Bank of America vidí u Micronu díky AI další růst paměťového trhu a odhaduje EPS 236,16 USD na akcii ve fiskálním roce 2030. Konsensus je výrazně níž, na 136,24 USD.
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The semiconductor market has spent decades teaching investors the same lesson: memory booms eventually become memory busts. Supply catches up with demand, pricing falls, margins collapse, and yesterday’s earnings suddenly look like a mirage.
That history explains why investors continue to treat Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU | MU Price Prediction) as a cyclical stock, even after AI has pushed its results into territory the company has never seen before. Micron generated $41.46 billion of revenue and an 85% gross margin in fiscal Q3 2026, versus 38% a year earlier.
Now Bank of America is asking investors to consider whether AI has broken that cycle.
BofA Sees a $236 EPS Micron BofA Global Research sketches out a dramatically different future for Micron. Under its “SanDisk-like” assumptions, sales reach $377.3 billion by fiscal 2030, versus $280.5 billion in the consensus case.
Fiscal 2030 Consensus BofA’s SNDK-like Case Sales $280.5 billion $377.3 billion Gross margin 78.0% 80.0% EPS $136.24 $236.16 FCF $190.8B $188.6B That implies a 30.7% sales CAGR and a 34.1% EPS CAGR through fiscal 2030. Yet the market values Micron at roughly 6x forward earnings on the consensus fiscal 2027 EPS estimate of $151.37 — pricing in an end to the memory party well before Micron gets comfortable. BofA thinks that’s backward.
Bank of America is betting big that the AI revolution has fundamentally rewritten the rules of the semiconductor game—challenging decades of market history. The AI Memory Cycle Really Is Different This Time There’s a good reason to take the bullish case seriously. Micron’s fiscal Q3 DRAM revenue jumped 343% year over year to $31.3 billion, while NAND rose 361% to $9.9 billion. Consolidated gross margin hit 84.9%, with fiscal Q4 guidance around 86%.
High-bandwidth memory is central to this shift. Micron says HBM requires more than three times the wafer capacity per bit of conventional DRAM, and supply remains allocated — hyperscalers want more, but manufacturers can’t flood the market overnight. HBM4 is already shipping in volume, with HBM4E production expected in 2027.
Other tailwinds: enterprise SSDs are taking a growing share of NAND as AI data centers generate more data, and next-gen AI inference could demand entirely new memory types. Earlier this month, SK hynix (NASDAQ:SKHY) and Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) unveiled the first High Bandwidth Flash specs — a category designed to sit between HBM and SSDs, offering up to 512GB and 3TB/s of bandwidth. That needn’t hurt Micron, but it shows how fast memory architecture is evolving, and why today’s winners shouldn’t be assumed to own every new category.
The EPS Forecast Could Be Aggressive The bullish AI thesis is compelling; the bullish Micron forecast requires a leap. An 80% gross margin isn’t crazy today, but looks crazy as a structural assumption through 2030. Memory has historically been among the most cyclical semiconductor businesses, with normal-cycle margins often around 30% to 40%. Micron’s current 85% reflects an unusually tight market. The real question is what happens once competitors add capacity.
SK hynix remains formidable, while Samsung and potentially Chinese suppliers are also ramping up. If competition keeps pricing disciplined instead of letting Micron hold 80% margins indefinitely, earnings could land closer to consensus — which is why BofA’s $236.16 estimate deserves skepticism even if the broader thesis holds. Investors don’t need BofA’s most aggressive assumptions to find the story compelling: Micron is already producing record revenue, 85% margins, and $25.39 billion in quarterly operating cash flow.
Key Takeaway BofA seems right about the direction but too aggressive about the destination. AI is changing memory economics by pulling demand toward HBM, advanced DRAM, enterprise SSDs, and potentially HBF, and long lead times could make supply responses slower than in past cycles. But $236 of EPS in 2030 requires Micron to become structurally different from the cyclical company investors have known for decades.
Still, the case doesn’t require believing an 80% margin lasts forever. At roughly 6x forward earnings, the market seems to be pricing in a return to much weaker economics — so it may be underestimating how long this boom lasts. I’d treat BofA’s analysis as the bull case, not the base case.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Elon Musk řekl, že hlavním omezením pro AI je nyní paměť, což přímo míří na Micron. Na stejném hovoru uvedl, že výroba pamětí roste asi o 20 % ročně, zatímco poptávka roste o 200 % ročně, možná i více.
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On SpaceX (NASDAQ:SPCX | SPCX Price Prediction)’s Q2 2026 earnings call held Aug. 4, 2026, Elon Musk answered a question about the pace of compute buildout with five words that memory investors have circulated ever since: “Limiting factor currently is memory.”
The remark lands directly on Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), the only U.S.-based maker of high-bandwidth memory and one of just three global HBM suppliers. SpaceX itself trades publicly as NASDAQ:SPCX after its 2026 IPO. Musk just told public shareholders that memory caps his AI ambitions, above both power and GPUs.
What Musk Actually Said Musk framed the constraint in his own supply-versus-demand math. “The memory output is increasing by around 20% per year. Now, normally that would be fantastically fast and amazing for any large, mature industry. But ask yourself, is the demand increasing by 20% a year? No, the demand is increasing by 200% a year, maybe higher. So if you’ve got demand increasing much faster than supply, then Economics 101 would suggest that the price increases. It does not decrease.” Those 20% and 200% figures are his characterization on the call, not independently verified industry data.
He Ruled Out Power on the Same Call What gives the memory line weight is what Musk dismissed alongside it. He said SpaceX’s “tentative target is to actually have 20 gigawatts at the power and cooling level online by the end of next year,” while conceding “I don’t think we’re going to achieve 20 gigawatts” and expecting “something close to 15 gigawatts.” He stated the design philosophy plainly: “our goal is to have far more power, cooling, and electrical equipment than we have GPUs. That’s the logical thing to do given the relative expense of GPUs versus balance of system.” On GPU access from NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), he added, “Our understanding within NVIDIA is that we will receive a very small percentage of their GPUs next year.” Power was named excess. Memory was named the bottleneck.
The Tesla Echo, Two Weeks Earlier On Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings on roughly July 23, 2026, Musk thanked Micron by name twice for giving Tesla a “significant” memory allocation “on reasonable terms,” and called current memory pricing “the biggest price jump in anything I’ve ever seen.” Micron shares rose 3.1% intraday that day while Tesla stock fell 14.3% on an earnings miss. Same concern, different call.
The Supply and Demand Case Reporting around the calls has framed the imbalance in stark numbers. Nearly 100 gigawatts of new AI data center capacity are expected globally within four years, against only about 15 gigawatts of new DRAM supply capacity over the next two years. DRAM contract prices have been projected to rise another 90% to 95% in early 2026 on top of already-steep increases. All three HBM producers, Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix, are reportedly sold out of 2026 HBM capacity, with meaningful new supply not expected until 2028 or later. HBM content per GPU has grown roughly 3.6 times from NVIDIA’s H100 generation to Blackwell Ultra, and frontier AI model context windows have expanded roughly 230 times in three years. Conventional DRAM contract prices reportedly surged around 171.8% year over year in Q3 2025.
What It Means for Micron Micron closed at $971.66 on Aug. 14, up 240.65% year to date from $285.23 at the end of 2025, up 676.79% over one year from $125.09 on Aug. 14, 2025, up 10.72% over the past week from $877.57 on Aug. 7, up 7.45% over the past month from $904.28 on July 15, and up 2.30% on Aug. 14 alone from $949.83. The stock trades around 6 times forward earnings. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told investors Micron expects tight conditions to persist beyond calendar 2027, backed by Strategic Customer Agreements disclosed in its Q3 FY26 8-K.
The Other Side The bear case deserves weight. A Motley Fool analysis published Aug. 9, 2026 cited TrendForce forecasts for Q3 2026 contract price increases of just 13% to 18% for DRAM and 10% to 15% for NAND, a sharp deceleration from the prior quarter’s gains of more than 60% and more than 80% sequentially. Wall Street’s fiscal 2027 EPS estimates for Micron have reportedly plateaued, rising just 1.2% over the latest month after a much larger jump three months earlier, suggesting earnings-upside momentum may be cooling. The underlying warning is that memory is historically a cyclical, boom-and-bust business, and today’s low-looking valuation multiples could prove misleading if price growth decelerates and margins compress.
Structural Shift or Peak Cycle Musk’s five words describe a moment in which the richest customer of AI compute has publicly identified memory as the ceiling on his plans. Whether that reflects a durable rewrite of memory economics or a peak-cycle snapshot in an industry that has seen every prior boom end will show up in DRAM contract prices, HBM allocation contracts, and whether Micron’s $100 billion cumulative revenue at floor price across signed SCAs holds through 2028. For now, the SpaceX CEO has told the market where the bottleneck sits.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Archer Investment Corp ve 2. čtvrtletí navýšil podíl v Eli Lilly o 10,6 % na 8 262 akcií v hodnotě 9,91 milionu USD. Z farmaceutické firmy je nyní jeho 9. největší pozice.
Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY – Free Report) by 10.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,262 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company makes up approximately 1.9% of Archer Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $9,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Iams Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $754,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 5,055,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,649,464,000 after purchasing an additional 454,549 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC lifted its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 17.5% in the second quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 10,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,258,000 after buying an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 79.3% in the 2nd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,550,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 131.6% during the 4th quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 3,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.53% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 2,000 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,185.01, for a total transaction of $2,370,020.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,808,325.26. This trade represents a 56.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Anat Hakim sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,190.00, for a total value of $5,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,131,250. This represents a 29.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.
Key Stories Impacting Eli Lilly and Company Here are the key news stories impacting Eli Lilly and Company this week:
Positive Sentiment: The U.K. regulator approved Lilly’s once-daily oral weight-loss pill, Foundayo (orforglipron), giving the company a potentially important first-mover advantage for an obesity pill in Europe. The approval expands Lilly’s addressable market beyond injectable treatments such as Mounjaro and Zepbound. Eli Lilly Just Scored Europe’s First Weight Loss Pill Approval Positive Sentiment: Lilly is expanding its obesity pipeline with a new Phase 1 macupatide study in Japan. Although early-stage, the trial reinforces the company’s efforts to develop additional weight-management therapies and support long-term growth. Lilly Expands Obesity Pipeline With Fresh Macupatide Trial in Japan Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings showed continued operating momentum: quarterly revenue rose about 48% year over year to roughly $23 billion, while adjusted EPS beat expectations. Growth was led by Mounjaro, Zepbound and other key medicines, and management raised full-year 2026 guidance. Foundayo also generated an initial $98 million in quarterly sales. 5 Revealing Analyst Questions From Eli Lilly’s Q2 Earnings Call Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to view LLY as a fundamental leader, with reported price targets generally above the current trading level. However, the stock is approaching a technical buy point after a large earnings-driven advance, making valuation and chart resistance important near-term considerations. Eli Lilly Stock Nears Buy Point After Earnings-Fueled Gains Negative Sentiment: Insider-selling headlines may be adding pressure: executives have sold shares in recent months, including a reported 2,000-share sale by CFO and Chief Accounting Officer Donald Zakrowski. Lilly also trades at a demanding earnings multiple, leaving the stock sensitive to profit-taking or any signs of slower obesity-drug growth. Donald Zakrowski Sells 2,000 Shares of Eli Lilly Stock Wall Street Analyst Weigh In LLY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,283.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,350.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,350.00 to $1,410.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,235.00 to $1,273.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,292.18.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance LLY opened at $1,182.24 on Monday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1 year low of $685.15 and a 1 year high of $1,249.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,170.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,052.69.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $8.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.40 by $1.98. The company had revenue of $22.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 33.53% and a return on equity of 97.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 47.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.31 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 35.500-36.500 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 36.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.73 per share. This represents a $6.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Eli Lilly and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.22%.
Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile (Free Report)
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a global pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad range of medicines and therapies for patients worldwide. Eli Lilly maintains operations and commercial presence across North America, Europe, Asia and other regions, serving both developed and emerging markets. The company has been led in recent years by President and Chief Executive Officer David A.
See Also Five stocks we like better than Eli Lilly and Company The Metals Company’s Big Bet Now Comes Down to a License OneSpaWorld Keeps Turning Cruise Demand Into Record Earnings Meta and Tesla Are Rebounding From Oversold Levels—Now What? AMG’s Alternatives Boom Powers Record Growth Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LLY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY – Free Report).
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U.S. railroad Union Pacific (UNP.N) collected $91.1 million more in fuel surcharges than it paid for fuel during the second quarter, far outpacing rivals, according to a company filing with the Surface Transportation Board and first reported by Reuters.
Those excess surcharges boosted Union Pacific's profit, underlining criticism from some shippers that surcharges meant to recoup rising petroleum costs due to the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran are sometimes excessive.
Railroads are the only U.S. transportation companies that report both fuel costs and fuel surcharge revenue to regulators, offering rare insight into how surcharges can improve company profits.
Union Pacific said its year-over-year percentage fuel surcharge increase is in line with the industry. STB filings showed that only Norfolk Southern (NSC.N) and CSX (CSX.O) also had surpluses, of $3.6 million and $8.4 million, respectively, during the second quarter.
"Ultimately, fuel surcharges are a component of the overall cost we negotiate with customers and something they take into consideration when choosing Union Pacific and the service we provide," Union Pacific said in a statement.
Last month, Union Pacific said fuel surcharges added earnings of 14 cents per share in the second quarter. Based on shares outstanding, that works out to $83.2 million in profit.
MERGER WITH NORFOLK SOUTHERN
Union Pacific is seeking regulatory approval for an $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern to create the first railroad operator spanning the continental United States.
The Stop the Rail Merger Coalition, which includes six state attorneys general, rival railroads, labor unions and agricultural and chemical industry groups, says creating a railroad with 50% market share of domestic rail freight would reduce competition and boost shipping costs that consumers ultimately pay.
The coalition did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the surcharges.
Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF (BRKa.N) said in an STB filing this month that only Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would benefit from the merger, noting that the resulting company "will have every incentive and opportunity to apply UP’s longstanding high-price strategies on a national scale." BNSF declined to comment.
The U.S. transportation industry applies fuel surcharges using benchmarks such as the Department of Energy's On-Highway Diesel Fuel price and a proprietary formula, known as a "trade factor." Surcharges have withstood legal challenges and regulatory scrutiny over decades.
“Rail fuel surcharges overall are up 43 cents a mile since March and now sit above the previous record from September 2008. That's not a typo,” said Kyle Henzel, president and chief operating officer at shipping platform Ship.com.
There is generally a lag of up to two months between fuel price moves and railroad surcharges. This year's March fuel surcharge, for example, was based on the January diesel price, before the Iran war started.
In the first quarter, as a result, Union Pacific collected $607.6 million in fuel surcharges, $34.8 million less than it paid for fuel, its STB filing showed.
But in the combined first and second quarters, Union Pacific's surcharge revenue was $56.4 million more than its fuel costs.
Union Pacific was the only major railroad to report fuel surcharges that exceeded fuel costs for the first half of 2026.
The biggest gap was between Union Pacific and BNSF, which compete for dominance in the western United States. BNSF's surcharges were $658.1 million less than its fuel costs during the first six months of this year, according to STB filings.
Last year, Union Pacific's total fuel surcharge revenue was $2.3 billion, $48 million less than what it paid for fuel, the company's STB filings showed.
Realty Income zvýšila celoroční guidance AFFO na 4,44 až 4,45 USD na akcii a investiční objem pro rok 2026 na 10 miliard USD. Investice ve 2. čtvrtletí přinesly počáteční cash yield 7,3 % a obsazenost portfolia byla 98,8 %.
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Retirement income investors face a familiar tension in August 2026: the 10-year Treasury yield sits at 4.63%, in the 92.7th percentile of the past year, which raises the bar for every income-paying equity. Monthly-pay REITs still clear that bar when they combine covered payouts, disciplined balance sheets, and forward AFFO growth. Three names stand out heading into the second half of the month, each solving a different problem in a retirement portfolio: scale and consistency, high current yield, and growth-driven experiential exposure.
Two structural reminders before the picks. REITs must distribute the majority of taxable income, so payout coverage is best measured against AFFO or FFO rather than GAAP EPS. And monthly cadence, while psychologically attractive, only matters if the payout is durable. Each name below is stress-tested against those criteria.
Realty Income (NYSE: O): The Scale Compounder Realty Income (NYSE:O | O Price Prediction) remains the anchor holding for retirees who want monthly cash without headline risk. Shares traded at $62.74 as of August 14, 2026, translating to a 14.69% year-to-date gain before dividends. The current $0.271 monthly payout annualizes to $3.252, and the last ex-date fell on July 31, 2026, with payment on August 14.
The Q2 story reinforces why the nickname The Monthly Dividend Company still fits. Management raised full-year AFFO per share guidance to $4.44 to $4.45, roughly 4% growth at the midpoint, and lifted 2026 investment volume guidance to $10 billion. Q2 investments closed at a 7.3% initial weighted average cash yield, with portfolio occupancy at 98.8% and rent recapture of 102.7%. CEO Sumit Roy also highlighted "Fitch’s initiation of coverage for Realty Income with a solid A long-term issuer default rating," placing it among a small cohort of A-rated U.S. REITs.
The caveat: net debt to annualized pro forma adjusted EBITDA ticked up to 5.4 times, and Q2 GAAP EPS of $0.37 missed on impairments. AFFO coverage, the metric that matters for the dividend, remains comfortable.
AGNC Investment (NASDAQ: AGNC): The High-Yield Rebound Trade AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC) is the aggressive slice of the monthly-pay universe. Shares closed at $10.96 on August 14, 2026, with a one-year total return of 30.7%. The $0.12 monthly payout has now run 75 consecutive months, annualizing to $1.44 per share. The next ex-date is August 31, 2026, with payment on September 10.
Q2 execution answered a rough Q1. AGNC delivered an economic return of 6.7% for the quarter and a 12.3% total stock return with dividends reinvested. The portfolio ended at $97 billion in market value, and CEO Peter Federico pointed to current-coupon MBS spreads around 150 basis points versus the swap curve, translating to projected ROEs of 15% to 17% on marginal investments at 7 to 7.5x leverage. New agency MBS supply is running near $150 billion in 2026, and bond fund inflows are roughly double the prior-year pace, both supportive technicals.
The risk profile is real. Book value swings sharply with rate volatility (tangible book was down about 1% late in the prior week), and the 2020 cut from $0.16 to $0.12 is a reminder that mortgage REIT distributions bend to spread conditions.
EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR): The Experiential Growth Kicker EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) has been the strongest performer of the three, up 27.48% year to date to $61.25. The $0.31 monthly dividend annualizes to $3.72, and the August 17, 2026 payment lands squarely in this month’s income calendar.
Q2 was the strongest operating quarter in the post-COVID recovery. FFO as adjusted per share rose 12.7% to $1.42, AFFO per share climbed 15.3%, and the AFFO payout ratio ran 65%, giving the dividend meaningful headroom. Management raised 2026 FFOAA guidance to $5.41 to $5.57 and lifted investment spending guidance to $600 million to $700 million. Q2 deployment hit $440.8 million at an 8.5% initial cash yield, including the Six Flags seven-park deal and the Netflix House Philadelphia acquisition. CEO Greg Silvers described "the demand for shared, location-based experiences that cannot be replicated at home" as the durable thesis behind the portfolio.
The risk is tenant concentration: Topgolf and AMC each account for 13.1% of Q2 revenue, and near-term maturities include $179.6 million in August 2026 and $450 million in December 2026. The new $1.6 billion credit facility largely addresses refinancing risk.
What to Watch Next For August cash flow, all three names sit on active monthly schedules. Realty Income offers the tightest coverage and the strongest credit; AGNC offers the highest current yield with the most volatility; EPR offers the fastest AFFO growth and the most operational leverage to consumer spending. If the 10-year Treasury drifts back toward the 12-month average of 4.28%, spread compression should favor all three, with EPR and AGNC likely to move most on rate relief.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
WhiteWater a partneři v joint venture Solitude schválili konečné investiční rozhodnutí pro výstavbu dvou plynovodů z Permian Basin do Katy v Texasu. Projekt má počáteční kapacitu zhruba 2,25 Bcf/d na konci roku 2029.
, /PRNewswire/ -- WhiteWater today announced that it, together with Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN), MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX), Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG) and Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: WES), through their Solitude Pipeline System joint venture ("Solitude"), have reached a positive Final Investment Decision ("FID") to construct two 48-inch natural gas pipelines, each running from the Permian Basin to Katy, TX. The project has secured substantial long-term firm transportation agreements with predominantly investment-grade shippers to support the FID.
Solitude will deliver scalable, long-haul natural gas transportation to support Permian Basin growth and expanding Gulf Coast consumption. The joint venture's pipeline system will feature a flexible, phased design that provides initial capacity of approximately 2.25 Bcf/d in late 2029, and an additional 2.25 Bcf/d in 2030 with the ability to increase capacity thereafter to accommodate shipper demand. Capacity commissioning can be accelerated or deferred to align with evolving market dynamics.
Solitude is expected to enter service in the second half of 2029, subject to receipt of customary regulatory and other approvals.
The joint venture is owned by WhiteWater (50.0%), Devon Energy (25.0%), MPLX (10.0%), Diamondback Energy (7.5%) and Western Midstream Partners (7.5%). I Squared Capital and FIC Partners Management, LP are partners in WhiteWater's Solitude investment.
About WhiteWater
WhiteWater is an Austin, Texas based infrastructure company and operator of multiple gas transmission assets. For more information about WhiteWater, visit www.wwdev.com.
About I Squared Capital
I Squared Capital is a leading independent global infrastructure investor dedicated to the mid-market, managing over $60 billion in assets. Founded in 2012, I Squared has evolved into one of the most diverse infrastructure investors in the world, with investments across power & utilities; transportation & logistics; digital infrastructure; environmental infrastructure; and social infrastructure, providing essential services to millions of people worldwide. Today, the portfolio includes over 100 companies operating in more than 70 countries. Headquartered in Miami, the firm has offices in Abu Dhabi, London, Munich, New Delhi, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Taipei. Learn more at www.isquaredcapital.com.
About FIC
FIC Partners Management, LP ("FIC") is an investment firm with a focus on critical infrastructure assets across the energy and power use value chains. FIC focuses on investment opportunities that seek to generate long-term capital appreciation in the gas transmission, downstream, power and utilities, renewables, and data/telecommunications industries. FIC partners with management teams and businesses to help accelerate the development of strategic assets that serve society's growing energy needs and the associated decarbonization of industrial infrastructure. FIC is the renamed firm following the merger of Emerald Bridge Capital, LP and First Infrastructure Capital Advisors, LLC. For more information about FIC, please visit www.FICfund.com.
About Devon
Devon Energy is a leading oil and gas producer in the U.S. with a premier multi-basin portfolio with assets in the Anadarko Basin, Eagle Ford, Marcellus Shale, Powder River Basin, Williston Basin, anchored by a world-class position in the Delaware Basin. Devon's disciplined cash-return business model is designed to achieve strong returns, generate resilient free cash flow and return capital to shareholders, while focusing on safe and sustainable operations. For more information, please visit www.devonenergy.com.
About MPLX
MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) is a diversified, large-cap master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets and provides fuels distribution services. MPLX's assets include a network of crude oil and refined product pipelines; an inland marine business; light-product terminals; storage caverns; refinery tanks, docks, loading racks, and associated piping; and crude and light-product marine terminals. The company also owns crude oil and natural gas gathering systems and pipelines as well as natural gas and NGL processing and fractionation facilities in key U.S. supply basins. More information is available at www.mplx.com.
About Diamondback
Diamondback is an independent oil and natural gas company headquartered in Midland, Texas focused on the acquisition, development, exploration and exploitation of unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves primarily in the Permian Basin in West Texas.
About Western Midstream
Western Midstream Partners, LP ("WES") is a master limited partnership formed to develop, acquire, own, and operate midstream assets. With midstream assets located in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, WES is engaged in the business of gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural-gas liquids, and crude oil; and gathering, transporting, recycling, treating, and disposing of produced water for its customers. In its capacity as a natural-gas processor, WES also buys and sells residue, natural-gas liquids, and condensate on behalf of itself and its customers under certain gas processing contracts. A substantial majority of WES's cash flows are protected from direct exposure to commodity-price volatility through fee-based contracts.
For more information about WES, please visit www.westernmidstream.com.
Workday vyskočil téměř o 18 % po zprávě, že Silver Lake jedná o převzetí firmy do soukromých rukou. Dohoda ale není jistá a žádná cena ani podmínky nebyly zveřejněny.
Workday (WDAY -3.76%) had its best day since 2016 last Thursday. Shares jumped nearly 18% (trading was halted multiple times along the way) after Reuters reported that private equity firm Silver Lake has spent recent months in talks to take the human resources and finance software maker private. The move lifted Workday's market value from about $43 billion to nearly $51 billion.
What nobody has reported is a price, or terms, or any assurance a deal gets done. Neither Workday nor Silver Lake immediately responded to CNBC's request for comment. And reported talks don't always turn into offers.
So the exercise worth doing is valuing the business on its own -- as if no buyer ever shows up.
Image source: Getty Images.
What Thursday changed Before the report, Workday was a stock the market had spent much of the year marking down. Concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) will upend the business model of seat-based software have weighed on the shares for months. The company also changed leaders in February, when co-founder Aneel Bhusri returned as CEO, replacing Carl Eschenbach. And even after Thursday's jump, the stock remains about 17% below its 52-week high of $249.85.
That context matters for handicapping the talks. A private equity firm circling a company like this is a bet that the market's AI fears are overdone, and that the cash flows are durable enough to carry a leveraged deal. Even if no offer ever comes, the report says a deep-pocketed buyer has been in talks about a deal for months.
The stand-alone business The business under all this is slower than it was, and considerably more profitable. Workday's revenue over the trailing 12 months came to $9.85 billion, up 13.3%. Fiscal 2026 (the year ended Jan. 31, 2026) showed the same shape, with revenue up 13.1%, a step down from 16.4% growth the year before and from the high-teens rates of a few years ago.
Profitability is moving the other way. Operating margin has climbed from 2.5% in fiscal 2024 to 4.9% in fiscal 2025 to 7.5% in fiscal 2026, and trailing-12-month net income rose about 74% to $847 million.
Free cash flow is the more useful measure for a software company, though. Workday generated about $2.97 billion of it over the trailing 12 months, about 30% of revenue.
The AI question hangs over the growth line specifically. Workday prices mostly on its customers' headcount, and if AI lets them run leaner back offices, that headcount could stagnate even while the software stays essential. That risk helped push the stock lower through the first half of the year, before a sharp rebound took hold in July.
The numbers haven't settled it either way. Fiscal 2026's 13% growth is slower than the past, but it isn't the shrinkage the skeptics expect.
Today's Change
(
-3.76
%) $
-7.77
Current Price
$
198.68
A five-year forecast A forecast is only as honest as its assumptions, so here are mine. Assume revenue growth eases from 13% toward single digits, averaging about 10% a year. That puts revenue near $16 billion in five years. Assume free cash flow margin holds around 30%, which requires no improvement from today. That produces about $4.8 billion of annual free cash flow.
The last assumption is the multiple. Put a mature-software valuation of 18 to 20 times free cash flow on those dollars, and the business would be worth about $85 billion to $95 billion, or about $340 to $385 per share before accounting for changes in the share count. The stock trades at about $206 as of this writing.
From the current $51 billion value, that works out to annualized returns of about 11% to 13%.
Of course, the bear branch is the one the AI skeptics would draw. If headcount pressure caps growth at about 6% a year and the multiple compresses to 15 times free cash flow, the value lands near $60 billion, or about $240 per share -- closer to a 3% annualized return from here. Slower, but not a disaster, with free cash flow still growing the whole way.
I'd put more weight on the first branch than the second. Workday's margin climb is recent and steep, and a business converting 30% of revenue to cash can fund its own transition into whatever AI makes of enterprise software. If the talks end without a deal, part of Thursday's jump would likely reverse, and quickly. But the five-year case was never about the talks. It rests on growth near 10% and a free cash flow margin that holds where it is, and today, both assumptions still look reasonable to me.
Applied Materials zveřejnila za fiskální 3. čtvrtletí tržby 9,12 miliardy USD a upravený EPS 3,50 USD, obojí nad odhady. Firma zároveň zvýšila výhled na fiskální 4. čtvrtletí.
Carret Asset Management LLC cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,521 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 2.0% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $22,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after buying an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.
Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks. Applied Materials Stock Performance NASDAQ AMAT opened at $507.18 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $402.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $564.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $445.77.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.28%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $640.17.
Read Our Latest Report on Applied Materials
Applied Materials Profile (Free Report)
Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.
Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.
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Caitong International Asset Management ve 2. čtvrtletí zvýšila podíl v Applied Materials o 61,8 % na 8 938 akcií v hodnotě 6,462 milionu USD. Společnost je nyní 21. největší pozicí fondu.
Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 61.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,938 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,413 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 0.9% of Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.
Insider Transactions at Applied Materials In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $740.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $640.17.
Get Our Latest Report on Applied Materials
More Applied Materials News Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks. Applied Materials Stock Performance Shares of AMAT stock opened at $507.18 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $564.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $445.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.68 billion, a PE ratio of 43.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.
Applied Materials Profile (Free Report)
Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.
Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.
Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Applied Materials The Metals Company’s Big Bet Now Comes Down to a License OneSpaWorld Keeps Turning Cruise Demand Into Record Earnings Meta and Tesla Are Rebounding From Oversold Levels—Now What? AMG’s Alternatives Boom Powers Record Growth Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report).
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Centene oznámila plánovanou výměnu finančního ředitele: Drew Asher odejde z funkce 31. prosince 2026 a odejde z Centene na konci roku 2027, zatímco Chris Neczypor jej nahradí jako výkonný viceprezident a finanční ředitel od 1. ledna 2027.
Drew Asher to step down as CFO December 31, 2026 and retire from Centene at the end of 2027 Chris Neczypor named successor CFO, effective January 1, 2027 , /PRNewswire/ -- Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) announced its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Drew Asher, has notified the company of his intention to step down from his CFO role in December 2026 and retire from Centene at the end of 2027. Chris Neczypor will join the organization in September and work alongside Mr. Asher, assuming the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer role on January 1, 2027. Mr. Asher will remain with the company until his retirement to support a variety of strategic initiatives and ensure a smooth transition.
Mr. Neczypor is a seasoned executive with deep experience across corporate finance, strategy, transformation and capital management. Prior to joining Centene, Mr. Neczypor served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Lincoln Financial, a leading provider of life insurance, annuities, group benefits and retirement solutions. Since joining Lincoln in 2018, he has held other leadership positions, including as Chief Strategy Officer and roles spanning investments, strategic planning and enterprise transformation. Prior to Lincoln Financial, Mr. Neczypor spent more than a decade in investment and financial services roles, including as an equity research analyst at Goldman Sachs and as an investor at institutional asset management firms.
"I'm excited to welcome Chris to Centene," said Sarah M. London, Chief Executive Officer. "Chris brings a proven track record of strengthening financial performance, optimizing operations and creating long-term shareholder value. Just as importantly, he is a collaborative, values-driven leader who understands how to build strong teams and drive meaningful impact. Our organization will benefit from his expertise, energy and perspective as we deliver on Centene's next phase of transformation and growth."
"It's an honor to join a company with such an extraordinary mission," said Mr. Neczypor. "I look forward to serving as Centene's next Chief Financial Officer and working alongside Sarah and the leadership team to transform the health of communities across our country."
Mr. Asher's distinguished career includes over three decades of financial and healthcare industry leadership. Since assuming the role of CFO in 2021, Mr. Asher has helped guide Centene through a period of significant growth and change. The company expanded from approximately $126 billion in revenue in 2021 to approximately $195 billion in 2025, reflecting the company's significant increase in scale during a period of transformation across the healthcare industry.
"I am incredibly proud of how Centene navigated through unprecedented change while remaining disciplined in execution and focused on long-term value," said Drew Asher. "The foundation we've built and the outstanding team we've assembled give me confidence in Centene's ability to transform healthcare and provide value for shareholders. I look forward to working closely with Sarah and Chris through 2027 to support Centene's continued progress."
Added Ms. London: "I want to thank Drew for his exceptional contributions to Centene. His strategic perspective, financial discipline and unwavering focus on value creation set the stage for Centene's next chapter of growth and success. His partnership has been invaluable to me, and I am grateful that we will be able to continue to draw on Drew's expertise as we transition into the company's next chapter."
Centene reaffirms its previously issued full year 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance of greater than $4.80 and all associated 2026 full-year guidance metrics provided in its July 28, 2026 second quarter earnings press release.
About Centene Corporation
Centene Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a leading healthcare enterprise that is committed to helping people live healthier lives. The Company takes a local approach with local teams to provide fully integrated, high-quality, and cost-effective services to government-sponsored and commercial healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Centene offers affordable and high-quality products to more than 1 in 15 individuals across the nation, including Medicaid and Medicare members (including Medicare Prescription Drug Plans), as well as individuals and families served by the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements, other than statements of current or historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, forward-looking statements often use words such as "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "predict," "intend," "seek," "target," "goal," "potential," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "can," "continue," and other similar words or expressions (and the negative thereof). Our 2026 full year guidance and the expected timeline of the CFO transition are forward-looking statements. Centene Corporation and its subsidiaries (Centene, the Company, our or we) intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe-harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and we are including this statement for purposes of complying with these safe-harbor provisions. In particular, these statements include, without limitation, statements about the timing of the CFO transition, our expected future operating or financial performance, changes in laws and regulations, market opportunity, expectations concerning pricing actions, competition, expected contract start dates and terms, expected activities in connection with completed and future acquisitions and dispositions, our investments, and the adequacy of our available cash resources. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on numerous assumptions and assessments made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, business strategies, operating environments, future developments, and other factors we believe appropriate. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are subject to change because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future, including economic, regulatory, competitive, and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available to us on the date hereof. Except as may be otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, after the date hereof. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, as actual results may differ materially from projections, estimates, or other forward-looking statements due to a variety of important factors, variables, and events including, but not limited to: our ability to design and price products that are competitive and/or actuarially sound; our ability to accurately predict and effectively manage health benefits and other operating expenses and reserves, including fluctuations in medical costs; rate cuts, insufficient rate changes or other payment reductions or delays by government payors affecting our government businesses; the effect of social, economic, and political conditions, geopolitical events and state and federal policies, including the amount and terms of state and federal funding for government-sponsored healthcare programs, including as a result of changes in U.S. presidential administrations or Congress; changes in federal or state laws or regulations, including changes with respect to income tax reform or government healthcare programs as well as changes with respect to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act (collectively referred to as the ACA) and any regulations enacted thereunder, including the timing and terms of renewal or modification of the Enhanced Advance Premium Tax Credits (eAPTCs) or program integrity initiatives that could have the effect of reducing membership or profitability of our products; unanticipated increased healthcare costs, including due to changes in consumer and provider behaviors, inflation and tariffs; our ability to successfully execute on our enterprise optimization initiatives, including any separation programs; our ability to maintain or achieve improvement in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Star ratings and maintain or achieve improvement in other quality scores in each case that could impact revenue and future growth; competition, including for providers, broker distribution networks, contract reprocurements and organic growth; our ability to adequately anticipate demand and timely provide for operational resources to maintain service level requirements in compliance with the terms of our contracts and state and federal regulations; our ability to comply with the terms of our contracts and state and federal regulations and our ability to effectively oversee our third-party vendors to comply with the terms of their contracts with us and state and federal regulations; our ability to manage our information systems effectively; disruption, unexpected costs, or similar risks from business transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, and changes in our relationships with third-party vendors; impairments to real estate, investments, goodwill and intangible assets; changes in senior management, loss of one or more key personnel or an inability to attract, hire, integrate and retain skilled personnel; membership and revenue declines or unexpected trends; changes in healthcare practices, new technologies, and advances in medicine; our ability to effectively and ethically use artificial intelligence and machine learning in compliance with applicable laws; changes in macroeconomic conditions, including inflation, interest rates and volatility in the financial markets; negative public perception of the Company and the managed care industry; uncertainty concerning government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; tax matters; disasters, climate-related incidents, acts of war or aggression or major epidemics; changes in expected contract start dates and terms; changes in provider, broker, vendor, state, federal and other contracts and delays in the timing of regulatory approval of contracts, including due to protests and our ability to timely comply with any such changes to our contractual requirements or manage any unexpected delays in regulatory approval of contracts; the expiration, suspension, or termination of our contracts with federal or state governments (including, but not limited to, Medicaid, Medicare or other customers); the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of legal or regulatory audits, investigations, proceedings or matters including, but not limited to, our ability to resolve claims and/or allegations on acceptable terms, or at all, or whether additional claims, reviews or investigations will be brought; challenges to our contract awards; cyber-attacks or other data security incidents or our failure to comply with applicable privacy, data or security laws and regulations; the exertion of management's time and our resources, and other expenses incurred and business changes required in connection with complying with the terms of our contracts and the undertakings in connection with any regulatory, governmental, or third-party consents or approvals for acquisitions or dispositions; any changes in expected closing dates, estimated purchase price, or accretion for acquisitions or dispositions; losses in our investment portfolio; restrictions and limitations in connection with our indebtedness; a downgrade of our corporate family rating, issuer rating or credit rating of our indebtedness; the availability of debt and equity financing on terms that are favorable to us and risks and uncertainties discussed in the reports that Centene has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This list of important factors is not intended to be exhaustive. We discuss certain of these matters more fully, as well as certain other factors that may affect our business operations, financial condition, and results of operations, in our filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Due to these important factors and risks, we cannot give assurances with respect to our future performance, including without limitation our ability to maintain adequate premium levels or our ability to control our future medical and selling, general and administrative (SG&A) costs.
EMCOR po silném druhém čtvrtletí zvýšil výhled zisku i výnosů a těží z boomu výstavby datových center pro AI. Zacks mu nově přiřadil rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Key Takeaways EMCOR is a leading electrical and mechanical contractor riding the AI boom and other megatrends.EME averaged 14% revenue growth over the last five years, and roughly quadrupled its earnings.It is projected to follow this up with double-digit EPS and revenue growth in 2026 and 2027.EMCOR's beat-and-raise Q2 helps it land a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). EMCOR Group, Inc. (EME - Free Report) is a leading electrical and mechanical contractor with deep exposure to the AI data-center buildout and other key megatrends across energy and beyond. EME averaged 14% revenue growth over the last five years, while roughly quadrupling its earnings.
The AI data-center infrastructure specialist posted a strong beat-and-raise second quarter at the end of July, with its recent wave of upbeat earnings revisions landing the stock a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
EME is projected to follow up its impressive five-year run of growth with another back to back years of double-digit earnings and revenue expansion.
EMCOR stock has crushed its sector, its industry, and the S&P 500 over the last 15 years, soaring ~3,600%. The stock recently found support at several key technical ranges after a healthy pullback off its highs. It is down ~10% from its peak, and its valuation looks enticing.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The company is helping physically build key pillars of the 21st century economy, profiting directly from the AI data center spending boom, energy and infrastructure growth, reshoring, and beyond.
EME, which pays a dividend and boasts a strong balance sheet with near-zero debt, is a great way to ride the AI-boosted capex spree that shows no signs of slowing. Just last week Nvidia reached a deal with BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and other Wall Street giants to raise $500 billion to fund the AI-infrastructure build out.
Bank of America followed up Nvidia’s AI capex spending news with its own plan to inject $250 billion into the AI-boosted infrastructure push focused on data centers, energy, and critical minerals. This backdrop is why McKinsey projects that $7 trillion will be spent globally on AI-centric capex by 2030.
Best Buy and Hold AI Infrastructure Stocks: EMEEMCOR is a mechanical and electrical construction services giant that also operates across industrial and energy infrastructure and building services. EMCOR boasts that it handles everything from “constructing a hyperscale data center to providing 24/7 support for a cutting-edge hospital to implementing the latest energy efficiency technologies.”
EME serves a wide range of end markets, including commercial and governmental buildings, industrial facilities, healthcare, education, and most importantly AI data centers and technology campuses.
Its Electrical Construction and Facilities Services unit (30% of 2025 sales) spans electrical power transmission and distribution, fiber optic lines, low-voltage systems, and more.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The U.S. Mechanical Construction and Facilities Services segment (42%) features ventilation, air conditioning, water and wastewater treatment, central plant heating and cooling, steel fabrication, erection and welding, filtration, and much more. EMCOR’s smaller segments provide building operations and maintenance services (18%) as well as industrial maintenance and repair work for refineries and petrochemical plants (7%).
EME posted consistent revenue and earnings growth over the past 15 years outside of a Covid-based pullback. EMCOR’s growth (especially earnings) soared over the last five years as it profits from converging megatrends across technology/AI, energy and utilities infrastructure, reshoring, and more.
EME averaged 14% revenue growth over the last five years, climbing from $9.90 billion in FY21 to $16.99 billion in 2025. More impressively, it nearly quadrupled its GAAP earnings during this stretch, skyrocketing from $7.06 a share to $28.19 per share—its adjusted earnings jumped 266%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Investors must remember AI arms race is creating a once-in-a-generation (or longer) boom in the physical economy that EMCOR and its infrastructure peers are profiting from.
Wall Street already pushed the S&P 500 to new highs after the healthy pullback because the money keeps pouring in and earnings growth is stellar.
The hyperscalers alone are projected to spend roughly $700 billion or more in AI-related capex in 2026 and ramp up again in 2027, after spending ~$400 billion in 2025. Globally, companies will pour $7 trillion into data-center capex by 2030 (McKinsey), with $1.3 trillion aimed at energy.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Nvidia last week reached a deal with Wall Street giants including BlackRock and Goldman Sachs to help raise $500 billion to fund the AI-infrastructure build-out.
The half-trillion-dollar in new AI infrastructure spending is the latest bullish sign for all things related to the AI spending spree. Bank of America then followed the Nvidia’s (NVDA - Free Report) AI capex spending news with its own plan to inject $250 billion into the AI-boosted infrastructure across data centers, energy, and critical minerals.
This AI-fueled spending is helping line the pockets of EMCOR and others that are physically building the new pillars of the 21st century economy and beyond.
The Top-Ranked AI Infrastructure Stock’s Growth OutlookEMCOR grew its earnings by 35% YoY in the second quarter to $9.06 a share, crushing our estimate by 25%. It closed the quarter with remaining performance obligations of $17.14 billion, up 44% from the year-ago period.
The strong quarter and its growing backlog helped it raise its full-year earnings and revenue guidance. Its consensus earnings estimates have jumped 13% for 2026 and 2027 since its Q2 release on July 30.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
EMCOR is projected to grow its adjusted earnings another 28% in 2026 and 12.4% in 2027 on the back of 20% and 10%, respective sales growth.
EME has also consistently topped our bottom line estimates in the past five years, outside of a few misses.
Buy the Soaring Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) Stock Before It Breaks Out?EMCOR shares have soared ~600% over the past five years as part of a stellar market and sector-crushing run over the last 15 (~3,600%) and 25 years (~8,600%). EME has climbed ~40% YTD, yet it has fallen roughly 10% from its early May highs.
The stock has already bounced back alongside the broader market. EME found buyers near its long-term 50-week and the key technical range below at the end of July.
EMCOR is back above its 50-day and on the verge of overtaking another critical level that could lead to a breakout to new all-time highs (see chart below).
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
EME downturn, coupled with its strong earnings outlook, has it trading at 24.1X forward earnings. This marks a ~23% discount to its highs and just an 11% premium to its Building Products - Heavy Construction industry and a 16% premium to the S&P 500, even though EMCOR has climbed ~1,400% in the past 10 years vs. its industry’s 540% and benchmark’s 285%.
On top of that, EME’s strong balance sheet is highlighted by its near-zero debt and surging shareholders’ equity. Plus, eight of the 11 brokerage recommendations Zacks has are “Strong Buys.”
SpaceX’s (NASDAQ: SPCX) record-breaking public debut has attracted significant investor attention, and newly disclosed regulatory filings show that some of the world’s wealthiest individuals are among the company’s largest shareholders.
The aerospace and satellite communications giant completed the largest initial public offering in history on June 12, raising to $85.7 billion.
While the stock has pulled back from its post-IPO highs, several billionaire investors continue to hold substantial stakes, reflecting long-term confidence in the company’s businesses. Notably, SPCX ended the last session at $140.
SpaceX stock price chart. Source: Finbold
Antonio Gracias
Among the largest disclosed holders is billionaire Antonio Gracias, founder of Valor Equity Partners and a longtime SpaceX board member.
As of June 30, Gracias reported beneficial ownership of 503.4 million Class A shares through various Valor-affiliated entities. The position represented roughly 6.5% of the company’s Class A stock, making it one of the largest outside holdings disclosed after the IPO.
Valor Equity Partners 13F filings. Source: Whale Wisdom
Gracias has backed SpaceX for nearly two decades, and the stake reflects years of investment through multiple funds focused on the company.
Peter Thiel
Billionaire Peter Thiel and entities associated with Founders Fund disclosed ownership of 427.3 million Class A shares, equal to approximately 5.5% of outstanding Class A stock.
The investment dates back to one of the earliest institutional bets on SpaceX in 2008 and has since grown into one of the most successful venture capital investments on record.
Regulatory filings show that Thiel directly controlled 17.4 million shares, while the remainder were held through various Founders Fund partnerships and affiliated investment vehicles.
Gina Rinehart
Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, emerged as one of the most notable new SpaceX IPO investors.
During the second quarter, Rinehart acquired 8 million SpaceX shares valued at approximately $1.37 billion as of June 30. The investment became the largest position in her disclosed U.S. equity portfolio.
The purchase marked a major diversification beyond Hancock Prospecting’s mining operations and signaled growing interest in long-term opportunities tied to space technology and communications infrastructure.
Luke Nosek
PayPal co-founder Luke Nosek, who has served on SpaceX’s board since 2008, remains one of the company’s largest individual shareholders.
Nosek disclosed beneficial ownership of nearly 33 million Class A shares. About 25 million shares were held directly, while an additional 8 million were owned through Nosek Capital LLC.
The position highlights the substantial returns generated for some of SpaceX’s earliest outside investors following the company’s public listing.
Gwynne Shotwell
SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell ranks among the company’s most significant insiders.
Her disclosed holdings included several million Class A shares held directly and through family trusts, alongside more than 7 million Class B shares. Combined ownership across both share classes places the value of her stake in the multibillion-dollar range.
Shotwell has played a central role in SpaceX’s growth and remains one of the company’s most influential executives.
SpaceX stock fundamentals
The billionaire-backed holdings were disclosed alongside SpaceX’s first quarterly earnings report as a public company.
For the second quarter, the company reported revenue of $7.8 billion, up 92% year over year, driven by continued expansion of its Starlink satellite internet business and growing artificial intelligence cloud contracts.
SpaceX also narrowed its net loss to $541 million while reporting a sharp increase in adjusted EBITDA. Capital expenditures remained elevated as the company continued investing in launch systems and AI infrastructure.
Alphabet vykázal za čtvrtletí čistý zisk 112,2 miliardy USD, ale 98 miliard USD z toho tvořily nerealizované zisky z podílu ve SpaceX. Bez nich by zisk klesl zhruba na 18 miliard USD.
Alphabet's (GOOG -0.12%) (GOOGL -0.13%) long-running bet on Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX -0.91%) has quietly become one of the most consequential corporate investments in modern history. What began as a shared interest in satellite connectivity has now become a windfall that dominates Alphabet's financial profile. The analysis below details the power of deploying patient capital and the distortions that unrealized gains can introduce into reported profits.
Image source: Getty Images.
The origins of Alphabet's investment in SpaceX In 2015, Google invested $900 million into SpaceX. At the time, the rocket company was valued at roughly $12 billion, so the investment secured Google an ownership stake of approximately 7.5%. The capital was used to support SpaceX's ambitions in reusable launch cadences and its nascent Starlink constellation. These areas aligned with Google's own interest in global internet access.
Over the last decade, Google's position was diluted through subsequent funding rounds. However, the company retained a meaningful stake in SpaceX. According to recent filings, Google's early check has now grown more than 100x in value, illustrating how a single investment can transform a balance sheet years later.
Breaking down SpaceX's landmark IPO SpaceX completed an initial public offering (IPO) in June. According to its S-1 filing, SpaceX offered 555.6 million shares at a price of $135 each -- planning to raise $75 billion at a $1.8 trillion valuation.
In reality, SpaceX stock opened well above the offering price and closed its first day of trading near $161. This propelled the company's market capitalization past $2 trillion, instantly making it one of the most valuable companies in the world. On the last day of the second quarter (June 30), SpaceX shares were at $170.86.
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How to assess Alphabet's Q2 earnings For the quarter ended June 30, Alphabet reported net income of $112.2 billion on revenue of $119.8 billion. At first glance, this looks almost unbelievable. But a quick look at Alphabet's income statement reveals that the company's bottom-line expansion was almost entirely driven by a line item called other income, which totaled $98 billion.
Smart investors understand that companies often bury important notes and disclosures deep in their filings. According to Alphabet's latest 10Q, "other income" captures net gains on equity securities. Alphabet revealed that the surge from other income was "primarily related to unrealized gains in our equity securities portfolio from SpaceX and a private company." According to Alphabet's quarter-end 13F filing, the company's SpaceX position was worth $94.1 billion.
If I subtract SpaceX's equity gains, Alphabet's reported net income would move closer to $18 billion. This would actually have resulted in a 35% year-over-year decline in earnings per share (EPS). This distinction is important because unrealized gains are non-cash and vulnerable to daily stock price fluctuations. A subsequent decline in SpaceX stock -- which has since happened since the quarter ended -- essentially reverses the same line item that drove most of Alphabet's profitability in the first place.
Against this backdrop, investors should treat reported profits with an extra level of scrutiny, especially if meaningful equity positions are marked to market value. For Alphabet specifically, the most relevant metrics remain operating income, free cash flow, and the trajectory of its advertising and cloud computing segments.
While the SpaceX stake is a genuine economic asset, its contribution to quarterly financial results is inherently episodic and largely outside of the control of Alphabet's management. Smart investors should focus on the durable, cash-generating segments of Alphabet's ecosystem rather than the valuation swings of an investment portfolio. In the long run, this approach provides a clearer view of Alphabet's underlying health and earnings power.
UBS čeká, že Nvidia ve druhém čtvrtletí vykáže výnosy 94 až 95 miliard USD a ve třetím čtvrtletí mohou dosáhnout 107 až 108 miliard USD. Klíčem má být silná poptávka po Blackwellu a první příspěvek systémů Vera Rubin.
Nvidia heads into its August 26 earnings report with Wall Street already expecting another beat, but UBS believes the more important test may come one quarter later.
The chipmaker reported record fiscal first-quarter revenue of $81.6 billion, including $75.2 billion from Data Center, and guided to roughly $91 billion for the July quarter.
UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri now expects Nvidia to deliver $94 billion to $95 billion, before guiding to $107 billion to $108 billion for the October quarter.
More strikingly, Arcuri believes actual third-quarter revenue could exceed $110 billion as Blackwell demand remains firm and the first Rubin systems begin contributing.
Another quarterly beat would hardly surprise investors after Nvidia repeatedly outpaced expectations during the AI infrastructure boom.
What could matter more is the speed of the next step up.
According to TipRanks, Arcuri expects Blackwell demand to remain steady while Rubin begins contributing ahead of a larger acceleration later in the year.
UBS has raised its calendar 2027 revenue forecast to $681 billion from $649 billion and lifted its GPU shipment estimate to about 10.8 million units from 9.2 million.
A quarter above $110 billion would therefore do more than mark another record.
It would suggest Nvidia can move between major architectures without the revenue pause investors sometimes fear during product transitions.
Bank of America sees a similar setup.
BofA analyst Vivek Arya expects Nvidia to report $94 billion to $95 billion of second-quarter revenue and guide to $107 billion to $108 billion for the third quarter.
He believes Vera Rubin shipments, new Vera CPU products and continued cloud spending could trigger a “multi-quarter upgrade cycle.”
The economics of the new systems could be equally important.
BofA estimates Vera Rubin NVL racks could cost roughly $7 million to $8.5 million, compared with around $4 million for Blackwell Ultra.
That higher system value could help Nvidia absorb rising memory costs while protecting profitability.
BofA expects long-term gross margins around 73% to 74%, even after accounting for higher memory costs.
That means Rubin does not need explosive unit growth alone to expand Nvidia’s revenue opportunity. Higher-value systems can also push sales higher.
Also read- Nvidia, Alphabet, Harvard disclose SpaceX stakes: here’s what they’re worth
The larger question is whether the AI spending machine supporting those forecasts remains credible.
Nvidia recently announced partnerships with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to establish independent compute-financing platforms designed to mobilise more than $500 billion of third-party capital for AI infrastructure.
Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore said the structure “should arguably alleviate circularity concerns,” according to MarketWatch, because sophisticated outside investors would provide most of the capital.
Bank of America’s Arya called the arrangement a “structurally bullish setup,” arguing that it strengthens Nvidia’s CUDA ecosystem while shifting much of the financing burden away from Nvidia.
There is still a catch. Moore described Nvidia’s financial backstops for some neocloud and sovereign-AI customers as “the next big debate for the stock.”
That debate matters because Nvidia’s revenue forecasts ultimately depend on customers continuing to fund enormous infrastructure programmes and earning acceptable returns on them.
The August 26 report is therefore about more than whether Nvidia beats its $91 billion outlook.
Rivian ve 2. čtvrtletí překonal odhady a vykázal rekordní hrubý zisk téměř 180 milionů USD při marži 11 %. Zároveň zvýšil celoroční výhled dodávek, snížil odhad ztráty EBITDA a očekávání kapitálových výdajů.
Rivian Automotive (RIVN -2.91%) kicked off what could become a string of strong quarterly results as the R2 launch continues to ramp up its production during the back half of 2026. Rivian's second quarter topped Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines, and the company posted a record gross profit of nearly $180 million at an 11% gross margin.
Management also raised full-year delivery guidance, narrowed its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) loss guidance, and lowered capital expenditure expectations. All in all, it was a strong result for the young electric vehicle (EV) maker, but the stock is up only 1% following earnings.
Here are three important things that investors may have overlooked in Rivian's earnings report.
Image source: Rivian.
Transparent liquidity
One of the biggest focal points for investors of young EV makers is liquidity, simply because young automakers face heavy capital investment requirements and are still slowly building valuable scale. Rivian exited the second quarter with $5.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents, but really, the company has additional transparency with future liquidity.
More specifically, when including its asset-based revolving credit facility, Rivian ended the second quarter with $5.8 billion in liquidity and added another roughly $1.3 billion in net proceeds from its July follow-on equity offering, bringing the total to nearly $7.2 billion.
Rivian's liquidity figure looks even better when you consider it expects another $1 billion in non-recourse loan capital from Volkswagen and a milestone-based investment from Uber Technologies worth $250 million -- both expected in 2026, bringing Rivian's future liquidity to $8.4 billion.
Lastly, investors also have to consider Rivian's $4.5 billion Department of Energy loan, which is earmarked for developing its second factory in Georgia, another $700 million from Uber, and another $460 million from Volkswagen, all over the next few years. That brings Rivian's expected liquidity up to around $14 billion, a much more reassuring picture for long-term investors.
Demand generation
One aspect of Rivian's second quarter that certainly seemed overlooked was its growing ability to generate demand, driven by growth in both Rivian Spaces and Demo Drives. Rivian's Demo Drive program enables prospective buyers and reservation holders to experience driving Rivian's R1S SUV, R1T truck, and the new R2.
The EV maker ended the second quarter with 43 Rivian Spaces (where demo drives take place), a 39% increase from the prior year, and an even stronger 104% increase in demo drives, which numbered over 57,000 during the second quarter alone. Also improving the user experience were a 26% increase in Rivian Adventure Network Locations and a 37% increase in Rivian Network Chargers -- both can also support demand generation.
Driverless technology
Rivian's driverless vehicle technology often takes a back seat to the company's much-hyped R2 launch and production ramp, the development of its second factory and future R3 model, and its massively valuable joint venture with Volkswagen -- but that could be an oversight. In the medium term, Rivian believes that advanced assisted driving features will be a key differentiator for customers and a driver of market share.
Rivian's Autonomy+ is progressing well, has an encouraging take rate with consumers, and is expected to roll out point-to-point capabilities by the end of this year. Point-to-point is an assisted driving feature that allows the driver to enter an address so Rivian can drive there under the driver's supervision. It's comparable to Tesla's Full-Self Driving (FSD).
What's also often overlooked is Rivian's pathway to its Level 4 autonomous robotaxi. Rivian already boasts over 3.5 million miles of universal hands-free travel across the U.S. and Canada and, as previously mentioned, plans to unveil point-to-point features later this year. Rivian is targeting eyes-off features next year and its L4 robotaxi in 2028.
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Rivian posted an excellent second quarter with improving metrics nearly across the board. While often overlooked, the company's improving and transparent liquidity provides a cushion against adversity and ever-changing market dynamics, and its demand generation, combined with expanding driverless technology, bodes well for the company's medium-term future. Rivian also continues to separate itself from rival EV maker Lucid Group and is poised to finish 2026 on a strong note.
Keysight Technologies má po uzavření trhu oznámit výsledky za 3. čtvrtletí; analytici čekají EPS 2,48 USD a výnosy 1,75 miliardy USD, po loňských 1,72 USD a 1,35 miliardy USD.
Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) will release its third earnings report after the closing bell on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Analysts expect the Santa Rosa, California-based company to report quarterly earnings of $2.48 per share, up from $1.72 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Keysight’s quarterly revenue is $1.75 billion. It reported $1.35 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.
On May 19, Keysight reported better-than-expected second-quarter financial results and issued third-quarter guidance above estimates.
Keysight shares rose 1.1% to close at $357.82 on Friday.
Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.
Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the recent period.
Morgan Stanley analyst Meta Marshall upgraded the stock from Equal-Weight to Overweight and raised the price target from $350 to $400 on July 13, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 67%. Truist Securities analyst Matthew Niknam maintained a Hold rating and boosted the price target from $310 to $376 on May 22, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 65%. JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee maintained an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $360 to $390 on May 21, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 87%. Citigroup analyst Atif Malik maintained a Buy rating and increased the price target from $320 to $396 on May 21, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 86%. Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini maintained a Positive rating and increased the price target from $415 to $425 on May 20, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 81%. Latest Private Market Opportunities
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EnerSys získal od šesti analytiků průměrné doporučení „Moderate Buy“ a cílovou cenu 265 USD. Firma zároveň oznámila tržby ve výši 935,6 milionu USD a upravený zředěný EPS 3,66 USD, oba údaje nad odhady.
Enersys (NYSE:ENS – Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $265.00.
A number of research analysts have commented on ENS shares. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Enersys in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Enersys from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Enersys from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Enersys in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Enersys from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.
Read Our Latest Report on Enersys
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Enersys Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Enersys by 116.7% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Enersys by 442.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 244 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Enersys during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Enersys by 239.7% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Enersys during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.93% of the company’s stock.
Key Enersys News Here are the key news stories impacting Enersys this week:
Positive Sentiment: Results exceeded expectations: EnerSys reported fiscal Q1 sales of approximately $935.6 million, up 4.8% year over year, while adjusted diluted EPS rose to $3.66 from $2.23. EPS exceeded the roughly $2.82–$2.83 consensus estimate, and revenue also topped forecasts. Pricing, margin expansion, tax benefits and a tariff refund supported the earnings beat. ENS Q1 Earnings and Sales Beat on Pricing, Margin Expansion Positive Sentiment: Favorable second-quarter outlook: Management projected fiscal Q2 sales of $955 million to $995 million and adjusted EPS of $3.15 to $3.25. The company highlighted demand momentum in data centers, communications, and aerospace and defense, helping offset softer material-handling trends. EnerSys jumps on earnings beat, upbeat Q2 guidance Positive Sentiment: Capital-return and growth initiatives: EnerSys raised its quarterly dividend approximately 9.5% to $0.2875 per share, signaling confidence in cash generation. Management also reported a cash increase and continued progress toward a U.S. lithium-cell facility, supporting the company’s longer-term strategy. EnerSys Earnings Call Highlights Lithium Push, Cash Surge Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: BTIG reaffirmed its Buy rating and maintained a $280 price target, implying substantial potential upside from the reported trading level. BTIG rating reaffirmation Neutral Sentiment: Some of the quarter’s benefit came from tax advantages and a tariff refund, which may not fully recur. Investors will also monitor weaker material-handling demand and execution risks surrounding the lithium-cell expansion. Enersys Trading Up 0.0% Shares of NYSE ENS opened at $203.50 on Friday. Enersys has a 1-year low of $97.03 and a 1-year high of $244.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $206.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.40. The company has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.
Enersys (NYSE:ENS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The industrial products company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.83. Enersys had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 24.02%. The business had revenue of $935.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.08 earnings per share. Enersys’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Enersys has set its Q2 2027 guidance at 1.950-2.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Enersys will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Enersys Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 18th will be paid a $0.2875 dividend. This is a boost from Enersys’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Enersys’s payout ratio is 11.24%.
Enersys Company Profile (Get Free Report)
Enersys, headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania, is a global leader in stored energy solutions, specializing in manufacturing and distributing industrial batteries, battery chargers, power equipment, and related accessories. The company serves a diverse range of end markets, including telecommunications, data centers, medical, aerospace, defense, electric vehicle motive power, and utility outcomes. Its products are engineered to deliver critical reserve power and motive power applications across key infrastructure and industrial sectors.
The company’s product portfolio encompasses lead-acid batteries, lithium-ion energy storage systems, chargers, inverters, power management software, and a broad array of battery accessories.
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Microsoft má podle interních dokumentů a odhadů Guardianu v AI datacentrech méně čipů, než naznačují jeho veřejná vyjádření. Firma tvrdí, že problémem není nedostatek čipů, ale chybějící kapacita a napájení datacenter.
The chips are quite small and some can be held in the palm of a hand. They are fundamental to the development of artificial intelligence models – and the world’s biggest technology companies need vast numbers of them to keep ahead.
Microsoft is one of them. And, on paper, it seems to have a problem. A Guardian investigation has found an apparent discrepancy between what the company has said about its AI capacity – and the number of advanced AI chips it has in operation.
It is not a small shortfall either. Microsoft reportedly targeted having 1.8m AI chips installed in its datacentres around the globe by the end of 2024. Nearly two years on, in the middle of a $280bn (£208bn) expansion, the company has 2.2m AI chips installed, according to internal documents seen by the Guardian. This is less than half the number some experts had imagined.
Put simply, the global AI arms race requires a massive build-out of datacentres that run on extremely expensive chips. The apparent discrepancy over the chips suggests Microsoft’s newest datacentres may not be fully operational or, if they are, they do not have the chips they need.
Nvidia’s microchips are integral to the boom in datacentre development. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThis highlights something even more fundamental about charting the progress being made in the development of AI technologies. The chips that power AI are made by Nvidia, one of the two most valuable companies in the world. Its supply chain is one of the most tightly held secrets in the entire industry.
With almost no exceptions, Nvidia does not report how many of these chips it sells or to whom. Its clients, the world’s biggest tech companies, in turn do not reveal how many they have. Without this information, it is very hard for anyone to know whether AI is booming or not.
Microsoft: a power vacuum?In the past two years, Microsoft says it has built AI infrastructure at breakneck speed. Its chief executive, Satya Nadella, said last year it would double its global datacentre footprint by mid-2027. Since 2022 it has ploughed roughly $280bn into the land, buildings and computational infrastructure to build AI. This includes more than $41bn in the past quarter.
But it is difficult to estimate how many datacentres Microsoft has built with this money.
It is possible to assess the progress that the company is making by looking at what it has announced publicly, with a particular eye on the power it needs. Datacentres need electricity, so one way of estimating how many datacentres are operational is to add up the energy Microsoft has at its disposal – its AI capacity.
Microsoft’s own claims, set out in annual reports and quarterly earnings, suggest it has added 5GW of datacentre capacity over the past two years as part of its AI build-out. It says it now has hundreds of datacentres on five continents.
Five gigawatts is a dizzying amount of energy – it is four times the size of the largest datacentre park in Europe. But Microsoft’s total capacity should be even greater than this; it has been building AI infrastructure since 2022. How much greater is an open question.
The hardware inside a Microsoft datacentre campus. Photograph: Audrey Richardson/ReutersIn an investor presentation from 2024, Microsoft reportedly claimed to have 5GW of datacentre capacity already installed. That would suggest it could now have a total of 10GW of capacity. It is unclear if all of these are AI datacentres – some could be for other cloud services. But Microsoft’s own statements indicate that the overwhelming focus of its capital expenditures in recent years has been to build AI infrastructure.
Ten gigawatts of AI datacentres would suggest Microsoft should have roughly 6.4m graphics processing units (GPUs). Shaolei Ren, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, said Microsoft’s sustainability reports, which contain figures for its electricity usage and are published separately from its financials, painted a different picture.
He said these reports suggest Microsoft’s AI capacity in 2024 was probably closer to 1.2GW. But even this lower figure would indicate Microsoft would need roughly 4m AI chips – if it added 5GW of AI datacentres in the past two years.
“According to their own metrics, Microsoft could be correct. But it isn’t clear what they mean when they say they have added datacentre capacity. They are giving insufficient context,” Ren said. “The sustainability reports are audited by a third party. They have more credibility than announcements.”
An analyst who specialises in Nvidia said they thought Microsoft would have more chips, given its public statements. “They’re low to me. They’re less than I expected Microsoft would have,” they said.
Microsoft insisted the Guardian’s calculations were based on incorrect information. It did not offer any insight as to which of the Guardian’s numbers were incorrect or why. What is clear is that Microsoft’s build-out of AI capacity appears to be going far more slowly than its annual reports may suggest.
Ren said: “It may be plausible to secure or announce 1GW of power capacity within a single quarter on paper. But bringing that capacity online and actually using it for computing within the same quarter would be far more difficult.”
Sources within Microsoft say the company’s total number of AI chips has “barely moved” over the past year.
Some of the apparent discrepancy may be explained by Microsoft’s tie-up with OpenAI. The exact terms of their commercial partnership are not public, but this unit may account for some of Microsoft’s datacentre deployments, which would not be in the documents the Guardian has seen.
A Microsoft datacentre in Middenmeer, the Netherlands. Photograph: ANP/Shutterstock‘You may have a bunch of chips … you can’t plug in’There is another factor: some of Microsoft’s big projects appear to be far from operational.
Take Microsoft’s largest AI development in the US, a pair of datacentres in Wisconsin and Georgia called Fairwater. In April, Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, said the Fairwater project in Wisconsin “is going live”.
Satellite footage of the building from Epoch AI, however, appears to indicate only part of it is operational. In May, Microsoft admitted to a Wisconsin newspaper that Fairwater was not yet online.
This is very common, said Ren. Initially it was a multi-gigawatt, multibillion-dollar investment. Three years later, only 300MW has been built.
Satya Nadella said last year Microsoft would double its global datacentre footprint by mid-2027. Photograph: Jeff Chiu/APThe internal document also indicates Microsoft has fewer of Nvidia’s newest model of chip, the Blackwell, than one might expect given Nvidia’s public announcements. Last March, Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, said orders for Blackwells from Nvidia’s top four customers – widely thought to be Amazon, Oracle, Microsoft and Google – amounted to 3.6m.
There was no breakdown given for this figure, but Microsoft has historically been one of Nvidia’s largest customers. If this was still the case, that should put Microsoft’s total Blackwell holdings at somewhere close to 1m chips. In fact, it has less than half of this amount installed.
Where are the chips, if not in the datacentres?Nvidia’s balance sheets appear to indicate that it has sold a great many chips; it posted a revenue of $215.9bn in February. Has Microsoft bought these but not installed them? How many, and are all of them in its possession?
Nadella appeared to gesture at this question on a podcast late last year called All Things AI, where he talked about Microsoft’s datacentre build-out. The biggest problem, he said, was electrical power and building datacentres close enough to where power was located.
“If you can’t do that, you may actually have a bunch of chips sitting in inventory that I can’t plug in. In fact, that is my problem today. It’s not a supply issue of chips. It’s actually the fact that I don’t have warm shells to plug into.”
A Microsoft spokesperson said: “Over several decades, Microsoft has built a global infrastructure to meet rapidly growing customer demand for cloud and AI services. Our datacentres combine custom silicon, AMD, Intel and Nvidia chips across multiple generations with the networking, storage and systems infrastructure required to operate at scale.
“Microsoft does not report on the volume of specific chips in its AI infrastructure. The estimates the Guardian has shared with us are inaccurate, drawing the wrong conclusions from incorrect assumptions.”
Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment.
How to calculate numbers of chips from a company’s ‘AI capacity’The world’s biggest technology companies give figures for their AI capacity in terms of power: gigawatts. One gigawatt powers between 700,000 and 1m homes. Meta says its controversial Hyperion datacentre in Louisiana will have 5GW of capacity. The UK company DataVita is planning a 1GW datacentre in Lanarkshire.
Converting these figures into chips means calculating how many chips can be run with that amount of power. The Guardian used the following methodology, reviewing these calculations with Abdeltawab Hendawi, a professor at the University of Rhode Island, and Ren.
To get a very broad approximation of how many chips there are in a datacentre, you could divide the power usage of that datacentre by the power usage of an AI chip – for example, an H100. A single H100 uses 700W. If Microsoft has 10GW of capacity, dividing this by 700 watts suggests it should have 12m chips.
H100s make up the bulk of the chips described in the internal document. It also indicates that Microsoft has A100s, which use less power, and Blackwells, which use more.
But this approximation does not account for several factors. First, datacentres have cooling systems and other equipment, which also use electricity. Ren estimates that in a given AI datacentre, 80% of the electricity goes to computer chips. This is roughly in accordance with figures from the International Energy Agency, although the number depends on the efficiency of the datacentre. Eighty per cent of 10GW would suggest 8GW may actually be in use.
This is slightly lower than Microsoft’s own figures for its datacentre efficiency, which appear in a 2024 sustainability report and suggest that 89% of the electricity in its new datacentres powers the IT systems, with an 11% overhead.
Second, not all the chips in a datacentre are AI chips. Instead, AI chips are fitted on to server racks with other computer chips, such as memory chips, that help them run calculations. A server with eight H100 GPUs uses a maximum of about 10kW of power.
Dividing 8GW by 10kW gives 800,000 servers, or 6.4m chips.
This is a conservative estimate, as in practice companies such as Microsoft oversubscribe their power capacity to some extent – putting more chips in a datacentre than can be supported by their IT capacity, said Ren.
People visit an Alibaba booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China July 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
SummaryCompaniesDeal comes as Alibaba focuses resources on AI and cloud computingInternal memo says Trustar Capital will acquire Alibaba's Lingxi stakeLingxi CEO Zhou Bingshu and management team to remain in placeLingxi is known for hit mobile strategy game 'Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition'HONG KONG, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group (9988.HK), opens new tab is expected to reap more than $2 billion from the sale of its game developer unit Lingxi Games to private equity firm Trustar Capital, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Alibaba and Trustar have reached a formal agreement after several rounds of talks, according to an internal memo sent to Lingxi staff on Monday by the game developer's CEO Zhou Bingshu and reviewed by Reuters.
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Lingxi, Alibaba and Trustar did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Under the agreement, Alibaba will transfer all of its Lingxi stake to Trustar, the memo said.
The memo did not disclose the value of the deal or when the transaction was expected to close. It also gave no details of regulatory approvals or other conditions attached to the deal.
Zhou said in the memo he and Lingxi's management team would continue to lead the company, signalling continuity in the studio's operations following the ownership change.
Bloomberg News, which first reported the memo, said the deal would be worth at least $1.5 billion, citing sources.
AI-FOCUSED ALIBABA REVIEWING NON-CORE ASSETSAlibaba, one of China's largest technology companies, operates e-commerce platforms, cloud-computing services and other digital businesses. It has been reviewing non-core assets as it directs capital and management attention toward strategic priorities including AI and cloud.
The Chinese tech company had been seeking a buyer for Lingxi for some time, according to two separate sources familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is confidential.
Trustar, formerly known as CITIC Capital, is an Asia-focused private equity firm that has the industry resources and operational expertise to support Lingxi's next stage of development, according to Zhou.
It was not immediately clear whether Alibaba would retain any commercial ties with Lingxi after the sale, including publishing, cloud services or technology partnerships.
LINGXI IN TRANSITIONGuangzhou-based Lingxi Games is best known for 'Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition', a multiplayer strategy title based on China's Three Kingdoms era.
The game was developed in collaboration with Japan's Koei Tecmo Holdings (3635.T), opens new tab, whose franchises include 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' and 'Nobunaga's Ambition'.
The transaction between Alibaba and Trustar would extend a period of change for Lingxi, which had previously explored external fundraising, the two sources said. A fundraising process planned in late 2023 stalled after China proposed tighter rules for the online gaming sector, one of them said.
Lingxi also underwent a management reshuffle in 2024. Zhou, who had led the team behind 'Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition', became CEO after founder Zhan Zhonghui departed, according to Chinese corporate records.
Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Additional reporting by Hong Kong newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Kane Wu covers M&A, private equity, venture capital and investment banks in Asia. She tracks the region's most high-profile deals, fundraisings as well as investment trends amidst geopolitical, macroeconomic and regulatory changes. She was nominated for a SOPA Excellence in Business Reporting award for coverage of China regulatory crackdown in 2021. Prior to Reuters, she worked at the Wall Street Journal and also wrote about Asia's loan market for Thomson Reuters Basis Point. She is based in Hong Kong.
Eduardo Baptista is Chief Technology Correspondent, Greater China, for Reuters, based in Beijing. He covers artificial intelligence, semiconductors and emerging technologies. He holds a BA in History from the University of Cambridge.
Intel zvažuje nové paměťové architektury a propojení paměti s procesory, ale zatím neoznámil žádný nový DRAM, NAND ani HBM produkt. Pro Micron je to zatím jen omezená hrozba, zatímco ceny pamětí dál rostou.
Intel is reconsidering a business it spent decades leaving as artificial intelligence transforms memory from a commodity into a crucial computing bottleneck.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan said on the TechSurge: Deep Tech podcast that Intel is exploring new memory architectures, including ways to bring memory and processors closer together.
Tan said he once viewed memory as a commodity business not worth investing in but believes the economics have changed.
Intel has not announced a new DRAM, NAND or HBM product. The comments matter for Micron stock investors because they arrive during shortages, rising prices and AI-driven demand.
Tan’s interest comes as memory profitability looks unusually strong.
KeyBanc analyst John Vinh said “memory shortages remain persistent,” after supply-chain checks in Asia.
The firm expects tight conditions through 2027, with DRAM prices rising another 15%-20% sequentially in the third quarter and 15% in the fourth. NAND prices could jump 30%-40% in the third quarter before another 15% increase.
That helps explain why Intel is looking again.
AI systems increasingly depend on moving huge quantities of data quickly between processors and memory.
That has made bandwidth, packaging and memory capacity strategic constraints for AI systems.
Intel also hired former SK Hynix chief executive Seok-Hee Lee in June to lead advanced packaging and system integration at Intel Foundry.
Lee will help tightly couple logic, memory, networking and other components in next-generation systems, the company said.
His appointment is not evidence of a new memory division, but it strengthens Intel’s expertise where compute and memory are converging.
For Micron, the immediate competitive threat still looks limited.
Oppenheimer analysts, cited by Barron’s, said a serious Intel return to memory would require fresh capital, significant research and development and, crucially, time. That makes a major near-term challenge unlikely.
Meanwhile, Micron is benefiting from tightening high-bandwidth memory supply. UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri said HBM4 and HBM4E pricing was “even stronger than our prior expectations.” UBS expects HBM average selling prices to rise about 79% year on year.
Micron is also trying to make the current boom more durable. The company says multiyear strategic customer agreements should improve the predictability of its financial performance.
Its June agreement with Anthropic spans memory and storage architecture design, supply and AI infrastructure development.
Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh remains bullish too. Barron’s reported that Rakesh expects DRAM and NAND markets to stay tight through 2027 and believes Micron could sustain gross margins above 80%.
Intel can decide it wants exposure to memory, but recreating Micron’s manufacturing scale, HBM expertise and customer relationships is another matter.
That does not make Intel’s interest irrelevant.
High memory prices are attracting capital across the industry. Chinese producers are also expanding.
YMTC overtook Micron in NAND shipment volume during the second quarter, although Micron remained ahead by revenue because its product mix carries greater value.
Intel potentially represents a different competitive risk. Tan appears interested in architectures that integrate processing and memory more closely rather than simply returning to commodity NAND.
XPENG (NYSE:XPEV – Get Free Report) is expected to post its Q2 2026 results before the market opens on Monday, August 24th. Analysts expect XPENG to announce earnings of ($0.0596) per share and revenue of $3.0172 billion for the quarter. Interested persons may visit the the company’s upcoming Q2 2026 earning overview page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Monday, August 24, 2026 at 8:00 AM ET.
XPENG (NYSE:XPEV – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by ($0.16). XPENG had a negative return on equity of 7.72% and a negative net margin of 3.09%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. On average, analysts expect XPENG to post $-0 EPS for the current fiscal year and $0 EPS for the next fiscal year.
XPENG Stock Up 0.1% Shares of NYSE:XPEV opened at $11.71 on Monday. XPENG has a 1 year low of $11.49 and a 1 year high of $28.24. The company has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a PE ratio of -34.43 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $13.08 and its 200 day moving average is $15.81.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut XPENG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on XPENG from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded XPENG from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of XPENG in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of XPENG from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.40.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on XPENG
Institutional Trading of XPENG Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of XPENG by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 5,945 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of XPENG by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 127,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,280,000 after acquiring an additional 28,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of XPENG by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. 21.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
XPENG Company Profile (Get Free Report)
XPENG Inc (NYSE: XPEV) is a China-based developer and manufacturer of smart electric vehicles. The company designs, engineers and sells battery-electric sedans and sport-utility vehicles along with related software and services. Founded in 2014, XPENG positions itself as a technology-driven automaker with a focus on vehicle connectivity, software-defined features and advanced driver assistance systems.
Product offerings center on passenger EVs spanning compact crossovers and midsize sedans, supported by in-house software platforms and over-the-air update capabilities.
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Rumble míří na AI infrastrukturu a z 250 MW připojeného výkonu v roce 2027 odhaduje potenciální roční tržby přes 3 miliardy USD. Video platformu ponechává odděleně.
Rumble’s $767M Acquisition Marks Bold Pivot Into AI InfrastructureRumble NASDAQ: RUM is positioning its recently combined operations as an AI compute infrastructure business with a substantial 2027 power pipeline, while continuing to operate its established video platform separately.
Speaking at an event with Canaccord Genuity Equity Research Senior Analyst Kingsley Crane, RUM Group CFO Mike Massey said the company now consists of two autonomous businesses: Rumble Video and Quake AI. Rumble Video has more than 50 million monthly active users, according to Massey, while Quake AI combines Rumble’s cloud, content-delivery network and data-center assets with GPU-as-a-service capabilities acquired through Northern Data.
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Rumble Stock Gets Ready to Rumble in its Second Quarter Massey said Rumble built much of its own infrastructure because of its history as a free-speech video platform, including its CDN and data centers. The company is also exploring potential AI-training applications for its video data after receiving outreach from robotics companies interested in spatial and temporal video datasets, he said.
Quake AI Focuses on Compute Expansion
The company’s primary financial opportunity is expected to come from Quake AI, Massey said. The business currently operates 22,000 Hopper-generation GPUs, mainly in Europe, serving more than 50 customers across inference, training, pre-training and QLoRA workloads.
Is Rumble Revving Up for Growth or Just Sputtering? According to Massey, utilization of the existing GPU fleet improved from less than 20% in the middle of last year to more than 83% consistently during the first half of the current year. He attributed the improvement to new management and a renewed focus on execution and customer credibility following the Northern Data acquisition.
Quake AI’s largest contract to date is a multiyear, $270 million agreement with Together AI for NVIDIA B300 GPUs, Massey said. He described the contract as an initial proof point that Quake can deliver latest-generation GPU capacity at scale.
RUM Group’s central expansion opportunity is 250 megawatts of grid-connected power expected to be available in 2027. Massey said monetizing that capacity could represent a revenue run rate of more than $3 billion at current market rates, though the company must still execute on construction, customer agreements and equipment deployment.
180 megawatts are associated with a site in Atlanta, Georgia.
A smaller Pittsburgh site is expected to serve AI-native customers.
The company also has 50 megawatts in Sweden and 20 megawatts in Norway.
Massey said the Atlanta location has use permits, a Georgia Power CES agreement, an installed substation and transformers already in place. The company is engaging with multiple hyperscalers as it seeks a partner for the site, he said.
Capital Needs and Equipment Supply
In discussing the buildout, Massey said data-center capital expenditures generally range from $8 million to $12 million per megawatt. The company is targeting NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin architecture for its next generation of deployment. For an 180-megawatt project, he said the required installation could amount to roughly 40,000 to 50,000 GPUs.
Massey said the company expects that a majority of construction capital could be financed when supported by long-term, take-or-pay customer agreements. He identified selecting financeable customers and partners as a key priority.
While GPU availability remains an industry concern, Massey said management is less concerned about chip supply than about construction-related constraints, such as skilled labor, steel, uninterruptible power systems and chillers. He said the Atlanta market offers a strong labor pool and that several long-lead items, including transformers, a substation and generators, are already available.
The company has a strategic relationship with Tether, which Massey said owns nearly 50% of the combined company. He said Tether’s position as a major investor is a “tailwind” in discussions with partners because of its capital base and international reach.
Pricing and Operating Strategy
Massey said Quake’s current Hopper GPU estate generates roughly $6 million to $7 million of annual revenue per megawatt. He said latest-generation Blackwell systems have been priced at more than $11 million per megawatt annually, while future Vera Rubin deployments are expected to command a premium.
He added that demand continues to exceed supply across AI compute markets and that pricing for Hopper capacity has strengthened. Massey also argued that older GPU generations could remain useful longer than some investors expect, as customers use different hardware generations for different tasks such as retraining and recursive inference.
Quake AI intends to remain focused on infrastructure rather than expanding into software or platform-as-a-service offerings, Massey said. He said the company wants to avoid competing with customers that provide higher-level AI services, arguing that operating GPU hardware and data centers at scale remains a valuable business in its own right.
While Rumble Video remains part of the company, Massey said Quake AI’s financial results are expected to “far outstrip” those of the video platform over time. He said management believes the broader market has not yet fully recognized RUM Group’s position in AI compute as a service.
About Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM)Rumble Inc operates a video-sharing platform designed to offer creators and audiences an alternative to traditional social media and streaming services. The company's primary business activities include hosting, distributing and monetizing user–generated and professional video content. Through its platform, Rumble enables content creators to retain a higher share of advertising revenue and maintain greater control over their intellectual property, while offering viewers open access to a wide range of videos spanning news, sports, entertainment and educational programming.
In addition to its core video platform, Rumble provides cloud–based video hosting and delivery services via Rumble Cloud, a content–delivery network (CDN) designed to support high–volume streaming and storage.
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Norský státní fond měl na konci první poloviny roku 2026 rekordní nepřímou expozici 11 549 BTC, a to i bez přímého nákupu bitcoinu. Hodnota dosáhla zhruba 725 milionů USD.
Norway's $2.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund held a record 11,549 BTC in indirect bitcoin exposure at the end of the first half of 2026, according to K33 Research, marking the sixth consecutive reporting period of growth and the fund's first time in five-digit BTC territory.
Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the Government Pension Fund Global on behalf of Norway's Ministry of Finance, holds no bitcoin directly. K33's methodology instead multiplies NBIM's ownership stake in any publicly traded company holding bitcoin on its balance sheet by that company's BTC holdings, then sums the result across the fund's entire equity portfolio. Exposure rose 21.2% during the first half of 2026 and 60.5% over the trailing twelve months, valued at roughly $725 million. Strategy alone accounted for 9,914 BTC-equivalent — 85.8% of NBIM's total exposure — up from 7,801 BTC at the end of 2025, an increase that on its own exceeded the fund's entire net portfolio-wide gain for the period, meaning reductions elsewhere partially offset Strategy's continued pull. Metaplanet ranked a distant second at 671 BTC-equivalent, followed by MARA Holdings, Coinbase, and Block. Despite the record dollar figure, bitcoin-linked holdings still represent just 0.03% of NBIM's total assets under management, down from 0.04% at the end of 2025, since the fund's overall assets have grown faster than its bitcoin-linked exposure.
K33 head of research Vetle Lunde was explicit that the growth doesn't reflect a deliberate allocation decision by Norway's fund managers — it's a byproduct of NBIM tracking broad global equity indices that increasingly include bitcoin treasury companies, not a bet anyone at Norges Bank chose to place.
In January 2025, we reported that NBIM's indirect exposure stood at 3,821 BTC worth about $356.7 million, cited then as one data point in a wider divide over sovereign bitcoin exposure — the European Central Bank rejecting bitcoin reserves outright even as Norway's fund passively accumulated exposure through its equity book. Eighteen months later, that exposure has more than tripled in BTC terms, entirely through the same passive mechanism, with no change in strategy required.
The concentration here is the real story, not the headline total. With Strategy responsible for nearly 86% of NBIM's bitcoin-linked exposure, the fund's bitcoin narrative is now largely a proxy for one company's balance sheet decisions — and Strategy's stock has not been a stable proxy to be tied to. Blockhead reported in June that Strategy's shares fell below $100 for the first time in two years, erasing roughly 81% of the stock's peak value as bitcoin's own price slid. NBIM's BTC-equivalent count keeps climbing regardless of Strategy's share price, since K33's methodology tracks bitcoin held on the balance sheet rather than market capitalization — but the dollar value of that exposure, and Strategy's own weight inside NBIM's broader equity portfolio, moves with a stock that has proven considerably more volatile than the passive index logic driving the fund's involvement in the first place.
Vitalik Buterin označil bitcoinový model Utreexo za inspiraci pro hybridní škálování Etherea. Cílem je snížit nároky na stav sítě bez ztráty decentralizace.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin credited Bitcoin developers on Aug. 16 for work on Utreexo while describing a proposed Ethereum scaling direction that could combine UTXO-style state, conventional dynamic state and models between the two.
Summary
Vitalik Buterin credited Bitcoin developers for Utreexo while outlining Ethereum’s proposed hybrid state scaling strategy. Ethereum researcher Toni Wahrstätter proposed native UTXOs that could cut payment state usage roughly 99.8%. The proposal keeps Ethereum accounts while moving simple one-shot payments into a lighter UTXO-style model. EIP-8141 Frame Transactions, required by the UTXO design, is currently only considered for Hegotá inclusion. Vitalik’s recursive-STARK mempool proposal limits proof bandwidth overhead rather than proving unlimited Ethereum transaction throughput. In an X post, Buterin called it the “current proposed Ethereum scaling strategy,” making clear that the architecture remains under development.
Buterin said the goal is to let most Ethereum activity scale much further without sacrificing decentralization, censorship resistance or ease of running nodes. His comments do not mean Ethereum has decided to replace its account model with Bitcoin’s UTXO architecture. The relevant designs remain research proposals rather than approved protocol changes.
Bitcoiners deserve a lot of credit for pioneering many of these ideas (see Utreexo).
But yes, this is what the current proposed Ethereum scaling strategy looks like in action.
We want Ethereum to have the best of UTXO-style state, dynamic state, and everything in between,…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 16, 2026 Bitcoin’s Utreexo offers a model for reducing node state Utreexo was introduced by MIT Digital Currency Initiative researcher Thaddeus Dryja in 2019. Instead of requiring a validating node to locally hold the full Bitcoin UTXO set, the design represents that set with a compact hash-based accumulator. Transaction inputs carry inclusion proofs that allow nodes to verify relevant outputs against that accumulator.
MIT DCI’s original paper says the accumulator grows logarithmically with the underlying set. That addresses the same broad problem Ethereum researchers are examining: increasing network activity without forcing state-storage requirements to rise at the same pace. Utreexo remains a Bitcoin scaling project rather than a feature Ethereum is copying directly.
Ethereum’s native UTXO proposal targets payment state A July 6 Ethereum Research proposal from Toni Wahrstätter, writing as Nero_eth, proposes adding native UTXO-like payments without removing Ethereum accounts. The model targets one-shot payments that do not require persistent smart-contract state.
The proposal estimates that these workloads could reduce permanent state usage by roughly 99.8%. Rather than storing the full payment object in active state, Ethereum would prove its existence from history while mainly retaining a compact spent-status bit. At one billion entries, the proposal estimates roughly 300 MB of permanent state, compared with about 100 GB to 150 GB for equivalent account or storage entries. Those are design estimates, not measured mainnet results.
The approach fits Ethereum’s wider effort to reduce verification and storage burdens. As crypto.news previously reported, Ethereum’s Lean rebuild places recursive cryptographic proofs at the center of its proposed verification overhaul.
Recursive STARKs solve a different scaling bottleneck Buterin’s January recursive-STARK mempool research tackles proof bandwidth. His model assumes highly optimized STARK proofs of about 128 kB and proposes that mempool nodes periodically combine validity proofs recursively instead of attaching a separate large proof to every object being propagated.
Using Buterin’s example of eight peers and 500-millisecond aggregation intervals, extra bandwidth would total about 2 MB per second per node and remain constant as more objects enter the scheme. The mempool research and native UTXO proposal address different constraints, although researchers are exploring how such technologies might complement one another.
A community response extrapolated the combination into an architecture capable of settling an “unbounded volume” of UTXO transitions through a compact proof. That is not a confirmed Ethereum throughput target or roadmap commitment. Buterin’s research does not establish unlimited transaction capacity, and the 128 kB figure describes an assumed STARK proof size in his mempool model, not a confirmed future Ethereum block format.
If we were to synthesize Vitalik’s STARK-aggregated mempool architecture with Toni’s UTXO-oriented execution proposal, we could theoretically construct a recursively STARK-aggregated UTXO transaction fabric at the memory/networking layer, whereby transaction-state transitions are… https://t.co/XhstzUso2z
— Liberty Swap | C.R.O.P.S. on PulseChain 🗽 (@LibertySwapFi) August 16, 2026 What happens next for Ethereum scaling The native UTXO proposal assumes EIP-8141, or Frame Transactions, for its preferred spending design. EIP-8141 would introduce programmable transaction frames covering validation, gas payment and execution. The official Hegotá specification currently lists Frame Transactions only as “Considered for Inclusion.” FOCIL, or EIP-7805, remains the only proposal formally scheduled for Hegotá.
Ethereum’s official roadmap places Hegotá in 2027, after Glamsterdam in the fourth quarter of 2026. Native UTXOs are not currently listed as a scheduled Hegotá feature. As crypto.news reported, Hegotá’s 2027 upgrade scope is still being narrowed, with Frame Transactions among the major designs still under consideration.
Buterin’s Utreexo reference therefore signals a research direction rather than a dated Ethereum upgrade. The work points toward a hybrid system in which different types of activity could use different state models, while cryptographic proofs reduce what individual nodes must store or repeatedly verify.
JPMorgan začal přijímat Bitcoin a Ethereum jako zástavu pro úvěry v amerických dolarech pro institucionální klienty. Banka na krypto uplatňuje haircut ve výši 30 % až 50 %.
JPMorgan Chase now lets institutional clients pledge Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for U.S. dollar loans, placing crypto on the same ledger as Treasuries and blue-chip equities. For a bank whose CEO spent years calling Bitcoin a fraud, the reversal rewires how capital moves between Wall Street and decentralized networks, and forces every competitor to answer the same question.
Summary
JPMorgan Chase launched a program in March 2026 allowing institutional clients to pledge Bitcoin and Ethereum as collateral for U.S. dollar loans through its Kinexys digital assets platform, with custodians including Fidelity Digital Assets and Coinbase Custody holding the pledged tokens.
The bank applies estimated haircuts of 30% to 50% on crypto collateral, meaning a client pledging $100,000 in Bitcoin may receive only $50,000 to $70,000 in financing, with real-time oracle feeds from providers such as Chainlink adjusting valuations continuously.
This move follows JPMorgan’s filing of bitcoin-backed structured notes tied to BlackRock’s IBIT exchange-traded fund, offering leveraged returns of up to 1.5x and potential gains of 16% if IBIT hits predetermined targets by December 2026.
Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Bank of America are building a tokenized deposit network launching in the first half of 2027, suggesting JPMorgan’s collateral program is the opening act of a broader Wall Street integration.
The cultural shift is stark: CEO Jamie Dimon once called Bitcoin a “hyped-up fraud” and a “pet rock,” yet the bank now treats Bitcoin identically to stocks, bonds, and gold on its collateral schedule.
The pledged assets never leave cold storage at third-party custodians such as Fidelity Digital Assets and Coinbase Custody, but the dollars they unlock are as real as any credit line backed by government paper. JPMorgan Chase opened the program in March 2026 through its Kinexys digital assets platform, and the competitive cascade it triggered is already reshaping the banking industry.
From “pet rock” to pledgeable asset
Jamie Dimon’s public disdain for Bitcoin has been a recurring fixture of earnings calls and conference panels since at least 2017. He called it a fraud, compared it to tulip mania, and warned employees that trading it would be grounds for termination. Yet JPMorgan’s institutional clients kept asking for exposure, and the bank kept quietly building infrastructure to serve that demand. The Kinexys platform, formerly known as Onyx, now processes more than $5 billion in daily transaction volume and has handled over $3 trillion in cumulative settlements since its launch. Adding crypto collateral to that engine was less a philosophical U-turn and more the logical next step for a system already designed to move tokenized value at scale.
The internal evolution at JPMorgan tells a more nuanced story than the public rhetoric suggests. While Dimon was calling Bitcoin a fraud in shareholder letters, the bank’s technology division was hiring blockchain engineers, filing patents on tokenized settlement systems, and building the infrastructure that would become Kinexys. The digital assets team operated with a degree of autonomy that allowed it to build production-grade systems while the CEO continued to express skepticism on CNBC. That dynamic, where the engineering side of a bank runs ahead of the executive messaging, is common in large financial institutions. It happened with derivatives in the 1980s, with electronic trading in the 1990s, and with algorithmic market-making in the 2000s. The public stance catches up to the private investment, usually when a revenue opportunity becomes too large to ignore.
Eric Trump captured the irony at Consensus Miami 2026, pointing out that JPMorgan had gone from “crapping all over bitcoin” to offering mortgage products backed by crypto holdings in roughly 18 months. The timeline matters because it compresses what analysts expected to be a multi-year adoption curve into something closer to a sprint. When the bank that sets the pace for Wall Street lending accepts an asset as collateral, it sends a signal that cascades through compliance departments, risk committees, and boardrooms at every other major financial institution.
How the collateral program works
The mechanics mirror traditional securities lending more closely than most observers expected. A hedge fund or corporate treasury deposits Bitcoin or Ethereum with a third-party custodian, typically Fidelity Digital Assets or Coinbase Custody. JPMorgan never takes direct possession of the tokens. Instead, the bank receives a custodial receipt confirming the deposit, and the Kinexys platform records the pledge on its permissioned blockchain. The client then receives a U.S. dollar loan, with the crypto holdings serving as security.
Real-time price feeds, sourced from oracle providers including Chainlink, continuously update the valuation of the pledged assets. If the value of the collateral drops below a predetermined threshold, the system issues a margin call automatically. The client must either deposit additional collateral or repay part of the loan. If neither happens within the specified window, the custodian can liquidate the crypto position to cover the shortfall. The entire lifecycle, from pledge to margin call to potential liquidation, runs on blockchain rails that operate around the clock, a meaningful upgrade over the batch-processing cycles of traditional collateral management.
One detail that distinguishes this program from crypto-native lending platforms is the separation between custody and credit. On platforms like Aave or Compound, the collateral and the lending pool exist in the same smart contract ecosystem. A bug in the protocol can expose both simultaneously. JPMorgan’s structure intentionally fragments these functions across different entities: the bank underwrites the loan, the custodian holds the tokens, and the oracle provider supplies the pricing. That fragmentation adds operational complexity but creates firebreaks. A failure at any one layer does not automatically cascade into the others.
The initial rollout targets high-net-worth clients and institutional players. Retail access is not part of the current scope, though internal JPMorgan documents referenced by Bloomberg suggest the bank is evaluating a phased expansion that could include qualified retail investors by mid-2027.
The haircut question
Collateral haircuts are where the details reveal how seriously a bank treats an asset class. U.S. Treasuries typically carry haircuts of 1% to 5%, reflecting their low volatility and deep liquidity. Investment-grade corporate bonds sit in the 5% to 15% range. Gold, depending on the form and custodian, attracts haircuts of 10% to 25%.
JPMorgan’s reported haircuts for Bitcoin collateral land between 30% and 50%. That range acknowledges Bitcoin’s realized volatility, which has averaged roughly 50% to 70% annualized over the past five years, while still treating the asset as meaningfully pledgeable. A client depositing $1 million in Bitcoin would receive between $500,000 and $700,000 in loan proceeds. The spread within that range likely depends on the client’s creditworthiness, the loan tenor, and prevailing market conditions.
These numbers are not punitive by historical standards. When Goldman Sachs and other tier-one banks first explored Bitcoin-backed lending through tri-party repo arrangements, internal models suggested haircuts as high as 70%. The compression from 70% to a midpoint of roughly 40% over just a few years reflects both declining realized volatility as the asset matures and growing confidence in custodial infrastructure. If Bitcoin’s annualized volatility continues to fall, as it has with each successive halving cycle, the haircuts will tighten further. A world in which Bitcoin collateral receives a 20% haircut, comparable to high-yield corporate bonds, is plausible within the next three to five years.
What changes when Bitcoin becomes a balance-sheet instrument
The shift from speculative asset to pledgeable collateral rewires incentive structures across the financial system. Consider three immediate consequences.
First, it creates a reason to hold Bitcoin that has nothing to do with price appreciation. A corporate treasurer sitting on $50 million in Bitcoin can now borrow against that position to fund operations, acquisitions, or working capital without triggering a taxable event. The cost of capital for that borrowing, once haircuts and interest rates are factored in, may compare favorably to unsecured corporate debt for many mid-tier firms. Bitcoin becomes a tool for liquidity management, not just a bet on number-go-up.
Second, it introduces a new class of forced sellers. Margin calls on crypto-collateralized loans create liquidation pressure that did not exist when Bitcoin sat entirely outside the banking system. A sharp drawdown that triggers widespread margin calls at JPMorgan and its eventual competitors could amplify selling in a way that the market has not yet experienced at institutional scale. The plumbing that makes collateral possible also makes cascading liquidations possible.
Third, it pressures accounting standards. Under current U.S. GAAP rules updated in late 2024, companies can carry Bitcoin at fair value with changes flowing through earnings. If banks are treating Bitcoin as loan collateral, auditors and regulators will face increasing pressure to harmonize the treatment of crypto assets across the financial system. The gap between how a bank values Bitcoin as collateral and how a corporate borrower accounts for it on its balance sheet creates friction that the system will eventually resolve.
Fourth, it changes how Bitcoin miners and large holders think about treasury management. Companies like MARA Holdings have already used Bitcoin to refinance debt through crypto-native lenders such as Arch Lending. The entry of JPMorgan into this market gives those same borrowers access to cheaper capital, longer tenors, and the reputational cover of borrowing from a systemically important bank. The interest rates on JPMorgan’s crypto-collateralized loans have not been publicly disclosed, but the bank’s cost of funding is significantly lower than any crypto-native lender. That cost advantage will pull borrowing volume away from decentralized platforms and into the traditional banking system, an ironic outcome for an asset class built on the premise of disintermediation.
The competitive cascade
JPMorgan rarely moves first without knowing that competitors are watching. Goldman Sachs has been working on its own crypto-collateral program through tri-party repo structures. Citigroup is building custody rails designed to handle $30 trillion in tokenized assets. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup are jointly constructing a tokenized deposit network that launches in the first half of 2027 and would allow round-the-clock corporate fund transfers. Each of these initiatives is a precondition for accepting crypto collateral at scale.
The pattern echoes what happened with prime brokerage services for hedge funds in the 1990s. Once one bank offered a comprehensive package, every competitor had to match it or risk losing clients. The same dynamic is playing out with crypto services. JPMorgan has already filed to issue bitcoin-backed structured notes tied to BlackRock’s IBIT ETF, offering leveraged returns and conditional principal protection. Goldman Sachs is expected to announce similar products before the end of the third quarter. The question is no longer whether traditional banks will offer crypto-backed financial products, but how quickly the full menu will be available.
Regional banks face a different calculus. They lack the technology budgets and regulatory relationships to build Kinexys-style platforms from scratch. Most will rely on infrastructure partners, likely the same custodians and oracle providers that JPMorgan uses, to offer white-label versions of crypto collateral services. The result is a tiered market in which the largest banks offer bespoke crypto lending directly, mid-tier banks partner with fintechs, and smaller institutions simply refer clients elsewhere. That tiering already exists for foreign exchange and derivatives. Crypto is following the same organizational logic.
The opposing case: why this could unravel
Every structural shift comes with scenarios that could reverse it. The most direct threat is a regulatory crackdown. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has not issued definitive guidance on bank-held crypto collateral, and a change in administration or a major crypto-related loss at a systemically important bank could prompt restrictions that make the economics unworkable.
Volatility remains the fundamental challenge. Bitcoin’s 30-day realized volatility spiked above 100% during the March 2020 crash and exceeded 80% during the May 2021 selloff. A similar spike under the new collateral regime would trigger margin calls at a scale the system has not been tested against. If custodians cannot process liquidations quickly enough during a flash crash, the resulting losses could make banks pull back from crypto collateral entirely.
Custodial risk is the dark scenario. The collapse of FTX in 2022 showed that even large, apparently reputable crypto custodians can fail catastrophically. JPMorgan mitigates this by using regulated third-party custodians with segregated accounts, but the risk is not zero. A breach, hack, or operational failure at a major custodian could freeze collateral and create cascading defaults.
The invalidation criteria are clear: if any G-SIB (global systemically important bank) suspends its crypto collateral program due to losses or regulatory action within the next 18 months, the competitive cascade described above stalls. If two or more suspend simultaneously, the entire thesis reverses and crypto reverts to its pre-collateral status as a purely speculative asset class in the eyes of traditional finance.
Ethereum’s parallel path and the altcoin question
JPMorgan’s program accepts Ethereum alongside Bitcoin, but the two assets occupy different positions in the institutional hierarchy. JPMorgan’s own analysts have argued that Bitcoin has pulled decisively ahead as the institutional base layer, with spot Bitcoin ETFs recovering roughly two-thirds of their October 2025 outflows while spot Ethereum ETFs clawed back only about one-third.
The divergence matters for collateral because it affects how banks model risk. Bitcoin’s correlation structure, its relationship to equities, gold, and real interest rates, is better understood and more stable than Ethereum’s. A risk committee evaluating Ethereum collateral must also consider smart contract risk, network upgrade risk, and the possibility that DeFi activity on Ethereum declines further, reducing the fundamental demand for the token. These factors justify wider haircuts on Ethereum than on Bitcoin, and internal bank models reportedly reflect that asymmetry.
The broader altcoin universe is nowhere near collateral eligibility. Tokens with lower liquidity, shorter track records, and less regulatory clarity will remain outside the banking system’s collateral framework for the foreseeable future. The gap between Bitcoin and Ethereum on one side and everything else on the other is widening, not narrowing, as institutional infrastructure develops. Solana, despite processing JPMorgan’s first public-blockchain commercial paper issuance, is not on the collateral schedule. Neither are any stablecoins, wrapped tokens, or governance tokens. The threshold for collateral eligibility in the traditional banking system is far higher than the threshold for exchange listing, and that distinction will shape capital allocation for years to come.
For Ethereum specifically, the path to tighter haircuts runs through proving sustained network utility. If staking yields stabilize, layer-2 activity grows, and real-world asset tokenization on Ethereum scales meaningfully, risk committees may eventually treat ETH collateral on terms closer to Bitcoin. But that convergence is not guaranteed, and the current data points in the opposite direction.
What the Bitcoin ETF ecosystem means for collateral
The existence of spot Bitcoin ETFs creates a bridge between crypto-native collateral and traditional securities lending. A bank can accept shares of BlackRock’s IBIT as collateral without ever touching Bitcoin directly. The ETF wrapper provides regulatory clarity, custodial simplicity, and a familiar risk framework. JPMorgan’s structured notes tied to IBIT are an early example of this hybrid approach.
The ETF bridge also creates an interesting arbitrage dynamic. If a client can pledge IBIT shares at a 10% haircut through a standard securities lending agreement, or pledge the underlying Bitcoin at a 40% haircut through the crypto collateral program, the economics strongly favor the ETF route. This means that much of the early demand for crypto collateral may flow through ETFs rather than spot crypto, at least until haircuts on direct Bitcoin pledges tighten to competitive levels.
Over time, the two tracks should converge. As banks gain experience with direct Bitcoin custody and the realized loss rates on crypto-collateralized loans become visible, the haircut premium for spot Bitcoin over ETF shares will narrow. The end state is one in which Bitcoin, whether held directly or through an ETF, is treated as a single asset class on the collateral schedule, with haircuts reflecting the underlying volatility rather than the wrapper.
The regulatory dimension reinforces this convergence. The Clarity Act, which JPMorgan publicly backed despite lowering its estimate of the bill’s passage probability to below 50%, would provide a federal framework for digital asset classification. If passed, the act would remove much of the legal uncertainty that currently justifies wider haircuts on spot crypto versus ETF shares. Even without the Clarity Act, the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs has already created a regulatory precedent that treats the underlying assets as legitimate enough to wrap in registered securities. The collateral question is the next logical extension of that precedent.
What to watch
The next 12 months will determine whether JPMorgan’s collateral program is the beginning of a permanent structural shift or an experiment that gets walked back under pressure. Three signals matter most.
The first is competitor entry. If Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and at least one European universal bank launch comparable programs by mid-2027, the shift is durable. If JPMorgan remains alone, something is wrong with the economics or the regulatory environment.
The second is haircut compression. The current 30% to 50% range for Bitcoin reflects uncertainty. If that range tightens to 20% to 35% within a year, it means realized loss rates are low and the bank’s risk models are being validated by actual experience. If haircuts widen, the opposite is true.
The third is a stress test. The program has not yet been through a genuine market dislocation. The first 20%-plus drawdown in Bitcoin while significant collateral is pledged through the system will reveal whether the liquidation mechanisms work as designed. A clean liquidation cycle, one that processes margin calls and sells collateral without systemic disruption, would be the strongest possible endorsement of the program’s architecture.
Beyond these three signals, watch for the accounting and regulatory responses. If the Financial Accounting Standards Board issues updated guidance specifically addressing crypto collateral in banking contexts, it signals that the infrastructure is being built to last. If the OCC publishes interpretive letters clarifying the permissibility of crypto-backed lending for nationally chartered banks, the door opens for institutions that have been waiting on the sidelines. Conversely, if enforcement actions or congressional hearings target bank-held crypto collateral specifically, the expansion timeline extends significantly. The regulatory posture in Washington over the next year will shape the speed of this transition more than any single bank’s internal decision.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk, and readers should conduct their own research before making any financial decisions. Published on August 16, 2026.
Studie spojuje chyby v adresách na sítích Ethereum a BNB Chain s 65 340 rizikovými případy a téměř 574,8 milionu USD ztrát. Největší část tvořilo zneužití kontraktních účtů a odhalených privátních klíčů.
TLDR: Ethereum address errors were linked to 65,340 high-risk cases and almost $574.8 million in losses across Ethereum and BNB Chain. Contract account misuse involved 49,344 cases, with 22,738.41 ETH and 8,681.41 BNB sent to addresses lacking expected code. Exposed private keys contributed to 15,996 account misuse cases involving 104,224.53 ETH and another 9,045.29 BNB across both blockchains. Researchers identified 17,270 EIP-7702 cases where malicious delegation helped attackers control exposed accounts and redirect deposits. An academic study links Ethereum address errors and similar BNB Chain mistakes to nearly $574.8 million in losses. Researchers identified 65,340 high-risk cases involving contract addresses, exposed accounts, and cross-chain reuse. Many transactions completed successfully, although users sent assets to the wrong destination or an unsafe account.
This makes the problem harder to spot than a failed transfer. The research team includes scholars from Sun Yat-sen, Zhejiang, Peking, and other universities. Their work traces crypto address misuse across Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain. It also shows how EIP-7702 can help attackers seize exposed accounts and redirect incoming funds automatically.
Ethereum Address Errors Expose Cross-Chain Transfer Risks The researchers divide the problem into Contract Account Misuse and Externally Owned Account Misuse. Contract Account Misuse occurs when someone assumes a contract exists at a familiar address. That assumption can fail when the user switches networks. The same hexadecimal address may hold working code on a testnet but nothing on mainnet.
The study documented 49,344 separate contract misuse cases involving 22,738.41 ETH and 8,681.41 BNB. These Ethereum address errors appeared routine. A transfer can receive confirmation even when the intended contract function never runs. The network simply treats the call as a basic payment to an address without code.
A shared Uniswap V2 router address illustrates the danger. Developers used it on Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet, and related Stack Exchange posts attracted more than 102,000 views. Yet the address lacked contract code on Ethereum mainnet. Users still submitted function calls and attached ETH. The chain accepted those transactions as simple transfers, leaving the assets trapped.
Attackers watched addresses affected by crypto address misuse. The team identified 469 contract cases involving deliberate cross-chain address reuse. Attackers deployed malicious contracts at destinations where users had previously sent funds by mistake. Those incidents caused losses of 3,446.37 ETH and 431.79 BNB. The method turns an earlier mistake into an active theft opportunity.
These findings show why Ethereum address errors require chain-specific checks. A recognizable address alone does not confirm the expected contract exists. Users must verify both the selected network and the deployed bytecode before signing a transaction.
Exposed Keys and EIP-7702 Expand the Threat to Users Ethereum address errors also include Externally Owned Account Misuse. The study identified 15,996 cases tied to private keys exposed online. Developers sometimes publish keys in repositories, tutorials, or question-and-answer posts. Attackers can monitor those accounts and remove deposits as soon as funds arrive.
These exposed accounts received 104,224.53 ETH, while related BNB Chain losses reached 9,045.29 BNB. Researchers examined more than 10 million candidate addresses and 16 million exposed private keys. They then reviewed roughly 2.5 million transactions across Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain. Manual validation placed the detection system’s overall precision at 99.11%.
EIP-7702 expands the danger surrounding Ethereum address errors. The upgrade allows an externally owned account to delegate execution to smart contract code. Researchers found another 17,270 cases where attackers used this mechanism against exposed accounts. Malicious delegation enabled automatic control and redirected later deposits without repeated manual action.
The losses sit beside broader security damage recorded during 2026. Blockaid reported $1.1 billion stolen through 212 incidents during the first half. Three separate attacks each caused more than $35 million in losses on one late-July day. Unlike visible hacks, crypto address misuse can look like an ordinary confirmed transaction.
The researchers urge users to obtain addresses from official project documentation. Test accounts and production wallets should also remain separate. Wallets could flag addresses without contract code on the current chain. They could also warn when known exposed keys control a destination. Such checks would target Ethereum address errors before users approve irreversible transfers.
Euro Manganese uzavřela s 6K Energy nezávazný term sheet na dlouhodobý odběr vysoce čistého manganu z projektu Chvaletice. 6K Energy materiál zkušebně otestovala a předběžně kvalifikovala.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 17, 2026) - Euro Manganese Inc. (TSXV: EMN) (ASX: EMN) (OTC Pink: EUMNF) (FSE: E060) (the "Company" or "Euro Manganese" or "EMN") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-binding offtake term sheet with 6K Energy, a leading U.S.-based producer of advanced cathode active materials ("CAM"), for the proposed sale of high-purity electrolytic manganese metal ("HPEMM") from the Company's Chvaletice Manganese Project ("Chvaletice" or the "Project") in the Czech Republic.
The term sheet follows 6K Energy's successful testing and preliminary qualification of high-purity manganese produced at Euro Manganese's Demonstration Plant. This technical milestone provides important customer validation of the material's quality and suitability for advanced battery-material applications.
The proposed offtake represents an important step in establishing Chvaletice as a secure and traceable source of high-purity manganese for North American battery and advanced-manufacturing supply chains. Euro Manganese and 6K Energy have also agreed to evaluate broader opportunities involving the Company's products and their potential use within 6K Energy's business.
Highlights
6K Energy has successfully tested and preliminarily qualified high-purity manganese produced at Euro Manganese's Demonstration Plant, providing third-party validation of its quality and suitability for advanced battery-material applications.
The term sheet contemplates a long-term, take-or-pay offtake arrangement, with pricing and other commercial terms intended to support the Project's debt-financing requirements.
Initial volumes of HPEMM are expected to be supplied from Euro Manganese's Demonstration Plant beginning in 2028, supporting continued qualification and commercial engagement ahead of first commercial production.
The pricing structure contemplated by the term sheet is designed to support the Project's anticipated debt financing requirements while preserving potential upside exposure to strengthening manganese prices.
The proposed arrangement advances Chvaletice's position as a secure, traceable European source of high-purity manganese for North American battery and advanced-manufacturing supply chains.
Euro Manganese and 6K Energy intend to negotiate a definitive offtake agreement under which the contemplated pricing mechanism, volumes and other commercial terms would become binding.
The term sheet also establishes a framework for the parties to evaluate broader commercial opportunities involving Euro Manganese's products and their use within 6K Energy's operations.
6K Energy's successful testing and preliminary qualification of Euro Manganese's material from its Demonstration Plant represents an important technical endorsement of the Company's product quality and suitability for advanced battery materials applications. It also underscores the potential value of Euro Manganese's secure, traceable and responsibly produced manganese to customers seeking alternatives to existing sources of supply.
The term sheet contemplates a long-term, take-or-pay offtake arrangement. Pricing is expected to be based on a market-linked mechanism that reflects prevailing market conditions. The pricing structure contemplated by the term sheet is designed to support the Project's anticipated debt financing requirements, while also providing Euro Manganese the potential to capture, in whole or in part, the benefit of any potential strengthening in manganese pricing as markets evolve over the coming years. The Company regards this as a further demonstration of the pragmatic, efficient approach it has taken to developing Chvaletice, an approach intended to perform across a range of market conditions while preserving upside exposure for shareholders.
The parties intend to explore further opportunities involving Euro Manganese's products within 6K Energy's business. Together with the preliminary qualification of the Company's material, this framework reinforces the commercial relevance of Chvaletice to customers seeking reliable supplies of high-purity manganese from a secure Western source.
Martina Blahova, President and Chief Executive Officer of Euro Manganese, commented:
"This term sheet represents an important step toward converting customer interest into a long-term commercial relationship. 6K Energy's successful testing and preliminary qualification of our material provide valuable validation of its quality and suitability for advanced battery-material applications.
"Chvaletice's planned ability to produce both high-purity manganese metal and high-purity manganese sulphate would provide customers with flexibility across a range of manufacturing processes and strengthen the Project's relevance to Western supply chains. We look forward to advancing negotiations toward a definitive offtake agreement and exploring broader opportunities with 6K Energy, including the potential supply of high-purity manganese intended to meet applicable requirements under the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act."
Aaron Kless, Senior Vice President of Global Operations at 6K Energy, commented:
"Establishing secure, transparent and resilient supply chains for critical battery materials is central to the growth of domestic cathode manufacturing. The successful testing and preliminary qualification of Euro Manganese's high-purity manganese material is an encouraging step in our evaluation process.
"We are pleased to establish this framework with Euro Manganese and look forward to advancing our discussions toward a definitive agreement while exploring opportunities to support 6K Energy's long-term material requirements and the continued development of a competitive North American battery supply chain."
About 6K Energy Inc.
6K Energy is focused on the production of low-cost, domestically produced cathode active battery (CAM) material accelerating the pace of lithium-ion battery production in the United States for energy storage systems and electric mobility. 6K Energy's Battery Center of Excellence in North Andover, MA is focused on the development of CAM battery materials helping customer to conduct early qualification of the company's materials. The PlusCAM™ factory in Jackson, TN will be one of the first domestic cathode facilities providing low-cost, sustainable production of NMC 811, 721 and high-nickel battery material for US supply chains. For more information, www.6KInc.com
Qualified Persons Statement
The scientific and technical information in this news release concerning the Chvaletice Manganese Project has been reviewed by Dr. David Dreisinger, P. Eng, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 and consultant to Euro Manganese. Dr. Dreisinger has reviewed and approved the information in this news release for which he is responsible and has consented to the inclusion of the matters in this news release based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Authorised for release by the CEO of Euro Manganese Inc.
About Euro Manganese
Euro Manganese Inc. (ASX: EMN) (TSXV: EMN) (FSE: E060) is a battery materials company developing the Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic, Europe's only near-term source of high-purity manganese, a critical ingredient in next-generation electric vehicles, energy storage batteries and defence applications.
The Chvaletice Manganese Project plans to reprocess historic mine tailings to produce high-purity electrolytic manganese metal (HPEMM), and high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM), establishing a fully traceable, low-carbon supply chain within the European Union.
Euro Manganese is positioned to become Europe's first domestic producer of high-purity manganese, meeting the rising demand for sustainable, strategic battery materials while advancing Europe's clean-energy and supply-chain independence goals.
Euro Manganese is dual listed on the TSX-V and the ASX.
Website: www.mn25.ca
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company, its Chvaletice Project, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and, even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company.
Such forward-looking information or statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's intentions regarding the development of the Chvaletice Project, its ability to enter into a long term take or pay off-take agreement with 6K Energy, ability to provide initial volumes of HPEMM from its Demonstration Plant beginning in 2028, any continued qualification of the Company's products and commercial engagement ahead of potential production, the potential for Euro Manganese and 6K Energy to evaluate and pursue broader collaboration opportunities regarding Euro Manganese product and its use in 6K Energy's business, offtake pricing being able to meet anticipated debt finance covenants while preserving potential upside exposure to strengthening manganese prices, and the approach of the Company and being able to perform across a range of market conditions.
All forward-looking statements are made based on the Company's current beliefs including various assumptions made by the Company including that the Chvaletice Project will be developed and operate in accordance with current plans, that the Company will obtain sufficient financing, and that the Company will be able to conclude a binding offtake agreement on favorable terms or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: risks and uncertainties related to the ability to obtain, amend, or maintain necessary licenses, or permits; risks related to acquisition of surface rights; securing sufficient offtake agreements; the availability of acceptable financing for developing and advancing the Chvaletice Project and for continued operations; the availability and reliability of equipment, facilities, and suppliers necessary to complete development; the ability to develop adequate processing capacity with expected production rates; timing to start of production and total costs of production; the presence of and continuity of manganese at the Chvaletice Project at estimated grades; the potential for unknown or unexpected events to cause contractual conditions to not be satisfied; developments in EV (Electric Vehicles) battery markets and chemistries; and risks related to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, changes in laws or regulations; and regulation by various governmental agencies. For a further discussion of risks relevant to the Company, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form for the year ended September 30, 2025, available on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/309766
Source: Euro Manganese Inc.
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TL;DR: AUD/USD has broken out on external tailwinds — a weaker Dollar and rebounding risk appetite — but Thursday’s jobs report lands in the middle of a genuine split between economists who think the RBA is done hiking and an RBA that keeps saying otherwise.
Aussie Has External Momentum — Now Australia Needs to Contribute AUD/USD has already received almost everything it could ask for from outside Australia. The Dollar is weakening as markets scale the Fed path back toward only “one and a bit” additional hikes through mid-2027. Regional risk appetite has rebounded strongly, with the KOSPI more than 30% above its July trough and the Nikkei roughly 14% higher. Against that backdrop, AUD/USD extended its rally from 0.6864 and broke through its near-term channel ceiling, giving the first technical sign that the advance is accelerating.
The question now is whether domestic fundamentals can join the move. Thursday’s July employment report arrives with consensus around just 12k jobs growth, a dramatic slowdown from June’s 76.3k, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.4%. That would normally look like routine normalization after an outlier. This time, however, the labor data sit directly in the middle of an unresolved disagreement over whether the RBA’s tightening cycle is finished.
Economists Say the RBA Is Done. The RBA Hasn’t Said That. All four major banks now have no further 2026 hike as their base case, with Westpac dropping its August tightening call after softer Q2 inflation data. But the RBA’s own language remains conspicuously hawkish. The August SoMP retained a commitment to increase the cash rate further “if upside risks materialise.” Governor Michele Bullock said at the July 28 Anika Foundation speech that the Board was “prepared to act as required.” After the August hold, Assistant Governor Christopher Kent went further at the Reuters Next event on August 13, saying inflation risks “lean firmly to the upside” and the cash rate “could rise further” if those risks materialise.
That consistency before and after the decision matters. It suggests the hike bias is deliberate rather than a sentence left behind by inertia. At the same time, the rates market hasn’t moved all the way toward bank economists’ conviction: the SoMP cited pricing consistent with roughly a 50% chance of another hike by year-end. ANZ also continues to flag a November hike as a live risk despite its hold base case. In other words, economists are leaning heavily toward “done,” but money markets remain genuinely divided.
One Jobs Report Already Proved It Can Change the Rate Story This year’s employment series has been unusually volatile: -18.6k in April, +43.9k in May, and +76.3k in June. The June surge, almost five times the expected increase, helped send year-end hike odds from around 78% to 97% before the August meeting. The RBA still chose to hold, and the current roughly 50% year-end probability reflects the reset since then. But the precedent is clear: one labor report has already moved RBA pricing materially this cycle.
That gives Thursday a genuine two-sided setup. Another large beat could challenge the hold-through-2026 consensus, revive hike pricing, and potentially add domestic rate support to AUD/USD’s existing Dollar and risk-sentiment tailwinds. A result near or below consensus would instead strengthen the case that June was an outlier and pull market pricing closer to the Big Four view. Neither outcome should be read in isolation, however — jobs this week and CPI next week are better treated as a paired test: only a combination of resilient labor demand and renewed inflation pressure would make the September hike case substantially harder to dismiss.
ActionForex’s Technical View on AUD/USD The chart setup already reflects rising optimism. AUD/USD’s rally from 0.6864 has broken above its near-term channel ceiling, signaling upside acceleration. As long as 0.7042 minor support holds, the next objective sits at the 161.8% projection of 0.6864 to 0.7026 from 0.6921, at 0.7183.
The larger trend remains bullish as well. AUD/USD continues to hold well above the 38.2% retracement of the 0.5913 to 0.7277 rise, at 0.6756, leaving the year-long advance from the 2025 low intact. Price action from 0.7277 is treated as corrective, though it’s too early to rule out another down leg before the larger uptrend resumes.
For now, holding above the 55-day EMA near 0.7023 keeps a retest of 0.7277 favored. The Aussie has already broken higher on external support; Thursday will show whether Australia can supply the next reason to keep buying.
Key Takeaways AUD/USD’s breakout has so far been driven entirely by external factors: fading Fed hike odds and a strong regional risk-appetite rebound. All four major Australian banks expect no further RBA hikes in 2026, but RBA officials, including Bullock and Kent, have kept using hawkish language even after the August hold. Rates markets remain split from bank economists, pricing roughly a 50% chance of another hike by year-end versus the Big Four’s near-unanimous “done” call. June’s 76.3k jobs surge already proved a single report can swing RBA pricing sharply, from 78% to 97% hike odds, showing Thursday’s data carries real two-sided risk. AUD/USD holds above 0.7042 support with 0.7183 as the next objective; the broader uptrend from 2025 stays intact above the 0.6756 retracement level. Related Reading Dollar Index Faces Imminent Breakdown Risk as Fed Hike Path Shrinks. RBA’s Kent Says Tightening Is Working, but Policy Restraint Remains Hard to Gauge RBA Accepts Softer Inflation but Still Leaves Scope for One More Hike
ActionForex
ActionForex.com was set up back in 2004 with the aim to provide insightful analysis to forex traders, serving the trading community for two decades. We started providing only a daily and a mid-day report, now known as Action Insights. Gradually, we added a lot more in-house contents to the site. Technical Outlook section was expanded to cover more pairs. In addition to that, Top Movers, Heat Map, Pivot Point Charts and Pivot Meters, Action Bias and Volatility Charts, are tools used by traders from all over the world.
Gold (XAU/USD) builds on Friday's bounce from the $4,300 neighborhood, or a one-week low, and gains some follow-through positive traction at the start of a new week. The commodity, however, struggles to capitalize on the momentum beyond the $4,400 mark and remains below its highest level since June 5, touched on Friday, amid mixed fundamental cues.
Data released on Friday showed that US Retail Sales dropped 0.6% in July, marking the first fall in nine months and the biggest monthly decline since May last year. Adding to this, the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index dipped in August to 51 from 55.2 in the previous month. This comes on top of signs of cooling US inflation and further tempers expectations for an immediate interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed), which continues to undermine the US Dollar (USD) and lends support to the non-yielding bullion.
Investors, however, remain worried that volatile energy prices could complicate the inflation outlook and force the Fed to stick to a hawkish stance. Moreover, persistent geopolitical uncertainties help limit deeper losses for the safe-haven USD, capping the upside for the Gold price. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the US is preparing to hit Iran with economic measures that have never been seen, as soon as this week. This, along with the US-Iran standoff, keeps the geopolitical risk premium in play and should support the buck.
In other developments, President Donald Trump said that he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a “territory of the United States.” Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the US must agree to Tehran's conditions in order for shipping to resume through the waterway and that there were no negotiations currently taking place. Apart from this, fresh Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries remain supportive of higher oil prices, keeping inflation fears and bets for at least one Fed rate hike in 2026 on the table.
According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, traders are still pricing in around a 65% chance that the US central bank will raise borrowing costs by the end of this year. This, in turn, warrants some caution for USD bears and before positioning for any further appreciating move in the Gold price as traders await further cues about the Fed's future policy path. Hence, the focus will remain glued to the release of FOMC Minutes on Wednesday. Apart from this, the incoming geopolitical headlines might influence the USD and the precious metal.
XAU/USD daily chart
Technical AnalysisFrom a technical perspective, the recent repeated failures to find acceptance above the $4,400 mark, or the 50% retracement level of the April-June decline, warrant some caution for XAU/USD bulls. Moreover, the precious metal remains below the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA), keeping the broader tone capped despite the recent recovery.
Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 64.43 leans toward bullish momentum, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) stays in positive territory. Improving momentum indicators, however, only hint that buyers are attempting a rebound within a still bearish, resistance-heavy backdrop.
Nevertheless, sustained strength and acceptance above the $4,400 mark (50% retracement level) should allow the Gold price to test the 200-day SMA near $4,506 and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement at $4,509. Further barriers are seen at the 78.6% Fibo level at $4,666 and the cycle high zone at $4,865.
On the downside, initial support emerges at the 38.2% Fibo. retracement at $4,290, ahead of the 23.6% level at $4,154, while a deeper slide would expose the structural floor around the Fibonacci anchor near $3,935.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)
Fed FAQs
Monetary policy in the US is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these goals is by adjusting interest rates.
When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, it raises interest rates, increasing borrowing costs throughout the economy. This results in a stronger US Dollar (USD) as it makes the US a more attractive place for international investors to park their money.
When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates to encourage borrowing, which weighs on the Greenback.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) holds eight policy meetings a year, where the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) assesses economic conditions and makes monetary policy decisions.
The FOMC is attended by twelve Fed officials – the seven members of the Board of Governors, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and four of the remaining eleven regional Reserve Bank presidents, who serve one-year terms on a rotating basis.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve may resort to a policy named Quantitative Easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system.
It is a non-standard policy measure used during crises or when inflation is extremely low. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy high grade bonds from financial institutions. QE usually weakens the US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process of QE, whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing, to purchase new bonds. It is usually positive for the value of the US Dollar.
SanDisk čeká od fiskálního roku 2028 do 2030 růst tržeb ve středních až vyšších desítkách procent a hrubou marži kolem 80 %, což znovu přehodnotilo výhled paměťového trhu. Samsung a SK Hynix z toho těží díky poptávce po AI.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are in focus on Monday after closing sharply higher on Friday, as a long-term margin forecast from US flash-memory maker SanDisk gave investors reason to reassess how long the AI-driven memory boom could last.
South Korean markets are closed Monday for the Liberation Day holiday.
On Friday, Samsung rose 2.43% to 274,500 won and SK Hynix climbed 3.26% to 1.645 million won, helping the KOSPI finish 2.41% higher at 6,977.34.
The catalyst was SanDisk’s investor day, where the company laid out a framework that challenged assumptions about memory cyclicality.
SanDisk expects mid- to high-teens revenue growth from fiscal 2028 through 2030, alongside non-GAAP gross margins of about 80% and operating margins near 75%.
For Samsung and SK Hynix, the significance lies in what those targets imply for the industry.
Memory has historically followed a familiar pattern. Strong pricing boosts profits, encourages investment and eventually brings enough new supply to crush margins.
SanDisk is arguing that AI demand, tight capacity and longer-term customer agreements could keep industry profitability far above historical norms for years.
JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur said SanDisk was “uniquely positioned to capture the ongoing structural inflection in NAND demand” driven by AI inference.
He also argued that longer customer agreements had improved the company’s margin profile while reducing the boom-and-bust volatility associated with memory.
Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore offered another bullish read.
MarketWatch reported that Moore believes SanDisk could “stay at or above these margin levels for multiple years” while shortages persist, although he questioned whether operating margins around 75% could be sustained indefinitely.
That message fits a shift in analyst expectations around the memory cycle.
Macquarie Capital analysts said the industry is facing the “worst memory crunch in history” and see no sign of supply constraints easing within the next three years.
The firm described AI inference-related memory demand as “off the charts” and expects Samsung and SK Hynix to lead the Korean market’s near-term recovery.
Inference matters because running AI models at scale requires vast amounts of memory and storage, not just computing power.
As AI usage expands, data centres need more HBM and DRAM, while NAND demand can rise as operators seek cheaper ways to store and retrieve the vast quantities of data generated by AI workloads.
Bernstein analyst Mark Newman told MarketWatch that SanDisk’s planned high-bandwidth flash could become a “huge new growth driver for NAND demand.”
He added that the technology could consume substantially more wafer capacity, potentially keeping supply conditions tighter for longer.
The bullish case does not mean the memory cycle has disappeared.
Moore’s caution is important. SanDisk’s current profitability reflects an exceptional shortage, and an 80% gross-margin framework leaves little room for disappointment if supply expands faster than expected.
The same risk applies to Samsung and SK Hynix.
Both stand to benefit if AI infrastructure spending continues to absorb new capacity, but high prices also give manufacturers a powerful incentive to invest in additional production capacity.
Bank Leumi se spojila s Galaxy Digital a plánuje nabídnout klientům přímé obchodování s Bitcoinem, Ethereum a Solanou přes své platformy. Služba má být dostupná na začátku roku 2027.
Bank Leumi, 0ne of Israel’s largest banking institutions, has formed a partnership with Galaxy Digital (Nasdaq: GLXY) to introduce cryptocurrency trading services for its clients. The collaboration positions the institution as the first bank in the country to plan direct digital asset trading offerings through its own platforms.
Under the arrangement, customers of Bank Leumi and its mobile digital banking division, PEPPER, will gain the ability to purchase, hold, and sell select cryptocurrencies—initially including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
These transactions will occur within a dedicated, secure portion of the Leumi
Trade capital markets application, allowing users to manage digital assets alongside their existing investment activities without needing separate exchange accounts or personal wallets.
The service is projected to become available in early 2027.
Galaxy Digital will supply the core infrastructure via its GalaxyOne Institutional platform, which is designed for banks, asset managers, and other institutional clients and emphasizes institutional-grade execution.
Separately, Bank Leumi has agreed to utilize Galaxy’s Custody Infrastructure platform—previously known as GK8—to underpin the secure holding of digital assets.
Maya Ravia, Head of Strategy at Bank Leumi, highlighted the move as a key element of the bank’s broader innovation efforts.
She noted that it aims to deliver straightforward, secure, and regulated access to digital asset trading through leading technological systems.
Ravia emphasized the bank’s view that digital assets are increasingly embedding themselves into the global financial landscape, and that institutions like Leumi have a responsibility to offer customers participation in this evolution within a trusted banking environment.
Lior Lamesh, CEO of Galaxy Israel, framed the partnership as part of a larger shift in finance toward open and programmable systems.
He pointed out that early-adopting banks will help shape the coming era, and that Leumi selected Galaxy to enable this capability for Israeli customers.
Lamesh also referenced the rapid growth of the local digital assets market and Galaxy’s role in delivering a unified platform combining trading and custody with strong security standards, intended for banks worldwide.
Bank Leumi, established more than 120 years ago and operating without a controlling shareholder, serves millions of clients spanning households, small businesses, mid-sized firms, and large corporations.
It blends a physical branch network with advanced digital and artificial intelligence tools, having improved operational efficiency through ongoing technological upgrades.
Galaxy Digital, listed on Nasdaq under the ticker GLXY, focuses on digital assets and data center infrastructure.
Its offerings include trading, advisory services, asset management, staking, self-custody, and tokenization, while also developing facilities to support artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads.
This development follows an earlier, unrealized 2022 effort by the bank involving a different partner.
The current initiative relies on Galaxy’s established institutional tools and Israeli-rooted custody technology.
Commercial details such as fees and specific eligibility criteria have not been disclosed.
Regulatory clearance, including from the Bank of Israel, is anticipated as a necessary step before launch. The partnership reflects growing institutional interest in bringing cryptocurrency access inside established banking interfaces, potentially expanding regulated participation in digital assets within Israel’s financial system.
Roper Technologies zvýšila celoroční upravený zisk na akcii na 22,15 až 22,30 USD z původních 21,30 až 21,55 USD. Zvýšila také výhled organického růstu na 6 % z předchozího rozmezí 5 % až 6 %.
3 "Tollbooth" Stocks With Hidden Monopolies in Their IndustriesRoper Technologies NASDAQ: ROP is pursuing a strategy centered on long-term free-cash-flow-per-share growth, portfolio collaboration and acquisitions of vertical-market software businesses, while increasingly deploying artificial intelligence across its operations and products, Chief Financial Officer Jason Conley said at the Oppenheimer Technology Conference.
Conley described Roper as a vertical-market software and technology company with 29 businesses that lead their respective niche markets. The company targets mid-teens annual compounding of free cash flow per share over the long term, supported by organic growth, acquisitions and, more recently, share repurchases.
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3 Strong Dividend Growers for Income Without Rate RiskRoper’s businesses generally operate in smaller total-addressable markets that Conley said offer protective characteristics. He said the company’s organic growth is in the mid-single digits or higher, translating into high-single-digit cash-flow growth because of its margins, low capital-expenditure requirements and limited working-capital intensity.
Focus on Faster-Growing Software Platforms Over the past three years, Roper has shifted toward acquiring earlier-stage software companies with stronger growth rates, rather than focusing only on more mature businesses, Conley said. The company aims to help those businesses scale, add strategically relevant bolt-on acquisitions and capture margin opportunities through growth rather than cost cuts.
Conley pointed to the acquisitions of CentralReach and Subsplash, as well as bolt-on acquisitions for its DAT freight-market business, including Convoy and Outgo. He said CentralReach and Subsplash have performed in line with their value-creation plans during their first year under Roper ownership, tracking forecasts for revenue and EBITDA.
At DAT, Roper is working to automate portions of the spot freight market. Conley said the company’s acquisition of Convoy supports efforts to reduce the manual process of matching freight loads and carriers, while Outgo adds factoring technology. Both acquisitions are tracking well, though he noted the development of a new market can create a wider range of outcomes regarding timing.
Improved Outlook After First-Half Performance Roper raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $22.15 to $22.30 per share from an initial range of $21.30 to $21.55. Conley said the increase reflected both share repurchases and better-than-expected operating performance, representing a 4% increase at the midpoint.
The company also raised its organic-growth outlook to 6% from a previous range of 5% to 6%. Conley cited stronger-than-expected execution at Neptune Technology Group, part of Roper’s technology-enabled products segment, as a key contributor. Neptune had faced concerns related to its cycle following COVID-era demand, but its first-half results exceeded expectations, he said.
Software performance was generally in line with expectations, while DAT showed improvement after what Conley described as a three- to four-year freight recession. Higher spot freight rates and an increasing number of carriers entering the market have supported the business, he said.
Deltek’s private-sector operations, which serve architecture, engineering and construction customers, have remained strong. Deltek’s government-contracting business has been slower, although Conley said the company saw “signs of life” during the second quarter, including a large license deal that was not included in its forecast. He said Roper is not yet prepared to call a recovery in government contracting demand.
Roper expects organic growth to accelerate in the second half partly because CentralReach will become organic to results in the third quarter and Subsplash in the fourth quarter. CentralReach is growing at more than 20%, Conley said. The technology-enabled products segment is expected to post high-single-digit growth in the second half, with an even stronger third quarter anticipated.
AI Deployment, Pricing and Competitive Positioning Conley said Roper began focusing on AI roughly two years ago, requiring each business to reconsider its markets and operations in an AI-driven environment. The company secured agreements with frontier-model providers about a year and a half ago and expanded its dedicated AI organization beginning in the third quarter of last year. The team has grown to about 20 people.
Roper is using AI both to develop products and improve internal software development. Conley said three or four businesses have fully moved to agentic coding, and every business has committed to doing so by the end of the year. However, he said Roper’s goal is not to use developer productivity primarily for significant margin expansion. Instead, it plans to reinvest productivity gains into product roadmaps and continued innovation.
CentralReach has generated AI revenue by offering capabilities beyond its core enterprise health-record product, including tools intended to improve therapist productivity and claims accuracy in the autism-care market. At DAT, adoption of freight-market automation has been slower because customers must change established workflows, Conley said.
Roper has not seen significant competitive threats from AI-native startups, according to Conley. He said certain point solutions have appeared in some markets, but Roper businesses have in some cases replicated those capabilities within weeks because their products are embedded in customer workflows. He identified a small data-business exposure involving public-company information as an area where AI-native competitors have targeted lower-end customers.
On AI economics, Conley said Roper does not currently see a gross-margin challenge from AI products. While margins may initially be lower than traditional software-as-a-service offerings, he said the company can reduce costs over time through model selection, prompt design, caching and batching. Roper uses frontier models for development and exploratory work, he said, but not generally for production tasks.
Capital Allocation and M&A Conley said Roper sees signs of a more constructive acquisition environment after several years of limited activity. He cited discussions with financial sponsors, indications from investment bankers that deal pipelines are improving, and heavy activity at commercial-diligence firms.
The company has developed an AI-focused “moat scorecard” for evaluating acquisition targets, examining both the risks and opportunities AI may create for a potential investment. Roper also uses lessons from its existing software portfolio to assess how AI could change customer workflows and competitive dynamics.
While Conley said Roper stock remains attractive at current levels, the company plans to pause share repurchases for now to preserve flexibility for potential acquisitions. If deal activity does not materialize, he said Roper could resume leaning into buybacks.
Looking toward the second half, Conley identified Deltek’s government-contracting business and carrier growth at DAT as variables that could affect results. He said the technology-enabled products segment also has some quarter-to-quarter variability because it is not a high-backlog business, though the company feels reasonably confident about third-quarter comparisons.
About Roper Technologies (NASDAQ:ROP)Roper Technologies, Inc NASDAQ: ROP is a diversified technology company that acquires and manages businesses delivering specialized software, engineered products and data-driven analytics to niche markets. Its subsidiaries develop enterprise and cloud-based software, scientific and analytical instruments, industrial and medical devices, and other applied technologies designed to solve specific operational, regulatory and commercial challenges for customers. The company emphasizes recurring revenue streams from software licenses, subscriptions and service contracts alongside sales of hardware and instruments.
Roper operates a decentralized operating model in which acquired businesses retain entrepreneurial autonomy while benefiting from centralized capital allocation, legal and financial support.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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Palantir Technologies (PLTR -2.78%) CEO Alex Karp is fond of highlighting the company's Rule of 40 score. The Rule of 40 states that a healthy software company's year-over-year revenue growth percentage plus its operating margin must exceed 40. Palantir blew that benchmark away last quarter, producing a Rule of 40 score of 155.
Another software company is quietly producing a triple-digit Rule of 40 score as well. But while the market is rewarding Palantir with earnings and sales multiples far in excess of those of practically any other company of its size, the valuation for this other fast-growing software stock is much more tame. In fact, its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) sits below 19, less than the overall S&P 500's.
Here's why AppLovin (APP +0.89%) deserves a closer look.
Image source: Getty Images.
Can this software stock keep its triple-digit Rule of 40 score? AppLovin is an adtech company that sets itself apart by charging advertisers only when ads convert. The catch is, advertisers have to turn over practically everything about ad placement and pricing to AppLovin's black box model. The company's Axon 2 models have driven a sharp acceleration in revenue over the last few years, as it has also expanded AppLovin's market beyond its original gaming niche.
Management has seen excellent progress in non-gaming revenue growth, and it launched a self-service platform in June, which should help accelerate onboarding and total revenue growth. Total non-gaming-related revenue in the second quarter exceeded the seasonally strong fourth quarter by 28%. However, weakness in gaming advertising, which still accounts for the vast majority of its revenue, led to a disappointing overall result -- total revenue grew 53% year over year last quarter, down from the 59% growth it posted in the first quarter.
The weakness stems from the timing of the latest upgrade in the Axon 2 models. At the same time, the company spent more on compute to train its models and on research and development to improve them further. Management says the model update is now live, the third quarter is off to a strong start, and the business is back on the trajectory it expects. With its strength in gaming and the expansive market beyond gaming, management sees the potential for long-term compound annual revenue growth of 30%.
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What's more, the business's margin profile is incredible. Despite increased spending to improve the Axon 2 models, the company posted an operating margin of 78% last quarter. That makes its Rule of 40 score 131 for the quarter. Over the long run, sales and marketing may come down as a percentage of revenue due to the growing self-service platform and the scale of operations. However, management is likely to funnel more money into research and development to ensure Axon 2 maintains its advantage over the competition.
CFO Matt Stumpf noted that the company doesn't manage for margin, but focuses on EBITDA and free cash flow growth. If it can invest a dollar in improving its artificial intelligence models and get more than a dollar back in cash returns, it'll do it. That said, Stumpf expects the EBITDA margin to remain in the low-80% range over the long term. So, combined with 30% long-term revenue growth, AppLovin should maintain a triple-digit Rule of 40 score for the foreseeable future.
Why is the market paying so much more for Palantir stock? Palantir shares trade for more than 100 times estimated earnings over the next year and more than 50 times estimated sales. That's an exceptional premium, suggesting the company's growth runway is massive.
In comparison, AppLovin's earnings and sales multiples of 19 and 13, respectively, suggest investors don't expect earnings growth to remain elevated over the long run.
To be sure, Palantir has a tremendous opportunity. Its total addressable market could expand from $335 billion this year to $1.4 trillion by 2033, according to select analyst estimates. Palantir could merely maintain its market penetration rate and grow revenue at a compound rate of 23%. Doubling its market penetration, well within reason, would double that average growth rate.
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That said, the digital advertising market is expected to grow relatively quickly as well. Global spending could reach $662 billion this year and $1.7 trillion by 2033, according to Grand View Research. That's a compound annual growth rate of 14.3%, which supports AppLovin's estimate of 30% long-term growth as it takes share of the large non-gaming ad market.
But while Palantir faces few limitations to its growth, AppLovin's black-box ad platform will struggle to deliver exceptional results for advertisers if it saturates the market. More advertisers using the same algorithm makes it less effective. That sets an upper limit on AppLovin's market penetration.
Still, at just 19 times forward earnings, the stock looks underpriced relative to its potential, even with that limitation. The company should be able to deliver strong revenue growth at very high margins for years to come, and the market is heavily discounting that right now.
Constellation Energy ve 2. čtvrtletí zvýšila tržby na 7,5 miliardy USD a upravený zisk na akcii (EPS) na 2,55 USD. Cameco zároveň zvýšila výhled na rok 2026 pro uran i celkové tržby.
Nuclear power is experiencing a structural global renaissance, driven by rising data center and artificial intelligence (AI) demand, with companies needing stable, consistent energy.
Dozens of nations have committed to tripling global nuclear capacity by 2050, and nuclear power supply remains severely constrained relative to this long-term demand curve.
Constellation Energy (CEG +1.39%) and Cameco Corporation (CCJ -0.01%) are great ways to play the rising use of nuclear energy in the U.S., but for different reasons. Constellation is one of the largest providers of nuclear energy, while Cameco is one of the biggest providers of nuclear fuel.
Here's why each stock is a solid long-term purchase.
Image source: Getty Images.
Constellation is a pure-play way to play AI and data center growth
Constellation operates the largest nuclear fleet in the United States, producing more than 180 terawatt hours (TWh) of annual nuclear generation. Unlike solar or wind, nuclear provides nonstop carbon-free baseload power. Tech hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Amazon, and Alphabet, that are building AI-driven data centers, face strict zero-emissions targets and require constant, uninterrupted power.
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Constellation commands a distinct scarcity premium here, as evidenced by major multidecade agreements, including its landmark 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Microsoft to restart the Crane Clean Energy Center (Three Mile Island Unit 1), and long-term nuclear PPAs with major corporate buyers such as Walmart.
The company recently received an important fuel license approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the Crane Clean Energy Center, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a waiver to transfer existing capacity interconnection rights (CIR) from its Eddystone Natural Gas Power Plant to Crane.
Constellation is seeing revenue growth
Nuclear power forms the absolute bedrock of Constellation's financial performance. In the second quarter, the company reported $7.5 billion in revenue, up 22.9% from the same quarter a year ago, while adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $2.55, up 33.5% year over year.
The company signed an additional 920 megawatts (MW) of long-term power purchase agreements for nuclear generation with a diverse set of customers, providing transparent long-term revenue visibility.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Constellation benefits from the Nuclear Production Tax Credit (PTC). This creates a statutory revenue floor for nuclear power output, protecting top-line margins if wholesale power prices plunge, while leaving upside uncapped when market power prices (or premium data center PPAs) rally.
Cameco provides Western nations with dependable uranium
Cameco has 433 million pounds of proven and probable uranium reserves, including the world's highest-grade and lowest-cost uranium deposits in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin, mainly Cigar Lake and McArthur River/Key Lake. It also owns a mine in Kazakhstan.
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The mines' high ore grades mean Cameco can extract significantly more uranium per metric ton of rock than competitors, insulating its profit margins even during cyclical pullbacks. As Western nations aggressively phase out dependence on Russian nuclear fuel and processing, Cameco stands out as a safe, Western-aligned supplier with Tier-1 sovereign risk profiles. It has sales of 28 million pounds of uranium per year, contracted through 2030.
The company isn't just a uranium miner
Through its 49% joint venture ownership of Westinghouse Electric Company, alongside Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP -1.36%), Cameco transformed from a commodity miner into a fully integrated nuclear services giant. Westinghouse tech is utilized in roughly 57% of operating nuclear reactors worldwide, providing recurring, high-margin revenue from maintenance, refueling, software, and replacement parts.
Westinghouse also provides direct exposure to the construction of new large-scale reactors, which gives Cameco cash flow streams across every phase of the nuclear lifecycle, including mining, fuel fabrication, and reactor servicing.
Uranium sales are lifting the company's finances
In some ways, Cameco's ownership of Westinghouse stock dragged down the company in the second quarter. Overall, EPS was $0.18, down 75% year over year. Revenue was $814 million, down 7% over the same period last year. However, much of that is due to the timing of customer requirements, which increase in the winter months.
However, the company's uranium segment reported revenue of $712 million, up 15% year over year, and adjusted EBITDA of $423 million, up 48% year over year. The company released encouraging guidance for 2026.
It said it expects the average realized price per pound for uranium to be between $91 and $96 per pound, up from $85 to $89, and expects uranium revenue to be between $2.7 billion and $2.91 billion, up from $2.54 billion to $2.73 billion. Cameco also increased its forecast for fuel services revenue to $610 million to $630 million, up from $590 million to $630 million. The company also predicts overall revenue to be between $3.32 billion and $3.75 billion, up from $3.13 billion to $3.37 billion.
CEO společnosti Opendoor Kasra Nejatian koupil 27 625 akcií za zhruba 100 000 USD, čímž posílil už tak obří podíl. Nákup signalizuje důvěru v další vývoj akcií OPEN.
Kasra Nejatian, Chief Executive Officer of Opendoor Technologies Inc. (OPEN -0.27%), purchased 27,625 shares of common stock on August 14, 2026, as disclosed in a recent SEC Form 4 filing.
Transaction summaryMetricValueShares purchased (directly held)27,625Transaction value~$100,000Post-transaction shares (directly held)83,605,924Post-transaction value$304.33 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average purchase price ($3.62); post-transaction value based on August 14, 2026 market close ($3.64).
Key questionsHow does this purchase affect the CEO's overall equity exposure?
The acquisition marginally expands a substantial core position of 83,605,924 shares, which currently represents a market value of $304.33 million based on the August 14, 2026 market close.What was the execution price relative to recent market activity?
The shares were purchased at a weighted average price of $3.62, compared to a closing price of $3.65 as of the August 13, 2026 market close.What is the fundamental profile of the company at the time of this trade?
Opendoor operates with a market capitalization of $3.5 billion and reports trailing-twelve-month revenue of $3.3 billion, though it remains in a net loss position of $1.5 billion over the same period.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-08-13)$3.65Market Capitalization$3.5 billionRevenue (TTM)$3.3 billionNet Income (TTM)-$1.5 billionCompany SnapshotOpendoor operates a digital ecosystem enabling residential real estate transactions entirely online, generating revenue through home sales facilitation, title insurance services, and escrow offerings across the United States.The company's business model centers on providing an efficient, technology-driven alternative to traditional real estate transactions, capturing value through transaction volumes and ancillary service offerings.Opendoor primarily serves individual homebuyers and sellers seeking streamlined, digital-first residential real estate solutions, targeting consumers who value convenience and transparency in property transactions.Opendoor Technologies operates at significant scale with $3.3 billion in trailing 12-month revenue, positioning itself as a transformative force in residential real estate through its fully digital transaction platform. The company's competitive advantage lies in its technology infrastructure and operational efficiency, which enable customers to complete home purchases and sales online without traditional intermediaries.
Despite current net losses of $1.5 billion in the trailing 12 months, the company continues to expand its market presence and ancillary service offerings to drive profitability and shareholder value.
What this transaction means for investorsThe Aug. 14 purchase of Opendoor Technologies shares by CEO Kasra Nejatian suggests he is bullish about the stock's outlook. He certainly didn't need to buy more, given he directly held over 80 million shares before this transaction.
At the time he acquired more Opendoor stock for a weighted average price of $3.62, shares were not far from the 52-week low of $3.06 reached last year. This indicates Nejatian believes Opendoor is a buy at this level.
While Opendoor managed to gain about 20% over the past 12 months, the stock is down substantially from its 52-week high of $10.87. The cause is a sluggish housing market impacted by elevated mortgage rates, combined with the company's uninspiring business performance.
In the second quarter, Opendoor reported revenue of $883 million, a significant decline from 2025's $1.6 billion. Moreover, the company's costs increased, resulting in a Q2 net loss of $162 million, up from a loss of $29 million in the prior year. That said, Opendoor forecasted Q3 sales to see a 20% year-over-year increase.
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.
NuScale uvedla, že její partner ENTRA1 Energy jedná s TVA o projektu malých modulárních reaktorů o výkonu 6 až 8 gigawattů. Pokud vznikne, půjde o největší jadernou výstavbu v historii USA.
NuScale Power (SMR -4.67%) has spent years talking about the future of small modular reactors. Now, management believes that the future could arrive in a very big way.
During its second-quarter earnings call, CEO John Hopkins said NuScale's strategic partner, ENTRA1 Energy, continues advancing discussions with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) toward what could become the largest nuclear power deployment program in U.S. history. The proposed project could eventually range from 6 to 8 gigawatts of generating capacity, which would be much larger than any previous small nuclear reactor (SMR) deployment envisioned in the United States.
To put that into perspective, the largest traditional nuclear power plant in the U.S. has four operational reactors and a total generating capacity of 4.65 to 4.8 gigawatts. In other words, this SMR deployment could be massive.
Image source: Getty Images.
Reducing risk and project costs To be sure, NuScale isn't simply selling reactors. The company is trying to establish a new way of building nuclear power plants using factory-built modules that can be deployed quickly and expanded over time.
Its latest VOYGR design uses 77-megawatt reactor modules that can be combined into larger power stations depending on customer demand. Because the modules are standardized, management believes construction risk and project costs can be reduced compared with traditional large-scale nuclear plants.
Indeed, this is becoming increasingly important as utilities, industrial manufacturers, and artificial intelligence (AI) data center developers are all searching for reliable, carbon-free electricity. While wind and solar continue to expand, nuclear also provides clean, dependable power.
NuScale says it's ready One of management's biggest messages during the earnings call wasn't about demand. It was about preparation. Hopkins argued that NuScale has spent years completing the engineering, regulatory approvals, fuel arrangements, and supplier agreements needed before construction begins.
The company remains the only SMR developer with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission design certification, and management says more than half of its critical supply chain partners are already under contract. Fuel supplier Framatome, heavy-forging manufacturer Doosan Enerbility, and dozens of additional suppliers are already part of NuScale's commercial network.
The company also ended the second quarter with $1.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and investments, giving it financial flexibility as it moves toward commercialization.
That said, at first glance, NuScale's quarterly financial results don't look all that impressive. Q2 revenue totaled just $75,000, down sharply from $8.1 million a year earlier. The company also reported a quarterly net loss of approximately $47.5 million.
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For a company at NuScale's stage, however, current revenue isn't the primary metric worth watching. Instead, you also need to focus on whether NuScale can convert years of engineering work into commercial reactor deployments. A definitive agreement with TVA would represent the company's biggest validation yet and could demonstrate that utilities are prepared to move beyond feasibility studies and into construction.
The opportunity is enormous, but so is the challenge Management's confidence is understandable. A successful 6- to 8-gigawatt TVA deployment would establish NuScale as the clear commercial leader in the U.S. small modular reactor market and could serve as a blueprint for additional projects nationwide. It would also validate years of investment in regulatory approvals, manufacturing partnerships, and engineering development.
But these discussions are still just that -- discussions. No definitive power purchase agreement has been signed, project economics still need to be finalized, and large nuclear projects have historically faced delays, cost overruns, and political hurdles.
Still, the potential scale of the opportunity is difficult to ignore. If the TVA project ultimately moves forward anywhere close to management's expectations, it wouldn't simply represent another NuScale contract. It would mark one of the most ambitious nuclear construction programs the United States has undertaken in decades, and one that could reshape how future nuclear power plants are built.
Mastercard označil kybernetickou bezpečnost za nejrychleji rostoucí byznys a uvedl, že do roku 2030 mohou škody způsobené podvody a kybernetickými riziky dosáhnout 15,6 bilionu USD.
In this episode of Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing, Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner sits down with Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach to discuss:
Why machine-to-machine payments could transform B2B commerce.Why Mastercard just acquired the world's largest stablecoin platform. What the AI revolution really means for employment.Why proprietary transaction data is Mastercard's deepest competitive moat.How he stays sharp running a $500 billion company.To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy.
A full transcript is below.
This podcast was recorded on Aug. 9, 2026.
Michael Miebach: Looking forward a few years, by 2030, the amount of fraud and cyber risk-driven damage is going to amount to $15.6 trillion. If cyber risk were a country, that would be the third-largest economy in the world.
Bart Shannon: That was Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard, on the scale of the cybersecurity threat facing the global economy right now. I'm Motley Fool producer Bart Shannon. Mastercard is one of the most admired companies we follow, a business that has quietly become as much a cybersecurity and data company as a payments network. Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner sat down with Michael on the day of Mastercard’s second quarter earnings to talk through how the payment network actually works, why cybersecurity has become one of its most important growth businesses, and what stablecoins really mean for the future of money. We hope you enjoy Part 1.
Tom Gardner: Well, we're really excited here at Motley Fool to have Michael Miebach, the CEO of Mastercard, joining us. On the day of your second quarter earnings, we should probably start there, because I don't think there's much introduction that's needed for Mastercard, although if you talk to the average consumer or talk to even the average investor, they may not understand exactly how your global payments network works. We'll go through a little bit of that, as well, but I do think we should start with second quarter earnings, which showed some pretty remarkable growth, another round of amazing operating margins of the company above 60%. I know cross-border business and your value-added services growth are pretty pleasing to you. Any highlights that you'd like to share with us on a single quarter, a 90-day period, which I know isn't necessarily the best way to measure.
Michael Miebach: First of all, thank you for having me, Tom. I was looking forward to our conversation today. It's been a good quarter and a good engagement with investors today and analysts. You actually hit the highlights just now, so strong volumes. It’s interesting when you look around the world, and you read the headlines, see geopolitical complexity and volatility. Then you see varying impacts on the macroeconomy. In the end, it all balances out with a pretty healthy consumer and continued healthy spending on the consumer and on the business side, which obviously is a big part of our business. That's what we facilitate spending, we're powering the economy and value exchange in all forms so it's good to be in payments at this time.
A few of the topics that we talked about on the call, which you didn't mention is there's a lot of innovation in payments. Right now, there's a lot of competition and payments. The rise of fintech, the rise of stablecoins, the headline of agentic commerce, there is so much going on, and we're at the forefront of all of that, shaping where the future of the digital economy is going, so exciting times for us at Mastercard.
Tom Gardner: It is amazing how much dynamic change there is in the world today and in the marketplace, and yet a very stable, solid performance from companies like Mastercard, again, showing the strength of the consumers you shared. Can we just talk a little bit about the relationship between the bank, the merchant, the cardholder, just to set the table? For example, when we get to stablecoin, we will ask you to define stablecoin because there will be viewers at The Motley Fool that are encountering some of this for the first time. Maybe just walk through a little bit, four billion cardholders, tens of millions of merchants, and how the network interacts.
Michael Miebach: Just to stick to the facts, 3.7 billion cardholders [OVERLAPPING] that's still a lot. In fact, we are certainly geographically speaking, the most prevalent way to pay around the world, 3.7 billion cards. You talked about the relationship between a consumer and a bank and a shop, wherever you shop for something. Let's take a step back on exactly that. You're going to go, and you're going to buy something. You buy it online, and you buy it in a shop of your choice, and whatever it is, there magically you can either leave the website and the product will be shipped to you, or you can leave the shop and take it with you. Why is that happening? Because there's a payment guarantee in the background, which is issued by Mastercard that says to the merchant, you can let this person go because we will ensure you will be paid.
This all works in a square, so to say, a four-party model between the bank of the consumer and between the bank of the shop. Your bank will take money out of your account, out of your card account, and pass it on to the shop's bank, and then the shop gets paid. This is how this works. Now, if you think about this in 3.7 billion times in 220 countries and territories, that is massive scale, and that is massive complexity. Regulatory rules are different around the world. Infrastructure is different around the world, and we took 60 years to build this amazing system that powers the digital economy around the world. That is what is at the heart of when you pull out your Mastercard it happens behind. Now, there's a lot more happening behind because this payment is not only happening. It's happening in a safe way so you're protected.
If you use a Mastercard and you make a payment on a website, and it turns out to be a fake website, that’s one of the cyber risks that we all face today. You're still protected because it was not your fault, so you have a payment guarantee. But in order to ensure that we prevent fraud at the outset, there's a lot of safety and security happening behind the scenes. Trillions of data points will be scanned in nanoseconds to ensure there's the right relationship between you and this merchant. Can you actually be in this place right now? Have you ever done a transaction like that? Are you spending more than you actually have ever done before, et cetera? All of this is happening in the background, and those are the tools that we provide to our customers. The cardholders not our customer. The customer is a bank. The customer could be a merchant. It could be a very large merchant. Walmart or somebody like that, is a partner of ours or a very large bank like JPMorgan here in the U.S., et cetera. Those are our partners, and we provide them with services to make the Mastercard payments, they run with us, safer and smarter and simpler, actually.
Tom Gardner: Thank you. In a way, we should think of it as a trust and security network. For that reason, I'd like to move towards cybersecurity because I know you've made some significant investments. I think I'm not counting this quarter, over $8 billion invested in cybersecurity and fraud. Generative AI is arriving faster, and the tools are upgrading faster than I think anyone was estimating, except for maybe Ray Kurzweil, and they’re finding holes in systems faster. What types of crimes are you seeing that are new? What's Mastercard's unique approach?
Michael Miebach: It's important to talk about cybersecurity, and you put it in the context of artificial intelligence. Now, artificial intelligence is not new, but generative AI is new. Since the launch of ChatGPT first version in the first quarter of 2023, you've seen tremendous progress there, and that's good for productivity. It's good for better user experience, good for many things, but it also empowers the fraudsters and the scammers and the hackers. We're starting to see an arms race. New technology, and you can use this technology to drive exploits and scams. At the same time, you can use this technology to defend, so we have an arms race going on.
When you just think about what's the magnitude of all of this. There is an expectation. Study has been done looking forward a few years, 2030, that by 2030, the amount of fraud and cyber risk-driven damage is going to amount to $15.6 trillion. If cyber risk were a country, that would be the third-largest economy in the world. That's what we're looking at. Now, historically, take the last 10 years, across the financial services industry, in particular, there was a lot of focus put on preventing fraud. We've been always a leader in that. As a payment networks, we're the one that stand out to have invested in cybersecurity earliest and most significantly. Today, we have the broadest portfolio there.
Initially, this all started about defense. A transaction happens, and you're going to decide if you're going to let it through yes or no. Is this a transaction that is really from you or should it not? Should we ask the bank to make some extra cheques? Now if you do this, 3.7 billion card times around the world, 180 billion transactions go through our network.
You really need technology in a very big way to do that, to power that and drive that security level up. Now, banks get attacked, they get hacked and all of that. Governments get attacked and hacked, individual consumers get hacked and attacked. The system is becoming under threat from all angles, and the weakest link in the chain is usually where the hackers and the scammers get in. We need to erect our defenses and do even more to prevent all of this to happen and protect cardholders and our customers and governments and so forth.
How do you do that? What we essentially need to do is moving from defense to offense. That's where our last investments have been in threat intelligence. If I can tell you, as the CEO of a bank, you are under attack from this consortium, they're going after this fraud to attack you and your customers, and here's what you need to do to prevent that. You can do something about this. If I tell you, you're going to have to defend against every threat vector there is, that is almost impossible to do. Threat Intelligence is the last investment that we've made. We bought the world's largest independent threat intelligence company at the end of 2024, recorded future, and they now top up. Vast portfolio of fraud management, identity solutions and cyber solutions that we have with this proactive defense approach. This is what's going on. This is what sets us apart in the world of payments, but not only payments because we provide cybersecurity solutions at large today.
Tom Gardner: Was it always right to think in human civilization, or is it even more correct to think that we're permanently at financial war of some sort worldwide across state actors, non-state actors, organized crime? It's a continual never-ending battle. Is that an accurate view of the world or not?
Michael Miebach: I think that the general statement, this is going to continue be a fight between the good people and the bad people. I think it's very much true that it's broader and more consistent, and the latest technology will be used is also true. What is even more true and which is a good thing is that governments and private sector are very clear about this. We are moving from every sector and every company doing their own thing to the private sector, working much closer together. It's not just about the financial companies working together to prevent in cyber maneuvers and cyber ranges and sharing insights and threats with each other, but it goes across sectors as well. But here's the point. The private sector is really good in making investments and driving the innovation to push back against these scams and frauds, but you do need the enforcement and the regulatory rule, side of the government, as well. Public-private defense is moving very much into the focus. We go and frequent the Munich security conference every year, which is probably the preeminent global security forum there is and this was the big dialogue this year, so we were there. Everybody was clear we need to get more organized across the public sector and the private sector to work together so that's a positive sign.
Tom Gardner: Do you see the Mastercard brand becoming more and more associated with security? With cybersecurity, with threat intelligence? Or that's something that we want to keep invisible and under the radar pretty much and be the relied upon network.
Michael Miebach: Definitely not visible and under the radar because it's a threat to everybody, and we need to ensure that we work together, so it needs to be known what we do. But if I take a step back, Mastercard is a lot of things to a lot of people. Some people call us a card company, other people say it's about payment. Some people say it's about cybersecurity because we're deeply engaged with them on that. It's about all of the above. In the end, it's about where the operating system of the digital economy, an operating system should have a security layer. That's exactly what we do. But it's also as a money movement layer, which is across stable coins and a counter account and cards, we value your hard-earned money. We do all of the above. Then on top of that, this produces a lot of data and gives a lot of insights on where the digital economy is going, and we can help our partners, to our partners’ banks, for example, or large merchants, as I mentioned before, with better business insights to run their business in a better way. All of that, yes, we are big in cybersecurity, but we're so much more.
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Tom Gardner: Actually, I'd like to take a step back and go to some of the broader drivers just to remind us of what's happening at the trend level for transactions worldwide and for Mastercard, specifically. We'll just go with the first one, which is the cash-to-digital-to-card shift. Where are we in that process now? How many transactions were done in cash 10 years ago, Ballpark versus today? And how much further do we have to go in that?
Michael Miebach: It's an answer that is varying by region and by type of payment. No surprise. When I started at this company here in 2010, my first job was about running our business in the Middle East and in Africa. The average cash ratio in Africa was north of 90%. Most of transactions in Sub-Saharan economies were in cash and not digitally. If you go to the Nordics today, Northern Europe, Sweden, Denmark, and so forth, you're going to be, again, north of 90%, but it's north of 90% in terms of digital transactions. The world has come a long way, but in between, there's all shades of gray on where every country is. Take a large European economy like Italy or so, you have somewhere 40-50% of cash transactions. It's north of 50 for the United States. Take other, take emerging markets like Africa still today, you find markets where you're 90%. If you take that lens, that is one lens. But then there's types of payments as well, and types of value exchange, what's going on in the digital economy. Some countries just do not have a particularly good e-commerce ecosystem yet, so a lot of that is still physical.
Of course, with [inaudible] e-commerce, shopping from websites, that's all digital per definition, and you see those countries ahead of the others, so various, various aspects. Take small business as largest employer in the world. Still, the share of physical installations and then physical payments, cash payments is still very high in small business, because the vast majority of them don't have a digital footprint yet. Now, that has dramatically changed post-COVID. A lot of small businesses were the hardest hit by COVID. Nobody went to their shops any longer, and then they weren't online. If you look at some of the data from the United States, what is the share of small businesses that have reopened after COVID, and how much of those — the vast majority of them had a digital as part of the business thereafter. You start to see that catching up. There's so many dimensions around this. To our investors, we say, big part of our growth engine, so to say, is to turn cash and checks and other very basic digital payments into really clever, smart Mastercard payments. That's what we do, and there is plenty of runway around the dimensions that shared with you.
But I give you another dimension of that. A lot of countries have their own payment card system, but it's very basic. Back to cybersecurity, there's many other things you should be doing for your payment system. We come in, and we take those transactions and also put them into the Mastercard network to make it a better payment. The runway in payments and digital payments is tremendous. We charted it out, I think we're somewhere in the trillions of what still the opportunity is out there in terms of payments.
Tom Gardner: Let's talk about cross-border transactions. Travel and non-travel. Mastercard move and the significance of this trend for you.
Michael Miebach: Yes. Cross-border. It's such an interesting term. But basically, let's bring it back to everyday life. You travel, and you go on holiday. It's holiday time where at the end of July, a lot of people are out on the road visiting family, going to their dream destination and then they pay a hotel or they shop a souvenir, whatever it is. It magically still works, despite the fact you're not in your home country. All of the payments I described earlier that happened between the bank and the shop’s bank, and everybody in this four-party model that I described, go across countries then. That's rather complicated to do. That's a big part of what we do today. That's a tremendous value add to economies.
Tourism is a great driver. We've seen it here in the United States, with the World Cup, a lot of people came, and you really saw it in the numbers, quite a significant boost on that. A big part of our business complicated to do. It took us 60 years. Mastercard is 60-years-old. We just celebrated our 20-year IPO anniversary, and we were very busy to build this very large cross-border network, which as of two years now also includes China, where your local Chinese Mastercard will work, and others will work. These are high-octane revenue for us because it's difficult to do, and then we prize for the value that we create. It is not really affecting the consumer that much, but it cuts across the ecosystem because there's a lot of investments that we had to make for that.
Interesting, though, from an investor perspective, we talked a lot about that in your earnings call today. The latest growth rate number here is 12%. If you think about some of the macroeconomic issues that we've been facing, particularly in the Middle East, across those countries, travel was hit. But it rebounded quite significantly, and it's looking pretty solid at this point. Big part of our business, it will for years to come, and we work with our partners to ensure that travel corridors, the marketing works, and here's where you want to go, and then you can get there, and then you have great deals and hotel deals and all these things. There's all stuff that we do behind the scenes with our papas.
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Tom Gardner: Stablecoin, now in some ways, presents some threats to transactions that typically one could expect to go through Mastercard's network. I'm wondering what the impact might be from Stablecoin on international transfers, larger business to business payment. Obviously, I think it's probably going to be a while before that gets down to the level of the consumer purchases or ordinary purchases. I don't think consumers want a lot of different currencies to work with. Maybe I'm misinterpreting that. Please guide us to think more clearly on it. But where is Stablecoin a threat an opportunity for you and obviously the acquisition you made?
Michael Miebach: Stablecoin is an opportunity. It is another way to exchange value. We've always been of the view as a large payment network, as a cybersecurity company, as an insights company, as a data company, whatever term you pick that for value exchange, cards is a really big part of the answer, but it's certainly not the answer for all types of payments. We've been investing since 2016 into a counter account systems where you just pay whatever you pay directly from your bank account into somebody else's bank account, or through a shop, you can just pay the shop into their bank account, et cetera. All of that. We're one of the largest providers of accounter account solutions.
About 12, 13 years ago, Blockchain comes up, and Blockchain and then all of a sudden one of the first payment applications on Blockchain was cryptocurrencies. We're all familiar with Bitcoin, that's pretty cool technology. In terms of facilitating a value exchange, so I'm going to send you a fraction of a bitcoin today. This will happen instantly and you have it and I have it so that's great. We looked at this and say that is good technology. Definitely we should have that. We started to build that out and build out our expertise. Today, the Mastercard network can handle U.S. dollars, any other fee out currency, but it can also handle stablecoins. Which is a cryptocurrency that's backed by fiat, so that's the real distinction here. The store value function of that works, and it can go through our rails. We're very open to that. In fact, what we do is we're not just having the stablecoins run through our system, but we provide the same protections that you expect from your card payment alongside with that, because whenever you deal with Mastercard, you see the two interlocking circlets of our brand, you said I'm protected.
The same should be true for stablecoin. I'm pretty agnostic when it comes to what is the underlying rail. But important point to say, it is really not needed for anybody to go and buy their coffee at the local coffee shop with a stable coin. Why would you do that? There is no problem to solve because the card ecosystem does handle with that. But if you think about remittances or a small business sending some money to another small business, another country where they bought some parts from, that's really complicated today. That's correspondent banking, there's high fees, lack of transparency. You don't really know is the hundred dollars that you sent actually arriving or have two parties in between taking $5 out each and only 90 is arriving, et cetera. We deal with all of that complexity by actually do use stable coin for cross border payments. We think there's B to B cross border opportunity, there's B to B cross border opportunity. But P to M as in everyday purchases, we saw that pretty well, so we're putting our energy where we really think there is a problem to solve. [inaudible] my mindset it's never about the technology. It's about whose problem can we solve.
Tom Gardner: When you say you're pretty agnostic about what rail it runs on, are you completely agnostic, or are there just certain better?
Michael Miebach: No, we're pretty agnostic. But here's the reason. Your follow-up question should be, why? Why are we not completely agnostic? Because we have built 60 years. We have invested 60 years into building the largest acceptance footprint out there. Any merchant and any individual does not want a payment solution, and it can only reach a fraction of the potential endpoints. You want scale. You want predictability. You want protection. Those things are not actually delivered through stablecoins. We still would like to go that route. But there are certain things where I'd say probably it doesn't actually matter that much here. Or it's such a specific use case. We use this technology, and we invest the time to build out those protections over there anyway. That just takes a little bit more time. This answer is true for today and for tomorrow in the near-term future, but in five years, this might look very different, and we're going to certainly be on the forefront of that.
Bart Shannon: That was Part 1 of the discussion. Tune in next week for Part 2. As always, people on the program may have interest in the stocks they talk about, and the Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. All personal finance content follows Motley Fool editorial standards and is not approved by advertisers. Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. To see our full advertising disclosure, please check out our show notes. For the Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing team, I'm producer Bart Shannon. Thanks for listening. See you next time.
Home Depot zaznamenal pátý po sobě jdoucí kvartální pokles srovnatelných tržeb, v prvním fiskálním čtvrtletí o 1,3 %. Růst tržeb táhly vyšší účty a akvizice.
On the surface, Home Depot (HD -0.83%) looks steady. The home improvement giant grew fiscal first-quarter sales 4.8% year over year to $41.8 billion, held onto its full-year guidance, and pays a dividend yielding about 2.7% as of this writing.
Underneath, though, one number has been moving the wrong way for more than a year. Comparable customer transactions, the count of purchases at stores and websites open at least a year, fell 1.3% in the fiscal first quarter (the period ended May 3). That marked the fifth consecutive quarterly decline. Total transactions came to 391.1 million for the quarter, down from 394.8 million a year earlier.
Home Depot's revenue growth, in other words, isn't coming from more transactions. It's coming from bigger receipts, and from acquisitions.
The company reports its fiscal second-quarter results on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Image source: Home Depot.
Fewer transactions, bigger receipts Comparable transactions fell 0.5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, 0.4% in the second, 1.6% in the third, 1.6% in the fourth, and 1.3% in the most recent quarter. The declines deepened in the back half of last year and have moderated somewhat since. But they haven't stopped.
The average ticket, meanwhile, has gone the other way, with comparable-ticket growth accelerating from flat a year ago to gains of 1.4%, 1.8%, 2.4%, and 2.2% over the following four quarters. Customers spent an average of $92.76 per transaction in the most recent quarter, up 2.3% from a year earlier.
But five straight declines is a different signal than one soft quarter. It suggests transactions have stopped growing, even as each one rings up a little more. Bigger receipts can come from higher prices, from customers choosing pricier items, or both.
The result is comparable sales that have barely moved: up 0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.6% over the past three quarters, with U.S. comparable sales up just 0.4% in the latest period. Home Depot is ringing up slightly fewer transactions at a slightly higher average ticket, and the two nearly cancel out.
The pro business is filling the gap If comparable sales grew just 0.6% last quarter, how did total sales grow 4.8%? Mostly through acquisitions. Home Depot bought SRS Distribution, a supplier to professional contractors, in June 2024. And last year it added building-products distributor GMS. Home Depot's transaction and ticket figures exclude these businesses entirely, so the pro-distribution deals are boosting sales without touching the numbers above.
Management, of course, isn't promising a traffic turn this year. Guidance, reaffirmed in May, calls for total sales growth of 2.5% to 4.5%, comparable sales growth of roughly flat to 2%, and diluted earnings per share roughly flat to up 4% from last year's $14.23. First-quarter net earnings slipped to $3.30 per diluted share from $3.45 a year earlier. And the plan still calls for about 15 new store openings this year.
"The underlying demand in our business was relatively similar to what we saw throughout fiscal 2025, despite greater consumer uncertainty and housing affordability pressure," CEO Ted Decker said in the first-quarter release.
That last phrase is the one I keep coming back to. Home Depot's customers aren't defecting to a competitor. They appear to be putting off projects that require a loan or a home sale, and a turn in traffic probably requires help from housing (cheaper borrowing, more homes changing hands) that the company can't provide on its own.
Today's Change
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Tuesday's test The report on Aug. 18 covers the spring selling season, which was Home Depot's biggest sales quarter last year, when the period's sales reached $45.3 billion, up 4.9% year over year. It's the stretch of the year that gives traffic its best shot at turning. If comparable transactions fall again, the streak reaches six quarters, or a year and a half without transaction growth.
The stock trades around $339 as of this writing, about 21% below its 52-week high, at about 24 times earnings.
The business itself looks steady. It generated roughly $13 billion of free cash flow last fiscal year, and the dividend is well covered.
However, earnings per share are guided flat to up 4% this year, and a price-to-earnings multiple in the mid-20s only makes sense if the transaction declines eventually end. For now, the company is offsetting them with bigger tickets and acquisitions, and that can work for a while. Tuesday's report shows whether the streak breaks, or reaches six.
Avalon Trust Co ve 2. čtvrtletí koupila nový podíl ve společnosti First Solar za zhruba 4,759 mil. USD, celkem 20 170 akcií. Akcie FSLR po otevření rostly o 0,8 %.
Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 20,170 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,759,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FSLR. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in First Solar during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Solar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of First Solar by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 102 shares of the solar cell manufacturer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Solar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 92.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Headlines Impacting First Solar Here are the key news stories impacting First Solar this week:
Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird upgraded First Solar to Outperform and established a $318 price target. The firm said a Section 232 tariff decision removes a key overhang and could allow customers to resume bookings, improving the company’s outlook. First Solar Upgraded at Robert W. Baird Positive Sentiment: Solar power generated more electricity than wind globally for the first time last year and nearly matched nuclear generation. The milestone supports the broader growth case for solar manufacturers such as First Solar, although it does not represent a company-specific earnings update. Solar Power Hits Big Milestone, Trumping Wind For First Time Neutral Sentiment: First Solar’s general counsel sold 3,700 shares worth approximately $922,706 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transaction reduced his holdings by about 40%, but the planned nature of the sale limits its value as a signal about management’s current expectations. Jason Dymbort Sells First Solar Shares Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action against First Solar and certain officers. The alleged class period is February 26, 2025, through February 24, 2026, and investors have until August 24, 2026, to seek lead-plaintiff status. The notices allege securities-law violations and investor losses related to disclosures concerning tariffs and company guidance; the allegations have not been proven. Pomerantz First Solar Class Action Filing Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts recently weighed in on FSLR shares. Robert W. Baird set a $318.00 target price on shares of First Solar and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of First Solar from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of First Solar from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. HSBC upgraded shares of First Solar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on First Solar from $217.00 to $197.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $261.79.
Read Our Latest Research Report on First Solar
First Solar Trading Up 0.8% FSLR stock opened at $225.56 on Friday. First Solar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $179.06 and a twelve month high of $320.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $233.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.87. The stock has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.75.
First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The solar cell manufacturer reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $1.02. First Solar had a net margin of 32.47% and a return on equity of 18.02%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Solar, Inc. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Activity In related news, CEO Mark R. Widmar sold 4,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.43, for a total value of $1,191,375.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 89,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,029,435.19. The trade was a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Caroline Stockdale sold 10,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.60, for a total transaction of $2,929,076.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,557,075.20. This represents a 30.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 30,979 shares of company stock worth $7,694,724 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.
First Solar Company Profile (Free Report)
First Solar, Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR) is a United States–based solar technology company best known for designing and manufacturing thin‑film photovoltaic (PV) modules that use cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor technology. The company supplies PV modules and delivers integrated solar power solutions for utility‑scale projects, positioning itself as a provider of both components and complete solar energy systems rather than solely a parts supplier. First Solar was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.
Beyond module manufacturing, First Solar offers a range of project services including development support, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and operations and maintenance (O&M) for large-scale solar installations.
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BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD – Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $571,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 12.0% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 118,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,160,000 after buying an additional 12,705 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 18.6% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.
Gilead Sciences News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Gilead Sciences this week:
Positive Sentiment: Appeals court ruling protects Gilead’s distribution channels. A U.S. appeals court upheld an injunction preventing alternative funding programs and related businesses from importing Gilead medications overseas. The decision could reduce the size of the alternative funding industry and help protect Gilead’s pricing, sales channels and patient-assistance economics. Court rules companies can’t import Gilead medications from overseas in blow to AFP health programs Positive Sentiment: Q2 growth highlighted continued commercial momentum. Gilead’s HIV franchise led year-over-year sales growth, with Biktarvy and PrEP performing particularly well. Quarterly PrEP sales reportedly doubled to more than $1 billion, while Trodelvy, Livdelzi and progress in oncology and liver disease added to the growth outlook. 5 Must-Read Analyst Questions From Gilead Sciences’s Q2 Earnings Call Positive Sentiment: AI collaboration strengthens the oncology pipeline. Gilead partnered with Nucleai to use AI-powered tissue analytics in its antibody-drug-conjugate programs. The technology is intended to accelerate biomarker discovery and improve precision-oncology development. Gilead Sciences Expands ADC Research With AI Tissue Analytics Positive Sentiment: Merck partnership offers longer-term growth potential. Recent clinical and regulatory progress involving Gilead and Merck’s collaboration reinforces the possibility that the partnership could produce meaningful future growth in areas such as oncology and infectious disease. Could Merck and Gilead’s Partnership Create the Next Big Pharma Growth Engine Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to debate whether Gilead remains attractively valued after its strong multiyear performance. High call-option activity signals bullish positioning but does not guarantee sustained gains. Negative Sentiment: An analyst reduced the FY2026 EPS forecast, potentially reflecting concerns about earnings normalization, expenses or pipeline investment. The revision may limit near-term upside despite Gilead’s solid revenue trends. FY2026 EPS Forecast for Gilead Sciences Reduced by Analyst Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several brokerages have commented on GILD. Maxim Group raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.04.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on GILD
Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total transaction of $371,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 124,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,395,077.28. This trade represents a 2.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,160,851.23. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 51,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,568,860 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.
Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.2% Gilead Sciences stock opened at $138.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.46 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The stock has a market cap of $171.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -51.82 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $130.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.45.
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. The company had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -122.85%.
About Gilead Sciences (Free Report)
Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.
Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.
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BCGM Wealth Management zvýšila ve 2. čtvrtletí podíl ve společnosti Philip Morris International o 15,5 % na 31 288 akcií. Hodnota pozice činila 5,66 milionu USD.
BCGM Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM – Free Report) by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,288 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,194 shares during the period. Philip Morris International comprises 1.2% of BCGM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. BCGM Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $5,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. AG Campbell Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. acquired a new position in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 146.5% during the first quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research firms recently issued reports on PM. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Philip Morris International from $168.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.89.
Read Our Latest Analysis on PM
Philip Morris International Trading Up 0.8% Philip Morris International stock opened at $190.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.38. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.11 and a twelve month high of $207.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.00.
Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.15. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 163.41% and a net margin of 11.06%.The firm had revenue of $11.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.60 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. Philip Morris International’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Philip Morris International has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 8.33 earnings per share for the current year.
Philip Morris International Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 25th. Philip Morris International’s payout ratio is 84.48%.
Philip Morris International Company Profile (Free Report)
Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is a global tobacco company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, other nicotine-containing products and a growing portfolio of smoke-free alternatives for adult smokers. The firm traces its corporate roots to the 19th century Philip Morris enterprise and was established as an independent, publicly traded company following a 2008 separation from what is now Altria. Since the spin-off, the company has focused on serving international markets outside the United States.
PMI’s product mix includes traditional combustible cigarettes as well as smoke-free offerings such as heated tobacco systems and other reduced-risk products.
See Also Five stocks we like better than Philip Morris International Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing
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Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,973,000.
Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cummins by 91.7% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Cummins by 1,500.0% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Cummins by 537.5% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 51 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cummins during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in Cummins by 62.5% in the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 52 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.46% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms have recently commented on CMI. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Cummins from $610.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cummins in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 target price on Cummins in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Cummins from $770.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Cummins from $600.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $745.64.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Cummins
Cummins Price Performance Shares of CMI opened at $631.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $86.98 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $665.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $627.15. Cummins Inc. has a 1-year low of $389.52 and a 1-year high of $737.76.
Cummins (NYSE:CMI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $6.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.21 by ($0.48). The firm had revenue of $9.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.33 billion. Cummins had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 25.29%. Cummins’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cummins Inc. will post 30.15 EPS for the current year.
Cummins Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $2.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Cummins’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. This represents a $8.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. Cummins’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.88%.
Cummins Company Profile (Free Report)
Cummins Inc (NYSE: CMI) is a global power technology company that designs, manufactures, distributes and services a broad portfolio of diesel and natural gas engines, electrified powertrains, power generation systems and related components. Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, Cummins has grown into one of the world’s leading suppliers of internal combustion engines and a provider of technologies that reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency.
The company’s product lineup includes heavy-, medium- and light-duty engines for on-highway and off-highway applications, generator sets and power systems for commercial and industrial use, and key engine components such as turbochargers, fuel systems, air handling, filtration and aftertreatment solutions.
See Also Five stocks we like better than Cummins Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CMI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI – Free Report).
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Benjamin Edwards ve 2. čtvrtletí zvýšil podíl v Booking Holdings o 2 956 % na 22 064 akcií. Firma zároveň oznámila kvartální dividendu 0,42 USD na akcii.
Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report) by 2,956.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,342 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Booking were worth $3,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BKNG. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Booking by 191,965.8% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,832,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,171,489,000 after buying an additional 2,831,495 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Booking by 1,497.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 870,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,665,168,000 after acquiring an additional 816,022 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Booking by 66,209.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 659,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,600,000 after acquiring an additional 658,788 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Booking by 2,548.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 649,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $115,785,000 after acquiring an additional 625,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,271,041,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Director Robert J. Mylod, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.70, for a total transaction of $206,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,100,500. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ewout L. Steenbergen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.03, for a total value of $4,220,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,618,327.82. The trade was a 25.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 89,625 shares of company stock worth $15,872,675 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.
Booking Trading Down 0.6% Shares of BKNG stock opened at $212.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $159.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $184.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.84. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.14 and a 12 month high of $231.80.
Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $7.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.19 billion. Booking had a negative return on equity of 102.96% and a net margin of 25.53%.Booking’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $55.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 10.47 EPS for the current year.
Booking Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.
Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BKNG. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $274.00 price target (up from $264.00) on shares of Booking in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Booking from $309.84 to $298.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Booking from $211.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Booking from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $220.00 price target on shares of Booking and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.72.
Check Out Our Latest Report on BKNG
Booking Profile (Free Report)
Booking Holdings Inc is a global online travel company that operates a portfolio of consumer brands and technology platforms that facilitate the search for and booking of travel services. The company’s businesses focus on accommodations, transportation and related travel services through consumer-facing websites and apps as well as partner distribution channels. Booking Holdings was originally founded as Priceline in the late 1990s and adopted the Booking Holdings name in 2018; it is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Its core offerings include online reservations for hotels, vacation rentals and other lodging; flight and car rental search and booking; and ancillary services that support travel planning and on-property experiences.
Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Booking Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BKNG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG – Free Report).
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Exponential View odhaduje, že globální GenAI ekonomika běží na ročním tempu výnosů 175 miliard USD a poprvé pokrývá odpisy infrastruktury. Microsoft, TSM a Cisco zároveň hlásí silnou poptávku po AI a objednávky.
Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).
Editor’s note: “Microsoft, TSM, and Cisco Are Breaking the AI Bubble Narrative” was previously published in July 2026 with the title “The AI Capex Bear Case Just Lost Its Best Argument.” It has since been updated to include the most relevant information available.
When the first American railroads began reporting revenue in the 1840s, the critics who had called the whole enterprise an overbuilt fantasy found themselves with less and less to say.
Something similar is happening in AI right now.
Exponential View just published the most comprehensive accounting of the AI economy we’ve yet seen – its State of the AI Economy 2026 report – with real revenue, utilization, and capex payback math.
Then Microsoft (MSFT), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), and Cisco (CSCO) delivered earnings that pointed in the same direction. Customers are paying for AI. Suppliers are expanding to meet the demand. And infrastructure orders keep piling up.
The tracks are still being laid. But paying freight is already moving across them.
The bear narrative now has a lot less room to breathe.
AI Revenue Has Reached a $175 Billion Annualized Run Rate
Exponential View’s report estimates the global ex-China Generative AI (GenAI) economy is producing $175 billion in annualized revenue. And before anyone accuses Exponential View of creative accounting – this figure excludes chips, AI ad uplift, legacy software “AI features,” and financing.
In other words, it is only reflecting real customer demand.
Now, $175 billion in run-rate revenue sounds massive – and it is. But let’s contextualize that number.
At $175 billion, the GenAI economy is already big enough to prove that real customers are paying for this technology. Revenue is scaling. Demand is showing up. The buildout is no longer running on demos and promises alone.
At the same time, AI has barely started working its way into all the industries, businesses, and daily tasks it could eventually reshape.
That is the sweet spot for investors – enough revenue to validate the thesis, with a huge amount of growth still ahead.
Because here’s the thing those relative numbers don’t capture: speed. AI revenue relative to GDP is already up 10x from Q1 2024. GenAI is scaling 3x faster than prior IT waves – faster than the internet and mobile booms. In 2023, the AI economy needed 180 days to add $1 billion of cumulative revenue. Today it needs less than two days. That is a 90x acceleration in the speed of revenue generation. Recent quarter-over-quarter growth is running ~35%, which annualizes to more than 3x.
The penetration curve is in the very earliest innings of a generational platform shift – and the data proves it.
AI Capex Is Starting to Clear Its First Payback Test
And the spending debate just got even bigger.
T. Rowe Price (TROW) technology investor Dom Rizzo believes AI-related capital spending could hit $1.6 trillion in 2027. That sits well above the current Wall Street consensus, but it shows how quickly expectations are moving.
Rizzo sees echoes of 1998, when semiconductor revenue was still climbing and the companies funding the buildout had the cash to keep going.
Bears look at a $1.6 trillion spending bill and see a bubble. The numbers are starting to push back.
The AI economy is now generating enough revenue to cover depreciation: the ongoing cost of using up the infrastructure built to run it. Not with room to spare, but the gap has closed, and the direction is positive.
For every dollar of AI infrastructure that depreciates, roughly $1.19 in hyperscaler and neocloud revenue is coming in to cover it – and $1.32 when you count the full GenAI economy. A year ago, that ratio was below 1. Now it’s above it.
Demand on One Side, Capacity on the Other
Then Microsoft showed us where the money is coming from.
The company closed its fiscal fourth quarter with $90 billion in revenue. Microsoft Cloud grew 27% to $59.3 billion. Azure jumped 43%. Commercial revenue already under contract rose to $678 billion. And Microsoft 365 Copilot passed 30 million paid seats.
That is the demand side of the story: paying users, faster cloud growth, and an enormous amount of business already under contract.
Taiwan Semiconductor is seeing the same boom from the other side of the supply chain. The world’s leading chip manufacturer generated $40.2 billion in Q2 revenue, guided to between $44.6 billion and $45.8 billion for the current quarter, and raised its 2026 capital budget to $60–$64 billion.
Microsoft shows the customers arriving. TSM shows the suppliers racing to keep up.
Of course, none of this means every AI data center has already earned back its cost. Power, labor, leases, financing, and plenty of other expenses still have to be covered.
But the buildout has cleared its first real economic hurdle. Revenue is keeping pace with estimated depreciation, and neither customers nor suppliers are pulling back.
The old idea that Big Tech is building a bunch of empty AI factories is getting much harder to defend.
Why Cheaper AI Can Increase Infrastructure Demand
One of the more sophisticated bear arguments has to do with token cost. Some believe that as token prices continue to collapse – with blended pricing falling from ~$17 per million tokens to ~$2 – AI companies are destroying the economics of the industry.
‘Margins are going to zero. The boom is over.’
But that argument confuses price with value – and ignores how technology adoption actually works.
For technologies with elastic demand, falling prices create value; cheaper tokens = more use cases.
Better models expand what AI can actually do. Reasoning models consume more tokens as they think through complex problems. So the very thing bears are pointing to as a headwind – price compression – is actually the accelerant for the next leg of volume growth.
More apps, more agents, more inference, more memory, more networking, more storage, more power, more cooling, more data centers…
The Jevons paradox – the observation that efficiency improvements in resource use lead to increased total consumption – is playing out in real time across the AI infrastructure stack.
Rizzo expects that rising usage to spread across two kinds of models: open and lower-cost systems handling as much as 80% of token volume, while the most capable proprietary models capture most of the economic value.
The cheaper models will handle routine work at enormous scale. The premium models will take the hardest, highest-value jobs.
And either way, the chips keep running.
Why Enterprise AI Shows Up in Productivity Before Revenue
Seven in 10 AI benefits cited by S&P 500 companies involve lower costs, faster work, more output, or better quality. Only about 6% point to direct revenue gains. The first killer enterprise AI app is not “create a magical new business line.” It’s “do the same work faster, cheaper, better.”
This is actually the normal pattern for platform shifts. The efficiency wave always comes first. Productivity gains show up in margins and labor leverage before they show up in GDP or revenue. The internet’s first decade was dominated by cost reduction and efficiency. Revenue came later – and when it came, it was enormous.
AI is following the same path: efficiency first, new revenue later. And if the efficiency wave alone is already supporting $175 billion in annualized demand, the next phase could be much larger.
What This Means for AI Stocks
The macro data on AI has never been more bullish. The micro data – real company revenues, utilization trends, and capex payback – is inflecting positively. And yet AI stocks have been choppy, volatile, and in some cases well off their highs.
That combination – improving fundamentals, weak stock prices – is the definition of a buying opportunity.
Cisco’s latest quarter offers a fresh example. Networking revenue rose 28% year over year, while AI infrastructure orders reached $9.3 billion for fiscal 2026. Its shares still fell as investors focused on narrower margins. Demand is real, but Wall Street is becoming more selective about which companies can turn that demand into lasting profits.
The names best positioned to benefit from this data are across the full AI Builder stack:
Chips and semiconductors
Memory
Networking and optics
Servers and infrastructure
Power and cooling
The Bottom Line: AI Revenue Is Starting to Catch the Capex
For the past two years, the biggest question surrounding AI was if this technology would ever make enough money to justify all the spending.
We are starting to get the answer.
Exponential View’s math shows AI revenue now covering estimated infrastructure depreciation. Microsoft is turning AI into faster cloud growth, paid Copilot seats, and a massive contracted backlog. TSM is expanding capacity to keep up. Cisco is booking billions in AI networking orders.
And one respected technology investor now believes annual AI spending could reach $1.6 trillion in 2027.
There are still real risks. Some projects will disappoint. Margins will get squeezed. Financing costs and valuations will matter.
But the simplest version of the bear case – that nobody would pay enough for AI to support the infrastructure underneath it – is losing its footing.
That does not make every AI stock a buy. It makes choosing the right stocks, fitting them together, and deciding how much capital each one deserves even more important.
After combing through more than 200 AI recommendations, Louis Navellier, Eric Fry, and I narrowed the field to roughly 20 stocks we believe deserve capital now.
We also assigned a recommended allocation to every holding, so investors can see how we think the positions should fit together and how much each idea deserves.
We’ll be unveiling this newly rebuilt portfolio this Wednesday, August 19. Join us to see which stocks made the cut.
GBP/USD se drží poblíž srpnových maxim, protože vyšší výnosové spready a slabší zajištění proti poklesu podporují libru. Scotiabank vidí další test na 1,3600.
Pound Sterling is pressing August highs as firmer yield spreads and fading bearish hedges support Scotiabank's bullish GBP/USD view. The Pound to Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate is pushing back towards its August highs, trading around 1.3545 early on Monday after reaching 1.3560 last week.
Scotiabank sees a stronger underlying backdrop for Sterling than the relatively modest price move suggests.
“The pound is up 0.3% vs. the USD and threatening a break of this week’s local high in the mid-1.35s,” the bank said.
Yield spreads are helping. Scotiabank notes that UK-US spreads have extended their recent recovery, offering fresh fundamental support for GBP at the same time as demand for protection against Sterling weakness has eased.
The options market is telling a similar story.
“Risk reversals are extending their recovery and fading the premium for protection against GBP weakness,” Scotiabank said, linking the move to “a sustained improvement in the market’s perception of moderating political risk.”
That gives the latest advance a broader base than simple Dollar weakness.
Image: GBP/USD one-month chart GBP/USD has recovered strongly from its late-July low below 1.33, with the pair now trading above its rising 20-day moving average and close to the top of its one-month range.
Bank of England communication has also remained supportive.
Scotiabank highlighted comments from BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill which “reaffirmed a call for higher rates”, helping to keep Sterling's rate backdrop constructive despite a relatively quiet UK data calendar.
Short-Term GBP/USD Outlook: 1.3600 Is the Next Test Scotiabank's technical view has turned firmly bullish.
“The RSI has climbed to a fresh local high in the lower 60s, threatening the July high,” the bank said. “The gains are suggestive of renewed bullish momentum and a potential break of the midweek high just below 1.3550.”
That level has effectively already come under pressure, with GBP/USD reaching 1.3560 during the latest advance.
Scotiabank sees additional resistance at 1.3600 and then 1.3650, while retaining a near-term trading range of 1.3480-1.3580.
Image: Pound-to-Dollar exchange rate performance over 2016 GBP/USD remains well below its January high near 1.3860, but the latest recovery has carried spot above both its 20-day and 50-day moving averages and back into positive territory for 2026.
The immediate question is whether Sterling can convert improving positioning and yield support into a clean move through the mid-1.35s.
Scotiabank's signals suggest the pressure is building.
A sustained break above 1.3550 would bring 1.3600 quickly into view, while 1.3480 marks the lower edge of the bank's preferred near-term range.
For Pound Sterling bulls, the balance has shifted from defending 1.35 to testing how far above it the market can go.
Exchange Rates UK Research Our currency coverage draws on live market data, official economic releases and published bank research.
BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF – Free Report) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,719 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Capital One Financial were worth $10,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Capital One Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,897,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,789,615,000 after purchasing an additional 360,071 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Capital One Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,476,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,023,795,000 after purchasing an additional 638,158 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Capital One Financial by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,677,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,103,196,000 after purchasing an additional 323,350 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Capital One Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,089,803,000. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers lifted its position in shares of Capital One Financial by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 8,614,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,087,878,000 after buying an additional 234,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.84% of the company’s stock.
Capital One Financial Stock Performance
Shares of COF opened at $227.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $139.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.21. Capital One Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $174.24 and a 12-month high of $259.64.
Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $5.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.79 by $1.02. Capital One Financial had a net margin of 13.37% and a return on equity of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $15.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Capital One Financial Corporation will post 20.19 EPS for the current year.
Capital One Financial Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Capital One Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.80%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
COF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $242.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Capital One Financial from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. HSBC raised shares of Capital One Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $226.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on Capital One Financial from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Capital One Financial from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Capital One Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $259.36.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on COF
Insider Buying and Selling at Capital One Financial
In other Capital One Financial news, insider Ravi Raghu sold 9,726 shares of Capital One Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.78, for a total value of $2,040,320.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,523,087.84. The trade was a 26.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Timothy P. Golden sold 3,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total transaction of $735,757.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,567,519. The trade was a 31.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,186 shares of company stock valued at $4,697,301. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.
About Capital One Financial
(Free Report)
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) is a diversified bank holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The company’s core businesses include credit card lending, consumer and commercial banking, and auto finance. Capital One issues a wide range of credit card products for consumers and small businesses, and it operates deposit and digital banking services aimed at retail customers and small to midsize enterprises.
Products and services include credit and charge cards, checking and savings accounts (including the online-focused Capital One 360 platform), auto loans, and commercial lending solutions.
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Zlato (XAU/USD) vzrostlo na zhruba 4 395 USD, protože slabší americká inflace a maloobchodní tržby snížily očekávání dalšího zvýšení sazeb Fedu. Napětí na Blízkém východě ale dál brzdí další růst.
Gold price (XAU/USD) gains momentum to around $4,395 during the early Asian trading hours on Monday. The precious metal extends the rally as cooling US inflation data has dampened expectations for the US Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate hike.
The US Census Bureau revealed on Friday that US Retail Sales declined by 0.6% MoM in July. This figure followed a rise of 0.2% in June and came in softer than the 0.1% expected. On an annual basis, Retail Sales increased 5.0% in July versus a rise of 6.8% (revised from 6.7%).
This report added to evidence that inflationary pressure is gradually easing after last week's Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) data. This, in turn, weighs on the US Dollar (USD) and underpins the USD-denominated commodity price.
Money markets have priced in nearly a 33.1% chance of a September Fed hike, according to the CME FedWatch tool. It’s worth noting that lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion, boosting its investment appeal.
On the other hand, persistent tensions in the Middle East might cap the upside for the yellow metal. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi called on the US to “accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in delusions” after US President Donald Trump suggested that he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a “territory of the United States.”
On Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that there were “no negotiations currently taking place between Tehran and Washington.” Araghchi added that the US must agree to Iran’s conditions in order for shipping to resume through the waterway.
Gold outlook stays constructive as Fed hike expectations fade and ETF demand returnsAnalysts at Commerzbank argue that the backdrop for bullion remains supportive, noting that, “as we expect the Fed not to raise interest rates, the gold price therefore still has further upside potential.” They caution that the path higher is unlikely to be smooth, pointing out that “the fact that this will not happen in a straight line is illustrated by the price fall since yesterday to USD 4,320 per troy ounce.” At the same time, Commerzbank highlights that “another positive factor for the price of gold is the renewed buying interest from ETF investors,” which they see as reinforcing the constructive medium-term outlook for the metal.
Technical Analysis: The positive tone of Gold remains intactIn the daily chart, XAU/USD holds just above the 100-day simple moving average (SMA) and comfortably over the 20-day Bollinger middle band near, keeping the near-term bias constructive while these layers of trend support remain intact. The Relative Strength Index (14) at 64.09 leans toward bullish but not yet overbought territory, suggesting buyers still have room to probe higher levels within the prevailing range.
On the topside, initial resistance is aligned with the upper Bollinger band at $4,480, where recent volatility extremes are likely to attract profit-taking. On the downside, the immediate floor is defined by the 100-day SMA at $4,385.85, with a deeper corrective cushion emerging around the Bollinger middle band at roughly $4,195; a break below that area would expose the lower band support near $3,905.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)
Gold FAQs
Gold has played a key role in human’s history as it has been widely used as a store of value and medium of exchange. Currently, apart from its shine and usage for jewelry, the precious metal is widely seen as a safe-haven asset, meaning that it is considered a good investment during turbulent times. Gold is also widely seen as a hedge against inflation and against depreciating currencies as it doesn’t rely on any specific issuer or government.
Central banks are the biggest Gold holders. In their aim to support their currencies in turbulent times, central banks tend to diversify their reserves and buy Gold to improve the perceived strength of the economy and the currency. High Gold reserves can be a source of trust for a country’s solvency. Central banks added 1,136 tonnes of Gold worth around $70 billion to their reserves in 2022, according to data from the World Gold Council. This is the highest yearly purchase since records began. Central banks from emerging economies such as China, India and Turkey are quickly increasing their Gold reserves.
Gold has an inverse correlation with the US Dollar and US Treasuries, which are both major reserve and safe-haven assets. When the Dollar depreciates, Gold tends to rise, enabling investors and central banks to diversify their assets in turbulent times. Gold is also inversely correlated with risk assets. A rally in the stock market tends to weaken Gold price, while sell-offs in riskier markets tend to favor the precious metal.
The price can move due to a wide range of factors. Geopolitical instability or fears of a deep recession can quickly make Gold price escalate due to its safe-haven status. As a yield-less asset, Gold tends to rise with lower interest rates, while higher cost of money usually weighs down on the yellow metal. Still, most moves depend on how the US Dollar (USD) behaves as the asset is priced in dollars (XAU/USD). A strong Dollar tends to keep the price of Gold controlled, whereas a weaker Dollar is likely to push Gold prices up.
Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 21,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,009,000. Equinix makes up about 1.4% of Avalon Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Equinix by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Equinix by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Equinix by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Equinix in the 2nd quarter worth $231,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Equinix by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix
In other news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 3,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,076.36, for a total transaction of $4,010,517.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,600,239.52. The trade was a 37.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,019.28, for a total value of $4,077,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,126,201.52. This trade represents a 22.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,891 shares of company stock valued at $10,430,452. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.
Equinix Trading Up 2.6%
Shares of NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $1,102.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,049.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,013.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.97, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.99. Equinix, Inc. has a 52-week low of $720.62 and a 52-week high of $1,128.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.
Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $11.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.73 by $7.05. Equinix had a net margin of 15.64% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.91 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.690-43.290 EPS. Analysts expect that Equinix, Inc. will post 38.23 EPS for the current year.
Equinix Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $5.16 per share. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Equinix’s payout ratio is 132.90%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EQIX shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,200.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,100.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Equinix from $1,165.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinix from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Equinix from $1,109.00 to $1,130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,202.20.
Get Our Latest Report on Equinix
Equinix Company Profile
(Free Report)
Equinix, Inc is a global provider of digital infrastructure and interconnection services, specializing in carrier-neutral data centers and colocation. The company operates a platform that enables enterprises, cloud and network service providers, and content companies to colocate IT infrastructure, interconnect directly with partners and providers, and access cloud on-ramps and network services in a secure, low-latency environment.
Equinix’s offerings include traditional colocation space and power, cross-connects and meet-me rooms, and a suite of connectivity and on-demand services designed for hybrid multicloud architectures.
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Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 236,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,140,000. US Foods makes up approximately 1.5% of Avalon Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Avalon Trust Co owned about 0.11% of US Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of USFD. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in US Foods by 85.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 148,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,722,000 after buying an additional 68,567 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of US Foods during the first quarter worth approximately $359,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of US Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $526,000. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new position in US Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $252,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in US Foods by 20.5% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 47,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 8,162 shares in the last quarter. 98.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
US Foods Stock Down 1.2% Shares of USFD stock opened at $108.72 on Friday. US Foods Holding Corp. has a 1 year low of $69.88 and a 1 year high of $111.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $99.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.81.
US Foods (NYSE:USFD – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $10.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.46 billion. US Foods had a net margin of 1.81% and a return on equity of 20.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. US Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.696-4.935 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that US Foods Holding Corp. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at US Foods In other news, insider William Spencer Hancock sold 21,754 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total transaction of $2,355,740.66. Following the transaction, the insider owned 101,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,952,883.76. This trade represents a 17.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Randy J. Taylor sold 11,630 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.37, for a total value of $1,283,603.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,618 shares in the company, valued at $8,125,218.66. The trade was a 13.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets Several analysts have recently commented on USFD shares. Wall Street Zen raised US Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of US Foods from $88.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of US Foods from $98.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of US Foods from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of US Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.92.
View Our Latest Research Report on US Foods
About US Foods (Free Report)
US Foods (NYSE: USFD) is a leading foodservice distributor in the United States that supplies a wide range of products and services to professional food operators. The company provides fresh, frozen and dry food items as well as non-food restaurant supplies and kitchen equipment. Its customer base includes independent restaurants, multi-unit chains, healthcare and senior living facilities, hospitality businesses, government and educational institutions, and other foodservice operators.
Beyond commodity and branded food products, US Foods offers value-added solutions designed to help customers run their businesses.
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than US Foods Is Best Buy the AI Winner Hiding in the Electronics Aisle? Applied Materials Beat Everything but Wall Street’s Expectations for Margins Back From Orbit, Intuitive Machines’ Share Price Enters the Buy Zone Texas Roadhouse and Brinker International Have the Recipe Rivals Are Missing Want to see what other hedge funds are holding USFD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE:USFD – Free Report).
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Exelixis čelí vyšetřování kvůli možným porušením zákonů o cenných papírech poté, co za 2. čtvrtletí minul odhady tržeb a snížil celoroční výhled na rok 2026.
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Schall, Brown & Schwartz LLP (“SBS”), a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Exelixis, Inc. (“Exelixis” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ: EXEL) for violations of the securities laws.
INVESTIGATION DETAILS: The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. Exelixis missed analyst consensus estimates with its Q2 revenue and also lowered its full-year 2026 revenue guidance.
The revenue shortfall came alongside an adjusted EPS beat of $0.91 per share. Investors sold on the top-line number. The Company attributed the reduced full-year outlook to a slower-than-expected ramp in its neuroendocrine-tumor business -- a franchise Exelixis had described to investors as a market-leading position for CABOMETYX in the oral second-line plus segment.
If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.
We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall or David Schwartz of Schall, Brown & Schwartz LLP, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at [email protected]
WHY SBS? Schall, Brown & Schwartz LLP represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation. Bringing together the extensive experience and diverse skillsets of founding partners Brian Schall, Andrew Brown, and David Schwartz, SBS is dedicated to aggressively advocating for every investor.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.
