Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Some companies are built from a business plan. Intapp (INTA -2.22%) was founded in response to a complaint.

Back in the early 2000s, a small Silicon Valley outfit with a data integration product went to file a patent. The attorney handling the paperwork read the application and said that his law firm was a disaster in exactly this area. "Can I license this thing?" he asked.

Intapp said yes. The chief information officer at that law firm liked the product enough to quit his job, join Intapp as its first salesperson, and introduce the company to every law firm he knew. Referrals did the rest.

The company never raised venture capital, which is unusual for a Silicon Valley software business. Its first outside money arrived with the 2021 IPO. That history matters for reasons beyond color: Two decades of serving one narrow market produced the accumulated firm data and compliance infrastructure that management now calls Intapp's competitive moat.

A big market with an awkward shape The company builds software for law firms, accounting firms, investment banks, private equity shops, and consultancies. CEO John Hall describes the customer base as "large partnership firms," a category he estimates at around $4 trillion in annual revenue in the United States. So it's a large market but also a tricky one to serve, and most software companies simply don't chase it.

Building the model is not the hard part. Knowing which of a firm's 3,000 employees may see which document, and proving it afterward, is. Large multipurpose AI vendors don't have the lived-in data set to copy Intapp's approach.

A generic AI assistant will tell you what it knows. That is the problem. Image source: Getty Images.

What "governed AI" actually means Intapp launched its agentic AI platform, Celeste, at a February product event. It reached general availability on July 15. In a call with The Motley Fool, Hall outlined the distinction between Celeste and AI tools like Harvey (an Intapp partner) and Legora, which target the practice of law, as well as horizontal assistants like ChatGPT Enterprise.

The difference is permission. A generic AI assistant answers the question it is asked to the best of its automated ability.

"One of the problems with the horizontal systems is that they tell the truth," Hall said. "But you may not be a person who is supposed to get that answer inside the firm."

The failure mode of a chatbot at a law firm is not hallucination. It is honesty. Somebody asks about a deal they are ethically walled off from, and a regular AI assistant helpfully tells them about it anyway. It may take some prodding and creative prompting, but the info is there to share.

Celeste is designed to know who is asking. Ethical walls, material nonpublic information rules, and independence requirements apply to the software the same way they apply to employees. A partner walled off from a deal gets the same answer from Celeste as a colleague would: no answer at all. Every interaction leaves an audit trail, because regulators may have questions about it.

Building a large language model is hard. Building one that knows which of a firm's employees may not know a given fact and can prove it in an audit two years later is a different kind of hard. That is the bet.

The report card Intapp's fiscal year closed on June 30, and the numbers were robust.

Cloud annual recurring revenue (ARR) reached $495.7 million, up 29% year over year. Total ARR was $590.5 million, up 22%. Top-line revenue came in at $577.8 million for the year, a 15% increase.

And Intapp is profitable on an adjusted basis. Adjusted net income was $103.6 million. Free cash flow hit $144.7 million, or 25% of revenue, three years ahead of management's long-term targets.

The number of clients paying more than $1 million a year grew from 109 to 142. Microsoft co-sold eight of the 10 biggest deals. More than 30 cloud migrations were signed in the fourth quarter, a company record.

The stock has responded. As of Aug. 14, shares are up roughly 20% since the report and 93% over the past three months. Shares are still down 16% from last December's all-time peak, though.

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The part where enthusiasm meets a price chart At a $3.07 billion market cap, Intapp trades around 5.3 times sales and 20.4 times forward earnings estimates. That's not outrageous for 27% subscription growth with real cash flow attached. But the average analyst price target of $39.43 sits below the current quote.

Management sees a $50 billion addressable market for agentic professional services software. If that's reachable, Intapp has a lot of growing left to do.

Celeste only became generally available after the 2026 fiscal year ended. Its market traction and monetization are what to watch: There are no shortcuts to 25 years of knowing exactly how a law firm thinks.

Iren (IREN -1.56%) shattered two bearish storylines upon announcing that its Horizon 1 data center project was operational and had been delivered to its tenant, Microsoft (MSFT -0.30%). It's one of four 50-megawatt sites that were part of a landmark deal the neocloud company struck last year.

One issue that has been driving bearish concerns about Iren has been its use of debt financing, but that headwind may start to fade thanks to this deal. Furthermore, Iren once again proves it can meet deadlines and turn its artificial intelligence (AI) capacity into meaningful revenue growth.

Image source: Getty Images.

Iren's reliance on financing may soon come to an end
Iren has raised billions of dollars in recent years, primarily through the sale of its corporate bonds, to fund the build-outs of its AI data centers. Investors knew that taking on heavy debt was the cost of business, since Iren isn't making much money yet relative to what's actually needed to build the data centers it's leasing to clients.

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However, as Iren turns more of its existing assets into realized revenue, it may be less reliant on financing in the future. The Horizon 1 deal will bring in roughly $500 million in annual recurring revenue for the next five years.

Iren CEO Dan Roberts said the company is working to deliver Horizon sites 2, 3, and 4 later this year. Once all of those sites are ready, the Horizon sites will produce a combined $1.94 billion annually over the next five years.

Granted, those figures do not account for a 20% prepayment on the site. That turns the $9.7 billion, five-year deal into $7.76 billion over five years, which averages to roughly $1.55 billion per year.

Those revenues alone won't cover all of Iren's data center build-out costs, but they will make Iren less reliant on debt financing. However, Microsoft isn't its only customer. The company shared in July that it had signed $2.8 billion in new customer contracts, and management raised its 2026 annual recurring revenue target to over $4 billion. Notably, prepayments for those deals were as high as 45%.

While such prepayments do cut into the annual recurring revenues received during the initial phases of those contracts, they do provide extra capital that Iren can use to build more data centers and obtain more resources without tapping into debt.

Iren is earning $1.94 billion per year from 200 megawatts
Those are the terms for the Microsoft deal, and it represents a small slice of Iren's capacity. It has 5.8 gigawatts of total capacity that is under development, so it can support 28 additional contracts like the Microsoft one.

Granted, the company has already been securing customers for some of its megawatts, so it doesn't have all of them available to offer. Furthermore, some of its data center sites will take years to complete. Iren is aiming for 480 megawatts of gross AI cloud capacity by the end of this year and expects to almost triple that figure by the end of 2027.

Iren does not need revenue from all 5.8 gigawatts to become less reliant on financing. The company earned only $144.8 million in its fiscal 2026 third quarter. Its projected $4 billion in annual recurring revenue indicates that at least one quarter in 2027 will produce $1 billion in total sales.

Once the growth arrives, Iren will eventually be in a position to expand its margins and fund its data centers with its own cash flow. Investors shouldn't expect that to happen this year, but it may start to take shape in 2027 or 2028.

The value of compute continues to rise
Not only is Iren starting to make money from its Microsoft deal, but its remaining inventory also continues to gain value. Rival neocloud Nebius (NBIS +8.88%) held its first-ever capacity auction, and the winning customer paid a 15% premium compared to any price Nebius had charged before.

Nebius also commanded prices of $40 million to $50 million per megawatt in recent deals, despite an average yield of just above $20 million per megawatt.

These results show that the AI capacity Iren is building is growing in value. That makes Roberts and the Iren team look a lot smarter for not rushing to make deals. Higher annual contract values will help with margins, and can provide Iren with a realistic path to reduce its reliance on financing for future AI expansion projects.

Todd M. Schneider, the CEO of Cintas Corporation (CTAS -0.33%), disposed of 35,599 shares of common stock on August 10, according to an SEC Form 4 filing.

Transaction summaryMetricValueShares sold35,599Transaction value$7.2 millionPost-transaction shares (directly held)691,407Post-transaction shares (indirectly held)3,466Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($202.71); post-transaction value based on the August 10 market close ($202.71).

Key questionsWhat was the motivation behind this transaction?
This was a non-discretionary sell-to-cover event in which the company withheld shares to satisfy tax withholding requirements triggered by the vesting of restricted stock awards previously granted to the executive.How does this impact the insider's long-term alignment with the company?
Despite the disposition of 35,599 shares, Schneider remains a major individual shareholder with a combined direct and indirect stake of 694,873 shares, valued at $140.9 million as of the August 10 market close.What is the broader context of the insider's ownership stake?
Following this transaction, Schneider's total beneficial ownership represents a close to 0.2% stake in the company, which has a total market capitalization of $82.1 billion.How has the stock performed leading up to this vesting event?
As of the transaction date, the company's stock had delivered a one-year return of (10%), with the shares priced at $202.71 at the time of the tax withholding.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-08-11)$205.28Market Capitalization$82.1 billionRevenue (TTM)$11.3 billionNet Income (TTM)$2.0 billionCompany SnapshotCintas Corporation provides professional uniform rental and maintenance services, first aid and safety solutions, and facility services, generating revenue primarily through recurring service contracts across the United States, Canada, and Latin America.The company operates a subscription-based business model where customers pay recurring fees for uniform rental, cleaning, and maintenance services, supplemented by sales of first aid and safety products and facility services.Cintas serves a diverse customer base, including manufacturing facilities, healthcare institutions, hospitality businesses, and other commercial enterprises requiring professional workwear and safety solutions.Cintas Corporation is a leading specialty business services provider with a market capitalization of $82.1 billion and TTM revenues of $11.3 billion, demonstrating substantial scale and market presence. The company's diversified service portfolio and recurring revenue model provide stable cash flows and competitive advantages through high customer switching costs and operational efficiency. With 48,100 employees and established operations across North America and Latin America, Cintas maintains a strong market position in the professional services sector.

What this transaction means for investorsSchneider still holds nearly 695,000 shares worth around $141 million, so this move barely moves the needle in terms of his overall stake. Plus, the filing makes clear it's purely for tax withholdings.

More importantly, the company just closed one of its stronger years. Cintas grew fiscal fourth-quarter revenue 8.9% to $2.91 billion and reached a record 51% gross margin, capping a year of double-digit earnings growth that few in its unglamorous business of uniform rental and facility services can match. On the earnings call, Schneider said Cintas stays focused on "what it can control," but the development worth tracking sits ahead of it, since the company has agreed to buy rival UniFirst, a deal now working through an FTC second request that could reshape the industry if it clears.

Cintas is already the dominant player in uniform services, and folding in a major competitor would extend that lead, which is precisely why regulators are taking a closer look before letting it through. Shares have jumped over 20% from lows earlier in 2026, but they remain down over the past year, signaling investors might still be a little apprehensive even if a bit more bullish.

Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Cintas. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 15th, 2026

Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK – Free Report) by 33.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 774,253 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 192,237 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.69% of Bank OZK worth $35,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. BOKF NA purchased a new position in Bank OZK in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Bank OZK by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Bank OZK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Bank OZK by 111.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of brokerages have commented on OZK. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Bank OZK in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Bank OZK from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Bank OZK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Bank OZK from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.88.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Bank OZK

Bank OZK Stock Up 0.5% OZK stock opened at $52.49 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Bank OZK has a 1-year low of $42.37 and a 1-year high of $53.66. The firm has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 0.89.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $430.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.42 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 24.95% and a return on equity of 11.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.47 EPS. Research analysts predict that Bank OZK will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Bank OZK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 29th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 13th. This is an increase from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Bank OZK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.74%.

About Bank OZK (Free Report)

Bank OZK, formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks, is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established in 1903, the bank offers a full suite of banking products and services to both individual and corporate clients. Through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions, Bank OZK has built a diversified lending portfolio and a strong deposit franchise.

The bank’s core operations focus on commercial real estate lending, including acquisition, development and construction financing.

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MarketBeat Week in Review – 08/10 - 08/14NioCorp Developments NASDAQ: NB detailed its recently published 2026 technical report for the Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project in Nebraska, outlining an expanded product suite, updated mine design and projected economics for the proposed underground mining and processing operation.

Mark Smith, NioCorp’s executive chairman, president and CEO, said the technical report and updated feasibility study were supported by hundreds of consultants and certified by 15 qualified professionals. He said the company prioritized study quality over speed and that the additional work is expected to support project financing efforts, including discussions with the Export-Import Bank of the United States, or EXIM.

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Nebius Just Exploded 34% on Blowout Earnings—Is It Time to Buy?The updated study was undertaken in part to conduct additional infill drilling and convert the company’s revised metallurgical process flow diagram into feasibility-level engineering. Smith said the drilling produced tighter spacing and improved definition of the ore body, while additional geotechnical, geohydrologic, paste-tailings and grouting studies were completed to strengthen the mine plan.

Expanded Product Portfolio and Economic Projections
The Elk Creek project is now expected to produce eight products, compared with three products in NioCorp’s 2022 feasibility study. The expected products include ferroniobium, scandium, titanium tetrachloride, neodymium-praseodymium oxide, dysprosium oxide, terbium oxide, samarium-europium-gadolinium carbonate concentrate, and a heavy rare earth carbonate concentrate.

Nebius’ Q2 Beat Shows the AI Bottleneck Is Capacity, Not DemandSmith said the expanded product mix raises projected life-of-mine gross revenue to $37.4 billion, compared with $21.9 billion in the 2022 study. The company projects gross revenue of $815 per ton and operating expenses of $255 per ton, resulting in a projected life-of-mine margin of $560 per ton.

Pre-tax net present value of $4.1 billion, using an 8% discount rate
Average annual cash flow of $519 million over the mine life
Average annual EBITDA of $608 million
Estimated upfront capital expenditures of $1.85 billion
Projected 40-year mine life and less than three-year after-tax payback period

Smith said the higher capital expenditure estimate reflects inflation as well as added processing capabilities, including rare earth solvent extraction and chlorination processes for niobium and titanium products.

He also pointed to what he described as a pricing “bifurcation” between China and markets outside China for certain critical minerals. Smith said NioCorp has seen scandium pricing outside China ranging from $3,000 to $6,500 per kilogram, compared with approximately $800 to $850 per kilogram in China. He cited similar differences for terbium and dysprosium prices.

Mine Access and Processing Changes
Scott Honan, NioCorp’s chief operating officer and president of Elk Creek Resources Company, said the new mine plan replaces a planned twin-shaft design with twin ramps extending from the surface. The prior shaft approach would have required ground freezing and specialized shaft equipment, while the ramp configuration is expected to provide faster access to the ore body.

According to Honan, the updated mine design is expected to reach full production in 35 months, compared with a longer development period under the earlier plan. The company also plans to use a Railveyor system to move material from the underground mine to the surface plant rather than relying on diesel equipment and vertical hoisting through shafts.

NioCorp also revised its energy plan. Rather than primarily relying on a local utility connection, the company now expects to use an on-site microgrid powered by small natural-gas-fired generators. A third party is expected to own, install, operate and maintain the generating equipment, Honan said. The company will still require a natural gas pipeline connection to the site.

On the processing side, the revised plan introduces calcining and calcium-magnesium removal before hydrochloric and sulfuric acid leaching. Honan said these front-end steps reduce the mass moving through the remainder of the plant by about half and remove most acid-consuming materials, reducing acid demand and eliminating the need for an on-site acid plant.

Reserves, Resources and Financing Steps
NioCorp reported 45.9 million tons of proven and probable reserves supporting a 40-year operating life. Honan said the company’s 2025 infill drilling program established a proven reserve category, the highest reserve classification, and also increased inferred resources.

The company reported measured resources of 21.7 million tons, indicated resources of 187.4 million tons and inferred resources of 169.2 million tons. Honan said the ore body remains open in several directions and could support a longer mine life if additional resources are converted into reserves.

Annual production is projected to include more than 8,000 tons of ferroniobium, 118 tons of scandium and more than 59,000 tons of titanium tetrachloride, along with the planned rare earth products.

Smith said NioCorp has begun review sessions with EXIM following publication of the feasibility study. He said EXIM previously indicated it could provide up to approximately $800 million in financing based on a 65% debt-to-equity ratio, but will now reassess potential financing levels based on the updated project economics and capital requirements.

The company is also working to finalize an offtake agreement with Traxys. Smith said NioCorp expects two commercial agreements to cover 100% of project offtake: ThyssenKrupp would receive 50% of ferroniobium output, while Traxys would receive the remaining products and ferroniobium volumes under a separate agreement. He said NioCorp intends to pursue volumetric take-or-pay arrangements rather than agreements with price ceilings.

Before final financing, NioCorp expects to advance detailed engineering and negotiate an engineering, procurement and construction contract acceptable to the company, its EPC contractor and EXIM.

About NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB)NioCorp Developments Ltd is a North American critical minerals development company focused on advancing its flagship Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project in southeastern Nebraska. The company’s primary business activity centers on the exploration, evaluation and development of a polymetallic deposit that hosts significant quantities of niobium, scandium and titanium. Through metallurgical testing and prefeasibility studies, NioCorp aims to produce high-purity ferroniobium, high-purity titanium dioxide slag and scandium oxide for industrial, aerospace and clean-energy applications.

At the heart of NioCorp’s operations is the Elk Creek project, where the company holds surface rights and mineral leases across approximately 7,100 acres of land.

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

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Robotics and automation are rapidly becoming essential infrastructure across healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and many other industries.

"Physical AI" is coming to the United States, and there are four ways that investors can gain exposure to this new robotics revolution. Plus, learn which seven companies are most positioned to benefit as intelligent robots enter the workforce.

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Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 15th, 2026

AMS Capital Ltda reduced its stake in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN – Free Report) by 37.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,627 shares of the e-commerce giant’s  stock after selling 58,778 shares during the period. Amazon.com accounts for about 8.1% of AMS Capital Ltda’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. AMS Capital Ltda’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $20,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMZN. Red Crane Wealth  Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Amazon.com by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,509 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Sfam LLC grew its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% in the first quarter. Sfam LLC now owns 1,224 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% in the first quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.1% during the first quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Benchmark boosted their target price on Amazon.com from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Amazon.com from $332.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $333.00 price target (up from $320.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $330.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.56.

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Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Amazon.com

More Amazon.com News Here are the key news stories impacting Amazon.com this week:

Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying supports sentiment. Thrive Capital disclosed a roughly $215 million Amazon position, while Baupost Group added 625,100 shares and Dodge & Cox increased its holding by approximately 1.6 million shares. Thrive Capital discloses Amazon stake Positive Sentiment: AWS remains the central bullish catalyst. Commentary points to accelerating AWS growth for five consecutive quarters, a substantial backlog and customer demand extending into 2028. Amazon Web Services also became AppFolio’s preferred cloud provider, adding evidence of enterprise demand. AppFolio selects AWS Positive Sentiment: New growth opportunities are expanding. Amazon won a Space Force communications contract, while its AI infrastructure spending is helping drive demand for data-center and semiconductor suppliers. Analysts cited in recent coverage remain bullish on both Amazon and Alphabet. Amazon wins Space Force contract Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains a debate. Amazon is viewed favorably versus some large-cap peers, but coverage notes that its forward earnings multiple is higher than its trailing multiple. That may reflect expected earnings growth, though it leaves less room for execution disappointments. Negative Sentiment: Retail data raised demand concerns. U.S. retail sales fell in July, with online spending declining after Amazon’s summer sales event. Higher fuel and operating costs may also pressure big-box retailers and consumer purchasing power. July retail sales decline Negative Sentiment: AI investment brings financial and execution risk. Amazon and other hyperscalers are issuing significant debt to fund infrastructure expansion, increasing concerns about returns on spending and potential pressure on future profits. Amazon’s lack of a dividend may also limit appeal for income-focused investors. Negative Sentiment: Twitch backlash adds reputational risk. Twitch’s decision to use livestream content for Amazon AI training, with the feature reportedly enabled automatically, has angered creators and could create privacy, regulatory and user-retention concerns. Twitch AI data-sharing backlash Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com In other Amazon.com news, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 15,467 shares of the firm’s  stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.40, for a total transaction of $4,074,007.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,729,480.60. This trade represents a 52.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 2,363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.38, for a total transaction of $620,003.94. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 119,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,427,876.40. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,650 shares of company stock worth $16,535,457. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com Price Performance AMZN stock opened at $262.65 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $247.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.00 and a 12 month high of $287.20.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $3.93. The company had revenue of $200.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.03 billion. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 17.44%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amazon.com Profile (Free Report)

Amazon.com, Inc is a diversified technology and retail company best known for its e-commerce marketplace and broad portfolio of consumer and enterprise services. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company launched as an online bookseller and expanded into a global retail platform that sells products directly to consumers and provides a marketplace for third-party sellers. Over time Amazon has grown beyond retail into areas including cloud computing, digital media, devices and logistics.

Key businesses and offerings include Amazon’s online marketplace and fulfillment services, the Amazon Prime membership program (which bundles expedited shipping with streaming and other benefits), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which supplies on-demand cloud computing and storage to businesses and public-sector customers, and a range of content and advertising services such as Prime Video and Amazon Advertising.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Amazon.com Sony and TSMC’s $4.7 Billion Venture Is About More Than Camera Sensors Quantum Leaps: Debt-Free as AI Storage Demand Accelerates NVIDIA’s $500 Billion GPU Financing Deal Fuels Path Toward $270 Sandisk’s Margins Look Like Software. Can They Last?

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« PREVIOUS HEADLINEAltrafin AG Has $228,000 Stock Holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. $TSM

NEXT HEADLINE »Ascent Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Posted by Defense World Staff on Aug 15th, 2026

Ascent Group LLC lowered its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW – Free Report) by 20.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,552 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,788 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 119.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,889,000 after acquiring an additional 17,413 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 22.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 12,124 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 13.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,378 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LOW shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $235.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $277.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. BTIG Research lowered shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $232.00 to $231.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $278.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.63.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on LOW

Key Stories Impacting Lowe’s Companies Here are the key news stories impacting Lowe’s Companies this week:

Positive Sentiment: Lowe’s is described as trading at its lowest forward price-to-earnings multiple in more than two years. Its status as a Dividend King, along with a recent dividend increase, strengthens the long-term income-investment case. 1 Number That Makes Lowe’s Stock an Obvious Buy Before Aug. 19 Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain moderately optimistic despite the recent underperformance. Citigroup retained a “buy” rating while lowering its price target to $267 from $285, and Wells Fargo’s reduced target of $245 still implies meaningful upside from recent levels. Citigroup Lowe’s Price Target Update Positive Sentiment: Investor articles argue that a series of downward Q2 EPS estimate revisions may have lowered expectations and created the potential for a favorable earnings surprise. The longer-term bull case remains tied to Lowe’s brand strength, home-improvement demand and operating potential. Lowe’s Q2 EPS Revisions Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street projections for the quarter ended July 2026 are focusing on key operating metrics beyond revenue and EPS. The Aug. 19 report is the next major catalyst and could determine the near-term direction of the shares. Insights Into Lowe’s Q2 Wall Street Projections Neutral Sentiment: Lowe’s has completed a five-year, $100 million hometown revitalization commitment and announced additional community investments. These efforts may support brand reputation but are unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Is Lowe’s Companies Undervalued As Its Earnings Call Nears? Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lowered its expectations for Lowe’s, adding to concerns about near-term performance ahead of earnings. The company also faces elevated expectations around its upcoming results despite recent estimate reductions. Royal Bank of Canada Lowe’s Expectations Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.0% LOW opened at $218.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $216.00 and a 200-day moving average of $234.87. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $199.40 and a 12-month high of $293.06.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.06. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 67.96% and a net margin of 7.51%.The firm had revenue of $23.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.92 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Lowe’s Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.250-12.750 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 22nd. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 42.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 9,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.81, for a total transaction of $2,097,477.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,142 shares in the company, valued at $3,628,883.02. The trade was a 36.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.83, for a total transaction of $559,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,220 shares in the company, valued at $4,525,842.60. This trade represents a 11.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 25,980 shares of company stock worth $5,796,937 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Profile (Free Report)

Lowe’s Companies, Inc is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and digital channels serving both do-it-yourself homeowners and professional contractors. The company offers a broad assortment of products including building materials, lumber, appliances, tools and hardware, plumbing and electrical supplies, paint, flooring, kitchen and bath fixtures, outdoor and garden products, and home decor. Lowe’s also provides a range of services such as installation, home improvement financing, tool and equipment rental, and contractor-focused sales programs.

Operations are centered on a nationwide brick-and-mortar store network supported by distribution centers and an e-commerce platform that enables online ordering, delivery and in-store pickup.

See Also Five stocks we like better than Lowe’s Companies Sony and TSMC’s $4.7 Billion Venture Is About More Than Camera Sensors Quantum Leaps: Debt-Free as AI Storage Demand Accelerates NVIDIA’s $500 Billion GPU Financing Deal Fuels Path Toward $270 Sandisk’s Margins Look Like Software. Can They Last?

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« PREVIOUS HEADLINEAMS Capital Ltda Sells 58,778 Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Li Xiaodong, the chairman and CEO of Sea Limited (SE -1.12%), reported a sale of about 1.1 million Class A ordinary shares on August 11, according to a recent SEC Form 4 filing.

Transaction summaryMetricValueShares sold~1.1 millionTransaction value$137.3 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($129.80); post-transaction value based on the August 11 market close ($131.51).

Key questionsHow does the transaction timing relate to the stock's performance?
The sale occurred while the stock was priced at $129.80 per share; shares have fallen over 30% this past year.Who manages the indirect equity involved in this filing?
About 288,000 remaining indirectly held shares are maintained through a BVI entity. This entity was also the vehicle for the current disposition of ~1.1 million shares, emphasizing the insider's use of separate legal structures for portfolio management.Is this activity part of a broader liquidity strategy?
The use of a Rule 10b5-1 plan, adopted nearly a year prior to execution, indicates the transaction was a structured liquidity event rather than a discretionary response to immediate market conditions or internal corporate developments.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-08-12)$128.11Market Capitalization$70 billionRevenue (TTM)$25.2 billionNet Income (TTM)$1.6 billionCompany SnapshotSea Limited operates a diversified digital platform ecosystem spanning digital entertainment through its Garena brand, e-commerce operations, and digital financial services across Southeast Asia, Latin America, and other international markets.The company generates revenue through multiple channels, including in-game monetization and eSports events within its gaming platform, transaction fees and marketplace commissions from e-commerce operations, and financial services offerings, including payments and lending solutions.Sea Limited serves a broad base of consumers and merchants across emerging markets, with particular strength in Southeast Asia, targeting digitally native users seeking gaming entertainment, online shopping, and financial services solutions.Sea Limited is a leading digital platform operator with a market capitalization of $70 billion, generating $25.2 billion in TTM revenue across three core business segments. The company leverages its diversified portfolio to capture multiple revenue streams within high-growth emerging markets, establishing a competitive moat through integrated digital services that drive cross-platform user engagement and ecosystem stickiness.

What this transaction means for investorsLi's sale ran on a plan set nearly a year ago, so its timing has nothing to do with the strong quarter that just landed, and the roughly 1.1 million shares that moved came through a BVI holding entity while he keeps far more. This is one of multiple Sea insiders trimming into the results, and none of it reads as conviction fading, given how the business is performing.

The quarter was a standout. Sea grew second-quarter revenue 48% to $7.8 billion, with all three arms firing, Shopee lifting e-commerce GMV to $38.3 billion, its Monee fintech unit growing revenue 59% as its loan book expanded 62% to $11.1 billion, and Garena bookings up 15%. Management reaffirmed its target of $1 billion in full-year Shopee profit. On the fintech engine, Li said Monee's risk improvements mean "each improvement helps us serve more users." For long-term investors, one caution worth holding is credit. Monee's loan book is growing fast, past $11 billion, including a push into Brazil, and while soured loans sit at just 1%, aggressive lending in newer markets is where a fast-growing fintech's risks tend to surface if the economy turns.

Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Sea Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Table of contents

Ondo Stocks has crossed $1 billion in total value, a threshold that carries more weight for on-chain market structure than for the round number itself. The update was included in the original report from Ondo Finance, which also pointed to additional ecosystem milestones tied to its recently launched perpetual products.

The move puts tokenized equities in a different conversation. A $1 billion value pool is still small compared with tokenized Treasury or stablecoin markets, but it changes how traders and institutions evaluate on-chain equity access. Rather than treating Ondo Stocks as an experimental window into US equities, market participants may begin pricing it as durable infrastructure for off-hours trading, collateral use, and portfolio construction across chains.

Tokenized equities occupy a middle position between stablecoins and private credit. They are more volatile than cash equivalents but more familiar to traditional investors than lending pools. That middle position may explain why the threshold has arrived now: after years of regulatory ambiguity, some investors are using tokenized wrappers to gain exposure without moving capital into native crypto assets.

That shift fits a broader pattern in tokenized real-world assets. The infrastructure around custody, settlement, and compliance has been consolidating quickly, and Ondo has been one of the more visible names testing how regulated assets can move across traditional and decentralized rails. The tokenization complex is not waiting for a single regulatory framework to mature; it is building around existing rules where it can.

Why a $1 billion threshold changes positioning
The market reads milestones like this through liquidity and persistence. A platform that reaches $1 billion in value has survived enough trading cycles to be evaluated by market makers, arbitrageurs, and risk teams. That is different from a newly launched product with volatile volume.

For Ondo Finance, the milestone also reduces some of the narrative risk around tokenized equities. Equity tokens face sharper regulatory questions than most tokenized assets because they touch investor protection rules, trading venue definitions, and asset eligibility concerns. Passing a size threshold does not resolve those questions, but it gives the project a larger base of users and counterparties who have accepted the current structure.

Still, the announcement leaves plenty unresolved. The source material does not provide a breakdown of the $1 billion by product, region, or holder type. It is unclear how much of that value is driven by retail flow versus institutional placement, or how much of the ecosystem surge reflects incentives rather than organic use. Those details will matter for any serious assessment of durability.

Regulatory timing adds another layer. US lawmakers have been negotiating a crypto market structure bill that could alter how digital asset platforms handle securities, and banking interests have been pushing for changes just before key votes. That policy fight remains far from settled, but it sits directly behind the tokenized equity business because so much of the product design depends on the line between a token and a security.

The ecosystem signal behind the headline number
Ondo’s update goes beyond the equities platform. The mention of recently launched perpetual products suggests the project is trying to widen the use cases around tokenized exposure. Perpetual contracts are a very different risk surface from spot equities, and tying them into the same ecosystem could attract traders who would not otherwise hold a tokenized stock position.

That expansion strategy is common in crypto when liquidity is fragmented. A platform announces a flagship metric while simultaneously pointing to new product lines that can recycle existing user attention and collateral. The risk is that ecosystem metrics become less transparent as the product suite grows, especially when assets with different settlement mechanics are bundled into a single headline.

For developers and infrastructure providers, the milestone is another data point in a competition that is quietly heating up. The networks best positioned to host tokenized equities need more than developer activity; they need predictable throughput, native identity tooling, and reliable oracle access for off-chain prices and corporate actions.

What the market should watch next
The immediate focus will be on whether the $1 billion value pool is sticky. Tokenized asset platforms can show sharp expansions when incentives, liquidity programs, or specific market conditions align. The stronger test is whether activity remains after the promotional phase and whether the platform can handle a down cycle in traditional equities.

There is also the question of interoperability. Ondo Stocks may have crossed $1 billion, but if that value is locked in isolated venues or dependent on one custodian, the broader market impact will be limited. The more useful signal would be movement of tokenized equities across multiple chains, collateral venues, and DeFi protocols without breaking compliance controls.

For now, the report gives market participants a concrete number around a trend that has been building without many clean data points. It frames Ondo Stocks as more than a niche product at the same time that it leaves enough ambiguity for cautious observers to keep asking how much of that value is genuinely new capital entering the on-chain market.

AUTHOR

Mysterious crypto writer with expertise in blockchain, offering deep insights that captivate and intrigue readers. With a unique ability to uncover hidden insights and trends, Samuel delivers in-depth analysis and thought-provoking content that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. His writing style is engaging and informative, blending technical knowledge with a sense of intrigue, making complex crypto topics accessible to both newcomers and seasoned industry professionals. Samuel’s work continues to capture the attention of the crypto community, solidifying his reputation as a trusted voice in the space.

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Every AI story eventually runs into the same wall: power. Data centers can only pull so much electricity from the grid, and chips can only move data so fast before the network becomes the bottleneck instead of the processor. 

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) posted $81.7 billion in revenue for its fiscal first quarter, up 85% year-over-year, with data center revenue alone hitting $75.2 billion. That kind of growth doesn’t come from selling faster chips alone — it comes from controlling the whole system those chips live in. Now, Nvidia just took its boldest step yet toward owning the wiring, not just the brains, of the AI factory.

The Networking Bottleneck Nvidia Just Solved
Nvidia just announced its Spectrum-X Ethernet Photonics platform entered full mass production, becoming the first co-packaged optics (CPO) Ethernet switch built for 200G-per-lane volume shipping. 

Traditional AI data centers link GPUs using pluggable optical transceivers — separate components that convert electrical signals to light and back again. At the scale of a million-GPU cluster, that’s a liability: more lasers to fail, more power draw, more heat.

Nvidia’s fix was to solder the optics directly onto the switch chip. The results are 4 times fewer lasers, 5x lower network power consumption, 10x better resiliency at scale, and a 64x improvement in signal integrity. Optical loss dropped from roughly 22 decibels to about 4. Translation for shareholders: fewer parts breaking down, lower electricity bills for customers, and a network that keeps pace as clusters scale into the millions of GPUs.

CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV), Lambda, and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) are the first customers, with production having ramped from May through July before reaching full volume. That’s not a science project — that’s revenue.

Nvidia is no longer just building the brains of AI—it’s seizing control of the entire circulatory system to crush the power bottlenecks stopping its rivals cold.

The Supply Chain Nvidia Is Building Around
Nvidia doesn’t manufacture silicon photonics alone, and that’s where the thesis broadens beyond one ticker. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) handles the advanced silicon photonics fabrication, with packaging capex rising toward 20% of TSM’s planned $52 billion to $56 billion 2026 budget. Advanced packaging made up roughly 8% of TSM’s revenue in 2025, and is expected to top 10% in 2026. TSM trades at a trailing P/E near 30, against a 10-year median closer to 20, so investors are already paying up for this growth.

Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ:LITE) supplies lasers and optics into the CPO buildout and has secured multi-hundred-million-dollar CPO orders for delivery in the first half of calendar 2027. Its fiscal Q4 revenue hit $1.01 billion, more than doubling year-over-year, with adjusted EPS of $3.23 — also more than double the prior year. Next-quarter guidance of $1.225 billion to $1.275 billion in revenue topped Wall Street’s estimates.

Company
Trailing P/E
Recent Revenue Growth (YoY)

Nvidia
34
85% (Q1 FY2027)

TSM
28
100% (H1 FY2026)

Lumentum Holdings
n/a
83%+ (FY2026)

Why This Deepens Nvidia’s Moat
Owning the switch-to-optics integration doesn’t just make Nvidia’s network faster — it makes the ecosystem stickier. A hyperscaler building around Spectrum-X Photonics buys into Nvidia’s InfiniBand, NVLink, and Ethernet roadmap all at once. Nvidia’s networking revenue nearly tripled to $14.8 billion in fiscal Q2 2026, up 199% year over year — this is becoming its own growth engine, not a side project. Granted, Nvidia’s trailing P/E of roughly 34 sits well below its five-year average near 69, so the market isn’t pricing this as a moonshot.

That said, competition isn’t standing still. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) is projecting 64% EPS growth for 2026 with a PEG ratio near 0.4 to 0.5, a cheaper entry for the same AI infrastructure trend. And CPO manufacturing yields remain the swing factor: Yole Group pegs the entire data-center CPO market at roughly $46 million in 2024, growing to $8.1 billion by 2030 — a 137% compound annual growth rate on a market that’s still tiny today.

Key Takeaway
Nvidia isn’t just selling chips anymore — it’s selling the highway those chips talk over, and it’s pulling Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Lumentum along for the ride. 

For investors already holding Nvidia, this reinforces the bull case: a widening moat backed by real revenue. For those wanting exposure without Nvidia’s premium, TSM and Lumentum offer picks-and-shovels entry points — though the latter’s 708% gain over the last year already prices in much of that 2027 CPO ramp. 

In any case, the network is no longer an afterthought in the AI story. Nvidia just planted its flag first.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

58 min ago

2 min read

The Kremlin in Moscow (Artem Beliaikin/Unsplash)Summary

Moscow and parts of Kursk banned crypto mining and pool participation through Dec. 31, 2032, under government decree No. 936 to preserve power grid stability.The Energy Ministry enacted the year-round restriction to mitigate power-capacity shortages as energy-intensive mining facilities continue to strain regional grids.This decision follows Russia's legalization of registered mining in 2024 and subsequent bans in 10 other regions due to rising electricity demand.Crypto mining was banned in Moscow, the surrounding Moscow Region and parts of Kursk, with the restrictions set to run through Dec. 31, 2032.

The measure, established under government decree No. 936, also prohibits participation in crypto mining pools. The decree was signed on July 25 and published on July 31, local media reports.

Russia as a whole accounted for an estimated 175 exahashes per second, or 16.4% of Bitcoin’s global computing power, in the first quarter, according to Luxor’s Hashrate Index. That placed it second behind the U.S., although it’s unclear what capacity was located in the newly restricted region.

The country’s Energy Ministry said a year-round restriction was needed to reduce the risk of power-capacity shortages as energy-intensive mining facilities connect to regional grids. Mining currently consumes roughly 1 gigawatt in the Moscow power system, while the region’s data-center capacity could reach 3.6 GW, or 17% of peak demand, by 2032, Interfax reported after the decree was first signed.

Mining is also linked to the country’s Western sanctions.

Russian companies had been using domestically mined bitcoin in international payments after legal changes designed to counter Western restrictions, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in December 2024.

Legislation passed by parliament in July maintained Russia’s ban on domestic crypto payments but preserved exceptions for foreign-trade settlements and transactions involving mined cryptocurrency, keeping the mechanism available as sanctions restrict conventional payment channels.

Adding to that, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned BitRiver and 10 subsidiaries in 2022, saying Russian mining companies helped the country monetize its energy resources and could offset the impact of sanctions.

Russia legalized registered crypto mining back in 2024, before banning the activity in 10 regions through March 2031, citing electricity demand. Year-round restrictions were later extended to southern Irkutsk and most areas of Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai.

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Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness

Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness

Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.

Jun 30, 2026

Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.

Why it matters:

Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.

Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Planning for the Cardano Dijkstra era hard fork is on track with no changes to the agreed-upon scope and target dates, Intersect said in its latest report.

Dijkstra's initial rollout is expected to be done in two phases, with the implementation of Linear Leios with Nested Transactions and Peras, respectively. The current goal of the Haskell node team is to deliver Phase 1 (Nested Transactions and Linear Leios) to Cardano Mainnet by the end of 2026, which will offer an incremental rollout of key Dijkstra capabilities, while Phase 2 (Peras) will be activated in an intra-era hard fork scheduled for Q2 2027.

Happy Friday! The Weekly Update #124 is out.

Dijkstra progress, CAP is live, MLabs wraps three projects, and a vote to keep the Constitutional Committee whole.

Catch up on the Intersect overview of this week in Cardano👇https://t.co/vqrxMfRWC0

HOT Stories

— Intersect (@IntersectMBO) August 14, 2026 An interesting development around Dijkstra is the continued progress of alternative Cardano node implementations. This is important because node diversity can give Cardano increased resilience by reducing dependence on a single implementation.

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In this light, progress on Amaru, a fully open-source Cardano node implementation written in Rust, was highlighted in Intersect's report. The Amaru team confirmed that its node is currently relay-capable, validating and syncing to tip, with mainnet block production targeted for November 2026, Intersect stated.  

Amaru aims to implement a new, fully interoperable block-producing node for Cardano, providing another perspective and solution for stake pool operators and developers while prioritizing a modular approach and low hardware requirements.

Cardano governance update taking shapeCardano is preparing a small, purely technical update to its Constitution ahead of the Dijkstra era, so the network's newest capabilities are fully governable from day one.

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Dijkstra introduces major upgrades, including Ouroboros Leios, which brings new updatable protocol parameters. Cardano's Constitution follows a strict rule: any protocol parameter not explicitly listed in the Constitution's Guardrails cannot be changed by governance.

The intent is to introduce the parameters for all Dijkstra features in a single Constitution change with one cohesive proposal, rather than several.

According to Intersect, work is progressing on governance and community participation surrounding Dijkstra and future hard forks. Constitutional amendments associated with the Dijkstra era now have a defined path for community discussion, submission, and enactment through the newly established Constitutional Amendment Portal (CAP), supported by the Civics Committee.

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States are recording notable outflows, with total holdings shrinking by 917 BTC in recent trading sessions. The value of these outflows stands at approximately $57.63 million, representing a significant shift among institutional investors.

Institutional outflows hit Bitcoin ETFsMajor U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, including those operated by investment giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity, led the net decrease in Bitcoin assets over the past two days. The cumulative outflow now exceeds the total Bitcoin mined within the same period, signaling a period of increased selling pressure from large institutional holders.

This trend is viewed by market analysts as a potential indicator of caution among big players, as funds reduce their exposure in the current market environment. The selling activity in these ETFs draws attention to the evolving sentiment in institutional circles.

Bitcoin ETFs experienced 917 BTC in net outflows, equivalent to $57.63 million, with BlackRock and Fidelity among the major managers reducing positions.

Bitcoin’s supply on exchanges continues to decline at the same time, possibly reflecting efforts by investors to hold assets in private wallets. The combined effect of ETF redemptions and wider on-chain outflows has led some to anticipate tighter liquidity conditions ahead.

Chainlink sees notable ETF inflowsWhile Bitcoin ETFs have experienced net selling, the trend has shifted in the case of Chainlink, a decentralized oracle network designed to facilitate secure communication between blockchains and external data sources. In recent trading, ETFs acquired 163,280 LINK, equating to $1.47 million in value. This represents growing institutional interest in the altcoin, with some investors considering Chainlink as a diversification play as Bitcoin faces more volatility.

Analysts have pointed out that inflows into Chainlink ETFs may support the network’s position in the broader crypto market, especially as flows in major coins appear subdued.

Mini dictionary: Chainlink is a decentralized oracle platform that connects smart contracts with external real-world data, enabling blockchain applications to securely access information from outside networks.

AssetETF FlowValueBitcoin-917 BTC$57.63 million (outflow)Chainlink+163,280 LINK$1.47 million (inflow)Market outlook and sentimentAs Bitcoin price remains near $62,980, ongoing ETF outflows and shrinking on-exchange supplies create a unique dynamic that may influence price swings in the short term. Observers have noted that institutional moves are occurring as market sentiment holds in the Fear zone, which may contribute to uncertainty among individual traders.

Many investors are closely watching how continued redemptions from Bitcoin ETFs might affect overall liquidity, while the positive trend in Chainlink flows could indicate shifting preferences among funds seeking exposure to alternative digital assets.

Ongoing ETF outflows and tighter supply could directly impact liquidity and price dynamics, leading to heightened volatility.

Looking ahead, market participants are expected to track changes in ETF activity for both Bitcoin and emerging altcoins, assessing their potential impact on broader price action as institutional sentiment evolves.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Wyoming’s state-issued stablecoin is drawing increased attention from the digital asset community following fresh insights into its technical infrastructure and network integrations. Recent findings presented by cryptocurrency researcher SMQKE highlight new connections between the Wyoming Stable Token and several prominent blockchain platforms.

Major blockchain integrations revealedSMQKE reported that the Wyoming Stable Token, also known as FRNT, has established integrations with the XRP Ledger, Stellar, and Hedera networks. These developments are based on materials that detail how the stablecoin ecosystem interacts with established blockchain technologies as Wyoming advances its digital currency efforts.

The documentation referenced by SMQKE presents integration support for both the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Stellar networks through the Fireblocks platform. According to these materials, XRP and XLM benefit from Fireblocks’ network support, while HBAR is utilized as a bridging option within the state’s digital asset framework.

A network diagram included in the shared resources displays Fireblocks’ compatibility with Ripple’s XRPL, Stellar, and a range of EVM-compatible blockchains. The same overview lists over 20 supported stablecoins, including USDC and USDT, highlighting Fireblocks’ role in Wyoming’s approach to multi-chain operability.

The Wyoming Stable Token Commission’s official information confirms Fireblocks as a key technology partner. Their published materials describe a multichain issuance process, emphasizing flexibility across various blockchain environments. FRNT is currently accessible for public purchase on Kraken, and the Commission adds that the token can also be acquired on Solana and bridged to Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Ethereum, Hedera, Optimism, and Polygon through Stargate’s infrastructure.

Following claims that XRP, XLM, and HBAR themselves would be used for the Wyoming stablecoin, a clarification emerged from blockchain commentator Jeremy Bureau. He pointed out a critical distinction between integrating with a blockchain network versus directly utilizing its native asset. Bureau explained that the public documents reference the XRPL as part of the ecosystem but do not explicitly state that XRP will be used by the Wyoming stablecoin.

He referenced Wyoming’s earlier treasury bond pilot, which operated over the XRPL but did not involve XRP as a transactional asset. Bureau’s remarks encourage careful interpretation when distinguishing between infrastructure use and underlying token utility.

Bureau emphasized that participation of XRPL in the stablecoin network does not mean XRP itself is being used. The documentation specifically cites the XRPL platform without mentioning XRP as the native token for the stablecoin.

This clarification is significant in understanding the state’s digital asset strategy. The available documents identify XRPL, Stellar, and Hedera among the networks enabled through the integration framework, while the presence of native tokens such as XRP and XLM remains limited to network-level access and not direct stablecoin issuance.

Wall Street trends and RWA tokenizationAs stablecoin projects like Wyoming’s expand onto multiple blockchains, broader trends in finance are accelerating the shift toward tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). While traditional finance often relies on a web of intermediaries, the transition to Web3 is facilitating direct asset ownership. Platforms such as 1stepSwap now allow investors to hold shares of leading US companies, gold, and silver directly in their crypto wallets. By tokenizing RWAs and instantly locating the most competitive market prices, these solutions streamline transactions and remove middlemen from the process.

Wyoming’s stablecoin infrastructure underscores a push for broad interoperability, leveraging XRPL, Stellar, and Hedera to enable access and bridging across multiple networks. Yet, the direct use of native tokens such as XRP or XLM for the issuance of FRNT has not been shown in official materials.

The Wyoming Stable Token initiative continues to signal the state’s ambition to lead US efforts for regulated, blockchain-based financial infrastructure, with a clear focus on interoperability and broad market access.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Cover image via U.Today

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.

Solana (SOL) is now available on the XRP Ledger DEX, Hussein Zangana (Vet), XRP Ledger Foundation director of community, revealed in a recent post. Wrapped and issued by Axelar, this move connects Solana and the XRP Ledger.

As the XRP DEX is native, users will be able to access Solana on XRP Ledger-based platforms. They can swap SOL on the XRPL DEX through the XPMarket, First Ledger, and Magnetic platforms. They can also access SOL directly within Xaman Wallet through the Swap widget.

The move follows a trend that has increased since 2025 and continues in 2026, opening up new paths for several assets to move across chains, with XRP having gone live on Solana earlier.

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Wrapped XRP (wXRP), issued by Hex Trust, went live on Solana in April, making the token available for the first time through Solana's DeFi apps (Jupiter, Phantom, Titan Exchange, and Meteora). wXRP, which is tradable with RLUSD, can be used on supported blockchains, including Solana, Optimism, Ethereum, and HyperEVM.

Warning issuedWith a new interoperability milestone unlocked with Solana now available on the XRPL DEX, Vet issued a crucial warning to the XRP community. He noted that currently Axelar is the only legitimate issuer of Wrapped SOL, urging XRPL users to beware of fake tokens.

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Vet added that platforms that support Wrapped SOL on the XRPL, including XPMarket, First Ledger, Magnetic, and Xaman Wallet, have given the token a checkmark to make it easier to identify. He shared a screenshot from XRPScan to explain what he meant.

As seen in the screenshot, the account name or the issuer is listed as Axelar Bridge with a checkmark. This will enable users to differentiate the original issuer from fake ones, which are those without a checkmark.

However, users should not rely only on the token name or the ticker. They should verify the issuer address and cross-check with reliable sources before trading.

Middleby (MIDD +0.76%) has always been a relatively difficult business to evaluate. Its acquisitive approach leads to constantly changing and moving parts. Long-time shareholders have been well rewarded, though.

Through July 6, when it spun off its food processing unit, Middleby's stock has more than doubled the S&P 500 index's return over the past 20 years, soaring 1,150%. After this week's first earnings report since the spin-off, though, shares sank 12.3%, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

With a simplified structure and newly raised guidance, this week's drop looks like a great chance for investors to own Middleby.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Unlocking value On July 6, Middley completed the spin-off of its food processing business into a new publicly traded company, Midera Food Processing. Existing Middleby shareholders were issued shares of Midera common stock. Middleby has now become a pure-play commercial foodservice business.

Management now sees sales growing between 6% and 8% in the foodservice business this year. Its earnings per share (EPS) guidance implies a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of under 17.5, too. Middleby is a leader in commercial foodservice, with large global restaurant chains and retailers as customers.

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That P/E compares favorably to large restaurant chains, including Yum! Brands and McDonald's. It looks like investors who can sift through the nuances of the restructured company could do well to buy Middleby stock after this week's drop.

Howard Smith has positions in Middleby and Midera Food Processing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Middleby and Midera Food Processing. The Motley Fool recommends Yum! Brands and recommends the following options: long January 2028 $320 calls on McDonald's and short January 2028 $340 calls on McDonald's. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Tesla (TSLA +0.68%) shareholders approved what could become the largest executive compensation package in corporate history. If Elon Musk achieves every performance target over the next decade, the award could eventually be worth roughly $1 trillion. That's massive.

Many criteria must be met before the award is given, and one number stands above all the others: $8.5 trillion. That's the market capitalization Tesla must reach for Musk to earn the maximum stock award under the new compensation plan.

To put that in perspective, Tesla is currently worth roughly $1.34 trillion, meaning the company would need to grow by roughly 635% to hit the final valuation milestone. Indeed, that may sound unrealistic, but it's important to understand how the package works.

Image source: Getty Images.

A structure that rewards shareholders Unlike a traditional salary or cash bonus, Musk only earns these bonus shares if Tesla meets a series of performance hurdles. Those include market capitalization targets as well as additional operational milestones designed to ensure the company's financial performance keeps pace with its valuation.

This structure will reward shareholders, assuming Tesla becomes dramatically more valuable. So this is less about whether Musk deserves the compensation and more about whether these incentives encourage decisions that increase long-term value. Supporters argue they do.

Does Musk have too much influence? If Tesla reaches an $8.5 trillion market value, shareholders will own a slightly smaller piece of the company, but it would be a much more valuable company. That's the trade-off built into the compensation plan.

But critics see it differently. They argue that the targets place too much emphasis on market capitalization, which can be influenced by investor sentiment as much as business fundamentals. Others have questioned whether such a large equity award gives Musk excessive influence over a public company that already depends heavily on his leadership.

Not a trivial amount of capital expenditures Tesla remains in the middle of one of the largest investment cycles in its history. The company is spending heavily on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, autonomous driving, robotics, and manufacturing capacity. Management believes those investments, not just traditional electric vehicle sales, will ultimately determine whether Tesla can justify a much higher valuation over time.

Recent quarterly capital expenditures, by the way, reached $5.8 billion, reflecting the company's aggressive push into AI and robotics. That exceeds what Domino's generated in revenue in all of 2025. Make no mistake: $5.8 billion in one quarter is not trivial.

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No guarantees Ultimately, Musk's compensation package doesn't really guarantee anything, but it does set an extraordinarily high bar that few companies have ever approached. Whether Tesla eventually reaches an $8.5 trillion market value will depend less on the compensation plan itself and more on whether the company can successfully commercialize autonomous driving, scale its robotics business, and build entirely new revenue streams beyond selling electric vehicles. If it does, shareholders are likely to benefit alongside Musk.

ToplineA coalition of Amazon Teamsters, the Alliance for a Greater New York and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union rallied at New York City Hall to push passage of the Mayor Zohran Mamdani-backed “Delivery Protection Act” that would require Amazon to employ all last-mile delivery drivers in the city rather than rely on subcontractors.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 3: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers a speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States of America at City Hall on July 3, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Anna Connors - Pool/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Key FactsThe Delivery Protection Act would prohibit Amazon, FedEx and other logistics companies from using third-party contractors for last-mile deliveries and core warehouse services throughout the five New York City boroughs.

Joining the Teamsters in support of the Act are the AFL-CIO-affiliated New York City Central Labor Council and a supermajority of city council members.

Opposition comes from a broad-based business coalition—Amazon, FedEx, logistics and trucking firms, all five borough chambers of commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Tech: NYC, the Supply Chain Federation, the Trucking Association of New York, the Five Borough Jobs Campaign and others.

A study commissioned by the Five Borough Jobs Campaign estimated passage would increase annual delivery costs to New York households by $664 and threaten more than 10,000 city workers.

With the bill pending a City Council vote, supporters have intensified their efforts to push the vote forward after Mayor Mamdani threw his support behind it—calling Amazon’s contractor-based delivery model exploitative and a danger to NYC workers, drivers and pedestrians.

Key BackgroundFirst introduced last September by Queens council member Tiffany Cabán and carried over into 2026, the Delivery Protection Act would require a license to operate any last-mile facilities in the city and mandate that all delivery and warehouse hubs operate with employees not contract workers. Supporters of the Act claim that Amazon uses its third-party Delivery Service Providers model to “underpay workers, ignore unsafe working conditions, and shield itself from accountability when it breaks the law or endangers communities.”

Crucial Quote“Corporations like Amazon build billion-dollar business models by insulating themselves from accountability through a system of exploitative subcontracting,” said Mayor Mamdani. Calling the Delivery Protection Act a commonsense regulation to protect workers, he added, “It’s time to end the subcontracting model that puts profits over people and build an economy that works for working New Yorkers.”

Amazon Defends Its DSP Business ModelAmazon argues the Delivery Protect Act would negatively impact more than 40 Delivery Service Providers and threaten over 5,000 jobs at these small business partners. In testimony submitted in April, the company said that DSP drivers earn an average of nearly $24 per hour in wages, with full-time drivers receiving health care coverage and paid time off that exceed city minimums. Many DSP firms also offer additional benefits, including retirement accounts and tuition reimbursement. Amazon also cited more than $2.5 billion invested in safety initiatives since 2019, including an in-person Last Mile Driver Academy that has trained over 180,000 drivers, camera-equipped delivery vans and more than 800 electric cargo bikes deployed in Manhattan and Brooklyn. If the Act passes, Amazon warned it may be forced to relocate its 10 distribution centers outside New York City, resulting in slower delivery times to customers.

Chief CriticThe Wall Street Journal Editorial Board argues that the Delivery Protect Act is a test case for the Teamsters and its allies to eliminate subcontracted delivery work nationwide. The board points to United Parcel Service laying off tens of thousands of workers, attributing the cuts in part to the cost of its 2023 Teamsters labor contract. It claims Amazon’s flexible and efficient third-party DPS network is now delivering many of the packages that unionized UPS drivers would previously have handled. Noting that the National Labor Relations Act prohibits subcontracted and independent contractors to unionize, the board wrote, “Abolishing the independent contracting model has been a longtime goal of the political left, and they don’t mind if they run over the little guy in the process.”

TangentAmazon has been at odds with the New York political establishment before. In 2019, Amazon scuttled plans to open a second NYC headquarters in Queens after opposition from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, state senators and local activists—a move that cost the city an estimated 25,000 high-paying jobs. At the time, Governor Andrew Cuomo blasted the decision, stating “a small group of politicians put their own narrow political interests above their community.”

Further ReadingAmazon Workers Rally at NYC City Hall as Delivery Bill Gains Momentum (Sourcing Journal)

Mamdani Wants to Deliver Amazon to the Teamsters (Wall Street Journal)

A Fight Brews Between Mamdani and Amazon Over Delivery Workers (New York Times)

Cloud computing has become ground zero for artificial intelligence (AI) development. The large cloud infrastructure companies provide platforms where developers can create their AI apps, which is where the magic happens.

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (GOOGL -0.13%) and Oracle (ORCL -3.65%) are the third- and fourth-largest cloud infrastructure companies globally, according to Statista, accounting for 14% and 4% of the market, respectively. They're both enjoying high growth in AI and are well-positioned for the future. But which is the better AI stock to buy now and hold for the next five years?

Alphabet is a leader in artificial intelligence thanks to its widely used large language model (LLM), Gemini. It has an edge in its Google Search-native integration as well as its Android and Chrome integrations, bringing it straight to where users already are.

Image source: Google.

Gemini use continues to increase, and Google has been rapidly releasing new features and upgrades that offer greater value. Some second-quarter highlights included the launch of Gemini 3.6 Flash, which offers better cost efficiency for budget customers, and the rollout of the AI video generator Omni. Since Omni's debut in May, there has been a 40% increase in the number of daily active users creating videos on Gemini. Strong AI-driven engagement led to an 82% year-over-year increase in Google Cloud revenue in the second quarter.

Alphabet has been reporting consistently strong performances in terms of both revenue growth and operating margin.

MetricQ2 2026Q1 2026Q4 2025Q3 2025Revenue growth (YOY)24%22%18%16%Operating margin (YOY)34%36.1%31.6%30.5% Data source: Alphabet quarterly reports. YOY = year over year.

However, the market was not happy to hear that management was boosting its already lofty plans for capital expenditures this year by $15 billion. Previously, the company had guided for capex in the range of $180 billion to $190 billion. But on the Q2 earnings call, Alphabet updated that to a $195 billion to $205 billion range, and warned that it was planning for even higher outlays next year. Alphabet says this kind of spending on AI infrastructure is a necessity if it's going to stay competitive, and says that it will pay off -- eventually.

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In Alphabet's favor, it has several interconnected businesses in markets where it's a leader, starting with Search, where it has a breathtaking 90% market share, and including mobile operating system Android and video streaming platform YouTube.

"Our AI investments are redefining what's possible across every part of our business," said CEO Sundar Pichai on the Q2 earnings call, and considering all of its businesses, there's going to be a lot happening at Alphabet over the next five years. It also doesn't hurt the investment case that Berkshire Hathaway has recently made Alphabet one of its top stock holdings.

The case for Oracle Oracle has been a leader in database storage for years, and it has lately turned to AI, like many other tech companies. It's building out data centers to capitalize on the opportunity, but its stock tanked last year as the market reacted to massive spending that sent its free cash flow into negative territory. The stock is now 53% off its recent high.

So far, Oracle's business has continued to demonstrate momentum despite what you might expect based on its plunging stock price.

MetricQ4 Fiscal 2026Q3 Fiscal 2026Q2 Fiscal 2026Q1 Fiscal 2026Revenue growth (YOY)21%22%14%12%Operating margin (YOY)32%32%29%29% Data source: Oracle quarterly reports. Oracle's fiscal 2026 ended May 31. YOY = year over year.

Oracle's cloud platform works differently from Alphabet's. It has partnerships with all of the large cloud companies so that its user base has many options, and they can toggle between platforms through a unified interface on Oracle's network.

It also has its legacy database business, which is benefiting from changes in AI. Oracle rolled out more than 1,000 AI agents in the second quarter, making its offerings more efficient and valuable.

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Unlike most other large cloud companies, which have the cash to invest in their AI build-outs, Oracle is raising capital to invest in capturing a share of the opportunity. It raised between $45 billion and $50 billion in its fiscal 2026 through a combination of debt issuance and stock sales, and plans to raise another $40 billion in fiscal 2027.

Management isn't worried about the debt, since it has a backlog of funded contract value in its remaining performance obligations (RPO), which will lead to high quarterly revenue growth. In its latest fiscal quarter, RPO increased 363% year over year to $638 billion, and management gave a five-year outlook anticipating a 31% compound annual growth rate.

The verdict For one last comparison, let's take a look at how Alphabet and Oracle stack up across several valuation metrics.

ORCL PE Ratio data by YCharts.

The answer to the question of which of these stocks is more expensive depends on the metric you're looking at, but the differences aren't significant enough to say one is much more expensive than the other, so I would call this comparison a wash.

Both companies are growing at similar rates today, and they both have large opportunities in cloud computing. However, I see Alphabet as having the edge. It's cash-flow positive, and its other businesses are flourishing, providing it with a cushion and a way forward beyond the AI realm. While the platform-agnostic position Oracle occupies thanks to its deals with all the cloud computing leaders is an advantage, the progress Alphabet has made in developing money-generating AI apps is an advantage in its own right, too.

Both companies are seeing tailwinds in AI and cloud development, but Alphabet has more to gain as AI enriches the value of a host of services across its enterprise. Therefore, it should be the better stock to own over the next five years.

DETROIT — What's the best advanced driver-assistance system on the market? Ask Rivian Automotive's new artificial intelligence and it will say its creator.

"Rivian's is truly exceptional … an unmatched blend of safety and technology," the chatbot told me during hourslong drives in one of its R1T pickup trucks in which the vehicle largely controlled itself on several Midwest highways.

While the Rivian AI bot may be biased, that's exactly the company's goal with a new generation of vehicle software and technologies: to be the best. Rivian is trying to catch up to — and then surpass — Tesla's FSD (Supervised) capabilities, but with additional safety guardrails that the Elon Musk company doesn't use.

Based on recent drives totaling hundreds of miles, Rivian's Autonomy+ has surpassed legacy competitors such as General Motors' Super Cruise with its ADAS. But it's still playing catch up to Tesla's FSD when it comes to nonhighway driving and point-to-point driving, where a vehicle is designed to navigate itself from start to finish. I drove a recent version of FSD (Supervised) v14 to compare the technology.

Rivian expects to deliver point-to-point driving later this year but, for now, its system is a giant leap forward for the company compared with what it previously offered and is clearly laying the groundwork to better compete with Tesla.

"That's the next step," said James Philbin, senior vice president of autonomy and AI at Rivian. "Tesla's system you use is a point-to-point system. So that that's the next big leap for us in a way, is getting to that same point-to-point type interaction and that system where it really does the full driving task."

To be clear, no vehicle on sale today is self-driving or autonomous. Drivers always need to pay attention and be ready to take over. Many advanced driver-assistance systems, or ADAS, can control a vehicle's speed, braking and steering using cameras, sensors and/or mapping data. An increasing amount of systems allow humans to take their hands off the wheel when in use.

Rivian credits its improvements with its push toward vertical integration that included a new generation of software and electric architecture for its vehicles. It's just beginning to reap the benefits with its ADAS.

The technologies also are increasingly more important to drivers and investors, which are targeting ADAS as growth markets with recurring revenue for automakers.

"We favor self-reliant (and properly-valued) companies that are building next-gen machines using in-house expertise," Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter said in an investor note upgrading Rivian's stock last month. "As volume rises, Rivian should be better able to monetize software & services, a key benefit of vertical integration."

The systems vary in pricing but can be initially included in a vehicle's purchase or bought via subscriptions. Tesla's system is currently $99 a month, according to its website. Rivian's is $49.99 a month or $2,500 to purchase for the lifetime of a vehicle. GM's is $39.99 a month or $399 a year.

Rivian vs. TeslaThe biggest operational difference between ADAS technologies from Tesla and Rivian is their ability to control the vehicle on nonhighway streets with traffic lights and signs.

Rivian's system currently detects those roadway signals, but it does not do anything about them other than alert the driver that they are coming. Meanwhile, Tesla's system handled every signal, interchange and exit ramp I encountered for nearly 200 miles in rural Michigan and downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Based on a decade of experience driving with hands-free ADAS, those two technologies are by far the most advanced. This has not always been the case.

GM, not Tesla, led the development of hands-free highway systems with its Super Cruise, which I initially tested a year before its debut in 2017. But America's largest automaker was slow to roll it out on new vehicles or significantly grow its capabilities other than expanding geographies and making it able to do lane changes.

Ford Motor also quickly caught up to GM on highways, but both continue to lack systems that are capable of hands-free driving on nonhighways. The two automakers are working on that type of technology, including so-called eyes-off capabilities, but they are not expected until 2028.

It's a difficult leap, as Tesla's in-vehicle Grok AI told me during nearly 200 miles of driving in a 2025 Tesla Model Y: "Highways have predictable lanes, speed, fewer pedestrians and clear markings, making sensor fusion and path prediction simpler. City streets bring chaos, intersections, bikes, peds, construction and ambiguous rules that challenge even top AI vision systems."

Challenging for some more than others. During my drives in the Model Y, the vehicle was essentially controlling itself for multiple hours and dozens of miles without intervention on highway and nonhighway roads.

It somewhat effortlessly handled several traffic circles, also known as roundabouts, and parked for me multiple times when arriving at or near destinations, including parallel parking. It also managed a semitruck blocking half a lane on a two-lane road as well as pretty complex construction zones, with Tesla's ADAS sensing each barrel or cone.

The Rivian technology handled highway driving very well with no intervention outside of exit ramps and, at times, construction zones. It also isn't able to change lanes on its own yet, which the company promises is coming soon.

When I asked Rivian about several of my experiences, the company said its vehicles can detect construction objects but it does not always display them on the in-vehicle screen. Its system also still needs assistance in certain locations, such as roundabouts.

Read more CNBC auto newsGM to launch proprietary in-vehicle AI system later this yearWhy Ford believes its 10.2% July U.S. sales decline was still a ‘good’ monthAre Americans ready to embrace tiny 'cars'? These companies think soFerrari CEO says he 'would not change anything' about polarizing Luce EV debutSafety concerns remainAll ADAS technologies — except a Mercedes-Benz system in limited circumstances — still need drivers to monitor the systems, even if they can largely control the vehicle without human intervention for hundreds of miles.

With the rise of "hands-off" technology, industry insiders and regular people alike have raised concerns about driver inattentiveness. Automakers have been largely trying to fight that with driver-facing cameras. But concerns remain about the ADAS handover back to a driver as well as on people over-relying on the systems.

YouTube is filled with examples of drivers misusing such systems, particularly Tesla products, as well as videos of ADAS doing human-like moves but also malfunctioning and needing assistance.

The handover from ADAS to humans can be abrupt and lead to dire circumstances if drivers aren't attentive enough to immediately retake control of the vehicle.

There's also little regulation for the systems, with each company taking different approaches.

"I hope that we can even exceed the Tesla system because of our investments in a more robust sensor stack," Rivian's Philbin said. "We're actually a big believer in multimodal imaging, so cameras and radars, and later on, early next year, lidar as well on the R2."

Rivian's system uses at least 10 high dynamic range cameras, five radars and some map data to assist the vehicle in "seeing" the road. It's also expected to launch vehicles with lidar, or light detection and ranging, that improves a vehicle's "sight." Tesla's system relies on cameras and a "vision-based" setup that some have criticized for not being robust enough, especially under certain conditions.

Tesla's partially automated driving systems have been under scrutiny for many years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier this year said it was escalating a probe into Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) after identifying several crashes, including one fatal incident in which the system failed to alert drivers appropriately about reduced-visibility conditions, such as sun glare or fog.

Philbin said it's those types of circumstances where noncamera technology, including lidar, can better detect potential hazards and objects. My drives were on clear days without any inclement weather.

Still, despite not having many sensors, Tesla's Grok chatbot — developed by Musk's xAI, which merged with SpaceX earlier this year — also felt its brand has the superior system, which is true for many driving situations, at least for now.

"Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is widely rated as the top advanced driver assistance system in 2026 by sources like Motor Trend and others," Grok AI said. It later added, "Rivian's AI Assistant is solid for voice controls, navigation, and vehicle features in their R1 vehicles, but it's still catching up to more advanced systems like ours and full self-driving capabilities."

Merit Medical Systems NASDAQ: MMSI is focused on completing the objectives of its current long-range plan while developing its next strategic framework, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Raul Parra said during a Canaccord investor event.

Parra said the company remains “hyper-focused” on executing its current CGI plan and does not want to “drop the football on the one-yard line.” He said the company is working with CEO Martha on the next three-year plan after she spent time visiting company sites and participating in the strategic-planning process.

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While Parra did not provide new targets, he said Merit is evaluating whether the core metrics used in its past long-range plans remain the right measures for the next plan. Those prior targets included organic revenue growth, operating-margin expansion and cumulative free cash flow. The company has previously presented new plans either in November before a program begins or alongside its fourth-quarter results, though Parra said management is also considering whether to provide the update sooner.

Portfolio Review Could Lead to Targeted Changes
Merit is reviewing its portfolio platform by platform to determine where it is performing well, where it needs improvement and which assets may not fit the company’s strategic call points, Parra said. He described the process as “strategic and surgical,” rather than one involving large divestitures.

The company has assembled businesses across oncology, endoscopy, renal therapies and access through acquisitions, Parra said. While he characterized the portfolio as being in attractive markets and procedures, he said there could be opportunities to prune smaller assets that sit outside Merit's primary call points.

Parra cited the company’s divestiture of DualCap as an example of the type of smaller, targeted action management could consider. He said it was too early to determine whether further changes would extend beyond SKU rationalization or involve additional product-line sales.

Margin Efforts Remain Broad-Based
Parra said Merit has delivered 850 basis points of operating-margin improvement and could approach 950 basis points if it reaches the high end of its current-year guidance. He said the company expects further gains to come from continuing to address a broad range of factors, including pricing, sales mix, new product introductions, acquisitions, manufacturing efficiency, automation, lower-cost production transfers, raw materials, scale and logistics.

Rather than relying on a single initiative, Parra said Merit aims to prevent gains in one area from being offset by weaker execution elsewhere. He described the company as being “perpetually” in the seventh inning of margin work: past the heaviest lifting but still able to apply lessons from its prior transformation efforts consistently.

On capital allocation, Parra said Merit remains interested in tuck-in acquisitions across its existing platforms, depending on available opportunities. Share repurchases have also been part of management’s strategic-planning discussions, he said, particularly after medtech stocks experienced pressure earlier in the year.

Management Points to Guidance for Underlying Growth
Merit reported 9% organic growth in the second quarter, its strongest organic-growth result in three years, along with a 22.6% non-GAAP operating margin. Parra said the quarter benefited from an OEM rebound and resolution of a renal recall, but said the result did not surprise management given the underlying performance seen in the first quarter.

The company raised its organic-growth outlook to 6.9% to 7.5% and its adjusted earnings-per-share outlook to $4.25 to $4.35. Parra directed investors to the full-year guidance as the best measure of the company’s expected run rate, while adding that Merit has not seen unusual demand weakness or softness in procedure volumes beyond normal seasonal patterns.

Parra said hospitals could face pressure from broader reimbursement and funding issues, but Merit’s products generally carry a relatively low average selling price and include products such as access, delivery and closure devices that are required in procedures. He said the company’s broad portfolio, vertical integration and product quality help support its value proposition to health systems.

OneMark, Endoscopy and OEM Highlight Growth Areas
Executive Vice President of Corporate Finance and Treasury Travis McDougal said the OneMark acquisition expands Merit's participation earlier in the patient pathway, including lower-risk biopsies, and increases the company’s addressable market to roughly $1.3 billion. He said OneMark and the SCOUT MD platform can serve as part of a continuum of care, although management has incorporated some potential cannibalization into its guidance.

Parra said the company’s sales force is enthusiastic about having a lower-cost option for cases in which the SCOUT system may not be economically appropriate. He added that the OneMark integration is progressing well.

Merit’s endoscopy business grew 29% year over year. Parra said the company does not promise that growth rate will persist, but management is encouraged by the combination of acquired products and new product introductions. McDougal said the segment’s offerings span a patient pathway that includes GERD treatment, Barrett’s esophagus and Merit's legacy endoscopy products.

Parra also said second-quarter OEM performance was broad-based, supported by a new customer agreement and product deliveries. Management expects additional deliveries to that customer in the second half and said it remains confident in mid- to high-single-digit growth for the OEM business.

On WRAPSODY, Parra reiterated a $7 million target for the current year. After the CGI period, he said management expects WRAPSODY to be discussed within its platform-level business reporting unless it becomes a material growth driver. He said Merit has additional work underway related to the platform but plans to discuss future products closer to approval, when pricing and other commercial dynamics are clearer.

About Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI)Merit Medical Systems, Inc is a global manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of medical devices used in diagnostic and interventional procedures. The company's product portfolio encompasses vascular access, drainage, embolotherapy, and interventional oncology devices, as well as radiofrequency ablation systems and hemostasis solutions. These products serve physicians and hospitals in critical care settings and support minimally invasive treatment options across multiple specialties, including cardiology, radiology, oncology, neurology and endoscopy.

Founded in 1987 by Fred Lampropoulos, Merit Medical Systems has grown through both organic development and targeted acquisitions to expand its technology offerings and geographic reach.

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Hugo Philion, co-founder and CEO of Flare, said Sentora, a major DeFi resource and risk management platform, approved FXRP as an eligible collateral asset.

Philion made the comments in a recent interview with Paul Barron on the Paul Barron Network, where they discussed XRP’s growing use in decentralized finance.

During the interview, Paul Barron noted that XRP ranks around fourth among cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with a market value of about $70 billion. 

However, he pointed out that XRP does not yet have the same role in on-chain lending as Ethereum. According to him, wrapped Bitcoin and stablecoins have already shown how crypto assets can be used as collateral in DeFi.

Barron said this could allow large amounts of idle capital to become more useful. He then asked Philion whether this new use case could help expand XRP’s market base.

Flare Expands XRP Lending Philion said he believes the development should help expand XRP’s market base. He also said Flare has played a leading role in making XRP a collateral asset and has so far seen strong results in this area. 

According to Philion, this progress benefits the XRP community, Ripple, and investors who see XRP as an asset worth holding.

The Flare CEO then highlighted the difference between Flare’s current lending setup and the upcoming XLS-66 protocol. 

He explained that Flare’s integration with Morpho on mainnet and Sentora allows users to borrow RLUSD, with other stablecoins potentially added later, using XRP as collateral. 

With this, a user could provide $1.50 worth of XRP and borrow $1. He said this gives XRP holders a direct way to put their tokens into a lending market and borrow against them. 

However, XLS-66 works differently because it focuses on uncollateralized lending. This method would allow borrowers to arrange their credit rating or payment guarantee off-chain. 

As a result, Philion said XLS-66 does not provide the same function as Flare’s system, where users can use XRP to borrow dollars. He added that Flare plans to keep expanding this market and develop more products around XRP as collateral.

FXRP Addresses Bridge Risks Barron then called attention to the risks involved in using other crypto assets in DeFi. According to him, there are extra risks that can come from wrapping agents and F-assets, as well as the bridge risks involved when assets move between networks. He asked Philion what Flare had done to reduce these risks.

Responding, Philion said scams remain one of the biggest risks users face, especially on Twitter (now X), where fake accounts often pretend to represent Flare and other projects. As for the bridge itself, he said Flare has tested it extensively and designed its structure with security in mind.

Philion then mentioned Sentora’s review as an important sign of confidence. He said Sentora spent several months carrying out due diligence on FXRP, while many of its partner exchanges also reviewed the asset. 

The reviews covered how the bridge operates and how FXRP moves onto Ethereum. After completing those checks, Sentora approved FXRP as an eligible collateral asset.

Philion noted that the decision was a major sign of confidence because Sentora ranks among the largest curators in the DeFi sector. 

Because losses could directly affect its business, the Flare co-founder said Sentora has a strong reason to examine the risks carefully before supporting an asset. As a result, he saw its approval of FXRP as an important vote of confidence.

FXRP Expands Across DeFi FXRP launched on the Flare mainnet on September 24, 2025, as the first asset under the FAssets protocol. Flare initially capped minting at 5 million tokens during the first week, which filled almost immediately.

By February 2026, FXRP’s circulating supply had passed 100 million tokens, worth about $140.10 million at the time. Users had minted the tokens through 38,030 transactions, with more than 60% of the supply staked in Flare-native DeFi protocols.

Flare also launched the first XRP spot market on Hyperliquid in January 2026 through an FXRP/USDH pair. FXRP later expanded to the Yellow Network and Coinbase’s Base chain. At press time, Flare held nearly $150 million worth of XRP tokens, while $58 million remained staked on Firelight.

FXRP Current Stats DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.

Ondas (ONDS +3.70%) surged over the last year as its military drone technology has captured investors' attention. Now, as wars in Ukraine and Iran drag on, the drone has become a critical weapon in the military arsenals of countries.

However, as investors learned the value of Ondas' pivot in this industry, they bid the stock higher by around 110% over the last year. Despite that gain, investors still have a good chance of outperforming the market with tech stocks.

Image source: Getty Images.

The state of Ondas
Once known as a wireless broadband company, Ondas pivoted to the commercial drone business and has gained more recent attention. Amid a massive increase in demand, Ondas' backlog rose from $68 million to $613 million in six months.

To that end, it made acquisitions to accelerate its go-to-market abilities. Additionally, it partnered with Palantir to scale its operating platform and integrate its ground, air, and stratospheric domains into a single AI-driven system.

At a $4.3 billion market cap, Ondas is a fraction of the size of industry giants like Northrop Grumman and RTX.

Still, Ondas announced $70 million in new orders in one month ending in late July. It won contracts from the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. Israel also selected it to build its next generation of military attack drones, indicating the company can compete with industry giants.

Looking forward, Markets and Markets forecasts a 26% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the military drone market through 2031, taking an estimated $35 billion market in 2026 to $109 billion by that year.

Ondas appears to be far outpacing that estimate, as analysts predict a revenue gain of more than tenfold in 2026 before growth slows to a forecast 87% gain the next year.

Although that may not turn the company profitable, it should ease worries about Ondas' 29 price-to-sales (P/S) ratio. Furthermore, amid the forecast revenue gains, Ondas now trades at a forward P/S ratio of 8. Given that increase and the surging demand for military drones, Ondas' stock appears to have plenty of room to rise.

Despite recent gains, Ondas' stock has plenty of room to run.

Admittedly, a 29 P/S ratio may seem high, even for a growth stock in an emerging industry. Fortunately, its growth is so massive that the P/S ratio is on track to fall into the single digits quickly. Moreover, the company has won contracts from the U.S. and Israeli militaries, often over large, established competitors.

Ultimately, as drones change the face of warfare, Ondas looks increasingly well-positioned to play a critical role. Even at its current valuation, Ondas' growth should benefit its investors over time.

Jeff Bezos is dumping shares of Amazon (AMZN -0.94%), as it trades around its all-time high. The company's founder and executive chairman filed documents showing he sold 1.2 million shares of the stock last week, after another filing indicated he could sell up to 15 million shares in total. If he sold them at the market price at the time of filing, the total would exceed $4 billion.

That's a lot of cash, even for someone as wealthy as Bezos. Should Amazon shareholders consider lightening up their exposure to Amazon as well? Here's what investors need to know.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon Executive Chairman. Image source: Amazon.

Bezos' stock sale is part of a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan established last year. Such plans are prearranged well ahead of stock sales to prevent insiders from trading on nonpublic information. In other words, Bezos isn't seeing any signs that the stock is too expensive or that a sudden change in Amazon's fortunes is on the horizon.

In fact, Amazon appears to have a long runway ahead of it. Its retail operations are firing on all cylinders, with revenue climbing about 16% year over year across its North American and International segment last quarter. That was helped by shifting Prime Day from the third quarter to the second quarter, but still an impressive result. The segment's operating margin continues to expand, driven by strong advertising sales and Prime membership growth.

The core of Amazon, though, has become its cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services. The company is spending tens of billions of dollars each quarter to build additional compute capacity, which has pushed its total free cash flow into negative territory over the past 12 months. While some investors have balked at all that spending, Amazon's results and outlook suggest it's a solid investment.

AWS revenue accelerated for the fifth straight quarter, climbing 37% year over year. What's more, operating margin expanded to 39.4% in the most recent quarter. Both trends could continue.

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Amazon's rapid increase in capital deployment should enable it to recognize its growing backlog more quickly in the coming quarters. Backlog reached $496 billion as of the end of the second quarter. Regarding margin, it should see expansion as more AI workloads move to Amazon's custom silicon, Trainium and Graviton, which produce better margins for Amazon and better price performance for its customers compared to traditional GPUs.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sees tremendous long-term potential for AWS. His comments during Amazon's second-quarter earnings call suggested it could become a $1 trillion annual revenue business. If it achieves just half of that, Amazon will generate hundreds of billions in free cash flow each year, sending the value of its shares significantly higher over time.

There's a reason Bezos still holds 880 million shares of Amazon, comprising the vast majority of his net worth. The outlook remains bright for the company.

It's been a surprisingly good year so far for Target (TGT -0.66%) shareholders. After several years of disappointing sales resulting in a broadly declining stock performance, shares of this retailer are up 58% year to date.

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Simply put, investors are finally seeing a glimmer of hope for a turnaround. Total revenue rose 6.7% year over year in its first fiscal quarter, which ended in early May. That was driven in part by a 4.4% increase in foot traffic, resulting in same-store sales growth of 5.6%.

Although analysts don't expect Target's fiscal second-quarter numbers to grow quite as much as they did in Q1, the company's still quite optimistic: When it reported in May, it doubled its previous full-year sales growth guidance from around 2% to around 4%. Management's also looking for earnings per share of between $7.50 and $8.50 for fiscal 2026 (which will end in late January). The analysts' consensus expectation is for earnings per share of $8.43.

The stock's recent buyers are essentially betting this big-box retailer will remain on track to at least meet those expectations, although some investors are also likely counting on better-than-expected numbers.

Image source: Getty Images.

This, of course, makes Aug. 19 a critical day for anyone betting on a continued turnaround. Although the company hasn't yet officially confirmed the date (it typically doesn't do so until the day before), most analysts expect Target to post its second-quarter results on that day. And those numbers will either affirm or call into question whether the retailer is truly on track to meet its full-year guidance.

On that score, the analyst community expects to hear that Target turned $26.08 billion in revenue into a per-share profit of $2.30 for the three-month stretch that ended early this month.

Just don't lose perspective: While every quarter is important for a company like Target that has so much to prove, one single quarter won't necessarily prove enough of anything for investors to make a true long-term call on this ticker.

James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Target. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.