time, manufacturers are rapidly expanding capacity to meet strong commercial and data center demand. New facilities and production lines can initially generate start-up costs, lower utilization and operating inefficiencies. Higher utilization, sourcing improvements and productivity gains will therefore be important for margin improvement.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects The Zacks Building Products - Air Conditioner & Heating industry is a nine-stock group within the broader Zacks Construction sector. The industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #32, which places it in the top 13% of more than 250 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates optimistic near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
The industry’s positioning in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a higher earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are gradually gaining confidence in this group’s earnings growth potential. Since June 2026, the industry’s earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have increased to $5.11 per share (from $4.91) and $5.95 per share (from $5.70), respectively.
We highlight a few stocks that investors may consider adding to their portfolios. First, we examine the industry’s shareholder returns and current valuation backdrop.
Industry Outperforms Sector, Lags S&P 500 The Zacks Air Conditioner & Heating industry has outperformed the broader Zacks Construction sector but lagged the Zacks S&P 500 Composite over the past year.
In the same time frame, the industry has gained 16.7% compared with the broader sector’s 6.5% rise. Meanwhile, the Zacks S&P 500 Composite has gained 23.4% during the period.
One-Year Price Performance
Industry's Current Valuation On the basis of the forward 12-month price to earnings, which is a commonly used multiple for valuing Air Conditioner and Heating stocks, the industry is currently trading at 23.87X compared with the S&P 500’s 20.55X and the sector’s 19.99X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 30.77X, as low as 15.87X and at a median of 23.97X, as the chart below shows.
Industry’s P/E Ratio (Forward 12-Month) Versus S&P 500
Industry’s P/E Ratio (Forward 12-Month) Versus Sector
3 Air Conditioner and Heating Stocks to Buy Now Below, we have discussed three stocks from the Zacks Air Conditioner & Heating universe with solid growth potential.
Comfort Systems: Based in Houston, TX, the company is a national provider of comprehensive heating, ventilation and air conditioning installation, along with maintenance, repair and replacement services. Comfort Systems is benefiting from strong demand across technology and other industrial markets, supported by continued data center construction and rising needs for complex mechanical and electrical infrastructure. Direct relationships with hyperscalers provide visibility into future projects, while sustained customer demand supports further expansion of its modular operations. The company is also broadening its modular customer base through opportunities with frontier labs and colocation providers. Strong institutional demand, disciplined project selection and skilled tradespeople further support execution. Meanwhile, the growing installed base of data centers creates a longer-term opportunity to expand recurring service and maintenance work.
Comfort Systems currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The stock has gained 142.6% over the past year. FIX has seen an upward estimate revision for 2026 earnings per share (EPS) to $45.86 from $43.05 over the past 30 days. The estimated figure indicates 58.8% year-over-year growth in 2026. Comfort Systems surpassed earnings estimates in all the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 34.6%. Again, Comfort Systems’ trailing 12-month return on equity of 53.6% is better than its peer group average of 16.9%. It has a VGM Score of B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. .
Price and Consensus: FIX
SPX Technologies: Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, SPX Technologies supplies infrastructure equipment for global HVAC and detection and measurement markets. SPX Technologies is benefiting from robust demand for data center cooling solutions, supported by hyperscaler, colocation and neocloud customers. Capacity expansions, improved production flow, lean initiatives and higher throughput are strengthening its ability to meet this demand. The Neptronic acquisition adds another growth avenue by broadening SPX’s HVAC portfolio with intelligent controls, electric heating, humidification and actuated valves, while expanding its addressable markets. Strong customer relationships and global distribution channels provide cross-selling opportunities. Meanwhile, healthy project activity, innovation and synergy initiatives in Detection & Measurement, along with an active acquisition pipeline, should support further growth.
SPX Technologies currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The stock has gained 7.4% over the past year. SPXC has seen an upward estimate revision for 2026 EPS to $8.41 from $8.06 over the past 30 days. The estimated figure indicates 24.4% year-over-year growth in 2026. SPXC surpassed earnings estimates in all the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 8.6%. Again, SPXC’s trailing 12-month return on equity is 16.5%.
Price and Consensus: SPXC
Carrier: Headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, Carrier provides intelligent climate and energy solutions worldwide. Carrier has been benefiting from robust commercial HVAC demand, particularly from data centers, supported by growing hyperscaler and colocation investments and capacity expansion. Growing adoption of liquid cooling provides another opportunity as AI infrastructure becomes more power intensive. The recovery in residential and light commercial HVAC, supported by replacement demand and improving channel conditions, adds momentum. In Europe, heat-pump adoption, supportive subsidies, high natural-gas prices and new product launches remain favorable. Carrier is also benefiting from expanding aftermarket opportunities, while the 75F acquisition strengthens its intelligent-building, AI-enabled controls and systems-integration capabilities, broadening its addressable markets.
Carrier currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The stock has lost 11.2% over the past year. Carrier has seen an upward estimate revision for 2026 EPS to $2.85 from $2.79 over the past 30 days. The estimated figure indicates 10% year-over-year growth in 2026. Carrier surpassed earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on the other, with the average surprise being 8.5%.
Advance Auto Parts po prudkém srpnovém propadu ukázala zlepšení marží a cash flow. Výnosy ve 2. čtvrtletí klesly na 2 miliardy USD, ale EPS 72 centů meziročně vzrostl o více než 4 %.
Advanced Auto Parts NYSE: AAP's August price plunge looks like an opportunity to buy because the causes of the plunge are out of the company’s control, while the factors in its control continue to show improvement.
Advance Auto Parts Today
AAP
Advance Auto Parts
$42.08 -0.31 (-0.73%)
As of 12:12 PM Eastern
$37.89▼
$65.212.38%
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$52.27
The catalyst for the plunge was weaker-than-expected DIY sales, sales which were expected to decline as cash-strapped consumers pulled back on projects.
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However scary as the news is, the likely scenario is that AAP’s tepid Q2 results were a one-off, possibly echoed in the reports of other major auto parts dealers, as results from Target NYSE: TGT, Walmart NYSE: WMT, and The TJX Companies NYSE: TJX all showed strengths.
The takeaway from their reports is that consumers are spending across a broad range of categories. For AAP, weakness was concentrated in the final week of the quarter, as end-of-summer budgets were squeezed.
Advanced Auto Parts: A Short Squeeze in the Making?A primary cause for the steepness of the plunge is short interest. The market was nearly 20% short going into the release, with short interest trending near long-term highs on expectations of weakness. However, consumer weakness can only last so long, and the company is demonstrating a strong recovery strategy.
Advanced Auto Parts shifted gears years ago to improve operational quality and cash flow, achieving its goal in Q2. The company returned to year-to-date free cash flow in Q2 and expects to continue building on the improvement.
This sets it up to sustain balance sheet improvements, strengthen the dividend outlook, and, potentially, resume share buybacks. Altogether, the improvements pave the way for accelerated earnings growth in upcoming quarters and years and are a catalyst for short covering; it's only a matter of time.
Q2 Weaknesses Overshadow Advanced Auto Parts Margin ImprovementAdvanced Auto Parts had a tough quarter, with the DIY segment contracting by more than expected. The weakness offset strength in the Pro segment, which advanced by a low single-digit figure, leaving revenue down incrementally year-over-year (YOY) at $2 billion. The topline also underperformed versus the consensus, setting the stage for short sellers to lean into their trade and drive shares lower. Internally, comps were down about 0.5%, offset by store count growth.
The silver lining was margin. While IEEPA tariff refunds are in the mix, refunds alone didn't account for the strength. Gross, adjusted gross, operating, and adjusted operating margins all expanded, enabling bottom-line growth despite the weak top line. With the tariff refund stripped out, earnings per share of 72 cents came in below expectations but was up more than 4% YOY, providing additional evidence the company's strategy is working.
Other evidence the strategy is working is the impact on the balance sheet. Cash flow improvements enabled quarterly debt reduction while sustaining cash and building inventory. The net result was an incremental increase in equity and improved shareholder leverage. Assuming the company can sustain this improvement, it will likely continue to reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet and profitability in future quarters.
Advanced Auto Parts: Limited Downside With Robust Long-Term PotentialAnalysts and institutional trends suggest AAP has hit its bottom and the downside is limited in 2026. MarketBeat tracks 20 analysts with current ratings; they rate the stock a Hold with 85% bias and predict considerable upside.
The earnings-induced price decline put the stock below their low-end target and deep into the range where institutions have been buying. Institutional data reflects a solid, accumulating support base: they own about 88% of the shares, have bought on balance each quarter this year, and accelerated activity in early Q3. The Q2 results are unlikely to trigger buying, but the 20% stock price discount is.
Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (AAP) Price Chart for Friday, August, 21, 2026
The risk for investors is that the consumer rebound will take a long time to take effect. In this scenario, AAP shares may be range-bound near current levels indefinitely. The offset is the dividend and improving capacity for capital return. The dividend yields more than 2.4% with the stock in the low $40-range, double the S&P 500 average, and its safety is improving. The hope is that AAP can resume annual distribution increases and share buybacks, either of which would be a catalyst for price action.
The most visible near-term catalyst is margin improvement. While the market focused on near-term noise, it is overlooking the company's guidance, which was reaffirmed at the top end and improved at the bottom. Hurdles and weaknesses aside, Advanced Auto Parts is well on the way with its turnaround strategy and poised to build value for its shareholders.
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Should You Invest $1,000 in Advance Auto Parts Right Now?Before you consider Advance Auto Parts, you'll want to hear this.
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The space race is growing fast, and you don’t have to have gotten in early on SpaceX to profit. This report shows seven space stocks you can buy today that may grow as rockets, satellites, defense, space internet, and new space technology become more important.
Home Warranty společnosti First American Financial zvýšila tržby o 3 % na 113,8 milionu USD a zisk před zdaněním o 9 % na 24,2 milionu USD. Marže před zdaněním stoupla na 21,3 % díky příznivým pojistným škodám.
Key Takeaways Home Warranty revenues rose 3% to $113.8 million, while pretax income increased 9% to $24.2 million. The segment's pretax margin grew 21.3%, supported by favorable claims experience and lower claim frequency. Renewal-based warranty policies offer recurring revenues that cushions FAF when real estate activity weakens. First American Financial Corporation’s (FAF - Free Report) Home Warranty business can support long-term growth by providing recurring revenues, strong profitability and greater earnings diversification beyond its cyclical title-insurance operations.
Home Warranty generates relatively recurring revenues from customers seeking protection against unexpected home-system and appliance repair costs. This provides FAF with a more stable earnings stream than its transaction-sensitive title business. In the second quarter of 2026, Home Warranty generated $113.8 million of revenues, up 3% year over year, while pretax income increased 9% to $24.2 million. The pretax margin improved to 21.3% from 20.2%, reflecting solid profitability.
The segment’s claims experience also remains favorable. Its claim loss rate declined to 40% from 41% in the second quarter of 2026, primarily due to lower claim frequency, although higher claim severity partly offset the improvement. Continued control over claim frequency and severity should be important for maintaining margins.
Home Warranty also strengthens FAF’s business diversification by expanding its exposure to the broader homeownership and home-maintenance ecosystem, rather than relying primarily on real-estate transactions. When housing activity or mortgage originations weaken, the segment can help cushion FAF’s earnings because its revenues are not directly dependent on title order volumes.
Furthermore, renewal-based warranty policies can provide a more predictable source of revenue between real-estate transaction cycles. This recurring earnings stream can complement FAF’s title-insurance operations and improve the overall resilience of its business model.
Overall, Home Warranty could become an increasingly important stabilizing earnings engine for FAF. Its recurring revenues, strong margins and favorable claims trends can help offset volatility in the title business and support sustainable long-term profitability, provided FAF continues to manage claim costs effectively.
What About Other Players? Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (FNF - Free Report) operates its Home Warranty business through Fidelity National Home Warranty, which protects against unexpected repair or replacement costs for major home appliances and systems. Home Warranty is included within FNF’s Title segment, alongside title insurance, escrow and other title-related services. The business also complements FNF’s core real-estate operations by providing an additional service to homeowners and real-estate customers.
Old Republic International Corporation (ORI - Free Report) operates its Home Warranty business through Old Republic Home Warranty, a subsidiary that has been part of ORI since 1982. The business provides home warranty plans that cover the repair or replacement of major home systems and appliances when they fail because of normal wear and use, including heating, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical systems and kitchen appliances. The business serves both homeowners and real-estate professionals, making its warranties particularly relevant during home-buying and selling transactions. It also offers optional coverage that allows customers to tailor plans to their specific needs.
FAF’s Price PerformanceShares of FAF have gained 8.3% in the past year, outperforming the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
FAF’s UndervaluationThe stock is undervalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a price-to-book value multiple of 1.3, lower than the industry average of 1.41. It carries a Value Score of A.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimate Movement for FAFThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for FAF’s third-quarter and fourth-quarter 2026 EPS has moved up 6.8% and 2.8%, respectively, in the past 30 days. The same for the full-year 2026 and 2027 EPS has moved up 5.5% and 3.6%, respectively, in the past 30 days.
Okta má ve 2. čtvrtletí vykázat EPS 0,96 USD na akcii a tržby 792,14 mil. USD, což by bylo meziročně o 5,5 % a 8,8 % více. Odhad EPS za posledních 30 dní zůstal beze změny.
The upcoming report from Okta (OKTA - Free Report) is expected to reveal quarterly earnings of $0.96 per share, indicating an increase of 5.5% compared to the year-ago period. Analysts forecast revenues of $792.14 million, representing an increase of 8.8% year over year.
Over the past 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged. This demonstrates the covering analysts' collective reassessment of their initial projections during this period.
Prior to a company's earnings announcement, it is crucial to consider revisions to earnings estimates. This serves as a significant indicator for predicting potential investor actions regarding the stock. Empirical research has consistently demonstrated a robust correlation between trends in earnings estimate revision and the short-term price performance of a stock.
While investors usually depend on consensus earnings and revenue estimates to assess the business performance for the quarter, delving into analysts' forecasts for certain key metrics often provides a more comprehensive understanding.
Bearing this in mind, let's now explore the average estimates of specific Okta metrics that are commonly monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts.
Analysts' assessment points toward 'Revenue- Subscription' reaching $781.51 million. The estimate points to a change of +9.9% from the year-ago quarter.
It is projected by analysts that the 'Revenue- Professional services and other' will reach $10.59 million. The estimate indicates a change of -37.7% from the prior-year quarter.
The average prediction of analysts places 'Current remaining performance obligations (cRPO)' at $2.51 billion. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of $2.27 billion.
Analysts expect 'Remaining performance obligations' to come in at $4.73 billion. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of $4.15 billion.
The combined assessment of analysts suggests that 'Gross margin- Subscription' will likely reach 79.8%. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 80.0% in the same quarter last year.
Analysts predict that the 'Total Customers' will reach 20,919 . The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 20,000 .
View all Key Company Metrics for Okta here>>>
Over the past month, Okta shares have recorded returns of -1.4% versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.8% change. Based on its Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), OKTA will likely outperform the overall market in the upcoming period. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
NTT DATA říká, že AI mění kyberbezpečnost na boj rychlostí strojů, a proto roste význam bezpečnosti pro AI i identity. Jako klíčového partnera v tom vyzdvihl Palo Alto Networks.
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The most useful thing said about cybersecurity this week came from Abhijit Dubey, the global CEO of NTT DATA, who told CNBC that “the frontier AI effectively has changed the cybersecurity equation” because attacks are now exponentially more sophisticated, the surface area has grown, and everything is happening at machine speed. His conclusion follows directly: “when you have attacks that are operating on machine speed, you cannot have defense. That is human speed.”
Dubey announced an expanded partnership with Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW | PANW Price Prediction) covering both AI for security and security for AI.
The interesting question for investors is which US-listed vendors are positioned for the shift he describes. The money is quietly moving toward whoever can govern autonomous agents, and away from whoever built a business selling vulnerability detection and patching. That reframes the sector from a cost center to a prerequisite for AI adoption.
Why Detection And Patching Is the Losing Side Dubey put the legacy problem this way: “Most cybersecurity postures and enterprises effectively are vulnerability detection oriented” at a moment when attackers are exploitation-driven. Nikesh Arora made the same point on PANW’s June earnings call, saying that frontier models can weaponize a vulnerability “in mere minutes,” whereas it used to take months.
Jay Chaudhry at Zscaler told investors that “you will never be done patching” and that hiding applications and eliminating lateral movement matters more than trying to close every hole. That is the same argument, phrased architecturally.
Vendors whose growth came from selling scanners, dashboards, and remediation queues find themselves in an awkward spot. Their pitch assumes a human has time to look at the alert. The vendors positioned for what comes next sell in-line enforcement, identity, and platform-level context.
Palo Alto Networks Is the Named Partner for a Reason PANW’s most recent quarter had revenue of $3 billion, up 31% year over year, and Next-Generation Security ARR reaching $8.13 billion, up 60%, disclosed in the company’s Q3 FY26 8-K. Arora described a Prisma AIRS deal with a global consulting customer running more than 2 trillion tokens per month on the platform.
PANW trades at a forward P/E of 91x with the stock up 89.77% year to date through August 20. That is not a cheap valuation, and platformization stories have disappointed on margin before.
What PANW has that most rivals do not is IDERA, its identity platform stitched together with the CyberArk acquisition, aimed at what Arora called the “primary attack vector of the future”: agentic identities. That is the layer Dubey said matters.
The risk is straightforward. Stock-based compensation was 17% of revenue in the quarter, and integrating CyberArk without hurting growth remains a priority.
Identity Is What the Market Has Not Priced Todd McKinnon at Okta framed the customer problem cleanly in May, saying “91% of enterprises deploy AI agents, but only 22% have a way to identify them.” That gap is the entire investable idea.
Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) trades at a forward P/E of 38x, a meaningful discount to PANW because growth is slower, with FY27 revenue guided to 9-10%. McKinnon said Okta’s pipeline for AI agent products was “bigger than anything we’ve ever seen”, and neutrality across hyperscalers is real leverage for a customer choosing an identity control plane.
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) has taken the endpoint franchise into agent governance through AIDR, with ARR reportedly growing “more than 250% sequentially” off a small base. George Kurtz argued that AIDR could exceed EDR in size because every agent needs a host and an identity. The identity layer has a shorter path to becoming non-optional than the platform layer, because agent identity is essential to governance.
Caveats Worth Weighing Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) is the interesting counter-case, down 22.22% year to date despite ARR reaching $3.5 billion. Its Symmetry Systems acquisition bets on the access-graph problem rather than issuing agent identity itself, which is defensible.
Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) benefits from a firewall refresh cycle with product revenue up 52% last quarter. That is a real cash-generating business, but closer to infrastructure than to agent governance.
Platform consolidation has been sold to investors before, and margin expansion has been uneven. This cycle differs because Dubey’s framing removes the buyer’s option to wait. His line makes the point: “You have to do it securely from the beginning.” A customer who wants the AI cannot defer the security purchase, which is the first time in a while that has been true.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Marvell Technology v pátek oslabila asi o 2 % před výsledky, které zveřejní 27. srpna. BMO Capital Markets zahájila pokrytí s doporučením Outperform a cílovou cenou 250 USD.
Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) stock traded lower by about 2% Friday, bucking a modestly positive broader market. The Nasdaq rose 0.02%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.26%.
The decline comes after a strong 12-month run for Marvell. Investors are also positioning ahead of the chipmaker’s earnings report next week.
With major indexes trading higher, Marvell’s decline appears more stock-specific than part of a broader risk-off move.
Earnings are also approaching. Marvell is scheduled to report results Aug. 27. That could prompt some investors to reduce risk before the announcement.
BMO Sees Marvell Gaining Ground In AI InfrastructureA bullish analyst call added to the focus on Marvell’s longer-term AI and data center growth prospects.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Harsh Kumar initiated coverage of Marvell on Friday with an Outperform rating and a $250 price forecast. Kumar highlighted the chipmaker’s strong position in data center infrastructure and optical networking.
Kumar called Marvell a leading semiconductor supplier for data center infrastructure. He also highlighted its optical networking products for hyperscalers and enterprise customers. In addition, Marvell is emerging as a strong competitor in custom ASICs.
The analyst pointed to Marvell’s leadership in storage controllers and optical interconnects. He said its position in optical connectivity is supported by its technology, unit volumes and digital signal processor business.
Kumar also sees additional growth ahead. He said Marvell’s XPU business is accelerating, while revenue from new switch and co-packaged optics, or CPO, products is starting to ramp.
Technical AnalysisMarvell remains in a longer-term uptrend. The stock is trading above its 20-day simple moving average of $210.89, 50-day SMA of $234.04, 100-day SMA of $204.97 and 200-day SMA of $145.12.
However, the 20-day SMA remains below the 50-day SMA. That bearish crossover could keep near-term trading volatile despite the broader uptrend.
Meanwhile, the MACD is above its signal line, and the histogram is positive. That points to improving momentum and suggests buyers are regaining some control.
Key support: $244 is a nearby level to watch. A break below that area could put additional pressure on the stock.
Earnings And Analyst OutlookMarvell is scheduled to report earnings Aug. 27.
Wall Street expects earnings of 87 cents per share, up from 67 cents a year earlier. Analysts expect revenue of $2.71 billion, compared with $2.01 billion a year ago.
The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 86.3, reflecting a premium valuation.
Marvell carries a Buy consensus rating with an average price forecast of $276.52.
On Friday, Oppenheimer maintained an Outperform rating and raised its price forecast to $300. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $250 price forecast. UBS maintained a Buy rating Thursday and raised its price forecast to $310.
Benzinga Edge RankingsThe Benzinga Edge scorecard highlights Marvell’s strong growth and momentum but weak value.
Marvell scores 98.98 for momentum and 99.79 for growth. However, its value score stands at just 1.16.
The combination reflects strong market momentum and growth expectations alongside a premium valuation. That could leave the stock more sensitive to earnings results or changes in investor expectations.
Top ETF ExposureMarvell has significant exposure through several technology and semiconductor ETFs. The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (NASDAQ:AIQ) has an 8.20% weighting in the stock.
The State Street SPDR NYSE Technology ETF (NYSE:XNTK) has a 5.69% weighting, while the Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXQ) has a 5.12% weighting.
As a result, sizable inflows or outflows from these funds could contribute to buying or selling pressure in Marvell shares.
MRVL Price ActionMarvell Technology shares were down 1.86% at $246.33 at the time of publication Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Marvell před výsledky za fiskální 2. čtvrtletí čeká pohyb asi 12,4 % oběma směry. Akcie letos vzrostly o více než 196 % díky poptávce po AI čipech a optických sítích.
Semiconductor maker Marvell Technology Inc. (MRVL, Financials) is heading into its Aug. 27 earnings announcement with investors anticipating another significant increase. The options market is pricing in about a 12.4% move up or down after the fiscal second quarter results.
At the firm's current share price of $251.01, that predicts a move of around $31, bringing the stock near $282 on the upside or $220 on the downside. No wonder given Marvell's tremendous run. That's some volatility.
Shares have surged over 196% this year on high demand for specialized AI chips and optical networking equipment, and its strengthened collaboration with Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL, Financials).
Wall Street forecasts Marvell will post earnings of $0.93 per share, up around 39% from a year ago Revenue is predicted to increase by 35% to $2.71 billion. Investors will be watching data-center growth and guidance especially intently.
The fear is expectations have increased just about as fast as the stock. Marvell's AI business forecast will matter after such a big runup and even good results could disappoint.
Now the earnings report is a test of whether fundamentals can match the valuation investors have already placed on the company.
J. M. Smucker čeká v 1. fiskálním čtvrtletí téměř beze změny výnosy, ale upravený EPS má vzrůst ve středních desítkách procent díky kávě a nižším úrokům.
Key Takeaways The J. M. Smucker expects roughly flat Q1 sales, with higher pricing offset by softer volume/mix. SJM expects adjusted EPS to rise in the mid-teens, aided by coffee gross profit and lower interest expense. SJM expects lower coffee and tariff costs and productivity gains, partly offset by higher marketing. The J. M. Smucker Company (SJM - Free Report) is scheduled to report first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings on Aug. 26. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2.1 billion, indicating a decline of 0.4% from the year-ago reported number.
However, the earnings picture looks encouraging. The consensus mark for earnings has risen 1.4% over the past seven days to $2.21 a share, which suggests an increase of 16.3% from the figure reported in the year-ago period. SJM has a trailing four-quarter surprise of 1.5%, on average.
Factors Likely to Influence SJM’s Upcoming ResultsSJM’s first-quarter performance is likely to reflect a mixed sales backdrop, with pricing providing support while volume/mix remaining soft. The company expects first-quarter net sales to be roughly flat year over year, with a low-single-digit increase in net price realization offset by unfavorable volume/mix.
Demand trends across the portfolio may have remained uneven. U.S. Retail Coffee and Sweet Baked Snacks are expected to face volume/mix declines in fiscal 2027, while U.S. Retail Pet Foods and Away From Home are expected to post volume/mix growth. The company also anticipates volume growth across its key platforms — Uncrustables, Cafe Bustelo, Meow Mix and Milk-Bone — supported by continued investments in these brands. Pricing is likely to have offered additional support in Sweet Baked Snacks, as a list-price increase on certain Hostess Donettes products began in the first quarter.
The earnings picture appears more favorable. SJM expects first-quarter adjusted earnings per share to increase in the mid-teens, primarily driven by higher adjusted gross profit in U.S. Retail Coffee and lower interest expense. These benefits, however, are expected to be partly offset by increased marketing investments behind key growth platforms.
Margins may also have benefited from improving cost dynamics. The company entered fiscal 2027 expecting lower commodity and tariff costs, primarily related to green coffee, along with productivity savings from its transformation initiatives. Meanwhile, continued marketing investments and low-single-digit inflation outside green coffee and tariffs may have limited some of the margin upside.
Earnings Whispers for SJMOur proven model predicts an earnings beat for The J. M. Smucker this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is exactly the case here.
The J. M. Smucker currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has an Earnings ESP of +1.77%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Other Stocks With the Favorable CombinationHere are some other companies worth considering, as our model shows that these, too, have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.
Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.84% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The consensus estimate for the quarterly revenues is pinned at approximately $3 billion, which indicates 11.8% growth from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Burlington’s upcoming quarter’s EPS is pegged at $2.18, which implies 37.1% growth year over year. BURL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 14%, on average.
Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.41% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The consensus estimate for Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenues is pinned at about $3 billion, which implies 6.5% growth from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the upcoming quarter’s EPS is pegged at $6.19, which indicates a 7.1% jump year over year. ULTA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 10%, on average.
Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.45% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $94.5 billion, which indicates an increase of 9.6% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Costco’s upcoming quarter EPS is pegged at $6.51, implying 10.9% year-over-year growth. COST has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1%, on average.
Flowers Foods, Inc. (FLO) Q2 2026 Earnings Call August 21, 2026 8:30 AM EDT
Company Participants
J. Rieck - Executive VP of Finance & Investor Relations
A. McMullian - CEO & Chairman of Board
Diego Scaglione - Chief Financial Officer
Conference Call Participants
Stephen Robert Powers - Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division
Scott Marks - Jefferies LLC, Research Division
James Salera - Stephens Inc., Research Division
Mitchell Pinheiro - Sturdivant & Co., Inc., Research Division
Presentation
Operator
Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Flowers Foods Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.
I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, J.T. Rieck, Executive Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
J. Rieck
Executive VP of Finance & Investor Relations
Good morning. I hope everyone had the opportunity to review our earnings release, listen to our prepared remarks and view the slide presentation that were all posted earlier on our Investor Relations website. After today's Q&A session, we will also post an audio replay of this call. Please note that in this Q&A session, we may make forward-looking statements about the company's performance.
Although we believe these statements to be reasonable, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. In addition to what you hear in these remarks, important factors relating to Flowers Foods business are fully detailed in our SEC filings. We also provide non-GAAP financial measures for which disclosure and reconciliations are provided in the earnings release and at the end of the slide presentation on our website. Joining me today are Ryals McMullian, Chairman and CEO; and Anthony Scaglione, our CFO.
BJ’s Wholesale Club plánuje otevřít novou prodejnu v Tyleru v Texasu a očekává vytvoření 100 až 150 pracovních míst. Je to součást zrychlené expanze firmy v Texasu.
BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) today announced plans for a new club location in Tyler, Texas. The club builds on the company’s successful debut in the Dallas-Fort Worth area earlier this year.
The new location is part of BJ’s accelerated growth strategy, with the company on track to open 25 to 30 new clubs every two years.
“Value is the foundation of our company. BJ’s has been delivering unbeatable savings and convenience to families for more than 40 years,” said Bill Werner, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Development, BJ’s Wholesale Club. “We’re thrilled by the enthusiasm we’ve seen from members in Texas and look forward to taking care of families in Tyler and the surrounding communities.”
The new Texas club joins the following previously announced planned locations:
Foley, AlabamaFrankfort, KentuckyMesquite, TexasOcala, FloridaLecanto, FloridaPort St. Lucie, FloridaPortage, IndianaBJ’s Wholesale Club provides members with a true one-stop shop experience offering unbeatable value on fresh food and produce, a full-service deli and bakery, household essentials, pet supplies, toys, consumer electronics, apparel, seasonal décor and more.
BJ’s offers members several ways to maximize savings and convenience, whether they’re shopping online or in-club, including:
Curbside and in-club pickup: Easy online ordering with fast, convenient fulfillmentSame-day delivery*: Fresh groceries and everyday essentials delivered to members’ doorsteps in as little as two hoursExpressPay**: A mobile-first checkout feature in the BJ’s app that allows members to scan items as they shop and skip the checkout lineBJ’s Gas: On-site gas stations offering everyday low fuel prices and extra savings opportunities through the BJ’s Fuel Saver Program.The Tyler location is expected to create between 100 and 150 jobs. Team member development and training are a central focus at BJ’s Wholesale Club. Those interested in becoming BJ’s team members can visit BJs.com/Careers for more information on available opportunities.
To learn more about becoming a BJ’s Wholesale Club member, visit BJs.com/Membership.
About BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc.
BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BJ) is a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs focused on delivering significant value to its members and serving a shared purpose: “We take care of the families who depend on us.” The company provides a wide assortment of fresh foods, produce, a full-service deli, fresh bakery, household essentials, various exclusive offerings, gas and more to deliver unbeatable value to smart-saving families. Headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the company pioneered the warehouse club model in New England in 1984 and currently operates 267 clubs and 206 BJ's Gas® locations in 22 states. For more information, please visit us at BJs.com or on Facebook, or Instagram.
*Not available in all ZIP codes. Log in to your account to confirm availability.
**Terms apply. Visit bjs.com/expresspay for more details.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260821033869/en/
BJ’s Wholesale Club ve 2Q fiskálního roku 2026 překonal očekávání díky růstu tržeb, členství a silnějšímu zisku z paliv. Zvedl výhled upraveného EPS na 4,60 až 4,80 USD.
Why BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Could Be Ready for a ReboundBJ's Wholesale Club NYSE: BJ reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results that exceeded its expectations, supported by sales growth, membership gains, accelerating traffic and stronger-than-planned fuel profits. The warehouse retailer maintained its full-year comparable-sales outlook while raising its adjusted earnings-per-share forecast.
Net sales rose 15.9% year over year to $6.1 billion, while total comparable club sales increased 11.9%. Excluding gasoline, merchandise comparable sales grew 3.1%, driven by a roughly even contribution from traffic and basket size, according to Chief Financial Officer Laura Felice. Inflation was close to 1% during the period.
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Target Shows Strengths, But Analysts Want to See MoreChairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Eddy said the company recorded its 18th consecutive quarter of traffic growth and its 15th consecutive quarter of market-share gains. On a two-year stacked basis, merchandise comparable sales increased 5.4%.
Category Results and Fuel Strength The perishables, grocery and sundries division posted a 2.8% comparable-sales increase, led by grocery. Eddy cited strength in beverages and active nutrition, which he attributed in part to assortment changes made through the company’s category management process.
Surprising Beneficiaries of High Gas Prices: BJs and CostcoGeneral merchandise and services comparable sales increased 5.3%, with consumer electronics continuing to lead the division and home also contributing. Eddy said the company has been renovating its assortment in home categories including housewares, textiles and refrigeration. Seasonal merchandise was also positive during the quarter, he said.
Fuel was a significant contributor to results. Comparable fuel gallons increased 10.5%, while industry data indicated that overall comparable fuel gallons declined about 5% during the period, Felice said. Eddy said elevated gasoline prices and the company’s value proposition at the pump helped attract members, while favorable movement from peak gasoline prices helped fuel profit dollars exceed plan.
Bill Werner, executive vice president of strategy and development, said BJ’s has used gasoline offers as part of its membership-acquisition efforts. He noted that the company has expanded its gas-station base by 50% since its initial public offering and has more than 2 million members participating in its co-branded credit-card program, which provides per-gallon discounts.
Membership and Digital Engagement Membership fee income increased 9.9% to $136 million as BJ’s reached 8.5 million members. Eddy said the company added more than 1 million members over the past two years and more than 3 million since its IPO.
During the question-and-answer session, Eddy said higher-tier memberships represented about 43% of the membership base, an all-time high for the company. He also said BJ’s experienced strong acquisition and renewal trends and saw membership growth of 2% to 3% in comparable clubs during the quarter.
However, Felice said the company continues to expect membership fee income growth to moderate through the year as the effect of last year’s membership-fee increase normalizes. Eddy said the company expects the growth rate to exit the year at about 6%.
Digitally enabled comparable sales increased 30% during the quarter, bringing two-year stacked growth to 64%. Eddy said members who use the company’s digital services—including buy online, pickup in club, same-day delivery, ExpressPay and digital coupons—tend to spend more, visit more frequently and renew at higher rates over time.
The company’s AI-powered shopping assistant, Bev, has conducted more than 100,000 member conversations, Eddy said. The assistant helps members find products, check club hours and navigate membership-related questions.
Margins, Cash Flow and Capital Allocation Gross profit increased 10.3% to $1.11 billion. Merchandise gross margin declined approximately 20 basis points from a year earlier as BJ’s continued to invest in pricing, partially offset by tariff refunds and other sourcing initiatives.
Eddy said the company expects to continue funding member price investments through a mix of sources, including supplier discussions, assortment changes, retail-media opportunities and fuel outperformance. He said BJ’s is focused on growing margin dollars rather than targeting a particular margin rate.
Selling, general and administrative expense totaled $851 million and improved as a percentage of net sales. The increase in dollar terms was primarily tied to labor, occupancy and depreciation costs associated with new clubs and gas stations, Felice said. The company also recorded an approximately $11 million gain from a sale-leaseback transaction involving its new ambient distribution center in Ohio.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 14.3% to $347 million, while adjusted EPS increased 19.3% to $1.36. Adjusted free cash flow was $266 million, compared with $87 million in the prior-year quarter. BJ’s ended the period with net leverage of 0.5 turns, repurchased $124 million of shares during the quarter and had about $422 million remaining under its repurchase authorization.
Expansion Plans and Outlook BJ’s opened three Texas clubs during the second quarter—in Waxahachie, Fort Worth and Grand Prairie—bringing its Texas total to four, and added a gas station in Edison, New Jersey. The company plans seven additional club openings and one relocation over the remainder of the year and continues to target 25 to 30 new clubs every two years.
Werner said Texas membership is tracking more than 30% ahead of plan, while all four Texas gas stations rank in the top 30% of the chain by gallon volume. Two rank in the top 10%, he said. The company also announced a future club in Tyler, Texas.
BJ’s said it expects newly opened clubs to build membership and sales over their first several years, with locations generally maturing toward their potential within three to five years. Eddy said the company is considering opportunities to expand its new-club pace beyond its current target, though its pipeline for the next roughly two years is largely established.
For fiscal 2026, BJ’s maintained its outlook for comparable club sales growth, excluding gasoline, of 2% to 3%. The company raised its adjusted EPS outlook to a range of $4.60 to $4.80, with Felice citing second-quarter gas-business outperformance as the primary reason for the increase.
About BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ)BJ's Wholesale Club, headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, is a membership-based warehouse retailer offering a wide range of products and services primarily to small businesses and individual consumers. The company operates large-format clubs that provide value-priced groceries, health and beauty products, electronics, home goods, furniture, seasonal items and automotive supplies. In addition to its in-club offerings, BJ's features fuel stations at many locations and operates an e-commerce platform for online ordering and home delivery.
Founded in 1984 as a division of Zayre Corp., BJ's Wholesale Club quickly expanded throughout the Northeastern United States.
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FactSet za šest měsíců vzrostl o 57,8 % a překonal odvětví i index S&P 500. Firma navíc třikrát po sobě překonala odhady zisku a rozšířila partnerství s RepRisk, Google Cloud a TIFIN.AI.
Key Takeaways FactSet shares gained 57.8% in six months, outperforming the industry and the S&P 500 Composite.FDS beat earnings estimates in the past three fiscal quarters as OCF and FCF grew consistently.FactSet expanded partnerships with RepRisk, Google Cloud and TIFIN.AI to bolster AI and investing solutions. FactSet (FDS - Free Report) stock has gained 57.8% over the past six months, outperforming both the industry’s and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 12.6% rally.
6-Month Share Price Performance Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Let us delve deeper into the factors that have contributed to the company’s outperformance.
Repeated Earnings BeatOver the past three fiscal quarters, FactSet has reported earnings beats, a highly impressive feat for investors. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, the company’s earnings per share of $4.51 outpaced the consensus estimate by 2.7%.
On a similar note, FactSet’s earnings of $4.46 and $4.53 per share during the second and third quarters of fiscal 2026 beat the consensus estimate by 2.1% and 2%, respectively. Consistent earnings beats signal the market that the company holds pricing power or structural market share gains that mitigate macroeconomic headwinds.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
It drives multiple expansions of the price-to-earnings and price-to-sales ratios beyond numerical growth in earnings. FactSet’s valuation ratios have moved along an expanding trajectory over the past six months.
P/E TTM, Price/Sales TTM Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
FCF & OCF Show Similar TrendOperating cash flow (OCF) and free cash flow (FCF) grew consistently over the past three fiscal quarters. A parallel rise in these metrics implies that the company’s CapEx remained stable relative to cash generation. FactSet stock’s lofty growth over the past six months, alongside a consistent cash flow expansion, suggests that the market is rewarding high-quality and cash-driven growth rather than accounting gains.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Investors perceive this cash flow expansion across OCF and FCF as an indication of share buybacks and dividend payments, which are vital factors that lead to investing in these shares. Over the past three fiscal quarters, FactSet’s share repurchases amounted to nearly $950 million and dividend payments close to $250 million, which not only boost shareholder morale by raising the bottom line but also appeal to income-seeking investors.
Strategic Partnerships Shift Market PerceptionFactSet entered three major partnership agreements in June and July 2026. In July, the company expanded its partnership with RepRisk to solidify a sustainable investing solution suite for clients. In June, FactSet partnered with Google Cloud to create a generation of AI-backed solutions for the financial industry.
The company expanded Wealth Management Workflow AI capabilities leveraging a partnership with TIFIN.AI. These partnerships shift the narrative and strengthen the company’s market perception, leading investors to expect substantial growth in revenues and margins in the upcoming quarters.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderFactSet currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some higher-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Gartner (IT - Free Report) and Coursera (COUR - Free Report) , each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Gartner has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 21%. IT delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 13.5%, on average.
Coursera has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 49.6%. COUR delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.9%, on average.
Archer Aviation oznámila dohodu o koupi byznysů Wisk Aero, Insitu a SkyGrid od Boeingu výměnou za podíl ve společnosti Boeing. Insitu sama generuje přes 200 milionů USD ročních tržeb.
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Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR | ACHR Price Prediction) announced on August 10 it would acquire Boeing’s Wisk Aero, Insitu, and SkyGrid businesses in exchange for a strategic Boeing equity stake. Insitu alone generates more than $200 million in annual revenue, an order of magnitude jump from Archer’s $5 million in Q2 2026 revenue.
Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Archer is $11.63, implying 93.48% upside from the current $6.07 quote. That earns a buy with medium confidence.
24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $6.07 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $11.63 Upside 93.48% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 50% Boeing Deal Reframes an Otherwise Ugly Quarter Archer shares are down 14.23% year to date and 30.57% over the past year, but the stock is up 21.47% in the last month since mid-July.
Q2 was mixed: revenue of $5 million beat the $1.96 million consensus by 154.62%, GAAP EPS of -$0.34 missed the -$0.2506 estimate. Net loss widened to $263.20 million, and liquidity closed at $1.56 billion. The Boeing announcement is driving sentiment.
Why Bulls See a Breakout Ahead The bull case rests on Archer transforming from a pre-revenue eVTOL developer into an end-to-end physical AI platform for aerospace and defense. CEO Adam Goldstein called the Boeing deal an “important inflection point” and told analysts Insitu is a “profitable business generating more than 200 million of revenue a year” that should contribute positive free cash flow after closing.
Halo Thunder, developed with Anduril, addresses what management pegs as a $100 billion-plus total addressable market, aligned with the Pentagon’s $53.6 billion FY2027 autonomous systems budget. If the base case plays out, our bull-scenario price rises to $14.60 within twelve months.
What Could Go Wrong Archer burned $177.10 million in adjusted EBITDA losses in Q2, with Q3 guided to another $170 million to $200 million loss. Capex jumped 268% year over year to $69.70 million, and liquidity slipped from roughly $1.80 billion in Q1.
The Boeing transaction remains subject to regulatory approval, and integrating three businesses carries execution risk. Management has committed to keeping cash burn “relatively flat from where it stands today” post-close, with Insitu’s cash flow offsetting Midnight investment. Bear-case price: $9.30.
How Archer Compares to Joby and AeroVironment Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) is the direct eVTOL comparable. Joby carries a $7.41 billion market cap versus Archer’s $4.64 billion, despite guiding to only $115 to $125 million in 2026 revenue, most from its Blade subsidiary. On a market-cap-to-forward-revenue basis, Joby trades richer than Archer would even after Insitu closes, making our $11.63 target reasonable rather than aggressive.
AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) is the right defense-drone benchmark for what Insitu could become inside Archer. AeroVironment guided fiscal 2027 revenue to $2.13 billion to $2.23 billion with non-GAAP EPS of $3.02 to $3.34, backed by record bookings of $2.7 billion. That is the profitability arc bulls want Archer to walk. AeroVironment’s $8.04 billion market cap suggests real upside if Archer can prove Insitu scales similarly.
Our Take at Current Levels Our 24/7 Wall St. price target is $11.63 with a buy rating and 50% confidence. Insitu instantly converts Archer from a story stock into a company with a real revenue base and defense exposure aligned to a rising Pentagon drone budget.
The setup rewards investors who can tolerate a 3.21 beta and view a year-end Boeing deal close as the base case. Risk skews the other way if regulatory approval slips into 2027 or if Q3 cash burn exceeds the $200 million high end of guidance.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $11.63 2027 $19.56 2028 $26.68 2029 $32.28 2030 $36.38 These projections assume Archer closes the Boeing deal on schedule, achieves FAA type certification for Midnight, and scales Halo Thunder deliveries through 2029. Significant upside or downside could result from Pentagon procurement decisions on autonomous VTOL platforms or delays in commercial eIPP operations.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Charles River za rok posílil o 88,6 % díky návratu organických tržeb DSA k růstu a 0,2% mezikvartálnímu růstu objemu zakázek na 701 mil. USD. Nevyřízené zakázky vzrostly na 1,97 mld. USD.
Key Takeaways Charles River's shares rose 88.6% in a year, outperforming the industry's 11.5% rise.CRL's DSA organic revenues returned to growth as Q2 bookings rose 12.6% sequentially to $701 million. Charles River is expanding new testing approaches through PathoQuest, Arovella and Lilly's TuneLab. Charles River Laboratories International (CRL - Free Report) has witnessed strong momentum over the past year. Shares of the company have risen 88.6%, outperforming the industry’s 11.5% growth. The S&P 500 composite has increased 23.4% during the same time frame.
With healthy fundamentals and strong growth opportunities, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company appears to be a solid wealth creator for its investors at the moment.
Charles River is a full-service, early-stage contract research organization, headquartered in Wilmington, MA. The company provides essential products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies and leading academic institutions globally accelerate their research and drug development efforts. It has a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (“GLP”) and non-GLP. Charles River currently has three reporting segments - Discovery and Safety Assessment (“DSA”), Research Models and Services (“RMS”) and Manufacturing Solutions.
Factors Favoring CRL’s Share Price GrowthCharles River’s share price is trending upward, prompted by its strong DSA segment’s quarterly performance. In the second quarter of 2026, DSA organic revenues increased 0.2%, its first organic growth since the third quarter of 2023. Net bookings rose 12.6% sequentially to $701 million, backlog increased to $1.97 billion and net book-to-bill reached 1.19x, marking the third consecutive quarter above 1x and the highest level in nearly four years. This improvement was broad-based across global biopharma and small and midsized biotech clients.
Additionally, the company’s gradual, long-term shift toward broader adoption of new approach methodologies looks encouraging. PathoQuest adds next-generation sequencing capabilities for in vitro testing and a new Arovella Therapeutics collaboration extends those capabilities into cell and gene therapy programs. Charles River also joined Eli Lilly’s TuneLab platform to contribute non-clinical testing expertise to AI and machine-learning drug discovery. These initiatives complement virtual control groups and the AMAP program, reinforcing a strategy that combines in vivo, in vitro and data-driven approaches.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a solvency viewpoint, Charles River exited the second quarter of 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $192 million, with no short-term debt payable. This is good news in terms of the company’s solvency position, particularly during the time of worldwide macroeconomic complications. The debt-to-capital ratio was 47.9% in the first quarter. The company repurchased $300 million of stock in the first half, including $100 million in the second quarter, leaving $700 million under its authorization while continuing to fund organic investment, acquisitions and debt repayment.
Factors That May Offset CRL’s GainsCharles River’s safety assessment and large-model activities remain exposed to variability in NHP sourcing, study mix and study-start costs. In the second quarter of 2026, DSA operating margin fell 180 basis points year over year to 25.6%, primarily because of higher study-related direct costs, even as NHP shipment timing normalized in RMS.
Additionally, the company competes on scientific expertise, quality, responsiveness, innovation, capacity and price across its business segments. Clients can still compare providers on price, capacity and technical capability, particularly in discretionary discovery work. If demand recovery remains gradual, the cost of maintaining technology, scientific talent and client support could limit operating leverage even as Charles River refines its portfolio.
Taking a Look at CRL’s EstimatesThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings has moved north 2.1% to $11.28 in the past 30 days.
The company has an estimated long-term EPS growth rate of 8.5% compared with the industry’s 13.6% growth.
Other Stocks to ConsiderSome other top-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) , Veracyte (VCYT - Free Report) and Teleflex (TFX - Free Report) .
Globus Medical has an earnings yield of 5.8% against the industry’s negative 1.7% yield. Its earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 27.9%. GMED’s shares have rallied 42.3% against the industry’s 6.3% fall over the past year.
GMED sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Veracyte, sporting a Zacks Rank #1, has an earnings yield of 4.6% against the industry’s negative 1.7% yield. Shares of the company have risen 38% against the industry’s 6.3% decline. VCYT’s earnings outpaced estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 41.8%.
Teleflex, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 20.7% compared with the industry’s 12.8% growth. Its earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed on one occasion, the average surprise being 3.2%. TFX’s shares have rallied 5% against the industry’s 6.2% decline over the past year.
SoundHound AI oznámila za 1. pololetí 2026 tržby ve výši 106 milionů USD, meziročně o 48 % více, ale zároveň ztrátu 68 milionů USD. Firma zůstává ve ztrátě a její akcie jsou více než 70 % pod historickým maximem.
SoundHound AI (SOUN +3.87%) just released its earnings for the second quarter of 2026. Although it reported considerable revenue growth and increased its revenue guidance, the stock is now close to 52-week lows. Consequently, it trades at more than 70% below its all-time high.
Moreover, profitability seems to remain out of reach, and although its valuation is at multi-year lows, it is still a relatively expensive stock. Knowing these facts, is SoundHound AI stock now a buy, or should investors continue to stay on the sidelines?
Image source: The Motley Fool.
SoundHound AI continues to prosper SoundHound AI continues to benefit from high demand for its conversational AI tools. Businesses as diverse as restaurants and automobile companies have applied its technology to make their operations more efficient.
Investors should also note its new platform called the Orchestrated Agent System (OASYS). The OASYS builds AI agents that can speak with customers, handle transactions, and resolve issues with service. Additionally, its AI can improve as it learns from customer interactions.
Thanks to this technology, SoundHound AI's systems now handle over 10 billion conversations annually. Furthermore, it now holds over 400 patents related to its technology, helping it compete with the largest tech enterprises in terms of speed and accuracy.
However, investors need to remember that its size is a tiny fraction of said big tech enterprises. For example, SoundHound has a market cap of around $3 billion, but that is less than one-one-thousandth of Google parent Alphabet's market cap.
Alphabet has pledged to spend between $195 billion and $205 billion on capital expenditures this year, raising some doubts about its finances. Nonetheless, that still leaves Alphabet in better financial shape than SoundHound, and that may leave investors wondering about SoundHound's long-term competitiveness.
SoundHound AI by the numbers Indeed, its financial condition gives investors reason for both optimism and worry. It posted massive growth in the first half of 2026, with its revenue of $106 million up 48% from the year-ago period. Unfortunately, SoundHound lost $68 million in that same timeframe, and its free cash flow of negative $61 million in the first six months of 2026 confirms its continued dependence on outside funding.
Since it holds about $203 million in liquidity, it can absorb losses for a few more quarters. Nonetheless, it has increased its share count by 122% since a SPAC took SoundHound AI public in April 2022. These actions dilute shareholder value, making it more difficult to profit from the tech stock.
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Investors are also down slightly since the SPAC purchase. Although the stock has risen significantly in the past, it seems to give back its gains fairly quickly.
Additionally, its valuation may not be low enough to entice investors. Amid ongoing losses, it does not have a P/E ratio, though its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is 15. While that is far above the S&P 500 average of 3.8, its sales multiple is not unusually high for a fast-growing tech stock in a relatively new industry.
Still, considering its heavyweight competitors and ongoing losses, it is unclear whether investors will willingly pay that price in the long term.
Stay on the sidelines Given its current condition, investors may be best off staying on the sidelines.
Admittedly, SoundHound AI's offerings continue to gain traction with key customers, and its revenue grows rapidly as a result. However, if an industry heavyweight like Alphabet decides to compete more aggressively with SoundHound, one has to wonder whether SoundHound could respond given its financial condition. Moreover, with the continuing losses, SoundHound may further have to dilute its shares, making it more difficult for investors to earn positive returns.
Given those uncertainties, investors with the risk tolerance to buy this stock should probably hold out for a lower valuation before taking a chance on SoundHound.
Semtech čeká na výsledky za 2. fiskální čtvrtletí s tržbami 328 mil. USD, což by znamenalo meziroční růst o 27,5 %. Non-GAAP EPS má být 61 centů, tedy o 51 % více než před rokem.
Key Takeaways Semtech is set to report Q2 results, with revenues expected to rise 27.5% year over year.Data center demand, FiberEdge adoption and 1.6T architectures are expected to support SMTC's growth.LoRa deployments and premium handset content could boost Semtech's industrial and consumer businesses. Semtech Corporation (SMTC - Free Report) is scheduled to report second-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Aug. 25.
For the fiscal second quarter, Semtech anticipates revenues to be $328 million (+/- $5 million). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $328.4 million, indicating a rise of 27.5% from the year-ago quarter.
SMTC expects non-GAAP earnings per share to be 61 cents (+/- 2 cents). The consensus mark for the same is pegged at 62 cents, unchanged over the past 60 days, indicating a year-over-year rise of 51%.
Factors to Consider for SMTC StockSemtech’s performance in the to-be-reported quarter is likely to have benefited from continued momentum across its infrastructure, industrial and high-end consumer end markets. The company’s data center business remains a key growth driver as demand for high-speed optical and copper interconnect solutions accelerates alongside the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Increasing adoption of FiberEdge products and the transition to next-generation 1.6T architectures are expected to have supported growth in the to-be-reported quarter. The broader evaluation and deployment of CopperEdge solutions for active copper cable and onboard linear equalizer applications could have further strengthened the company’s data center opportunity.
LoRa is also expected to have remained an important contributor to Semtech’s industrial business. Broader deployments across utilities, smart buildings, smart cities and asset management are likely to have supported demand. The company’s efforts to expand LoRa into multi-protocol applications through LoRa Plus could have strengthened its addressable market, while growing design-win momentum and emerging consumer applications are expected to have provided additional support in the to-be-reported quarter.
Semtech’s high-end consumer business is likely to have benefited from increasing content per premium handset, continued gains in protection products and expanding sensing opportunities. Improving seasonal demand in the second quarter might have provided an additional tailwind. The company’s efforts to extend its protection franchise into power-delivery applications and to broaden its sensing portfolio are also expected to have supported growth.
Semtech’s optical roadmap might have benefited from the integration of HieFo, which expands its photonics capabilities for next-generation optical applications. Continued investment in coherent optics, co-packaged optics initiatives, LoRa and sensing is likely to have strengthened its long-term product pipeline.
What Our Proven Model Says for SMTC’s Q2 EarningsAccording to the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.
Semtech has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Stocks to ConsiderHere are some stocks you may want to consider in the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:
Dell Technologies (DELL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +6.42% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Dell Technologies is slated to report second-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Sept. 1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DELL’s second-quarter earnings is pegged at $4.88 per share, down by a penny over the past 30 days, indicating a rise of 110.3% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +9.96% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
Hewlett Packard is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Sept. 2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HPE’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at 94 cents per share, up by a penny over the past 30 days, indicating a rise of 113.6% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
Intuit (INTU - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.08% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present.
Intuit is set to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 25. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for INTU’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at $3.59 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, indicating a rise of 30.6% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
EUR/CHF se drží u 0,9350 a ING vidí návrat k 0,9400 díky nízké volatilitě a poptávce po carry trades financovaných frankem. Měsíčně pár vzrostl o 0,9 %.
The EUR/CHF rate could be set to return to 0.9400 as low volatility favours franc-funded carry trades, while its quarterly path points to 0.93. The Euro to Swiss Franc (EUR/CHF) exchange rate held close to 0.9350 on Friday as ING argued that subdued volatility could renew demand for franc-funded carry trades.
The pair traded at 0.9349 in the afternoon, little changed on the day after gaining 0.9% over the preceding month.
EUR/CHF one-month exchange rate performance to 21 August 2026.
ING's latest FX Daily treated 0.9400 as a tactical destination rather than a dated quarter-end target.
Chris Turner, the bank's global head of markets and regional head of research for the UK and CEE, said the franc could become the market's "preferred funding currency", sending EUR/CHF back to 0.9400.
That level is a retest only around 0.5% above Friday's 0.9349 reference, not a distant or dated destination.
The argument rests on low volatility and a risk-friendly backdrop sustaining demand for higher-yielding assets financed in francs.
That would leave the yen less attractive as the market's main funding currency; OCBC separately linked the shift to potential Japanese intervention risk.
Tactical EUR/CHF Level Differs From Quarterly Path ING's current forecast table, updated separately on 11 August, places EUR/CHF at 0.93 for both the third and fourth quarters of 2026.
It then points to 0.92 at the ends of the first and second quarters of 2027, before a recovery to 0.94 by late 2027.
The distinction matters: Friday's analysis identifies a tradable move towards 0.9400, while the maintained quarterly path implies that any rebound may not be sustained into year-end.
OCBC offered a firmer medium-term comparison on 13 August, placing its year-end target at 0.94 against ING's 0.93 fourth-quarter level.
Strategists Sim Moh Siong and Christopher Wong said the franc had moved "closer to our year-end EUR/CHF target of 0.94" and described it as a "preferred funding currency for carry trades."
Policy settings reinforce the funding case.
The Swiss National Bank kept its rate at 0% in June and said: "If necessary, we have an increased willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market. We thereby counter a rapid and excessive appreciation of the franc."
The European Central Bank meanwhile held its deposit rate at 2.25% in July, preserving a positive euro-franc rate gap.
That rate gap favours the euro, but ING's 0.92 levels for the first half of 2027 show that the tactical carry argument is not the same as a lasting bearish-franc call.
For EUR/CHF, 0.9400 is therefore the immediate test, with 0.93 remaining ING's separate quarter-end reference.
Exchange Rates UK Research Our currency coverage draws on live market data, official economic releases and published bank research.
Gossamer Bio uzavřela soukromé umístění s očekávanými hrubými výnosy až přibližně 250 milionů USD, z toho 150 milionů USD je závazně zajištěno, aby financovala seralutinib až k potenciálnímu schválení FDA v PAH.
Gossamer Bio, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOSS) (the “Company” or “Gossamer”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of seralutinib for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD), today announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain new and existing institutional investors for a private placement financing expected to provide aggregate gross proceeds of up to approximately $250 million, before deducting placement agent fees and estimated offering expenses. The private placement consists of an initial closing, a committed second closing contingent upon FDA acceptance of the seralutinib new drug application (NDA) in PAH (the NDA Acceptance Milestone) and warrants exercisable upon FDA approval of seralutinib in PAH (the FDA Approval Milestone). The financing follows the Company’s recent reacquisition of worldwide rights to seralutinib and is in advance of the planned NDA submission in September 2026.
The private placement includes $150 million of committed capital, consisting of approximately $25 million to be funded at the initial closing and an additional approximately $125 million to be funded at a second closing upon FDA acceptance of the seralutinib NDA in PAH. The investors’ obligations to fund the second closing remain subject to the NDA Acceptance Milestone occurring in 2026 and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. If the NDA Acceptance Milestone occurs in 2026, the Company expects to receive the full $150 million of committed capital in 2026.
The private placement includes participation from new and existing institutional investors, including EcoR1 Capital, 683 Capital Partners, LP, RA Capital Management, Coastlands Capital, Samsara BioCapital and Rock Springs Capital, among others.
“This financing is expected to provide the capital needed to advance seralutinib through potential FDA approval in PAH,” said Faheem Hasnain, Chairman, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gossamer Bio. “The committed funding structure aligns capital availability with key regulatory milestones and is expected to support the planned submission and review of our NDA. We appreciate the support of this group of leading healthcare investors as we work to bring a potentially important new treatment option to patients with PAH.”
Private Placement Terms
Pursuant to the terms of the securities purchase agreement, the private placement consists of the following three components, in each case subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and the beneficial ownership limitations applicable to each investor:
Initial Closing. At the initial closing, the Company will issue and sell pre-funded warrants for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $25 million at a purchase price of $0.1399 per pre-funded warrant, representing a common stock-equivalent price of $0.14 minus the $0.0001 per share exercise price of each pre-funded warrant. The initial closing is expected to occur on or about August 24, 2026.
Second Closing. Upon the NDA Acceptance Milestone, and subject to the NDA Acceptance Milestone occurring in 2026 and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, the participating investors will be obligated to purchase pre-funded warrants at a second closing for additional aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $125 million. The purchase price per pre-funded warrant will equal the lesser of $0.1399 and the five-day volume-weighted average price of the Company’s common stock preceding the second closing, in each case minus the $0.0001 per-share exercise price of each pre-funded warrant.
FDA Approval Warrants. At the second closing, the participating investors will also receive, for no additional consideration, warrants exercisable upon the FDA Approval Milestone. If exercised in full for cash at an exercise price of $0.187 per share, the FDA approval warrants (the FDA Approval Warrants) would provide the Company with additional aggregate gross proceeds of up to approximately $100 million. The FDA Approval Warrants will expire on the earliest of (i) the 30th day following the date the Company provides notice of the FDA Approval Milestone having been achieved and (ii) five years following the issuance date of the FDA Approval Warrants.
Additional details regarding the private placement, the securities purchase agreement, the pre-funded warrants, FDA Approval Warrants and non-voting convertible preferred stock can be found in the Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today.
Preferred Stock and Stockholder Approval
Prior to obtaining stockholder approval, the pre-funded warrants and FDA Approval Warrants will be exercisable for shares of the Company’s non-voting convertible preferred stock, designated Series A-1, Series A-2 and Series A-3, as applicable. Following stockholder approval, each series of non-voting convertible preferred stock will be automatically converted (subject to certain exceptions) into common stock at the applicable per share price described above. The exercise of the warrants and conversion of the non-voting convertible preferred stock will in each case be subject to the beneficial ownership limitations elected by the applicable investor.
The Company will seek the stockholder approval necessary under applicable Nasdaq listing rules for the issuance of common stock upon exercise of the warrants and conversion of the non-voting convertible preferred stock at a special meeting of stockholders, which it has agreed to hold following the initial closing. In connection with the private placement, the Company and the Company’s directors and executive officers have entered into lock-up agreements.
Use of Proceeds
The Company intends to use the net proceeds, together with its existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, to advance the clinical development and potential commercialization of seralutinib in PAH and PH-ILD, and for other general corporate purposes and working capital. The Company expects that the net proceeds from the initial closing and the committed capital from the second closing, together with its existing cash resources, will fund its operations into 2028.
Placement Agents
Leerink Partners and Cantor are acting as joint placement agents in connection with the private placement.
Registration Rights and Unregistered Securities
The Company has agreed to file one or more registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) covering the resale of the shares of common stock issuable pursuant to the private placement, including upon exercise of the warrants and conversion of the preferred stock.
The securities described above are being sold in a private placement in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and Regulation D promulgated thereunder, and have not been registered under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws. Accordingly, such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration with the SEC or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
About Gossamer Bio
Gossamer Bio is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of seralutinib for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease. Its goal is to be an industry leader in, and to enhance the lives of patients living with, pulmonary hypertension.
Forward-Looking Statements
Gossamer cautions you that statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the Company’s current beliefs and expectations. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the expected timing, completion and terms of the private placement; the amount and timing of gross proceeds, including the potential to achieve the NDA Acceptance Milestone and consummate the second closing and the Company’s expectation that the committed capital would be funded in 2026; the potential achievement of the FDA Approval Milestone; the receipt of stockholder approval at the proposed special meeting; the intended use of proceeds and the expected timeframe for funding the Company’s operating plan into 2028; and the development potential and market opportunity of seralutinib in PAH, PH-ILD and other indications. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by Gossamer that any of its plans will be achieved. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in Gossamer’s business, including, without limitation: the risks and uncertainties associated with market conditions and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the proposed financing; the financing may not be completed on the terms described or at all, and the milestones triggering the second closing and/or exercise of the FDA Approval Warrants may not be achieved; the risk that Gossamer’s planned NDA submission is based in part on its views following its recent meeting with the FDA and the official minutes therefrom and later feedback from the FDA, which may be inconsistent with such meeting or Gossamer’s views from such meeting; later developments with the FDA may be inconsistent with the feedback from prior meetings; the FDA may determine that our planned NDA does not qualify for filing; the results of the Company’s clinical trials, including the Phase 3 PROSERA and Phase 2 TORREY studies, may not be deemed sufficient by the FDA to serve as the basis for regulatory approval of seralutinib, including the risk that the FDA determines that the overall benefit-risk assessment of seralutinib is not favorable; any path forward may require additional capital and other resources, which may not be available on reasonable terms, if at all, or may limit the commercial opportunity for seralutinib; the Company’s future performance is dependent entirely on the success of seralutinib; potential delays in the commencement, enrollment and completion of clinical trials; disruption to our operations from unexpected events, including clinical trial delays; the Company’s dependence on third parties in connection with product manufacturing, research and preclinical and clinical testing; the results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials with seralutinib are not necessarily predictive of future results; regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries; adverse side effects or inadequate efficacy of seralutinib that may limit its development, regulatory approval and/or commercialization, or may result in clinical holds, recalls or product liability claims; Gossamer’s ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for seralutinib; Gossamer may use its capital resources sooner than it expects; and other risks described in the Company’s prior press releases and the Company’s filings with the SEC, including under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and Gossamer undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, which is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260821107693/en/
CoreWeave získal víceletou smlouvu s Hudson River Trading na výstavbu AI platformy pro výzkum a vývoj modelů. Nasadí infrastrukturu NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 a Spectrum-X Ethernet.
Key Takeaways CoreWeave won a multi-year HRT deal to build an AI-driven research and model-development platform.HRT will use NVIDIA's Vera Rubin NVL72 and Spectrum-X Ethernet networking through CoreWeave.CoreWeave's growing financial-services reach supports enterprise AI demand and improved revenue visibility. CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV - Free Report) recently won a multi-year agreement with Hudson River Trading (HRT), a top-tier quantitative trading firm, to build its next-generation AI-driven research and model-development platform. The deployment will use NVIDIA's (NVDA - Free Report) Vera Rubin infrastructure, including the Vera Rubin NVL72 platform and Spectrum-X Ethernet networking. HRT’s decision to use CoreWeave's AI cloud platform suggests that specialized AI infrastructure can become an important component of next-generation quantitative research.
A notable aspect of the agreement is HRT’s planned use of NVIDIA Vera Rubin infrastructure. NVIDIA designed the Rubin platform for the next generation of large-scale AI workloads, particularly reasoning, inference and agentic AI. The Vera Rubin NVL72 combines 72 Rubin GPUs with 36 Vera CPUs and uses NVIDIA's latest high-bandwidth interconnect technologies. CoreWeave has already established an early-mover position with the platform. In June, the company announced that it had completed the industry's first bring-up and validation of Vera Rubin NVL72. CRWV simplifies access to NVDA’s latest architectures by handling the infrastructure complexity, allowing it to monetize each new generation of NVIDIA hardware.
The HRT agreement also broadens CoreWeave's exposure to financial services. Quantitative trading firms such as Jane Street, IMC and Flow Traders have already adopted CoreWeave's infrastructure, underscoring the potential for a broader financial-services customer base. Despite these positive implications, the agreement does not eliminate CoreWeave’s challenges. Competition remains a concern. Hyperscalers such as Microsoft Azure (MSFT - Free Report) and other specialized providers like Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS - Free Report) are also investing heavily in advanced AI infrastructure. Nonetheless, HRT’s multi-year deal highlights CoreWeave’s growing enterprise AI demand, specialized infrastructure advantage and improved revenue visibility.
Can CRWV Maintain Its Edge Amid Fierce Rivalry?Like CRWV, NBIS continues to deepen ties with NVDA. In June, it announced plans to invest approximately £1.7 billion in expanding AI compute capacity across the U.K. The investment includes three new deployments of advanced NVIDIA-powered infrastructure. Nebius launched its first U.K. deployment of NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra infrastructure in late 2025. Building on that foundation, it now plans to establish three additional sites across the U.K., deploying the latest generations of NVIDIA’s full-stack AI factory platform technology. When fully operational in 2027, these deployments are expected to deliver 65 MW of AI computing capacity. To strengthen its position in the rapidly evolving AI cloud market, NBIS inked an agreement to acquire Eigen AI in May.
MSFT capitalizes on the momentum of the AI business and Copilot adoption, alongside the expansion of Azure cloud infrastructure. In July, Microsoft launched MAI-Cyber-1-Flash, its first cybersecurity-specialized AI model, alongside a new agentic security platform called Project Perception, with the company claiming the model — when combined with OpenAI's GPT-5.4 inside its MDASH vulnerability management harness — delivers 96% on the CyberGym benchmark at 50% of the cost of its current MDASH configuration. Multi-model flexibility, paired with continued access to OpenAI's frontier models under an IP arrangement extending to 2032, allows customers to optimize cost and performance while keeping Microsoft central to their AI infrastructure decisions.
CRWV’s Price Performance, Valuations and EstimatesShares of CoreWeave have gained 25.3% year to date against the Internet Software industry’s fall of 5.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
In terms of Price/Book, CRWV’s shares are trading at 8X, higher than the Internet Software Services industry’s 4.35X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRWV’s earnings for the current year has been revised downward over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CRWV currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Modine ve fiskálním 1. čtvrtletí zvýšila tržby o 28 % na 874,1 mil. USD a upravený zisk na akcii (EPS) o 44 % na 1,53 USD, ale upravená marže EBITDA klesla na 12,2 %.
Nejvíc ji táhl segment Data Centers, kde tržby vyskočily o 90 %, ale marže spadla na 14,8 %.
Key Takeaways Modine's fiscal Q1 sales rose 28% and adjusted EPS jumped 44%, but adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 12.2%.Data Centers revenue surged 90%, while component shortages helped drive margin down to 14.8%.Modine targets $650-$680 million in fiscal 2027 adjusted EBITDA and 100-200 bps of margin expansion. Modine Manufacturing (MOD - Free Report) is delivering strong revenue growth, particularly from its booming data center business. But can the company translate that growth into meaningful margin expansion? Its last quarter results suggest there is still work to do.
Modine’s first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue rose 28% year over year to $874.1 million, while adjusted EPS jumped 44% to $1.53. Yet gross margin declined 340 basis points (bps) to 20.8%, while adjusted EBITDA margin fell 270 bps to 12.2%.
Data Centers: Growth Outpacing ProfitabilityThe biggest drag was the Data Centers business. Although segment revenue surged 90%, its adjusted EBITDA margin dropped to 14.8% from 22.1% a year earlier. Component shortages limited production and created labor inefficiencies and under-absorbed overhead. These issues reduced the segment’s margin by roughly 450-550 bps.
Modine views these pressures as temporary and expects Data Center margins to recover to 19-20% in the fiscal second quarter as component availability improves and production becomes more efficient. The company is also expanding supplier capacity and preparing its facilities to handle the strong demand reflected in its growing backlog.
Commercial HVAC: Buyouts Fuel Growth, Dilute MarginsCommercial HVAC sales rose 22% to $261.6 million, helped by higher coil sales to data center customers and $19.7 million of incremental revenue from acquired businesses. Organic sales grew a more modest 6%.
But adjusted EBITDA margin slipped to 15.9% from 18.1%, pressured by acquisition-related business mix, manufacturing consolidation inefficiencies and a greater share of lower-margin coil sales.
Management expects the segment's margin to improve sequentially through fiscal 2027. But for now, HVAC is telling a similar story to Data Centers: strong demand, growth outpacing profitability.
Performance Technologies: Weak Demand Meets Rising CostsPerformance Technologies is battling both sales and margin headwinds. Revenue declined 3% to $277.8 million, as weak automotive and commercial vehicle demand outweighed higher sales to power-generation customers, with organic sales down 4%.
Adjusted EBITDA fell 3% to $36.2 million and margin edged down 10 bps to 13%, as higher material and tariff costs outpaced contractual cost recoveries— though a $2 million reduction in SG&A partly offset the impact.
Unlike Data Centers and HVAC, this segment's challenge isn't converting growth into margin— it's stabilizing a shrinking base while inflation works against it.
Modine's Playbook for Closing the Margin GapTo address these pressures across the portfolio, Modine is consolidating product lines and manufacturing operations in Commercial HVAC while taking pricing actions to offset higher material and tariff costs. More broadly, the company's 80/20 strategy is simplifying operations and directing resources toward higher-return products and customers.
These initiatives are important because the company targets $650-$680 million in adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2027, representing roughly 38-44% growth, along with at least 100-200 bps of margin expansion. It expects profitability to improve sequentially as data center volumes increase and cost-recovery measures take effect.
For investors, the next few quarters will therefore be critical. Modine has already demonstrated that it can generate impressive growth. The bigger test is whether supply-chain constraints ease quickly enough and whether HVAC and 80/20 initiatives gain enough traction for that growth to flow through to the bottom line across all three segments. Margins, not sales, will be the number to watch over Modine's next quarters.
How MOD Stacks Up Against the CompetitionVertiv Holdings (VRT - Free Report) : Its net sales rose 24.1% year over year to $3.27 billion in the last reported quarter, with organic growth of 18% supplemented by acquisitions and foreign exchange. Vertiv's profitability has kept pace with its top line. Its adjusted operating margin expanded 410 bps to 22.6%. Vertiv attributed the improvement to operational execution, productivity gains and favorable price-cost dynamics, even as tariffs and continued capacity and R&D investment worked against it.
Eaton Corp (ETN - Free Report) : its second-quarter 2026 revenue reached $8.53 billion, driven by 14% organic growth and a 7% contribution from acquisitions, with data centers being a major growth engine alongside broad-based demand across other markets. Eaton’s total segment margin came in at 23.1%, 10 bps above the high end of guidance, but still 80 bps below the prior-year quarter, as acquisition-related effects and higher amortization weighed on profitability. For full-year 2026, Eaton guided segment margins to 24.1-24.5%.
The Zacks Rundown on MOD StockOver the past six months, MOD shares are down 14%, while Eaton and Vertiv gained 15% and 8%, respectively.
6-Month Price Performance Comparison Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Modine still trades at a discount to its peers— around 22x forward 12-month earnings, versus roughly 28x for Eaton and 32x for Vertiv.
MOD’s F12M Vs. Eaton & Vertiv Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Modine’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 EPS implies year-over-year growth of 52% and 41%, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
MOD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Key Points:Seagate shares are up 209% in 2026 and 450% over the past year as institutional inflows continue to support the rally.Fiscal Q4 revenue rose 48% to $3.6 billion, data center revenue climbed 57% to $2.9 billion and non-GAAP EPS jumped 121% to $5.71.STX has logged 42 Big Money outlier inflow signals since 2005 and gained 10,269% since the first, supporting the long-term bullish thesis.
In this article:STX
-0.99%
Data storage company Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX) up 10,269% since first institutional outlier inflow signal in 2005.
STX is a leader in mass-capacity data storage, including hard disk drives, solid state hybrid drives, solid state drives, and other data storage and computing solutions – all of which is needed to build out the AI infrastructure. Its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 report showed $3.6 billion in quarterly revenue (a 48% year-over-year gain), $2.9 billion in data center revenue (up 57%), non-GAAP per-share earnings of $5.71 (up 121%), and quarterly guidance of $4.1 billion and $7.30 for revenue and EPS, respectively.
No wonder STX shares are up 209% so far this year – and they could rise more. MoneyFlows data shows how Big Money investors are again betting heavily on the stock.
Institutions Love Seagate Institutional volumes reveal plenty. In the last year, STX has enjoyed strong investor demand, which we believe to be institutional support.
Each green bar signals unusually large volumes in STX shares. They reflect our proprietary inflow signal, pushing the stock higher:
Seagate (STX) one-year chart shows repeated institutional inflows as shares rise 450% over the period. Source: MoneyFlows.
Plenty of technology names are under accumulation right now. But there’s a powerful fundamental story happening with Seagate.
Seagate Fundamental Analysis Institutional support and a healthy fundamental backdrop make this company worth investigating. As you can see, STX has had strong sales and earnings growth:
Also, EPS is estimated to ramp higher this year by +57%.
Now it makes sense why the stock has been generating Big Money interest. STX has a track record of strong financial performance.
Marrying great fundamentals with MoneyFlows software has found some big winning stocks over the long term.
Institutions Love This Stock Seagate has been a top-rated stock at MoneyFlows for years. That means the stock has unusual buy pressure and growing fundamentals. We have a ranking process that showcases stocks like this on a weekly basis.
It’s had 42 Big Money outlier inflow signals since 2005 and is up 10,269% since then. The blue bars below shows when STX was a top pick since the start of 2025…institutions love this stock:
STX price history since early 2025 highlights recent outlier inflows within a longer record of 42 signals since 2005. Source: MoneyFlows.
Tracking unusual volumes reveals the power of money flows.
This is a trait that most outlier stocks exhibit…the best of the best. Big Money demand drives stocks upward.
Seagate Price Prediction The STX action isn’t new at all. Big Money buying in the shares is signaling to take notice. Given the historical gains in share price and strong fundamentals, this stock could be worth a spot in a diversified portfolio.
Disclosure: the author holds no position in STX at the time of publication.
If you are a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) or are a serious investor, take your investing to the next level and follow our free weekly MoneyFlows insights.
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Lucas is a well-versed equity investor and educator. He currently is co-founder of research and analytics firm, MAPsignals.com, which focuses on finding outlier stocks by following the Big Money.
Wall Street expects Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ) to grow its revenue at a pace that would leave even Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ) in the dust — and Elon Musk says analysts still aren’t thinking big enough.
Ticker Take founder Jon Erlichman shared a chart comparing analysts’ five-year revenue growth estimates for some of the world’s largest companies. SpaceX topped the list with projected revenue growth of 2,090%. It stood far ahead of Nvidia’s 288%, Alphabet Inc‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) 140%, Microsoft Corp‘s (NASDAQ:MSFT) 136%, Amazon.com Inc‘s (NASDAQ:AMZN) 81% and Apple Inc‘s (NASDAQ:AAPL) 54%.
That means Wall Street already expects SpaceX’s revenue to grow at more than seven times Nvidia’s pace over the next five years. It’s a remarkable comparison considering Nvidia has become the defining winner of the artificial intelligence boom; while SpaceX is still widely viewed as a rocket company despite its rapidly expanding businesses.
Are Analysts Still Too Conservative on SpaceX?Responding to the chart on X, Musk wrote, “I think both SpaceX and Tesla will exceed these estimates.”
While the comment covered both companies, SpaceX’s projection stands out. Analysts are already modeling an extraordinary 2,090% revenue increase over the next five years—compared with 119% for Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and 288% for Nvidia.
In other words, Musk isn’t just saying SpaceX will outperform expectations; he’s arguing that even one of Wall Street’s most optimistic growth forecasts still doesn’t go far enough.
Read Next
Analyst optimism stems from Starlink’s subscriber growth and the company’s push into AI infrastructure — businesses that drive future revenue alongside rocket launch operations.
Reuters has also reported that SpaceX expects to reach a $100 billion annualized revenue run rate by the end of 2026.
The next question is whether SpaceX can deliver.
If Starlink continues to scale and AI becomes a meaningful revenue contributor, today’s seemingly extraordinary forecasts may eventually look conservative. That possibility—not just the comparison with Nvidia—is what makes Musk’s brief response worth paying attention to.
Musk’s Track Record of Overpromising Looms Over SpaceX It’s a familiar story: Musk once predicted Twitter would generate more than $26 billion in revenue and nearly quintuple its customer base by 2028, but the company fell far short, with ad revenue plunging.
The failed projections have raised concerns about Musk’s similarly ambitious promises for SpaceX.
Those concerns have intensified after SpaceX’s first public-company earnings showed a $541 million quarterly net loss and $4.3 billion loss in the first quarter, alongside massive capital spending.
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DZ Bank initiated coverage of SpaceX with a Sell rating and a $100 price target on August 21, 2026. Against Thursday’s $134 close on a $1.03 trillion company, the target is a rare public bear call on a recently public mega cap, and it deserves a close look from long-term holders.
Ticker Company Firm Action Old Rating New Rating Old Target New Target SPCX SpaceX DZ Bank Initiation N/A Sell N/A $100 Analyst’s Case The DZ Bank Analyst Markus Leistner warned of “crash risk in the valuation orbit.” Capital expenditures reached $18.37 billion in a single quarter, with $15.83 billion directed to AI compute infrastructure, and management guided the next two quarters to a similar CapEx level. That buildout has to be powered, cooled, and networked by somebody, which is exactly why we rounded up seven suppliers behind the AI data-center boom in a free report here. Add the pending $60 billion Cursor acquisition expected to close in Q3 2026 and a $541 million net loss, and the bear case writes itself.
Company Snapshot SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX | SPCX Price Prediction) is a vertically integrated aerospace, telecommunications, and artificial intelligence company operating across Space, Connectivity, and AI segments. In its first public quarter, revenue reached $7.81 billion versus a $6.82 billion consensus, a 14.59% beat, with a loss per share of $0.09 against a $0.29 estimated loss. AI segment revenue grew 247% year over year, Connectivity revenue hit $4.29 billion, and Starlink subscribers doubled to 12.0 million. The company ended the quarter with $93.52 billion in cash and a $47.5 billion backlog.
Why the Move Matters Now SpaceX stock has been under pressure since its debut. Shares closed at $134 on August 20, 2026, down 16.74% from the June 12 close of $160.95, and opened Friday trading at $131.54. Float mechanics matter. A widely circulated r/stocks post flagged that “up to 911.5M shares held by employees and early investors become eligible to trade,” more than the roughly 639M shares sold in the IPO. “Less than 5% of the company was initially available to trade. That scarcity was a big part of the setup, and now it starts changing,” the author wrote. Against that supply backdrop, DZ Bank’s Sell initiation carries more weight than the isolated rating suggests.
What It Means for Your Portfolio For retirement-focused investors, the DZ Bank Sell initiation is a useful counterweight to the bullish narrative. The operational story is intact: management is projecting $100 billion of ARR by December 2026 and sees a path to $1 trillion in revenue by 2030. The risk is the price to get there. With CapEx guided to remain elevated, a $60 billion acquisition pending, and post-lockup supply hitting the market, the SpaceX thesis hinges on execution. The revised outlook warrants a closer look, even as near-term volatility remains a real risk.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Sundar Pichai uvedl, že AI Overviews od Alphabetu má už 2,5 miliardy měsíčních uživatelů. Tato škála pomáhá proměňovat vyhledávání v silný reklamní kanál.
Alphabet (GOOG +0.59%) (GOOGL +0.69%) CEO Sundar Pichai shared a notable statistic at the company's June 2026 investor presentation: AI Overviews now has 2.5 billion monthly users. That kind of reach makes Google Search one of the most powerful monetization channels for artificial intelligence (AI).
"Our AI investments are redefining what's possible across every part of our business," Pichai said on the company's second-quarter earnings call.
The massive reach helps explain why Alphabet generated $81 billion in ad revenue in the second quarter, up 14% year over year. The company's ability to turn Search into massive cash flow -- and reinvest it into chips and data centers -- is why Alphabet remains a compelling way to ride AI's growth.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. Image source: Alphabet.
AI has supercharged Google's advertising revenue The strong growth in ads shows that high engagement with AI Overviews is improving advertiser returns. The company revealed that users who engage with AI features search more often, helping to drive record query volumes. The growth in search queries generates more behavioral data to improve user experiences and ad quality, which fuels the revenue engine.
The momentum in advertising is pushing Alphabet to accelerate the deployment of Gemini -- the AI that powers Overviews -- deeper into its advertising business. That spells more growth.
The company is also continuing to push the boundaries of what's possible with Search. "We are continuing to incorporate more frontier capabilities into Search with agents, personal intelligence, and notebooks," Pichai said during the Q2 earnings call.
These are meaningful signals for investors, since advertising still accounts for about two-thirds of Alphabet's total revenue.
Today's Change
(
0.69
%) $
2.36
Current Price
$
343.03
A solid stock for the long term The scale of Alphabet's advertising revenue is providing enormous resources for AI infrastructure, which isn't cheap. Alphabet's capital expenditures totaled $136 billion over the trailing 12 months, and management expects another notable increase in 2027. That pace of spending will pressure near-term free cash flow.
The stock is currently trading 16% below its prior high, as market participants weigh the cost of AI on near-term profitability. But those same investments are also strengthening Search and potentially widening Alphabet's moat.
Importantly, Google's cash from operations has climbed to $185 billion on a trailing-12-month basis, supported by growing advertising revenue, improving Google Cloud margins, and lower costs to generate AI Mode responses in Search.
Alphabet is demonstrating that its AI investments are translating into strong revenue growth while also improving compute efficiency, which could be beneficial for long-term free cash flow growth. This is all possible because it has a massive user base to monetize. This puts Google in a strong position to deliver long-term returns to shareholders.
Marvell Technology dala společnosti Alphabet warrant na nákup až 58 970 907 akcií za 206,58 USD, což může Googlu zajistit podíl až za 12,18 miliardy USD. Dohoda posiluje její AI čipový byznys kolem TPU.
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Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL | MRVL Price Prediction) just handed Alphabet a warrant that could turn Google into a top shareholder. The commercial agreement, disclosed August 19, gives Google the right to buy up to 58,970,907 Marvell shares at $206.58, or roughly $12.18 billion at the strike.
Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Marvell is $288.12 over the next 12 months, versus a current quote of $237.27, implying 21.43% upside. The model’s rating is buy with a confidence level of 90%.
24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $237.27 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $288.12 Upside 21.43% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% Google Warrant Rewrites the AI Silicon Narrative Marvell shares are up 9.3% over the past week, 21.71% in the past month, and 179.61% year to date, though the stock sits about 22% below its 52-week high of $329.80.
Q1 fiscal 2027 was the catalyst: revenue of $2.418 billion grew 27.57% year over year, Data Center revenue hit $1.8327 billion at 76% of the mix, and non-GAAP EPS printed $0.80.
The Google warrant covers AI inference accelerators, storage controllers, networking and memory-interface controllers, and near-memory computing tied to the TPU ecosystem, with a performance-based tranche linked to custom-product revenue through fiscal 2033. That endorses the custom XPU business CEO Matt Murphy has been building.
Why Bulls See a Path to $354 Management expects fiscal 2027 revenue near $11.5 billion and fiscal 2028 revenue near $16.5 billion, with custom revenue expected to more than double year over year in fiscal 2028 and top $10 billion in fiscal 2029.
Layer on 1.6T optics ramping, scale-out switching heading toward a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, and the expanded NVIDIA partnership on NVLink Fusion. Our bull-case scenario points to $354.10 in 12 months, a 49.24% total return.
Risks Worth Watching Customer concentration is real. Data Center is 76% of revenue, and hyperscalers control the roadmap. GAAP net income fell 80.61% year over year on a $331.8 million contingent-consideration charge, and stock-based comp rose to $207.6 million from $142.1 million.
Operating cash flow set a record at $638.8 million, up 91.89%. Reddit sentiment on wallstreetbets swung very bearish in mid-August. Our bear scenario lands at $218.24.
How Marvell Compares to Broadcom and NVIDIA Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) is the direct custom-ASIC competitor and incumbent on Google’s TPU. Broadcom trades at a forward P/E of 20 with quarterly revenue growth of 47.9%. Marvell’s forward P/E of 58 looks expensive on identical exposure, though Marvell’s smaller base gives it higher percentage torque from every new socket.
NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) is now a Marvell partner on NVLink Fusion. NVIDIA trades at a forward P/E of 26 with quarterly revenue growth of 85.2%, a cleaner growth-adjusted multiple than Marvell’s.
Company Forward P/E QoQ Revenue Growth Marvell 58 27.6% Broadcom 20 47.9% NVIDIA 26 85.2% Against this peer group, our 24/7 Wall St. price target looks reasonable. Marvell’s multiple is rich, but the Google warrant provides validation neither peer offers on the same terms.
Marvell Price Prediction 2026-2030 The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $288.12 and buy rating reflect a 90% confidence read. The Google warrant turns a customer into an aligned equityholder and codifies Marvell’s role across storage, networking, memory, and inference silicon around TPUs. For investors willing to accept the premium multiple, that alignment is the core of the bull thesis.
Here is where our model projects Marvell could trade in the coming years, assuming current growth trajectories hold.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $251 2027 $283 2028 $346 2029 $382 2030 $408 These projections assume Marvell executes on its custom-XPU roadmap and Google exercises meaningfully against the warrant. Significant upside or downside could result from hyperscaler capex trajectories or a shift in TPU supplier share.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Hunterbrook Media uvedla, že Google je dosud nejmenovaný zákazník v rámci chladicí zakázky Modine za více než 4 miliardy USD. Akcie MOD v pátek vzrostly o 2,42 %.
Modine Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:MOD) shares are rising Friday. An investigative report from Hunterbrook Media identified Google as the previously unnamed customer behind Modine’s $4 billion cooling agreement. Here’s what you should know.
Modine Manufacturing shares are climbing with conviction. Why is MOD stock up today? Report Names Google as Modine’s Mystery $4 Billion CustomerHunterbrook Media said it obtained material it believes came from an internal Modine planning database, surfacing publicly on GitHub roughly a month ago in what looked like the middle of a broader shift of company records over to Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) cloud infrastructure.
Per the report, the leaked files tie Google to a supply arrangement Modine disclosed in May without naming the customer, one that commits Modine to setting aside capacity for over $4 billion worth of Airedale chillers through 2029. The reporting also points to a second layer of Google business in the pipeline, roughly $4.5 billion in opportunities at various stages, of which about $433 million has already converted into bookings.
The database reportedly extends past Google too, pointing to close to $3 billion Modine considers locked in or highly probable from Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) cloud unit, Crusoe and more than a dozen other data center clients, on top of further early-stage business. Hunterbrook estimated Modine’s overall pipeline at close to $23 billion, with Amazon’s cloud division alone accounting for over half that sum.
Given the scale of what it was reporting, Hunterbrook Media also disclosed that, at the time of publication, its affiliated fund, Hunterbrook Capital, holds a long position in Modine shares and a short position in a basket of comparable companies, cautioning that its position could change.
Database Suggests Modine’s Pipeline Could Exceed its Own GuidanceBeyond the size of the pipeline itself, the report also examined what those numbers could mean for Modine’s upcoming results. Running the numbers through Modine’s own conversion odds, Hunterbrook arrived at an implied $540 million in revenue for the fiscal quarter closing in September, roughly a fifth higher than what Modine has guided to.
Stretched across fiscal 2027, that same math works out to $2.3 billion, a figure that would more than double last year’s results and land above the upper edge of Modine’s 60% to 80% growth target.
That same pipeline also comes with real execution risk. The database also reportedly shows Modine working through supplier shortages and engineering constraints as it scales up production, while pursuing new business further up the cooling stack, including an effort to qualify equipment against Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) liquid-cooling specifications.
MOD Shares Are ClimbingMOD Price Action: Modine shares were up 2.42% at $195.35 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Microsoft po výsledcích za 4. čtvrtletí fiskálního roku 2026 zvýšil tržby na 90 miliard USD, meziročně o 18 %, a Azure poprvé překročil 100 miliard USD ročních tržeb. Akcie ale ustoupily téměř o 8 % z nedávného maxima kolem 520 USD.
Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT stock surged roughly 30% in the three weeks following its Q4 report for fiscal year 2026 (FY2026).
That made it one of the biggest winners of the tech earnings season. It also reversed a sell-off that had felt overdone.
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However, MSFT just gave back part of its August rally. Shares are down nearly 8% from a recent high near $520.
For anyone who watched the stock rip from $440 to $520 in three weeks and felt like the train had left the station, this dip reads like an opportunity.
Microsoft Stock's Pullback Looks Worse Than the BusinessPrice action drives headlines faster than earnings reports. That's the perception-versus-fundamentals gap in action. Microsoft stock has pulled back sharply from its all-time closing high near $538, and the recent slide from around $520 adds a fresh layer of anxiety for anyone who bought the August breakout.
But a pullback in a stock and a pullback in the underlying business are two different animals. Right now, only one of them is actually happening.
Microsoft's Q4 FY2026 results gave bulls almost everything they could ask for. Revenue hit $90 billion, up 18% year-over-year, while Azure crossed $100 billion in annual revenue for the first time. Contracted backlog reached $678 billion, giving investors more visibility into future AI spending than most rivals can offer. Azure itself grew 43% in the quarter, and Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats.
That backlog number is perhaps the most important. It jumped by roughly $51 billion in a single quarter. It represents signed revenue waiting to convert. Companies don't commit $190 billion to capital expenditures (CapEx) on hope.
Management has repeatedly said demand for AI-enabled cloud capacity is outrunning what the company can currently supply. A company that's supply-constrained on its fastest-growing product isn't the one investors should worry about.
Microsoft's AI Spending Is a Hyperscaler-Wide ConcernFree cash flow has compressed as Microsoft plows record sums into GPUs and data centers, and that's the number bears keep circling. It's a legitimate line to watch. But it isn't unique to Microsoft.
Every hyperscaler is running the same playbook. Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL, Amazon NASDAQ: AMZN, and Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META have all raised their own 2026 capital spending guidance in recent months.
The credit market noise adds to the confusion. Hyperscalers, including Microsoft, have more than doubled their collective debt load over the past year to fund the buildout. Bond investors are paying closer attention, and demand for hyperscaler bonds has thinned somewhat from earlier in the year.
But analysts covering this debt are largely consistent on one point: these companies aren't in financial distress. The financing is simply moving further off-balance sheet, into private credit and leasing structures that are harder for the average investor to see. That's a sector-wide question worth monitoring over the next several years. But it says nothing specific about whether Microsoft's core Azure business is healthy today.
MSFT Chart Shows a Constructive SetupZoom out on the chart, and the sell-off looks less like a breakdown and more like digestion after a violent recovery. Microsoft's 50-day moving average sits at $418.11, still below the 200-day at $431.48, but the gap has narrowed sharply since the stock's April lows near $345.
If the 50-day continues climbing at its current pace, a golden cross — the 50-day crossing above the 200-day—is a realistic setup over the coming weeks. That crossover doesn't guarantee anything on its own, but it typically confirms an intermediate-term trend shift rather than just a headline price bounce.
Just as important, this week's pullback found support right around the $480 level, which had acted as resistance in June and July. Old resistance becoming new support is a classic technical tell that the breakout above it was rooted in real demand.
Microsoft's Pullback Could Give Investors a Second ChanceInvestors who sat out Microsoft's April-to-August recovery watched the stock nearly double off its lows and understandably felt like they'd missed the move. A stock that runs hard without you creates a very human urge to wait for the next dip, only to talk yourself out of buying it when it shows up, because the headlines during the dip sound worse than the ones during the run.
This week is that dip. The business didn't get worse between last Thursday and today. Azure demand still exceeds supply. The backlog is still growing faster than the stock can price it in. The CapEx concerns are real, but they belong to the entire hyperscaler cohort, not to Microsoft alone.
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Microsoft zvýšil kvartální dividendu na 0,91 USD na akcii, ale jeho masivní investice do AI a cloudu dál tlačí volný peněžní tok. Za fiskální rok utratil 115,948 miliardy USD na capex, zatímco volný peněžní tok klesl o 6,46 % na 66,987 miliardy USD.
Microsoft shareholders just cashed a bigger check. On August 20, 2026, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) went ex-dividend at $0.91 per share, up from $0.83 a year earlier. At $481.15, that annualizes to a yield south of 1%. It is the sort of raise long-term holders have come to expect. What is unusual is what sits on the other side of the ledger.
Dividend Raise Collides With a $115.9 Billion Buildout [chart:MSFT]
For the fiscal year ended June 30, Microsoft spent $115.948 billion on capital expenditures, a 79.62% jump aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure. Net income rose 31.34% to $133.749 billion. Free cash flow, however, fell 6.46% to $66.987 billion. Microsoft returned $26.445 billion in dividends and repurchased $22.271 billion in stock. In fiscal 2025, capex was $64.551 billion against $24.082 billion in dividends. Capex is now growing roughly eight times faster than the payout.
Fiscal Q4 alone captures the strain: $35.802 billion of capex, up 109.63%, with quarterly free cash flow down 23.19% to $19.639 billion.
What Shareholders Actually Received The tangible returns are real. Azure surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, up 41%. Microsoft 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats. Commercial remaining performance obligations hit $678 billion, up 84%, a backlog that dwarfs annual revenue. CEO Satya Nadella framed the payoff: “This year, Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and Microsoft 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats.”
Price action tells a more ambivalent story. MSFT is down 3.91% over the past year from $500.75, though it has snapped back 21.2% in the past month off a July low of $397. Year to date, shares are essentially flat at 0.12%. The forward P/E of 24 and analyst target of $569.56 suggest Wall Street still believes, with 40 buy ratings and 14 strong buys against three holds.
Peer Context and the September Test For scale, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) spent $91.447 billion on capex and paid $10.049 billion in dividends in calendar 2025. Microsoft outspent that and returned more than double the cash. All of that spending has to be powered, cooled, and networked by somebody, and we pulled together seven suppliers riding the buildout in a free AI infrastructure report.
CFO Amy Hood signaled the intensity will not ease. She told analysts the calendar 2026 outlook, adjusted for a lease-accounting shift, moves to approximately $175 billion, adding: “We expect FY27 capital expenditures will grow year over year, given demand signals across our portfolio,” and “We expect to remain free cash flow positive in FY27.”
Microsoft has historically declared its annual dividend increase in September. The September 15, 2025 declaration lifted the quarterly rate to $0.91. The next raise announcement is weeks away, and it will be the clearest signal yet of whether the AI buildout is squeezing the payout, or whether Nadella can keep funding both.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Microsoft formálně převzal kontrolu nad Horizon 1, prvním ze čtyř datových center IREN v Texasu, a tím začal generovat první fakturovatelné výnosy z pětileté smlouvy za 9,7 miliardy USD. Akcie IREN nejprve vyskočily o 6 %, ale během první hodiny se vrátily na beze změny na 42,54 USD.
Former Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) miners pivoting into AI infrastructure are moving Friday morning after a landmark acceptance milestone. IREN (NASDAQ:IREN) stock rallied 6% to $45.26 after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) formally accepted Horizon 1, the first of four data centers being built for the hyperscaler at IREN’s Childress, Texas campus. However, within the first hour of trading, IREN stock was back to unchanged at $42.54.
Meanwhile, TeraWulf (NASDAQ:WULF) shares advanced 1% to $16.61. Cipher Digital (NASDAQ:CIFR) stock diverged, falling 5% to $16.35.
Microsoft stock is essentially unchanged at $481.27, and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares are flat at $216.96. The Global X Data Center and Digital Infrastructure ETF (NASDAQ:DTCR) trades at $28.47, unchanged for the day.
Microsoft Signs Off on Horizon 1 IREN announced that Horizon 1, the first of four data centers it’s building for Microsoft, has been delivered and formally accepted. Microsoft had a five-day window to test the deployment against agreed standards, and once it signed off, IREN was cleared to begin sending monthly invoices.
This marks the first billable revenue under a five-year, $9.7 billion contract, moving the deal from paper commitment to invoiced dollars. Separately, NVIDIA tested the site running its GB300 systems and granted Exemplar Cloud status, a certification reserved for providers that meet NVIDIA’s performance and reliability bar.
Financing Weight Lifts on IREN The bear case on IREN has centered on financing the AI buildout, which costs many times current revenue. Today’s acceptance starts to answer that concern. IREN has lined up a $3.65 billion debt package backed by the Microsoft contract, rated investment grade, covering almost all of the GPU spending tied to the deal.
Before that financing, IREN carried net debt of roughly $1.75 billion. On top of the Microsoft deal, IREN also holds a separate five-year, $3.4 billion cloud agreement with NVIDIA. More than a quarter of IREN’s shares are still sold short, and much of that position assumes the AI pivot fails or the debt load overwhelms the company.
In its most recent quarterly release, IREN reported total revenue of $144.8 million, down 22% sequentially, and a loss of $0.30 per share against a consensus loss of $0.21. IREN’s AI cloud services revenue rose 94% sequentially while Bitcoin mining revenue fell sharply. With a market cap of $16.17 billion, IREN controls five gigawatts of secured power globally and recently acquired Mirantis, a cloud infrastructure software and services provider.
Peers Rise on Read-Across TeraWulf operates the Lake Mariner campus in New York with 102 MW of revenue-generating critical IT capacity and 336 MW under construction. The company has roughly 839 MW of contracted critical IT capacity under long-term leases with customers including Anthropic, Fluidstack, and Core42, across a pipeline of about 2.1 GW (we profiled seven of the power, cooling, and networking suppliers behind this buildout in a free AI infrastructure report). Today’s rise reflects read-across from IREN, which explains the smaller move.
Cipher Mining has 700 MW of contracted gross HPC capacity across its Black Pearl, Barber Lake, and Stingray campuses, representing roughly $11.4 billion in contracted revenue, and is targeting about 5.3 GW of portfolio capacity by 2030. Of the three names, Cipher Mining shares moved least today because that contracted capacity is already disclosed and no new milestone landed.
Materiality Split Between the Two Sides Microsoft and NVIDIA are the counterparties that validated IREN today, and both stocks are essentially unchanged. The same contract that’s transformative for a $16.17 billion company is immaterial to the two firms on the other side of it, which carry market caps of $3.58 trillion and $5.24 trillion respectively.
Global X Data Center and Digital Infrastructure ETF is a narrow thematic fund concentrated in data center and digital infrastructure names, so it carries sector-concentration risk well above a broad technology fund. Top holdings include Equinix, Digital Realty Trust, and American Tower, giving the fund different sensitivity than the pure AI-infrastructure names moving today.
What Investors Can Watch Next Bernstein’s Gautam Chhugani reiterated a Buy rating with a $100 price target on IREN stock, and Needham’s John Todaro maintained a Hold. Across 15 covering analysts, the consensus is Moderate Buy, with 11 Strong Buy ratings, three Hold, and one Strong Sell, alongside a mean price target of $78.64.
Investors can watch for follow-on analyst commentary on IREN’s Horizon 1 revenue ramp timing, with Microsoft revenue expected to begin ramping in Q3 FY2026. Position sizing should reflect the elevated beta of 4.302 and heavy short interest in these names as today’s gains and losses face the test of the closing bell.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) stock traded higher Friday as semiconductor stocks benefited from a broader risk-on move.
The Nasdaq gained 0.16%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.33%. The Russell 2000 climbed 0.66%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.55%.
BMO Turns Bullish On AMDA bullish analyst call from BMO Capital Markets also added to positive sentiment around the chipmaker. BMO Capital Markets analyst Harsh Kumar initiated coverage of AMD on Friday with an Outperform rating and a $550 price forecast.
Kumar said AMD is nearing its transition into a complete AI infrastructure provider. Its portfolio spans GPUs, CPUs, DPUs and full-rack AI systems.
The analyst highlighted AMD’s Helios AI rack as the closest competitor to NVIDIA Corp.’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) NVL72. BMO expects Helios to begin shipping in September 2026.
AMD has already secured several Helios design wins, including OpenAI, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and Anthropic, according to Kumar. He expects AMD to capture additional AI infrastructure market share, providing another growth driver.
The stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.8, reflecting a premium valuation. AMD carries a Buy consensus rating and an average price forecast of $590.09. On Aug. 6, Argus Research maintained a Buy rating and raised its forecast to $625. Rosenblatt also maintained a Buy rating and lifted its forecast to $700.
Technical AnalysisAMD remains in a long-term uptrend, although its shorter-term technical picture is mixed.
The stock trades 1.4% below its 20-day simple moving average and 7% below its 50-day SMA. However, it remains 7.2% above its 100-day SMA and 43.8% above its 200-day SMA.
The 20-day SMA is below the 50-day SMA, signaling near-term weakness. Still, the 50-day SMA remains above the 200-day SMA, keeping the longer-term trend bullish.
AMD’s relative strength index stands at 46.05. That indicates neutral momentum, with the stock neither overbought nor oversold.
Key resistance sits near $530, while support is around $463.
AMD has gained 188.16% over the past 12 months. The stock reached a 52-week high of $584.73 in June before pulling back in July.
A sustained move above the 20-day and 50-day averages could strengthen the bullish setup. However, a break below $463 could shift attention toward the 100-day SMA.
Benzinga Edge RankingsAMD scores strongly on several Benzinga Edge measures. It has a Momentum score of 97.93, Quality score of 94.05 and Growth score of 94.96.
However, its Value score stands at just 4.73. That combination points to strong growth and momentum but also a rich valuation.
Top ETF ExposureAMD is a major holding in the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX), with an 8.10% weighting. It also accounts for 7.74% of the CoreValues America First Technology ETF (NYSE:USMD) and 8.31% of the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (NYSE:ARKW).
AMD’s sizable weight means significant fund flows into or out of these ETFs can contribute to buying or selling pressure in the stock.
AMD Price ActionAdvanced Micro Devices shares were up 1.60% at $476.96 at the time of publication Friday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Walmart začne přijímat Apple Pay a Google Pay ve svých obchodech Walmart a Sam’s Club. Funkci Tap to Pay spustí 24. srpna ve vybraných pobočkách a do konce roku má být dostupná všude.
Apparently, hell has frozen over. Walmart on Friday said it will finally accept payments via both Apple Pay and Google Pay at its stores, including Walmart and Sam’s Club.
The retail giant says that beginning August 24, it will begin adding Tap to Pay to its payment options at select Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations. It expects the feature to reach all stores and clubs by the end of the year, and will then roll it out to all its fuel stations by the middle of 2027.
The news is a surprise, as Walmart has long refused to adopt the ubiquitous payment technology to instead promote its own in-house solutions, like Walmart Pay and Scan-and-Go. In years past, Walmart even teamed up with other big retailers in an attempt to take down Apple Pay entirely with an alternative mobile payment system of their own, called CurrentC. The effort failed and was shut down back in 2016.
All the while, Walmart customers have begged the company to support modern tap-and-pay technology, like Apple Pay, which is now accepted at 85% of retailers across the U.S., including most larger stores.
For Walmart, the decision reads as a defeat. As one of the world’s largest retailers, it believed it could push customers to its own payment solutions despite the growing adoption of Apple Pay and others of its kind. Ultimately, it had to admit that it was disadvantaging its own customers in the process.
The company is trying to spin the news as giving consumers more choice.
“Tap to Pay is a great addition to the other payment options already offered like cash, credit card or Walmart Pay…,” the company’s announcement stated. “And giving customers and members more choice at checkout is part of a broader effort to make managing and using their money easier.”
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Walmart překonal odhady a zvýšil celoroční výhled, ale akcie po zveřejnění výsledků 20. srpna 2026 klesly o 9 % na 103,84 USD. Trh znepokojil slabší výhled na 3. čtvrtletí a investice do cen.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT | WMT Price Prediction) did the thing shareholders are supposed to want. It beat estimates. It raised full year guidance. And the stock still fell 9% on August 20, 2026, from $114.30 to $103.84. That is the worst earnings day reaction in Walmart’s last ten reported quarters, and the fourth straight earnings day decline.
Beat and Raise That Investors Refused to Buy The numbers looked good on paper. Adjusted EPS of $0.81, beating the $0.7413 consensus, beating expectations, on revenue of $187.94 billion, up 6% year over year. Management lifted the FY27 outlook: adjusted EPS to $2.80 to $2.87 from $2.75 to $2.85, and constant currency sales growth to 4.0% to 5.0% from 3.5% to 4.5%.
CEO John Furner called it “another good quarter” with steady progress on long term drivers. The market disagreed, loudly.
Why the Margin Beat Was Treated as Borrowed Here’s the crack under the beat. Gross profit rate improved 96 basis points to 25.4%, with Walmart U.S. gross margin up 158 basis points, powered by tariff refunds. CFO John David Rainey told analysts “Operating income growth included a net benefit of approximately 750 basis points related to tariff refunds received in Q2.”
Then he told everyone where that money is going. “A large portion of the refunds were invested at the end of Q2, so the full quarter impact of these investments is more pronounced in Q3.” Furner added “our intent was to deploy much of that back into price, and that’s what we’re doing.” Walmart U.S. ran more than 11,000 rollbacks during the quarter.
That is why Q3 guidance came in soft: adjusted EPS of $0.62 to $0.64, net sales growth of 3.0% to 3.75% in constant currency, with a Flipkart Big Billion Days timing headwind of over 100 basis points. And while operating income jumped 29%, net income fell 9% year over year, partly on a Symbotic mark and other items.
Buyback Irony and the Target Contrast The optics get worse. Walmart repurchased 25.7 million shares for $3.0 billion in Q2 at an average price of $117.61, well above today’s $103.84 close. Management bought high, and the market marked it to a lower price the same week.
Target (NYSE:TGT) told the same tariff refund story a day earlier, booking a $994 million pretax IEEPA refund worth $1.65 per share. Target shares rose. Walmart, had no room for a beat that management itself called temporary. If you think the price investments compound into share gains, the selloff is a gift. If you think it is a treadmill, the multiple has further to give. Either way, the raise was real, and so was the message that Q2 borrowed from Q3.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
JPMorgan ve 2. čtvrtletí zvýšil tržby z obchodování o 35 % meziročně, tažený růstem akciových tržeb o 86 % na 6 miliard USD. Firma ale varuje, že takto silné tempo nemusí pokračovat.
JPMorgan’s (JPM - Free Report) trading business delivered a standout second-quarter 2026 performance. Markets revenues jumped 35% year over year as elevated client activity, strong trading results and continued demand for equity financing boosted results.
The strength was led by Equity Markets revenues, which surged 86% from the prior-year quarter to $6 billion. Fixed Income Markets revenues increased at a modest 6% to $6.1 billion. The sharp equity gain highlights JPMorgan’s ability to capitalize on stronger client engagement, financing demand and favorable market conditions. Overall, the performance helped Commercial & Investment Bank (CIB) revenues rise 27%, while the division generated a 22% return on equity.
The key question is whether this pace of growth can continue. Management described the second quarter as benefiting from a particularly favorable environment and elevated market activity. That suggests year-over-year comparisons could become tougher if volatility moderates or client trading activity normalizes. An 86% increase in equities, in particular, is unlikely to represent a sustainable quarterly growth rate.
Still, JPM remains well-positioned to benefit from active capital markets. Its scale, broad client franchise and continued demand for financing can support trading revenues even if growth slows from the second-quarter pace. Improving investment banking activity will provide another source of momentum for the CIB.
The strong trading performance enhances JPMorgan’s near-term earnings outlook. Although the extraordinary pace of equity revenue growth is unlikely to be sustained, robust client engagement and financing demand will keep Markets revenues healthy through the rest of 2026 while further strengthening JPMorgan’s diversified fee income-based earnings stream.
How Did JPM’s Peers Fare in Terms of Trading Business in Q2?Two major peers of JPMorgan are Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) and Goldman Sachs (GS - Free Report) .
Morgan Stanley’s second-quarter 2026 trading performance was strong, supported by active markets and robust client engagement. Equity revenues surged 69% year over year to $6.3 billion, while Fixed Income revenues increased 13% to $2.46 billion. This reflects broad-based momentum across Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Securities franchise.
Goldman’s second-quarter 2026 trading performance was robust. Equities revenues jumped 72% year over year to a record $7.42 billion, driven by derivatives, cash products and prime financing. Goldman’s fixed income revenues rose 32% to $4.59 billion, benefiting from strength in rates, commodities, mortgages and record FICC financing.
JPMorgan’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesJPM’s shares have gained 18.1% over the past six months.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, JPMorgan trades at a 12-month trailing price-to-tangible book (P/TB) of 3.27X, above the industry average.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for JPMorgan's 2026 earnings suggests a 22.6% rise on a year-over-year basis, while 2027 earnings are expected to grow at a rate of 0.3%. In the past month, earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have moved upward to $24.93 and $25.02, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
JPMorgan currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Na Hertz byla podána hromadná žaloba kvůli údajnému podvodu s cennými papíry a dalším nezákonným praktikám. Akcionáři mají čas do 22. září 2026 na podání žádosti o jmenování hlavním žalobcem.
NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (“Hertz” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HTZ). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
The class action concerns whether Hertz and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.
You have until September 22, 2026, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you purchased or otherwise acquired Hertz securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
On June 24, 2026, before the market opened, and just weeks after assuring investors that the Company’s liquidity would be “sufficient to fund our operating activities and obligations for the next twelve months and for the foreseeable future thereafter” and projected year-end liquidity “north of $1.5 billion,” Hertz announced a massive dilutive capital raise. Through its wholly owned indirect subsidiary, Hertz intended to offer $300 million of Exchangeable Senior First-Lien Secured PIK Notes due 2030, together with a concurrent share-lending offering of more than 37 million shares of common stock from which the Company would receive no proceeds, and simultaneously disclosed that “unexpected softness in the used car market” had caused losses on the sale of vehicles in May 2026 and would drive second-quarter Adjusted Corporate EBITDA down to a range of just $50 million to $80 million.
On this news, Hertz’s stock price fell $2.06 per share, or 40.71%, to close at $3.00 per share on June 24, 2026.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.
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The Board of Directors of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) today declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.22 per share on FedEx Corp. common stock, in line with the company’s continued focus on delivering stockholder value. The dividend is payable October 1, 2026, to stockholders of record at the close of business on September 14, 2026.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenue of $86 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions utilizing its flexible, efficient, and intelligent global network. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 450,000 employees to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. FedEx is committed to connecting people and possibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040. To learn more, please visit fedex.com/about.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260820967961/en/
Advisors Capital Management ve 2. čtvrtletí nově koupila 69 882 akcií American Express za zhruba 23,6 milionu USD. Ticker AXP zároveň získává podporu od několika analytiků, kteří zvýšili cílové ceny a doporučení.
Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 69,882 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,638,000.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $14,208,662,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in American Express by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,464,868 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $10,900,528,000 after buying an additional 369,967 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,023,482 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,338,238,000 after buying an additional 141,936 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in American Express by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,850,298 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,904,218,000 after buying an additional 558,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in American Express by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 7,515,675 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,780,424,000 after buying an additional 2,393,340 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In AXP has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $386.00 to $384.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. DZ Bank upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.32.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AXP Key Stories Impacting American Express Here are the key news stories impacting American Express this week:
Positive Sentiment: American Express expanded its virtual-card capabilities for U.S. commercial customers through its @ Work platform and Conferma. The initiative could strengthen AXP’s position in corporate payments by improving security, spending controls, and integration with business and travel workflows. Is American Express’ Expanded Virtual Cards Strategy Deepening Its Corporate Moat in Premium Payments? Positive Sentiment: AXP became the official payments partner of St Andrews Links, expanding its premium sports and lifestyle partnership portfolio. The agreement may support international brand awareness, card-member engagement, and premium-card acquisition, although the near-term financial impact is likely limited. American Express and St Andrews Links Trust Announce Partnership Positive Sentiment: A recent profile highlighted CEO Steve Squeri’s strategy of attracting younger customers with premium products such as the Platinum Card. The company’s success with millennials and Gen Z supports the long-term value of its premium-card model. The American Express CEO Defied Haters Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinions on American Express are mixed, indicating limited consensus on the stock’s valuation and outlook. Management is scheduled to participate in the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference on September 16, which could provide additional commentary on spending trends, credit quality, and guidance. Analysts’ Opinions Are Mixed on American Express American Express to Participate in Barclays Global Financial Services Conference Negative Sentiment: A 2026 Long Angle survey of more than 9,000 high-net-worth individuals found that Amex and Chase lagged other providers in loyalty, while Fidelity and Schwab ranked better in banking-related categories. The findings raise concerns about customer retention and competitive pressure in an important premium segment. Long Angle High-Net-Worth Study American Express Price Performance Shares of AXP opened at $331.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $290.97 and a twelve month high of $387.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $342.98 and a 200-day moving average of $326.77.
American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The payment services company reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.12. American Express had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 34.12%. The business had revenue of $19.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 17.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.
American Express Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.
(Free Report)
American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.
American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.
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Aon čeká, že náklady amerických zaměstnavatelů na zdravotní péči v roce 2027 vzrostou o 9,5 % na více než 19 000 USD na zaměstnance. Tahounem jsou vyšší využití péče, chronická onemocnění a drahé léky.
Key Takeaways Aon projects average U.S. employer health-plan costs to top $19,000 per employee in 2027.Medical use, chronic illness, costly claims and prescription drugs are driving health-care spending higher.WTW sees inflation boosting demand, while UNH and CNC are managing medical costs through pricing & controls. Aon plc (AON - Free Report) recently announced that it expects U.S. employer health-care costs to rise 9.5% in 2027, pushing average plan costs above $19,000 per employee. The forecast, based on its Health Value Initiative database, covers more than 1,100 employers, 7.9 million employees and $135 billion of 2026 health-care spending. Aon expects many companies to take steps to soften that increase.
The pressure is broad. Higher use of medical services, more chronic illness and a growing number of expensive claims are lifting spending. Prescription drugs remain another major driver, especially specialty medicines and GLP-1 therapies, as their use expands into cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea and chronic kidney disease. Aon also pointed to more detailed provider documentation and coding, including technology-assisted coding, as a factor that can raise billed charges in some cases.
Employers are already carrying most of the burden. Their average cost rose 8.8% in 2026 to $14,432 per employee, while employee payroll contributions increased 6.4% to $3,130. Aon says employers now fund about 82% of total plan costs, making health benefits a bigger business-planning issue. The report says 2027 costs would extend a long period of healthcare inflation that employers have faced.
Why This Matters Beyond the Benefits BudgetThe size and persistence of the increase are what make Aon’s findings important. The projected rise would mark a fourth straight year of employer health-cost growth close to double digits. Even after employers changed plan designs and used cost controls, total plan costs increased 8.3% in 2026 to $17,562 per employee. The middle 50% of employers saw increases ranging from 5.5% to 11.5%, showing that the pressure is not confined to a small group.
Employees are feeling it too. Their total health spending is expected to reach $5,297 in 2026, including $3,130 in payroll premiums and $2,167 in out-of-pocket costs. Out-of-pocket spending alone rose 10.2%. Across industries, employer cost increases ranged from 6.5% in health care to 9.8% in finance and insurance.
Another year of steep increases can force companies to rethink benefits, hiring and compensation. Employers may raise contributions, change deductibles, narrow provider networks or lean harder on care-management programs. They also have stronger incentives to scrutinize pharmacy spending, network contracts and high-cost claims. In short, medical inflation is becoming a financial-planning problem, not simply a benefits-department problem. That squeeze can also affect workers’ budgets and spending patterns.
What it Means for Companies Like AON, WTW, UNH & CNCFor AON and Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (WTW - Free Report) , rising health costs can create more demand for their services. Employers need help redesigning benefits, comparing networks, managing pharmacy costs and using data to identify spending problems. Aon’s Health Solutions generated $818 million of second-quarter 2026 revenues and 5% organic growth. Its response includes tools such as Network Analyzer, designed to examine network performance, utilization and cost drivers. WTW, which currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), is seeing the same tailwind: its Health business posted 8% organic growth in the second quarter, and management specifically cited high health-care inflation as a demand driver for its specialty solutions.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Willis Towers Watson’s 2026 and 2027 EPS are currently pegged at $19.77 and $22.57, signaling 15.8% and 14.1% year-over-year growth, respectively. Both witnessed nine upward revisions over the past month, against no movement in the opposite direction. WTW beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters with an average surprise of 3.9%.
While higher costs can support demand for AON and WTW’s services, the equation is different for health insurers. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH - Free Report) has already said commercial medical costs remain stubbornly high and above expectations. When UnitedHealthcare bears the claims risk, faster utilization and drug inflation can push up the medical care ratio unless premiums keep pace. The company is responding through benefit design, care-management models, network curation and selective market participation.
Also, UNH has an important cushion: its self-funded commercial business is much larger than its risk-based business. It ended the second quarter with around 22.3 million commercial fee-based members versus only 7.7 million commercial risk members. Meanwhile, improving cost trends and management actions helped lower UNH’s medical care ratio to 86.7% in the second quarter from 89.4% a year ago.
UnitedHealth currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The consensus estimate for its 2026 and 2027 EPS are currently pegged at $19.69 and $22.43, indicating 20.4% and 13.9% year-over-year increases, respectively. Both estimates have seen two upward revisions over the past month, with no cuts.UNH beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters with an average surprise of 12.1%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The impact is different for insurers with less exposure to employer-sponsored commercial plans and greater dependence on government programs.
Centene Corporation (CNC - Free Report) is one such company with less direct exposure to employer-sponsored coverage because its commercial business is primarily concentrated in the ACA Marketplace. Still, many of the same medical-cost pressures apply. Centene nevertheless improved its second-quarter commercial health-benefits ratio to 79.2% from 90.6% a year ago, helped by better pricing and risk transfer. Management is already taking a state-by-state approach to 2027 Marketplace pricing, with margin restoration remaining the priority rather than pursuing membership growth at any cost. Its Medicaid HBR was 93.9% in the second quarter, with management citing progress in medical-cost management.
Centene also currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. The consensus mark for its 2026 and 2027 EPS is currently pegged at $4.89 and $5.35, indicating 135.1% and 9.4% year-over-year jumps, respectively. These estimates witnessed nine upward revisions each over the past month, against no downward movement. CNC beat earnings estimates in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 151.3%.
Final WordsOverall, persistent health-care inflation should continue to support demand for cost-management, benefits consulting and data-driven solutions, benefiting firms such as WTW. At the same time, health insurers will need disciplined pricing, tighter medical-cost controls and careful market participation to protect margins. UNH and CNC are already showing signs of improvement in managing medical expenses and pricing their businesses appropriately. Against this backdrop, WTW, UNH and CNC remain attractive names to add to your portfolio, with all three currently carrying favorable ratings.
Apple loni v Irsku zaplatil na daních 17 miliard dolarů, tedy 40 % celkové částky, kterou firma odvedla na dani z příjmů po celém světě. Platbu výrazně zvýšilo rozhodnutí Soudního dvora EU z roku 2024.
Americká technologická společnost Apple loni v Irsku na daních zaplatila 17 miliard dolarů (zhruba 350 miliard Kč). To představovalo 40 procent celkové částky, kterou firma odvedla na dani z příjmů po celém světě. Vyplývá to z účetních výkazů podniku, na které dnes upozornil britský list Financial Times (FT). Platbu výrazně zvýšilo rozhodnutí Soudního dvora EU z roku 2024, podle něhož měl Apple doplatit Irsku na daních 13 miliard eur (313 miliard Kč).
Apple podle výkazů loni celosvětově zaplatil na dani z příjmů právnických osob 43 miliard dolarů. Nejnovější údaje byly zveřejněny na základě nových pravidel EU, která velkým firmám ukládají zveřejňovat výnosy, zisky a daně z příjmů v jednotlivých členských zemích a ve vybraných daňových rájích.
Společnost uvedla, že dlouhodobě patří mezi největší daňové poplatníky na světě. Zároveň upozornila na rozdíl mezi daní z příjmů vykazovanou v zemích, kde jsou držena aktiva, a nepřímými daněmi, například DPH, placenými v zemích, kde sídlí zákazníci.
Přibližně čtvrtina globálního zisku před zdaněním, který Apple vykázal za finanční rok do září 2025, byla vykázána prostřednictvím irských společností, ačkoli v Irsku pracují přibližně tři procenta zaměstnanců Applu. Firma tam zaměstnává 5575 lidí a sídlí tam její evropská centrála.
Irsko v minulosti přilákalo řadu velkých amerických společností nízkými daněmi a systémem, který umožňoval přesouvat zisky do daňových rájů prostřednictvím struktury známé jako double Irish (dvojitá irská). K postupnému zrušení tohoto systému Dublin přistoupil v roce 2015.
Irsko podle rozhodnutí soudu EU poskytlo v letech 1991 až 2014 Applu ve formě daňových úlev protiprávní státní podporu, bylo proto povinno si ji od firmy nechat vrátit. Irská vláda hned po rozsudku oznámila, že zahájí proces uvolňování peněz ze svěřenského fondu, na němž byly požadované finance od Applu uloženy.
Řada velkých amerických firem přesto v zemi působí nadále. Irsko nyní uplatňuje sazbu korporátní daně 12,5 procenta a v roce 2024 podle FT tři firmy, za které jsou obecně považovány Eli Lilly, Apple a Microsoft, odvedly téměř polovinu všech korporátních daní vybraných v zemi.
Salesforce má po středečních výsledcích potenciál pohybu až o 7 % oběma směry do konce týdne. Analytici čekají tržby 11,33 miliardy USD a upravený zisk na akcii (EPS) 3,28 USD.
Key Takeaways
Salesforce is due to report earnings Wednesday afternoon, with the software maker’s stock seen potentially jumping to its highest point since January in the following days.Analysts expect Salesforce to report growing sales and profits, as the company looks to prove to investors that its business isn’t being disrupted by AI.
Salesforce is scheduled to report earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday, with the software maker’s stock seen potentially reaching its highest point since January following the results.1
Based on current options pricing, Salesforce (CRM) shares are seen swinging up to 7% in either direction by the end of the week. From Thursday’s close, a move of that size could see shares rise as high as $220, their highest point since January, or drag them below $191.
Shares of Salesforce have lost more than a fifth of their value since the year began. Salesforce, along with many other software stocks, have been pressured by fears that growing AI adoption could lead companies to build their own tools and cut back spending on external software.
Why This Matters to Investors
Investors and analysts will likely be watching Wednesday’s report for signs Salesforce’s business isn’t being disrupted by AI.
Earlier this month, JPMorgan analysts relaunched their coverage of Salesforce with an “overweight” rating and $250 price target, anticipating an acceleration in Salesforce’s core business in the second half of the year, and that AI disruption could be “limited to a small portion of the business.”2
Salesforce is projected to report second-quarter revenue of $11.33 billion, up about 11% year-over-year, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Adjusted earnings per share are seen coming in at $3.28, up from $2.91 the same time a year ago.
Wall Street analysts are more bullish than bearish on Salesforce. Of the 18 analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, 12 consider it a “buy,” while five have neutral ratings, and only one has issued a “sell” rating. Their average price target of $252 would suggest more than 20% upside from Thursday’s close.
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The upcoming report from Salesforce (CRM - Free Report) is expected to reveal quarterly earnings of $3.27 per share, indicating an increase of 12.4% compared to the year-ago period. Analysts forecast revenues of $11.3 billion, representing an increase of 10.4% year over year.
The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This represents how the covering analysts, as a whole, have reassessed their initial estimates during this timeframe.
Prior to a company's earnings release, it is of utmost importance to factor in any revisions made to the earnings projections. These revisions serve as a critical gauge for predicting potential investor behaviors with respect to the stock. Empirical studies consistently reveal a strong link between trends in earnings estimate revisions and the short-term price performance of a stock.
While investors typically use consensus earnings and revenue estimates as indicators of quarterly business performance, exploring analysts' projections for specific key metrics can offer valuable insights.
Bearing this in mind, let's now explore the average estimates of specific Salesforce metrics that are commonly monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts.
Analysts expect 'Revenues- Professional services and other' to come in at $525.15 million. The estimate indicates a change of -3.8% from the prior-year quarter.
The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Revenues- Subscription and support' of $10.78 billion. The estimate points to a change of +11.3% from the year-ago quarter.
Analysts forecast 'Revenues- Subscription and support- Agentforce Sales' to reach $7.17 billion. The estimate suggests a change of +216.1% year over year.
Analysts' assessment points toward 'Revenues- Subscription and support- Agentforce 360 Platform, Slack and Other' reaching $3.62 billion. The estimate indicates a year-over-year change of +73.9%.
Based on the collective assessment of analysts, 'Remaining performance obligation (RPO) - Current' should arrive at $33.31 billion. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported $29.40 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.
Analysts predict that the 'Remaining performance obligation (RPO) - Total' will reach $67.69 billion. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of $59.90 billion.
It is projected by analysts that the 'Remaining performance obligation (RPO) - Noncurrent' will reach $34.28 billion. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported $30.50 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.
View all Key Company Metrics for Salesforce here>>>
Over the past month, Salesforce shares have recorded returns of +30.9% versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.8% change. Based on its Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), CRM will likely exhibit a performance that aligns with the overall market in the upcoming period. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
SAP uvedl, že Business Data Cloud a AI byly součástí více než 90 % z 50 největších obchodů ve 2. čtvrtletí. Cloudové tržby vzrostly o 24 % na 6,3 miliardy eur.
Key Takeaways SAP's Business Data Cloud and AI featured in more than 90% of its 50 largest Q2 deals.Cloud revenue rose 24% to euro 6.3 billion, while current cloud backlog increased 26%.SAP is integrating Dremio, Reltio and Prior Labs to strengthen data, governance and AI capabilities SAP SE’s (SAP - Free Report) Business Data Cloud is emerging as an important pillar of the company’s AI strategy as enterprises look to bring together business data and provide AI agents with the context required to automate processes. The solution featured prominently in the second quarter, with AI and SAP Business Data Cloud serving as key pillars in more than 90% of SAP’s 50 largest deals. This strong adoption gives management confidence about business momentum in the second half of the year. SAP’s current cloud backlog increased 26%, while cloud revenues grew 24% to €6.3 billion in the quarter.
SAP Business Data Cloud forms the data foundation of the context and reason pillar of SAP’s new Business AI platform. It provides agents with broad access to enterprise data. SAP is strengthening this foundation through Dremio, whose Apache Iceberg-native technology allows mission-critical SAP and non-SAP data to be analyzed together in real time without first moving or copying the information.
SAP is also building a single semantic data layer that combines data products around customer, supplier, material and other master-data objects. Reltio will govern these models end to end to support high data quality, while the semantic models connect with SAP’s ontology layer and knowledge graph across lines of business and industries. Prior Labs adds tabular AI capabilities designed to help agents generate accurate predictions. The strategy could also create monetization opportunities as SAP expands agentic AI. SAP intends to keep Prior Labs’ technology open source but monetize its capabilities through value-priced agents rather than selling the model separately.
Management believes these agents can use SAP and non-SAP data to deliver predictions without requiring customers to curate data or manage data pipelines.
Meanwhile, SAP’s broader cloud transformation should support adoption. Its new RISE with SAP and GROW with SAP offering was well received in the second quarter, with strong uptake of the AI ERP migration toolchain. Customers are achieving faster time to value and up to 30% lower ERP migration costs. Stronger data integration, governance, AI capabilities and cloud migration momentum position Business Data Cloud as a key component of SAP’s push toward the autonomous enterprise.
Taking a Look at SAP’s CompetitorsSalesforce, Inc. (CRM - Free Report) is extending its CRM franchise by embedding Agentforce across Customer 360 and deepening the data layer through Informatica, which is supporting subscription growth and backlog. Usage indicators, including rising tokens processed and agentic work delivered, suggest customers are moving beyond early pilots. The company expects revenue growth to pick up in the second half of fiscal 2027 as Sales, Service, Slack, Agentforce and Data 360 adoption broadens. Salesforce is returning amounts of capital through an accelerated share repurchase while still generating cash flow to fund product investment.
Oracle Corporation’s (ORCL - Free Report) cloud infrastructure business demonstrates accelerating revenue growth, supported by strategic partnerships and competitive pricing that attract enterprise workload migrations. AI-optimized database capabilities provide technological differentiation, while record fiscal 2026 operating cash flow of $32 billion enables sustained infrastructure investments. The integrated solutions strategy strengthens customer retention and drives cross-selling opportunities. For first-quarter fiscal 2027, total revenues are expected to grow from 27% to 29% in both constant currency and USD. Total Cloud revenues are expected to grow 57-63% in constant currency and 58-64% in USD. For fiscal 2027, the company confirmed prior revenue guidance of $90 billion.
SAP’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of SAP have gained 11.7% in the past six months, underperforming the Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s appreciation of 18.7%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, SAP stock is currently trading at a trailing 12-month Price/Earnings ratio of 28.53X, which is higher than the Zacks Computer - Software industry average of 26.83X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SAP’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $8.13, which suggests 16.81% growth over the figure reported in 2025.
SAP currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Dow očekává v roce 2026 více než 1,3 mld. USD úspor z vlastních opatření, z toho 700 mil. USD z nové iniciativy Transform to Outperform. Silná likvidita a cash flow podporují investice i návrat kapitálu akcionářům.
Key Takeaways Dow's growth projects and cost actions are strengthening its position despite macroeconomic headwinds.DOW expects more than $1.3B of self-help benefits in 2026, including $700M from its new initiative.Dow's strong liquidity and cash flow support growth investments, deleveraging and shareholder returns. Dow Inc. (DOW - Free Report) has been benefiting from its cost and productivity initiatives, growth actions in attractive markets, and advantaged feedstock positions in a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.
The company’s shares have gained 31.1% over a year compared with the Zacks Chemicals Diversified industry’s 1.2% rise.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Let’s find out why DOW stock is worth retaining at the moment.
High-Return Growth Projects & Self-Help Actions Aid DowDOW benefits from its differentiated portfolio and advantaged feedstock positions in the Americas. It remains focused on investing in attractive areas. Its broad portfolio, significant low-cost feedstock positions, global footprint and market reach place it in an advantageous position against competitors. While Dow faces headwinds from heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, it remains focused on growth actions in attractive end markets and executing high-return incremental growth projects in cost-advantaged regions.
Recent alkoxylation investments are contributing to growth in the Industrial Solutions business. The company is also expanding specialty silicones capabilities for mobility, electronics and healthcare, while increasing its emphasis on higher-value downstream applications. Dow has completed the shutdown of its higher-cost Barry, U.K., upstream siloxanes unit, shifting its silicones mix by more than 25% toward more stable and higher-margin businesses while maintaining value-chain integration.
The Barry action is expected to provide about $60 million of EBITDA uplift in the second half of 2026. Dow also restarted its lowest-cost and most flexible European cracker in Terneuzen and remains on track to shut the Bohlen cracker by year-end 2027, actions aimed at improving its cost-curve position and regional flexibility. The Alberta project continues to progress on its revised timeline, with roughly 60% of capital expenditures already spent, most critical labor contracts awarded and incentives intact.
Dow continues to emphasize cost and operational discipline through restructuring, productivity and process simplification. The company materially completed its $1 billion 2025 cost program and delivered more than $300 million of in-period self-help benefits in the second quarter of 2026. It now expects more than $1.3 billion of total self-help benefits in 2026. DOW has launched the “Transform to Outperform” initiative to improve productivity, reduce complexity, streamline its end-to-end processes and enable improved returns. The initiative is expected to contribute about $700 million in 2026.
DOW’s Solid Financial Health Supports Capital AllocationDOW has a strong balance sheet and generates substantial cash flows, which enable it to finance its growth investments in higher-value businesses and regions, and drive shareholder value. The company maintained about $14 billion of available liquidity at the end of the second quarter, and has no substantive debt maturities until 2029. Management plans to direct excess cash toward deleveraging and expects more than $500 million of working-capital release in the second half of 2026.
Dow generated $1.3 billion of cash from operating activities in the second quarter, versus a $470 million use of cash in the year-ago period. The company returned $253 million to shareholders through dividends in the quarter. Management expects working-capital actions to support cash conversion.
Soft Demand Conditions and Cost Pressures Ail DOWDow remains exposed to weak and inconsistent demand across several regions and end markets. Packaging demand is resilient globally, and U.S. consumer spending has held up, but the U.S. housing market remains weak because of affordability concerns and high mortgage rates. In Europe, structural operating and labor costs persist despite emerging government support and trade protection measures.
In Asia Pacific, industrial production and manufacturing activity have improved, but consumer demand remains soft and uneven. Middle East tensions and constrained shipping also continue to disrupt supply chains. These conditions were visible in second-quarter 2026 volumes, which fell 1% year over year at the company level. DOW expects a normal seasonal decline in building and construction demand in the third quarter, along with lower seasonal coatings demand.
Dow remains sensitive to energy and raw-material volatility. The Middle East conflict has kept logistics constrained and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz below historical levels, supporting higher risk premiums for energy and feedstocks. Management described the third-quarter environment as supportive but higher cost and noted that crude oil and key feedstocks had risen sharply. Elevated feedstock and energy costs are likely to impact margins in the third quarter.
DOW’s Zacks Rank & Other Key PicksDOW currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Worthington Steel, Inc. (WS - Free Report) , Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS - Free Report) and Avient Corporation (AVNT - Free Report) . WS currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while CRS and AVNT carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WS’s current-year earnings stands at $3.4 per share, implying a 52.5% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, with the negative average surprise being 13.8%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $12.92 per share, implying a 20.1% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 8.4%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVNT’s current-year earnings is pegged at $3.2 per share, indicating a 13.5% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 3.4%.
Ethena (ENA) za sedm dní vzrostla asi o 65 % na 0,142 USD po oznámení úvěrové facility v objemu 1 miliardy USD od FalconX a býčích komentářích Arthura Hayese. Trh sleduje rezistenci na úrovni 0,1465 USD.
Ethena price extended its weekly gain to about 65% on Aug. 21, reaching $0.142 after a $1 billion lending deal with FalconX and bullish calls from Arthur Hayes fueled demand for ENA.
Summary
Ethena price gained about 65% in seven days and reached an intraday high near $0.145. A $1 billion FalconX facility will fund overcollateralized loans using assets backing USDe. 4-hour RSI reached 93.97, warning that the near-vertical rally is overheated. A break above $0.1465 could expose $0.1587, while $0.1343 is the first support. Ethena price action today According to data from crypto.news, Ethena (ENA) price traded near $0.140 at press time, up about 20% on the daily chart. The token briefly reached $0.1448 after opening the session at $0.116, extending a rally that began near $0.082 on Aug. 18.
The move carried ENA through several resistance levels in less than three days. Buyers first reclaimed $0.10, which had limited previous recovery attempts, before breaking through $0.1099, $0.1221, and $0.1343.
ENA’s 4-hour chart shows that most of the advance occurred through consecutive large green candles. The token has gained more than 70% from its Aug. 18 low, leaving little consolidation between the previous trading range and its current price.
The breakout also reversed a longer period of weakness. ENA had fallen from above $0.21 at the start of 2026 and spent much of June through mid-August between $0.07 and $0.10.
What is driving the ENA rally? The immediate catalyst was a $1 billion secured warehouse facility announced by FalconX and Ethena.
Under the arrangement, assets backing Ethena’s USDe synthetic dollar can fund overcollateralized loans to institutional borrowers. FalconX will originate and service the loans while also managing the collateral, which will be held with qualified custodians.
Ethena will hold a first-priority security interest over the assets in the lending vehicle. The structure gives the protocol another potential source of returns beyond crypto basis trades, whose yields can weaken when demand for leveraged futures positions declines.
The $1 billion figure describes the facility’s total capacity rather than confirmed capital deployed on its first day. Interest rates, eligible collateral, borrower requirements, and the initial amount drawn have not been disclosed.
Bullish commentary from BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes added to the momentum. Hayes wrote in an Aug. 21 X post that an “$ENA 5 bagger is just too easy,” alongside a chart pointing toward roughly $0.50.
Hayes had previously argued that stronger US dollar liquidity could lift Bitcoin, improve derivatives basis yields, and attract capital back into USDe. On-chain reports earlier in August also linked him to purchases totaling 22.64 million ENA worth about $2 million.
Trader Daan Crypto Trades separately identified $0.14 as an important level after ENA gained more than 30%.
“Could see some resistance there. If it breaks higher we’re off to the races,” the trader said in an Aug. 21 X post.
ENA has now reached that area, making its reaction around $0.14–$0.1465 central to the next move.
ENA indicators warn the rally is overheated Momentum remains strongly bullish, although the 4-hour indicators show a growing risk of short-term profit-taking.
Ethena price 4-hour chart — Aug. 21 | Source: crypto.news ENA’s 4-hour Relative Strength Index reached 93.97, far above the 70 level commonly associated with overbought conditions. Its RSI moving average stood at 75.97, confirming that momentum has remained elevated across several candles rather than during one brief spike.
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator also supports the uptrend. The MACD line rose to 0.0114, above the 0.0062 signal line, while the positive histogram expanded to 0.0052. The widening gap shows that buying momentum was still accelerating when the chart was captured.
Daily Aroon readings provide another bullish signal. Aroon Up stood at 100%, consistent with ENA recording a fresh high, while Aroon Down was at 64.29%. The readings favor buyers but also reflect the speed and volatility of the reversal from ENA’s earlier lows.
Ethena price daily chart — Aug. 21 | Source: crypto.news Overbought readings do not guarantee an immediate decline. However, an RSI near 94 means traders entering after the vertical move face a greater risk if momentum slows or early buyers begin taking profits.
ENA price targets $0.1587 if $0.1465 breaks The daily chart places $0.1465 at the next major resistance. ENA traded just below that level after its intraday high reached approximately $0.1448.
A daily close above $0.1465 would confirm a breakout from the current trading range. The next technical targets would be $0.1587 and $0.1709, followed by $0.1831 if momentum remains strong.
Failure to clear $0.1465 could produce a retest of $0.1343, which previously acted as a reversal level. Lower support sits at $0.1221, followed by $0.1099 and the former breakout area around $0.0977–$0.10.
CoinGlass’ three-day liquidation heatmap shows substantial leverage concentrations below the current price. The strongest nearby clusters appear around $0.118–$0.120, with additional liquidity between $0.104 and $0.116.
Ethena liquidation heatmap | Source: CoinGlass A decline through $0.1343 could therefore accelerate as leveraged long positions face pressure. Holding that level would allow ENA to consolidate without breaking the short-term bullish structure.
US market context remains tied to risk appetite ENA’s rally has also benefited from a broader recovery across the crypto market as Bitcoin moved toward multi-month highs. Rising demand for higher-risk DeFi tokens often follows strength in Bitcoin and Ether, although such assets can also record sharper losses when market sentiment reverses.
FalconX’s US presence gives the lending agreement an institutional connection for American markets. FalconX Bravo, an affiliate of the prime broker, is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a swap dealer focused on crypto derivatives.
The warehouse facility does not remove the risks attached to USDe or ENA. Borrower defaults, collateral declines, custody arrangements, smart-contract exposure, changing derivatives yields, and future token unlocks could still affect the protocol and its governance token.
For now, ENA’s breakout remains intact above $0.1343. A close above $0.1465 would support another leg toward $0.1587, while a rejection combined with the extreme RSI reading would raise the probability of a pullback toward $0.1221.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Proti First Solar a některým členům vedení byla podána hromadná žaloba kvůli údajným klamavým výrokům o dopadech amerických cel a výhledu firmy. Žaloba se týká investorů, kteří akcie koupili mezi 26. únorem 2025 a 24. únorem 2026.
NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against First Solar, Inc. (“First Solar” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: FSLR) and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and docketed under 26-cv-03787, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired First Solar securities between February 26, 2025 and February 24, 2026, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are an investor who purchased or otherwise acquired First Solar securities during the Class Period, you have until August 24, 2026, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
First Solar is a solar technology company that provides photovoltaic (“PV”) solar energy solutions. First Solar manufactures and sells PV solar modules that convert sunlight into electricity. As relevant here, First Solar’s product offerings include its Series 6 Plus PV module, manufactured at facilities in locations including Malaysia and Vietnam.
At the outset of the Class Period, Defendants announced that First Solar would reduce production output of Series 6 modules at facilities in Malaysia and Vietnam in 2025, to account for circumstances including, inter alia, an “uncertain U.S. policy environment following the 2024 U.S. elections,” and “a supply and demand imbalance for Southeast Asian product”. Notwithstanding these circumstances, First Solar reassured investors that its primary market, the United States, enjoyed stable module prices.
Then, on April 2, 2025, United States (“U.S.”) President Donald J. Trump announced a series of “reciprocal” tariffs on U.S. imports from all countries, including rates of 24% and 46% on Malaysia and Vietnam, respectively, presenting a challenge to First Solar. These tariffs were subsequently reduced to 10%. Throughout the Class Period, Defendants continued to assure investors that the dynamic policy landscape presented a “long term favorable” for First Solar and actually “strengthened [its] relative position in the solar manufacturing industry”.
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Defendants had overstated First Solar’s capacity to manage the impact of U.S. tariff policy on the Company’s business; (ii) Defendants understated the extent to which its responses to U.S. tariff policy, including the intentional underutilization of production facilities in Malaysia and Vietnam, and attempted relocation of production to the U.S., were likely to negatively impact First Solar’s projected performance in the 2026 fiscal year; and (iii) as a result, Defendants’ public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
The truth began to emerge on January 7, 2026, when Jefferies downgraded First Solar to Hold from Buy, noting that during 2025, the Company had lowered guidance, faced significant de-bookings and experienced margin compression through 2025. Jefferies also flagged that “[international] facilities remain a pain point while tariffs exist” and “underutilization at [international] facilities remains a concern.” The Jefferies analyst also predicted that First Solar’s deployment opportunities were likely to be more limited in 2026.
On this news, First Solar’s stock price fell $27.67 per share, or 10.29%, to close at $241.11 per share on January 7, 2026.
Then, on February 24, 2026, First Solar issued a press release “announc[ing] financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2025.” Among other items, First Solar announced earnings that missed expectations by a wide margin and issued lower-than-expected FY 2026 revenue guidance, citing customer headwinds such as permitting delays under the Trump administration. Following First Solar’s announcement, Baird Research downgraded its stock to Neutral from Outperform, citing “several question marks in forward outlook”.
On this news, First Solar’s stock price fell $33.09 per share, or 13.61%, to close at $210.12 per share on February 25, 2026.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.
Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
MEXC zalistovala na spotovém trhu pár MRNAON/USDT, tokenizovanou akcii společnosti Moderna od Ondo. Tím rozšiřuje nabídku tokenizovaných amerických akcií.
MEXC, a pioneer in 0-fee digital asset trading, has listed the MRNAON/USDT trading pair on Spot, giving users a new opportunity to access U.S. stock markets as part of its expanding lineup of Ondo tokenized stock offerings.
Moderna, Inc., a U.S.-based biotechnology company known for its mRNA vaccine platform, has seen its shares rally sharply in recent trading. On August 19, 2026, Moderna and Merck announced that their investigational personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, used in combination with Keytruda, met the primary endpoint of a late-stage melanoma trial, with the combination regimen meeting the main study goal of significantly extending the time patients lived without their melanoma returning, compared with Keytruda alone. Moderna’s stock price soared 177% that day, delivering a substantial blow to short sellers, marking one of its largest single-session gains on record and drawing renewed market attention to the company’s expanding pipeline beyond vaccines.
The MRNAON/USDT trading pair went live on Spot at 09:00 on August 20, 2026 (UTC). Deposits are open, with withdrawals enabled from 09:00 on August 21, 2026 (UTC).
As the latest addition to MEXC’s ongoing collaboration with Ondo, the listing reflects MEXC’s efficiency in bringing trending assets to market, giving users timely investment exposure to one of the most closely watched biotech stocks in the current market. Ondo Stocks (formerly Ondo Global Markets) is a platform designed to bring traditional public securities on-chain through tokenized assets, enabling investors outside the United States to invest in publicly traded U.S. securities, including stocks and ETFs. These tokenized assets are freely transferable and usable in DeFi.
Tokenized stocks have taken on a growing role in MEXC’s trading activity. In July, tokenized stocks became the largest category within MEXC’s TradFi spot market, accounting for 62% of total spot trading volume. The trend underscores rising user demand for tokenized stocks, and MEXC will continue to expand its tokenized stock offering, empowering users to capture opportunities across global markets. In addition, MEXC 0808: Stock Season, the platform’s annual brand event running through August 28 (UTC), is offering 0 Fees across Tokenized Stocks, Stock Futures and RealStocks, along with the opportunity to share in a $500,000 prize pool.
About MEXC
MEXC is the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency exchange, trusted by more than 40 million users across 170+ markets. Built on a user-first philosophy, MEXC offers industry-leading 0-fee trading and access to over 3,000 digital assets. As the Gateway to Infinite Opportunities, MEXC provides a single platform where users can easily trade cryptocurrencies alongside tokenized assets, including stocks, ETFs, commodities, and precious metals.
MEXC Official Website｜ X ｜ Telegram ｜How to Sign Up on MEXC
This content does not constitute investment advice. Given the volatility of financial markets, including digital assets, tokenized assets, and traditional financial products, investors should carefully assess market conditions, underlying asset fundamentals, and potential financial risks before making any investment or trading decisions.
Salesforce vykázal výnosy 11,13 miliardy USD, meziročně o 13 % více, a oznámil zrychlený odkup akcií za 25 miliard USD. ServiceNow rostl rychleji, ale jeho provozní zisk podle GAAP klesl o 54,75 %.
Salesforce (NYSE:CRM | CRM Price Prediction) and ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) both reported into a market rotating capital out of AI hardware and into the application layer. Salesforce leaned on Agentforce and a $25 billion accelerated buyback. ServiceNow leaned on a $1 billion AI ACV milestone and a security-heavy acquisition spree. Same theme, very different playbooks.
Agentforce Prints Cash. ServiceNow AI Prints Deals. Salesforce delivered $11.13 billion in revenue, up 13%, with non-GAAP operating margin of 34.8% and operating cash flow of $6.7 billion. Agentforce plus Data 360 sit at $3.4 billion in AI and data ARR, and Marc Benioff called Agentic AI “the biggest growth opportunity for our customers, for us at Salesforce.” Marketing and Tableau softness is real, though, and worth watching.
ServiceNow grew faster: subscription revenue of $3.877 billion, up 24.5%, with 123 net-new-ACV deals over $1 million and agentic deployments up 9x in nine months. The tradeoff shows up in GAAP: operating income fell 54.75% as Moveworks, Veza, and Armis amortization landed.
Business Driver Salesforce ServiceNow Top-line growth 13% YoY 24% YoY Flagship AI franchise Agentforce ARR >$1B ServiceNow AI ACV >$1B Capital priority $25B ASR Armis, Veza, Moveworks M&A Platform Consolidator Vs. AI Control Tower Benioff wants Salesforce to be the agentic CRM of record, and Headless 360 exposes every workflow as an API, MCP, or CLI command. Bill McDermott is building something adjacent: “We are in the control business, one platform, one system of action, any cloud, any agent, any workflow, any model, governed, secured, and accountable.” Over 500 customers are live on AI Control Tower already.
The competitive jabs land in both directions. Salesforce noted McAfee replacing ServiceNow with Agentforce IT Service. ServiceNow claims $2 billion in CRM ACV and Sales CRM deal sizes doubling. Valuation reflects the split: CRM trades at a trailing P/E of 23x, while NOW sits at 75x.
What Actually Decides the Next Four Quarters I want to see whether Salesforce can convert Agentforce production customers, up 50% during the quarter, into consumption revenue that offsets Marketing and Tableau drag. For ServiceNow, the tell is whether AI Control Tower and the Armis-anchored security stack can absorb a 6.5-point drop in GAAP subscription gross margin without spooking the buy side. Both stocks have been punished: CRM is down 22.05% YTD, NOW is down 15.30%.
Where the Setup Favors Salesforce in This Rotation If you believe agentic AI capital is quietly leaving hardware and searching for durable software cash flows, the setup favors CRM here. A 14x forward multiple, $6.7 billion in operating cash flow, and the largest buyback in the company’s history provide more margin for error than the 75x multiple allows. If you prefer the higher-growth, higher-variance path, ServiceNow’s $29 billion RPO and control-tower positioning are compelling. The Armis integration drag is worth monitoring before the multiple resets.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
