Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Energy sector fundamentals are strengthening as the Iran War de-risks, oil prices normalize, and cyclical growth accelerates. Low global inventories, disciplined CapEx, and secular demand drivers set up a bullish multi-year regime for energy equities. I favor Permian-focused royalty and landowners (LandBridge, Texas Pacific, Freehold Royalties), Canadian oil sands leaders (Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Cenovus), and low-cost U.S. producers (Diamondback, Permian Resources).

NEW YORK, June 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of FS KKR Capital Corp. (NYSE: FSK) between May 8, 2024 and February 25, 2026, inclusive (the “Class Period”), of the important July 6, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased FS KKR Capital securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.         

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the FS KKR Capital class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=64089 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 6, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered billions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs’ Bar. Many of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) FS KKR Capital overstated the effectiveness of its portfolio restructuring efforts for its nonaccrual companies; (2) FS KKR Capital overstated the valuation of its portfolio investments and/or overstated the effectiveness of FS KKR Capital’s portfolio valuation process; (3) FS KKR Capital overstated the durability of its quarterly distribution strategy; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, defendants’ positive statements about FS KKR Capital’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the FS KKR Capital class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=64089 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

        Laurence Rosen, Esq.
        Phillip Kim, Esq.
        The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
        275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
        New York, NY 10016
        Tel: (212) 686-1060
        Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
        Fax: (212) 202-3827
        [email protected]
        www.rosenlegal.com

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - June 28, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: PFSI) resulting from allegations that PennyMac may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

SO WHAT: If you purchased PennyMac securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=51887 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On January 29, 2026, PennyMac filed a Current Report with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8-K announcing PennyMac's fourth quarter and full-year 2025 financial results. The report stated that PennyMac's "servicing segment pretax income was $37.3 million, down from $157.4 million in the prior quarter and $87.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2024," as well as "pretax income excluding valuation-related items was $47.8 million, down 70 percent from the prior quarter driven primarily by increased realization of mortgage servicing rights (MSR) cash flows as lower mortgage rates drove higher prepayment activity."

On this news, PennyMac's stock price fell $49.78 per share, or 33.3%, to close at $99.92 per share on January 30, 2026.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered billions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/303125

Source: The Rosen Law Firm PA

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Artificial intelligence has created an enormous demand for computing power. That's why companies like Nvidia have become some of the market's biggest winners.

But as AI systems continue to grow, investors are beginning to focus on a different challenge -- one that receives far less attention. How do you move vast amounts of data between thousands of AI processors quickly and efficiently? 

For many investors, that's where Poet Technologies (POET 6.81%) comes into the story. The company has become one of the more closely watched names in the AI infrastructure space; that's not because of its current financial results, but because of the problem it's trying to solve.

Image source: Getty Images.

AI's hidden bottleneck Training and running modern AI models both require thousands of processors working together. These processors constantly exchange information. As AI clusters grow larger, the volume of data moving through the system increases dramatically. 

The problem is that, at some point, simply building faster processors isn't enough. The information must also travel between those processors quickly, efficiently, and with minimal power consumption.

That's becoming increasingly difficult with traditional electrical connections. As speeds increase, electrical systems consume more energy, generate more heat, and become harder to scale.

As a result, many technology companies are turning to optical networking, which uses light rather than electrical signals to transmit information. Many industry observers believe photonics and optical networking could become the next major infrastructure upgrades for AI data centers.

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What does Poet Technologies actually do? Poet develops optical technology to accelerate data movement across AI networks and data centers. Its core product, the Poet Optical Interposer, aims to simplify the assembly and integration of optical components.

A useful analogy is to think of AI infrastructure as a transportation system. If companies like Nvidia build top-performance engines to help cars run faster, Poet is trying to build the highways that allow all those cars to move efficiently.

Put simply, the company's technology is intended to make optical systems smaller, more efficient, and potentially less expensive to manufacture. That competitive positioning has attracted attention because virtually every large AI deployment requires high-speed connectivity.

Why are investors excited now? The investment thesis in Poet Technologies is relatively simple.

Most investors already believe AI spending will continue to grow. If so, demand for networking infrastructure will likely grow alongside it, since every new AI cluster requires processors, storage, networking equipment, and increasingly sophisticated optical connections. Poet is attempting to supply part of that infrastructure stack.

Importantly, the company does not need to become the industry leader to create significant value for shareholders. Given its relatively small size today -- it generated only $1.1 million in revenue in 2025 -- even modest adoption by large customers could have an outsize impact on future revenue.

That's why many investors see the stock as a potentially high-upside way to gain exposure to the AI build-out, beyond the semiconductor companies that dominate headlines.

The risk investors shouldn't ignore The opportunity may be large, but so is the uncertainty.

Poet Technologies remains in the early stages of commercialization. While it has announced partnerships and customer engagements, its revenue base remains small relative to the opportunity investors envision. The company must still prove that its technology can achieve widespread commercial adoption and scale up successfully.

Competition is another challenge. Poet operates in a market that includes much larger companies with established customer relationships and significant resources. In other words, investors are not buying a proven AI infrastructure leader. They are buying the possibility that Poet could become one.

What does this mean for investors? The growing interest in Poet Technologies reflects a broader shift in how investors are thinking about AI. The first wave of excitement centered on computing power. The next wave may focus on the infrastructure needed to connect all that computing power.

Poet Technologies is betting that optical networking will be an increasingly important part of that future. Whether it ultimately succeeds remains to be seen. But as AI systems continue to expand, the problem Poet is trying to solve is becoming harder to ignore. And if the company is successful, that could create enormous value for shareholders.

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) insiders have sold approximately $1.2 million worth of the stock over the past year, according to insider trading data.

Data covering the period between June 28, 2025, and June 27, 2026, shows a single insider sale by SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk.

The transaction involved the sale of 11,390 shares on April 2, 2026, at an average price of $105.32 per share, for a total value of $1,199,594.80.

SpaceX insider trades. Source: Market Beat The sale is notable because it occurred before SpaceX’s blockbuster June 2026 initial public offering, which priced shares at $135 each before the stock surged during its debut trading sessions.

Minimal SpaceX insider trades  Available records indicate that Musk was the only SpaceX insider to sell stock during the last 12 months. No insider purchases or additional sales were disclosed during the period.

Notably, the sale price of $105.32 per share was below both the IPO price and current market levels, suggesting the transaction was completed before investors fully priced in SpaceX’s public-market valuation.

SpaceX insider selling often attracts investor attention because company executives have direct insight into business performance. However, a single insider transaction does not necessarily signal weakening confidence in the company.

In SpaceX’s case, the reported sale appears relatively small compared to the company’s roughly $2 trillion market capitalization and does not indicate broader insider liquidation. The absence of multiple insider sales reduces concerns that executives are rushing to exit positions following the company’s public debut.

As a result, the disclosed transaction is unlikely to have a material impact on SPCX stock on its own. Investors typically become more cautious when several executives sell large portions of their holdings over a short period, a trend that has not emerged in recent SPCX insider trading activity.

SpaceX stock volatility  As of press time, SPCX was trading at approximately $153 per share, remaining above its IPO price despite retreating from post-listing highs above $225.

SpaceX’s one-week stock price chart. Source: Finbold The stock initially surged on strong retail and institutional demand, pushing SpaceX’s valuation above $2 trillion. 

Since then, shares have experienced increased volatility as investors reassessed the company’s premium valuation, ongoing losses, and significant capital expenditure requirements.

While the insider sale may draw attention, the near-term direction of SPCX stock is likely to be driven by Starlink subscriber growth, launch activity, profitability trends, AI-related investments, and broader market sentiment toward high-growth technology companies rather than a single $1.2 million insider transaction.

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Alphabet NASDAQ: GOOGL has been one of the most impressive mega-cap stories of 2026, climbing to a fresh all-time high of $408.61 as Google Cloud accelerated, its AI roadmap expanded, and investor sentiment around the company reached its strongest point in years. But over the past few weeks, the stock has cooled.

With GOOGL now trading about 15% below that high, the pullback has left investors asking a familiar question: Is this the start of something more concerning, or an opportunity in disguise?

Get Alphabet alerts:

Alphabet’s Pullback Looks More Like Rotation Than TroubleAlphabet Today

$337.39 -6.32 (-1.84%)

As of 06/26/2026 04:00 PM Eastern

52-Week Range$171.73▼

$408.61Dividend Yield0.26%

P/E Ratio25.74

Price Target$413.13

The decline has been driven more by sentiment and sector rotation than by anything fundamental. A broad AI-related selloff has weighed on the megacap technology names in recent sessions, and Alphabet has not been spared. Adding to the noise, several high-profile AI researchers have reportedly departed Google for rivals, including Anthropic, potentially drawn by pre-IPO equity, raising concerns about talent retention at a critical moment in the AI race.

It is worth keeping this in perspective. None of these developments alters the core earnings power of the business. Alphabet generated $132.17 billion in net income over the trailing 12 months on net margins of nearly 38%, and Q1 2026 results blew past expectations with earnings per share of $5.11 against a $2.64 estimate. The pullback has compressed the forward price-to-earnings ratio to roughly 24, a level that looks reasonable for a company growing the way Alphabet is, and the stock is still up close to 10% on the year.

Bulls Need the $340 Breakout Zone to HoldFrom a technical perspective, while the stock has pulled back considerably from its 52-week high, it remains in a higher-timeframe uptrend. Importantly, the $340 area it is currently finding some support near will be vital in the future, as it is the level it broke out of at the end of May before surging to new all-time highs. If it takes that area out, the 200-day SMA comes into focus, near $320. But if it can bounce from this important zone near $340, a higher low could be marked within this uptrend, and the bulls may look to regain control of the stock.

Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Price Chart for Sunday, June, 28, 2026

Alphabet’s Bull Case Still Runs Through Cloud and AIBeyond the chart, the fundamental story that drove Alphabet to its highs has not changed. Google Cloud crossed $20 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time in Q1, growing 63% year over year, with a backlog approaching half a trillion dollars. The company is investing aggressively in AI infrastructure, recently raising roughly $85 billion in a heavily oversubscribed debt offering anchored by Berkshire Hathaway, a clear signal that demand for its compute capacity is outstripping supply. And the Other Bets segment, home to Waymo and Wing, continues to scale in the background.

There is also a fresh catalyst on the horizon. Alphabet is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average before the open on June 29, 2026, replacing Verizon Communications NYSE: VZ. While index inclusion does not change the fundamentals, it does add a layer of structural buying from funds that track the Dow.

Analysts remain firmly constructive. The consensus rating across 54 analysts is Moderate Buy, with a price target of $413.13, implying nearly 20% upside from current levels. That is a meaningful gap between where the stock trades and where Wall Street believes it is worth.

Alphabet’s Dip: Reason to Worry or Time to Buy?The honest answer is that this pullback looks far more like healthy digestion than the start of a genuine breakdown. The decline has been driven by sector-wide AI rotation and a handful of sentiment-driven headlines, not by any deterioration in Alphabet's actual business.

Health Indicator for Alphabet TradeSmith's Health IndicatorA long-term volatility-based measure designed for securities held 12 months or longer.

Green: Strong and healthy uptrend with normal pullbacks.

Yellow: Significant pullback but still within expected volatility.

Red: Dropped beyond expected volatility; considered unhealthy.

Yellow Zone (6d)

1-Year History

Jun 25 Sep 25 Dec 25 Mar 26 Jun 26

For the last 6 days, GOOGL's financial health has been in the Yellow zone, according to TradeSmith.

One caution worth noting is that the stock's TradeSmith Health Indicator recently slipped into its Yellow Zone after a long stretch in the green, a reminder that the near-term trend has weakened and the $340 level genuinely matters.

For long-term investors, a quality compounder trading 15% off its high, at a reasonable forward multiple, with a major catalyst days away and nearly 20% of implied upside to consensus, is the kind of setup that tends to reward patience. The key, as always, will be whether that $340 zone holds. If it does, this pullback may well prove to be one of the better entry points GOOGL has offered in months.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Alphabet Right Now?Before you consider Alphabet, you'll want to hear this.

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Companies try to highlight the best news when they report earnings. That's to be expected, but you need to go into earnings season knowing you have read beyond the headlines. Canopy Growth (CGC +2.31%) reported huge growth in its medical marijuana business, which saw revenues increase 27% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 and 17% for the full fiscal year. The rest of the business was a bit more mixed.

The good news and the less-than-good news There's no question that Canopy Growth's medical marijuana business is doing well right now. It is also worth noting that the company recently bought MTL Cannabis, a move that should solidify its already strong position in the Canadian medical marijuana market. The strong growth in medical marijuana revenues highlights why the company is leaning into this division.

Image source: Getty Images.

The problem is that this isn't the company's only business. Its recreational marijuana business increased revenue by 20% in fiscal 2026, but the fourth quarter saw only a 1% increase. While the company attributes the full-year growth to "growth in infused PRJ offerings and new All-In-One vaporizers launched early in the fiscal year," the fourth quarter's 1% revenue growth suggests it ended the year on a weak note. That hints this division's outlook may not be as robust as the full-year growth suggests.

Meanwhile, the company's international cannabis sales rose 68% in the quarter, but fell 7% year over year. Supply chain issues were highlighted as a problem earlier in the year. Once again, the outlook is less clear than investors may like. And then there's the Storz & Bickel vaporizer business, which saw sales decline 14% for both the full fiscal year and in the fourth quarter.

Not enough good news to make Canopy Growth a buy It is likely to require more than one strong division for Wall Street to get excited about Canopy Growth again. But there's still some more bad news to consider. Notably, the company's gross margin fell four percentage points in the fourth quarter and six percentage points for the full fiscal year.

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Not surprisingly, Canopy Growth reported negative earnings again in fiscal 2026. In fact, it hasn't reported positive earnings since it went public, more than a decade ago. Now add in the fact that it recapitalized its balance sheet in fiscal 2026, exchanging shares for debt, and most investors should probably watch from the sidelines.

Could Canopy Growth's stock rally from here? Sure. But with only one business clearly performing well, only the most aggressive investors should probably bet on this penny stock having a sustained rally.

Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The NVIDIA logo in this illustration taken June 11, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

SYDNEY, June 29 (Reuters) - Australian AI infrastructure company Firmus Technologies said on Monday it had signed a strategic partnership with Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), opens new tab to help ​provide emerging AI firms with more cost-effective access to ‌computing power.

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Firmus said the deal would see it buy Nvidia infrastructure and sell Nvidia‑powered cloud services to "AI Native" customers, among others, in an agreement that would earn the ​U.S.-listed chip giant product revenue and a share of cloud ​revenue.

The deal will deliver 170,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPU) from ⁠the first quarter of 2027 to the start of 2028, that ​will be located in Batam, Indonesia.

Firmus said it expected to earn ​up to $30 billion in revenue during the first six years of the deal, based on customer commitments.

The Australian-founded company said the deal would make it easier for ​smaller and developing AI firms to access the technology's infrastructure.

"We ​have worked to figure out how to close the gap between the cost benefits ‌that ⁠the large guys have access to, which they do because they have great credit ratings, and the guys that are up and comers," Firmus co-chief executive Tim Rosenfield told Reuters. "This is actually a really ​material way to ​level the ⁠playing field a little bit to give the next a chance to compete with the big guys."

Nvidia ​has participated in Firmus' previous capital raisings making it ​an ⁠investor in the Australian firm, according to Firmus.

Firmus said in April it had raised $1.35 billion over the previous six months, giving it a $5.5 billion post-money valuation. ⁠It ​has appointed investment banks to work on ​a potential initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.

Rosenfield declined to ​comment on Firmus' IPO preparations.

Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Kate Mayberry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Scott Murdoch has been a journalist for more than two decades working for Thomson Reuters and News Corp in Australia. He has specialised in financial journalism for most of his career and covers the Australian financial services sector and superannuation. He is based in Sydney.

Like virtually all software stocks, enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) giant Salesforce (CRM +5.41%) has been hit hard this year. Shares are down a stunning 42% on the year and now trade just slightly higher than 10 times this year's adjusted (non-GAAP) earnings per share guidance.

The decline is not unique to Salesforce, though; the entire software sector has been decimated due to fears over artificial intelligence's new ability to code as well as the best human engineers.

Software bulls would say that artificial intelligence (AI) could actually benefit certain software companies as long as they can pivot from a subscription model to a usage- or outcome-based model.

On that note, Salesforce just made an acquisition that has actually already made this transition and is now growing at triple-digit rates. Given that Salesforce needs to do the same, this acquisition isn't just about the acquiree's revenue and profits but also about the capabilities it could bring to the whole organization.

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What is Fin, and why did Salesforce buy it? On June 15, Salesforce announced it was buying customer service software company Fin, formerly known as Intercom, for $3.6 billion.

Some may think that Salesforce just acquired another "me too" customer service software suite. But Fin has proven itself to be more than that. When OpenAI released ChatGPT back in late 2022, Intercom founders Eoghan McCabe and Des Traynor went all in on artificial intelligence.

McCabe had a relationship with OpenAI even before ChatGPT debuted, and he was quick to introduce its new AI-powered software in early 2023. At first, the software was dedicated to helping customer service agents via automated summaries and inbox improvements. But when GPT-4 came out, Intercom decided to develop a fully customer-facing autonomous customer service agent called Fin and even renamed the company after it.

Fin has evolved to model-building and outcome pricing With years of expertise in customer service software and a strong focus in this area, Fin appears to have married its proprietary knowledge with the capabilities of new language models, making it a true, fully autonomous customer service agent.

At first, Fin used either OpenAI's ChatGPT or Anthropic's Claude as the underlying intelligence, then incorporated Fin's proprietary data and expertise to understand the complexities of a customer service call. When Fin launched, it resolved about 25% of customer service interactions. By May 2025, that had increased to 56%. Today, Fin's average resolution rate without human intervention averages 76%.

Image source: Getty Images.

What's really exciting about Fin is that in March, it unveiled its own proprietary model called Apex 1.0. So, whereas Fin was previously dependent on external large language models, it now has its own proprietary one built by Fin's 60-person AI technology team. Using its own vertical model specifically developed for customer service, Fin claims it's the highest-performing customer service model on the market, with faster time to first token and lower hallucinations than the large general models.

Just as important is that Fin has already transitioned to an outcome-based pricing model, where the customer pays only for fully automated customer service resolutions. That has resulted in reaccelerating growth for Fin, which saw its agentic annual recurring revenue (ARR) reach around $100 million and grow at 350% at the time of the transaction. Fin also had some legacy software ARR of around $300 million, bringing the total to $400 million. So, Salesforce is paying about 9 times sales.

But Salesforce is buying a lot more than that Of course, Salesforce isn't just buying Fin's growing ARR. Rather, it's buying a team of AI technologists who have already made the exact transition Salesforce needs to make -- from a recurring, subscription-based, human-driven software business to an outcome- or usage-based agentic AI software business powered by its own internally developed models.

The trepidation around that transition is why Salesforce has fallen to an extremely low valuation of just 10 times this year's earnings guidance. However, if Fin and Fin's team can help successfully deploy AI agentic capabilities across Salesforce's vast, far-reaching enterprise, that could very well ensure Salesforce's pivot is a success.

And if that happens, the stock has tremendous recovery potential from its current depressed valuation.

The latest earnings for Micron (MU 6.59%) didn't just show that the supercycle in memory chip stocks is still in session. Its third-quarter fiscal 2026 results showed that the biggest bulls underestimated the growth of the memory industry and that the supercycle is still in its early stages.

Even though Micron, Sandisk (SNDK 10.45%), and other memory companies have mostly gone parabolic over the past year, there is still more room for them to run.

Image source: Getty Images

Discussing Micron's earnings Many investors held their breath waiting for Micron's earnings to come out. Any misses would have dragged down memory stocks and caused investors to worry that the supercycle was slowing down. Meeting expectations may not have been enough, but it would have at least confirmed that the memory industry is still going strong.

It turns out Micron left no room for doubt. Revenue more than quadrupled year over year in the third quarter (ended May 28), breezing past prior guidance. Management had told investors to expect $33.5 billion in quarterly revenue, and it ended up delivering $41.5 billion.

Naturally, Micron soared in after-hours trading, but Sandisk also rallied tremendously as if it were the company that reported earnings that day. It might as well have done just that. Micron's earnings offer a sneak peek at what other memory players will do. Sandisk actually had a higher growth rate than Micron if you look at Micron's previous quarter, so investors are expecting something substantial when Sandisk reports in August.

Commentary offers more optimism for the memory boom It wasn't just Micron's $41.5 billion in third-quarter revenue, or guidance that implies $50 billion in the current quarter, that showed the memory boom is still strong. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra had some remarks that show demand for memory products is not slowing down: "Micron is investing at record levels in technology, products and supply to address our customers' rapidly growing demand. We believe our multiyear Strategic Customer Agreements will significantly enhance the durability and predictability of Micron's strong financial performance." 

These statements offer key details. First, Micron is still investing at record levels. The decision to ramp up spending suggests that customer demand will continue to soar for multiple years. Management would not be boosting its investments if it believed this was a short-term cycle.

The company also cited multiyear deals that will help sustain its financial success over the long run. It doesn't seem like a repeat of 2023, when a supply glut and dropping memory prices hurt revenue and profits. That was before infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI) became the centerpiece of technological innovation and AI became the term of the moment among investors.

An inflection point for memory storage When Sandisk reported its fiscal 2026 third-quarter results, its CEO referred to this moment as an inflection point. The company's next earnings report will give an idea of what the company was doing while Micron quadrupled its revenue year over year.

It also mentioned multiyear customer engagements with "firm financial commitments." This theme of multiyear contracts provides more revenue visibility in a cyclical industry. Furthermore, the surging demand for memory products should be enough to keep prices elevated for a longer period of time. And that will help companies like Micron and Sandisk preserve their high margins.

Investors watched with amazement as Nvidia reached a $5 trillion market cap last year. There was a lot of hoopla about AI bubbles and semiconductor stocks being drastically overvalued through Nvidia's path to becoming the world's most valuable publicly traded company.

Memory stocks like Micron and Sandisk have been battered constantly about bubble concerns. Ignoring the fundamentals and focusing on recent stock gains can lead to such conclusions. Micron, for example, is up by more than 700% over the past year.

However, the price movements of these stocks are based entirely on fundamentals. When revenue and guidance continue to marvel investors, it's no wonder the stocks keep rallying despite their superb year-to-date gains. The memory supercycle appears alive and well.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - June 28, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of Class A or Class C common stock of Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZG) (NASDAQ: Z) between February 11, 2025 and May 7, 2026, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important August 10, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities class action first filed by the Firm.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Zillow common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Zillow class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/zillow-group-inc/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 10, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered billions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Zillow's agreement with Redfin Corporation was not a "partnership," but rather an acquisition of Redfin's business; (2) as a result of the Redfin Agreement, Zillow faced a materially heightened risk of regulatory scrutiny and liability under federal antitrust laws; (3) upon the filing of an antitrust lawsuit, Zillow continued to downplay its legal exposure; and (4) as a result, defendants' statements about Zillow's business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Zillow class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/zillow-group-inc/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/303146

Source: The Rosen Law Firm PA

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Defense spending remains a critical pillar of government budgets as global tensions evolve. Deciding whether to invest in Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII +0.81%) or Lockheed Martin (LMT +0.34%) depends on your preferred defense niche.

Huntington Ingalls dominates military shipbuilding, while Lockheed Martin is a diversified aerospace giant. Both rely heavily on government contracts, making them defensive staples for many portfolios. This comparison explores which industrial heavyweight offers the better balance of growth and stability for your investment dollars.

Huntington Ingalls Industries designs and builds many of the most complex ships in the world for the U.S. military. As the primary builder of aircraft carriers and submarines, the company is a cornerstone of the defense stock landscape. Approximately 81% of total revenue was generated from the U.S. Navy in 2025. Customer concentration like this adds a layer of risk to the business.

In fiscal 2025, revenue reached nearly $12.5 billion, up 8.2% year over year. The company reported net income of roughly $605 million. This resulted in a net margin, which is the percentage of revenue kept as profit after all expenses, of about 4.8%.

As of Huntington’s December 2025 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio was close to 0.6. This metric, which compares total debt to the value owned by shareholders, indicates a relatively low level of debt. The company also generated free cash flow of about $794 million, which is the cash remaining after covering operations and capital investments.

The case for Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin is a global leader in aerospace and defense technology, operating across aeronautics, missiles, and space systems. The company derived 72% of its 2025 sales from the U.S. government, including a significant 27% from the F-35 program. So, much like Huntington Ingalls, it faces a fair amount of customer concentration risk, as program cancellations can impact the bottom line.

During fiscal 2025, revenue was nearly $75.1 billion, reflecting growth about 5.7%. The company reported net income of approximately $5 billion. This translated into a net margin of roughly 6.7%.

Based on the December 2025 balance sheet, Lockheed’s debt-to-equity ratio is approximately 3.2. This indicates that total debt is more than three times the value of shareholder equity. The company reported free cash flow of nearly $6.9 billion.

Risk profile comparisonHuntington Ingalls faces significant risks due to its reliance on U.S. Navy funding and potential shifts in government spending priorities. The company also deals with intense competition from other shipbuilders like General Dynamics (GD +0.53%), which can lead to bid protests and contract delays. Furthermore, cost overruns on fixed-price contracts can reduce profitability if the company cannot recover those expenses from the government.

Lockheed is heavily exposed to changes in defense budgets, particularly regarding the high-stakes F-35 program. Supply chain disruptions for rare-earth minerals or microelectronics can delay deliveries and increase costs. It also competes with major companies like Northrop Grumman (NOC +0.10%) and faces evolving cybersecurity threats from nation-state actors targeting sensitive military data.

Valuation comparisonHuntington Ingalls appears cheaper because it carries a lower forward P/E based on future earnings estimates and a lower P/S ratio.

MetricHuntington Ingalls IndustriesLockheed MartinSector BenchmarkForward P/E17.218.129.8P/S ratio0.91.7N/ASector benchmark uses the SPDR XLI sector ETF.
Valuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.

Which stock would I buy in 2026?These two defense giants have pretty significant concentration risk given they get around 70%-80% of their revenue from the U.S. government. That said, the cynic (realist?) in me thinks that's probably not a major issue. I cannot picture a universe where defense spending by the U.S. government decreases over time. In fact, since 1960, the budget has increased nearly every year, and in 2026, it is poised to cross the $1 trillion mark. So I think we can set that concern aside.

Between the two, I think Huntington Ingalls looks more attractive. It has a slightly lower valuation than Lockheed, which is nice, but what makes it especially appealing is its level of debt. Huntington's debt-to-equity ratio is just 0.6, while Lockheed's is 3.2. Huntington is slightly less profitable, but it's posting faster revenue growth, so it gets my vote.

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Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) transformed from a niche digital asset into a mainstream investment over the past decade, and few people did more to accelerate that shift than Michael Saylor. By turning Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR | MSTR Price Prediction) (formerly MicroStrategy) into what he called a “bitcoin treasury company,” he created a blueprint that dozens of others rushed to copy. 

During bitcoin’s climb to more than $126,000 last October, the model looked unstoppable. Today, after bitcoin has fallen to roughly $60,141 and Strategy’s stock has lost about 82% from its peak, investors are discovering that leverage works both ways.

The Bitcoin Treasury Model Looks Different in a Bear Market Saylor’s strategy was elegantly simple. Raise capital through stock offerings, convertible debt, and later perpetual preferred stock, then use the proceeds to buy more bitcoin. As long as bitcoin appreciated faster than the company’s cost of capital, shareholders benefited from amplified exposure to the cryptocurrency.

The strategy became so popular that other companies adopted it. Bitcoin-focused treasury firms such as Bitcoin Immersion Technologies (NASDAQ:BMNR) emerged, while others adapted the model for cryptocurrencies including Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO:SOL).

The numbers looked compelling during the bull market. They look much different today. Bitcoin has fallen hard over the last eight months, and briefly traded near $58,000 last week, leaving it down roughly 52% from its peak. Even more striking, the crypto now trades near levels first reached about five years ago, while the S&P 500 has gained approximately 72% over that same period.

Strategy has fared even worse. Its shares closed Friday near $82, down roughly 82% from their highs.

Enterprise mNAV Is Sending a Warning Beyond the stock price, the more meaningful development is what is happening on Strategy’s balance sheet.

Many investors focus on market mNAV, which compares the company’s market value with the value of its bitcoin holdings. Critics have correctly pointed out that market mNAV has fallen below 1.0 several times before.

That’s true — but it misses the larger issue. The more important metric is enterprise mNAV, which includes not only Strategy’s market capitalization, but also its total debt and perpetual preferred stock, less its U.S. dollar reserve holdings. That measurement closed below 1.0 for the first time on Friday, ending the day at 0.99.

Why does that matter? Because enterprise mNAV reflects the full economic cost of Strategy’s capital structure rather than simply its equity valuation. As the company layered on debt and preferred stock beginning in 2024, what once looked like financial engineering became a growing obligation that common shareholders ultimately bear.

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Crossing below 1.0 does not prevent Strategy from issuing additional common shares. It does, however, make doing so far less attractive. Recent bitcoin purchases have already drawn criticism because they diluted existing shareholders, and selling new shares at current valuation levels would likely intensify that backlash.

Meanwhile, issuing additional debt also becomes more difficult as leverage rises and investor confidence weakens.

From $126k peaks to a brutal 82% stock crash—the 'never sell' era just died, and the tide is going out on the world's biggest Bitcoin gamble. © 24/7 Wall St. The ‘Never Sell’ Era Is Over There is an even bigger philosophical shift that has occurred. For years, Saylor repeatedly declared Strategy would “never sell” its bitcoin. Yet the company recently sold bitcoin for the first time in its history. More recently, Saylor has acknowledged that Strategy could — and would — sell bitcoin if circumstances warranted.

That change matters because it acknowledges what markets always enforce: no strategy is absolute.

Several market analysts and research firms now see bitcoin falling toward $50,000, while some bearish forecasts project prices as low as $20,000 if selling pressure accelerates. If those scenarios materialize, Strategy may have few financing options beyond liquidating larger portions of its bitcoin holdings to meet obligations or strengthen its balance sheet.

As debt increases and capital markets become less accommodating, flexibility shrinks.

Key Takeaway In short, Michael Saylor changed how investors think about corporate balance sheets and digital assets. During a bull market, the bitcoin treasury model looked brilliant because rising prices masked its growing leverage.

Warren Buffett has famously observed, “In a bull market, everybody’s a genius.” He also warned, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”

Today’s market suggests that Strategy’s enterprise mNAV — not its stock price alone — is exposing the true risks of the model. Granted, bitcoin could recover and restore much of the strategy’s appeal. But unless that happens, Strategy may increasingly rely on the one option Saylor once insisted he would never need: selling more of the very asset that built his empire.

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Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Significant Losses In Zscaler To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options

If you suffered significant losses in Zscaler stock or options and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310).

[You may also click here for additional information]

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - June 28, 2026) - Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against Zscaler, Inc. ("Zscaler" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: ZS).

Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors since its founding in 1995. See www.faruqilaw.com.

On May 27, 2026, the Company issued weaker-than-expected guidance and disclosed disruptions tied to sales leadership changes, despite reporting quarterly results that exceeded analyst expectations. Reports indicated that investors were concerned about slowing growth projections, weaker customer expansion, and uncertainty surrounding the Company's sales execution and outlook. Following this news, Zscaler's stock suffered its steepest single-day decline since going public.

On this news, Zscaler's stock price fell $58.19, or 31.52% to close at $126.41 per share on May 27, 2026.

To learn more about the Zscaler investigation, go to www.faruqilaw.com/ZS or call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310).

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, on X, or on Facebook.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Investors Regarding the Zscaler Securities Investigation:

What is the Zscaler securities investigation about?

The investigation concerns whether Zscaler misled investors regarding its growth outlook, sales execution, customer expansion trends, and the impact of sales leadership changes before issuing weaker-than-expected guidance.

Who may be eligible to participate in the investigation?

Investors who purchased Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) stock or options and suffered losses, particularly following the May 27, 2026 stock decline, may have legal rights and should evaluate their options.

What is a lead plaintiff, and how can I seek appointment?

If a securities class action is filed, a lead plaintiff represents the interests of other investors and helps oversee the litigation. Eligible investors may seek appointment by filing a motion before any court-imposed deadline.

Why should investors contact Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP?

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP has represented investors in securities litigation for decades and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for shareholders. Investors who purchased Zscaler securities may contact the firm to discuss their legal rights and potential claims at no cost or obligation.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/303120

Source: Faruqi & Faruqi LLP

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Anthony J. Kuczinski, a member of the Board of Directors of Ryan Specialty Holdings (RYAN +8.15%), reported the purchase of 3,000 shares of Common Stock in multiple open-market transactions on June 11 and June 12, 2026, according to the SEC Form 4 filing.

Transaction summaryMetricValueShares traded3,000Transaction value~$105KPost-transaction shares (direct)13,072Post-transaction value (direct ownership)~$466KTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($34.99); post-transaction value based on June 12, 2026 market close.

Key questionsWhat is the magnitude of this transaction relative to Kuczinski's prior activity?
This purchase of 3,000 shares is the largest single transaction by share count for Kuczinski over the past two years, significantly exceeding the previous purchase of 300 shares in May of 2025.How does this acquisition affect current direct ownership?
The transaction increased direct Common Stock holdings by 29.79%, bringing the post-trade total to 13,072 shares.Was the transaction executed at a discount or premium to recent market prices?
The weighted average purchase price was $34.99 per share, which is less than the June 12, 2026 closing price of $35.64, following a -46.93% one-year total decline in the stock as of the transaction date.What does the transaction imply about available capacity and ongoing accumulation?
With no shares sold in the past year and overall direct holdings rising, the activity signals ongoing accumulation capacity, supported by a direct and unleveraged position without derivative mechanics.Company overviewMetricValueMarket capitalization$10.3 billionRevenue (TTM)$3.16 billionNet income (TTM)$108.69 million1-year price change-46.93%* 1-year price change calculated using June 12, 2026 as the reference date.

Company snapshotRyan Specialty Holdings offers specialized insurance products and solutions, including wholesale brokerage, underwriting, product development, administration, and risk management services.It operates as a wholesale broker and managing underwriter, generating revenue through distribution and underwriting fees from insurance brokers, agents, and carriers.The company serves insurance intermediaries and carriers seeking tailored risk solutions in the specialty insurance market.Ryan Specialty Holdings is a leading provider of specialty insurance solutions with a focus on wholesale brokerage and managing underwriting services. The company leverages its scale and expertise to deliver comprehensive products and risk management to insurance intermediaries and carriers. Its business model emphasizes fee-based revenue streams and strategic positioning within the specialty insurance sector.

What this transaction means for investorsDirector Anthony Kuczinski’s June 11 and 12 purchase of Ryan Specialty Holdings stock suggests he has a bullish outlook towards the company. This is reinforced by the substantial size of his buy, which increased holdings nearly 30%.

It seems Kuczinski was capitalizing on the the fall in Ryan Specialty shares, which hit a 52-week low $29.28 in May. The drop was due to the company lowering its 2026 guidance from year-over-year organic revenue growth in the high single digits to the mid-single digits. The insurance industry is seeing softness, which contributed to the lower forecast.

That said, Ryan Specialty’s 2026 is off to a strong start. Revenue in the first quarter rose 15% year over year to $795.2 million, while net income came in at $40.6 million, a dramatic reversal from the $4.4 million net loss in the prior year.

Ryan Specialty’s success and its share price drop may have been catalysts for Kuczinski’s buy. Moreover, the stock’s price-to-sales ratio of 1.7 is near a low point for the past year, indicating its valuation is at an appealing level, and suggesting now is a good time to buy.

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

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - June 28, 2026) - WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Commvault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) between April 29, 2025 and January 26, 2026, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important July 17, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Commvault securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Commvault class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/commvault-systems-inc/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 17, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually handle securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered billions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants provided overwhelmingly positive statements while, at the same time, disseminating materially false and misleading statements and/or concealing material adverse facts concerning the true state of Commvault's ARR growth environment; pertinently, Commvault knew or recklessly disregarded that its ARR growth guidance failed to properly factor in crucial variables, such as the type of sale. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Commvault class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/cases/commvault-systems-inc/join or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.
Phillip Kim, Esq.
The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 686-1060
Toll Free: (866) 767-3653
Fax: (212) 202-3827
[email protected]
www.rosenlegal.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/303198

Source: The Rosen Law Firm PA

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Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses In Verra To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options

If you purchased or acquired securities in Verra between February 24, 2026 and May 26, 2026 and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310).

[You may also click here for additional information]

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - June 28, 2026) - Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against Verra Mobility Corporation ("Verra" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: VRRM) and reminds investors of the August 4, 2026 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors since its founding in 1995. See www.faruqilaw.com.

According to the complaint, defendants provided overwhelmingly positive statements to investors while, at the same time, disseminating materially false and misleading statements and/or concealing material adverse facts concerning the true state of Verra's relationship with Avis Budget Group ("Avis"), and in particular obtaining a contract extension with Avis. Further, the Company minimized concerns that major rent-a-cars could replace Verra with in-house solutions or outsourced alternatives.

On May 26, 2026, Verra issued a press release announcing a termination notice from Avis regarding its contract and accordingly lowered its 2026 full-year financial outlook. Almost one week later on June 1, 2026, the Company announced a sudden and surprising transition of its President and Chief Executive Officer David Roberts. Following this news, the price of Verra's common stock declined dramatically.

From a closing market price of $13.08 per share on May 26, 2026, Verra's stock price fell to $3.85 per share on May 27, 2026, a decline of about 71%.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Verra's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

To learn more about the Verra class action, go to www.faruqilaw.com/VRRM or call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310).

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, on X, or on Facebook.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Investors Regarding the Verra Mobility Securities Class Action Lawsuit:

What is the Verra Mobility securities fraud lawsuit about?

The lawsuit alleges Verra Mobility misled investors about the strength of its relationship with Avis Budget Group, the likelihood of a contract extension, and the risk that major rental car companies could replace Verra's services with alternative solutions.

Who may be eligible to participate in the lawsuit?

Investors who purchased or acquired Verra Mobility (NASDAQ: VRRM) securities between February 24, 2026 and May 26, 2026 may be eligible to participate if they suffered losses related to the alleged misconduct described in the complaint.

What is a lead plaintiff, and how can I seek appointment?

A lead plaintiff represents the interests of the proposed class and helps oversee the litigation. Investors seeking appointment must file a motion with the court by August 4, 2026. Investors can share in any recovery without serving as lead plaintiff.

What should investors do if they purchased Verra Mobility stock during the Class Period?

Investors should review their transaction records, preserve relevant documents, and evaluate their legal rights. Those who suffered losses may wish to consult counsel regarding participation in the lawsuit or seeking lead plaintiff status before the deadline.

Why should investors contact Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP?

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP has represented investors in securities litigation for decades and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for shareholders. Investors who purchased Verra Mobility securities during the Class Period may contact the firm to discuss their legal rights, potential claims, and the lead plaintiff process at no cost or obligation.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/303116

Source: Faruqi & Faruqi LLP

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FactSet has experienced a significant share price decline, nearly halving over the past year. I see FDS as a potential dislocation opportunity, with its valuation potentially diverging from intrinsic value amid sector bifurcation. FDS operates a subscription-based financial data platform serving over 9,000 clients and 240,000 investment professionals.

Shares of Capri Holdings Ltd. NYSE: CPRI have lost 65% of their value over the past five years, weighed down by a failed merger, weakening luxury demand, and declining sales across its brands.

But with the recent sale of its Versace brand, improving profitability, and the company forecasting a return to growth, there are signs the turnaround may be gaining traction.

Get Capri alerts:

Tapestry Deal Collapse Sent Shares TumblingMuch of Capri's struggles over the last several years can be traced to its failed merger with Tapestry Inc. NYSE: TPR.

Capri Today

$19.34 +0.48 (+2.54%)

As of 06/26/2026 03:59 PM Eastern

This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.

52-Week Range$16.72▼

$28.26P/E Ratio16.96

Price Target$24.79

In August 2023, Tapestry agreed to acquire Capri for $57 per share in a deal valued at approximately $8.5 billion. The announcement sent Capri shares soaring more than 55% in a single session, pushing the stock to nearly $54.

The excitement was short-lived. As regulatory scrutiny intensified, Capri shares drifted lower. When a federal judge blocked the merger on antitrust grounds in October 2024, the stock plunged nearly 50% to around $21.

Currently, Capri shares are trading at around $19, down roughly 64% from their post-announcement highs and about 9% below their level immediately after the merger was terminated. The stock has remained under pressure since the deal collapsed, as the company has continued to navigate headwinds from a challenging luxury-spending environment and tariffs.

Capri's Turnaround Begins to Take ShapeAs part of a broader turnaround effort, Capri announced plans in April 2025 to sell its Versace brand to Prada S.p.A. OTCMKTS: PRDSY. The $1.375 billion cash transaction, which closed in December, was intended to streamline the business, reduce debt, and allow Capri to focus on its two remaining brands, Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo.

The company's latest fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter earnings report suggests those efforts may already be paying off. For the quarter, Capri returned to profitability, reporting earnings of 22 cents per share, a sharp improvement from a loss of $4.90 per share a year earlier and 11 cents ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue from continuing operations, which excludes the divested Versace business, totaled $796 million, down 3.7% year over year and roughly $4 million shy of Wall Street estimates. The company also repurchased $79 million worth of shares during the quarter.

While revenue remained under pressure, Chief Executive John Idol said on the earnings call that the company was encouraged by the progress it made executing strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening the Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo brands.

New fashion offerings, he said, have driven higher full-price sell-throughs and average unit retails, while improved brand storytelling has helped deepen consumer engagement and attract new customers.

Idol also emphasized the company's stronger balance sheet following the Versace sale. With debt reduced and cash flow improving, he said Capri has the financial flexibility to invest roughly $300 million in store renovations, primarily at Michael Kors, while continuing its share repurchase program and other growth initiatives.

Company Forecasts a Return to GrowthCapri's fiscal 2027 guidance points to a meaningful improvement in the company's financial performance. The company expects revenue growth to return to the low-single-digit range, while gross margins expand by approximately 200 basis points, and operating income increases by roughly 60%. Earnings per share are projected to rise 40% year over year to $2.15.

The outlook also assumes $200 million of share repurchases during the year. Capri expects profitability to improve across both brands, with Michael Kors generating operating margins in the low double-digit range and Jimmy Choo returning to profitability with operating margins in the low single digits.

Longer term, Idol said the company expects to grow Michael Kors revenue to $4 billion and Jimmy Choo revenue to $800 million while significantly increasing profitability.

Wall Street Remains Cautiously OptimisticSome on Wall Street appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach to Capri's turnaround story. The stock currently carries a consensus Hold rating, with eight Hold ratings, one Sell, six Buys, and one Strong Buy.

Overall MarketRank™98th Percentile

Analyst RatingHold

Upside/Downside28.2% Upside

Short Interest LevelHealthy

Dividend StrengthN/A

News Sentiment0.27 Insider TradingSelling Shares

Proj. Earnings Growth20.29%

See Full Analysis

Several analysts lowered their price targets following the company's latest earnings report. Even so, the average 12-month price target stands at $24.79, implying roughly 30% upside from current levels. Notably, every analyst price target remains above the current share price, with targets ranging from $20 to $32.

A recent decline in short interest is also an encouraging sign. The percentage of float sold short has fallen to 8% at the end of May, down from 10.6% at the end of March.

Capri's prolonged share-price decline has left the stock trading at a discount to both the broader retail sector and some of its competitors. The company currently trades at just 0.6X sales, well below the retail industry's average price-to-sales ratio of 1.08. Capri also trades at a substantial discount to Tapestry and Ralph Lauren Corp. NYSE: RL, which command price-to-sales multiples of 4.3 and 3.0, respectively. The valuation is not the lowest in the group, however, as PVH Corp. NYSE: PVH trades at 0.4X sales.

Capri's turnaround is still in its early stages, and investors will likely want to see further evidence that improving trends at Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo can be sustained. However, recent results suggest the company is on firmer footing than a year ago and moving in the right direction, making the stock worth a closer look for investors willing to bet on the recovery.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Capri Right Now?Before you consider Capri, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Capri wasn't on the list.

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Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses In POET Technologies To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options

If you purchased or acquired securities in POET Technologies between April 1, 2026 and 08:57 AM EST on April 27, 2026 and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310).

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New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - June 28, 2026) - Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against POET Technologies, Inc. ("POET Technologies" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: POET) and reminds investors of the June 29, 2026 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

Watch our latest video highlighting the key allegations: 

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Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors since its founding in 1995. See www.faruqilaw.com.

As detailed below, the complaint alleges that the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose that: (1) POET Technologies misrepresented its tax status due to it likely being deemed a passive foreign investment company (or "PFIC") under U.S. tax laws which, if not properly reported by each U.S. stockholder, would have negative tax implications for those U.S. stockholders; (2) the foregoing tax issue would, if discovered, make POET Technologies a less attractive investment than it would otherwise be, thus threatening POET Technologies' valuation; (3) Defendant Thomas Mika, despite affirming that he was not violating a non-disclosure agreement, in fact violated a business agreement by speaking about POET Technologies' business agreements in a public interview, thus endangering POET Technologies' business prospects, and (4) as a result, defendants' statements about POET Technologies' business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

On April 27, 2026, Investing.com published an article entitled "POET Technologies stock tumbles after losing Marvell orders." The article stated that POET Technologies stock fell "after the company disclosed the cancellation of all purchase orders from Celestial AI, now owned by Marvell Semiconductor Inc. Marvell provided written notice on April 23, 2026, canceling all purchase orders, including those for initial production units first announced by POET Technologies in a press release on April 25, 2023. Marvell cited the company's disclosures of information related to the purchase orders and shipping details as violations of confidentiality obligations."

Following this news, POET Technologies' stock dropped more than 45% during intraday trading on April 27, 2026.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding POET Technologies' conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

To learn more about the POET Technologies class action, go to www.faruqilaw.com/POET or call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310).

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, on X, or on Facebook.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Investors Regarding the POET Technologies, Inc. Securities Class Action Lawsuit:

What is the POET Technologies securities fraud lawsuit about?

The POET Technologies securities fraud lawsuit is a federal securities class action alleging that POET Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: POET) and its executives made false and misleading statements to investors by misrepresenting the Company's tax status — concealing that it likely qualified as a passive foreign investment company (PFIC) under U.S. tax law, which carries negative tax implications for U.S. stockholders — and by having a Company executive publicly discuss confidential business agreements in violation of a business agreement with a key customer. As the truth emerged on April 27, 2026, when it was reported that Marvell Semiconductor had canceled all purchase orders from POET Technologies, citing the Company's unauthorized disclosures of confidential order and shipping details as violations of its confidentiality obligations, POET's stock dropped more than 45% during intraday trading, causing significant losses for investors.

Who may be eligible to participate in the POET Technologies class action lawsuit?

Investors who purchased or acquired POET Technologies, Inc. (POET) securities between April 1, 2026 and 8:57 AM EST on April 27, 2026 —- the Class Period — and suffered financial losses may be eligible to participate in the POET Technologies securities class action. Participation as a class member does not require taking any affirmative legal action; eligible investors may recover losses simply by remaining members of the class. Whistleblowers, former POET Technologies employees, and others with relevant information about the Company's conduct are also encouraged to come forward.

What is a lead plaintiff, and how can I seek appointment in the POET Technologies lawsuit?

A lead plaintiff in the POET Technologies class action is a court-appointed investor — typically the one with the largest financial interest in the case — who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of all class members. Any POET Technologies investor who purchased POET securities during the Class Period may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice. The deadline to seek lead plaintiff appointment is June 29, 2026. Importantly, choosing not to seek the lead plaintiff role does not affect an investor's ability to share in any recovery obtained for the class.

What should investors do if they purchased POET Technologies stock during the Class Period?

Investors who purchased POET Technologies, Inc. (POET) securities between April 1, 2026 and April 27, 2026 and suffered losses should contact Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP immediately to discuss their legal rights. The deadline to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in the POET Technologies securities class action is June 29, 2026. To speak directly with securities litigation partner Josh Wilson, call 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310), or visit www.faruqilaw.com/POET for more information.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/303113

Source: Faruqi & Faruqi LLP

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Last week, in an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal, outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook warned that the memory chip crunch made price increases "unavoidable." He also made what seemed like a promise: "We're willing to use our balance sheet to help be a part of the solution." 

So much for that. On Thursday, Apple rammed through hefty price increases for many of its popular devices. Macs, iPads, the Vision Pro, HomePods and Apple TV products all saw price hikes ranging from 15% to over 30%. Even budget-friendly models, like the MacBook Neo and refurbished devices, weren't exempt, though iPhones and AirPods were spared for now.

Surging memory costs and tight supplies have shattered any belief that one of the most successful tech giants would shield its customers from the wrath of RAMageddon. It's a pattern that's becoming increasingly common across the consumer electronics industry.

Microsoft, Motorola, Samsung and now Apple have all blamed higher component costs -- driven largely by artificial intelligence data centers hogging all the available RAM -- to jack up price tags for everyday people. 

That's not to say that chipflation isn't real. Smartphones rely on DRAM for short-term memory and NAND flash for short-term storage, both of which are also needed for data centers. As these power-hungry AI warehouses face bottlenecks processing larger, high-bandwidth workloads, chipmakers are racing to increase supply, driving prices higher across the industry.

"The unprecedented AI infrastructure growth has changed the semiconductor supply chain, driving insatiable demand," said Neil Shah, vice president of research at the global technology research firm Counterpoint. "The situation is not bound to be better, at least for the next two years."

Are Big Tech profits a mirage?     After months of absorbing higher costs for memory and storage chips, which have quadrupled in price since 2025, Apple says it can no longer absorb the costs. "We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly," a company representative told CNET via email. 

But with Big Tech sitting on some of the largest cash piles in history while reporting consistently strong profit margins, many loyal customers are pissed they're being made to foot the bill. Or maybe millions of Americans don't even notice because they're too busy scraping their paychecks to cover groceries, rent, insurance and utility bills, after years of tariffs and inflation. 

On the surface, there's rarely been a better time to be a major technology company. The Magnificent Seven, a moniker for the most dominant companies in the stock market, includes Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Nvidia, Meta and Tesla. Their massive market capitalizations have masked the otherwise decrepit state of the "regular" economy outside of Wall Street, which feels to most of us like it's running on fumes.

Chipmaker Nvidia has become the world's most valuable company, with a record-breaking valuation of $4.7 trillion. SpaceX's initial public offering, which included AI developer xAI, made Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire (for a week or so, at least). AI developers such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google have raised millions of dollars in investor funding on the promise that their products will change the world.

Despite not being a major player in the AI gold rush (or perhaps because the company took a more cautious approach to AI spending), Apple maintains industry-leading margins, reporting $112 billion in net income in 2025. For the second quarter of 2026, the company reported 17% revenue growth, beating investor expectations.

Except the financial narrative around AI is starting to shift. As Big Tech sheds trillions to finance ever-larger AI server farms -- and turns to debt markets to get the cash -- it's facing new skepticism. Consumers aren't seeing a clear payoff, and investors want tangible returns. AI is increasingly looking like a gigantic money pit. 

Are price hikes really 'unavoidable'?Even though the silicon crunch is real, shifting the burden to consumers is a choice. If any company had the resources to ride out the chip shortage and absorb higher component costs, it's Apple. The Cupertino company's healthy profit margins have helped it weather supply chain disruptions and rocky economic waves better than others, even during the COVID downturn and the subsequent period of peak inflation. 

Anshel Sag of Moor Insights told CNET that Apple is simply not impervious to global market forces. Sag said he believes the tech giant held off on price hikes as long as it could, thereby gaining a short-term competitive advantage. But now things have changed. 

"We are now so deep (almost a year) into the memory shortage that all attempts to stockpile inventory or anticipate price increases have likely been exhausted, and Apple now has to raise prices," Sag said via email. 

The question, then, is whether Apple could have chosen to absorb lower profit margins rather than pass those higher costs on to consumers. Within Silicon Valley, Apple is hardly struggling -- its net profit margin stands at 27%, according to Macrotrends data. That would make these price hikes more of a calculated business decision rather than an economic inevitability. 

In a post on X, US Senator Bernie Sanders accused Cook of corporate greed, noting that the company spent $310 billion on stock buybacks, which artificially boost stock prices and benefit company execs and highly invested shareholders.

 "These price hikes aren't unavoidable. They're unacceptable," Sanders said.

Corporate greed is Tim Cook, the billionaire Apple CEO, claiming that hiking prices on Apple products by over $200 is "unavoidable" after it made $112 billion in profits last year & spent $310 billion on stock buybacks.

These price hikes aren't unavoidable. They're…

— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) June 25, 2026 Are we subsidizing the AI gold rush?  Over the last year, we've seen major tech conglomerates like Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon spend huge sums to build massive computer systems for AI. These hyperscalers paid top dollar to secure the available supply of components for their generative AI and large language models, or LLMs -- which then drove up prices across the rest of the tech industry.

Apple, in the meantime, deliberately sat out the massive AI infrastructure spending race. Instead of burning cash on its own AI data centers and cloud warehouses, the company is now integrating Google Gemini models to power its AI-upgraded Siri, while continuing to rely on its own Private Cloud Compute services. At its annual WWDC event earlier this month, Apple made a renewed push into AI, unveiling its overhauled Apple Intelligence offerings.

But Apple's initial restraint didn't protect it from the supply chain fallout. In last week's exclusive interview with Cook, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple had lost some of its historic buying leverage with suppliers as AI companies secured market share. Now it has to catch up. 

Cook, who is set to step down as CEO on Sept. 1, had also implied during the interview that the company could lean on its own cash reserves to secure memory supply, which could have shielded customers from price hikes. CNET asked Apple why it didn't end up tapping its own cash reserves, but did not get a response.

"Apple is between a rock and a hard place with this situation," Sag said. "The memory suppliers have all the leverage, and Apple's investors wouldn't let them eat the cost difference." 

That leaves us, the regular folk, subsidizing soaring AI costs, even if we don't use the technology and never asked for it. For years, Apple did fine with a subpar AI virtual assistant while Google pulled ahead. And Siri's shortcomings, long a source of criticism for responses like "I'm sorry, I didn't get that," did little to dent demand for Apple products.

In fact, despite the tech industry's continued push for ubiquitous AI, the tech just isn't enough to entice consumers to switch: Only 11% of smartphone owners would upgrade for new AI features, according to a CNET survey. 

Will tech ever be affordable?  Even if higher input costs justified some of Apple's recent price increases, the markups go well beyond simply covering expenses. Take the entry-level MacBook Neo, marketed as an affordable option for students, which saw a $100 price jump just months after its launch, despite no meaningful improvements in hardware features or functionality.

As my colleague Matt Elliot pointed out, Apple seems to be using the widely reported memory shortage as a convenient cover to raise the Neo's price. In reality, the company exhausted its initial supply of surplus smartphone processors for its budget laptop and now faces higher production costs for new A18 Pro chips. 

While the chip shortage explains some of the pressure on Apple, the company treated it like a blank check. And those massive price hikes could have consequences, including dampening buyer demand, since fewer of us can afford Apple products. Apple could also take a hit to its public image, since rising costs are likely to cement the brand's reputation as "elitist" -- though critics have made that point for years. 

Plus, the unprecedented price spike could also freak out investors -- in fact, it already has. After Thursday's price increases, Apple's stock price plunged by over 6%, its worst single-day drop in over a year. 

Still, the tech giant is likely to conquer these hurdles without taking a major sales hit, according to Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of client devices at IDC. "Where a price rise can push a budget Android buyer in an emerging market to delay a purchase or drop to a cheaper brand," Jeronimo said, "the typical Apple customer tends to absorb it."

In large part, that's because Apple has unique market power stemming from its loyal customer base. It's developed financial resilience from that retention and a tightly integrated ecosystem. When you own an iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods and a MacBook, abandoning one of them means disrupting your entire digital lifestyle. 

And Apple knows it. 

CNET's Katelyn Chedraoui and Blake Stimac contributed to this story. 

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Yousuf Imran left Google in April to start an AI company after earning nearly $1 million last year. Yousuf Imran This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Yousuf Imran, a 41-year-old former account executive at Google based in the Bay Area. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I earned nearly $1 million last year as an account executive at Google, but I felt some "FOMO" around the AI boom.

I think most people at Google would tell you the same if they were being candid.

Google pays very well, but the equity packages at OpenAI and Anthropic are in a different universe. A three- or four-year stock grant at one of these companies can be life-changing money.

That math was part of my own calculus in deciding to start my own business focused on AI sales tools. If the only way to get real upside in this AI moment is equity, at some point, you ask yourself whether the equity should be in your own company.

How I built a million-dollar sales careerI grew up in Queens and got into sales because it's a profession where talent can outrun credentials.

After a roughly 15-year career in sales, I joined Google in 2020, helping customers solve business problems using Google's AI and machine-learning technologies.

My base salary last year was roughly $170,000, but commissions made up the majority of my compensation. My W-2 income was about $986,000.

I think part of my success came from what I call the immigrant hustle. My family moved to New York when I was five years old from Bangladesh, and I grew up believing that if you don't put in the work, you won't get results.

Also, I believe my curiosity differentiated me. I spent a lot of time learning about my customers' businesses, understanding the problems they were trying to solve, and becoming deeply knowledgeable about AI and machine learning so I could help them use the technology effectively.

AI became more than my day jobOver time, my interest in AI went beyond my work at Google. While I was selling AI products during the day, I was spending nights and weekends experimenting with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

At first, I was building small projects for myself. Since I'm not a software developer by trade, I'd talk to multiple AI tools to try to figure things out and, after some trial and error, get a win. Vibe coding felt kind of like a video game.

As AI tools improved, those projects became more ambitious. I built several apps and side projects over a roughly year-and-a-half period and began thinking seriously about the opportunity to start my own business.

I also thought about my job security at Google, given the company's layoffs in prior years. What struck me about the recent layoff rounds at Google was that they hit genuinely talented people. The uncertainty of a potential layoff was another input into my decision to bet on myself.

In April, six years after joining Google, I left Google to found Mangosteen Studio, an AI product lab building go-to-market tooling for account executives. The thesis is simple: I spent 20 years quota-carrying at some of the biggest companies, so I'm building the tools I wish I'd had.

I prepared financially before taking the leapLeaving Google wasn't something I did impulsively. Google is a vast organization with incredible resources and teams working on bleeding-edge AI. Losing that "insider" access and being less visible in that world was a major point of hesitation for me.

There were also financial considerations, particularly making sure I had enough savings to give the business a real chance without having to make major changes to my lifestyle.

I set aside $200,000 to fund the business for two years and another $150,000 to cover my mortgage and personal expenses during that time.

My primary goal is to bootstrap the business for as long as possible and not feel pressured to raise money, because investors quickly take your equity. I also wanted to be comfortable enough financially to focus on building the business rather than worrying about paying my bills.

AI is changing entrepreneurshipToday, I'm running the company as a solo founder with a small team of engineers, marketers, and other contractors. It's still early, but many sales professionals have already used our AI tools free of charge, which has given me confidence that we're building something people find useful.

For people who feel stuck in their careers or aren't being challenged, AI is giving people an opportunity to build something of their own. The key is having domain expertise you can lean on. I wasn't a software engineer, but I spent 20 years learning the problems salespeople face.

Ultimately, I recognized that leaving Google meant leaving a lot of things behind — both financially and professionally. But my confidence and domain expertise made me feel like this was the right moment to take the risk.

Do you have a story to share? Reach out to the reporter via email at [email protected], or via Signal at jzinkula.29.

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Marc Andreessen: Zhipu AI’s GLM-5.2 Rivals Top U.S. Open Models, Large Language Model Capabilities Gradually Move Toward a Multipolar Competitive Landscape

According to monitoring by Beating, a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen noted that many AI practitioners and industry insiders consider Zhipu GLM-5.2 to be the first Chinese AI model that can match or even outperform open models from leading U.S. labs on most tasks, while also being balanced across multiple capability dimensions. This development carries "extremely critical timing significance" amid accelerating global AI competition, as large model capabilities are gradually shifting from being dominated by a small number of U.S. labs to a multipolar competitive landscape. Click the original link below to join Beating’s Feishu AI News Channel, which provides 24/7 uninterrupted monitoring of global AI hotspots and news.

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BofA Securities chief strategist Michael Hartnett outlined three thresholds for a "full risk-off" trigger this summer in his latest Fund Flow Report: the Mag7 ETF falling below $60, USD/JPY dropping below 110, and the yield curve inverting again. None of these conditions have been met yet, but related signals are building. U.S. stock funds posted a net outflow of $8.5 billion, the first such outflow since March, following a historic $119.2 billion net inflow. The divergence where hyperscale cloud providers continue to underperform chip stocks has pushed the sustainability of AI capital spending to the core of market debate: Apple’s MacBook price hikes and Microsoft’s Xbox price increases are both directly tied to rising memory costs. Rack memory prices at Vera Rubin have surged by 435% cumulatively, and Goldman Sachs forecasts AI capital spending could reach as high as $1.4 trillion by 2027. Hartnett’s core ongoing question is: How much further do cloud providers need to fall before the market starts pricing in capital spending cuts? U.S. equity funds have shifted ahead of the curve, with liquidity flowing out of tech giants and into cyclical assets including semiconductors, small-caps, housing, and REITs — a move the market interprets as a front-run bet on a policy shift toward "affordability". For asset classes, Hartnett believes gold remains highly valuable for allocation below $4,000, and going long on long-dated U.S. Treasuries is currently the most contrarian long-term trade. The U.S. dollar is only suitable for short-term holding rather than long-term allocation, while going long on emerging markets over the long term is his strategic stance. Since Fed Chair Waller took office on May 22, U.S. Treasuries have risen by 3.2% cumulatively, while stocks have fallen by 1.6%, with bonds outperforming significantly.

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Bank of America: There are three key thresholds for US stocks to trigger a full-scale risk-off move this summer; none of the conditions have been triggered yet, but relevant signals are accumulating.

Bank of America Securities chief strategist Hartnett outlined three triggers for a "full risk-off" environment this summer in his latest Fund Flow Report: Mag7 ETF falling below $60, USD/JPY dropping below 110, and the yield curve inverting again. None of these conditions have been met yet, but signals are building. U.S. equity funds have posted a net outflow of $8.5 billion, the first such outflow since March, following a historic $119.2 billion net inflow. The divergence where hyperscale cloud providers continue to underperform chip stocks has put the sustainability of AI capital expenditure at the center of market debate: Apple’s MacBook price hikes and Microsoft’s Xbox price increases are both directly tied to rising memory costs. Vera Rubin rack memory prices have surged 435% cumulatively, and Goldman Sachs projects AI capital expenditure could reach as high as $1.4 trillion by 2027. Hartnett’s core ongoing question is: How much further do cloud providers need to fall before the market begins pricing in capital expenditure cuts? U.S. equity funds have already shifted ahead of time; liquidity flowing out of tech giants is pouring into cyclical assets like semiconductors, small-caps, housing, and REITs, a move the market interprets as a front-run bet on policy shifting toward "affordability." At the asset class level, Hartnett believes gold still holds strong allocation value below $4,000, and going long on long-dated U.S. Treasuries is the most contrarian long-term trade right now. The U.S. dollar is only suitable for short-term holding rather than long-term allocation, and his strategic view is to go long on emerging markets over the long term. Since Fed Chair Waller took office on May 22, U.S. Treasuries have risen 3.2% cumulatively, while stocks have fallen 1.6%, with bonds significantly outperforming.

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Samsung Electro-Mechanics plans to sign a 500 billion won large order for AI server MLCCs, and will partner with Sumitomo Chemical to develop glass substrate business.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics is in final negotiations with a major U.S. tech firm over a supply contract for MLCCs (multi-layer ceramic capacitors) for AI servers. Worth around 500 billion won, the deal equals 10% of its component division’s annual revenue last year, making it an extremely large-scale order. Industry sources speculate the client is a leading player with significant clout in the data center sector. Each AI server requires 15,000 to 25,000 MLCCs—over 10 times the number used in a smartphone—with a unit price more than triple that of smartphone-grade MLCCs, earning the component the nickname "golden rice of the AI industry". Samsung Electro-Mechanics currently holds the No.2 position in the global MLCC market with a 20%+ share. The contract is expected to significantly boost its standing in the AI server MLCC market. Industry observers note the deal essentially secures quality validation from a global "big buyer", which will prompt other major tech firms to follow suit. Turning to its glass substrate business, Samsung Electro-Mechanics will formally sign a joint venture agreement with Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical this week. The two firms will invest a combined 500 billion won to set up a glass substrate JV, with Samsung holding a majority stake and contributing around 300 billion won. The JV will be based at the Pyeongtaek plant of Sumitomo Chemical’s South Korean subsidiary Dongwoo Fine-Chem, with production scheduled to launch in early next year. Glass substrates, which offer superior heat resistance to traditional plastic substrates and can accommodate more HBM (high-bandwidth memory) and GPUs, are hailed as "rule changers" for AI semiconductor packaging. Samsung Electro-Mechanics aims to lock in a high-quality supply chain in advance for mass production, while Sumitomo Chemical is using this partnership to enter the next-generation packaging materials market.

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SummaryW. P. Carey offers a 5.1% yield and consistent dividend growth, supported by a diversified, industrial-focused portfolio.WPC's industrial-focused, diversified portfolio and disciplined acquisition pipeline support continued AFFO/share growth and dividend increases.Management raised full-year investment pipeline guidance to $1.5–$2.0 billion, reflecting confidence in ongoing accretive acquisitions.I maintain a 'Buy' rating on WPC for its attractive yield, strong balance sheet, and reasonable valuation versus peers.Looking for a portfolio of ideas like this one? Members of iREIT®+HOYA Capital get exclusive access to our subscriber-only portfolios. Learn More »Sitewide Sale 2026: Get 20% Off Deagreez/iStock via Getty Images

The 4% rule is often cited as a guideline for income during retirement, in which one cashes out 4% of the stock portfolio per year. That can be a tricky endeavor for an index investor, as the S&P 500 (

23.32K Followers

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of WPC either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. 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.

I am not an investment advisor. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute as financial advice. Readers are encouraged and expected to perform due diligence and draw their own conclusions prior to making any investment decisions.

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.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has responded after Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox criticized the exchange over alleged betting prompts inside the Coinbase app.

Summary

Coinbase CEO backs user choice but warns high-risk products need careful in-app promotion rules. Zooko’s complaint turned Coinbase prediction markets into a debate over vulnerable users and app design. Coinbase’s broader product push adds betting-style markets while regulators argue over sports event contracts nationwide. The exchange chief defended user choice, but said platforms should treat high-risk products with care when serving less experienced users.

Zooko criticizes betting prompts Zooko said on X that he had spoken with a young and financially vulnerable Coinbase user. He claimed the app had started prompting that user to bet on sports and the price of Bitcoin.

He said the situation made him “ashamed” to be part of the crypto industry. His post quickly turned into a wider debate about how large crypto apps should promote prediction markets and similar products.

The criticism comes as Coinbase expands beyond spot crypto trading. Recent coverage of Coinbase’s pre-IPO perpetual futures described the firm’s push to combine crypto, stocks, prediction markets and futures inside one account.

That wider product strategy gives users more ways to trade. It also raises questions about how trading apps present risk, especially when products look simple inside a mobile interface.

Armstrong says adults should choose Armstrong replied that he is “pro-freedom” and believes adults should be able to use their money as they choose, as long as they do not harm others. He also said there is no perfect line between investing and gambling.

Interesting — and I appreciate the take.

I think there’s a balance here.

I’m pro-freedom. Consenting adults should be able to do what they want with their own money, as long as they’re not harming others. I don’t want companies patronizing users or dictating what they can do…

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) June 28, 2026 The Coinbase CEO added that buying early Bitcoin, Zcash or stocks could also be described as gambling by some people. His point was that risk depends on the product, the user and the context.

Still, Armstrong agreed with part of Zooko’s concern. He said it does not feel right to “aggressively promote high-risk products to unsophisticated users.”

He also said there is a difference between making a product available and making it the main focus of an app. That distinction now sits at the center of the debate.

Prediction markets face regulatory pressure Coinbase’s sports prediction markets page says the products are offered through Coinbase Financial Markets, a registered futures commission merchant. The page also warns that prediction contracts involve high risk and may lead to the loss of the full investment.

Sports event contracts remain a disputed area in the U.S. In related coverage, Kentucky sued Kalshi, Polymarket and partners tied to Coinbase, Robinhood and Webull, saying the products looked like sports wagering under state law.

The CFTC took the opposite view and argued that Kalshi and Polymarket fall under federal oversight as designated contract markets. The dispute now centers on whether sports contracts belong under federal derivatives rules or state gambling laws.

Former CFTC Chair Gary Gensler also weighed in through a court filing, saying sports prediction contracts do not qualify as swaps under U.S. derivatives law. That filing added another layer to the legal debate.

Coinbase weighs access and safety Armstrong suggested that Coinbase could use clearer disclosures, AI-based financial literacy tools and more personal app settings. He said users could choose whether to enable or disable certain product groups during onboarding.

That approach would let users decide what they see without removing access for everyone. It would also give Coinbase a way to answer concerns about younger or less experienced users seeing betting-style prompts.

The debate shows how fast crypto apps are changing. Platforms no longer offer only coins and tokens. Many now offer event contracts, derivatives and other products that behave more like financial bets.

For Coinbase, the issue is not only whether users can access these markets. The next question is how strongly the app should promote them and what safeguards should appear before users place trades.