Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

For much of the AI boom, investors believed one thing: expensive AI meant booming demand for Nvidia Corp‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) chips. Now the opposite may be becoming true.

As OpenAI cuts prices, Chinese challengers like DeepSeek and Kimi introduce lower-cost models, and enterprises gain access to cheaper AI than ever before, the economics of artificial intelligence are changing rapidly. While that may sound like bad news for companies building AI models, it could ultimately strengthen the investment case for Nvidia.

The AI Price War Is Driving Costs LowerAI usage has become dramatically cheaper over the past few months.

SoFi Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOFI) Chief Market Strategist Liz Thomas noted on X that average AI token costs have fallen from $2.07 per million tokens in late May to $1.02, citing OpenAI’s price reductions and the growing availability of lower-cost open-source models from companies including Kimi and DeepSeek.

The broader trend is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

OpenAI recently reduced prices for some of its frontier models by as much as 80%, while Anthropic has also introduced lower-cost offerings as competition intensifies. Chinese AI companies, including DeepSeek and Moonshot AI, have further accelerated the industry’s shift toward cheaper inference.

The competition is no longer just about building the smartest model. It’s increasingly about building the most affordable one.

Read Next

Cheaper AI Could Mean More Demand for NvidiaAt first glance, falling prices might appear negative for the AI ecosystem. Lower prices usually imply lower revenue per transaction. But technology markets often behave differently.

Latest Private Market Opportunities

Join 400,000+ Investors

Economists call it the Jevons Paradox—the idea that making a resource cheaper and more efficient often increases total consumption rather than reducing it.

Early evidence suggests AI may already be following that pattern. After OpenAI reduced prices for some of its models, usage surged sharply. Business Insider reported that usage of GPT-5.6 Luna increased roughly fourteenfold, while Terra usage rose fivefold, with revenue also increasing despite the lower prices.

For Nvidia, that’s an important distinction.

The company doesn’t earn money from the price customers pay per token. It benefits when AI developers, hyperscalers and enterprises deploy more computing infrastructure to serve growing demand.

If cheaper AI encourages businesses to automate more workflows, launch more AI agents and process more inference requests, the total amount of computing required could continue rising—even if each individual AI query costs less.

The AI Winners May Shift, but Nvidia Still Stands to BenefitThe AI price war is undoubtedly putting pressure on model developers.

OpenAI, Anthropic and others must balance lower pricing with the enormous cost of building and operating frontier AI models. At the same time, open-source alternatives are forcing proprietary model providers to compete more aggressively on both performance and economics.

Hardware companies occupy a different position in that ecosystem.

As long as total AI workloads continue expanding, demand for GPUs, networking equipment and AI infrastructure can grow even if software becomes increasingly commoditized. The Wall Street Journal recently argued that the rise of cheaper open-weight AI models is unlikely to reduce demand for the industry’s “picks and shovels,” because broader adoption ultimately requires more computing capacity.

That doesn’t mean Nvidia is insulated from every competitive threat. Efficiency gains, custom AI chips and evolving model architectures remain important variables.

But falling AI prices alone are not necessarily bearish.

What Nvidia Investors Should Watch NextThe more important metric may no longer be the price of AI, but its usage. If lower costs encourage enterprises to embed AI into more products, automate more workflows and serve millions of additional users, infrastructure demand could continue climbing even as token prices fall.

For Nvidia investors, the next phase of the AI boom may be driven less by increasingly expensive models—and more by making AI affordable enough to be used almost everywhere.

Read Next

Image via Shutterstock

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Chinese robot makers showed off humanoids sorting parcels, packing mobile phones and helping with household chores at a Beijing conference on Wednesday, seeking to demonstrate a shift from crowd-pleasing displays to broader commercial use.

More than 300 mostly domestic companies are attending the World Robot Conference, which runs through Sunday, displaying over 2,000 exhibits and launching more than 150 products, according to organizers.

The event comes amid a surge of investor interest in humanoids, a potential new source of industrial growth for China and an arena of technological competition with the United States.

Humanoid robots produced by UB Tech sort small parcels at during the 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing on Wednesday. AFP via Getty Images Shares in Unitree, China’s best-known humanoid robot maker, soared nearly sixfold in their Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, after Unitree’s initial public offering was more than 8,000 times oversubscribed by retail investors.

Following Unitree’s IPO, startup Lumos Robotics and the robotics division of China’s largest auto exporter Chery Automobile told Reuters they were also considering stock market listings.

Nvidia executive visits Madison Huang, a senior Nvidia executive and daughter of the US chipmaker’s CEO Jensen Huang, made an unannounced visit to the event, watching robots perform flying kicks and dance routines before stopping at a companion-robot booth to ask about its sensors.

Huang, who drew onlookers much as her father has on past visits to Beijing, oversees marketing for Nvidia’s Omniverse and robotics platforms, software used to simulate and test physical AI — systems that can perceive and act in the real world.

Despite geopolitical tensions and US restrictions on exports of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips to China, her visit highlighted foreign suppliers’ role in China’s push to develop intelligent and autonomous robots for its factories, warehouses and homes.

Madison Huang, a senior Nvidia executive and daughter of CEO Jensen Huang, made an unannounced visit to the event. REUTERS RealSense, a US-based maker of vision systems for robots and one of the few foreign exhibitors at the conference, said it was expanding manufacturing capacity and building sales partnerships in China as the sector develops.

“We see China as a very strategic market for us,” said Mike Nielsen, the company’s chief marketing officer.

“It is becoming the center of humanoid technology.”

A staff member dressed up in a costume poses with VBot robots on a dog leash. REUTERS Robotics an ‘important force’ At the opening ceremony, Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology, pledged support, saying robotics had become “an important force” in China’s economic and social development, state-backed financial outlet Cailianshe reported.

Robots are increasingly being tested in logistics, manufacturing and service settings, though many deployments remain at the pilot or early commercial stage.

“Our most common application scenarios are in logistics,” said Zhang Dapeng, assistant vice president at industrial humanoid robot firm Leju, as his company showed robots moving and sorting crates and small objects.

Exhibitors watch a robot play table tennis at a booth of Unitree. Shares soared in Unitree’s trading debut. AP Photo/Andy Wong

A robot demonstrates jumping ability. ZUMAPRESS.com Zhang said European factories and Chinese auto plants were using Leju robots to move boxes and load components.

At Robotera’s booth, a humanoid torso on a wheeled tripod base sorted parcels. A company official said the robot had been deployed at China Post logistics sites since last year using Robotera’s AI software.

A sales representative said Robotera had more than 100 parcel-sorting robots in 15 warehouses nationwide.

From demonstrations to deployment Nearby, DexForce demonstrated humanoid robots packing mobile phones into boxes on an assembly line.

The robots have been deployed since early this year at a Lens Technology factory, a Chinese supplier of touchscreens and other components to Apple and Huawei, said DexForce official Nicole Yang.

Yang said the machines had millimeter-level operating accuracy and could detect and correct errors, such as a phone being placed at an angle.

A robot demonstrates its ability to do chores. Xinhua/Shutterstock

People take pictures of Casbot humanoid robots playing the guitar. AFP via Getty Images “In theory, human beings are the most dexterous,” Yang said. “But many workers in factories are unwilling to do this kind of boring work.”

Lumos Robotics is already using robots to automate the assembly of key modules at its factory and plans to introduce them into final assembly, founder and Chief Executive Yu Chao said.

“This year, everyone is more focused on how robots can work in real-world scenarios,” he said.

China is beomcing the “center of humanoid technology,” said one attendee. ZUMAPRESS.com X Square Robot, known for its focus on household chores, is looking to move beyond short home-service trials.

Its longest deployment has lasted one month, and it is testing robots in hundreds of homes this year before gradual commercialisation next year, said co-founder and Chief Executive Yang Qian.

Commercial test Global humanoid shipments rose 272% in the first half of 2026 to about 19,000 units, with Chinese companies accounting for 97% of the total, according to Morgan Stanley, citing Smart Analytics Global data.

But about 65% of shipments still went to entertainment, education, research and data collection rather than productive commercial work, Morgan Stanley said.

A hyper-realistic silicon face for robots is displayed at the Magic Cube Robot booth. REUTERS

Humanoid robots from Unitree fight each other as they perform kickboxing. Getty Images RealSense’s Nielsen said the companies most likely to succeed would be those able to put robots into active production environments, adding that China’s rapid development cycle was pushing suppliers to move more quickly.

“The product cycles for robots are more like six to eight months, not three to four years,” he said.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT | WMT Price Prediction) screens as a low-deliberation candidate for a retirement portfolio heading into the Aug. 20 pre-market earnings release, and the setup is not close. Prediction-market traders are pricing a 75.5% probability of an earnings beat, the operating engine is compounding, and the capital-return machine is at its most aggressive posture in years. This is the kind of business retirees are supposed to own, and the catalyst window is 24 hours away.

The Catalyst Is Already Loaded Management guided Q2 FY27 to adjusted EPS of 72 cents to 74 cents on 4% to 5% constant-currency sales growth. Q1 FY27 already ran hot, with revenue of $175.68 billion (+6.1% YoY), global eCommerce up 26%, advertising up 37%, and membership fee revenue up 17%. The macro backdrop cooperates: BEA data shows June 2026 food spending at $1.573 trillion versus $1.527 trillion a year earlier, exactly the volume tailwind Walmart converts into share gains.

The Income and Buyback Story Walmart raised the annual dividend to 99 cents per share from 94 cents and authorized a new $30 billion repurchase program with $28.2 billion remaining. In Q1 alone, the company retired 16.6 million shares for $2.1 billion at an average $125.51. Analysts carry a $137.97 price target against a current quote of $115.33, alongside 28 Buy ratings and nine Strong Buy ratings against a single Sell rating.

The Head-to-Head Isn’t Close Target (NYSE:TGT) is the obvious alternative, and the comparison favors Walmart decisively. Target has posted three consecutive quarters of year-over-year sales declines while Walmart printed Walmart U.S. comp sales up 4.1% ex-fuel with traffic up 3%. Costco (NASDAQ:COST) is the other name investors reach for, but it trades at a materially richer multiple than WMT’s 40 P/E while Walmart’s dividend yield of 0.82% exceeds Costco’s base yield and is paired with a fresher buyback authorization. Walmart’s 37% advertising growth is a margin lever Costco simply does not have at scale.

Dismissing the One Risk The bear case points to Q1 FY27 free cash flow of -$1.9 billion on CapEx of $6.68 billion (+34% YoY). That CapEx is funding automation and same-day delivery, the exact spend that produced FY26 free cash flow of $14.92B (+17.88%) and store-fulfilled delivery growth of 45%. It is investment, and it is already paying.

Walmart’s setup into the Aug. 20 earnings release looks compelling for long-term holders.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Key Takeaways SBUX posted 7.9% global comps growth, with higher traffic and spending driving stronger sales and earnings.Starbucks raised FY26 EPS guidance to $2.55-$2.65 as margins expanded and cost savings supported results.Starbucks expects U.S. comps to grow over 6%, while easing coffee prices could ease margin pressure. Starbucks Corporation (SBUX - Free Report) enters the final quarter of fiscal 2026 with stronger comparable sales and earnings trends. Global comparable sales rose 7.9% in the fiscal third quarter, while net revenues reached $9.3 billion. EPS increased 70% year over year to 85 cents. The improvement was supported by higher customer traffic and spending, giving the company a stronger base for earnings growth.

The U.S. business provides a key base for this growth. Comparable sales increased 7.9%, driven by a 4.2% rise in transactions and a 3.6% improvement in average ticket. Food attach reached a quarterly record across U.S. company-operated stores, while delivery and product modifications supported ticket growth. The balanced contribution from traffic and ticket growth gives the company a stronger foundation for earnings as comparable sales improve.

Starbucks’ stronger comparable sales also supported margin expansion. Consolidated operating margin expanded 430 basis points to 14.4%, while North America margin increased 280 basis points year over year. Sales leverage, operational improvements and cost savings helped offset investments in Green Apron Service and menu innovation. The company also reduced G&A expenses by about 20%, with the decline supported by cost savings, the China business deconsolidation and the comparison with higher leadership-related expenses in fiscal 2025.

Starbucks raised its fiscal 2026 expectations following the stronger performance. U.S. comparable sales are projected to grow a little more than 6%, while global comparable sales are expected to approach 6%. Consolidated operating margin guidance was raised to above 11%, and EPS guidance increased to $2.55-$2.65. Starbucks also expects coffee price pressure to ease in the fiscal fourth quarter, which could reduce a previous drag on margins.

The earnings trajectory will depend on whether Starbucks can maintain comparable sales growth while preserving the margin gains achieved in the third quarter. The company remains on track with its $2 billion cost-savings plan through fiscal 2028. Sales leverage and cost savings could support earnings as comparable sales grow. However, the company expects continued variability in the broader consumer environment, making traffic growth an important factor for fiscal fourth-quarter performance.

SBUX’s Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesShares of Starbucks have gained 18.5% in the past year against the industry’s 7.3% decline. In the same time frame, other industry players like Dutch Bros Inc. (BROS - Free Report) and McDonald's Corporation (MCD - Free Report) have declined 23% and 14.7%, respectively.

SBUX’s One-Year Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, SBUX trades at a forward price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 3.06, below the industry’s average of 3.09. Conversely, industry players, such as Dutch Bros and McDonald's, have P/S multiples of 3.43 and 6.5, respectively.

SBUX’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SBUX’s fiscal 2026 earnings per share has increased in the past 30 days.

EPS Trend of SBUX Stock
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company is likely to report strong earnings, with projections indicating a 21.1% rise in fiscal 2026. Conversely, industry players like McDonald's are likely to witness an increase of 5.6%, year over year, in 2026 earnings. Meanwhile, Dutch Bros’ 2026 earnings are likely to witness a rise of 27.6% year over year.

SBUX currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Intel INTC and AMD shares extended their declines on Wednesday, even as a broader recovery across US markets helped major stock indexes regain ground lost in the previous sessions.

The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite all gained between 0.5% and 1% as Treasury yields eased following the US Treasury Department's announcement of an increased buyback operation for longer-term government debt.

Lower bond yields generally provide support to technology stocks by improving the relative appeal of future earnings.

But semiconductor stocks continued to lag.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was down about 2%, with Broadcom also weighing on the group after Marvell Technology announced a custom AI chip agreement with Google.

Broadcom fell about 5%, while both Intel and AMD declined about 4% each.

The weakness suggests that investors remain selective within the chip sector, with company-specific concerns competing with the broader tailwinds from lower yields and continued AI spending.

Intel's decline has been partly driven by concerns surrounding the dilution created by its recently completed $20 billion common stock offering.

The offering, which closed on August 12 at $95 a share, involved approximately 210.5 million new shares and substantially increased the company's share count.

Bank of America estimates the additional shares could reduce Intel's earnings per share by about 4% to 5% as the dilution is incorporated into forward estimates.

The bank recently reduced its price target for Intel to $145 from $160 while maintaining a Buy rating.

At the same time, BofA has argued that the capital raise could strengthen Intel's ability to expand its foundry operations.

The size of the financing, according to the bank, demonstrates management's confidence that it can secure major customers for its manufacturing business.

UBS has also lowered its Intel price target, cutting it to $112 from $121 while retaining a Neutral rating.

The investment bank nevertheless said the capital raise could remove a major overhang for the stock by giving Intel the resources required to fund its foundry ambitions.

“When combined with pre-payments and financial commitments that we expect to accompany several forthcoming foundry deals (Google for EMIB-T, AAPL for M-Series, AMD, SPCX, and potentially a few more), we believe the raise will allow INTC to fund its foundry buildout,” UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri wrote in a note to clients.

“Overall we view the raise as a strong endorsement of INTC's confidence in its foundry roadmap.”

Intel has also received some positive signals from the credit markets.

Fitch Ratings on Monday affirmed Intel's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating and senior unsecured ratings at BBB, while maintaining its Short-Term IDR and commercial paper ratings at F2.

The ratings agency also revised its outlook to Stable from Negative.

Fitch said the decision reflected Intel's progress on its technology roadmap and better-than-expected operating performance.

The agency also viewed Intel's recent equity raise, which was aimed at supporting higher capital spending, as strengthening the company's ability to meet demand and reduce net debt.

Fitch expects Intel could begin reducing net debt in 2027 and bring EBITDA leverage below its 2.5 times negative rating sensitivity in the near term.

That provides some support for Intel's longer-term turnaround story, even as shareholders absorb the immediate impact of dilution.

AMD's decline also came despite continued optimism surrounding its position in AI infrastructure.

The chipmaker recently priced a $4.75 billion bond offering to support its expansion into artificial intelligence and data centers.

According to NAI 500, it was AMD's largest-ever US dollar bond financing.

The transaction gives AMD additional financial flexibility, including ahead of $875 million of debt scheduled to mature next month.

The financing comes as AMD attempts to capture a larger share of the AI accelerator market and strengthen its position as an alternative to Nvidia.

Wall Street remains broadly optimistic about the company's long-term opportunity.

Baird, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Cantor Fitzgerald and Barclays have raised their price targets in recent months, with targets ranging from about $600 to $1,250.

Analysts have pointed to AMD's CPUs and GPUs, its EPYC server processors and its potential role in AI data centers and rack-scale systems as key drivers of future growth.

Key Takeaways Salesforce's Agentforce ARR hit $1.2B in Q1 fiscal 2027, up 205% year over year.More than 50% of Agentforce and Data 360 bookings came from existing Salesforce customers.Salesforce raised fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to $45.9-$46.2B as Q1 revenues grew 13%. Salesforce, Inc. (CRM - Free Report) is making a strong push to establish Agentforce as a leading enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) platform. The company is moving beyond traditional customer relationship management (CRM - Free Report) solution provider by using AI agents to automate sales, service and other business tasks. Early adoption suggests Agentforce could become an important growth engine for Salesforce.

The numbers are encouraging. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Agentforce annual recurring revenues (ARR) reached $1.2 billion, up 205% year over year. Combined Agentforce and Data 360 ARR came in at $3.4 billion, more than doubling from the year-ago period. Salesforce also processed 28.6 trillion AI tokens, up 152% sequentially, while Agentic Work Units increased 111% to 3.8 billion. These figures show that customer engagement with its AI platform is rising rapidly.

Salesforce also has the advantage of its large installed customer base. More than 50% of Agentforce and Data 360 bookings in the first quarter came from existing customers. This gives the company an opportunity to increase spending per customer by connecting AI agents with CRM data and business applications.

The broader financial picture remains solid. Salesforce generated $11.13 billion in first-quarter revenues, up 13% year over year, while current Remaining Performance Obligation (cRPO) increased 14% to $33.6 billion. The company raised the lower end of its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to $45.9-$46.2 billion from $45.8-$46.2 billion, reflecting confidence in continued demand.

Salesforce’s major rivals, including Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) and Oracle Corporation (ORCL - Free Report) , are also investing heavily in the enterprise AI space, making competition intense. However, strong ARR growth, rising AI usage and deep CRM integration give Agentforce a credible chance to keep Salesforce near the front of the enterprise AI race. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 revenues is currently pegged at $46.09 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of about 11%.

How Salesforce’s Rivals Are Raising Stake in Enterprise AIMicrosoft is a formidable rival because it can combine Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics and Copilot across a huge enterprise customer base. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, its total revenues grew 18% year over year to $90 billion, up 18%, while Microsoft Cloud revenues climbed 27% to $59.3 billion.

Azure and other cloud services revenues jumped 43%, while paid Microsoft 365 Copilot users topped 30 million. These figures show that Microsoft is already turning AI adoption into large-scale cloud and software revenues.

Oracle is taking a different route by combining its databases, cloud infrastructure and enterprise applications with AI capabilities. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Oracle's total revenues increased 21% year over year to $19.2 billion.

Fourth-quarter cloud revenues jumped 47% year over year to $9.9 billion, with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure revenues soaring 93% to $5.8 billion. This rapid cloud expansion gives Oracle a strong platform for delivering AI agents to enterprise customers.

Salesforce faces two very different but powerful rivals. Microsoft brings unmatched scale and Copilot adoption, while Oracle has strong enterprise data and cloud infrastructure. Agentforce's success will depend on whether Salesforce can maintain its rapid adoption and convert AI usage into sustained customer spending.

Salesforce’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of Salesforce have plunged 26% year to date, while the Zacks Internet – Software industry has fallen 3.5%.

Salesforce YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

From a valuation standpoint, CRM trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, significantly below the industry’s average of 27.76.

Salesforce Forward 12-Month P/E Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Salesforce’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings implies a year-over-year increase of approximately 13.1% and 9.3%, respectively. Estimates for fiscal 2027 earnings have been revised upward in the past 30 days, while estimates have been revised downward for fiscal 2028 over the same time frame.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Salesforce currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Costco (COST +0.55%) is known for its bulk-sized retail offerings, saving its members money in the process. The same can't be said about its quarterly dividend checks. Despite lifting its payouts for 22 consecutive years, Costco's stock has delivered heartier gains over that period, yet it yields a pedestrian 0.6% right now.

This is certainly better than no dividend, but it's not the kind of yield that will attract income investors. However, Costco does have a secret weapon in its arsenal. Every few years, the country's leading warehouse club operator declares a special one-time payout. It's been three years since the chain's last one-time dividend, making another distribution more than just possible later this year.

Image source: Getty Images.

Keeping things special If you're a buyer of Costco stock, your goal is capital appreciation and not the regular quarterly distributions. The shares are up 80% over the past three years, soaring 120% over the last five years. However, the special distributions it has historically declared every couple of years do sweeten the income stream for long-term investors beyond its modest current yield of 0.6%. Here are the last few one-time distributions.

Dec. 27, 2023: $15 a share Dec. 1, 2020: $10 May 8, 2017: $7 Feb. 5, 2015: $5 Dec. 6, 2012: $7 The cadence has been somewhat consistent since Costco began rolling out these one-off declarations 14 years ago. They have come once every two or three years. It's been three years since the last major distribution, so my fellow Costco shareholders and I are likely due for another distribution later this year.

Today's Change

(

0.55

%) $

5.33

Current Price

$

966.68

Everything counts in large amounts Even with Costco shares approaching four figures, the occasional special distributions are material. The $15-per-share one-off declaration would add another 1.56% to the current 0.6% yield. It also wouldn't be a surprise to see the payout be materially higher than $15 a share. Its last three special disbursements have been at least 40% higher than the previous offering.

At 40%, this would amount to a dividend of $21, yielding 2.2%. Costco is certainly good for the money. It may operate on lean margins intentionally to give its members more bang for their buck, but it still makes far more money than it pays out to shareholders every three months. Its cash and short-term investments have ballooned from $15 billion to $20 billion since its last one-time dividend. Its long-term debt is roughly the same, currently at $5.7 billion.

Don't be surprised if Costco declares a $21 one-time dividend -- or even $20, for the sake of round numbers -- in the fall, and pays it out by December. It should be easy to predict what a historically safe stock will do with its money.

powered by

Micron (MU)

Buy MU. The setup is a valuation reset plus accelerating fundamentals: forward P/E ~12.8 vs tech ~23, PEG ~0.07, and Rule-of-40 >140%. Catalysts are already in motion—management guides Q4 revenue to $50B (likely >$55B) and margins are expanding (gross ~85%, net ~56%). Technicals confirm timing: holding above the 50-day EMA, RSI >50 rising, and an inverted head-and-shoulders targeting ~$1,256.

Key Risk: Memory demand breaks again and revenue/margins miss guidance, forcing the market to reprice MU back to “cyclical bust” multiples.

Memory basket (Hynix/Samsung)

Buy SK Hynix (or Samsung Electronics ADR) alongside MU. The article cites strong competitor results and major customers (Apple/Google/Microsoft) signaling continued spend. If MU’s rebound is real, it lifts the whole memory complex through shared end-demand and supply discipline expectations, and investors rotate into the group after MU’s valuation rerates.

Key Risk: A sector-wide supply/demand shock (pricing collapse or sudden inventory build) hits all memory names, not just MU.

Micron stock price has slumped into a bear market, moving from the year-to-date high of $1,255 in June to the current $940. This retreat has mirrored the performance of other memory companies in the United States, South Korea, and Japan. Still, there are some potential reasons why the stock may rebound in the near term.

One main reason why the Micron stock may restart its bull run is that most analysts tracking the company are bullish on it. New Street Research upgraded the stock target to $1,250, up by nearly 35% from the current level.

DA Davidson boosted its target from $1,500 to $2,000, while Needham analysts hiked its target from $1,550 to $1,650. Wolfe Research, Raymond James, and Royal Bank of Canada have targets of $1,500. In total, the consensus target for the MU stock is $1,260, up substantially from the current $940. 

There are reasons why the stock has more upside in the coming months. One of the most bullish cases is that its growth is accelerating. Its recent results showed that the company’s revenue jumped to $41.5 billion, up by 74% from the previous quarter and 346% from the same period last year.

Most notably, the management expects the growth to continue, with the fourth-quarter revenue coming in at $50 billion. Historically, the company’s revenue tends to be better than estimates, meaning that the real figure will come in at over $55 billion. Its gross and net profit margins have jumped to 85% and 56%, respectively.

A good example of this is that its top competitors, including SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, published strong financial results. Also, the top clients like Apple, Google, and Microsoft published strong numbers and hinted that they will continue spending. In total, the top companies in the US plan to spend over $700 billion this year. 

A company that is seeing strong revenue and profit growth should have a higher valuation multiple than the broader market. In this case, the S&P 500 Index has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 20. 

Micron, on the other hand, has a forward multiple of 12.8, which is much lower than the technology sector’s average of 23. The metric is also much lower than the five-year average of 73. 

The company also has a forward PEG ratio of 0.07, which also lower than the sector median of 0.70. Meanwhile, by adding its revenue growth and profit margin, the company has a Rule-of-40 metric of over 140%.

These numbers are a sign that investors are concerned about the cyclical nature of the memory industry. In the past, moments of booms are normally followed by periods of busts, such as in 2023 when its revenue plunged by nearly half.

MU stock chart | Source: TradingView

Technicals suggest that the MU stock has more upside to go in the coming days. It has held steady above the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). 

A closer look at the chart shows that it has formed an inverted head-and-shoulders pattern, a common bullish reversal sign. It is now in the process of forming the right shoulder section. 

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has moved above the neutral level of 50 and is pointing upwards. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that the stock continues rising as bulls target the year-to-date high of $1,256. 

Key Takeaways Honeywell Technologies' Process Automation organic revenues fell 1% in Q2 after a 6% drop in Q1.Aftermarket organic sales declined 6% on lower refining catalyst shipments and project delays.Honeywell Technologies' Process Technology orders rose 24% as LNG demand and automation projects strengthened. Honeywell Technologies (HON - Free Report) has been witnessing persistent weakness in the Process Automation and Technology segment. In the second quarter of 2026, the segment’s organic revenues decreased 1% year over year, following a 6% decline in the first quarter.

This decline was attributable to a 6% drop in organic sales in the aftermarket business owing to lower refining catalyst shipments and project delays. In the quarter, the segment margin declined 180 basis points to 22.1% owing to low catalyst volumes and unfavorable product mix. Although second-quarter orders in the Middle East grew organically, the segment’s operations remain exposed to the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the region.

Nevertheless, strong process technology liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand and an increase in automation projects bode well for the segment. In the second quarter, the Process Technology segment’s orders grew 24% year over year, while project sales grew 5% on an organic basis.

It is worth noting that on June 29, Honeywell Technologies became a standalone public company following the spin-off of the Aerospace Technologies business from Honeywell International. The separation completed the company's multi-year portfolio restructuring, creating three independent publicly traded companies.

Business Performance of HON's PeersRBC Bearings Incorporated (RBC - Free Report) is witnessing strength in the Industrial segment (revenues increased 8.4% year over year in first-quarter fiscal 2027). Stable demand for RBC Bearings’ highly engineered bearings and precision components in food & beverage, semiconductor and warehousing markets bodes well for the segment.

Another peer, 3M Company (MMM - Free Report) , has been witnessing solid momentum in the Safety and Industrial segment. Strong momentum in abrasives, industrial adhesives and tapes, specialties, roofing granules, personal safety and electrical markets has been driving the segment’s performance. Organic sales from 3M’s Safety and Industrial segment grew 8.2% year over year in the second quarter of 2026.

The Zacks Rundown for HONFrom a valuation standpoint, HON is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21X, above the industry average of 15.58X. HON carries a Value Score of F.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Honeywell Technologies’ earnings for 2026 has declined in the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Although the NASDAQ 100 is trading slightly in the green, CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD | CRWD Price Prediction) stock is down 7% to $198.99 midday Wednesday. The decline comes even after Truist raised its price target on the stock sharply ahead of next week’s earnings. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) stock is also down 5% to $355.54 in the same session.

The selloff pulls in CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks on a day with no company-specific catalyst identified. Broad software and technology selling appears to be driving the move, and cybersecurity software is falling with the broader complex rather than acting as an obvious safe haven from AI-hardware rotation.

CrowdStrike stock is up 82% year to date through Tuesday’s close. Palo Alto Networks stock is up 103% over the same window. Both names have run hard into a crowded earnings week, and today’s drawdown is happening from elevated multiples that leave little room for disappointment.

The Truist note leans into that setup constructively for CrowdStrike, yet the stock is trading as if positioning matters more than fundamentals ahead of earnings. Traders may want to keep an eye on whether the pre-earnings drift extends into next week or resets before the release.

Truist Raises Targets but Prefers Smaller Names Truist analyst Junaid Siddiqui raised CrowdStrike’s price target to $245 from $187.50 while keeping a Buy rating. The firm called cybersecurity spending resilient overall and described the CrowdStrike setup as “constructive” heading into earnings.

Siddiqui also raised Rubrik’s price target to $135 from $90, and SailPoint’s price target to $23 from $18, both Buy-rated, as part of an off-cycle software earnings preview. Truist named Rubrik and SailPoint its preferred cybersecurity picks, calling both positioned for “beat-and-raise quarters.”

The firm’s core thesis is that enterprise cyber budgets are concentrating on identity security, cyber resilience, AI governance, data security, and platform consolidation rather than being spread evenly across the sector. Rubrik operates in data security and cyber resilience. SailPoint focuses on identity security, and both sit in categories Truist says are drawing a larger share of enterprise spend.

Peer Cybersecurity Names Diverge Checking in on the peer names, Rubrik (NYSE:RBRK) stock is down 0.7% to $99.85 in Wednesday trading. Rubrik stock is up 31% year to date, and the name is holding up materially better than the two large-caps as the group sells off.

Meanwhile, SailPoint (NASDAQ:SAIL) stock is up 0.5% to $19.30, bucking the sector slide entirely. SailPoint stock is down 5% year to date, which leaves valuation more forgiving than the mega-cap peers heading into its September report.

The two names Truist prefers are trading noticeably better than CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks today. The divergence lines up with the note’s argument that budget concentration favors identity and data-resilience specialists over broader platforms in the current cycle. The gap suggests capital is rotating within the sector while the theme itself holds.

The Cybersecurity ETF Reflects Sector Pressure For a broader context, we can note that the First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (NASDAQ:CIBR) is down 2% to $95.61. The fund is up 32% year to date, so the pullback stays modest against a very strong annual run.

The ETF is a broad cybersecurity vehicle that holds CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, and Rubrik among its top positions. Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike together account for 16.7% of net assets, and that pairing amplifies today’s drawdown at the fund level.

Sector concentration is a real caution for investors using CIBR as a hedged expression of the cybersecurity theme. When the two largest holdings sell off in unison, the ETF loses much of its diversification benefit for the session, and single-name risk starts to dominate.

What to Watch Next CrowdStrike will report earnings on August 26 after the close. Wall Street expects EPS of $0.29 on revenue of $1.4 billion, and the Polymarket contract on a beat currently sits at an 88.6% implied probability.

Rubrik is scheduled to report the following day, with consensus estimates of $0.04 in earnings per share on revenue of $396 million. SailPoint reports next month, with consensus estimates of $0.08 in earnings per share on revenue of $310 million.

CrowdStrike’s threat research remains an industry reference point. The company’s 2025 Global Threat Report cited a 442% surge in voice phishing activity between the first and second halves of 2024, a figure the privately held security awareness firm KnowBe4 referenced this week when introducing a simulated vishing training product.

Investors can watch for signs that Truist’s preferred names hold their relative outperformance through the earnings window. Position sizes should stay modest given how correlated these stocks have become on down days, and today’s action shows how quickly gains can compress across the group.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Key Takeaways SoFi emerges as the stronger portfolio candidate as diversified growth and profitability offset lending risk.SoFi posted 40 adjusted revenue growth, 44% EBITDA growth and $157 million in GAAP net income.Upstart's revenue rose 42%, but elevated UMI, external funding reliance and secured-product losses add risk. SoFi Technologies, Inc. (SOFI - Free Report) and Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST - Free Report) both sit at the intersection of consumer lending and financial technology. Each uses data, automation and digital distribution to make credit easier to access, while both are trying to widen their product sets and expand repeat customer relationships. Their second-quarter results also showed fast revenue and origination growth, giving investors two very different ways to participate in a healthier fintech lending cycle.

SoFi operates a regulated, deposit-funded financial platform spanning lending, banking, investing, payments and technology services. However, Upstart is primarily an AI-driven lending marketplace that depends more heavily on bank, credit-union and institutional capital partners to fund loans.

This makes SoFi more diversified across revenue sources, while Upstart is more directly exposed to credit demand, funding appetite and macro-driven default risk. The key question is which business model offers the stronger balance of growth, earnings durability and risk now.

The Case for SOFISoFi entered the second half of 2026 with strong operating momentum. Second-quarter adjusted net revenues rose 40% year over year to $1.21 billion, while adjusted EBITDA climbed 44% to $358 million. GAAP net income reached $157 million, showing that rapid growth is now arriving alongside meaningful profitability rather than replacing it.

The customer engine also looks healthy. Members increased 35% to 15.8 million, products rose 42% to 24.4 million, and 51% of new products were opened by existing members. This matters because SoFi can spread acquisition costs across more services, which is a structural advantage over Upstart's more credit-centered operating model.

Diversification is another key strength for SOFI. Financial Services and Technology Platform revenues together reached $551 million, or 46% of adjusted net revenues, while fee-based revenues totaled $472 million. SoFi is also expanding investing options, including new private-market funds from CAZ Investments and AngelList, giving members more reasons to stay within its ecosystem.

Lending remains important, but SoFi has more funding flexibility. Total originations hit $14.8 billion, including $3.1 billion through its loan platform business. Deposits reached $45.5 billion, supporting a 5.98% net interest margin. Compared with Upstart, SoFi can combine balance sheet lending with partner-funded originations instead of relying mainly on outside capital.

However, the main risk is that personal lending remains a major earnings driver, leaving SoFi exposed to credit and rate changes. Even so, management raised 2026 adjusted net revenue guidance to $4.75 billion to $4.85 billion while maintaining profitability targets. The broader model gives it more room to absorb lending volatility.

The Case for UPSTUpstart's second quarter was clearly better than its recent track record. Revenues rose 42% year over year to $365 million, originations increased 50% to $4.2 billion, and the company returned to GAAP profitability with $16.5 million of net income. Adjusted EBITDA reached $76.9 million, a 21% margin.

Its core technology remains a key strength. Upstart says its personal-loan model is 2.74 times as accurate as a traditional credit model, while 91% of funded loans were fully automated. Funding improved with committed capital capacity reaching $10.8 billion through Aug. 4, including a new Castlelake agreement covering up to $4 billion.

However, the problem is that newer businesses still lag. Auto and Home originations are growing quickly, but their combined contribution margin was still negative 35% in the second quarter. Management expects breakeven by the fourth quarter, yet that target still requires continued execution. SoFi's broader non-lending businesses already contribute at greater scale.

Macro sensitivity is also harder to ignore. Upstart's UMI reached 1.50 in early August, about 50% above its normal-economy baseline and the highest reading since January 2026. July originations were $1.40 billion, roughly in line with the second quarter's monthly average, suggesting that strong quarterly growth has not yet produced obvious acceleration.

Upstart kept guidance at about $1.4 billion of revenues and $294 million of adjusted EBITDA, rather than lifting it after the strong quarter. Management cited higher UMI as a headwind. With results still tied closely to consumer credit conditions and third-party funding, the recovery looks less durable than SoFi's, making the risk-reward profile increasingly difficult.

How Do Estimates Compare for SOFI & UPST?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SoFi’s 2026 and 2027 sales implies year-over-year growth of 35.52% and 20.16%, respectively. Over the past month, estimates for SOFI’s 2026 and 2027 EPS have been revised marginally upward. Also, the consensus mark for 2026 and 2027 EPS suggests a year-over-year increase of 53.85% and 34.86%, respectively.

For SoFi Technologies: 

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Upstart’s 2026 and 2027 sales calls for year-over-year growth of 36.00% and 30.93%, respectively. However, the consensus EPS estimates for both 2026 and 2027 have been revised downward over the past 30 days, though the figures suggest a year-over-year increase of 26.44% and 47.12%, respectively.

For Upstart:

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Price Performance and Valuation of SOFI & UPST

Over the past three months, SoFi shares have rallied 12.6% while Upstart shares have just inched up 0.9%. In comparison, the S&P 500 composite has advanced 2.4% in the same time frame.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

SOFI is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales of 4.20X, which is on par with its three-year median. Meanwhile, UPST is presently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales of 1.67X, which is below its three-year median of 3.91X.

On a forward price-to-sales basis, SoFi carried the richer valuation, while Upstart looks much cheaper on this measure, but the discount reflects a business with greater sensitivity to credit conditions, funding markets and execution in still-unprofitable secured products.

SoFi's premium is easier to understand because revenues are more diversified and profitability is stronger. Still, paying more for SoFi raises the bar for continued member growth, cross-product adoption and credit discipline. The valuation gap favors UPST on price alone, but not necessarily on business quality.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

ConclusionBoth companies are growing again, but the quality of that growth differs. SoFi combines lending momentum with deposits, fee income, investing, technology services and profitability, giving it several ways to keep expanding if one area slows. Upstart has improved its core personal-loan business and funding base, yet elevated UMI, loss-making secured products and heavier dependence on external capital keep its outlook more fragile.

For investors choosing between the two, SOFI is the stronger portfolio candidate to retain through normal volatility. UPST's rebound deserves credit, but its risk profile remains high enough that reducing or exiting the position looks more sensible.

While SOFI carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), UPST has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Carvana shares are headed for a double-digit weekly loss as a federal investigation into billionaire Mark Walter shines a spotlight on his minority stake in the online used-car retailer.

The stock dropped more than 7% on Tuesday, one day after a similar-sized decline on Monday. The shares rebounded modestly Wednesday but remain down about 10% for the week.

The pressure came after The Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating Walter and businesses tied to his financial empire over whether financial relationships were concealed while more than $20 billion was routed through insurance companies he controls.

Carvana 5 days

Walter's connection to Carvana is significant. He indirectly controls CVAN Holdings LLC, which owned 8% of the company's Class B common stock as of March 10, according to Carvana's proxy statement.

Insider selling this week could have also contributed to the share price weakness. One Carvana director disclosed the sale of 30,000 shares at prices around $74. The transactions generated roughly $2.1 million in proceeds, according to a regulatory filing, and involved the exercise of stock options that were set to expire in 2027.

Under the radarWalter, the chief executive officer of Guggenheim Partners, the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and controlling owner of the LA Lakers, has agreed to sell the basketball franchise for $12.5 billion amid the federal probe. The scrutiny raised questions about what could happen to his Carvana position if fallout from the investigation pressures him to raise cash.

Carvana disclosed in its March proxy that a private consumer products company issued Carvana a warrant in June 2025 to purchase shares of its common stock. Carvana valued the warrant at $1.5 million as of the end of 2025, with tranches vesting through 2029 based on performance goals. The company said Walter "has a substantial ownership interest in the warrant issuer."

Investor and SubStack writer Herb Greenberg said that relationship had attracted little attention before the investigation thrust Walter's financial dealings into the spotlight.

"That's been out there and because it's already been disclosed, it fell under the radar oddly and nobody paid attention," Greenberg said. "What happens when he has to sell and who's going to buy it? Historically Carvana has always found a way to get out of these kind of jams."

Carvana has faced several controversies over the years, including short seller accusations and regulatory penalties.

Officials at Tempe, Arizona-based Carvana weren't immediately available for comment.

Retail brokerage stocks are rallying midday Wednesday as Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) surges and two separate company stories converge on the same crypto catalyst. Webull (NASDAQ:BULL | BULL Price Prediction) shares are up 7% to $8.49 ahead of the company’s Q2 2026 earnings report after the close, while Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) shares are climbing 7% to $98.45 as CEO Vlad Tenev pushes U.S. regulators to approve tokenized stocks.

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares are up 11% to $163.32, extending a sharp bounce for the largest U.S. crypto exchange. Bitcoin is trading around $68,500, up 6% over the past 24 hours.

The action reads as a bounce inside a down year rather than a trend change. Robinhood Markets stock was down 19% year to date (YTD) through Tuesday’s close, and Coinbase stock is down 35% YTD.

Webull Heads Into Q2 Earnings After the Close Webull will report Q2 2026 results on August 19 after the close. Three analysts project average revenue of $182.83 million for the quarter, up from $156.94 million a year earlier. The consensus EPS estimate sits at $0.03, below the $0.06 Webull posted a year earlier.

The setup follows a strong Q1 2026 print. Webull reported Q1 revenue of $159.9 million, up 36% year over year (YoY), with customer assets of $24 billion (up 90%) and equity notional volume of $261 billion. Elimination of the Pattern Day Trader rule took effect June 4, and Webull’s average account size sits just below $5,000, so a large share of its customers were directly affected by the old rule.

U.S. CEO Anthony Denier told analysts in May he expected the change to lift transaction activity by at least 20% over time, saying, “This is not going to happen on day one on June 4, but I believe this will happen over time.” Of the four analysts covering Webull, three rate the stock Strong Buy and one rates it Hold, with an average price target of $12.33.

Robinhood Markets Pushes for Tokenized Stocks Robinhood Markets CEO Vlad Tenev argued in a post on X that the United States risks ceding next-generation financial market infrastructure to overseas competitors. Tenev called tokenization “the best path to modernizing the American financial system and expanding the dream of ownership to all.” He added, “It would be a strange outcome if the rest of the world could build the future of ownership around American assets while Americans themselves were left behind.”

Robinhood Markets has made tokenized U.S. stocks available in more than 120 countries and has tokenized more than 190 U.S. stocks, backed 1:1 by underlying shares. Holders do not directly own those underlying shares, a distinction that has given U.S. regulators pause. Robinhood Chain, the permissionless Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 launched in July, became the fastest Ethereum Virtual Machine chain to reach 100 million transactions.

The Kobeissi Letter said total trading volume in on-chain tokenized equities reached $9 billion in 2026, a record representing growth of more than 207% quarter over quarter and more than 800% YTD.

Coinbase Rides the Crypto Bounce Coinbase shares are up 11% to $163.32 as Bitcoin rallies, with no company-specific catalyst identified today beyond the broader crypto rally and a friendlier regulatory backdrop. Per Investor’s Business Daily, the Senate has set a date for a vote on the CLARITY Act, the SEC has proposed new rules for crypto offerings, and the White House is preparing to host a crypto summit.

Even with today’s rip, Coinbase stock remains one of the weaker fintech names in 2026, reflecting soft spot volumes and a Q2 miss earlier this summer. The bounce narrative depends on Bitcoin holding its gains.

ARK Fintech Innovation ETF Tracks the Group The ARK Fintech Innovation ETF (NYSEARCA:ARKF) is up 4% to $44.2, tracking the fintech and crypto-linked names inside the portfolio. ARKF is an actively managed thematic fund with meaningful exposure to crypto and blockchain issuers alongside Robinhood Markets and Coinbase, which sit at 4.5% and 5.8% of net assets, respectively.

ARKF shares were down 11% YTD through Tuesday’s close. Actively managed thematic funds carry single-manager risk and holdings-concentration risk, so position sizing matters when the group swings hard in either direction.

What to Watch The Webull earnings report after the close is the next real data point, with the conference call likely to focus on PDT-driven volume, AI product traction, and international expansion. Investors can stay tuned for management’s read on July and August activity, since Webull now publishes monthly operating metrics.

The tokenization push from Robinhood Markets sets up the next regulatory beat, with the CLARITY Act vote as the near-term marker. Traders may want to keep an eye on whether Coinbase and Bitcoin hold their gains into Thursday, because a fade in crypto prices would pull the fintech complex back down quickly.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

When the long end of the Treasury curve sits above 5%, a stock yielding 6% or 7% no longer offers a meaningful premium for business risk. That compressed premium exposes dividends never truly funded by cash flow. With higher rates, the refinancing math converts a stretched payout into a cut.

Run this checklist on your holdings: Did yield rise because the payout grew or because the stock collapsed? Then assess dividend growth history (prior cuts or freezes), earnings payout ratio, free cash flow payout ratio (most critical, since dividends are paid in cash, not accruals), net debt and interest coverage, near-term maturity wall, forward earnings growth, buyback yield, and valuation. Use the right metric for the business model: FFO or NFFO for REITs, distributable cash flow for MLPs, and net investment income for BDCs. No single line condemns a dividend. Weak free cash flow coverage stacked on high leverage and near-term maturities turns a headline yield into a trap (we mapped the seven warning signs that a big yield is about to be cut in a free dividend traps report).

One tax point: Treasury interest is exempt from state and local income tax, while common-stock dividends are taxed based on qualification status. Some high-yield structures distribute non-qualified income or return of capital, changing the after-tax picture versus a Treasury bond. The names below are research candidates, not recommendations.

Verizon Communications (VZ) Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ | VZ Price Prediction) trades at a 5.77% yield with a forward P/E of 10, an appealing combination. The dividend history reinforces the appeal: no cuts or freezes across the 26-year dataset, with the most recent raise to $0.7075 per quarter in Q1 2026.

Leverage is the warning sign here, while coverage holds up. Q2 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.30 comfortably covers the quarterly payout, and FY26 free cash flow guidance of $21.94 to $22.14 billion exceeds the roughly $12 billion annual dividend outflow. But total unsecured debt sits at $136.5 billion, and net unsecured debt to adjusted EBITDA rose to 2.5x from 2.2x at year-end 2025 following the Frontier deal. Revenue was down 0.7% year over year in Q2. The dividend is not at immediate risk, but the yield compensates for a balance sheet that must be de-levered while refinancing at higher rates.

Altria Group (MO) Altria Group (NYSE:MO) yields 6.45% on a payout raised every year for two decades: the most recent hike moved the quarterly dividend from $1.02 to $1.06 in mid-2025. On the surface, trailing EPS of $4.62 covers the $4.24 annual dividend.

Underneath, warning signs stack up. Domestic cigarette volume fell roughly 5% in Q1, Marlboro retail share slipped 1.4 points to 39.7%, and Q4 2025 included a $1.30 billion NJOY impairment. Book value is negative, with shareholders’ equity at -$3.21 billion in Q1 2026. The streak is real and cash still shows up, but the underlying volume base is shrinking. Anyone underwriting this yield is betting management can raise price faster than volume declines.

Kraft Heinz (KHC) Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) yields 6.3%, almost entirely price-driven. The stock is down 56.18% over ten years, and the dividend has not moved: $0.40 per quarter every quarter since Q1 2019, following a cut from $0.625. A frozen payout for seven years signals management believes the business cannot support growth.

Cash coverage is adequate: Q2 2026 free cash flow of $893 million against a $475 million dividend. But the earnings base is under stress, with a Q2 2026 GAAP net loss of $5.46 billion on a $7.4 billion goodwill and intangibles impairment, revenue down 1.4% year over year, and organic sales guidance of -0.5% to -2.0%. The planned separation into two companies remains paused. Free cash flow currently covers the payout; the question is what it looks like after another year of shrinking brands.

Medical Properties Trust (MPW) Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) exemplifies price-driven yield inflation. The quarterly dividend is $0.09 per share, or $0.36 annualized, against a share price around $4.70 at the Q2 filing, reflecting a prior reduction. For a REIT, use NFFO as the coverage metric: Q2 2026 NFFO of $0.15 per share covers the $0.09 payout with room.

Leverage is the pressure point. Adjusted net debt to EBITDAre is 8.9x, with interest coverage of just 1.9x, and the company just issued $2.4 billion in new secured notes at a 9.25% coupon. CEO Ed Aldag acknowledged behavioral health “remains a source of pressure on the overall portfolio”, and one Florida-Texas hospital operator’s cash collections are still in the “80s” range. Liquidity plans lean on asset sales, not organic cash generation. NFFO covers the current dividend today; the refinancing wall could force another look.

Dow Inc. (DOW) Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) already cut once. The quarterly dividend was reduced from $0.70 to $0.35 effective the May 2025 declaration, and it has held there since. Even after that reset, the current 4.51% yield sits below the 30-year Treasury. Trailing EPS is -$1.85.

Coverage swings hard with the polyethylene cycle. Q2 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.44 and free cash flow of $692 million comfortably covered the $253 million quarterly outflow, but Q1 2026 posted an adjusted loss of $0.14 against a similar payout. CFO Jeff Tate stated “with improved earnings and cash conversion, we will prioritize any excess cash towards the leveraging”. That is right for the balance sheet and wrong for anyone expecting the payout to grow back. The high yield is a low share price; a polyethylene downturn puts coverage back in question.

The Takeaway The lesson runs deeper than cut risk at these five companies. The 5% Treasury has raised the bar for what a dividend must prove. Run the checklist: yield source, free cash flow coverage, leverage, and the maturity wall. When a cut comes, it usually takes the share price with it, meaning total return damage dwarfs whatever income you collected. Current income is not a buy thesis, and yield alone never has been.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Key Takeaways Its newest major customer has ordered two FOX test cells and two FOX-NP systems.AEHR's lead silicon photonics customer is ramping production and placing follow-on wafer-level burn-in orders.AEHR projects $130-$150 million in fiscal 2027 revenue, with non-GAAP net income at 18%-22%. Aehr Test Systems, Inc. (AEHR - Free Report) is gaining momentum in silicon photonics, giving it another potential growth driver alongside AI processors. Demand for production burn-in is increasing as AI data centers rely more on optical I/O and high-speed interconnects. The company believes the silicon photonics and optical test and burn-in market could become a meaningful long-term growth driver.

Aehr’s lead silicon photonics customer is ramping up production and has placed follow-on orders for fully automated wafer-level burn-in systems. Its newest major customer, a global networking products provider, expects additional systems as it expands capacity to support next-generation hyperscale data center deployments. The customer first engaged with AEHR last November and has already ordered two FOX test cells and two FOX-NP systems.

The financial opportunity is becoming more visible. Management currently expects silicon photonics to account for roughly 15-20% of fiscal 2027 revenues, while total revenues are projected to be in the band of $130-$150 million. The outlook is largely based on current customers, and AEHR is not assuming any memory revenue in this guidance. Non-GAAP net income is also expected to reach 18-22% of total revenues in fiscal 2027.

Continued production ramp ups and additional system orders will be important to watch. The company’s growing presence across existing and new customers could help expand the contribution of this market to fiscal 2027 revenues. With silicon photonics already expected to account for 15-20% of fiscal 2027 revenues, further customer ramp ups could make it an increasingly important part of AEHR’s growth.

AEHR’s Key CompetitorsAehr operates in a highly competitive semiconductor test equipment market, competing with established players like FormFactor, Inc. (FORM - Free Report) and Teradyne, Inc. (TER - Free Report) .

FormFactor is seeing demand for its semiconductor test solutions from AI, advanced packaging and silicon photonics. FORM is positioned to benefit as chipmakers increase testing requirements for increasingly complex semiconductor devices.

Teradyne is benefiting from semiconductor testing demand linked to AI and advanced computing. TER also has a broad customer base across the semiconductor industry, giving it exposure to continued investments in data centers and next-generation computing.

AEHR’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesAEHR’s shares have surged 59.3% over the past month, outperforming the broader industry’s 17.9% growth.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Aehr’s shares are trading at a premium. In terms of the forward 12-month price-to-sales (P/S), AEHR is trading at 25.65X, higher than the industry’s 6.67X.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEHR’s fiscal 2027 earnings is pinned at 70 cents per share, implying a sharp increase from 3 cents a year ago.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Key Takeaways EMCOR's Q2 revenues rose 19.8%, while EPS surged 34.8% on strong construction activity.EME's RPO reached a record $17.14B, boosted by data-center, network and infrastructure demand.EMCOR raised 2026 revenue guidance to $20-$20.5B and EPS guidance to $32-$33.25. EMCOR Group, Inc. (EME - Free Report) appears well-positioned to extend its growth streak as AI infrastructure investment and broader infrastructure demand continue to fuel project activity. The company delivered another record quarter in the second quarter of 2026, with revenues climbing 19.8% year over year to $5.15 billion. Operating income jumped 31.8% to $547.3 million, while earnings per share (EPS) surged 34.8% to $9.06.

The biggest growth engine remains EMCOR's construction businesses, particularly projects tied to data centers and network infrastructure. U.S. Electrical Construction revenues increased 24% to $1.66 billion, with network and communications revenues rising 45%. Mechanical Construction revenues jumped 31.1% to $2.3 billion, aided by more than double the network and communications activity and rising data-center cooling requirements.

The opportunity extends beyond data centers. EMCOR's record $17.14 billion remaining performance obligations, up 43.9% year over year, reflect strong demand across network and communications, healthcare, water and wastewater, and institutional markets. Data-center contracts were a major contributor to the backlog increase. EME is also benefiting from operating leverage and strategic investments. Building Services posted solid growth, while Industrial Services returned to stronger profitability. Recent acquisitions are expanding electrical capabilities and geographic reach, with four transactions carrying an aggregate upfront purchase price of about $700 million.

Reflecting strong demand and execution, EMCOR raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $20-$20.5 billion (from $18.50-$19.25 billion) and EPS guidance to $32-$33.25 (from $28.25-$29.75). With AI-driven infrastructure spending, a record backlog and improving profitability, EMCOR may have the ingredients to keep its winning streak alive.

EMCOR, Dycom & Comfort Systems: Chasing the AI BoomEMCOR, alongside other renowned market players like Dycom Industries, Inc. (DY - Free Report) and Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (FIX - Free Report) , is well-positioned to benefit from accelerating AI infrastructure investment and broader electrification trends.

EME stands out for its diversified exposure to data centers, network and communications, healthcare, water and institutional projects. Dycom is benefiting from sustained demand for fiber deployments, broadband connectivity and network upgrades as AI workloads increase data transmission requirements. Comfort Systems, meanwhile, offers strong exposure to the mechanical side of data-center construction, particularly HVAC, cooling and electrical systems needed to support high-density computing.

While Dycom's communications focus and Comfort Systems' mechanical expertise provide targeted AI infrastructure exposure, EMCOR's broader end-market diversification, record backlog and strong execution offer a more balanced growth profile as infrastructure spending expands.

EME Stock’s Price Performance & Valuation TrendShares of this Connecticut-based infrastructure service provider have gained 34.7% year to date, outperforming the Zacks Building Products - Heavy Construction industry, the Zacks Construction sector and the S&P 500 Index.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

EME stock is currently trading at a premium compared with the industry peers, with a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 23.14, as evidenced by the chart below.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Earnings Estimate Revision of EMEEME’s earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have moved upward in the past 30 days to $33.04 per share and $37.13 per share, respectively. The revised estimates for 2026 and 2027 imply year-over-year growth of 27.7% and 12.4%, respectively.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

EMCOR stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Key Takeaways Ameriprise shares have gained 14.6% YTD, outperforming the broader market and the industry.AMP's AUM/AUA reached a record $1.8 trillion as of June 30, 2026, supporting organic growth.Ameriprise trades at 11.36X forward earnings, below the industry's 14.15X average. Shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (AMP - Free Report) have gained 14.6% so far this year, performing better than the S&P 500 Index’s 12.6% rally and the industry’s 3.9% decline.

If we compare the company’s price performance with its close peers like KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR - Free Report) and Ares Management Corporation (ARES - Free Report) , it appears that the AMP stock has outperformed both. Year to date, KKR and ARES shares have lost 15.9% and 13.2%, respectively.

YTD Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Does the AMP stock have more upside left despite recent strength in price? Let us find out by looking at its fundamental strength and growth prospects.

Key Positives of AmeripriseRevenue Strength: Supported by a diversified business model, continued investments in technology, strong advisor recruitment, record adviser productivity, robust assets under management/assets under administration (AUM/AUA) growth (seeing a compound annual growth rate of 9%), along with rising adoption of fee-based solutions, Ameriprise’s GAAP net revenues have witnessed a CAGR of 9.2% over 2020-2025. The upward momentum continued in the first half of 2026, with AUM/AUA reaching a record $1.8 trillion as of June 30, 2026.

Revenue Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Driven by product innovation, technology investments and expanding client assets, the company remains well-positioned to generate durable organic growth in the near term. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMP’s 2026 and 2027 revenues indicates year-over-year growth of 9.6% and 6.5%, respectively.

Revenue Growth Estimate
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Portfolio Optimization: Ameriprise has consistently optimized its business portfolio to sharpen focus on higher-growth, fee-based businesses and improve long-term profitability. The acquisition of BMO Financial Group’s EMEA asset management business strengthened its global asset management franchise and diversified its geographic footprint, while the divestiture of the Ameriprise Auto & Home (AAH) business enabled the company to concentrate on its core wealth and asset management operations.

At the same time, Ameriprise Bank has become an increasingly important growth engine, with bank assets rising 6% year over year to $25.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, supported by robust lending growth and an expanding suite of banking products. These strategic initiatives, along with continued investments in adviser capabilities, AI and technology, have enhanced the company’s competitive positioning, improved operating efficiency and strengthened its ability to generate sustainable earnings growth.

Solid Balance Sheet: Ameriprise maintains a strong balance sheet and ample liquidity, providing financial flexibility to invest in growth initiatives. As of June 30, 2026, the company had $10.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents, comfortably exceeding $6.5 billion in total debt.

Ameriprise ended second-quarter 2026 with $2.1 billion in excess capital and $2.8 billion in holding company liquidity, positioning it well to withstand macroeconomic uncertainty while supporting investments in technology, acquisitions and capital returns. Backed by investment-grade credit ratings of A- from S&P Global and Fitch and A3 from Moody’s, all with stable outlooks, the company remains well-equipped to meet its debt obligations and sustain long-term growth.

Efficient Capital Returns: Ameriprise has a strong record of returning capital to shareholders through a combination of steadily rising dividends and aggressive share repurchases. In April 2026, the company increased its quarterly dividend for the 19th time since 2010, underscoring management’s confidence in its earnings power.

It also continues to execute its $4.5-billion share repurchase authorization, with $1.03 billion remaining as of June 30, 2026. Supported by a strong balance sheet, robust free cash flow generation and a conservative payout ratio, the company is well-positioned to sustain attractive capital distributions over the long term.

Analyst Sentiments for AMPOver the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ameriprise’s 2026 earnings of $46.12 per share has been revised 2.7% upward. Its 2027 earnings estimate of $51.45 has been revised 4.1% upward. The estimated figures indicate year-over-year growth rates of 17.2% and 11.6% for 2026 and 2027, respectively.

Earnings Estimate Revision Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Should You Invest in Ameriprise Stock Now?Ameriprise’s AI-led innovation, solid AUM/AUA balance and strategic portfolio optimization position it for sustained earnings growth. Supported by a robust liquidity and capital position, the company is expected to keep enhancing shareholder value through efficient capital distributions.

In terms of its valuation, the AMP stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.36X, below the industry average of 14.15. This shows that AMP is currently undervalued than its peers.

P/E (F12M)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Hence, investors can consider buying the AMP stock now, given its upside potential. Currently, Ameriprise carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Key Takeaways Ciena's service provider business grew 28% year over year and India revenues more than doubled on MOFN demand.Ciena raised fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to $6.3 billion ( /-$100 million) after Q2 revenues rose 40%. Ciena faces tougher optical competition as Cisco and Nokia expand their networking portfolio. Ciena Corporation’s (CIEN - Free Report) strengthening financial performance highlights the growing importance of managed optical fiber networks (“MOFN”) as artificial intelligence (“AI”) drives demand for high-capacity, low-latency connectivity.

In the last reported quarter, service provider business grew 28% year over year, with India emerging as a particularly strong market. Revenues from India more than doubled, driven by demand for MOFN deployments.

Service providers are increasingly partnering with cloud providers to deliver connectivity via MOFN across various countries.  On the last earnings call, Ciena noted that service providers are benefiting from renewed investments in optical infrastructure after years of relatively limited spending. According to management, service providers had underinvested in optical networks for roughly five years while focusing heavily on 5G investments.

India remains an important market for MOFN deployments, but Ciena believes the opportunity extends well beyond India as hyperscalers face challenges in building networks everywhere, particularly across different countries and last-mile markets. Regulatory considerations also make partnerships with service providers strategically important.

As demand for high-speed connectivity continues to expand, Ciena appears well-positioned to drive more revenues from its service provider segment. With second-quarter fiscal 2026 revenues rising 40% year over year to $1.57 billion and backlog reaching $7.7 billion, Ciena entered the second half with significant demand visibility. The company also lifted its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to $6.3 billion (+/-$100 million), implying 32% growth at the midpoint.

However, the opportunity is unfolding in an intensely competitive market. Ciena faces tough competition from the likes of Cisco Systems (CSCO - Free Report) as well as Nokia (NOK - Free Report) .

Mapping the Competitive TerrainNokia’s Infinera buyout has reinforced its optical networking portfolio. In the second quarter of 2026, revenues from Optical Networks surged 20% year over year, buoyed by demand from AI and cloud customers. Demand from telecom customers investing in transport infrastructure was another driver. AI & Cloud segment revenues more than doubled year over year in the second quarter of 2026, reaching €446 million. Management also noted that its €2.8 billion AI and cloud order intake was weighted toward optical, highlighting continued hyperscale-driven demand.

Nokia is also seeing demand for both data-center interconnect and scale-across applications, improving its position in the expanding optical networking market.

Cisco is benefiting from broader optical demand as well, with Acacia receiving more than $1 billion in orders in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. Service provider and cloud orders surged 95% year over year, while telco orders increased more than 30%.

The company is also gaining share in the MOFN market. Cisco secured a hyperscaler design win for a managed optical fiber network that uses its line-system technology and supports digital coherent optics to operate directly in third-party equipment. Management highlighted the win as strategic, noting that it positions Cisco as an alternative supplier to an “incumbent competitor” and could potentially “disrupt” conventional MOFN delivery.

CIEN Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of CIEN are up 7.1% in the past month compared with Communications - Components industry’s 17.2% growth.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

CIEN trades at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 45.24, slightly above the industry’s 44.28.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CIEN’s earnings for fiscal 2026 has been unchanged over the past 60 days.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

CIEN currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Broadcom AVGO shares opened lower on Wednesday after Marvell Technology announced a deal to help Google develop custom artificial intelligence chips and gave the Alphabet-owned company an option to acquire as much as $12.2 billion of Marvell shares.

Marvell shares jumped about 7% following the announcement, while Broadcom, which has been Google's main custom ​chip partner, fell roughly 5% at the open.

The deal has raised fresh questions about Broadcom's position as Google's leading custom AI chip partner at a time when demand for specialized processors is accelerating.

Google's Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, have become increasingly important as technology companies look for alternatives to Nvidia's graphics processing units and chips that can be optimized for specific AI workloads, particularly inference.

Broadcom plays a key role in the design and production of the TPUs.

The Marvell agreement also comes as the world's largest technology companies prepare to spend unprecedented sums on AI infrastructure.

Big Tech companies are expected to spend more than $700 billion on AI infrastructure this year, up sharply from roughly $400 billion last year.

The Marvell deal does not necessarily mean Broadcom is being pushed out of Google's AI chip supply chain.

Broadcom signed a long-term agreement with Google in April to develop and supply future generations of custom AI chips and other components for Google's next-generation AI racks through 2031.

The relationship has become one of the most important custom silicon partnerships in the AI infrastructure market.

Google's planned capital expenditure of $175 billion to $185 billion for 2026 provides a substantial demand pipeline for companies supplying its AI infrastructure.

Broadcom has also said it has a $73 billion AI backlog spanning XPUs, switches, digital signal processors and optical components, with deliveries expected over the next 18 months.

The company's recent financial results underscore how important custom AI chips have become to its growth.

Broadcom's second-quarter revenue increased 48% year over year to $15 billion.

AI revenue more than doubled to $10.8 billion, driven by demand for custom accelerators including Google's TPU and the networking components required to connect them.

Broadcom has six core custom chip customers, including Anthropic, Google, Meta and OpenAI, which are driving the company’s growth in AI revenue.

Chief Executive Hock Tan said Broadcom expects AI revenue to reach $16 billion in the current quarter, which would represent another significant increase.

Broadcom is scheduled to report its third-quarter results next month.

Despite that growth, Broadcom shares have struggled. The stock is down about 25% from its June 2 record close of $481.57.

Part of the decline reflects concerns that Google's increasing efforts to develop chips internally could eventually reduce Broadcom's share of the business.

Macquarie downgraded Broadcom to Neutral from Outperform in June, setting a $437 price target.

Analyst Arthur Lai said Google was working with MediaTek while developing greater in-house capabilities after previously relying heavily on Broadcom.

Macquarie expects Broadcom's market share to decline meaningfully in 2027 and 2028.

The firm argued that both upside and downside for Broadcom appeared relatively limited, with competition potentially putting pressure on market share and margins, while the stock's valuation provided some support.

The Marvell agreement could therefore reinforce one of Wall Street's biggest concerns: that Google's enormous AI spending may benefit several semiconductor suppliers rather than Broadcom alone.

Not all analysts share that bearish view.

JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating and a $580 price target on Broadcom, arguing investors should disregard reports of delays to Google's next-generation TPU v9 2-nanometer ASIC program.

The bank said Broadcom remains on track to ramp the TPU v9 program in 2028 and does not expect delays or cancellations.

JPMorgan said Broadcom was fully qualified for Google's current-generation TPU v8i 3-nanometer program in mid-2025 and is expected to begin ramping production this quarter.

The bank also pointed to Google's internal chip team working with MediaTek on the Zebrafish TPU v8t 3-nanometer program, but said Broadcom still has an 18-month lead.

The five-year agreement between Google and Broadcom is expected to cover four generations of TPU chips through v11, with commitments to increase TPU revenue annually through 2031.

Broadcom's AI opportunity remains intactThe conflicting analyst views highlight the central question facing Broadcom: whether Google's expansion of its internal chip capabilities will eventually weaken one of the company's most valuable AI relationships or instead expand the overall market for custom silicon.

Nova Capital believes the recent sell-off has gone too far.

“Overall, the earnings update for fiscal Q2 wasn’t as bad as the market perceived it,” Nova told TipRanks, pointing to Broadcom's expertise in custom chips and its leading position in high-end networking.

The firm estimates that applying about 30 times fiscal 2027 earnings could support a valuation of $585.90.

For now, Marvell's deal has reminded investors that Google's AI ambitions are large enough to support multiple chip suppliers.

For Broadcom, the challenge will be demonstrating that its long-term TPU roadmap remains intact even as Google increasingly diversifies the technology behind its AI infrastructure.

Key Takeaways NOG's 1.21 forward sales multiple sits below industry, sector and five-year median benchmarks.NOG generated $159 million in second-quarter free cash flow, up 26% year over year.NOG's $2.72 billion debt and reliance on third-party operators add risk despite solid production. Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG - Free Report) combines a low valuation with solid cash generation, but the discount comes with clear trade-offs. Commodity sensitivity, higher leverage and a business model dependent on third-party operators can keep earnings and production timing uneven.

That leaves investors weighing whether the stock’s inexpensive sales multiple already compensates for those risks. Current fundamentals support the value case, but they do not eliminate the reasons for patience.

NOG Trades Below Key Sales Benchmarks
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

NOG trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 1.21, below 3.55 for the Zacks sub-industry and 1.41 for the Zacks Oils-Energy sector. The figure also sits below its five-year median of 1.35.

The discount strengthens the value case relative to those benchmarks. Still, NOG’s commodity exposure and earnings volatility mean a low sales multiple alone does not provide a complete buy signal.

Northern's Free Cash Flow Supports ReturnsSecond-quarter 2026 free cash flow rose 26% year over year to $159 million and increased more than fourfold sequentially. Liquidity totaled about $1 billion at June 30, giving NOG flexibility while it funds development and acquisitions.

Management said current commodity-price strip levels support $375-$500 million of 2026 free cash flow. That cash can be directed toward dividends, share repurchases, debt reduction or acquisitions, giving the company several ways to allocate capital as conditions change.

NOG Lags Peers and the E&P Sub-IndustryOver the past year, NOG's shares gained 9.3%, trailing SM Energy’s 39.1% growth, Occidental Petroleum’s 35.1% rise and the 21.4% increase for the Zacks Oil & Gas E&P sub-industry, highlighting NOG’s weaker relative stock-price performance despite its valuation and cash-flow strengths.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

NOG's Growth Outlook Is UnevenManagement maintained 2026 production guidance of 143,000-148,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and expects 74-76 net wells to be turned in line. Second-quarter production reached 145,659 barrels of oil equivalent per day, up 9% year over year.

The earnings picture is less supportive. Projected earnings per share growth for the current fiscal year is negative, showing that durable production does not automatically translate into near-term earnings growth when commodity prices and derivative results remain volatile.

Northern's Debt and Operator Risks MatterLong-term debt increased to $2.72 billion at June 30, 2026, from $2.40 billion at year-end 2025. Debt represented 57.73% of capital, leaving leverage as an important consideration alongside NOG’s cash-generation capacity.

NOG also relies on third parties to operate its wells. Weak Waha economics led operators to shut in about 7,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and defer three Permian turn-in lines during the second quarter, showing how production timing can move outside NOG’s direct control.

SM Energy Company (SM - Free Report) is among the operators NOG identifies as driving current drilling and completions activity. Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY - Free Report) is another, underscoring how NOG participates in development while depending on operating partners for execution.

NOG's Value Signals Support PatienceThe bottom line is that NOG’s valuation and free cash flow make the shares worth monitoring, but commodity exposure, leverage and limited operating control keep the risk-reward profile balanced rather than clear-cut.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Its Value Score of A and VGM Score of B reinforce the valuation appeal, while a Growth Score of C and Momentum Score of F point to a less favorable near-term setup. For investors seeking a cleaner buy signal, the current mix supports patience. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Key Takeaways Glaukos is scaling iDose TR rapidly, with U.S. glaucoma sales up 64% to $118.5 million. Epioxa is adding a second growth pillar as Corneal Health revenues climbed 48% to $30.4 million.Glaukos raised 2026 revenue guidance to $680-$700 million and gross margin reached about 85%. Glaukos Corporation’s (GKOS - Free Report) growth prospects are supported by the continued expansion of interventional glaucoma, growing clinical and commercial synergies between iDose TR and iStent infinite, and the potential for long-term operating leverage. However, physician workflow challenges, infrastructure constraints and margin pressure remain key risks.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 63.1% so far this year against the industry’s 8.7% decline. The S&P 500 Index has increased 12.6% in the same time frame.

Glaukos, with a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, is a leading ophthalmic medical technology and pharmaceutical company. The company has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 25.87%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Positive Factors Driving ProspectsiDose TR Is Rapidly Scaling Into a Major Revenue Engine: Glaukos' iDose TR franchise is rapidly changing the company's revenue profile, with U.S. glaucoma sales rising 64% year over year to $118.5 million in the second quarter and iDose contributing approximately $74 million. The strong adoption reflects growing surgeon interest, expanding trained accounts and increasing utilization across commercial and Medicare Advantage populations.

Management now expects iDose revenues of roughly $275-$280 million in 2026, while maintaining confidence in continued penetration of interventional glaucoma. The platform's growing body of clinical evidence, including 24 peer-reviewed publications and multiple Phase IV studies, should further support physician adoption and establish iDose as an important alternative to chronic topical glaucoma therapy.

Epioxa Launch Opens a New High-Value Growth Opportunity: Epioxa is establishing a second major growth pillar for Glaukos following iDose's rapid commercialization. Corneal Health revenues increased 48% to $30.4 million in the second quarter, including approximately $11 million from Epioxa, despite the product being in the early stages of its launch. Epioxa is the first FDA-approved epithelium-on corneal cross-linking therapy for keratoconus, which offers a differentiated clinical proposition versus legacy epi-off treatment.

Glaukos has already established access pathways covering more than 125 million commercial lives, while its treatment-center network reaches approximately 85% of the U.S. population and is expected to approach 95%. These developments provide substantial infrastructure for accelerating patient adoption.

Higher Sales Outlook and Margin Expansion Look Encouraging: Glaukos is demonstrating meaningful operating leverage as higher-margin iDose and Epioxa products become a larger portion of revenue. The second-quarter consolidated sales increased 50% to $185.6 million, prompting management to raise full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $680-$700 million, $60-$65 million above the previous outlook.

Gross margin reached approximately 85%, up about 90 basis points sequentially, with management expecting additional modest expansion as iDose and Epioxa gain mix share. This combination of rapid top-line growth and favorable product mix should improve the company's earnings profile over time. Management also expects operating expenses of approximately $600 million for 2026 while continuing to invest in commercial infrastructure and R&D.

Diversified Pipeline Boosts Growth Potential: Beyond iDose and Epioxa, Glaukos is developing a broad pipeline across five novel therapeutic platforms, reducing its long-term dependence on any single product. The company is advancing iDose TREX in Phase IIb/III, iDose TRIO toward a targeted 2027 approval, a customized topographically guided iLink therapy toward Phase III, iStent infinite and PRESERFLO MicroShunt programs, and a retinal therapy for wet AMD.

The company also expects to introduce its keratoconus screening device later in 2026. If these programs progress successfully, they could expand Glaukos' addressable markets across glaucoma, corneal disease, retinal disorders and ocular surface conditions, reinforcing its transition toward a diversified ophthalmology platform.

Key ChallengesMedicare Coverage Uncertainty Could Restrict iDose's Potential: The most significant risk to Glaukos' iDose growth trajectory remains Medicare reimbursement and coverage policy. Five of seven Medicare Administrative Contractors issued proposed local coverage determinations during the second quarter. Management has acknowledged meaningful debate ongoing around proposed eligibility criteria and step-edit requirements involving topical drops and selective laser trabeculoplasty.

Although Glaukos expects the final policies to become more favorable, there is no statutory timeline for the next step. A restrictive final LCD could limit physician discretion, delay patient access and reduce the addressable Medicare population. Because iDose is already becoming a major revenue contributor, unfavorable coverage decisions could have an outsized impact on the company's future growth expectations.

Epioxa Could Experience a Temporary Revenue Volatility: Epioxa's commercial trajectory faces a near-term reimbursement transition that could create volatility in reported growth. Its permanent, product-specific J-code became effective July 1, 2026, but management expects providers and its specialty-pharma partner to need time to operationalize the new reimbursement process.

At the same time, the previous Photrexa reimbursement mechanism is being phased out. Management specifically warned that these changes could create uncertainty in the third quarter, potentially disrupting the strong momentum established during the second quarter. Although Glaukos expects the issue to be largely resolved by the fourth quarter, the temporary revenue disruption could make quarterly comparisons less predictable and obscure the underlying pace of Epioxa adoption.

International Glaucoma Growth Faces Headwinds: Glaukos' international glaucoma franchise remains healthy, but its growth outlook incorporates several emerging challenges. International glaucoma revenues increased 17% reportedly and 16% on a constant-currency basis in the second quarter. However, management expects new competitive product trialing to create headwinds across certain major markets.

Reimbursement pressure has emerged in Germany and Switzerland, while foreign-exchange tailwinds are expected to disappear over the second half. Although PreserFlo, iStent infinite and broader MIGS adoption should offset some pressure, the combination of competition, reimbursement changes and less favorable currency translation could moderate international growth. Management nevertheless expects low-to-mid-teens growth for the full year, implying a stronger second-half execution requirement.

Estimate TrendThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 revenues is pegged at $627.6 million, indicating a 36% improvement from the previous year’s level.

The consensus mark for loss per share is pinned at 35 cents, indicating a 61.1% improvement from the year-ago reported number. The consensus estimate for loss per share has narrowed 38.6% in the past 30 days.

Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Globus Medical (GMED - Free Report) , West Pharmaceutical (WST - Free Report) and The Cooper Companies (COO - Free Report) .

Globus Medical, currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), reported a second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.34, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 19.6%. Revenues of $789.6 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.4%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

GMED has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 12.4%. The company’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 27.9%.

West Pharmaceutical, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS of $2.37, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.9%. Revenues of $872.3 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.2%.

WST has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 16%. WST’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 17.4%.

The Cooper Companies, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, reported a second-quarter fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.21, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10%. Revenues of $1.08 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.6%.

COO has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 8.3%. COO’s earnings surpassed estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 5.8%.

Sei has begun rolling out its Eidos storage upgrade, rebuilding how the layer-1 network stores and verifies on-chain data as its Giga roadmap targets throughput of 200,000 transactions per second.

Summary

Sei has begun the phased rollout of Eidos through its v6.6 mainnet upgrade. Eidos is rebuilding the network’s storage architecture as Giga targets 200,000 TPS. EVM state is being separated into a dedicated database, while FlatKV and LtHash are planned for later stages. The migration is designed to run while Sei remains online, with existing and new storage systems operating alongside each other. Sei said in an Aug. 12 technical update that Eidos is designed to remove storage constraints that could prevent the network’s execution layer from operating at the speeds planned under Giga. The upgrade is the storage component of a three-part architecture overhaul that also includes Autobahn for consensus and Ares for transaction execution.

The first Eidos components have already reached mainnet through Sei v6.6, though the full storage system is being introduced in stages. EVM state has started moving into a dedicated database, while FlatKV, LtHash, new receipt storage and off-node archival systems are scheduled for subsequent releases.

Sei Eidos upgrade changes how state is stored At the center of Eidos is a change to the way Sei plans to maintain and verify Ethereum Virtual Machine state.

Sei said traditional Merkle trees require nodes to recalculate multiple hashes when a value changes because each update alters the chain of hashes leading to the tree’s root. As the amount of stored data increases, individual state changes can therefore require additional database work.

Eidos is set to replace that structure for EVM state with FlatKV, a flat key-value storage system where an individual state change requires a single write. Verification will be handled using LtHash, or lattice hashing, which maintains a running fingerprint of the state.

Under the design described by Sei, LtHash can update that fingerprint in constant time when state changes. Instead of recalculating a path of hashes through a Merkle tree, a node removes the contribution of the old value and adds the new one, leaving the amount of work per update unchanged as the state expands.

The technical change is tied directly to the performance targets outlined for Giga. As crypto.news reported in May 2025, Sei Labs released its Giga whitepaper with a design targeting 200,000 transactions per second, 5 gigagas of throughput and finality below 400 milliseconds.

At that throughput, Sei said the network would also have to write hundreds of thousands of database entries every second. Faster transaction execution would therefore provide limited benefit if the storage layer could not process state changes and transaction history at a comparable rate.

EVM data is moving into a separate database Another part of Eidos separates EVM state from other data handled by Sei nodes.

Before the change, Sei said EVM state shared a database with other information on the chain. The new architecture gives EVM state its own dedicated store, preventing historical queries from competing directly with live transaction processing and reducing database work imposed on non-EVM modules.

The split started reaching mainnet in the v6.6 release during August. Sei also introduced a rebuilt pruning path for removing data that nodes no longer need to keep in active storage.

According to the network, the pruning changes reduced one cleanup process from between eight and 18 minutes to roughly five minutes during testing and operation. Nodes that could previously fall hundreds of blocks behind the chain tip remained within about 60 blocks after the change, Sei said.

Blocks and transaction receipts are also being assigned a separate storage engine called LittDB. Sei described blocks and receipts as data that is written once, repeatedly read, and eventually archived, making their storage requirements different from frequently updated account and contract state.

Internal benchmarks cited by Sei put LittDB write throughput above one gigabyte per second while handling about 55,000 point reads per second. A new receipt store sustained more than 150,000 writes per second during multi-hour benchmark tests that included garbage collection. Sei cautioned that the figure measures the storage engine and should not be treated as blockchain transaction throughput.

Older history will move away from active nodes Eidos also changes how much historical information individual nodes are expected to keep locally.

Sei said frequently accessed state and recent chain history will remain on fast local storage, while older historical records will move to archival systems built for capacity. Explorers, indexers and users auditing historical transactions will still be able to retrieve the archived information, according to the network.

Reducing the amount of old data kept on active nodes is intended to prevent historical queries from consuming resources needed for current transactions. Sei said rising storage requirements can otherwise force operators to use faster and more expensive hardware as network throughput increases.

The infrastructure work follows earlier efforts to increase access to Sei’s EVM ecosystem. MetaMask added native Sei support in August 2025, allowing users to access Sei-based applications, swap assets and bridge tokens directly through the wallet. At the time, Sei was processing more than 4.2 million daily transactions and had more than 11 million monthly active users, according to figures cited in the report.

A separate distribution agreement announced in December 2025 called for Xiaomi to pre-install a Sei wallet on new smartphones sold outside mainland China and the United States. The companies also planned support for stablecoin payments using assets such as USDC, with initial payment deployments planned for Hong Kong and the European Union.

Eidos migration runs while Sei remains online For node operators, Sei is carrying out the storage migration without stopping the blockchain.

The network said existing and replacement storage systems will operate alongside one another while data moves in batches from block to block. The rollout is controlled through governance and has been designed with a rollback process if problems emerge.

Ahead of deployment, shadow nodes replayed mainnet traffic against the new storage systems while integrity hashes were continuously checked, according to Sei. Testing showed block times remained largely unchanged while migration processes operated in the background.

Eidos is the third storage rebuild undertaken by Sei. The network previously replaced its original Cosmos storage architecture with SeiDB, followed by the state-store separation now being introduced on mainnet. FlatKV, LittDB and the off-node archival system will form the next stage as they arrive through later releases.

Users and application developers do not need to take action during the migration, according to Sei, with balances, smart contracts, historical records and existing RPC endpoints remaining available. Node operators have been given a migration guide covering configuration flags and the documented rollback process for the new storage system.

Paul Herendeen, Director at Elanco Animal Health (ELAN +2.90%), purchased 10,000 shares of common stock on Aug. 7, 2026, according to an SEC Form 4 filing.

Company snapshotElanco Animal Health is a healthcare company based in Indianapolis.The firm creates, produces, and commercializes solutions for companion animals and livestock, including vaccinations and preventative parasiticides.Market capitalization: $11.8 billion.Trailing twelve-month revenue: $5 billion.Trailing twelve-month net income: -$199 million. Transaction summaryMetricValueTransaction value$236,800Shares purchased10,000Post-transaction shares (directly held)111,687Post-transaction value$2.4 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($23.68); post-transaction value based on Aug. 7, 2026, market close ($22.12).

Key questionsHow does the execution price compare to recent market levels?
The transaction was completed at $23.68 per share, which sat above the $22.12 market close as of Aug. 7, 2026.What is the scale of the insider's total ownership following this move?
After this 10% increase in direct holdings, the director owns 0.0224% of the company's common stock, equivalent to a market value of $2.47 million as of the Aug. 7, 2026, close.What has been the recent trajectory of the stock relative to this acquisition?
Elanco shares returned 34% over the 12 months ending on the Aug. 7, 2026, transaction date.What is the current financial profile of the company?
The company generated $5 billion in revenue over the trailing twelve months but reported a net loss of $199 million during that same period.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-08-07)$22.12Market Capitalization$11.8 billionRevenue (TTM)$5 billionNet Income (TTM)-$199 millionCompany SnapshotElanco Animal Health develops, manufactures, and commercializes a comprehensive portfolio of pharmaceutical and health solutions for companion animals and livestock, including preventative treatments such as parasiticides and vaccinations under brands like Seresto, Advantage, Advantix, and Advocate, as well as therapeutic treatments for canine and feline conditions.The company generates revenue through the development and commercialization of animal health products across two primary segments: companion animal health solutions for household pets and livestock health solutions for agricultural producers, leveraging its manufacturing and distribution capabilities globally.Elanco serves veterinarians, animal health retailers, livestock producers, and pet owners across developed and emerging markets, positioning itself as a critical supplier to the animal health ecosystem with a diversified customer base spanning companion animal and agricultural segments.Elanco Animal Health is a leading global animal health company with $5 billion in TTM revenue and a market capitalization of $11.8 billion. The company maintains a differentiated market position through its extensive portfolio of branded pharmaceutical products and preventative health solutions, serving both the companion animal and livestock sectors. Despite current net income pressures, Elanco's diversified product offerings and established brand recognition position it as a significant participant in the growing global animal health market.

Today's Change

(

2.90

%) $

0.69

Current Price

$

24.33

What this transaction means for investorsShares of Elanco have performed well over the last 12 months, climbing nearly 35% compared to the nearly 20% return of the S&P 500. The animal health company is fresh off reporting its results for the second quarter of 2026, which were largely positive. Its revenue of $1.3 billion was a 10% increase from the prior-year period, and it raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $5.09 billion to $5.14 billion. CEO Jeff Simmons noted on the company's earnings release that Zenrelia, a medication designed to control itching in dogs, was Elanco's largest revenue contributor. According to one global survey, allergic skin disease and itchy skin are two of the most common reasons why dog owners bring their pets to a veterinarian.

As mentioned earlier, the stock has performed well over the last 12 months, and Herendeen now owns nearly 112,000 shares. While the Elanco stock price has been relatively flat thus far in 2026, this purchase could be seen as a sign of confidence in the company's future. According to Grand View Research, the global pet health market is expected to grow in value from $75.3 billion in 2026 to $156 billion by 2033.

Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 | Source: Sprout Social, Inc

Since Trellis became available to every Sprout customer in July, teams are using it to turn raw performance data into executive-ready narratives, catch brand risk before it spreads, and route customer feedback to teams outside marketing.Customers including JetBlue and Ipsy say Trellis has cut time spent building reports and monitoring launches from hours to minutes.Trellis Studio, introduced alongside this rollout, gives teams a workspace to build their own AI skill templates, turning recurring work into automated workflows instead of one-off requests.
CHICAGO, Aug. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- One month after Sprout Social (Nasdaq: SPT), the AI-powered Social Intelligence Platform, made Trellis, its proprietary agentic AI, available to every customer on every plan, a pattern is already emerging: social teams are putting it to work on problems far more complex than simply writing captions.

AI in social media has mostly meant one thing so far, and that is generating content faster. Trellis was built to do more. Social teams are stretched thin, juggling tactical requests while being asked to prove strategic value with fewer resources. Now spanning Listening, Publishing, the Smart Inbox and Reporting, Trellis acts as a single intelligence layer across the Sprout platform, designed to handle that repetitive work so teams can focus on campaigns and insights only they can produce. And as audiences grow weary of AI-generated content, Trellis is not simply designed to produce more of it, but to help teams understand the people on the other side of it.

That shift shows up first in reporting. At JetBlue, Trellis is turning weeks of performance data into executive-ready summaries.

"I was pleasantly surprised by how in-depth and clear Trellis's executive reporting summaries are. It really helped us better understand the numbers and which channels needed work. Overall, it's been extremely helpful in cutting down the time it takes to pull together insights, which is really lovely," said Christina Chew, Social Media Lead at JetBlue.

Other teams are pointing Trellis at different problems entirely, flagging unusual spikes in volume or sentiment early, and comparing performance across networks to decide with confidence where to put budget and effort next.

At Ipsy, that same intelligence is reaching teams well outside marketing. The company uses Trellis to monitor what its members are saying about new launches, then routes the resulting sentiment and theme analysis to product and care teams.

"We consistently use Sprout and Trellis to monitor member feedback, especially around new launches and initiatives. Creating social listening topics and using Trellis to generate executive summaries and sentiment insights has been really helpful for us. We’re excited to see what else it can do," said Stella Hernandez, Program Manager at Ipsy.

Trellis can do this because of what it’s built on. Unlike general-purpose AI models, it draws on real-time, native social data across networks, delivering visibility that foundational models lack.

Teams that want to go further can now build on that foundation themselves. Trellis Studio, introduced alongside this rollout, lets teams create customizable AI skill templates for their own workflows, so recurring work like tracking a viral trend or summarizing a week of feedback runs automatically instead of starting from scratch each time.

"Social teams have spent years being asked to justify a function the rest of the business already depends on," said Scott Morris, CMO of Sprout Social. "Trellis is built to help teams create campaigns that truly resonate, while turning real-time signals from social into intelligence the rest of the business can act on. That's the shift underway across the industry—social moving from a downstream function to a source of strategic direction. A month into making Trellis available to every customer, we're seeing that operationalized across our customer base."

Trellis is featured in today’s Breaking Ground, Sprout Social’s quarterly showcase of product innovations and industry trends, with a workshop walking through how teams can utilize Trellis in practice. For additional information on Trellis and Trellis Studio, which are now available to all Sprout Social customers, visit sproutsocial.com/ai/features/ai-agent.

About Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a leading AI-powered social intelligence platform, built on the belief that All Business is Social℠. Powered by Trellis, Sprout’s proprietary AI agent, the platform is designed to transform real-time social media signals into actionable insights that drive business forward. Consistently recognized as a top software by G2, Sprout enables brands to deliver smarter, faster business impact through a suite of solutions including comprehensive publishing and engagement, customer care, influencer marketing, advocacy and predictive media intelligence. Sprout’s software operates across all major social networks and digital platforms. For more information about Sprout Social (NASDAQ: SPT), visit sproutsocial.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “expect,” “explore,” ”future,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “strategy,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Sprout Social and our management based on their knowledge and understanding of the business and industry, are inherently uncertain. These statements may relate to the expected timing, availability and capabilities of our products and platform features, including Trellis and Trellis Studio; the anticipated benefits of our AI-powered social intelligence platform; statements about market trends, including the growing importance of social data in enterprise decision-making; our ability to develop and deliver AI-driven features and functionality; our market size and growth strategy, our plans and objectives for future operations, growth, initiatives or strategies, including our investments in research and development, and other statements that are not historical fact. By their nature, these statements are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including factors beyond our control, that could cause actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. These assumptions, uncertainties and risks include that, among others: the expected timing and availability of product features, including Trellis and Trellis Studio, may be delayed or may not be released as described; new products and features may not perform as intended or achieve the market acceptance we anticipate; our AI-powered features depend on access to social media data from third-party platforms, which may be restricted, limited or terminated; our business would be harmed by any significant interruptions, delays or outages in services from our platform, our API providers, or certain social media platforms, or if we are unable to renew agreements governing access to the data provided by such APIs on terms acceptable to us or at all; technological advances in AI may in the future disrupt the social media industry, which could significantly reduce the demand for our services or otherwise adversely impact our business or reputation if we are unable to keep pace and navigate this evolving environment; the AI and machine learning models underlying our platform features may produce inaccurate or unexpected results; unstable market, economic, and geopolitical conditions, such as recession risks, effects of inflation, any cybersecurity-related attack, significant data breach or disruption of the information technology systems or networks on which we rely could negatively affect our business; changing regulations relating to privacy, information security and data protection could increase our costs, affect or limit how we collect and use personal information and harm our brand; and rapidly evolving laws, regulations and industry standards relating to AI could affect or limit how we develop and deploy AI-powered features. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements are included under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 filed with the SEC on February 27, 2026 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, filed with the SEC on August 6, 2026, as well as any future reports that we file with the SEC. Moreover, you should interpret many of the risks identified in those reports as being heightened as a result of the current and ongoing instability in market, economic, and geopolitical conditions. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available to Sprout Social at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. Sprout Social assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, except as required by law.

Social Media Profiles
www.x.com/SproutSocial
www.x.com/SproutSocialIR
www.facebook.com/SproutSocialInc
www.linkedin.com/company/sprout-social-inc-/
www.instagram.com/sproutsocial

Media Contact
Kaitlyn Gronek
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (773) 904-9674

Investors:

Lexi Johnson

Twitter: @SproutSocialIR

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (312) 528-9166

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Progyny, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNY – Free Report) by 75.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,190,996 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 511,609 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.52% of Progyny worth $20,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Progyny by 0.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 70,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC increased its position in Progyny by 5.4% during the second quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 10,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Progyny by 4.6% in the third quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 11,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Progyny by 4.3% in the second quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 12,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progyny by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 19,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. 94.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity In other news, Director Kevin K. Gordon sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $137,445.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,856.82. This trade represents a 37.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Allison Swartz sold 1,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $29,998.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,566.32. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,063 shares of company stock valued at $489,413. 9.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several brokerages recently commented on PGNY. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Progyny from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Progyny from $34.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Progyny from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Progyny from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $38.00 price target on Progyny in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.10. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on PGNY

Progyny Trading Up 1.5% Shares of PGNY stock opened at $25.71 on Wednesday. Progyny, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.10 and a twelve month high of $33.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.48.

Progyny (NASDAQ:PGNY – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $350.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.05 million. Progyny had a return on equity of 15.98% and a net margin of 6.00%.The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. Progyny has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.520 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.040-2.100 EPS. Research analysts predict that Progyny, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progyny announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 10.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Progyny Profile (Free Report)

Progyny, Inc is a New York-based fertility benefits management company that partners with employers and health plans to design and administer comprehensive family-building programs. The company’s digital health platform integrates clinical expertise, patient support tools and data analytics to help members navigate fertility treatments, from in vitro fertilization (IVF) and egg freezing to surrogacy and adoption. By focusing on outcomes-based care, Progyny aims to improve success rates while controlling costs for its clients.

The core of Progyny’s offering is its proprietary Smart Cycle® benefit, which bundles clinical, emotional and logistical support into a single package.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Progyny The AI Boom Is Turning This Cable Maker Into a Stock to Watch A Star Investor Just Trimmed Amazon—Here’s What It means Wendy’s Deal Buzz May Give Fast-Food Investors a New Reason to Look Home Depot Analysts See a Path to $375 and Beyond Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGNY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Progyny, Inc. (NASDAQ:PGNY – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Progyny Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Progyny and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.