Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Source: Binance EN

Note: Please do your own research before making any trades for the aforementioned token outside Binance to avoid any scams and ensure the safety of your funds. This is a general announcement. Products and services referred to here may not be available in your region. Fellow Binancians, Binance is excited to announce the 66th project on the HODLer Airdrops page - OpenGradient (OPG), the Network for Open Intelligence, a decentralized infrastructure network designed to host, inference, and verify AI models at scale. Users who subscribed their BNB to Simple Earn (Flexible and/or Locked) and/or On-Chain Yields products from 2026-06-22 00:00 (UTC) to 2026-06-24 23:59 (UTC) will get the airdrops distribution. The airdrop is estimated to be distributed to eligible users’ Spot Accounts within 5 hours of this announcement. OPG HODLer Airdrops Details: Token Name: OpenGradient (OPG)Total Genesis Token Supply: 1,000,000,000 OPG Max Token Supply: 1,000,000,000 OPGHODLer Airdrops Token Rewards: 6,400,000 OPG Circulating Supply upon Listing on Binance: 190,000,000 OPG (19% of Total Token Supply)Smart Contract/Network Details: BNB Smart Chain (0x5feCcD17C393CaF1001D18164236A37E731FCb9d)Base (0xFbC2051AE2265686a469421b2C5A2D5462FbF5eB)Listing Fee: 0Research Report: OpenGradient (OPG) (will be available within 48 hours of publishing this announcement) BNB Holding Hard Cap: User’s Average BNB Holding / Total Average BNB Holding * 100% ≤ 4% (If the holding ratio is greater than 4%, the BNB holding ratio will be calculated as 4%) Introducing Binance HODLer Airdrops: Binance HODLer Airdrops is a program that rewards BNB holders with token airdrops based on historical snapshots of their BNB balances. By subscribing BNB to Simple Earn, users are automatically eligible for HODLer Airdrops (as well as Launchpool and Megadrop rewards). By subscribing BNB to On-Chain Yields, users are automatically eligible for HODLer Airdrops and Launchpool rewards. Unlike other earning methods that require ongoing actions, HODLer Airdrops reward users retroactively, offering a simple way to earn additional tokens. By subscribing BNB to Simple Earn products and/or On-Chain Yields, users can automatically qualify for token rewards. How to Benefit from HODLer Airdrops: Head to [Earn] and search for BNB. Subscribe to Simple Earn (Flexible and/or Locked) and/or On-Chain Yields products with your BNB holdings.Snapshots of user balances and total pool balances will be taken multiple times at any point of time each hour to get users’ hourly average balances in Simple Earn (Flexible and/or Locked) and/or On-Chain Yields products. Binance will use historical snapshots of user balances at random periods after this announcement to calculate user rewards. For example, reward calculation for HODLer Airdrops on 2024-06-11 may use snapshots of user balances between 2024-06-01 to 2024-06-07 as reference.Eligible users will receive HODLer Airdrops rewards in their Spot Accounts within 5 hours after the HODLer Airdrops is announced. Subscribe BNB to Simple Earn Now! Project Links: WebsiteWhitepaperX Terms & Conditions: Users must complete account verification (KYC) and also be from an eligible jurisdiction to participate in HODLer Airdrops.BNB Simple Earn assets collateralizing against Binance Loans (Flexible Rate) are not entitled to HODLer Airdrops rewards.BNB subscribed to Simple Earn products will still provide users with the standard benefits for holding BNB, such as Launchpool, Megadrop, and HODLer Airdrops eligibility and VIP benefits.Participation in HODLer Airdrops is subject to eligibility based on the user's country or region of residence. Binance reserves the right to disqualify any participants who tamper with Binance program code, or interfere with the operation of Binance program code with other software.Staked Lista BNB (slisBNB) and slisBNB Non-Transferable Receipt (slisBNBx) in Binance Wallet (Keyless) will be supported in HODLer Airdrops reward calculation.At any snapshot time, any one of users’ supported assets must be greater than 0.01 BNB to be included in the calculation.Users need to be from an eligible jurisdiction to participate in HODLer Airdrops. Currently, users residing in the following countries or regions will not be able to participate by subscribing to BNB Simple Earn or On-Chain Yields Products: Australia, Canada, Cuba, Crimea Region, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, New Zealand, Netherlands, North Korea, Russia, United Kingdom, United States of America and its territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands), and any non-government controlled areas of Ukraine.Please note that the list of excluded countries provided here is not exhaustive and may be subject to changes due to evolving local rules, regulations, or other considerations. This list may be updated periodically to accommodate changes in legal, regulatory, or other factors. There may be discrepancies between this original content in English and any translated versions. Please refer to the original English version for the most accurate information, in case any discrepancies arise. Thank you for your support! Binance Team 2026-06-30

Michael Saylor’s First Public Statement Following MicroStrategy’s New Policy: Stronger Credit, Stronger Equity, More Bitcoin

MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor delivered his first public remarks after the release of the "Digital Credit Capital Framework": "Stronger credit, stronger equity, more Bitcoin." Saylor’s declaration appears to explain the motivation behind the launch of the framework—specifically, the strategic logic of achieving more Bitcoin holdings by strengthening credit and equity structures.

3 minutes ago

SK Hynix plans to order semiconductor testing equipment, with a total price of up to $259 million.

SK Hynix is negotiating with semiconductor equipment manufacturers over the supply of semiconductor testing equipment needed for its Cheongju P&T7 plant. Equipment suppliers are verbally coordinating the number of units that can be delivered next year. The equipment industry forecasts the plant will order around 200 units, including HBM4 testers. At a price of 1.5 billion to 2 billion won per unit, the total cost could reach up to 400 billion won (approximately $259 million). (TheElec)

3 minutes ago

Jefferies reaffirms buy rating for AVGO, sets target price at $550.

Jefferies analyst Blayne Curtis reiterated a Buy rating on AVGO and set a $550 price target, noting that the recent pullback in the stock creates a buying opportunity, with fiscal 2028 EPS projected to reach $30–$40. The analyst emphasized that Broadcom’s TPU roadmap is advancing as planned, the long-term agreement signed with Google through 2031 guarantees minimum revenue, and concerns over competition from MTK are overstated.

3 minutes ago

A whale invested $1.11 million to open a 3x long position of 8,253.89 ETH.

According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), a certain whale added 1.11 million USDC in margin to Hyperliquid one hour ago, then opened an ETH long position worth $13.05 million, with an entry price of $1,581.9 and a liquidation price of $1,078.5.

3 minutes ago

OKX Star: One Person, One World-Class Company

According to official announcements, OKX has officially launched OKX.AI, a decentralized platform for the agent economy that enables AI Agents to post tasks, accept assignments, process payments, submit reviews, and conduct arbitration. OKX Founder and CEO Star stated in a post on X: "Over the past two decades, the world has been rebuilt around apps; over the next ten years, it will be rebuilt around agents. Agents will serve humans, be hired by humans, receive payments from humans, and collaborate with humans to complete complex tasks, while humans will channel more energy into imagination, judgment, purpose, and truly unique value." Star emphasized that this is not an era of more efficient software, but a new economic era. He added: "The future will no longer belong only to companies with the most employees, but also to individuals with the best agents. One person can be a world-class company. Welcome to the Agentic Economy, welcome to OKX.AI."

3 minutes ago

Royal Bank of Canada raises S&P 500 target to 8,150 points, while cautioning the rally will not be smooth sailing.

Lori Calvasina, chief U.S. equities strategist at Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets (RBC Capital Markets), lifted her 12-month target for the S&P 500 by 250 points to 8,150 on Monday. Compared with last Friday’s closing level, the revised target implies a 10.8% upside potential. The bank believes the U.S. stock market still has room to rise, but warns the rally will not be smooth sailing. In a research note sent to clients on Monday, Calvasina wrote: “We still view this forecast as optimistic but not unrealistic. Our core view is that the stock market will rise overall over the next year, though the trend will not be a straight-line rally.” The target hike is partly driven by positive signals from earnings per share (EPS) and valuation expectations. The strategist forecasts adjusted trailing four-quarter EPS will reach $337 in the first quarter of next year. Meanwhile, her model still retains conservative assumptions, and she warns market volatility is unavoidable during the rally, with the biggest risk being the Federal Reserve resuming interest rate hikes. Data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool shows the market is pricing in a 64% probability of a rate hike at the Fed’s September policy meeting.

3 minutes ago

Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.

Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA.

When your crypto sits on a centralized exchange, the exchange holds it for you. That's how most people first buy and store crypto, and it works well. This guide is about another option: holding your crypto yourself, on BNB Chain.

Moving to BNB Chain works differently. You hold your own crypto in a wallet only you control, and you connect straight to apps that let you trade, earn, borrow, and send money anywhere, without asking anyone for permission. This is what people mean by decentralized finance, or DeFi: financial tools that run on a public blockchain instead of inside a single company.

This guide covers what makes DeFi different, why people make the move, what you can do on BNB Chain, and how to do it yourself. The easiest way is to treat it as something to experiment with: start with a small amount, get comfortable with how it works, and do more once it feels familiar.

Why move to DeFi on BNB ChainThe short version: you get more control over your money and more to do with it. Here's what that looks like in practice:

You stay in control. Only you can move your funds. No withdrawal limits, no account reviews, no waiting on support to release your own money.You can put your crypto to work directly. Swap, earn, lend, and borrow straight from your wallet, instead of leaving it sitting in an account doing nothing.It's open to anyone. There's no application and no approval. If you have a wallet, you can use it, wherever you happen to be.You can check everything yourself. Every transaction is recorded on the blockchain and anyone can verify it, so you're not taking a company's word for what's happening with your money.BNB Chain keeps it cheap and fast. Most actions cost a fraction of a cent and go through in seconds, across a wide range of apps.There's a trade-off worth saying plainly. Holding your own crypto means holding your own responsibility. There's no support line to reset a password, so keeping your keys safe is on you. The good news is that this comes down to a few simple habits, and the rest of this guide walks through them.

Centralized exchanges vs holding your own cryptoThe core difference comes down to one question: who holds the keys?

On a centralized exchange, the exchange holds your private keys for you. A private key is the secret that controls the crypto in a wallet, a bit like a password that can never be reset. Because the exchange holds the keys, it manages your crypto on your behalf. This setup is called custodial: a third party holds custody for you.

When you hold your own crypto, you hold the keys yourself. This is called self-custody, or non-custodial. You're not relying on any company to store or release your funds, and the other side of that is responsibility: keeping your keys safe is down to you, because if you lose them, nobody can recover them for you.

What You Can Do on BNB ChainOnce your funds are in your wallet, you connect to apps directly. There are no accounts and no sign-ups, and "connecting" just links your wallet so you can approve each action yourself. Here are the main things people do on BNB Chain, what each one means, and the apps built for it.

Swapping tokensSwapping is trading one token for another, like exchanging BNB for a stablecoin. On BNB Chain you do this on a decentralized exchange, or DEX, which lets you trade straight from your wallet without handing your funds to anyone. Instead of matching buyers and sellers through an order book, most DEXs use pooled funds that you trade against, a model called an automated market maker (AMM).

A couple of things are worth knowing before your first swap. "Slippage" is how much price movement you'll accept between asking for a trade and it going through, and the default setting is usually fine for popular tokens. If something is not a well-known token, check its contract address against an official source first, because scammers often launch fake tokens using a real one's name.

PancakeSwap is the largest DEX on BNB Chain. It has no accounts and no sign-up, so connecting your wallet is all it takes to start trading.

Holding StablecoinsNot everything on BNB Chain has to move in price. Stablecoins are tokens built to hold a steady value, usually pegged to the US dollar, so one coin stays worth about a dollar. People use them to sit out volatility, to send money quickly, and to pay for things, all without giving up self-custody.

Several widely used stablecoins run on BNB Chain, including USDC, USDT, USD1, and U. You can hold them in your wallet, swap into and out of them on PancakeSwap, send them to anyone, or put them to work in the earning and lending options below.

BNB Chain has also been running a zero-fee campaign on stablecoin transfers, covering the network fee on USDC, USD1, and U when you withdraw them from major exchanges, send them between wallets, or bridge them onto the chain. While it runs, moving those stablecoins can cost you nothing.

Earn Yield On Your CryptoRather than letting crypto sit idle, you can earn a return on it. There are a few ways to do that, from low effort to more involved: staking, liquid staking, and supplying your assets to a lending market that pays interest.

Native BNB staking is one of the simpler, lower-risk options. You delegate your BNB to a validator, a participant that helps run the network, and earn a share of the rewards. Two things to plan around: when you decide to unstake there's currently a seven-day wait before your BNB returns to your wallet, and while validators can be penalised for poor performance, on BNB Chain that penalty comes out of the validator's own stake rather than yours. Picking a reliable validator still matters, mainly so you don't miss rewards. You can stake through the official BNB Chain staking app.

Liquid staking solves the main downside of regular staking, which is having your funds locked up. With Lista DAO, you stake BNB and receive slisBNB, a token that represents your staked BNB and keeps earning rewards while staying usable across other apps. Lista DAO holds the large majority of the BNB liquid-staking market.

Supplying to a lending market lets you earn interest by lending out assets you're not using. Both Lista DAO and Venus, one of the longest-running lending protocols on BNB Chain, let you supply stablecoins, BNB, and other assets to earn a variable yield. Venus also runs yield vaults that offer fixed-rate and structured returns.

Lending & BorrowingThe same protocols you use to earn also let you borrow. Borrowing in DeFi means putting up crypto you own as collateral and taking out a loan against it, so you can get cash or another asset without selling what you hold.

These loans are over-collateralized, which means you lock up more value than you borrow. The risk to understand is liquidation: if your collateral drops in value, or the asset you borrowed rises, past a set point, the protocol automatically sells your collateral to repay the loan, and you take the loss. Volatile prices make this happen faster than people expect, so if you borrow, leave a wide buffer and keep an eye on it.

Venus lets you borrow across its Core markets, which cover a broad range of assets, with Venus Flux focused on capital efficiency. Lista DAO lets you borrow against collateral such as BNB and slisBNB, including its own stablecoin, lisUSD, across markets with variable or fixed rates. If your goal is simply to earn rather than to take out a loan, supplying and lending keep things simpler.

Own Real-World AssetsDeFi is no longer limited to crypto-native tokens. Real-world assets, or RWAs, are everyday assets like stocks, bonds, and gold that have been turned into tokens you can hold in your wallet. Putting them onchain means you can own a piece of the offchain world, hold or trade it at any hour, and use it across BNB Chain apps, while a regulated custodian holds the real asset behind the token.

A few of the things you can hold on BNB Chain today:

Tokenized stocks and ETFs. bStocks, xStocks, and Ondo Finance both bring tokenized US shares and ETFs (names like NVIDIA, Tesla, and Apple) to BNB Chain as standard tokens, backed one-to-one by the real shares held in custody. You can trade them around the clock instead of only during market hours, and use them across apps like PancakeSwap, Venus, Lista, and Aster.Tokenized gold. Tether Gold (XAUt) and XAUm each represent one troy ounce of physical gold held in a vault, giving you gold exposure you can hold and move like any other token.Tokenized treasuries and funds. Ondo Finance brings tokenized US Treasuries and yield-bearing funds, such as USDY and OUSG, onto the chain, and Lista DAO lets you use tokenized treasuries and bonds as collateral and yield. These are a way to hold steadier, income-paying assets straight from your wallet.Tokenized private-company exposure. Colb Finance offers tokenized pre-IPO positions, giving you onchain exposure to private companies like SpaceX without owning the shares directly.As with any token, check you have the correct contract from an official source before buying. A tokenized asset is only as trustworthy as the issuer holding the real thing behind it.

Advanced Trading with PerpetualsPerpetuals, or "perps," are a form of leveraged trading. Leverage means borrowing to open a position bigger than the money you put in, which multiplies your gains and your losses by the same amount. A perps position can be liquidated and the money you committed lost in full, so this is for traders who already understand derivatives and are using money they can afford to lose. If your aim is just to hold your own crypto and earn a steady return, you can skip this entirely.

Aster is a decentralized exchange for perpetual futures and spot trading across several networks including BNB Chain. It's non-custodial, has a simple mode and a professional order-book mode, and encrypts orders before they reach the chain so your position details stay private until they fill. It also offers yield products under Aster Earn, including the asBNB liquid-staking token and the USDF yield-bearing stablecoin. Availability is restricted in some places, so check whether you can use it where you are.

Moving Assets in from Other ChainsIf your funds are on a different blockchain, such as Ethereum, a bridge moves them across to BNB Chain. The official BNB Chain Bridge connects several established cross-chain routes through one interface, including providers like Celer cBridge and Meson.fi.

Both of the latter are also part of the zero-fee stablecoin campaign, so while it runs, bridging supported stablecoins like USDC onto BNB Chain through them can cost nothing.

This is the one area to slow down on, because fake bridge sites are among the most common and costly scams in crypto. Attackers build copies that look identical to the real site, pay for ads so the fake ranks above the real one, and register web addresses that change a single character. Reach the bridge only through the official bnbchain.org site and bookmark it, check both the source and destination networks before confirming, and make sure you'll have a little BNB on the receiving side to cover fees. As with any transfer, send a small test amount first.

Moving from a Centralized ExchangeEverything above runs on a wallet you control. This section covers the actual move: understanding wallets, picking and setting one up, and bringing your funds across.

The Two Types of WalletsA wallet is the app or device that stores your keys and lets you hold crypto yourself. They come in two main types, and plenty of people use both.

Hot wallets are software wallets that stay connected to the internet, either as a phone app or a browser extension. They're free, quick to set up, and handy for everyday activity like swapping tokens or trying out an app. Because they're online, they suit the amounts you use regularly rather than your long-term savings.

Hardware wallets, also called cold wallets, are physical devices that keep your keys completely offline. You confirm each transaction on the device itself, so even if your computer is compromised, your keys never leave the hardware. They cost money and add a step to each transaction, which is a fair price for protecting larger holdings you plan to keep for a while.

A common setup is a hardware wallet for savings you rarely touch and a hot wallet for day-to-day activity.

Choosing and setting up a walletAny of these three non-custodial wallets supports BNB Chain and works as a starting point.

Trust WalletTrust Wallet is a non-custodial wallet available as a phone app and a browser extension, with support for many blockchains including BNB Chain. Your keys are created on your device and never sent to Trust Wallet's servers, so the company can't access, freeze, or recover your wallet. It includes built-in scanning that flags risky addresses and app connections before you confirm a transaction.

SafePalSafePal offers a software wallet (phone and browser extension) as well as air-gapped hardware wallets such as the S1 and X1, with support for over 200 blockchains including BNB Chain. The hardware devices keep your keys offline on EAL6+ certified secure-element chips and sign transactions over Bluetooth or by scanning QR codes. It suits people who want the option to pair a hardware device with their everyday wallet.

OneKeyOneKey is an open-source, non-custodial wallet that pairs a phone and desktop app and a browser extension with optional hardware devices (its Classic and Pro lines). Your keys stay on your device and are never uploaded, and you can use the app on its own or add a hardware wallet later. The newer hardware models use EAL6+ certified secure-element chips, keep keys offline, and confirm transactions on the device itself. OneKey requires no identity verification and screens transactions for phishing, risky addresses, and harmful approvals, showing you in plain language what you're about to approve.

Setting It Up SafelyThe setup is quick, and a few of the steps are what separate a wallet that's truly yours from one a scammer can empty.

Download only from the official source, meaning the official website or the App Store and Google Play listings linked from it. Fake wallet apps are common.Write your recovery phrase on paper, by hand. Your recovery phrase (sometimes called a seed phrase) is the list of 12 or 24 words the app shows you when you set up. Store it somewhere private and offline. Don't screenshot it, save it in notes or email, or type it into any website.Confirm the phrase when the app asks, then keep the paper somewhere safe. A second copy in a separate place protects against fire or loss.Pick the right network before you send or receive. For most apps in this guide that's BNB Smart Chain.Keep a little BNB for gas. "Gas" is the small network fee every action costs, paid in BNB and often a fraction of a cent. A small amount on hand keeps your transactions moving.Moving Your Funds AcrossOnce you've got a wallet, moving your crypto over is straightforward. The one habit that matters, every single time you send crypto anywhere, is to test first.

Set up your wallet and write down your recovery phrase offline (how to choose one comes next).Send a small test amount from your exchange to your wallet's address. Check you've picked the right network, usually BNB Smart Chain (BSC), the main BNB Chain network for trading and apps, and confirm the funds arrived before doing anything else.Once the test lands, send the rest. Keep a little BNB in your wallet to cover network fees.That test transfer takes a few minutes and costs almost nothing, and it's the simplest way to catch a wrong address or wrong network before it costs you anything real.

Staying Safe OnchainA few safety habits worth keepingThese take seconds and prevent the situations that cost people the most:

Never share your recovery phrase or keys with anyone. No real app, support agent, or "wallet check" will ever ask for them. Anyone who does is trying to rob you.Reach apps through bookmarks or by typing the address yourself. Most losses start with a link from a direct message, an ad, a reply, or a group chat. Treat those as suspect.Test with a small amount first whenever you send to a new address or try a new app.Review your approvals now and then. Apps ask permission to use your tokens, and old permissions can become a risk later. There's a free tool for clearing them out, covered further down.Two free tools do most of the work of keeping a self-custody setup safe. Neither can move your funds; both just show you information.

DappBay is BNB Chain's directory for finding apps. Its Red Alarm feature and Risk Scanner let you paste in a contract or wallet address and check it for known warning signs, and see whether a project has already been flagged as high-risk. Make it your first stop before using anything unfamiliar, and treat a flag as a stop sign. One caveat: a clean result is reassuring but not a guarantee, so pair it with your own research.

BscTrace is the block explorer for BNB Smart Chain, a read-only window into everything happening onchain and one of the most useful safety tools you have. (BscScan is a comparable explorer for the same chain.) It can't move your funds; it only shows you verified, public data. Use it to confirm a transaction went where you intended, including that test transfer, and to check whether a contract is verified before you trust it.

If you need to check a token approval, you can use BscScan. Its Token Approval Checker lets you see every app you've given permission to spend your tokens, and cancel the ones you no longer use for a tiny fee. A quick review every few months is cheap insurance.

How to Get StartedThe easiest way to begin is small. Set up one wallet, send a test amount from your exchange, and confirm it on BscScan before moving anything else. From there you can go at your own pace, whether that's swapping on PancakeSwap, earning through staking or lending, or simply holding your own keys and deciding what's next later on.

When you're ready to explore what's live on the chain, DappBay lists active BNB Chain apps by category, and doubles as the safety check worth running before you connect to any of them.

This guide is educational and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Product availability varies by location. Onchain activity carries risk, including the possibility of losing everything you put in, and that risk is higher for leveraged and borrowed positions. Always reach apps by typing the official address or using a saved bookmark, never through a link in a direct message, reply, comment, ad, or unofficial group, and you are responsible for verifying every link, address, and contract you interact with.

Table of contents

Chainlink’s holder count just veered parabolic. Fresh Santiment data shows LINK’s non-empty wallets on Ethereum climbed to 892,800—a jump of more than 8,000 new holders in only five days. At that pace, the network could breach 900,000 before the end of the week, with 1 million in sight by late summer. The on-chain signal arrives via a Santiment market note that points to a stark divergence: wallet growth is accelerating while LINK’s price remains pinned near local lows.

That divergence is the most important piece. When a network’s holder base expands aggressively without a corresponding price push, it often suggests stealth accumulation by investors who are not yet being chased by retail momentum. The current pattern echoes phases seen in other top-20 assets before liquidity rotates back in—new addresses rising, price flatlining, crowd sentiment still cautious. Nobody knows for sure whether this accumulation front-runs a broader repricing, but the data signals conviction among the wallets coming on-chain now.

Why Real-World Asset Narratives Are Fueling the Growth The timing isn’t random. Chainlink has been piling up credentials across the institutional tokenization landscape. Projects tied to real-world asset settlement, such as the DTCC’s collateral experimentation and the Project Pangea initiative, are leaning on oracle infrastructure to bridge off-chain data with on-chain execution. At the same time, the push toward 24/5 equity data streams and the tokenization of traditional instruments gives LINK direct exposure to a market transitioning from proof-of-concept to live infrastructure. That shift has become clearer with developments like Bullish’s $4.2 billion acquisition of Equiniti and Ondo’s settlement with JPMorgan, moves covered in a recent tokenization roundup that tracked how deeply financial plumbing is now integrating with public blockchains.

The steady rise in LINK wallets aligns with that trend. It doesn’t prove that every new holder is an institution, but it does match a pattern of positioning ahead of broader recognition. When the market was focused on meme coins or synthetic dollar yields, Chainlink was quietly cementing itself as the primary data layer for tokenized securities, stablecoin protocols, and institutional smart contracts. The wallet jump suggests someone is paying attention before the headline wave.

What a 900K Milestone Could—and Could Not—Mean Crossing 900,000 holders will be psychologically significant, but it is only a piece of the picture. Not all wallets represent unique users, and growth can be inflated by exchange deposit addresses, service-related wallets, or a few large entities splitting holdings. Santiment’s metric measures non-empty wallets, which filters out zero-balance clutter but still captures a broad set of on-chain footprints. The more critical question is whether the rising holder count coincides with a drop in exchange-held supply and an increase in withdrawal activity, signs that newly created addresses are pulling tokens off exchanges into cold storage or DeFi positions.

For now, the main takeaway is the mismatch between on-chain expansion and price apathy. When an asset adds thousands of holders in less than a week while still trading in a depressed range, it rewires the risk-reward calculation for traders who wait for the crowd to confirm what the data has already started to show. Whether that reset arrives this summer or takes another quarter depends on how fast real-world asset narratives turn into capital flows.

AUTHOR

Max delves deep into the cryptocurrency realm, with a passion for altcoins and NFTs. Convinced of crypto's transformative potential, he envisions a decentralized financial future. Max's background in the financial sector grants him unique insights into global monetary systems. In his leisure, Max embraces the thrill of adventures and is an avid sports enthusiast, finding balance and rejuvenation away from work.

Chainlink (LINK), which has recently been under selling pressure in the cryptocurrency market, continues to expand its investor base despite its weak price performance.

According to recent data shared by the on-chain analytics platform Santiment, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of wallet addresses holding LINK in recent days. The data shows that in the last five days, the number of LINK wallets with a balance above zero has increased by more than 8,000, reaching 892,800.

According to market data, Chainlink’s native token, LINK, is trading at $7.29 at the time of writing. Despite losing approximately 6.84% of its value over the past seven days, investor interest in the project remains high. The increase in the number of wallets, in particular, suggests that some market participants view the current price levels as a long-term investment opportunity.

In on-chain analytics, the number of wallet addresses with balances greater than zero is a closely watched indicator for measuring the adoption level and investor interest of a cryptocurrency. While this increase can stem from new investor inflows as well as existing users distributing their assets across different wallets, the overall picture suggests that activity on the network is strengthening.

Chainlink is considered one of the most important projects in the sector with its decentralized oracle infrastructure that connects blockchain networks with real-world data. Used in many areas such as decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, and transferring real-world assets to the blockchain, the project continues to play a critical role in the ecosystem.

Market analysts say that despite the short-term weakness in the LINK price, the steady increase in the number of wallets could be a positive indicator supporting long-term investor confidence. However, experts emphasize that investment decisions should not be based solely on the number of addresses, and that other fundamental indicators such as transaction volume, network usage, and overall market conditions should also be considered.

*This is not investment advice.

Follow our Telegram and Twitter account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!

HomeStock IdeasLong IdeasFinancials 

SummaryeToro Group Ltd. (ETOR) remains a buy as its multi-asset platform demonstrates resilience and user stickiness beyond crypto cycles.ETOR’s Q1 2026 saw 12% y/y funded account growth and 15% y/y AUA growth, with commodities driving a fourfold increase in trading volumes.ETOR’s expanding product suite, including 24/7 trading and wealth products, aims to deepen user engagement and diversify monetization.At ~13x forward PE, ETOR trades at a significant discount to peers, with upside potential if its multi-asset model continues to deliver. Getty Images

Investment action I upgraded eToro Group Ltd. (ETOR) to buy previously because the stock had derated to a much more reasonable multiple, while the business was showing better user growth, more ecosystem stickiness, and a more resilient earnings

471 Followers

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.

Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA.

HomeStock IdeasLong IdeasTech 

SummarySeagate Technology surged 241% since my last coverage, dramatically outperforming the benchmark's 7%.I remain bullish on STX, citing revolutionary AI-driven demand and ongoing catalysts in the data center and memory markets.I downgrade STX to Buy from Strong Buy, as much of the upside may be reflected in the current price.Despite the rally, I see potential for additional upside, though risks of a pullback remain. Just_Super/iStock via Getty Images

Sure enough, Seagate Technology (STX) was one of my best calls over the past year. The stock surged 241% since my previous coverage. And has dramatically outperformed the benchmark versus its 7%.

Do I still feel bullish? Quite frankly, I do. Personally, I view

2K Followers

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, but may initiate a beneficial Long position through a purchase of the stock, or the purchase of call options or similar derivatives in STX over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Waste Connections, Inc. (TSX/NYSE: WCN) (“Waste Connections” or the “Company”) today announced its results for the first quarter of 2026.

“We’re extremely pleased by the strong start to 2026 and remain well-positioned for the full year, with upside potential from commodity-related impacts, solid waste organic growth and additional acquisitions. On revenue and adjusted EBITDA above our expectations, we delivered adjusted EBITDA(a) margin of 32.5% in spite of outsized weather events and in advance of recovering higher fuel costs,” said Ronald J. Mittelstaedt, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“In spite of geopolitical instability, our results reflect consistency of execution as we continue to benefit from operating momentum from improved employee engagement, with safety performance at record levels and voluntary turnover now below 10%,” continued Mr. Mittelstaedt. “Moreover, we should be well-positioned for incremental benefits from higher fuel and other commodities, as well as strong pricing retention and increased special waste activity, and also longer term as a result of our expanding use of A.I. through technology-related investments.”

Mr. Mittelstaedt concluded, “Finally, we continue to anticipate another outsized year of acquisition activity, given a robust pipeline, along with increasing return of capital to shareholders, including year-to-date share repurchases of over $360 million or approximately 1% of shares outstanding.”

Q1 2026 Results

Revenue in the first quarter totaled $2.371 billion, up from $2.228 billion in the prior year period. Operating income was $364.1 million, which included $80.4 million primarily in impairments related to adjustments to landfill closure and post closure costs. This compares to operating income of $390.2 million in the prior year period, which included $20.2 million primarily in transaction-related expenses, impairments and other operating items and fair value accounting changes associated with certain equity awards. Net income in the first quarter was $219.3 million, or $0.86 per share on a diluted basis of 255.9 million shares. In the prior year period, the Company reported net income of $241.5 million, or $0.93 per share on a diluted basis of 258.9 million shares.

Adjusted net income(a) in the first quarter was $314.9 million, or $1.23 per diluted share, up from $293.1 million, or $1.13 per diluted share, in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA(a) in the first quarter was $769.5 million, up from $712.2 million in the prior year period. Adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA, all non-GAAP measures, primarily exclude impairments and transaction-related items, as reflected in the detailed reconciliations in the attached tables.

Q1 2026 Earnings Conference Call

Waste Connections will be hosting a conference call related to first quarter earnings on April 23rd at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time. A live audio webcast of the conference call can be accessed by visiting investors.wasteconnections.com and selecting "Events & Presentations" from the website menu. Alternatively, conference call participants can preregister by clicking here. Registered participants will receive dial-in instructions and a personalized code for entry to the conference call. Shortly after the conclusion of the conference call, a webcast replay will be available on the Waste Connections investor website or by clicking here.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (wasteconnections.com) is an integrated solid waste services company that provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer and disposal services, including by rail, along with resource recovery primarily through recycling and renewable fuels generation. The Company serves approximately nine million residential, commercial and industrial customers in mostly exclusive and secondary markets across 46 states in the U.S. and six provinces in Canada. Waste Connections also provides non-hazardous oilfield waste treatment, recovery and disposal services in several basins across the U.S. and Canada, as well as intermodal services for the movement of cargo and solid waste containers in the Pacific Northwest. Waste Connections views its Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) efforts as integral to its business, with initiatives consistent with its objective of long-term value creation and focused on reducing emissions, increasing resource recovery of both recyclable commodities and clean energy fuels, reducing reliance on off-site disposal for landfill leachate, further improving safety and enhancing employee engagement. Visit wasteconnections.com/sustainability for more information and updates on our progress towards targeted achievement.

Safe Harbor and Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("PSLRA"), including "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. These forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance and reflect Waste Connections' current beliefs and expectations regarding future events and operating performance. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the words "may," "might," "believes," "thinks," "expects," "estimate," "continue," "intends" or other words of similar meaning. All of the forward-looking statements included in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the PSLRA and applicable securities laws in Canada. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about expected 2026 financial results, outlook and related assumptions, and potential acquisition activity. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ, possibly materially, from those indicated by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risk factors detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the SEC and the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in Canada. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Waste Connections undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements set forth in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, unless required by applicable securities laws.

– financial tables attached –

WASTE CONNECTIONS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF NET INCOME

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2025 AND 2026

(Unaudited)

(in thousands of U.S. dollars, except share and per share amounts)

Three months ended
March 31,

2025

2026

Revenues

$

2,228,176

$

2,370,631

Operating expenses:

Cost of operations

1,291,443

1,361,099

Selling, general and administrative

250,134

251,119

Depreciation

242,307

267,485

Amortization of intangibles

47,642

47,264

Impairments and other operating items

6,440

79,584

Operating income

390,210

364,080

Interest expense

(80,875

)

(87,719

)

Interest income

1,770

3,113

Other income, net

1,872

4,085

Income before income tax provision

312,977

283,559

Income tax provision

(71,467

)

(64,215

)

Net income

$

241,510

$

219,344

Earnings per common share:

Basic

$

0.94

$

0.86

Diluted

$

0.93

$

0.86

Shares used in the per share calculations:

Basic

258,193,975

255,347,786

Diluted

258,904,806

255,873,686

Cash dividends per common share

$

0.315

$

0.350

WASTE CONNECTIONS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands of U.S. dollars, except share and per share amounts)

December 31,
2025

March 31,
2026

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and equivalents

$

45,968

$

112,447

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses of $21,402 and $27,828 at December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2026, respectively

1,024,992

1,033,086

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

240,603

230,786

Total current assets

1,311,563

1,376,319

Restricted cash

183,612

210,199

Restricted investments

80,757

80,397

Property and equipment, net

8,733,327

8,714,069

Operating lease right-of-use assets

312,508

324,034

Goodwill

8,392,249

8,414,577

Intangible assets, net

2,006,200

1,959,957

Other assets, net

109,147

106,803

Total assets

$

21,129,363

$

21,186,355

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

$

765,227

$

712,423

Book overdraft

14,674

8,560

Deferred revenue

416,025

424,835

Accrued liabilities

810,367

745,013

Current portion of operating lease liabilities

44,272

46,335

Current portion of contingent consideration

65,029

61,945

Current portion of long-term debt and notes payable

8,667

8,355

Total current liabilities

2,124,261

2,007,466

Long-term portion of debt and notes payable

8,811,104

9,093,831

Long-term portion of operating lease liabilities

267,000

278,167

Long-term portion of contingent consideration

19,667

19,216

Deferred income taxes

1,085,613

1,113,470

Other long-term liabilities

576,337

616,586

Total liabilities

12,883,982

13,128,736

Commitments and contingencies

Shareholders’ equity:

Common shares: Unlimited shares authorized; 255,661,011 shares issued and 255,614,663 shares outstanding at December 31, 2025; 254,260,257 shares issued and 254,213,909 shares outstanding at March 31, 2026

2,783,431

2,502,503

Additional paid-in capital

373,239

366,546

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(111,044

)

(141,783

)

Treasury shares: 46,348 and 46,348 shares at December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2026, respectively

-

-

Retained earnings

5,199,755

5,330,353

Total shareholders’ equity

8,245,381

8,057,619

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

$

21,129,363

$

21,186,355

WASTE CONNECTIONS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2025 AND 2026

(Unaudited)

(in thousands of U.S. dollars)

Three months ended March 31,

2025

2026

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income

$

241,510

$

219,344

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Loss from disposal of assets, impairments and other

7,778

2,519

Adjustments to closure and post-closure liabilities

-

76,845

Depreciation

242,307

267,485

Amortization of intangibles

47,642

47,264

Deferred income taxes, net of acquisitions

36,165

28,537

Current period provision for expected credit losses

2,470

12,105

Amortization of debt issuance costs

2,034

2,163

Share-based compensation

23,438

17,587

Interest accretion

12,737

11,200

Adjustments to contingent consideration

(1,500

)

-

Other

(1,013

)

127

Net change in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions

(72,029

)

(139,578

)

Net cash provided by operating activities

541,539

545,598

Cash flows from investing activities:

Payments for acquisitions, net of cash acquired

(380,417

)

(63,087

)

Capital expenditures for property and equipment

(212,455

)

(296,596

)

Proceeds from disposal of assets

969

1,779

Other

(11,308

)

2,203

Net cash used in investing activities

(603,211

)

(355,701

)

Cash flows from financing activities:

Proceeds from long-term debt

782,904

1,156,176

Principal payments on notes payable and long-term debt

(541,737

)

(843,898

)

Payment of contingent consideration recorded at acquisition date

(20,137

)

(4,108

)

Change in book overdraft

(110

)

(6,114

)

Payments for repurchase of common shares

-

(283,959

)

Payments for cash dividends

(81,477

)

(88,746

)

Tax withholdings related to net share settlements of equity-based compensation

(28,981

)

(24,515

)

Debt issuance costs

-

(4,008

)

Proceeds from issuance of shares under employee share purchase plan

2,593

3,031

Proceeds from sale of common shares held in trust

324

-

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

113,379

(96,141

)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

(434

)

(690

)

Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

51,273

93,066

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period

198,173

229,580

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period

$

249,446

$

322,646

ADDITIONAL STATISTICS
(in thousands of U.S. dollars, except where noted)

Solid Waste Internal Growth: The following table reflects a breakdown of the components of our solid waste internal growth for the three months ended March 31, 2026:

  Three months ended

March 31, 2026

Yield(a)

4.7

%

Surcharges

(0.1

%)

Unit Volume(a)

(1.5

%)

Recycling

(0.5

%)

Foreign Exchange Impact

0.5

%

Total

3.1

%

Core Price(b)

6.0

%

Revenue Breakdown: The following table reflects a breakdown of our revenue for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2026:

Three months ended March 31, 2025

Revenue

Inter-company
Elimination

Reported
Revenue

%

Solid Waste Collection

$

1,621,077

$

(4,536

)

$

1,616,541

72.5

%

Solid Waste Disposal and Transfer

658,023

(296,282

)

361,741

16.2

%

Solid Waste Recycling

61,341

(2,084

)

59,257

2.7

%

E&P Waste Treatment, Recovery and Disposal

150,899

(6,374

)

144,525

6.5

%

Intermodal and Other

46,549

(437

)

46,112

2.1

%

Total

$

2,537,889

$

(309,713

)

$

2,228,176

100.0

%

Three months ended March 31, 2026

Revenue

Inter-company
Elimination

Reported
Revenue

%

Solid Waste Collection

$

1,709,628

$

(5,182

)

$

1,704,446

71.9

%

Solid Waste Disposal and Transfer

714,624

(328,515

)

386,109

16.3

%

Solid Waste Recycling

53,649

(2,061

)

51,588

2.2

%

E&P Waste Treatment, Recovery and Disposal

187,572

(8,013

)

179,559

7.6

%

Intermodal and Other

49,346

(417

)

48,929

2.0

%

Total

$

2,714,819

$

(344,188

)

$

2,370,631

100.0

%

ADDITIONAL STATISTICS (continued)

(in thousands of U.S. dollars, except where noted)

Contribution from Acquisitions: The following table reflects revenues from acquisitions, net of divestitures, for the three- month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2026:

  Three months ended
March 31,

2025

2026

Acquisitions, net

$

129,298

$

55,253

Other Cash Flow Items: The following table reflects cash interest and cash taxes for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2026:

Three months ended
March 31,

2025

2026

Cash Interest Paid

$

84,154

$

108,244

Cash Taxes Paid

22,176

21,873

  Debt to Book Capitalization at March 31, 2026: 53%

Internalization for the three months ended March 31, 2026: 60%

Days Sales Outstanding for the three months ended March 31, 2026: 39 (23 net of deferred revenue)

Share Information for the three months ended March 31, 2026:

  Basic shares outstanding

255,347,786

Dilutive effect of equity-based awards

525,900

Diluted shares outstanding

255,873,686

NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION SCHEDULE
(in thousands of U.S. dollars, except where noted)

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA:

Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, is provided supplementally because it is widely used by investors as a performance and valuation measure in the solid waste industry. Management uses adjusted EBITDA as one of the principal measures to evaluate and monitor the ongoing financial performance of Waste Connections’ operations. Waste Connections defines adjusted EBITDA as net income, plus income tax provision, plus interest expense, less interest income, plus depreciation and amortization expense, plus closure and post-closure accretion expense, plus or minus any loss or gain on impairments and other operating items, plus other expense, less other income. Waste Connections further adjusts this calculation to exclude the effects of other items management believes impact the ability to assess the operating performance of its business. This measure is not a substitute for, and should be used in conjunction with, GAAP financial measures. Other companies may calculate adjusted EBITDA differently.

  Three months ended
March 31,

2025

2026

Net income

$

241,510

$

219,344

Plus: Income tax provision

71,467

64,215

Plus: Interest expense

80,875

87,719

Less: Interest income

(1,770)

(3,113)

Plus: Depreciation and amortization

289,949

314,749

Plus: Closure and post-closure accretion

11,874

10,291

Plus: Impairments and other operating items

6,440

79,584

Less: Other income, net

(1,872)

(4,085)

Adjustments:

Plus: Transaction-related expenses(a)

11,970

2,360

Plus/(Less): Fair value changes to equity awards(b)

1,770

(1,536)

Adjusted EBITDA

$

712,213

$

769,528

As % of revenues

32.0%

32.5%

NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION SCHEDULE (continued)
(in thousands of U.S. dollars, except where noted)

Reconciliation of Adjusted Free Cash Flow:

Adjusted free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure, is provided supplementally because it is widely used by investors as a liquidity measure in the solid waste industry. Waste Connections calculates adjusted free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities, plus or minus change in book overdraft, plus proceeds from disposal of assets, less capital expenditures for property and equipment. Waste Connections further adjusts this calculation to exclude the effects of items management believes impact the ability to evaluate the liquidity of its business operations. This measure is not a substitute for, and should be used in conjunction with, GAAP liquidity or financial measures. Other companies may calculate adjusted free cash flow differently.

  Three months ended
March 31,

2025

2026

Net cash provided by operating activities

$

541,539

$

545,598

Less: Change in book overdraft

(110

)

(6,114

)

Plus: Proceeds from disposal of assets

969

1,779

Less: Capital expenditures for property and equipment

(212,455

)

(296,596

)

Adjustments:

Transaction-related expenses(a)

2,392

1,614

Pre-existing Progressive Waste share-based grants(b)

16

-

Executive separation costs(c)

449

-

Tax effect(d)

(725

)

(404

)

Adjusted free cash flow

$

332,075

$

245,877

As % of revenues

14.9

%

10.4

%

NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION SCHEDULE (continued)

(in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts)

Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income per Diluted Share:

Adjusted net income and adjusted net income per diluted share, both non-GAAP financial measures, are provided supplementally because they are widely used by investors as valuation measures in the solid waste industry. Management uses adjusted net income and adjusted net income per diluted share as one of the principal measures to evaluate and monitor the ongoing financial performance of Waste Connections’ operations. Waste Connections provides adjusted net income to exclude the effects of items management believes impact the comparability of operating results between periods. Adjusted net income has limitations due to the fact that it excludes items that have an impact on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Adjusted net income and adjusted net income per diluted share are not a substitute for, and should be used in conjunction with, GAAP financial measures. Other companies may calculate these non-GAAP financial measures differently.

  Three months ended
March 31,

2025

2026

Reported net income

$

241,510

$

219,344

Adjustments:

Amortization of intangibles(a)

47,642

47,264

Impairments and other operating items(b)

6,440

79,584

Transaction-related expenses(c)

11,970

2,360

Fair value changes to equity awards(d)

1,770

(1,536

)

Tax effect(e)

(16,212

)

(32,136

)

Adjusted net income

$

293,120

$

314,880

Diluted earnings per common share:

Reported net income

$

0.93

$

0.86

Adjusted net income

$

1.13

$

1.23

More News From Waste Connections, Inc.

Waste Connections, Inc. (TSE: WCN - Get Free Report) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$224.90 and traded as low as C$212.17. Waste Connections shares last traded at C$213.71, with a volume of 385,135 shares trading hands. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 24th, 2026

Cwm LLC grew its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN – Free Report) by 894.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,985 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 55.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,603,000 after acquiring an additional 711,990 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 19.5% during the third quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,780,000 after purchasing an additional 26,684 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $1,908,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD now owns 88,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,529,000 after purchasing an additional 29,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 770.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,112,000 after purchasing an additional 50,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 8.0% Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $169.02 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.90 and a 52-week high of $199.78. The stock has a market cap of $43.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.22, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $164.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.89.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 10.97%.The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 33.57%.

Waste Connections News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Connections this week:

Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat consensus (EPS $1.23 vs $1.19) and adjusted EBITDA/margin came in above expectations, supporting near‑term cash generation. Waste Connections Reports First Quarter 2026 Results Positive Sentiment: Management reaffirmed full‑year free cash flow guidance of $1.4B–$1.45B and said it expects roughly $100M of M&A revenue closings by end of Q2/early Q3 — both points that support buyback/dividend flexibility and future growth. M&A revenue closings and FCF guidance Positive Sentiment: Board declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.35/share (record May 6, pay May 21), which supports total return for income‑oriented holders. Dividend announcement Neutral Sentiment: Company highlighted pricing initiatives and AI pilots (pricing/route optimization) and special‑waste lift results that could help margins over time, but benefits are not yet fully reflected in results. Deep dive on pricing and AI Neutral Sentiment: The Q1 earnings call transcript provides detail on commodity impacts, organic growth and acquisition pipeline—useful for modeling but not an immediate stock catalyst. Earnings call transcript Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed Street expectations ($2.33B vs. ~$2.50B consensus) and reported net profit declined year‑over‑year (Q1 profit $219.3M vs $241.5M), highlighting near‑term demand/mix pressure. Profit down YoY Negative Sentiment: Management cited margin pressure from special‑waste mix and cost dynamics—these headwinds could cap near‑term margin expansion if they persist. Margin commentary Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth WCN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down from $219.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.24.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on WCN

About Waste Connections (Free Report)

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.

Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Waste Connections

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

« PREVIOUS HEADLINEAGP Franklin LLC Invests $1.03 Million in Steel Dynamics, Inc. $STLD

NEXT HEADLINE »Arizona State Retirement System Sells 9,739 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated $UNH

Waste Connections beat Q1'26 earnings estimates as revenues rise, fueled by acquisitions and pricing moves. Yet, a low current ratio flags liquidity strain.

For new and old investors, taking full advantage of the stock market and investing with confidence are common goals. Zacks Premium provides lots of different ways to do both.

The popular research service can help you become a smarter, more self-assured investor, giving you access to daily updates of the Zacks Rank and Zacks Industry Rank, the Zacks #1 Rank List, Equity Research reports, and Premium stock screens.

Zacks Premium includes access to the Zacks Style Scores as well.

What are the Zacks Style Scores? The Zacks Style Scores, developed alongside the Zacks Rank, are complementary indicators that rate stocks based on three widely-followed investing methodologies; they also help investors pick stocks with the best chances of beating the market over the next 30 days.

Based on their value, growth, and momentum characteristics, each stock is assigned a rating of A, B, C, D, or F. The better the score, the better chance the stock will outperform; an A is better than a B, a B is better than a C, and so on.

The Style Scores are broken down into four categories:

Value ScoreFinding good stocks at good prices, and discovering which companies are trading under their true value, are what value investors like to focus on. So, the Value Style Score takes into account ratios like P/E, PEG, Price/Sales, Price/Cash Flow, and a host of other multiples to highlight the most attractive and discounted stocks.

Growth ScoreGrowth investors, on the other hand, are more concerned with a company's financial strength and health, and its future outlook. The Growth Style Score examines things like projected and historic earnings, sales, and cash flow to find stocks that will experience sustainable growth over time.

Momentum ScoreMomentum traders and investors live by the saying "the trend is your friend." This investing style is all about taking advantage of upward or downward trends in a stock's price or earnings outlook. Employing factors like one-week price change and the monthly percentage change in earnings estimates, the Momentum Style Score can indicate favorable times to build a position in high-momentum stocks.

VGM ScoreIf you want a combination of all three Style Scores, then the VGM Score will be your friend. It rates each stock on their combined weighted styles, helping you find the companies with the most attractive value, best growth forecast, and most promising momentum. It's also one of the best indicators to use with the Zacks Rank.

How Style Scores Work with the Zacks Rank The Zacks Rank, which is a proprietary stock-rating model, employs earnings estimate revisions, or changes to a company's earnings expectations, to make building a winning portfolio easier.

It's highly successful, with #1 (Strong Buy) stocks producing an unmatched +23.7% average annual return since 1988. That's more than double the S&P 500. But because of the large number of stocks we rate, there are over 200 companies with a Strong Buy rank, plus another 600 with a #2 (Buy) rank, on any given day.

With more than 800 top-rated stocks to choose from, it can certainly feel overwhelming to pick the ones that are right for you and your investing journey.

That's where the Style Scores come in.

To maximize your returns, you want to buy stocks with the highest probability of success. This means picking stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 or #2 that also have Style Scores of A or B. If you find yourself looking at stocks with a #3 (Hold) rank, make sure they have Scores of A or B as well to ensure as much upside potential as possible.

The direction of a stock's earnings estimate revisions should always be a key factor when choosing which stocks to buy, since the Scores were created to work together with the Zacks Rank.

A stock with a #4 (Sell) or #5 (Strong Sell) rating, for instance, even one with Scores of A and B, will still have a declining earnings forecast, and a greater chance its share price will fall too.

Thus, the more stocks you own with a #1 or #2 Rank and Scores of A or B, the better.

Stock to Watch: Waste Connections (WCN - Free Report) Waste Connections is an integrated solid waste services company that provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling services across the U.S. and Canada. The company offers non-hazardous oilfield waste treatment, recovery, and disposal services in several of the active natural resource-producing areas in the United States, including the Permian, Bakken, and Eagle Ford Basins through its R360 Environmental Solutions subsidiary.

WCN is a #3 (Hold) on the Zacks Rank, with a VGM Score of B.

Additionally, the company could be a top pick for growth investors. WCN has a Growth Style Score of B, forecasting year-over-year earnings growth of 6.8% for the current fiscal year.

Seven analysts revised their earnings estimate higher in the last 60 days for fiscal 2026, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased $0.00 to $5.50 per share. WCN also boasts an average earnings surprise of +2.9%.

With a solid Zacks Rank and top-tier Growth and VGM Style Scores, WCN should be on investors' short list.

The popular clickbait framing of "recession-resistant" stocks often points to consumer staples and utilities. That is not wrong, but it skips two of the more durable and boring cash-flow profiles in the public market -- solid waste collection and contracted global infrastructure.

Both businesses get paid on volumes, and price escalators that hold up across cycles, and both pay growing dividends. Neither is a household stock, which is partly why they are still trading at reasonable levels.

Image source: Getty Images.

A garbage business with a software-like financial profile Waste Connections (WCN 0.46%) is the third-largest solid waste company in North America, but its operating philosophy reads more like a focused services compounder than a commodity hauler. The business is built around secondary and exclusive markets -- smaller cities and contracted municipalities where pricing power is durable, and competition is limited.

In February 2026, the company announced its regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per share, with the board's stated long-term objective of increasing the dividend annually. The yield is modest in absolute terms, but the relevant data point is the dividend growth rate over time, which has compounded at a double-digit pace for years.

What makes the business genuinely recession-resistant is the contract structure. Residential collection is essentially non-discretionary; commercial pricing often includes automatic escalators tied to the computer price index (CPI) or fuel indexes; and landfill capacity in many markets is approaching scarcity, which supports pricing. Recycling and energy services round out the mix without changing the underlying durability.

The risks worth flagging are mostly operational and acquisition-driven. Waste Connections grows by buying smaller haulers, and any large deal carries integration risk. Diesel and labor inflation also eat into margins faster than price escalators close the gap, which has been a periodic headwind. This stock is essentially recession-proof and pays a consistent dividend. It's a safe buy even in this shaky economy.

Today's Change

(

-0.46

%) $

-0.77

Current Price

$

167.13

A globally diversified infrastructure cash-flow machine Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP 0.30%) offers a very different shape of recession resistance. The partnership owns long-duration, mostly contracted or regulated assets across utilities, transport, midstream, and data infrastructure on four continents. Roughly 90% of cash flows are either inflation-indexed or subject to regulatory frameworks, meaning revenue tends to grow regardless of the economy's cycle.

In April 2026, Brookfield Infrastructure reported first-quarter results and declared a quarterly distribution of $0.455 per unit, representing a 6% increase over the prior year. For newer investors, the unit/corporation structure means the company offers both a partnership unit and a corporate share class -- same economics, different tax treatment, useful flexibility depending on the account type.

The more interesting forward driver here is data infrastructure. Brookfield has steadily built out exposure to data centers, fiber networks, and tower portfolios, which positions a defensive cash-flow business as a side-door way to invest in the AI build-out. Hyperscalers signing long-dated capacity contracts look very similar economically to a regulated utility -- fixed payments, long terms, inflation-linked escalators -- and that is exactly what Brookfield's contracts tend to look like to me.

Today's Change

(

-0.30

%) $

-0.11

Current Price

$

36.49

Why valuation still works Both names trade below their long-term valuation peaks while continuing to grow distributions. Waste Connections sets dividend reviews each October with an explicit growth bias, and Brookfield's 6% distribution hike continues a long string of annual increases. For an income-focused investor building a position that can survive a real economic slowdown, those are the kinds of consistent dividend growth signals that matter more than the headline yield.

Recession-resistant does not have to mean boring or expensive. Waste Connections delivers software-like predictability from a famously old-economy business, and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners offers globally diversified contracted cash flows with a meaningful and growing data-infrastructure tilt. Both have reasonable entry points before the broader market figures out how durable they actually are.

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Waste Connections (WCN - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 7.8% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Waste Connections due for a breakout? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for Waste Connections, Inc. before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.

Waste Connections Beats on Q1 EarningsWaste Connections, Inc. reported impressive first-quarter 2026 results, with both earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

WCN’s first-quarter earnings of $1.23 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.4% and increased 8.9% year over year. Total revenues came in at $2.4 billion, marginally surpassing the consensus estimate and rising 6.4% from the year-ago quarter.

WCN’s Q1 Segmental InformationThe company logged $1.7 billion in revenues from the Solid Waste Collection segment, which gained 5.4% year over year. In the Solid Waste Disposal and Transfer segment, revenues increased 6.7% from the year-ago quarter to $386.1 million. These segments improved, backed by solid core pricing.

The Solid Waste Recycling segment witnessed a 12.9% year-over-year decline in revenues to $51.6 million. For the E&P Waste Treatment, Recovery and Disposal segment, revenues totaled $179.5 million, marking a 24.2% year-over-year increase. The Intermodal and Other segment recorded $49 million in revenues, up 6.1% from the year-ago quarter.

WCN’s Operating ResultsAdjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter was $769.5 million, up 8% from the year-ago quarter. The adjusted EBITDA margin was 32.5%, up 50 basis points from the first quarter of 2025.

The company recorded an operating income of $390.2 million, which rose 7.1% from the year-ago quarter’s recorded figure.

Key Balance Sheet & Cash Flow MetricsWaste Connections exited the first quarter of 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of $112.4 million, up from $46 million in the preceding quarter. The long-term portion of debt and notes payable was $9 billion, compared with $8.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.

In the reported quarter, WCN generated $546 million in cash from operating activities. The adjusted free cash flow was $245.9 million. Capital expenditure totaled $296.6 million. The company paid out $88.7 million in dividends during the quarter.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates.

VGM ScoresCurrently, Waste Connections has a average Growth Score of C, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a D. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a score of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Interestingly, Waste Connections has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

-

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Waste Connections, Inc. (TSX/NYSE: WCN) (“Waste Connections” or the “Company”) today announced that it will report financial results for the second quarter of 2026 after the close of the stock market on July 22, 2026. The Company will be hosting an investor conference call related to this release on July 23rd at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time.

A live audio webcast of the conference call can be accessed by visiting investors.wasteconnections.com and selecting "Events & Presentations" from the website menu. Alternatively, conference call participants can preregister by clicking here. Registered participants will receive dial-in instructions and a personalized code for entry to the conference call. Shortly after the conclusion of the conference call, a webcast replay will be available on the Waste Connections investor website or by clicking here.

Waste Connections may participate in investor conferences and presentations throughout the year. A schedule of investor events can be found by visiting investors.wasteconnections.com. During the 24-hour period prior to any scheduled presentations, the Company will post any presentation slides on its website under “Events & Presentations.”

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (wasteconnections.com) is an integrated solid waste services company that provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer and disposal services, including by rail, along with resource recovery primarily through recycling and renewable fuels generation. The Company serves approximately nine million residential, commercial and industrial customers in mostly exclusive and secondary markets across 46 states in the U.S. and six provinces in Canada. Waste Connections also provides non-hazardous oilfield waste treatment, recovery and disposal services in several basins across the U.S. and Canada, as well as intermodal services for the movement of cargo and solid waste containers in the Pacific Northwest. Waste Connections views its Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) efforts as integral to its business, with initiatives consistent with its objective of long-term value creation and focused on reducing emissions, increasing resource recovery of both recyclable commodities and clean energy fuels, reducing reliance on off-site disposal for landfill leachate, further improving safety and enhancing employee engagement. Visit wasteconnections.com/sustainability for more information and updates on our progress towards targeted achievement.

More News From Waste Connections, Inc.

Back to Newsroom

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

This adage can sometimes be true with investing. However, in recent years, the biggest stocks have done more hard rising than they have hard falling. Three of the so-called "Magnificent Seven" stocks have more than doubled in the past five years. All seven now have significantly larger market caps than in 2021.

Which Magnificent Seven members are most likely to double by 2030? Here's an admittedly speculative ranking of each stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Nvidia I think that Nvidia (NVDA +1.30%) arguably has the clearest path to doubling over the next four and a half years. That might be at least a little surprising, considering that Nvidia is currently the world's largest company by market cap.

However, Nvidia's GPUs remain the gold standard for running artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The company continues to introduce more powerful chips every year. Its market dominance is unlikely to erode anytime soon.

Today's Change

(

1.30

%) $

2.50

Current Price

$

195.03

Agentic AI presents a huge growth opportunity for Nvidia. So do robotic systems and self-driving cars. No other company is as strongly positioned to benefit as these technologies gain momentum.

2. Alphabet Sure, the narrative for Alphabet (GOOG +4.96%) (GOOGL +4.79%) has turned negative in recent weeks, particularly with the departures of two key AI leaders to rivals. However, the Google parent's growth prospects remain strong.

Google Cloud is the fastest-growing major cloud service provider. Gemini continues to hold its own as one of the most powerful AI models. Waymo is the leading autonomous ride-hailing service. Google Quantum AI ranks among the most influential innovators in quantum computing. It doesn't hurt matters that Alphabet is also now a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +0.59%), attracting more buying from funds.

3. Meta Platforms Meta Platforms (META +2.27%) might be the Rodney Dangerfield of the Magnificent Seven: It "don't get no respect" -- at least not as much respect as it deserves. But I think Meta has a realistic shot at doubling by the end of 2030.

For one thing, the stock's valuation is attractive with shares trading at only 17.5 times forward earnings. Meta's revenue continues to accelerate, fueled by AI-powered ad optimization. The company's opportunities in WhatsApp business messaging are enormous. Its smart glasses could also become an even bigger growth driver over the next few years.

4. Amazon Amazon (AMZN +3.23%) is the worst-performing Magnificent Seven stock over the last five years. However, I wouldn't bet against the e-commerce and cloud giant delivering a 100% return over the next five years.

Today's Change

(

3.23

%) $

7.52

Current Price

$

240.21

The reacceleration of growth for Amazon Web Services (AWS) is impressive. I think the agentic AI tailwind for both Nvidia and Alphabet's Google Cloud will also blow strongly for AWS. Amazon's e-commerce margins continue to improve, thanks to automation and AI. Advertising revenue is growing by leaps and bounds. Amazon also has a new significant growth driver on the way with its Leo satellite internet services business.

5. Microsoft Could Microsoft (MSFT 1.13%) double by 2030? I think it's possible. Its Azure cloud platform will almost certainly enjoy strong growth over the next few years.

However, Microsoft isn't the center of the AI universe like Nvidia. It doesn't have the obvious new growth drivers that Alphabet and Amazon do. Still, though, the stock's sell-off in recent months gives Microsoft a better chance of doubling now than it had at its peak last year.

6. Apple Warren Buffett once said that Apple (AAPL 0.76%) was "probably the best business I know in the world." His view is probably still right. Apple's iPhone ecosystem is nothing short of remarkable. The company is a cash cow.

The two main knocks against Apple, though, are: (1) size, and (2) growth. Apple's market cap already hovers around $4.2 trillion. Its growth trajectory, although improving, seems unlikely to propel the company to an $8.4 trillion valuation by 2030. That said, I think that Apple could still be a solid stock to own over the next five years, especially as it launches exciting new products such as its highly anticipated smart glasses.

7. Tesla And then we get to Tesla (TSLA +8.49%). I have ranked the Elon Musk-led company last primarily because the electric vehicle (EV) market has become much more challenging than it was a few years ago. EV demand has slowed, while competition has intensified. Tesla's valuation is also concerning, with a forward earnings multiple of 196.

Today's Change

(

8.49

%) $

32.23

Current Price

$

411.94

I also think there's a real chance that Musk decides to merge Tesla with Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +7.18%). If he does, don't look for the deal to value Tesla at twice its current market cap.

Still, I don't dismiss the possibility that Tesla might double by 2030. The company could finally deliver on its potential in the robotaxi market. Tesla could also excite investors if it begins marketing Optimus humanoid robots by the end of the decade at a price point that enables widespread adoption.

Keith Speights has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

In recent years, everyone has been talking about graphics processing units (GPUs). That's because these are the chips that power crucial artificial intelligence (AI) tasks like the training of large language models. Companies with expertise here saw their revenue soar. Two perfect examples are Nvidia (NVDA +1.30%) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD +3.42%).

Though Nvidia dominates the market, AMD is also present here and has benefited from this AI story. Now, however, another type of chip is emerging as a key player in AI. And that's the central processing unit (CPU) -- these are the main processors you'll find in every computer. As agentic AI emerges, it's become clear that the CPU might be the star. Agentic AI involves AI actually taking the steps, on behalf of humans, to solve a problem or problems. And the CPU offers exactly the kind of fuel needed to guide this process.

Nvidia and AMD are also present in the CPU market -- but it's important to note that in this area, AMD is a leader, while Nvidia is more of a newcomer. Which AI CPU stock is the better buy today? Let's find out.

Image source: Getty Images.

The case for Nvidia Nvidia has benefited greatly from the need for GPUs as this AI story unfolds. And this continues as GPUs are an integral part of the AI picture, and Nvidia's innovation helps it maintain its leadership. The company is launching its Vera Rubin platform this fall, and that should offer earnings and the stock price a boost.

Today's Change

(

1.30

%) $

2.50

Current Price

$

195.03

At the same time, Nvidia also is launching its first-ever stand-alone CPU, and the company says it aims for leadership in the $200 billion CPU market. Nvidia forecasts $20 billion in stand-alone CPU sales this year alone, showing incredible progress right out of the gate. At the same time, Nvidia also is going after the CPU for personal computing market. The company is launching a superchip this fall that includes a GPU and CPU -- this will be a premium price product, but the company plans on expanding into other price points in the future.

So it's clear that this AI leader has strong ambitions in the CPU market.

The case for AMD Though Intel is the global leader in CPUs, with nearly 60% market share, AMD comes in second with nearly 39% of the market. While it's true that Nvidia may take leadership in the CPU for data centers market, it might be more difficult for the AI giant to dominate in the PC market.

Today's Change

(

3.42

%) $

17.86

Current Price

$

539.44

In the desktop market, AMD's share, topping 52%, has even surpassed that of Intel. So, while Nvidia's CPU ambitions aren't the best news for AMD, this longtime CPU giant may not relinquish its position so easily. At the same time, with demand from agentic AI soaring, there's room for more than one company to generate growth.

We've seen this in the area of GPUs. AMD entered this market later than Nvidia, but it has still seen success, and that's likely to continue. In the recent quarter, the company said demand for AI infrastructure has picked up momentum, and data center is now the company's major earnings growth driver.

As mentioned, both of these companies are winning in the GPU market even though Nvidia remains the leader. Now, I think the same thing may happen in the CPU market -- there will be plenty of AI demand to generate revenue growth at Nvidia and AMD. As for which company will dominate, Nvidia might have the edge in the data center market, thanks to its current strengths there.

AMD might hold onto its PC leadership -- it may be tough for Nvidia to expand beyond the premium-priced models and win over the general PC market.

Still, I see both of these companies as winners of the AI boom over time. But the best buy now clearly is Nvidia, and that has to do with valuation. While AMD trades at 70x forward earnings estimates, Nvidia looks dirt cheap at only 21x estimates. So Nvidia offers investors a better CPU buying opportunity right now.

Global energy stocks have pulled back in the past few days as crude oil and natural gas prices slumped, and this trend may continue after Morgan Stanley warned of a global glut. Shell share price plunged to 2,900p on Monday, its lowest level since February, and 20% from the year-to-date high.

BP stock fell to 472p, down by 22% from the year-to-date high. Similarly, in France, TotalEnergies stock fell to 68 euros, 15% from its highest level in March. In the US, ExxonMobil and Chevron shares have all slumped by over 20% in this period, while the Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE) fell to $151 from the year-to-date high of $180.

These energy stocks are under intense pressure as crude oil prices continue falling. Brent crude dropped to $70 on Tuesday morning, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell to $69. 

Oil prices resumed their retreat after the US and Iran reached a deal to stop strikes that happened late last week. That deal means that more energy tankers are passing through the Strait of Hormuz this week.

As a result, there are fears that oil prices will continue falling in the near term. For example, in a note, analysts at Morgan Stanley warned of much lower prices as the world faces a glut. 

The bank expects that Brent will average $75 in the third and fourth quarters, down by $15 and $5 from the previous estimates. It expects that the average oil price will be $70 next year.

Other top analysts have slashed their oil forecasts. For example, Goldman Sachs revised the outlook for the fourth quarter to $80 per barrel, with WTI averaging $75. Citi sees oil prices averaging $75 a barrel, while JP Morgan sees it averaging $63 next year.

These estimates are likely optimistic as fundamentals and technicals suggest that prices have more downside to go. That’s because oil supply is expected to gain momentum in the coming months. This will happen at a time when demand destruction is taking place, meaning that prices may drop to $40 later this year.

Therefore, Shell, BP, Chevron, and TotalEnergies stocks have plunged in the past few months as investors predict that they will make less money in the second half of the year.

Estimates are these companies will see higher Q2 revenues as energy prices remained at an elevated level during the quarter. They will then start struggling and potentially reduce their buybacks in the next two quarters if oil prices continue falling.

In the last earnings report, Shell said that its profit jumped to $6.92 billion in Q1. The management then decided to slash its buyback to $3 billion, partly because of its decision to buy ARC Resources.

BP’s profit more than doubled to $3.2 billion in Q1, while TotalEnergies raised its buyback by over $1.5 billion. The situation was different in the United States, where Chevron and ExxonMobil reported weak earnings, with their profits falling sharply. 

Looking ahead, it is likely that these energy stocks will continue falling in the coming weeks as investors adjust to the new normal of low oil prices. 

Securities finance is one of the largest markets that almost nobody outside Wall Street thinks about, and it is already starting to move onchain. Lending against securities collateral is a multi-trillion-dollar business. Repo alone averages around $12.6 trillion in daily exposures in the U.S., margin lending sits at a record $1.3 trillion, and wealth-management securities-based loans add over $400 billion on top of that. Securities lending, counted separately, keeps roughly $4.6 trillion of assets on loan and generated a record $15 billion in revenue in 2025. Almost none of this activity touches a blockchain today, which presents an opportunity.

The best way to move it onchain is to get the market structure right. Between the borrower and the lender sits a stack of custodians, lending agents, tri-party collateral managers, prime brokers, and clearing houses. Each layer of the stack takes a fee, adds a settlement delay, and obscures information. Collateral gets trapped inside bilateral relationships, rehypothecation chains stretch out of view, and when something fails, nobody can see why for days. Every level of the stack creates work, friction, and cost.

Improving that market structure is what Aave V4 is built to do, and the onchain rails are already at scale. The stablecoin market has crossed $322 billion, Aave secures roughly $23 billion in liquidity, GHO is live as a native dollar for Aave, and Aave Horizon is past half a billion dollars in total deposits powering RWA-backed loans. The cash leg, the liquidity, and the collateral pipeline all exist now.

Why V4 fits V4 separates the system into liquidity hubs and spokes. A hub is a deep pool of capital, and spokes are the modular venues (i.e. markets) that plug into it, each with its own risk parameters, asset scope, and rules. That single design choice maps almost perfectly onto how a securities financing market wants to be organized, with shared liquidity underneath and segmented, compliant venues on top.

Three flows run through it, and together they are the market.

Securities backed lending A tokenized security is posted as collateral in a spoke with conservative, asset-specific haircuts, and the owner borrows GHO or stablecoins against it without selling. The position stays transparent, the haircut is explicit, and liquidation runs automatically rather than through a back office. The owner keeps the upside and unlocks the liquidity, and the bank balance sheet is freed up. This is already a $400 billion book in U.S. wealth management alone and still undeserved, and as real-world assets tokenize toward $16 trillion by 2030, every one of those assets becomes collateral that can be borrowed against instantly. Horizon has already grown past half a billion dollars in institutional RWA deposits, so the demand is clear. For the end user, liquidity arrives in minutes against tokenized collateral instead of through a bilateral facility negotiated over days, and the rate is transparent and set by a deep shared pool.

Repo This is the giant. Repo is short-dated, collateralized cash borrowing, mostly against Treasuries, and the U.S. market alone averages around $12.6 trillion in daily exposures. Onchain, repo is simply borrowing the stablecoin cash leg against tokenized securities in a low-risk hub, which is exactly what V4 is built to do. Atomic delivery-versus-payment removes settlement fails, terms become programmable and can run 24/7 rather than on the banking calendar, and the roughly $5 trillion of opaque non-centrally-cleared bilateral repo becomes transparent and continuously margined. The market that most needs clean settlement and live collateral visibility is the one V4 serves best.

Securities lending The tokenized security itself becomes a borrowable asset in a hub. Borrow demand from the short side and the settlement-coverage side pays a rate that flows straight back to the suppliers who own the asset, and the lending-agent function of matching, pricing, and collateral management collapses into the protocol. This is where the fee pool sits, with $15 billion in 2025 revenue against tens of trillions in lendable supply. Today lending agents keep roughly 20 to 30 percent of that revenue, several billion dollars a year skimmed before the owner sees a cent. Route the same flow through a protocol and that take compresses toward zero, with the spread accruing to the owner instead.

A proposed market structure There are two ways to lay this out, and both share the same spokes. They differ only in how the liquidity underneath is organized.

Option A: one shared Liquidity Hub A single liquidity hub acts as the settlement and collateral core. It holds the cash leg, keeps unified accounting of every position, prices collateral through oracles, so maximum depth lives in one place and is shared by everything above it.

Around it sit purpose-built spokes, each a venue with its own rulebook but the same liquidity underneath. An SBL spoke accepts tokenized securities as collateral and lets owners draw stablecoins or GHO against conservative, asset-class haircuts. SBL spoke can be divided into multiple spokes, depending on the risk. A repo spoke handles short-dated collateralized cash borrowing against high-quality securities, atomically settled and continuously margined. A securities-lending spoke lists tokenized securities as borrowable assets, with the borrow fee routing to the owners who supply them.

The strength of this layout is depth, since one pool means the deepest possible liquidity and the simplest accounting. The limitation is that risk lives in one place, so isolation has to be engineered at the spoke layer rather than being structural.

Option B: multiple hubs by asset category and risk The alternative is to run several liquidity hubs, each scoped to an asset category and a risk profile, and let spokes connect to more than one at once. A low-risk treasuries hub with tight haircuts is where most repo naturally lands, a medium-risk credit and money-market hub serves other needs, and a higher-risk equities hub carries wider haircuts and stricter liquidation thresholds. Each hub prices and isolates its own risk.

The spokes route across these hubs automatically. The repo spoke sends Treasury collateral to the treasuries hub, the SBL spoke sends an equity basket to the equities hub, and the same user sees one venue while the protocol places each position in the pool whose parameters fit.

This buys three things. Risk isolation becomes structural rather than configured, so a shock in equities can be contained without ever touching the treasuries pool that backs repo. Pricing gets sharper, because each hub sets rates and haircuts for one risk profile instead of blending many. And regulatory separation gets easier, since a hub can be scoped to a single regime while spokes still aggregate the experience across all of them. The tradeoff is shallower depth per hub, but because spokes pull across multiple hubs, aggregate liquidity and composability are preserved. Credit lines between hubs to particular Spokes can increase the liquidity flow while preserving risk isolation exposure up to the credit line.

The practical path is a spectrum rather than a binary. Start unified for depth and simplicity, then graduate to category-and-risk hubs as collateral types scale and isolation becomes worth the fragmentation. The same spokes carry over either way.

Roles, in either model The firms that used to be separate layers become parameters and participants. The lending agent becomes a risk manager tuning hub and spoke parameters, the tri-party collateral manager becomes the hub's accounting and liquidation engine (the protocol itself), and the prime broker and clearing house become an operator running a permissioned venue. The custodian's ledger becomes the chain itself.

What changes structurally The functions that used to live in separate firms move into protocol roles, so the work survives while the rent does not. Collateral that used to sit inside bilateral agreements goes to work, since the same asset can back exposure across every hub it qualifies for, no prefunded inventory parks at each counterparty, and no float bleeds yield. A permissioned spoke or a jurisdiction-scoped hub enforces KYC, jurisdiction, and eligible-asset rules at the edge while still drawing on shared liquidity, so a regulated institution gets a venue that fits its rules without fragmenting the order book the rest of the market relies on.

Settlement happens at a different speed entirely. Traditional securities markets still settle one day after the trade in the United States and two days after across much of Europe, and the industry's recent step to one-day settlement alone cost participants around $30 billion to implement. V4 settles atomically, around the clock, with no failures and near-zero marginal cost, and the reconciliation that takes days in traditional finance becomes a single state read onchain.

What it unlocks For asset owners, borrowers, and cash lenders, the gains are concrete. The addressable market runs into the trillions, with repo averaging roughly $12.6 trillion in daily exposures in the U.S., margin at $1.3 trillion, and securities lending at $4.6 trillion on loan, all sitting on collateral headed toward $16 trillion tokenized by 2030.

Yield is kept rather than skimmed, since the 20 to 30 percent of securities-lending revenue that agents capture today routes back to the asset owner. Settlement no longer fails, because atomic, 24/7 delivery-versus-payment replaces the T+1 and T+2 cycles and the intraday failures that plague bilateral repo. Capital works harder, since pooled hub liquidity ends idle prefunded inventory and lets the same collateral move across venues. Risk becomes visible and contained, with positions, haircuts, and rehypothecation transparent in real time and category hubs keeping a shock where it starts. And access takes minutes, so an owner can borrow against tokenized holdings on demand at a transparent, market-set rate instead of negotiating a bilateral line over days.

The takeaway Securities finance has been waiting for a settlement and collateral layer that can function without a stack of intermediaries. Securities-backed lending, repo, and securities lending are three faces of the same balance sheet, where you borrow cash against what you hold, finance it short-dated, or lend it out for yield, and together they move tens of trillions of dollars on plumbing that skims billions and settles in days.

V4 hosts all three on one architecture, whether that is a single deep hub or a mesh of category-and-risk hubs that spokes route across, with the liquidity, the stablecoin cash leg, and the institutional pipeline already live. The plumbing finally gets an upgrade, the value flows to the people who own the assets, and the market that runs on it is measured in trillions. This is the market Aave can capture.

DaVita Inc. (DVA - Free Report) : This kidney dialysis company has a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 6.4% over the last 60 days.

DaVita Inc. has a PEG ratio of 0.71 compared with 2.36 for the industry. The company possesses a Growth Score of B.

Five Below, Inc. (FIVE - Free Report) : This specialty retail company carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 10.1% over the last 60 days.

Five Below has a PEG ratio of 1.00 compared with 2.02 for the industry. The company possesses a Growth Score of B.

Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI - Free Report) : This shipping and mailing services company carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 6.6% over the last 60 days.

Pitney Bowes has a PEG ratio of 0.81 compared with 0.83 for the industry. The company possesses a Growth Score of A.

See the full list of top ranked stocks here.

Learn more about the Growth score and how it is calculated here.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2026) - Spartan Metals Corp. (TSXV: W) (OTCQB: SPRMF) (FSE: J03) ("Spartan" or the "Company") validates historic drilling data which supports the upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") announced May 5, 2026 at its Victorio Tungsten-Molybdenum Project, New Mexico (Figure 1). Historic Drilling Highlights: 34 holes exceed 100 feet (~30.5 meters) of continuous Tungsten-Molybdenum mineralization Additional multiple stacked zones of mineralization over 50 feet (~15.2 meters) occur throughout deposit 26 holes not included in 2008 historic economic analysis, including 12 holes that were not included in the 2012 historic mineral resource estimate, suggest significant upside potential once these holes are considered in the current PEA update Tungsten and molybdenum combined establish molybdenum equivalent (MoEq) grades at Victorio 0.09% WO3 and 0.09%1 Mo (0.19% MoEq) compare favorably to Freeport-McMoRan's Henderson Mine resource grade of 0.14% Mo2 PEA on target for early Q4 2026 release Brett Marsh, Spartan's President and CEO, stated: "The validation of these historic drill results marks an exciting milestone in our ongoing technical evaluation of the Victorio Project and further reinforces our conviction that acquiring this asset was a transformational opportunity for Spartan Metals.

Micron (MU +0.90%) stock soared after it delivered fantastic results.

*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of June 26, 2026. The video was published on June 28, 2026.

Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

Loopring, one of the earliest projects to bring zero-knowledge rollup technology to Ethereum, has announced the immediate closure of its decentralized exchange and automated market maker (AMM). The decision, shared publicly on June 28, 2026, ends all crypto trading activity on the platform and takes the supporting relayer offline without delay.

The project originated in 2017 from a vision focused on using zero-knowledge proofs to dramatically improve Ethereum’s scalability and reduce costs for trading and payments.

It became the first zkRollup deployed on Ethereum mainnet around 2019–2020 and once supported significant activity.

However, usage has declined sharply in recent years.

According to on-chain data trackers, Loopring’s total value locked fell to roughly $8 million, representing a drop of nearly 99% from its peak above $760 million in late 2021.

In their statement, the team explained that Loopring never achieved broad adoption.

The original design lacked a full virtual machine, which prevented easy composability with other Ethereum applications and limited real-world uses such as seamless payments.

https://t.co/beXdvEBGru

— Loopring💙 (@loopringorg) June 28, 2026

The core contributors described themselves primarily as engineers rather than business developers, noting they struggled to build the partnerships and marketing needed for wider growth.

Additional pressures, including the delisting of the project’s native LRC token from major centralized exchanges in 2026, hastened the outcome.

Newer zkEVM-based rollups, which offer full compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts, have also rendered Loopring’s specialized architecture increasingly outdated.

Rather than continue operating a service with minimal activity, the team chose to conclude operations in an orderly manner.

This marks the latest step in a gradual wind-down. Loopring had already discontinued its smart wallet services in mid-2025.

User funds held on the Loopring Layer 2 remain secure, the team confirmed.

To simplify the process, the project will handle asset distribution directly instead of requiring users to perform self-custody exits via Merkle proofs.

In the coming days, a complete list of final balances—including spot holdings in ETH and ERC-20 tokens plus liquidity positions that will be automatically converted—will be published and linked from the project’s X account.

Users will have a two-week review window to check their figures and report any discrepancies.

After the review period, the team will upgrade the relevant smart contract to enable batch withdrawals controlled by whitelisted addresses.

Funds valued at $10 or more will then be sent in batches directly to users’ Ethereum Layer 1 wallets.

The crypto focused project will cover all gas fees associated with these transfers. Balances below the $10 threshold will be excluded to keep the process manageable.

The entire distribution is expected to wrap up within a few weeks once it begins.

Support inquiries can be directed to [email protected] once the balance list appears.

The closure underscores the intense competition in Ethereum’s Layer 2 landscape, where projects offering greater flexibility and developer tooling have gained stronger traction. Loopring expressed gratitude to its users and hope that the zero-knowledge advancements it helped enable during the early days will now continue to benefit the crypto ecosystem through other initiatives.